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Review
By: |
Gamer42 |
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Date: |
31/01/2002 |
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Released: |
14/11/2001 |
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Publisher: |
Microsoft |
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Developer: |
Bungie |
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Platform: |
Xbox |
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Rating: |
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Is it worth paying $350 to play
Halo? It's a simple question, with a somewhat difficult answer. It's the question
I'll try to answer for you in this review. The task on the table here is not
rating halo. By now you've heard that halo is a 5 star, a 10 out of 10, a 100 out
of 100, and let's just get this out of the way... yes even a p42 5 planet game.
Halo is ground breaking in every way. It's not simply the best first person shooter,
it transcends the boundaries of game genre and is top of the heap in any genre.
You're not reading this review to find out if halo is a good game or not. If you've
already played it, than you're probably still wiping the drool from your mouth and
playing it again for the 10th time. If you haven't played it, you already know you
want to play it. In fact, you already know you want to own it. Again, the only
question is whether or not you're willing to shell out $350 to first buy an xbox
($300) and then another $50 to buy the game.
"Wait, I already own an Xbox! should I buy Halo?" If this is you, then stop reading
right now, close your browser and never, |
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and I mean never return to planet42.com again.
You have been officially exiled. You bought an xbox and didn't buy halo with it? Fool!
Be gone pitiful worm! If we catch you back here again... you'll be sorry.
Ok, we've filtered out the gaming riff-raff. Now that I know I'm speaking to an intelligent
audience, let us continue. The rest of you most likely fall into one of three categories:
1) The PS2 fanatic - "I worship my PS2, I worship Sony, I think I'm turning Japanese!
Microsoft is the evil empire. I will die before I buy an Xbox."
2) The PS2 doubtful - "I bought a PS2 and don't know if I should spend another $300 on
another console. But, man that Xbox is 3 times more powerful than my PS2. I'm just looking
for an excuse to buy one."
3) The PC purist - "The pc is the ultimate gaming system. Only small children and poor
college students who can't afford the holy grail of gaming... the PC... would ever buy a console."
If you're wondering why the nintendo game cube isn't mentioned, then
click here.
Alright, now we've done away with the gaming riff-raff and the prepubescent 12 and under set.
Phewww... let's get down to business.
The PS2 fanatic
Let me start with the 1st group... the PS2 fanatic. I feel you suffer from a serious lack
of patriotism. The xbox may not be made in the USA, but it's been designed, developed and
funded by the ultimate American company... Microsoft. If you hate Microsoft you're
un-American. America is all about capitalism and Microsoft is the epitome of capitalism.
If you don't like it than move to china!
Of course you know that Sony makes the PS2. Sony is the closest thing japan has to Microsoft.
Not that I'm anti-Japanese or anything but just watch "Pearl Harbor" and then decide which
company you want to support with your hard earned dollars. On top of the patriotism factor,
the Xbox is 3 times more powerful than the PS2 and has built-in broadband capabilities!
If somebody were to offer you two houses, in the same neighborhood, for the same price -
one is 2,000 square feet and the other is 6, 000 square feet , which one are you going to
choose?
Therefore, if you're a logical, patriotic American, there's no question. You should run to
EB and trade your anti-American PS2 in for the extremely patriotic Xbox (I'm surprised
they didn't paint it red, white and blue!). Not only will you be a happier gamer, you'll
be a better American.
The PS2 doubtful
Ahh, the 2nd group... you guys are easy... see above. Still not convinced?
Check this screenshot.
Nuf' said.
The PC purist
The 3rd and hardest group... the PC purist. I used to be one of you, so it's easy for me
to relate. I'm not going to argue with you that the PC is the ultimate gaming system.
In most ways, you are right. When it comes to pure technological superiority, a console
will never be able to top the PC. If you can afford to buy a video card that costs twice
as much as a complete Xbox, there's no way the Xbox can compete. It's just not a fair
comparison.
However, the Xbox (and don't shoot me for saying this) is better in some ways than the pc.
First of all, it's a lot cheaper than a similarly performing PC. Sure you can't surf the
web on it or send email, but you probably already have a PC for that. On the other hand,
you may not have a PC with a geforce 3 GPU, which is essentially what the Xbox is packing.
Another huge advantage the Xbox has over the pc is that it's great for face-to-face,
head-to-head competition with your buds. The Xbox comes standard with 4 controller ports,
allowing you to have three of your friends over and kick there asses in doa 3 or NFL Fever.
And the ultimate reason to buy an Xbox even if you already have a PC? The short answer is...
Halo! You can't play it on the PC and you probably won't be able to for another year.
Conclusion
Simply put, Halo is definitely a $350 game. Even if you bought an Xbox, bought Halo and then
never bought another game, it would be worth it. Of course you'd never do that, but if you
did, it would still be worth every penny. Heck, the final mission alone is so incredibly
cinematic it might be worth $350 just to watch somebody play it! Ladies and gentleman, Halo is
that good. If I had a 6 planet graphic, I'd give it a 6 planet rating. But since I only have
a 5 planet graphic, Halo will have to settle with a very enthusiastic, perfect 5 planet rating!
Well done Bungie... well done.
Gamer42's Rating:
5 out of 5 Planets
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