Halo Preview

Aiming for the Heavens.

The human race is in jeopardy. An alien league called the Covenant is bent on eradicating the entire species. In a last ditch effort, a lone earth battlecruiser lures the Covenant fleet away from Earth, deep into uncharted space. Low on supplies, the earthlings find a haven on a Niven-esque world in the shape of a ring that's over 10,000 miles in diameter. On this artificial world, the humans must fight a guerilla war, trying to stay alive as long as possible. At least they chose a gorgeous place to make their last stand.

Halo is the work of Bungie, makers of the fantastic Marathon and Myth series. It debuted last year at MacWorld and made the audience collectively gasp. Since then, very little has been released about this upcoming game, leading many to believe it was either a hoax or the developers had failed to create what they promised. Neither could be farther from the truth. Halo is real, ladies and gentlemen, and, simply put, amazing.

Rumors abound about Halo and Game Revolution is here to help you separate fact from fiction. If you're staring at the screenshots right now, you'll be please to hear that they were all taken from gameplay. While it might sound unbelievable, what you are seeing was all created by the in-game engine. On top of that, you don't need a god-box in order to play the game. The E3 demo that GR made sure to see was done on a Pentium 450 with a TNT2 card. Expect the minimum system requirements to be lower than that, but Halo just might be worth investing in a new computer or video card.

The single player game will be a non-linear action game. There are no levels, - simply you, the aliens, and a gigantic arena for you to explore. This is not to say that the game is pointless; every action you do, every alien you kill, alters the gameworld dynamically. There are underground bases to explore, weapons to find, and missions to complete. Bungie just didn't want to break up the gameplay into sections. Your goal is to win a guerilla war; if only you had Che Guevara to help you...

The multiplayer will allow you to play as either the aliens or the humans. Focusing on fast combat and team tactics, you're not going to succeed unless you work as a group. For example, the vehicles in the game (cars, boats, and airplanes) can all be player-controlled. While one player is driving, another might choose to hop on the back and man the cannon. For all the FPS fans out there, there will still be a simple deathmatch mode, but aren't you tired of that by now?

If Bungie is able to pull off Halo, it will undoubtedly become a benchmark on which other games will be compared. The dynamic gameplay and non-linear storyline is sure to drain away all the free time you thought you might have. So, say goodbye to your loved ones and make sure the pets are well fed, because Halo is coming to town.

You still have some time to enjoy sunlight! Halo is due out the beginning of 2001 for PC and Macintosh.