Halo: Zero

I saw over at Gamespot Xbox that a small, third party development group called Dobermann has created a 2D side scroller entitled Halo: Zero. Halo: Zero is a fan made game, so please note that it is not an official Halo product and has no relation with either Bungie or Microsoft.

The game is set just prior to Halo: Combat Evolved with the Covenant siege of Reach. The Master Chief is on the planet and is ordered to escape and ultimately get to the Pillar of Autumn. Along the way, the Chief will encounter familiar Covenant enemies, Marine friendlies, and human and alien weapons.

The Master Chief can move left and right, crouch, toggle between two weapons, throw Grenades, and even somewhat "zoom" with the Sniper Rifle. Oh, and you can melee with any weapon, just like in the regular Halo FPSes.

While the story isn't the strongest, it is loosly based on the novel Halo: The Fall of Reach, features many Halo sound effects, and actually features a lot of the music from Halo: Combat Evolved and the odd track from Halo 2. The graphics are excellent sprite fare, and even features interesting things like lense flare, shown right.

If you're looking for some classic, Super Nintendo Entertainment System styled fun wrapped in a Halo theme, then go download Halo: Zero. It's free, and most importantly, it's fun. This is a PC-only title, however the requirements aren't that high (OS is Windows 95 +), so you shouldn't have much trouble running it.