In the videogame industry, games published for consoles seem to be characterized by when they were developed and produced. The theory goes that first generation games don't take full advantage of the system's hardware, because developers are still learning how to make full use of the graphics capabilities and horsepower that's available. For the most part, this theory is true: many second- or third-generation games will look better and play much more smoothly than ones published to meet the console's launch date.Then we come to an anamoly in the data: the single most popular disc for the Xbox console - "Halo: Combat Evolved" - is the game to own. It's consistently received glowing reviews for its graphics, gameplay and multiplayer capabilities. It also falls into the category of "first-generation game"; judging from Dean Takahashi's book, "Opening the Xbox", Jason Jones and the Bungie team had to rush the game out of the gate for the November 15, 2001 launch of the console. Although it was mentioned that at one point there had been over 10,000 bugs in Halo's code, it was released to manufacturing in a state where it was relatively stable. With a rushed timeline like this, one would expect some significant bugs in the game: even comparable to the show-stoppers found in "Enter the Matrix."
Halo certainly does not feel like a first-generation game, however. Even when comparing third-generation games with the ability to be updated, such as the Microsoft Game Studios-branded MechAssault, Halo's user interface comes out on top: it doesn't take a long time to start any game mode. In contrast, System Link (local area network) games of MechAssault can take up to a full minute to display a list of hosts, even when it only consists of one Xbox. During this time, the interface is unresponsive to user commands. Halo's only user interface delay is when rapidly selecting multiplayer levels; during this time the levels are being copied from the DVD to the Xbox cache partition. At most, after this process is complete, it takes Halo five seconds to initiate the game.Subtle details in the user interface show just how much artwork and planning went into the main menus. The Xbox console itself is so deeply ingrained in the background that its only truly obvious reference is when saving profiles and gametypes: please don't turn off your Xbox console. Multiplayer menus feature blue-curved TV's and consoles, along with similarly-etched outlines of controllers.
In short, Halo was, is, and continues to be ahead of its time. The "Halo control style settings" that gamers will colloquially refer to have been duplicated by nearly every developer. Informally, Halo has ceased to have been ranked as merely a game, due to its ever-present placement in the disc drives of Xboxes around the world. The fact that it shipped with decent local area network support makes it an instinctive choice for gaming parties. After all, console LAN parties were something that Halo specifically popularized. Halo continues to be the first-person shooter of choice for such events.All of this comes down to the user interface. The fact that a host Xbox can start a game in only ten seconds makes setting up a quick game possible. And at the same time, two-hour Capture the Flag matches can be initiated with the same process and grace of changing the level.
People like Dan Chosich, in a way, have given us a sneak preview of what the Halo 2 user interface should ideally be. In the movie "Halo50K Framework", some creative video editing shows us moving preview pictures of multiplayer levels. A few enhancements such as that would go a long way, ensuring that Halo 2's user interface keeps a similar, usable feel. Why change something that works perfectly, especially when it's better than everything else? If there's one thing in Halo 2 that Bungie carries over from Halo: Combat Evolved, it should be the snappy, responsive, "do-what-you're-told" user interface.
