Halo 3

       There comes a time in everyone's life, and I mean that in the most cliché way possible, when you just have to break down and do "the popular thing." To preface this statement I should probably have intimated to you all that I'm a fan of going against the mold, so to speak. I've never really followed the mainstream trends in anything, and it's led to what I would consider a pretty swell life so far. But there are some hurdles that it's just impossible to jump over when you're trying to live the Ugly American Dream, and for me that hurdle was Halo 3.
       Halo 3 is by far the ultimate consumer, mainstream first person shooter. Nothing video game in recent years comes to mind as being more of a draw for the general population than this one, and I must admit that I too have felt the sting. So I caved. I actually went out and bought an XBox 360 so that I could play this game (and Viva Piñata). And how do I feel about this?
       Awesome.
       Halo 3 really is about the best console first person shooter I've ever played. Nothing will ever take the 'best ever' title away from Unreal Tournament (though I've yet to play UT3) and I'm fine with that, but I was pretty sure I would never let anything take the console glory away from Perfect Dark, but who am I kidding? The only enjoyable aspect of First Person Shooters is the multiplayer, and if you can show me a console game (don't give me this Call of Duty 4 bullshit, modern shooters are super lame) that has done multiplayer better than Halo 3, please enlighten me.
       I think the reason that Halo 3 resonates with me so well is that it really does foster a team dynamic, without being overly forceful about it, like for instance Counter Strike, while still allowing for a variety of play experiences. Don't get me wrong, the team dynamic of Team Fortress 2 is definitely stronger, but if you're playing a ranked double team match and your teammate is just running around underneath snowbound with an assault rifle, you and his diatribe is going to be rather colourful. 
       And while I applaud this universal, un-ending desire to win, and not just win but to dominate the other team, I can't help but feel like this is perhaps the one flaw with Halo 3. The reason I don't like Halo 3 is because of how many little kids I end up playing with, and how they generally respond to me as a player. It seems every game I am greeted by a very effeminate sounding boy saying something like "I'm gonna smoke your ass," and it really scares me. If little children are starting to think like that when playing Halo 3, then it's only a matter of time until they move onto Call of Duty 4, and once placed in that modern combat world they'll start to get that kind of attitude to the enemies portrayed in it: i.e. the middle east.
       And I really don't mean to get on a soapbox about this, 'cause fuck your politics and fuck my politics, no one has it all figured out. But if Halo 3 is breeding a generation of soldiers who want to invade Iran, then I'm going to have to reverse my position and call it the worst console game of all time, and I really don't want to do that.