Last week saw the release of Halo: Reach, one of this year’s most anticipated first person shooter (FPS) and Xbox 360 games writes Technology blogger Dr Tom Hartley.

It is the 4th game in the series and a prequel to the original trilogy.

It is also going to be the last Halo game by developer Bungie, however Microsoft, who publish the game, are likely to continue the franchise using a new development team.

In case you are unfamiliar with game development, the developers, in this case Bungie, are the people who create the game, e.g. 2D graphics, 3D models, game levels and so on.

The publishers, Microsoft, then market and sell the game.

In the case of Halo, Microsoft also own the intellectual property of the game and therefore control who develops it and can have significant input in how it is created.

Fans of the previous Halo games won’t be disappointed with Halo: Reach, as it has the same look and feel as the previous games.

However, the graphics have been improved and the gameplay adapted with the addition of armour which gives the player new abilities, such as jetpack and sprint.

The reception of Halo: Reach by the reviewers and fans has, more or less, been universally positive.

For example Gamespy and IGN both give it their highest ratings and an editor’s choice award.

After spending as much time playing the game as I could over the weekend, I have to agree with them.

In particular, the multiplayer and co-op aspect of the game is an overall improvement over the original games.

The Halo franchise is now almost 10 years old with the first Halo game released for the original Xbox in 2001.

I find it hard to believe (or should it be difficult to accept) that some of the younger players who routinely outclass me in online multiplayer games will not have played the original Halo and not admired its impressive gameplay and grass textures.

Nostalgia and disappointment over my lack of ability aside, the impact of the Halo franchise on the first person shooter genre is worth highlighting.

First Player Shooters on PCs

Before the Halo franchise and a few other games, such as Goldeneye on the N64, FPS games were considered to be predominately a PC genre. It was the platform on which they were first created.

With the arrival of more powerful games consoles that could compete with the performance of PCs, game developers began developing their games for both platforms.

I initially resisted this trend and kept my FPS game playing firmly on the PC.

I used arguments such as the PC’s better graphics, variety of games and price. In addition the keyboard and mouse combination had greater precision and therefore offered better gameplay.

I still agree with many of these arguments, however the merits of console FPS have become a hot topic again recently with Microsoft’s Kudo Tsunoda stating that “hardly anyone plays first-person shooters on the PC anymore.”

This has engaged a number of bloggers and I too reacted with complete disagreement.

On reflection though, I was somewhat surprised to realise that I now do more console based FPS gaming than PC.

Game experience

My reason for this move to console based FPS games is the rise of sociability as a key factor in my game experience.

Many of my friends play console games on the Xbox 360 therefore if I want chat and play with friends, then I require an Xbox.

This combined with the ability of games such as Halo to be played online together or via split screen, greater relaxation (e.g. playing whilst sat on the sofa) and larger TV screens has meant I have moved ever more to console based gaming.

One of the benefits of the Halo franchise over other games is indeed the social aspect – unlike most games which limit one player to one console for online gaming, Halo: Reach allows you to have up to four players, playing online on the same console.

This function allows friends to partake in online gaming in the same place – one feature I wish would make it to other console games.

Now some of my favourite FPS franchises, such as Battlefield are becoming more console focused.

In addition new technology, such as Microsoft’s Kinect, Sony’s Move and Nintendo’s Wii are offering new ways in which to play and interact with games. Therefore I am beginning to wonder if I’ll ever be enticed back to PC FPS gaming.

Are you becoming more of a console FPS gamer? What are your reasons for the move?