This holiday season comes with a cavalcade of new releases from the virtual entertainment industry. From new consoles to the latest installments of favorite series, one thing is certain about the winter of 2012: it is all about the video games. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or “E3” convention, held in early June in Los Angeles, the world was given a sneak peek into what is to come as the year winds down. Anticipation is growing the most for Halo 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Due to the close release dates between the two games, many fans are beginning to speculate as to whether or not it will turn into a battle of the shooter games.
“There has always been a debate between which one is better, Call of Duty or Halo,” senior William Hulse said. “There always has been and there always will be.”
The Call of Duty series has already earned the title of the bestselling game series in history on the Xbox 360. This comes as no surprise, seeing as this addition will mark the ninth installment to franchise while this is only Halo‘s seventh.
“I’m excited to see what happens with Halo 4,” senior Brice Riddell said. “With the ending Bungie had put in place for Halo 3 it’ll be interesting to see where Master Chief will go from the destroyed frigate.”
The new game is being developed by 343 Industries, a subsidiary of Microsoft Studios, after Bungie Inc., the original developer, decided to drop the series from its label. Halo 4 will also be the first game of a new trilogy by 343, aptly called the “Reclaimer Trilogy.” The release goes global tonight at midnight and students are ready for the lines and wait at their local video game retail store. Fortunately, some stores, such as GameStop, have events planned to ease the pain of waiting.
“Unlike some of my friends, I am really not in the mood to wait in line and not get home until two in the morning just for a video game,” Hulse said. “But I’ll definitely go either in the morning before or right after school tomorrow to get it. I just hope my friends don’t spoil the story for me in the meantime.”
The threat of spoilers has been a concern for a lot of gamers. Parts of Halo 4’s plot have already been leaked online for weeks, which although tempting for most, leaves fans on their guard against those who try to ruin the story. According to Imagine Games Network (IGN), the best way to avoid the secret-spillers is to stay away from message boards, Twitter feeds and YouTube videos that may contain content that will give away the game’s campaign.
“Even though I really like Halo, I think Call of Duty will perform better just because of the reality it has to it,” Riddell said. “Soldiers today are not fighting aliens from other galaxies in spacecraft. With CoD, you actually have that sense of real military combat, which is cool for people like me who actually want to get involved in that field.”
Not very much is known about the role-playing-game fan favorite whose release comes in two weeks on Nov. 18. What has been announced, though, is that the game will follow two story lines, one taking place during the 70s and 80s and the other in 2025. Both have to deal with the protagonist from the original Black Ops game from 2010, Alex Mason, and will have branching story lines that will affect how the game progresses and ends due to the choices players make.
“It will be cool to see what happens with Mason,” Riddell said. “When we last left him he was revealed to be a brainwashed Soviet sleeper cell, so I am really excited to find out what goes on with him and his son who is supposed to be the focus of the 2025 storyline.”
For many, a lot of what makes the game what it is, is its multiplayer feature. Call of Duty will be resurrecting its ever famous Zombies mode which was absent in 2011’s Modern Warfare 3 while Halo adds a new story-driven co-op mode called “Spartan Ops.”
“It really comes down to replay ability,” Hulse said. “A game is not worth the investment of 60 dollars if it doesn’t have that unique new experience that keeps you wanting to come back for more. I think both of them have that to offer. So let the spending on games begin.”
