A few weeks ago, I speculated about whether or not the “fighting a losing battle” nature of Halo: Reach would be an asset or an achilles’ heel. I have to admire the fact that Microsoft and Bungie aren’t shying away from the fatalistic aspects of the game — they’re attempting to use the heavy subject matter to their advantage.
One particularly intriguing new social marketing campaign sees a massive robot arm in a nondescript warehouse, creating a “constellation of light.” Fans can go to RememberReach.com and sign up to add a star to this constellation. As you can see from the image above, the resulting memorial is going to depict the five members of “Noble team,” one of which you’ll play as in the game.
Head over to the site, and after an age gate, some tragic, mournful music kicks in and you’re invited to register with the site to add your own “point of light” to the memorial. In the end, there will be 54,000 points of light in all that make up this sorrowful image.
In case you don’t know: Halo: Reach tells of the infamous fall of the planet Reach, a pivotal turning point in Halo‘s universe. The game plops you right in the middle of this revolution — on the losing side. So no matter what you do, no matter how hard you fight, the game will always end in defeat.
It’s pretty nifty to watch that robot arm do its thing, and there can be no doubt that Microsoft is throwing the full weight of its marketing might behind this game. But it’s taking its subject matter so seriously that I still wonder if fans will find this entry as fun and memorable as the past games, or if this one will simply be too depressing for hardcore gamers’ tastes. Personally, I love that the game makers aren’t afraid to go down this road and that they’re actually trying to elicit an emotional response in gamers. But I’m not sure that the majority of gamers would agree with me (and Bungie).
We’ll find out in about two weeks, when Halo: Reach arrives in stores.
