Half Life
Half-Life is a science fiction first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Software, the company's debut product and the first in the Half-Life series. First released by Sierra Studios on November 19, 1998, the game was also released for the PlayStation 2 on November 14, 2001. In Half-Life, players assume the role of Dr Gordon Freeman, a recently graduated theoretical physicist who must fight his way out of a secret underground research facility, whose research and experiments into teleportation technology have gone disastrously wrong. Valve, set up by former Microsoft employees, had difficulty finding a publisher for the game, with many believing that it was "too ambitious" a project. Sierra On-Line eventually signed the game after expressing interest in making a 3D action game. The game had its first major public appearance at the 1997 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Designed for Windows, the game uses a heavily modified version of the Quake engine called GoldSrc.
On its release, critics hailed its overall presentation and numerous scripted sequences, and it won over 50 PC Game of the Year awards. Its gameplay influenced first-person shooters for years to come, and it has since been regarded as one of the greatest games of all time. As of November 16, 2004, Half-Life has sold eight million copies. As of July 14, 2006, the Half-Life franchise has sold over 20 million units. Half-Life was followed by the 2004 sequel Half-Life 2, which also received critical acclaim. Half-Life, its cultural impact, community mods and sequels has spawned a large fanbase and cult following, especially in PC gaming. In celebration of the game's 10th anniversary, Valve lowered the price of Half-Life to U.S. $0.98 on November 19, 2008 for three days.
On its release, critics hailed its overall presentation and numerous scripted sequences, and it won over 50 PC Game of the Year awards. Its gameplay influenced first-person shooters for years to come, and it has since been regarded as one of the greatest games of all time. As of November 16, 2004, Half-Life has sold eight million copies. As of July 14, 2006, the Half-Life franchise has sold over 20 million units. Half-Life was followed by the 2004 sequel Half-Life 2, which also received critical acclaim. Half-Life, its cultural impact, community mods and sequels has spawned a large fanbase and cult following, especially in PC gaming. In celebration of the game's 10th anniversary, Valve lowered the price of Half-Life to U.S. $0.98 on November 19, 2008 for three days.
Half Life 2
Half-Life 2 is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game and the sequel to the highly acclaimed Half-Life. It was developed by Valve Corporation and was released on November 16, 2004, following a protracted five-year, $40 million development cycle during which the game’s source code was leaked to the Internet. The game uses the Source game engine, which includes a heavily modified version of the Havok physics engine and was also the first video game to require online product activation. Originally available only for Windows-based personal computers, the game has since been ported to the Xbox and Mac OS X. The game was a part of The Orange Box compilation for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles.
Half-Life 2 takes place in a dystopian world in which the events of Half-Life have fully come to bear on human society, which has been enslaved by a multidimensional empire known as the Combine. The game takes place in and around the fictional City 17 and follows the adventures of scientist Gordon Freeman who must fight against increasingly unfavorable odds in order to survive.
The game garnered near-unanimous positive reviews and received critical acclaim, receiving praise for its advances in computer animation, sound, narration, computer graphics, artificial intelligence (AI), and physics simulation. The game won over 40 PC Game of the Year awards for 2004, and several publications have since named it as game of the decade. As of December 3, 2008, over 6.5 million copies of Half-Life 2 have been sold at retail. Although Steam sales figures are unknown, their rate surpassed retail in mid-2008 and are significantly more profitable per-unit.
Two episodic additions to the game, Half-Life 2: Episode One, and Half-Life 2: Episode Two, were released (respectively) in June 2006 and October 2007 as a continuation of the storyline and the events following the original Half-Life 2.
Half-Life 2 takes place in a dystopian world in which the events of Half-Life have fully come to bear on human society, which has been enslaved by a multidimensional empire known as the Combine. The game takes place in and around the fictional City 17 and follows the adventures of scientist Gordon Freeman who must fight against increasingly unfavorable odds in order to survive.
The game garnered near-unanimous positive reviews and received critical acclaim, receiving praise for its advances in computer animation, sound, narration, computer graphics, artificial intelligence (AI), and physics simulation. The game won over 40 PC Game of the Year awards for 2004, and several publications have since named it as game of the decade. As of December 3, 2008, over 6.5 million copies of Half-Life 2 have been sold at retail. Although Steam sales figures are unknown, their rate surpassed retail in mid-2008 and are significantly more profitable per-unit.
Two episodic additions to the game, Half-Life 2: Episode One, and Half-Life 2: Episode Two, were released (respectively) in June 2006 and October 2007 as a continuation of the storyline and the events following the original Half-Life 2.
Halo CE
Halo: Combat Evolved a first-person shooter game developed
by Bungie. The first game of the Halo series, it was released
on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming
system,and is considered the platform's "killer app".
With more thanfive million copies sold worldwide as
of November 9, 2005,Microsoft released versions of
the game for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X in 2003,
and the surrounding storyline was adapted and elaborated
into a series of novels and comic books. The game was later
released as an Xbox Original for download onto an Xbox 360 HDD.
In Halo's twenty-sixth century setting, the player
assumes the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically
enhanced super-soldier. The player is accompanied by Cortana,
an artificial intelligence who occupies the Master Chief's neural
interface. Players battle various aliens on foot and in vehicles as
they attempt to uncover the secrets of the eponymous
Halo, a ring-shaped artificial planet. The game has been
called "easy to learn", and has been praised for its "engaging story".
by Bungie. The first game of the Halo series, it was released
on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming
system,and is considered the platform's "killer app".
With more thanfive million copies sold worldwide as
of November 9, 2005,Microsoft released versions of
the game for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X in 2003,
and the surrounding storyline was adapted and elaborated
into a series of novels and comic books. The game was later
released as an Xbox Original for download onto an Xbox 360 HDD.
In Halo's twenty-sixth century setting, the player
assumes the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically
enhanced super-soldier. The player is accompanied by Cortana,
an artificial intelligence who occupies the Master Chief's neural
interface. Players battle various aliens on foot and in vehicles as
they attempt to uncover the secrets of the eponymous
Halo, a ring-shaped artificial planet. The game has been
called "easy to learn", and has been praised for its "engaging story".
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second video game title in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically-acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved. A Windows Vista version of the game was released on May 31, 2007, developed by an internal team at Microsoft Game Studios referred to as "Hired Gun". The game features a new game engine, as well as using the Havok physics engine; added weapons and vehicles, and new multiplayer maps. The player alternatively assumes the roles of the human Master Chief and the alien Arbiter in a 26th century conflict between the human UNSC and genocidal Covenant. Players fight enemies on foot, or with a collection of alien and human vehicles.
After the success of Combat Evolved, a sequel was expected and highly anticipated. Bungie found inspiration in plot points and gameplay elements that had been left out of their first game, including multiplayer over the internet through Xbox Live. Time constraints forced a series of cutbacks in the size and scope of the game, including a cliffhanger ending to the game's campaign mode that left many in the studio dissatisfied. Among Halo 2's marketing efforts was an alternate reality game called "I Love Bees" that involved players solving real-world puzzles.
On release, Halo 2 was the most popular video game on Xbox Live, holding that rank until the release of Gears of War for the Xbox 360 nearly two years later. By June 20, 2006, more than 500 million games of Halo 2 had been played and more than 710 million hours have been spent playing it on Xbox Live; by May 9, 2007, this number had risen to more than five million unique players on Xbox Live As of November 2008, Halo 2 is the best-selling first-generation Xbox game with 8.46 million copies sold worldwide, with at least 6.3 million copies sold in the US alone. Critical reception of the game was generally positive, with most publications lauding the strong multiplayer component; at the same time, the campaign was the focus of criticism for its cliffhanger ending.
After the success of Combat Evolved, a sequel was expected and highly anticipated. Bungie found inspiration in plot points and gameplay elements that had been left out of their first game, including multiplayer over the internet through Xbox Live. Time constraints forced a series of cutbacks in the size and scope of the game, including a cliffhanger ending to the game's campaign mode that left many in the studio dissatisfied. Among Halo 2's marketing efforts was an alternate reality game called "I Love Bees" that involved players solving real-world puzzles.
On release, Halo 2 was the most popular video game on Xbox Live, holding that rank until the release of Gears of War for the Xbox 360 nearly two years later. By June 20, 2006, more than 500 million games of Halo 2 had been played and more than 710 million hours have been spent playing it on Xbox Live; by May 9, 2007, this number had risen to more than five million unique players on Xbox Live As of November 2008, Halo 2 is the best-selling first-generation Xbox game with 8.46 million copies sold worldwide, with at least 6.3 million copies sold in the US alone. Critical reception of the game was generally positive, with most publications lauding the strong multiplayer component; at the same time, the campaign was the focus of criticism for its cliffhanger ending.
Halo 3
Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for Xbox 360. The game is the third title in the Halo series and concludes the story arc that began in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2. The game was released on September 25, 2007 in Australia, Brazil, India, New Zealand, North America, and Singapore; September 26, 2007 in Europe; and September 27, 2007 in Japan. On the day before its official release, 4.2 million units of Halo 3 were in retail outlets.
Halo 3's story centers on the interstellar war between 26th century humanity, led by the United Nations Space Command, and a collection of alien races known as the Covenant. The player assumes the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier, as he wages war in defense of humanity, assisted by human Marines as well as an allied alien race called Elites, which is led by Rtas'Vadum. The game features vehicles, weapons, and gameplay not present in previous titles of the series, as well as the addition of saved gameplay films, file sharing, and the Forge map editor; a utility which allows the player to perform modifications to multiplayer levels.
Halo 3 grossed US$300 million in its first week. More than one million people played Halo 3 on Xbox Live in the first twenty hours. As of January 3, 2008, Halo 3 has sold 8.1 million copies, and was the best-selling video game of 2007 in the U.S. Overall, the game was very well-received by critics, with the Forge and multiplayer offerings singled out as strong features. By March 2009 more than one billion online matches had been played. A prequel to the game, Halo 3: ODST, was released worldwide on September 22, 2009.
Halo 3's story centers on the interstellar war between 26th century humanity, led by the United Nations Space Command, and a collection of alien races known as the Covenant. The player assumes the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier, as he wages war in defense of humanity, assisted by human Marines as well as an allied alien race called Elites, which is led by Rtas'Vadum. The game features vehicles, weapons, and gameplay not present in previous titles of the series, as well as the addition of saved gameplay films, file sharing, and the Forge map editor; a utility which allows the player to perform modifications to multiplayer levels.
Halo 3 grossed US$300 million in its first week. More than one million people played Halo 3 on Xbox Live in the first twenty hours. As of January 3, 2008, Halo 3 has sold 8.1 million copies, and was the best-selling video game of 2007 in the U.S. Overall, the game was very well-received by critics, with the Forge and multiplayer offerings singled out as strong features. By March 2009 more than one billion online matches had been played. A prequel to the game, Halo 3: ODST, was released worldwide on September 22, 2009.
Halo 3 ODST
Halo 3: ODST (originally Halo 3: Recon) is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft. It was released on the Xbox 360 video game console on September 22, 2009. Players assume the roles of elite human United Nations Space Command soldiers known as "Orbital Drop Shock Troopers" or ODSTs during the events of Halo 2 and Halo 3. There are two modes of play: in the game's campaign mode, players explore the ruined city of New Mombasa to discover what happened to their missing teammates in the midst of an alien invasion. In the "Firefight" multiplayer option, players battle increasingly difficult waves of enemies to score points and survive as long as possible; the Halo 3 multiplayer experience is contained on a separate disc packaged with ODST. New copies of the game also contain access keys to the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta release, which activated May 3, 2010.
Bungie initially conceived ODST as a small side project to produce in the lull between Halo 3's completion and Halo: Reach. Instead of featuring recognizable characters such as armored protagonist Master Chief, the developers focused on the ODSTs. Story director Joseph Staten penned a detective story utilizing film noir designs, settings, and characters. Composer Martin O'Donnell abandoned his previous Halo themes to create a quieter, jazz-influenced sound. During development, the planned expansion grew in scope to that of a full-sized game. Release marketing for the game included a tie-in comic, live-action trailers, and print and web advertisements.
Upon release, ODST became the top-selling Xbox 360 game worldwide. The title received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the atmosphere, music, and story approach. Reviewers were divided on whether the relatively short campaign and included extras were enough to justify the game's US$60 price tag. The game was the top-selling title in the United States in September 2009, and sold more than 3 million copies worldwide. Softpedia, Time and Wired were among the publications that declared the game one of the year's best.
Bungie initially conceived ODST as a small side project to produce in the lull between Halo 3's completion and Halo: Reach. Instead of featuring recognizable characters such as armored protagonist Master Chief, the developers focused on the ODSTs. Story director Joseph Staten penned a detective story utilizing film noir designs, settings, and characters. Composer Martin O'Donnell abandoned his previous Halo themes to create a quieter, jazz-influenced sound. During development, the planned expansion grew in scope to that of a full-sized game. Release marketing for the game included a tie-in comic, live-action trailers, and print and web advertisements.
Upon release, ODST became the top-selling Xbox 360 game worldwide. The title received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the atmosphere, music, and story approach. Reviewers were divided on whether the relatively short campaign and included extras were enough to justify the game's US$60 price tag. The game was the top-selling title in the United States in September 2009, and sold more than 3 million copies worldwide. Softpedia, Time and Wired were among the publications that declared the game one of the year's best.
Halo Reach
Halo: Reach is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 console. Reach was released in North America, Australia, and Europe on September 14, 2010. Originally unveiled at E3 2009, Reach was preceded by a multiplayer beta available to those who purchased Halo 3: ODST, in order to gain player feedback for fixing bugs and making gameplay tweaks. Reach is the final Halo title that Bungie will be developing, as the Microsoft-owned studio 343 Industries will take over development for all future games in the series.
The game takes place in the year 2552, where humanity is locked in a war with the alien Covenant on the human colony of Reach weeks prior to the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. Players control Noble 6, a member of an elite supersoldier squad, during the battle for the world of Reach. As the Covenant begin their assault on the planet, the UNSC begin their heroic yet ultimately futile effort to halt the brutal alien invaders.
Halo: Reach grossed US$200 million on its launch day, setting a new record for the franchise. The game sold well in most territories, moving more than 3 million units its first month in North America. Some reports suggest this figure is closer to 5 and a half million. Critical reception was positive.
The game takes place in the year 2552, where humanity is locked in a war with the alien Covenant on the human colony of Reach weeks prior to the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. Players control Noble 6, a member of an elite supersoldier squad, during the battle for the world of Reach. As the Covenant begin their assault on the planet, the UNSC begin their heroic yet ultimately futile effort to halt the brutal alien invaders.
Halo: Reach grossed US$200 million on its launch day, setting a new record for the franchise. The game sold well in most territories, moving more than 3 million units its first month in North America. Some reports suggest this figure is closer to 5 and a half million. Critical reception was positive.
Halo Wars
Halo Wars is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 video game console. It was released in Japan and Australia on February 26, 2009, in PAL territories on February 27, and in North America on March 3. The game is set in the science fiction universe of the Halo series in the year 2531, 20 years before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. The player leads human soldiers aboard the warship Spirit of Fire in an effort to stop an ancient fleet of ships from falling into the hands of the genocidal alien Covenant.
Halo Wars was officially unveiled at the X06 Xbox show in 2006. Ensemble designed the game specifically for the Xbox 360 controller, in an attempt to circumvent issues present in previous console RTS. Ensemble was closed by Microsoft before the game's release, but Robot Entertainment was quickly founded by many of Ensemble's former employees; this new company continued to support Halo Wars with updates and downloadable content.
Halo Wars received generally positive reviews. Reviewers lauded the game's pre-rendered cinematics, attention to detail in replicating the Halo universe, and intuitive control scheme. Complaints against the game included the lack of an option to play as the Covenant faction in campaign mode, or to play as the Flood in any mode, as well as the lack of strategic options during play. Critics from GameSpot and USA Today wrote that experienced RTS players would find the strategic elements of the title shallow. The game sold one million units worldwide through March 2009, making it the best-selling console real-time strategy game to date.
Halo Wars was officially unveiled at the X06 Xbox show in 2006. Ensemble designed the game specifically for the Xbox 360 controller, in an attempt to circumvent issues present in previous console RTS. Ensemble was closed by Microsoft before the game's release, but Robot Entertainment was quickly founded by many of Ensemble's former employees; this new company continued to support Halo Wars with updates and downloadable content.
Halo Wars received generally positive reviews. Reviewers lauded the game's pre-rendered cinematics, attention to detail in replicating the Halo universe, and intuitive control scheme. Complaints against the game included the lack of an option to play as the Covenant faction in campaign mode, or to play as the Flood in any mode, as well as the lack of strategic options during play. Critics from GameSpot and USA Today wrote that experienced RTS players would find the strategic elements of the title shallow. The game sold one million units worldwide through March 2009, making it the best-selling console real-time strategy game to date.