Title: Halo Custom Edition
Developer: Bungie/Gearbox/Community
Platform: PC
Released: 2004
Played from: 2004-Present

Due to the nature of this game, this will not be a review so much as an annotated history of the game.

Background - 2003 - May 2004
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Halo PC was rushed to the store shelf because Gearbox had the wakeup call that they were nearly 2 years behind the Xbox release of Halo. So, Halo PC was released in September 2003 with the promise of a patch that would allow users to publish their own content. Many groups formed and began work on numerous projects, ranging from multiplayer maps to fully custom campaigns based on the Halo novels that had been released. However, after an extended period of silence, Gearbox announced that they were not releasing a patch or update, but a fully separate game that would only support multiplayer modes. Most of the groups disbanded immediately, and many more followed suit when word got out that CE players could not play on servers with--or even be seen by--PC players.

In May of 2004, Halo CE was released along with the separate HEK which allows players to build the actual maps--as long as the user had their own 3D modeling software, specifically the $5,000 3DStudios MAX.

Genesis and Golden Age - May - November 2004
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Understandably, very few people were initially equipped with the necessary tools to make maps until someone made a separate tool for the HEK that allowed models to be imported from the free Gmax. For about the first month, CE struggled to grow its user base, and the majority of the maps released were admittedly awful.

However, things began to turn around by June, as maps began to be released by skilled individuals, many of whom were building portfolios to use when applying for positions as professional map designers. This came to its zenith when the Halo 2 CE team announced that it was developing a map inspired by the Halo 2 E3 trailer, and would be releasing versions of the map with both Halo 1 and Halo 2 weapons and vehicles--big news, as Halo 2 was slated for a November release. When the classic version was released in July, CE regularly saw 300-400 players online at any given time, and multiple servers existed that provided 24/7 rotations of the best custom maps.

However, Gearbox had decided to focus on developing original games instead of simply porting existing games to the PC. Since CE was performing below expectations, they made an announcement: Get the average player count to at least 1,000 by September, or all support for the game would be dropped. Even though players tried to organize a single day in which all players would be online at the same time, the count never went much over 600. So, CE became officially unsupported.

Maps were still continually released throughout October, but the release of Halo 2 spelled certain doom for CE.

Steady decline - November 2004 - 2006
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Myself included, most CE players were only playing CE to pass the time until Halo 2 came out. When it did come out, it shattered first-day sales records for any game in entertainment history up to that point, and school truancy was at an all-time high.

After thoroughly playing Halo 2, I came back to CE to find out that it was a ghost town with very few servers or players. I returned on rare occasions for the next several months, especially when the H2CE team released their Halo 2 version of New Mombasa, as well as several other maps that had been a long time in the making.

During this time, map makers largely stopped caring about how well-designed their map was, and focused on cramming as much custom junk into their map as possible. Halo 2 themed maps were especially popular, with the three main powers being the Halo 2 CE team, Custom Mapping Team (CMT), and a third nameless team.

This time period also saw the rise in vehicle-only maps. Many were made that essentially consisted of an open map (some were as large as 5 km across) and populated with impossibly fast and overpowered vehicles.

Cult Game - 2006 - 2010
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This period in time is hard to pinpoint accurately, but I generally consider it to coincide with the rise of the CMT team. Around this time, player counts were dwindling until they held steady at approximately 150 to 200. H2CE released all of the maps they had been working on and then disbanded. Many of the most prominent developers threw in the towel and left to pursue bigger and better things. Those that remained focused on the development of new and more innovative content, which resulted in campaign maps being developed and eventually support for campaign mode being fully restored.

CMT asserted itself as a dominant force when it released its SPv1 campaign in 2006, which was a mod of nearly every weapon and vehicle in the campaign as well as various graphical enhancements and changes. Following this, they focused on creating Halo 3 content and incorporating it into numerous other maps released over the next few years.

Around this time, the vast majority of servers stopped hosting older custom maps, and shifted to classic maps, CMT maps, and the four most popular vehicle maps.

Paradigm Shift - 2010 - Present
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Eventually it became apparent that CE was dying as a multiplayer game. So, the focus switched from multiplayer to single player development. Innovative breakthroughs allowed modders to create their own cutscenes and import Halo 2 and 3 enemies into campaign maps realistically.

CMT undertook the biggest project that CE had yet seen for its SPv2 campaign - which not only added weapons, vehicles and enemies, but expanded each level to roughly twice its original size through the addition of several entirely custom segments. That is, until the team disbanded and released most of the levels in their incomplete state. SPv2 is completely abandoned, but the team has reassembled to release its first SPv3 map - which builds on the "Open Sauce" code library to incorporate better graphics, more advanced models, and various other goodies.

As of this writing, the multiplayer has withdrawn to about 200 players jammed in to about 15 servers, all of which are playing Blood Gulch. The biggest project on the horizon is Lumoria, a 2-part custom campaign that is pending the release of part 2 "any day now" for the last two months.

So, for newcomers to CE, it is important to know that despite the expansive legacy it left behind, there are precious few opportunities to re-live the glory days when players were faced with the difficult decision of *which* all-custom server to play on. You can still download all of the maps, but you are better off sticking to the single player maps.

Video Game: Halo

Title: Halo: Combat Evolved
Developer: Bungie
Platform: Xbox/PC
Released: 2001 (Xbox), 2003 (PC)
Played from: 2001- 2004, occasionally since


Overview
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This is probably one of the most well-known games that I will ever post about on here. And frankly if you have never heard of Halo, you are either 8 or are not a gamer.

That said, Halo is an amazing game... arguably the best FPS at the time of its release, and many would argue one of the best games overall. But, it is easy to forget just how revolutionary Halo was, so this review will focus on that.

First off, in 2001 the FPS genre was much different than it was today. There was Doom, Half-Life, Unreal... and that is about all worth mentioning. All of these games had extensive single player campaigns with a very sparse story. Gameplay consisted of a few short firefights, loads of puzzles, and a boss here and there. Halo breaks away from this to offer a game with nonstop action, a highly involved story that begins at the climax of a 25-year war, almost no key hunts, and no real "boss" fights. Halo was also the first to include a recharging shield (about half of your total health would automatically regenerate, which would not penalize players for making a large number of very minor mistakes.)

Also, in contrast to traditional FPS weapons, which would start you out with a weak weapon and gradually grant more powerful weapons until you had 10 or so, you can carry a maximum of two guns and 4 of both types of grenade. These weapons were meticulously balanced: No single weapon could ever become useless, and only the pistol was powerful enough to be useful in almost every situation.


Single Player
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Halo was released about a year before Xbox Live, so the campaign mode was the main focus. The story is engaging. The levels flow seamlessly between foot and vehicle fights. The enemies are realistic and fun to fight (Grunts and Jackals will panic and hide while Elites and Hunters will stand their ground with fanatic devotion, and the Flood will charge in a blind rage even after losing an arm.) There are literally dozens of easter eggs to go back and find, many of which require a significant amount of skill and creativity to even get to. And when you finish all 10 levels (which will take most people about 12-15 hours on the appropriate difficulty), there are four difficulty modes to go back and test your skills on.


Multiplayer
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As stated above, the original Halo was not Live compatible. Still, it supported a full multiplayer mode, and up to 16 players could compete when you hook up 4 Xboxes over LAN. Most of the levels were good, although only a few of them ever became popular, and Blood Gulch was the most popular by far, despite the fact that the Blue team inexplicably has a tactical advantage during CTF games. Still, the meticulous balancing that was present for the campaign still applies to the multiplayer, which mostly reduces the need to make a mad dash for the rocket launcher in order to avoid coming in last during a match.

When Gearbox ported Halo to the PC, they rightly guessed that the main draw would be the multiplayer. So, while they left the single player untouched except for some minor graphical tweaks, they added five new multiplayer maps (all of which support vehicles) as well as the flamethrower, fuel rod cannon, rocket warthog, and banshee. The new maps were well received, but most hardcore fans agree that the addition of new weapons and vehicles upset the balance of the game.

As of this writing, however, there are still active games on the PC version of Halo, and the Custom Edition (that warrants a separate entry by itself) still sees maps produced on a regular basis.


Final Thoughts
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Halo is an 11 year old game at this point, and strangers to the game will notice its age. It was produced on a rushed schedule and with a low budget. The result is a poorly written script (compared to the later games in the series, which used professional writers) and the last three levels of the game involve the player retracing his steps through levels he has already been through (Two Betrayals is Assault on the Control Room backwards, literally.) However, the game is just as fun today as it was 11 years ago, and the Anniversary edition is available for those who want to experience it for the first time with current-gen graphics.

Video Game: Sonic Adventure

Title: Sonic Adventure
Publisher: Sega/Sonic Team
Platform: Dreamcast
Released: 1999
Played from: 2000-2003, occasionally since

Yes, I loved Rogue Squadron. But Sonic Adventure was my first video game obsession. It is, in my mind, the defining line between "Classic" and "Modern" games.

Overview
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Eggman is up to his antics once again with over-sized death machines and releases an ancient force to rain destruction down on the world etc. It's a Sonic game, so you know what you are getting into. Melodrama, high-speed platforming, and foiling of evil plots to save the world.

Similar to older games such as Sonic & Knuckles, you have the opportunity to play through the same story six different times with six different characters. The game is divided into three different adventure fields (large open areas with no objective except to find the next level/trigger for the story) and 11 levels, which each character can get into between 4 and 10 of. Each character has different objectives:
Sonic: Get to the end as fast as possible
Tails: Race against Sonic to the end... as fast as possible
Knuckles: Find 3 emerald shards in each level
Amy: Run away from an invincible robot
E-101 Gamma: Get to the end under the time limit and destroy as much as possible to increase your time
Big: Catch your frog (fishing game)

So, Sonic, Knuckles, and Gamma have interesting levels, and the rest of the characters are literally just filler. The developers were obviously under severe time constraints, so most of the other characters are simply playing in smaller sub-sections of Sonic's levels. The only level that Sonic cannot get into is Hot Shelter, which Amy plays in its entirety.

 Fortunately, to give you some more to do, you have your very own Chao (small pet things) garden in each adventure field. Since virtual pets were a big fad around this time, that is exactly what the Chao gardens are: Manage your Chao's emotions and upload it into a VMU to play a mini game to help it level up. It is a rewarding feature if you like that sort of thing, but most gamers will simply pass it by.


Graphics
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Okay, so graphics have come a long way since 1999. Still, the Dreamcast is technically in the same console generation as the PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube, so the graphics are roughly on par with those systems. Although many ports from the PS and N64 are admittedly poor in the graphics department, Dreamcast-exclusive games are generally of good quality. Sonic Adventure is very clear graphically with very few jagged polygons, smooth 3D animations, and even lip-synching (if you're playing in Japanese). This game blows its contemporaries out of the water. However, the observant gamer will notice that the development time constraints meant that you are literally playing in a box for the most part. If you can manage to get out of the levels (more on that later) you will notice that there is literally nothing placed outside of the level to give it a more authentic look and feel.


Sound
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Classic Sonic sounds are back (reminiscent of the 16-bit era in most cases) along with a generally forgettable soundtrack of hard rock with poorly written lyrics about believing in yourself. Fortunately, most of the actual levels have instrumental tracks that fit the level well. Just don't listen to the end credits.


Replay value
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At its face, Sonic Adventure offers a little to go back for. Every character's level and most mini games give you the chance to earn an Emblem for completion. All levels have 3 tasks to be completed for an emblem, mini games have 2, and most adventure fields have a few hidden ones for the player to find. However, there is nothing to show for it once you do have all 130 emblems, which frankly stinks.

There is, however, one caveat to this: the game is full of bugs and glitches. Normally, a glitch is a shortcoming that impairs the playability of the game, but in the case of Sonic Adventure, it actually enhances the game's playability. Let me explain.

As discussed above, every level is the same for every character. Since some characters have unique abilities (Sonic can dash along a line of rings, Tails can fly straight up, Knuckles can climb up walls and glide at a slightly downward angle), they have exclusive access to certain parts of adventure fields and levels. Certain scripted events also keep characters out of areas they aren't supposed to be in, usually using a locked door or other obstacle. However, the rushed development time and the underlying identical level geometry used for every level and adventure field means that the inaccessible area still exists for every character, even if it is not accessible through conventional means. This includes "bumpers" as well--invisible walls that will teleport a character into a given stage.

Also, thanks to the rushed development time, the level geometry is literally FILLED with holes. The lack of a true physics engine means that if you jump your character at these holes long enough, sooner or later you might get lucky and get them through.

So what does this mean? Find a hole in the geometry, assault it relentlessly in just the right way, and DING!--you have just gained access to a level that not even the developers meant for you to get into. This can be done to get access to about 10 new levels as well as a number of sections of levels the character is not normally supposed to get in to. For a more detailed guide on how to do this:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/dreamcast/198694-sonic-adventure/faqs/9257


Closing thoughts
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This is a solid game, although my review of it is undoubtedly heavily biased based on how much I loved it when I was 11. There are better games out there, and I even thought that the story was childish when I was in elementary school. That said, it is head-and-shoulders above any Sonic game released since the demise of the Dreamcast. It is certainly worth a play-through, but not necessarily worthy of the attention I gave it all those years ago.