Just before the release of Halo 5: Guardians, my friend decided he wanted to spend some money on a new game to kill time until Fallout 4 finally drops in November. He asked me if he should get Halo, as he had played it before but didn’t really enjoy it all that much. After a little bit of discussion, he decided to grab The Master Chief Collection. The value was there for him, and there’s plenty for us to play together and grab some friends for co-op or competitive if the feeling arose.
So we grabbed our third regular gaming buddy and jumped straight in to Halo 3 on Legendary. Sure, it may not be the best way, but we wanted a bit of a challenge and a laugh at the same time. We had a blast, gunning through to Tsavo Highway before he eventually went off to sleep. He thoroughly enjoyed himself, and definitely seemed to have changed his opinion on Halo straight away.
The next day, we hopped in again. This time, just the two of us, I decided to properly introduce my friend to the world of Halo. We started Halo CE on Legendary, and I helped explain some things about the story of Halo. It was refreshing to play with someone who wasn’t knowledgeable about the lore of the franchise, or even the weapons of the game. We ran through the first few missions and I was surprised at how he handled himself. After having a little break and having to start the second mission again, we ran through it at blazing speed, and were so efficient as a team that I was shocked at how easily he adapted to playing Halo.
Again, he really enjoyed himself, and I was washed over with nostalgia for my childhood when I played through the game alone and on co-op with friends on an almost weekly basis. It felt like I went back in time, and I realized that Halo is more important to me than I thought previously. It’s one of those game series that requires tactics and teamwork in co-op play, rather than just running in and gunning everything down. That’s why I feel like he enjoyed it more than he thought, and that’s why I will continue to play through the game with him whenever we feel like it’s time for a Halo sessions.
Though it’s been quite busy for us of late, and we haven’t played much past the 6 missions across the two games we’ve played in the collection so far, it’s definitely something that I look forward to doing to chill out, have a laugh and most of all, enjoy playing Halo with someone for whom this is all brand new again.
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