Halo: Reach, one of the most anticipated games of the year, was finally released on September 20th. By the 21st, the game had already made $200 million worldwide.
In a year that suffered weak video game sales, Halo: Reach was the first release that genuinely reversed the trend. Experts now believe that core titles just might perform strongly during the holidays.
But back to Halo: Reach. While the game’s single player campaign is certainly excellent, it’s always been Halo’s multiplayer mode that’s made the franchise immensely successful. While the ability to kick an alien’s ass with a laser gun is by no means a bad thing, doing that to another player is simply more satisfying.
Of course, you know all of that. But the big question now is how Halo: Reach will affect the professional gaming circuit. Major League Gaming (MLG), the leader in pro gaming, first held championships for Halo: Combat Evolved in 2004. In 2005, it was Halo 2, while 2008 saw the introduction of the first Halo 3 championship, which ran until 2010.
The transition from an old game to a new one is always tricky, especially when it’s time to decide if a game is fit for the pro circuit. In competitive play, the smallest aspects of a game will decide how a player performs, such as weapon balancing, map design, glitches and more.
For those who play for fun like I do, this might not mean much. But gamers who play for thousands will exploit each of these factors, and the smallest design flaw could decide if Halo: Reach becomes the next MLG attraction or not.
