The Halo Effect: The Xbox Hit is Overrated

Last weekend I broke down and gave Halo 3 about four hours.

This is about the same amount of time I gave Halo and Halo 2. Sitting there, playing solo or co-op, fighting away, trying so hard to feel it � the excitement, the passion, the compulsion to keep going deeper into a game; a feeling so familiar from playing truly compelling first-person shooters.

But Halo, a game that has broken so many industry records, is missing something. Trying to fall for Halo 3 is like being on a date with a perfect-looking girl with vacant eyes. You may really want find a connection, but there�s just nothing there. Trying to get passionate about Halo is like trying to fall in love with Windows Vista or Word or any other Microsoft product. Maybe you can admire the function, or teamwork that produced the title, but its always just a utility.

There�s something so generic about the Halo franchise that it feels like watching a vague and cautious mixture of elements stolen from more memorable pop culture sources, then watered down to keep the lawyers away. One week later, I�m trying to remember what the personality-free enemies look like. Some sound effects are reminiscent of �Predator.� Some of the gun design was clearly ripped off from �Aliens.� Dialog was lifted from a dozen random action movies. Landscapes look like countless other games.

Halo�s popularity for multiplayer gaming is the most understandable part of its fame. In mulitplayer mode, the game wakes up because you�re helping Halo by populating its universe with other real people. In multiplayer, Halo is what it really is: an inoffensive arena, a playing field, open and empty and needing to be filled with life.