First person shooters and I used to be like this (imagine me crossing two of my fingers together tightly). I was introduced to the genre first with Wolfenstein 3D back in 1992 and was immediately intimidated by the level of violence shown in the game. Mind you, up to that point, my experience with video games mainly consisted of NES and some SNES games. The most I was used to blowing up was other jets and vehicles in games like UN Squadron and Afterburner. I never played Wolfenstein but I did see others go through its myriad of corridors and enemies. I finally dove into the shooter genre when Mechwarrior 2 31st Century Combat was released in 1995, but got my first real taste of FPS goodness when I played Goldeneye 007 on the Nintendo 64 in 1997.

I thought nothing could get better than that. The pulse pounding action, the great music, the heat breaking defeats, and the amazing victories. The multiplayer action and campaign modes on Goldeneye were truly a watershed moment in console gaming. And this haven-like experience of getting four people together to take part in split screen death battles seemed like it would go on and on without ever stopping.

Then Microsoft released its first video game console in 2001, and a lot of us scoffed. The Xbox? What kind of coked out name was that? Then we saw THAT first Xbox controller, somewhat affectionately called THE DUKE, and we chuckled and snickered some more. How were we suppose to play games on this? As if the N64's three pronged option wasn't head scratching-ly weird enough. Then this little game from Bungie Studios called Halo Combat Evolved started showing up in advertisements on TV...and our interest as gamers was piqued.

Then we heard that choral chant and, oh my lord...

 

There are people who saw the first Star Wars back in 1977 whose jaws dropped when they saw that Star Destroyer come roaring over the screen for the first time. I think for me, and a lot of other gamers who first experienced Halo CE back in 2001, and seeing that enormous artificial ring construct, alongside that choral hymn...that was our Star Destroyer moment. Oh and the game was also great too. The multiplayer completely bowled over Goldeneye's experience by a factor of 10. Or, if you really want to get geeky with it...

 

You don't just go from having gun fights in hallways to experiencing open online warfare with tanks, warthogs, teleporters, and other madness without getting a little impressed! 

3 years later, and after much, much hype (including an E3 demo that was the talk of the gaming world for some time) Halo 2 finally releases on the Xbox, now an unquestioned champion of multiplayer console gaming thanks mainly to Halo Comat Evolved. 2004 proved to be yet another major year in gaming thanks to what Bungie and Microsoft accomplished with Halo 2's multiplayer. Online play with Xbox Live. I could go on and on for hours about how important these events and changes were but I'm really digressing from the real reason I wrote this entry.

The music in Halo 2 wasn't just good. It wasn't just great. It was exceptionally fantastic. 10 years later, I still find myself thinking about and playing the music from this particular soundtrack and really no other Halo game since then, with maybe the exception of Reach. What Martin O'Donnell accomplished with the original Halo Combat Evolved soundtrack was quite astounding. The aforementioned choral hymn comes to mind. For the first time, a memorable theme in gaming had been created and it wasn't for an RPG or a platformer. How many times before 2001 would you hear anyone, anywhere going on about the music that was made in a first person shooter? 

The rest of the soundtrack to Combat Evolved was no joke either and some pieces still stand out quite as well compared to what was composed in later Halo games. It's certainly not that CE's soundtrack was bad, but compared to Halo 2, one clearly stands out above the other. With more of a budget and access to more resources (including bands like Incubus even getting in the soundtrack action) I can say for a certainty that Halo 2 was where the music and the franchise itself experienced its "growing the beard" moment.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=grow%20the%20beard

And the song that of course stands out the most to me is Unforgotten.

 

Don't get me wrong, there are quite a few stand out pieces on the Halo 2 soundtrack. The High Charity Suite, The Last Spartan, Unyielding, Ghosts of Reach, and so many others are amazing tracks that equally stand alongside classic cinematic soundtracks. Unforgotten appeals to me because of its heaviness on emotion. You can really feel the struggle of the characters, both human and Sanghelli, as they labor through the game's mostly downward spiral as things go from bad to worse for both sides. Give the Covenant back their bomb and blow up their supercarrier? Go to an infested New Mombasa and take out the Scarab. Take out the Scarab? Watch as the whole city gets nearly wiped out from a Slipspace explosion. Become the Arbiter? Get betrayed and end up in the hands/tentacles of the Gravemind. Try to stop Delta Halo from firing? The whole Halo array becomes active. Chase after the Prophet of Truth? "Don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it." GOODNESS!

This game really was The Empire Strikes Back of the Halo saga and the music made you feel that as many of the characters went through so many downs and very little ups. Again, that emphasis on emotional heaviness was well crafted here. And the promise of finishing the fight at the end certainly made plenty of fans PUMPED for Halo 3. But like Star Wars, there was a three year lull in having to wait to see what was going to happen next. So between waiting to finish the fight, and hopefully get Cortana back (hey when I make a promise, I keep it) there were many multiplayer matches to be had and that awesome music to enjoy. 

And now look, 10 years later and Halo 2 is getting a mega overhaul anniversary treatment. And it is well deserved for a game that was so very important in terms of entertainment, feel, and music.

 

Oh and before I go, the Halo Legends soundtrack also did a version of Unforgotten, this time with a full orchestral treatment. I'll link that below as well. I may have fallen out with first person shooters, but the music of this particular franchise has never disappointed me and will no doubt go on being a part of my playlist for 10 more years and beyond!