I should start by saying that I’m no fan of FPS games on consoles. It just seems awkward. A mouse and keyboard seem so much more inviting than a controller for all of that twitch-response head-shotting and grenade tossing. This fact has kept me from playing some (and only a few) of the best FPS games when they were originally released.
I didn’t play the original Halo until it was released for PC, and the same for it’s sequel, Halo 2. As a matter of fact, I just finished Halo 2 yesterday. I really wanted to play them sooner, but could not stand the thought of oafishly trying to turn and aim with buttons. Oh well, that isn’t what this is about.
Halo 2 was an interesting game in the sense that we were able to see the Covenant culture, both political and religious. We saw an alien race whose way of life revolved around a very sincere belief system. Everything about the Covenant was about devotion, obedience, and purpose to their faith. Alternatively, the humans were generally portrayed as eager and zealous distributors of ass-kicking and justice… but without any mention of religious faith at all.
Now, I’m not saying that I would have wanted it to be a game about “This Faith” vs. “That Religion”. That would have been ultimately displeasing. I do find it interesting that, with all of the emphasis placed on Covenant religion, no emphasis was placed on the humans having any religion at all.
As it turns out, the enemy of the game (the Covenant) were misguided and lied to by their prophets, and were unknowingly seeking to destroy all life in the universe. The rational race (the humans) succeed in thwarting these plans, and make some of the Covenant understand they were lied to. A portion of the covenant refused to believe the truth, and still intend to carry out their plans (or so I assume, I know nothing of what happens in Halo 3).
I’m reminded of Final Fantasy Tactics for the PSX. Now THAT was a game that criticized religion.
I don’t know. Perhaps I’m just getting a little too serious about a video game. Still, it was a great game with a thoughtful story. I can’t wait for Halo 3 to, sometime in the next 5 years, release for PC. Or, maybe I pony up 80 bucks for that converter that allows mouse and keyboard on the Xbox 360.
