Microsoft knows which side its bread is buttered on and the constant condiment is Halo. This is just in time for xbox360
Halo
The Original Halo was the must-have title for X-Box owners, and console multiplayer aficionados everywhere. The story was not unique for a shooter but was compelling nonetheless. You were a survivor of an assault on an alien installation. Your ship was shot down; it is you, a few rag-tag survivors and your computerized cohort (Cortana) against a legion of different aliens with twists and turns that may end up costing you not only your own life, but the lives of billions.
Halo was the technical masterpiece that showed the world what the Xbox could do graphically. The single player experience was a marvel, the likes of which a console had never seen. With a full compliment of 16 players was where Halo broke loose into a legendary, multiplayer free-for-all. Halo instructed console players on the meaning of LAN parties, to the point of necessitating their complete participation.
Halo 2
Halo 2 took the solid gameplay of Halo and attached some additional morsels, deepened the multiplayer experience, and let you use that left hand for firing another weapon. The fact that Halo 2 set first-day sales records in the US should be no surprise. Regardless of retail success, the single-player experience left many players feeling hung out to dry. Many players found new life within the X-Box’s online multiplayer service: Live.
Halo 2 Map Pack
Because of the success of Halo 2 at retail, and the continued strength of its popularity online, a multiplayer map pack was released. This third Halo offering perpetuated the eternal round of the multiplayer support with nine additional maps. No additional story, no conclusion to Halo 2’s cliff-hanger ending, just nine maps and a video. Unfortunately, this title was further marginalized by the release of the maps online via Live. Thus, patient, Live-subscribed players could have the meaty content for free. For everyone else both offline and online, they plopped down $20 to keep the fight alive.
With the contents of the Halo 2 Map Pack already available on Live, this title is best recommended to offline multiplayer fans, or the precious few X-Box owners who have neither of the core Halo titles. Of course, if you are a player from another fold, be sure to grab this launch title when you pick up an xbox360 this holiday season.