It's been quite a while since my last blog post. The post entitled "Disappointment" has truly come to fruition since then. Halo 3 has been the subject of an array of feelings: love, hatred, disgust, frustration, disappointment. For quite some time now, I've noticed that something has been missing. I beat the campaign in a matter of days, a fitting end to a trilogy with a decent plot (I'm being generous). Since then, I've played countless games online. Hundreds upon hundreds of ranked and social matches with friends and strangers alike. Still, I am not satisfied.
What is it that is driving me crazy? I'm restless, annoyed, and truly frustrated with the game. Is it because of the constant beat downs I endure though I know I hit the B button before my opponent did. No, I can live with that. The reason for my anxiety is that I'm no longer connected to the game. There's no story behind my actions. There's no character development (though I'm not sure there was to begin with). So, what have I done to battle these feelings? I still play multiplayer games and enjoy them to an extent, but I've been picking up books. Yes, that's right. I'm READING.
For some, that will be hard to believe. What is someone in the 21st century doing reading? For others, that won't seem odd at all. I read because I want to feel involved. I want to be pulled in by what I do, not thrown into mindless effort, numb to any emotion except frustration and hatred. Books allow me to do this. Have you ever read Dune? If you have, you can understand what I mean by being pulled into a story. You can understand my appreciation of character development.
Still, I am not lost when it comes to the video games I have loved for so long. Mass Effect will be my savior. BioWare's undoubtedly epic RPG will have a story worth listening to, a story worth involving myself in, a story worth playing. Unlike Halo 3, ME will be immersive. It won't pull me in through cheap tactics like competitive gameplay latent with subtle miscues and mistakes that only make themselves apparent after the initial enjoyment resides. Video games should be very similar to books, only better. We as gamers should be immersed in the enviornment, pulled in by plot and character development and other literary elements that make profound novels so great. Mass Effect will be a novel that we can experience, a story that includes our participation. It will be a story worth hearing.
Well, the day has finally dawned upon us as Halo 3 was made available to the world. Thousands upon thousands waited in lines Monday night to secure their copies, and I was one among them. But what's next? With the biggest release in gaming history in the rear view mirror, what does a gamer have to look forward to? Yes, of course, Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed will be coming out soon. For those of us that also own Wii's, there will be SSBB, Super Mario Galaxy, and Mario Kart Wii, but this is all for naught. Nothing will ever hold that magical place in our hearts like Halo has. The trilogy is over.
What's next? Sure, there will probably be some more games. Halo Wars, of course, is coming out sometime in the not-so-distant future, and I can definitely see some more prequel type games dawning the Halo emblem, but can anyone really say they expect these games to live up to the hype that Halo 3 has endured since its announcement? No, there's no way. Halo Wars will probably be a pretty decent game. What about Halo Wars 2? Is there a Halo Wars 3 in our future? No thanks, I say. As Halo 3 ends the trilogy that started so long ago on the Xbox, I can't help but feel a little let down. Is it because of Halo 3's inability to live up to the expectations? No way. It's because the next Halo title can't have those expectations. It can't have that hype. The trilogy's over. The next couple of titles will just be diluting the brand. Halo 3 is awesome, but now there's no more Halo to look forward to, and that my friends, is disappointing.
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