It's a different take on the concept of Co-Op Casual Friday today. One of the goals of this series is to discuss kid-friendly games. Halo may not be the greatest choice for young kids, but it is definitely appealing to my own ten year old son. I wrote about his love for Halo in a previous article, but much has changed since then. We'll take a look at my family's history with Halo, and how it has become a meaningful experience for us. Forgive me if I sound like a "proud poppa", but... well, I am!
In the two plus years since I wrote the original article, my son has grown up quite a bit. There is a big difference between a seven year old boy and a ten year old young man. Early on in our Halo career, Connor was willing to just watch his big brother and I play Halo 3 together, or sit on my lap as I played Halo Wars. But as his older sibling turned sixteen, and became more and more involved in school functions and texting girls, Connor eventually took over as my primary co-op partner.
This means Connor plays a lot of Halo with me, as it is our FPS series of choice. I realize that having a kid his age playing an M-rated game could be interpreted as bad parenting. My wife and I are generally very conservative in our expectations for what types of movies and TV shows our kids watch. Playing a very violent game where soldiers are killed left and right is not the typical fare we approve of.
We make exceptions for Halo games for several reasons. The fact that the player is fighting against aliens of various races is perhaps the strongest reason why we consider it acceptable. Shooting a wicked-looking brute with exploding purple shards fired from an unearthly weapon is far different than sniping a human enemy in Call of Duty, for instance. The Halo franchise is futuristic science-fiction, which deliniates it even more clearly as a fantastical game, not a genuine combat simulation.
The fact that I am always playing with him, closely monitoring the experience, is another reason why we allow Connor to play. The storyline itself provides talking points about many issues, particularly the notions of sacrifice, helping others, and teamwork. In our opinion, Halo is not objectionable for a well-adjusted, mature child under close parental supervision. Other parents may disagree, of course, but for us, the good outweighs the bad by a large margin.
After becoming hooked on Halo after playing Halo 3 and Halo Wars, we were extremely excited about the release of Halo 3: ODST. We had watched previews, viewed trailers repeatedly, and it was definitely a "release day" purchase for us. We decided that the deal was the best at Toys R Us, which was offering a store credit and, best of all, a free Rookie action figure! Alas, the Rookies were all sold out by the time we arrived at school. Connor was crushed, but the whims of marketing were in our favor, and we took advantage of a sale on Halo Mega Bloks to heal his wounded heart. We walked out of the store with a copy of ODST and an armload of tiny plastic Spartans and adorable Coventant troops.
ODST was the first Halo game that Connor and I played through together from start to finish. We had an amazing time playing, sitting on the couch next to each other for many hours. Though some lamented the outdated graphics engine, I still think ODST has the best storyline in the series, and of course the addition of Firefight gave it some serious legs. Connor was a great partner, and easily held his own as we played through on normal difficulty.
It seemed like each trip to the store brought more Mega Bloks sets into our house. For months, tiny plasma rifles, backpacks, and other accessories were strewn through the house, which drove my wife nuts. Adding to the Halo fervor was the release of Halo Legends. Connor watched his favorite stories from that anthology over and over again. His favorite was The Package, which featured his idol, Master Chief. Since we had never played the first two games in the franchise, watching the movie really filled in the blanks for us, adding to our enjoyment of the games. This lead us to playing through most of the first Halo, though we stopped when the HD remake rumors sprang up.
But the best Halo experience of all came last fall with the release of Halo Reach. We marked the release day on the calendar, counting down the days. Nick surprised us both when he sent us a copy of the Legendary Edition; my jaw dropped when we opened it, and Connor freaked out and ran around the house in glee. After a few hours of playing, it was clear that Master Chief was no longer the greatest Spartan ever; instead, Noble Six, who didn't have the advantage of scientific augmentation, was as cool as cool could be.
Though Reach's story was a flashback, as far as the overall mythos was concerned, it was extremely enjoyable for us, with many highly cinematic "did you see that?" moments. Connor made comparisions between Noble Team and the Avengers or the Justice League, high praise indeed. But it was the sacrifices of the team members that had the greatest effect on Connor. In the car, over dinner, or even tucking him into bed, he asked questions over and over. He was learning that, to quote another sci-fi franchise, "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few". This was a hard truth, but important for him to learn. He was making connections to what he saw on the news, or heard in the pulpit at church.
This past week was the last at school for my kids, and as it typically the case, Connor came home loaded up with all sorts of completed work. Amid the stacks of fairy tale stories and watercolor monkeys, one assignment in particular caught my eye. I asked him about it, and he told me the teacher asked them to write about an experience in their life, something that was a good memory. Here is the text of his paper, along with the accompanying illustration.
Above Reach
by Connor
What would you feel like if you were in a spaceship fighting evil alien spaceships? Would you feel lke sweet? You have to protect a spaceheadquarters and all the defenced power has 0 percent power. You have machine guns and missle launcher, shields on your spaceship. You also have a boost to. I had to take down the alien ships shields with your machine guns. My dad was also playing with me. It's a video game by the way. It is super super awesome!!!! When you detonate the enemy it's spaceship blow's up and come's on fire!! I think it's awesome and I think you will also think to.
Clearly, Halo has had a profound effect on Connor's life. It is to him what Star Wars is to many people my age. It is more than just a way to pass the time; it is a family event. We have had important, meaningful conversations that were spurred on by playing these video games. There have been debates about whether video games are art, whether they can be used as a teaching tool. I say the answer to both questions is aresounding yes. Playing Halo with my son has been one of the greatest joys in my life. He has learned about teamwork, heroism, and the cost of peace while playing with me. We have a bond far tighter than many fathers and sons, and video games are one reason why this is. For that, I am very grateful.