Kill them all or RUN LIKE HELL!
HALO log:
You might not think that a FPS would require a lot of strategy. Often, these games can be quite linear and have limited options available to complete a goal, and I can’t say that HALO doesn’t feel this way at times. But rather than a simple “blast everything!” approach (which you can try, and often die trying), HALO requires (at the higher difficulty levels) the player to conserve ammo and methodically plan attack approaches and use of weapons.
As I played in the role of Master Chief and understanding that he doesn’t (I didn’t) have stealth abilites, I had to plan ways to get to the next goal by killing just about everything in my path. For example, towards the end of the game there is a large skirmish between Covenant forces and the Flood. The check points (save points) in this area are far apart, requiring you to make it thru as long as 30+ minutes to the next save point. Sometimes it was just luck, many more times skill, that eventually got me thru, but the problem was that I was to immersed in the game world. I was playing as though my life was at risk. I couldn’t risk dying or getting to injured to complete the next level. After playing thru the game the first time, immersed in the role, I got frustrated once again by this section. After several attempts, I decided on a new tactic–run like hell!
I decided to sneak around the perimeter of the valley while the Convenant were distracted by the Flood and make a run for the Banshees (the small aircraft I needed to steal). After a few tries it worked. I didn’t need to expend mounds of ammo to kill everything, I just needed to not play as a “real” MAster Chief. I played it as though it were a game without any risk to my “real” person.
Sure it was cool to complete this task without all the work, but, on the other hand, it’s more satisfying to defeat the enemy (an big achievement); also, I like being immersed in the character. It makes it more real.
