Halo is back!
One of the most iconic shooting franchises of the 21st century is getting a new game - though it’s not in a form you might have expected… (Sadly, no pool tables are involved!)
Halo: Fireteam Raven is the series’ first arcade game, and allows up to four players to take on the role of an iconic ODST team (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, for those of you who don’t know everything about Halo). Although the game is multiplayer, it’s a co-operative rather than competitive game, so you and up to three friends will be taking on hordes of Covenant forces as well as the dreaded Flood. Story-wise the game takes place at the same time as the original Halo: Combat Evolved, so you'll be fighting alongside Master Chief on the Pillar of Autumn and the ringworld from the first game, among other locations.
The most appealing part of this new game is the jaw-dropping technology involved. The incredible 130-inch screen (yes, you read that right) with 4K resolution and 5.1 surround sound means Halo fans will be immersed in a way that most have only dreamed of before now. Even if you’ve got your Xbox One connected to a 130-inch television at home (and who has that, honestly?), this machine has four turret-mounted machine guns with seats, which means this is going to be an experience you just can’t get with an Xbox controller. Xbox gamers will be particularly happy to link their Xbox Live accounts via Halo Waypoint and Fireteam Raven's scanner, earning them exclusive stats and rewards.
While we had a new spin-off entry in the franchise just last year - Halo Wars 2 - it’s now been nearly three years since the release of Halo 5: Guardians, so fans are understandably keen for a new Halo game with shooting action rather than the strategic management we saw in Halo Wars 2. While it won't be moving the story forward in the same way as Halo 6 inevitably will, Halo: Fireteam Raven looks like it might still provide an essential Halo experience for all fans.
Halo: Fireteam Raven has been in development for several years, with Raw Thrills and Play Mechanix working in collaboration with 343 Industries, who have been in charge of the franchise since taking over from Bungie in 2011. Raw Thrills are one of the biggest players in keeping arcades vibrant and interesting, by creating brilliant new machines with a flair for the huge and incredible - including the remade Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles four-player brawler (just like you may have seen in the 90s, but without chewing gum stuck to the underside), the massive shooting game based on The Walking Dead franchise, and the enormous Space Invaders Frenzy.
For fans of classic shooting games, the most exciting part of this new announcement is the involvement of legend Eugene Jarvis, designer of some of the most iconic video games in history including Defender, Robotron: 2084 and Smash TV, and programmer of pinball machines for both Atari and Williams. Jarvis founded Raw Thrills in 2001 - coincidentally, the year that Halo: Combat Evolved was released - and since then they have developed a fantastic reputation for producing licensed arcade games, so we have high expectations from Halo: FR (as we’re now calling it).
We’re tremendously excited for this new Halo game - the trailer shows off a variety of familiar weapons and enemies from the franchise, including what looks like a high-speed driving section in Warthog jeeps with mounted guns, and we spotted a fight against Hunters where the players are all armed only with needlers. We suspect you’ll need a spare pair of trousers for that part.
We don’t yet have any word on a UK release for Halo: Fireteam Raven; it’s only been confirmed as an exclusive for Dave and Buster’s in the United States and Canada this summer, with other US arcades getting their hands on it “later this year”. Rest assured that when we do get a chance to play it we’ll be forming an ODST team here at Home Leisure Direct, grabbing our Battle Rifles and Energy Swords, and taking on what looks like it could be the most immersive and impressive Halo game to date.
Update:
Halo 6 has now been revealed at Microsoft's E3 press briefing (though it's called Halo: Infinite), and Halo fans are abuzz with excitement. More exciting than that, however: we can now offer this magnificent Halo arcade machine for home purchase! If you're looking to grab the ultimate Halo experience for yourself you can check out our listing here.
Written By: Dave Morgan