Halo 3 (Xbox 360, 2007)

PRO'S I care, and I want it



Maybe everyone is making too big a deal about this, maybe the Halo franchise will never live up to the hype, but never before has a video game so moved me to ponder buying $3,000 in A/V equipment as Halo 3.

But the saga of Master Chief compels me to push for improvements in our home theater system - a 1080p flat-screen (uh-huh, I know Halo 3 only supports 720p), a surround-sound system, and yes, the pesky Xbox 360 itself (not to mention 60 bones for the actual disc).

Why? Call me a sucker for sci-fi. Or maybe I just like to blow off steam by blazing away on a virtual trigger.

But the Halo universe built good characters and provided great gameplay. I care whether Master Chief and the Arbiter save Earth by fighting off the Covenant and holding the Flood at bay. I want to see Cortana escape Gravemind and the In Amber Clad. And if any of that makes sense to you, then you do, too.

Halo has provided a compelling story and addictive mechanics that have influenced scads of games since the original's 2001 release. That's enough to make me want to finish the fight.


CON'S Just a whole lot of hype

The Halo craziness has as much to do with timing and hype as it does with Master Chief. What might have been a genuinely innovative or just super-polished shooter in 2002 is now one of a dozen top-shelf games. And as derivative as movie sequels are of the original, video game sequels are usually even more repetitive.

The sight of gamers lined up at midnight and the prospect of opening-day grosses that dwarf Spider-Man might be good fodder for media coverage ("Wouldja look at these crazy kids - boy, they sure are crazy for lining up for a silly game!"). But there are plenty of other, better reasons to "accidentally" spend that insurance money on an Xbox 360.