Christmas 2002; I’m 15 and, barring the conclusion of Star Trek: Voyager, life is going relatively well. I’ve spent the majority of the year chasing girls, dreaming of becoming a wrestler, and worrying about who I’ll take to the prom next summer (a concern that befalls all of us at some point or another). But there’s one other thing that made that year special- on the 25^th of December I would officially own a Halo game for the first time. Granted this was long-overdue. My best friend had already purchased Halo: Combat Evolved about 6 months earlier, and we, along with his brother and cousin, had spent every moment after school playing its multiplayer. For anyone who remembers, this was an addicting experience. I remember coming off the split-screen 4-player for the first time and thinking; ‘That’s as good as Goldeneye.’ Indeed, not since the N64 prior had I experienced a first-person shooter so well designed for the consoles (and to think this started life as an RTS on the PC?) But Halo was much more than fun with your friends. The single player had an epic feel to it, the graphics genuinely showed a leap forward from the PS2 and the iconic score gave it a mood and feel all its own. They say the devil is in the details and little touches (such as the ammo count being displayed on the assault rifle) meant that players would be discovering new things even after months of play time. My favourite moment overall had to be the realisation that you could drive vehicles in the multiplayer- up until that point, I had never seen that before.

Of course, a sequel was inevitable and the wait for Halo 2 was excruciating (I even remember one individual writing to OXM UK and exclaiming that the game shouldn’t be released as his expectations were too high?!). But released it was and to this day I can pretty much boil down my experience of Halo 2 into 3 phrases; ‘dual-wielding’, ‘Xbox Live’ and ‘disappointing’. The dual-wielding was great; the Xbox Live revolutionary but playing as the Arbiter half-way through? Disappointing. Some of you may disagree with me and that, of course, is your prerogative, but for me, it was the same feeling I got from MGS2 when the focus switched to Raiden- unnecessary.

Flash-forward to 2007 and the Xbox 360. It’s a typically cold night in South-East England and I, along with a group of eager gamers, have gathered outside a high street Game store to witness the midnight launch of Halo 3. My fellow writer Mr Ian Dean is also present (although due to some improved planning on his part he stands at the front of the queue). I remember being so excited for this; we hadn’t had a new Halo in years, I had seen bits of the BETA being played and it looked amazing; every omen seemed good and for the most part, the game was. However, this was also the year of the first Modern Warfare, the first Assassins Creed and the first Bioshock. As soon as I parted playing Halo 3 the next day I was consumed with the notion that it just didn’t feel like an AAA-title. Sure the campaign was exciting and the ability to play the game in split-screen and online at the same time blew me away but no longer did I feel like this was a killer-app. In my mind, Halo was no longer the leading light on the Xbox, as it was the generation before it (and I ask you now will all sincerity; what is Microsoft’s flag-ship brand?).

Fast-forward to present day and we’ve seen the series triumphantly return to its roots in 2009’s Halo Wars (one of the most accessible RTS games ever), a solid outing in Halo Reach, a next-gen iteration in the form of Halo 5 and, in true Hollywood style, a remake of the acclaimed original. As 343 Industries continue to guide the series in a new direction, I leave you with one question. No matter whom the developer or what level the expectation, a Halo game will always feel like Halo. So…is there anyone else out there who also feels like we’ve been playing the same repackaged game for the last 10 years?