Halo reaches out

By the time you read this, Halo: Reach would possibly have already sold a zillion copies, living up to its billing as arguably the most anticipated game in history (although there's one such game every year). It made a staggering $200 million on the day of its release (all the more impressive for a game that's available only on one platform), and looks poised to shatter records during the coming holiday season.

Halo can pretty much be looked at as a sort of poster-child for how major videogames are marketed today-Microsoft has traditionally put its considerable resources behind the franchise from when it was originally launched in 2001. Halo 2 and Halo 3 were also launched with innovative marketing campaigns and, in the case of Halo 3, a mainstream mass media advertising campaign that was unprecedented in scale for a videogame. Microsoft realised that it needed to expand the market for its XBox console by introducing it to large numbers of new customers, and in the Halo franchise, the company knew that it was sitting on a gold mine.

While Halo and Halo 2 were also record-breaking titles in terms of sales, with the launch of Halo 3, things were taken to a new level altogether. In many ways, it was the Halo 3 launch that laid down the template for the even bigger campaign for Halo: Reach. Live action commercials (directed by leading filmmakers) on mainstream TV, launch parties all over the world (we even had one in India), superb merchandise (including a mouth-watering range of high end action figures by Todd McFarlane) -Microsoft cranked things all the way up to 'Legendary' for Halo 3. The result? Halo 3 turned out to be the biggest entertainment launch ever, taking in $300 million in its first week, more than Spider-Man 3 or Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows.

However, Halo: Reach is even bigger than its mighty predecessor. The marketing budget for Reach (on which Microsoft has not yet released any actual official figures), promises to top even its predecessor Halo 3's gigantic $6.5 million. That's absolutely huge for a videogame, but it's only to be expected for what continues to be one of the most durable and profitable franchises in gaming-Halo games have sold over 34 million copies worldwide since launch. The campaign has been simply exemplary in terms of magnitude and quality.

The trailer for Halo: Reach features the game's protagonist, the Spartan named Noble 6, joining the team just as they set off to fight the Covenant forces that have just invaded the planet of Reach.

Developer Bungie has always told stories well (though people sometimes question the strength of the story, they can't fault the telling) and the build-up to Reach had fans slavering in anticipation. They were being promised the most ambitious, grandest, most epic Halo yet.

In addition to the usual game trailers, Microsoft produced a series of live action commercials for the game, which depict life on Reach before the Covenant arrive with their uber-cool plasma rifles and energy swords. Ordinary citizens have never been shown in the Halo games-they all take place on deserted, semi-destroyed warzones-and these short films are a great way to connect gamers with the Halo universe, and establish it as a real place, with real, ordinary people who are affected by the raging conflict. Simply looking at a couple arguing, and a working mother taking leave of her reluctant husband and young son to go off on a business trip can help make the story of Reach a little more poignant-providing context to the epic battles that occur in the actual game. The slogans 'Remember when there was a tomorrow', 'Remember where it all began' and 'Remember Reach' tied the entire campaign together-reminding people that the Covenant invasion of Reach is what sets in motion the entire sequence of events that culminate in Halo 3.

Microsoft even set up a gigantic robot arm at a secret location, that created a 'light-painting sculpture of Noble Team'-which was collaboratively created by millions of users controlling the arm through the Net. This kind of high-profile, over-the-top and cutting edge promotion has always been a hallmark of Halo marketing campaigns, both Halo 2 and Halo 3 launches featured superbly crafted ARGs (alternate reality games) where users would visit dozens of ordinary looking websites and unravel mysteries leading up to information about the games. The award winning 'I love bees' ARG that launched Halo 2 is remembered fondly by fans to this day.

Microsoft also tied up with PepsiCo to feature Halo themed packaging for Mountain Dew and Doritos, as well as announced a partnership with the UFC for integrated marketing and sponsorship deals- we'd be safe in assuming that millions of people all over the world had no problem 'Remembering Reach' in the days leading up to the launch.

True Halo faithful could buy Special and Legendary editions of the game, which came in special packaging and contained all kinds of extra goodies, ranging from exclusive downloadable in-game content, collectibles and even a hand-crafted statue featuring the game's protagonists, Noble Team.

High-profile marketing campaigns for games such as the one for Halo: Reach serve the dual purpose of promoting the game as well as taking one more step towards moving videogames into the mainstream.

If you were in the United States or Europe, there was no way that you could avoid seeing images of Halo's characters and world as you went about your daily life. The game's launch was covered in the mainstream in ways never seen before-dailies, weeklies and TV channels all covered the launch with great interest.

Halo: Reach is a landmark event in the steady march of videogames into mainstream public consciousness. The kind of impact it's had is considerable- even in an outlier market like India the lavish launch party was absolutely packed, and all Special and Legendary editions were sold out within days of release. And with Microsoft upping the ante in this fashion, the competition is bound to respond.

Halo is an important franchise in many, many ways, but when it comes to defining how videogames are marketed in the modern era, it could arguably be the most influential game series ever.

Reviews
High flying dogfight

Tom Clancy's HawX 2 is a jet fighter simulation game that gives you a chance to fly across town in some cool fighter planes. You belong to the team of top fighter pilots-picked up from US, UK and Russia-to take on rebels in the middle-east. The cut scenes are watchable, but game graphics made up for this. The single player mode had plenty of missions and most of them were difficult. Aerial dogfights were fun but a few were too dogged for breakthroughs. Multiplayer mode wasn't bad either. For each level of XP gained, we unlocked some cool new planes. But be warned, after a while the story seemed monotonous and at times we didn't know where we were headed to. What also took the fun out of the game were unexpected plane crashes.

Bag it or junk it?
Play if you like flight simulators.

The dead will rise again
Playing zombie games has always been fun, but none comes close to Dead Rising 2. Chuck Green makes a comeback with this new fun-filled zombie thrasher. The game begins at a crawling pace, but picks up midway. The story revolves around Chuck and his daughter. She has been bitten by a zombie and needs medication-Zomberex- every 24 hours to survive. They are stuck in a safe haven in a casino-mall where swarms of zombies are loose. With help three days away, they have to survive by using their wits. Almost every object in the game can be used as weapon. You can use a combination of objects as weapons as well. For instance, you can drive through the mob of zombies using a bike with chains and run over them. You can also change the clothes of your character from the mall shops. Everything from boxer shorts to spandex is available. Chuck can use bare hands to take down a flock of zombies and as the level goes up, he acquires new powerful moves. There were minor action and movement glitches but they can be overlooked. The only major drawback is the extremely long load times and the cut scenes. Otherwise, it's smooth sailing as far as zombie slaughterings go.

Bag it or junk it?
Boring initially, the real action comes a little later.

Ready for the race
The F1 season might be coming to an end, but you still have something to look forward to. Yes, we are talking about the F1 2010 game which has just been released by Codemasters on various platforms. We got our hands on the PC version. The sheer thought of riding the current F1 cars, what if only in the virtual world, got our pulse racing. And the experience in itself was amazing. The game graphics are spectacular. Every little detail, right from the cars to the tracks, has been taken care of. If you are new to racing, you need not worry. The game offers a lot of assists that will help you get the fastest lap times without lifting your foot off the throttle. The must-play is the Single player mode which can prove addictive. There are 19 tracks for practice. Tracks with all the sponsors, teams, cars and drivers from the current season are featured. It was nice to come across Karun Chandok too. Hopefully, the next edition will have an Indian track.

Bag it or junk it?
A must-play if not a musthave for speed addicts.

Reach beyond limits
The awesome Master Chief is missing from action in this prequel version of the ever-popular Halo series, but the just launched Halo: Reach remains eminently playable. Ever since its launch in the year 2000, Halo has come a long way. Today on the Xbox 360 platform the graphics look more sophisticated, the game physics have evolved, as has the sound. The first noticeable thing is the smooth menu. Everything is detailed. Besides displaying all the game options, it also displays online rankings. You can even browse through your friends' character pages, see their achievements and more. The single player missions are worth every single penny spent. The story takes you to the time when Earth was a peaceful place and there were no aliens. However, Earth doesn't remain so for long. The aliens start invading human habitations. You play a new recruit in the Noble Team,which sets out to get rid of the foreigners. The fights are intense and you never get a chance to sit back and relax. Even if you get a breather in between, you can never be too careful as a foe is always round the corner. You can get your hands on a range of crazy guns, including a high zoom sniper rifle. Riding the Warthog with a rocket launcher is fun, and it gets much better when you get to man the turret on the war vehicle. A space mission is also included in the game and this can entangle you in a dogfight with invading ships.

The online play is quite enjoyable as well. A number of modes, including an expansive firefight mode, make sure that the fun never ends. Even if you have played the single player mode twice, you can join an online contest or make one of your own in a jiffy. All you need is a good Internet connection, preferably with a 1 MBPS speed. Halo: Reach is an excellent prequel to Halo and we are sure you will love showing the aliens who's boss.

Bag it or junk it?
If you found the earlier Halo versions engrossing, you'll definitely love this one.

This story is from the November 2010 edition of Gadgets and Gizmos. Subscribe to the magazine for the Print Copy or iPad.