by Twenty years ago, April 25, 2002, was when Microsoft released the first FPS for Xbox “Halo” in Japan.
In the 2,500s, when the stage is far in the future, players will become UNSC (United Nations Space Council) Soldier Master Chief and devote themselves to the battle with the alien army Covenant. “Halo” was released as one of the FPS (first-person shooter) titles that are now familiar as a game genre. At that time, the genre of FPS was not so well known, and “Halo” can be said to be the beginning of FPS on home video game consoles. Many systems have become the de facto standard with Halo. It can be said that it is a “Star Wars” existence in the FPS world.
First, establish the operation mode. It adopted the standard operations of today’s home video game consoles:
- Move with the left stick.
- Operate the viewpoint with the right post.
- Shoot with the right trigger.
At that time, there were few FPS on home video game consoles (about ported works such as “DOOM” and “GoldenEye 007” on Nintendo 64), and FPS was a PC game that was played with a mouse and keyboard. Rice field.
The other is the life system. There are two stages, an energy shield that automatically recovers and a life that heals with items. Even if you get into a difficult situation, you can hide in a safe place to recover the shield and breakthrough difficult points. Many of the previous works are items that recover armour (such as “Quake”) and the establishment of a system that successfully incorporates the automatic recovery of the shield (life) into the game system and reduces stress without damaging the tension of the player—succeeded in.
Also, it is this work that decided to enjoy the profound story and the most potent visual beauty even in FPS. “Half-Life” pioneered the experience of a deep level in FPS, but this work probably made it known to more people on home video game consoles. Of course, don’t forget the magnificent BGM and powerful sound effects that direct the story.
It also showed that multiplayer with a large number of people is fun. In addition, to split screens, this work supports offline multiplayer via system link (LAN). I enjoyed the match with up to 16 people.
Regarding the FPS match, I think that Microsoft Japan used this work rather than this work and contributed significantly to the excitement of the FPS genre itself and the improvement of its name recognition. The Japan tournament was held many times, and the pattern was taken up by many news media, including Famitsu, and the opportunity to be exposed to the general public increased.
Some people may think, “Isn’t it an online match?”, But at that time, it was before the start of the online service Xbox Live, and of course, this work was not supported. The sequel “Halo 2” was sunny and compatible with online play.
In this way, “Halo”, which boasted a high degree of perfection from the first work, became a big hit worldwide, and many sequels and spin-offs appeared. It has grown into a big series that developed into various media such as “Halo Wars”, a completely different genre called RTS, and novels and animations. In a similar story, a drama was realized under the executive producer Steven Spielberg. It will be delivered on U-NEXT in Japan from May 4, 2022.
The drama “HALO” will be exclusively distributed in 4K on U-NEXT from May 4. Teaser notice and visuals lifted
The first overseas version of “Halo”, an influential book, was released on November 15, 2001, about half a year before the Japanese version. The title was also subtitled “Halo: Combat Evolved”. It was ported to a personal computer in 2003 and released in Japan under the name “Halo: Combat Evolved”.
The remastered version is included in “Halo: The Master Chief Collection” for the latest hardware, released on Windows and Xbox One. This is a great deal that consists of 4 works numbering up to “Halo 4” and spin-offs “Halo 3: ODST” and “Halo: Reach”. Halo: The Master Chief Collection is also on the Xbox Game Pass. It is also released as a single item on PC as “Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary”. If you are a player who played at that time, or if you haven’t experienced it yet, why don’t you try it?
