Halo Killers

Lesson: More Gore

Teacher: Gears of War
Substitutes: None

Before we started researching this article, we decided to avoid changes that would betray the basic nature of Halo. And since Halo has always been about fast, frantic and harmless fun, wouldn't adding a butcher shop's worth of blood and guts be highly inappropriate?

Yeah, probably. We wouldn't expect the jaw-dropping, stomach-churning gorefest that Gears of War has trademarked. We don't want to see chunks of flesh stick to the screen and we certainly don't need to see Master Chief's intestines flying through the crisp Valhalla air. But Halo already wears an "M for Mature" rating - always has - so why is the violence restricted mostly to extreme rag doll physics?

Have some more fun with it... without going overboard. A decapitated head won't be that scary if it's still in its Spartan helmet, especially if it's rolling comically down the hillside into the river. Occasionally lose an arm or two - Jedi Knight was innocently lopping them off Stormtroopers ten years ago.

Okay, forget the sensationalism. Think about strategy. If Master Chief is superhuman, he should be able to lose an arm or leg and keep fighting. How awesome would it be to go on a killing spree as a slowed-down amputee with no ability to dual wield or throw grenades? It'd be the stuff of legends.

Or, if you want, just copy Gears. Because you have to admit, that screenshot above is pretty damn cool.