Halo is one of the great video game franchises that has been with us for more than two decades, since Microsoft used Bungie’s creation in November 2001 as the test figurehead for its first foray into the console market. Now, seen with the perspective of time, there is no doubt that the Master Chief and his entire cohort of allies (and enemies) have become the watchword of the legion of xboxers that populate the world.
What is Halo?
Halo is a franchise created by Bungie and that Microsof t made its own over the years by verifying the enormous impact it had had in forging the personality of North Americans, and boasts very specific characteristics that have made it a a totally different gaming experience. So much so, that its appearance on the first Xbox in November 2001 clearly marked the future of the FPS ( first person shooter ) genre, which, until then, had not been exploited with much success by other companies.
Not in vain, transferring the shooter game experience from a PC to consoles had been a challenge until that moment when Bungie created what we can consider the first of its kind. optimized to be enjoyed practically the same with keyboard and mouse as with a gamepad. The entry on the scene of the second analog stick to control the camera (or the direction of movement of vehicles), will be decisive in consecrating one of the fathers of this small revolution that will be two decades old at the end of 2021.
But if you think so, let’s quickly remember who is who in this video game saga.
Halo
It is a scenario that will sound familiar to you from the first game. That Halo that is present in some planetary systems in the game and that are practically the cause of the Covenant insisting on conquering them. Behind this objective is the religious significance that these structures have for the invaders, who believe that it is the door that opens the “Great Journey”.
Master Chief
What to say about the protagonist of all the games that are part of both the first original trilogy and the later one known as the “Reclaimer saga”. This is a space marine with an amazing ease to get into the lion’s den but always come out unscathed (thanks to our help, of course). It will be the main bulwark of humanity to face the threat of the species that try to annihilate us.
Cortana
What to say about the Siri that the Master Chief carries with him everywhere. Cortana is the voice of our hero’s conscience , the one who has the deepest and most important conversations in some games and the one who provides us with valuable information on missions. It became so popular thanks to video games that for many years it was the virtual assistant of Windows.
United Nations Space Command (UNSC)
The defensive force that Earth and Humanity can display against invaders is a group of elite soldiers equipped with the latest technology and weaponry. The Master Chief belongs to this body, although there will be times when he chooses to go quite free, specifically to the so-called Spartans, who have been genetically modified.
Covenant
Although there are other threats with their own name in the franchise (Prometheus, Flood, Banished, etc.), without a doubt the Covenant is the original and the one that we all associate with the Halo saga . It is about a series of peoples and races that fight in an almost suicidal way for the glory of the leader, who is practically a religious chief. Their threat will spread across multiple games, planets, and star systems with factions shaping Mankind’s cadre of adversaries.
Halo Main Saga
Of all the titles that have reached the stores, only six can be considered as main , of those that tell the story of the fight of Humanity against the Covenant and other hostile peoples… with the opposition of the Master Chief. These are.
Halo Combat Evolved (2001)
As we have told you, Bungie broke the molds of the shooter genre on consoles with a great game that stands out above all for its gunplay , for the inclusion of vehicles to move or fight through the gigantic scenarios, and for a plot consistency that left us glued to the screen. Over the years it has undergone remastering and is available on all Xbox consoles that have hit the market, as well as PC.
Halo 2 (2004)
After the success of the first one, a continuation could not be missing that takes us to Earth, where the Covenant storm the planet in search of revenge for the defeat in the first episode. Not even the trial of one of the captured alien commanders will stop the hosts who want to annihilate all of humanity. As in the previous case, you have the game available on all Xbox consoles that have reached the market as well as PC.
Halo 3 (2007)
The battle continues with Covenant forces invading Earth, where a new species of enemies known as the Elite arrive. The Master Chief will have to stop the plans of the invading forces joined by the Flood, a race that manages to cross a mysterious portal that has opened right under the noses of the UNSC Marines. This Halo 3 is also available to play on PC and all Xbox consoles, and marks Bungie’s farewell to the original trilogy. Moment that, for many, is a before and after within the franchise.
Halo 4 (2012)
The trilogy of “the Reclaimer saga” begins, which is in charge of developing 343 Industries and the truth is that they change some important things that did not leave the fans with a good taste in the mouth. Now, the Master Chief has just woken up from a cryogenic sleep aboard a ship that ends up crash-landing on a planet dominated by Requiem. A new conflict knocks on the door of the franchise, leaving behind part of what had made Halo a planetary phenomenon.
Halo 5 Guardians (2016)
In this installment we will learn that the Master Chief and the entire UNSC blue team have decided to defect , so the Osiris group will go looking for them. The problem is that this small reckoning between old companions will be affected by an even greater conflict that, once again, puts humanity in danger.
Halo Infinite (2021)
Following what was done by 343 Industries in the past, the story never connects with the original trilogy, moving between enemies that remind us of the old Covenant but without being them expressly. Now, the Master Chief will have to face a horde of enemies that belonged to those original Covenant but who call themselves “the Banished” and that many fans will remember from their games in Halo Wars 2 or from the pages of some of the novels that are considered canon.
Halo spinoffs
Apart from those titles that, on paper, develop the main story of the Master Chief, there are others that take advantage of that universe to offer us the same action from another perspective or with the eyes of soldiers who were fighting in other places against the same threat. Are these:
HaloWars (2009)
Microsoft decided to make an adaptation of the Halo universe to the real-time strategy genre and the product of that intention is Halo Wars . Here we go 20 years into the past, before the events of Halo Combat Evolved and to the planet Harvest, where the Covenant are harassing UNSC forces.
Halo 3 ODST (2009)
Originally conceived as an expansion to Halo 3 , Microsoft chose to release it independently as a stand-alone game . The action takes place at the same time as the events of Halo 2 and the protagonist is not a Spartan but an ODST, that is, an orbital descent shock trooper named Rookie. The Covenant will once again be the mortal enemies of Humanity.
Halo Reach (2010)
This Halo tells us about events that occurred on the same days as the first game from 2001, only it takes the action to the planet Reach , where the Covenant have eliminated most of the Spartans and seem to be making their way unopposed. Obviously, we will be the ones in charge of removing that idea from their heads.
Halo Spartan Assault (2013)
How could it be otherwise, tablets and mobile devices had their share of Halo , only in this case within an action game in aerial perspective, controlling soldiers and vehicles in a development that Microsoft defined as tactical combat.
Halo Spartan Strike (2015)
Two years later we had a new installment of tactical combat only landing on consoles to delve into the missions and game mechanics. The battle against the Covenant returns to Earth. Again…
Halo Wars 2 (2017)
Microsoft takes the franchise back into real-time strategy development, chronicling the events that take place nearly three decades after the first Halo Wars . The crew of the UNSC ship Spirit of Fire wake up near the Ark to face the Banished, that splinter faction of the Covenant that we already saw in Halo Infinite .
