Angry that Microsoft laid off most of the Halo people because it wants to make it more like Call of Duty? Well, the good news is you can now play the original Halo at its best, via browser, and with 100 players at the same time.
Yes, though all news regarding Halo‘s recent life at the hands of Microsoft will paint a mega dark picture, the opposite is true about Halo in the hands of fans. Recently, one brave fan made Halo: Combat Evolved playable in a browser, with never-before-seen Internet capabilities.
A few days ago, we talked about this open version of Halo that fit hundreds of players into a lobby. The idea seemed cool, especially after all the more modern Halo games kept on dropping more and more of the game’s beloved online options, but we feared that Microsoft would shut it down. Not only did Open Halo somehow survive, but it’s even thriving. But don’t just blindly believe my words; look at this beautiful captured footage, and please tell me how quickly you considered putting this article away to just go experience pure, chaotic Halo fun once again.
Welcome back. There are many things of note here. First off, that’s a lot of people; more than you get even on modern shooters that would truly benefit from that sort of scale. Secondly, and this is not just the nostalgic Breaking Benjamin effect, they look like they’re having the time of their life, even if the footage is extremely chaotic—or perhaps because of that. When was the last time you saw gamers actually having that much fun with a game, especially one many thought dead?
At this point, this isn’t just about Halo, but about how many extraordinarily fun multiplayer games got killed off just because company execs really felt the need to push another product out, oftentimes something way less accomplished, fun, and polished than what we already had. Truly fun games rarely ever die, but they sure do seem to get put down a lot.
It’s sad but hilarious that Microsoft’s decision-making had nothing to do with the best Halo moment in a decade. Microsoft is either unaware that this is taking place, doesn’t care, or is still hatching a plan to take something so cool away from players in the most malicious way they can concoct.
This sweet open version of Halo: Combat Evolved might have to go away soon, so at least let it serve as a reminder of what happens when you let a great product flourish in the hands of people who will always care about it.
