I vividly remember when I first encountered Halo way back in 2001. I was working with a bunch of serious gamers at the time. A couple of them picked up the new Xbox on the morning it launched on Nov. 15.

One of the guys bought the new console and a few of the initial games before coming into work. I went into his office to check out his haul. He showed off two the games he considered to be the best, NFL Fever and Project Gotham Racing. He’d bought a third game on a whim. It was Halo. “It’s supposed to be pretty good,” he said giving his justification for the purchase. Looking back, that was the understatement of the decade.

In the months that followed, my coworkers and I convened at lunch to play a little on the Xbox. Halo quickly became the lunchtime favorite. Not the campaign with the sci-fi storyline but the multiplayer which pitted player versus player. Our lunch sessions would sometimes spill over to after work. Other friends would often stop by to join in the fun.
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This was an amazing year to have either an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3, the reason for combining these two top 5 lists was because so many of the games that came out were available for both systems simultaneously. For judging this list: Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 games were judged based on their exclusivity at the time of the release, any game released on both the 360 and PS3 are judged in a separate list: “the top 5 multi-console releases” which are judged at the bottom of this post.

Top 5 Xbox 360 Games of 2010

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I’m sure all you Halo nuts have seen the line of Mega Bloks at the store at some point. I have a set, but I can’t get past the idea that I’d much rather have Halo LEGO sets. Regardless, I’ve always wondered if anyone was animating these. Turns out, someone was.

Even if it’s a Mega Blok/Xbox 360 marketing ploy, it was very well done and it’s cool as hell. Check it out in two parts, and see if you can resist going out and buying some blocky Elites.

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If you’re a fan of DK Publishing’s books (like the ones I’ve already reviewed) and you’re a gamer, then you’re going to love the Halo Encyclopedia.

I’m a big Halo fan, but I’ve never read any of the books or comics. I had no idea how fleshed out the Halo universe was until I read through this massive book. It’s around 350 pages, and it’s jam packed with information on characters, species, weapons, vehicles, and history.

The book starts with an introduction by Halo guru/Master Chief creator Frank O’Conner, as well as introductions to all the major aspects of the Halo universe. From there the book is broken up into sections, much like other DK books.

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Although I’ve never mentioned it here before, I’m a huge Halo geek. I’ve got a couple cool Halo-related reviews coming up soon, so in the meantime here is some fresh news regarding the Halo Legends collection of animated shorts.

It was just announced that Warner Bros will be distributing the collection on Blu-ray and DVD on February 9, 2010. It features seven new stories in CG and traditional anime style, and will be rated PG-13 much like the direct-to-video features coming from DC and Marvel.

You’ll be able to pick up the Blu-ray, a 2-disc DVD, and a single disc DVD in February. Besides the 2 hours of animation there will be bonus features like:

• The Making of Halo Legends – An introduction to Halo Legends followed
  by a making-of segment for each episode.
• Halo: Gaming Evolved – Explaining the Halo phenomenon from its
  inception as an Xbox video game to a present day entertainment
  franchise.
• Audio Commentary with directors Frank O’Connor and Joseph Chou
• Blu-ray Exclusive: – Halo: The Story so Far, an overview of the Halo universe up until
  the end of Halo 3

I can’t wait for this, but I guess I’ll have to. Meanwhile you can check out the official site to see the trailer.