It is easy to argue that shooters are the most popular genre of video games today. New shooters, both first and third-person, seem to release every other month, and many other genres have adapted shooting game standards into their gameplay. One franchise, now nearly 20 years old, has helped innovate, drive, and define the genre as a whole. That franchise first started back in November of 2001, Halo.
Halo has been a staple of the shooter genre and gaming as a whole for nearly two decades. Its first release, Halo: Combat Evolved, introduced some mechanics that are now industry standard and created a world that is nearly as recognizable worldwide as Mario or Pikachu. Still considered one of the best original Xbox games, Halo has long defined the shooting genre for a generation.
Halo's Lasting Impact
With many fans excitedly anticipating the release of the next mainline entry Halo Infinite, it's likely that some players are taking the time to go back and replay through the main entries in the long-running franchise. With that, it's worth taking a moment to consider the impact that Master Chief and his journey throughout the Halo games have had on the genre, and video games as a whole. Master Chief is even constantly a fan-favorite pick for the "next" Super Smash Bros. DLC fighter, a potential crossover that shows how widely popular the character and franchise have become.
Shooters had already become popular before the release of Halo, as titles like Wolfenstein and Doom had pioneered the genre years prior, and games like Goldeneye showed how popular multiplayer could be in a first-person shooter. While Halo has been right to take inspiration from more modern shooters like Call of Duty's success with adapting some mechanics and gameplay modes in its newer releases, Halo first pioneered many of the gameplay standards across the genre today. Halo introduced the rechargeable shield, fine-tuned multiplayer, and refined vehicle controls in ways that are now industry standard.
Younger players might be hard-pressed to imagine playing a shooter without some kind of rechargeable shield before they lose health. There are variations on how a shield might recharge: via consumables as in Fortnite or after a delay in games like Titanfall. This now standard mechanic made Halo's combat seem more dynamic, and at times, the shield made players feel safer after narrowly avoiding death from a large explosion. At other times, it added a level of urgency as players frenetically seek cover as the broken shield alarm sounds and they watch their health quickly plummeting. Fine-tuning this mechanic has been part of the evolution of the combat from the original Halo to Halo Infinite.
Multiplayer has long been at the heart of the shooter genre. For many players, even the grandiose and elaborate story of the Halo franchise is mostly a backdrop for essentially a long tutorial before they jump into competitive multiplayer. Some others enjoyed the co-op mechanics that Halo had deftly implemented as the premier way to enjoy the story. Some of the features introduced in even the earliest Halo games will likely continue to Halo Infinite and beyond. Halo defined multiplayer at the time, as many veteran fans have warm memories of lugging their Xbox and a CRT to a friend's house or a local game store to set up for massive LAN parties and tournaments.
As fans wonder what to expect from the upcoming Halo Infinite, one assumption that's likely swirling will be the introduction of new vehicles to the game. Halo was not the first shooter to add vehicles to the foray, but it refined the controls and developed such unique vehicles that they have been engrained in many players minds. Gliding across the battlefield on a Ghost to quickly eliminate foes or push an objective, ramping a Warthog nearly into the stratosphere, or the destructive power of the Wraith are all experiences that Halo fans have loved for years. The vehicles added a layer of complexity to multiplayer matches that was unparalleled for years, and set pieces through the story involving taking control of powerful machines are among the most memorable.
Halo's Narrative Impact
With almost a dozen different games under its belt, the story of the Halo series has expanded into a grand space epic over the years. The lore behind Halo has inspired novels, comic books, and animated films. The grand scope of its narrative was groundbreaking at the time, and continues to set the bar for shooters today. Humanity's clash with the Covenant and other forces like the Flood tells surprisingly human stories despite the alien creatures and superhuman Spartans. While not every game in the series is held in the same regard, the core narrative has enraptured many fans for almost two decades.
The influence of Halo's narrative style are heavy in the industry. Expertly moving from grandiose cutscenes into story moments taking place in-game through dialogue and huge set-piece moments, Halo set the standard for how to give the main thrust of a story. These obvious moments are set against ways for players to pick up Easter eggs and bits of lore in Halo. Small tidbits of what coalesce into a rich history are found through voice recordings, data logs, and other notes throughout all of the Halo games. This piece-by-piece style of exposing the deeper lore wasn't unique to Halo but it was executed well enough to show its merits in the shooter genre and not just RPGs or adventures.
Overall, it's difficult to ignore the impact that Halo has had on the genre as a whole. Many of its mechanics have become the gold standard for shooters even now twenty years later. And despite Halo fans still not having seen his full face, Master Chief is one of the most popular and recognizable characters in all of gaming. The extensive lore and backstory have inspired spin-off media in a way that few other shooters have matched. And the overall narrative of the Halo franchise has a high bar for any shooter looking to capture player's imaginations. As Halo Infinite approaches an inevitable release, it's a good time for long-time fans to examine the impact of the franchise as a whole.
Halo Infinite releases in late 2021 on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.