Halo 2600

[Corrderio]

Taken from Yahoo!

Microsoft's Halo video game franchise hasn't been around as long as Donkey Kong or Pac-Man, but it's already had a huge impact. That's thanks, in large part, to the franchise's sweet visuals and cutting-edge gameplay. One wonders if Halo would have been as big a success had it been released back in the early '80s, when the Atari 2600 was the game console of choice.

One guy decided to do more than just wonder. Ed Fries, former vice president of Microsoft’s Game Publishing Division, programmed an old-school version of the beloved game that features blocky graphics, deliberately basic sound effects, and simplified movements. And yet it's still recognizable as "Halo."

The game, called "Halo 2600," made its debut at the recent Classic Gaming Expo, where cartridges (nice!) of the game were given away to lucky recipients. But, thankfully, you needn't be one of the lucky few to experience this low-tech shooter. The good people at Code Mystics have hosted the game, and it is playable for free within your browser. You can check it out here.

Curious gamers eager to see what their favorite franchise is like in old-school form pushed web lookups on "halo 2600" up over 614% in one day. Related lookups on "play halo 2600" also roared to life. As it turns out, playing the game is quite straightforward. Use your arrow keys to move Master Chief and hit the space bar to shoot. Avoid the bad guys, and see how far you can get. What could be simpler?

The game can't match "Halo 3" for visual beauty, but it is instantly accessible and offers old-school gamers something very rare: an opportunity to play a favorite franchise in a way that's both new and old, both surreal and familar.

I've never played a Halo game since I'm not a huge FPS nut (TF2 was the first real FPS I've played since Agent Under Fire) however I can't resist a retro themed game.

URL:http://www.codemystics.com/halo2600/

[Chun Liroy]

Halo invented the atari.

[Corrderio]

Game isn't too bad, the only thing I don't like is you can't aim your gun. I can't remember the name of the game but there was an overhead shooter for the 2600 where the bullet would go in the direction you're moving.

[Ramor]

according to most halo players, halo was the first multiplayer fps and everything else copies it.

if the fanbase for halo didn't royally suck so much i'd love to play a lot more of the games (multiplayer anyway, singleplayer is fun)

it is pretty awesome though

[OWS_Tonx]

lol it's pretty fun. Love the theme song with just basic sounds

[SwaggerlikeKillquick]

if the fanbase for halo didn't royally suck so much i'd love to play a lot more of the games (multiplayer anyway, singleplayer is fun)

it is pretty awesome though

Halo 1 was the best console FPS and I still haven't played a console game to rival it. I would also say it's better multiplayer wise then 95% of PC shooters. (I've played way better single player games but Halo 1 was still hawt.)

I don't think I have ever hated a game based on the fan base lol but Aion came pretty close shit was filled with fags.