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Bungie's influence on the Halo universe has come to a close and the torch has been passed on to the as-yet untested 343 Industries. This changing of the guard is bittersweet; I, along with countless others, have practically grown up with Halo. It is a household name, a fixture in the mindsets of gamers around the world.
Now, the benchmark upon which all other shooters strive to reach has all but disappeared. Nothing but dust and echoes. It's gone. As we claw for any trace of information here, a leaked image there, our attempts to whet our appetite only make our hunger worse.
While we wait for our beloved Halo to make its glorious return, I want to reminisce on some of the moments and themes that secured Halo's place in my heart.
Halo: Combat Evolved
The music pulled me in and wouldn't let me go. I, a giant, green, alien-shredding cyborg had my own theme music. Even so, my grunt-fueled rage couldn't overcome my sense of wonder as I stepped out of the escape pod and saw Threshold and the ring's superstructure arc up into the horizon. It was so alien and so beautiful at the same time.
Halo:CE also introduced me to the element of terror in a video game. Until the level 343 Guilty Spark, I never knew the level of fear that could be instilled by waves and waves of popping jaundiced balls. I feared for the Chief's life, the lives of the Marines and for Cortana.
Halo 2
Halo 2 was so... different. And I loved it. Bungie seemed to throw the same magnitude of ambition into Halo 2 as they did with Halo:CE. Like Combat Evolved, Halo 2 had so many seemingly spontaneous moments of immense beauty. The evolution of the music only added to the effect. My hat goes off to Bungie particularly for these moments, because it shows the love the artists have for their work.
Halo 2 introduced a character who polarized all who played it: The Arbiter. It my opinion, the Arbiter was everything the Chief should have been. Thel Vadamee's shades of gray stood in stark contrast to the Chief's black-and-white hardwired mentality. Everything the Arbiter understood and took for granted had been turned on its head. In this way, he became more relatable than the Chief.
These were just a few thoughts. Please add your own.