Halo (series)

Guide Note

Halo is a science-fiction series of first-person shooter video games for the Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles, as well as related media.

Fast Facts

1. Created by Bungie Studios
2. Debuted: November 15th, 2001
3. ESRB Rating: Mature
4. Genre: First Person Shooter / Multiplayer
5. Platform: Xbox, Xbox 360, PC, Mac
6. Books: Five Novels, Graphic Novel

The Halo series follows the "Master Chief", an enhanced human super-soldier equipped with technologically-advanced battle armor and his artificial intelligence (AI) partner, "Cortana". The Master Chief is in a fight against the Covenant, which is a theocratic alliance of alien races in the distant future. The Covenant is in the middle of a civil war, along with a war against Earth. The Master Chief is fighting to stop the Covenant from activating the Halo rings, which once activated will destroy all of mankind.

The Halo series was influenced by a number of books, including, The Culture by Ian M. Banks and Ringworld by Larry Niven. Critics have concluded that many of the characters in these series resemble the characters within the Halo series.

With the popularity of the Halo series, a large amount of merchandise has been created around the characters, including:

1. Five best-selling novels
2. Two series of graphic novels
3. Action figures
4. Mountain Dew
5. Halo ActionClix