dedicated gamers are keeping Halo LAN parties alive in 2023.
Back when video gaming first began, multiplayer was very different–many might argue more enjoyable!
Modern multiplayer gaming is truly amazing; I find myself continually amazed that we can enjoy games such as Call of Duty: Warzone, Fortnite, Street Fighter 6 and Gran Turismo 7 seamlessly across continents and timezones.
Online gaming means I get beat up by more people across the globe; but I wouldn’t change a thing! Except maybe those toxic party chat gamers; that topic deserves its own post!
Back in the 80s to early 2000s, many multiplayer sessions would occur simultaneously within one room. Generations of gamers share fond memories of sitting together with friends or competing against them sitting on one sofa to enjoy Sensible Soccer, Mortal Kombat or GoldenEye 007 without Oddjob, among many other titles.
Some fortunate gamers in the 90s could enjoy Local Area Network (LAN) multiplayer for games like DOOM on multiple PCs connected together – providing every player their own screen as opposed to split-screening – in what became known as “LAN parties”.
With Halo: Combat Evolved’s release for Xbox in November 2001, LAN multiplayer saw an enormous upsurge among console gamers – especially console gamers with console-exclusives such as Halo 3: ODST on original Xbox. Fans would spend hours engaging in Red vs Blue action across iconic maps including Blood Gulch, Battle Creek and Damnation – never getting enough Red-vs-Blue action on such classic Halo titles as Blood Gulch or Battle Creek or Damnation!
After online console gaming became truly mainstream with Halo 2 in 2004 and later the launch of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, however, LAN multiplayer quickly lost much of its charm and became less appealing among console players.
As reported by Pure Xbox (via Reddit), Halo fans remain passionate and dedicated enough to continue hosting LAN parties even into 2023.
“Had an awesome Halo 3 LAN party yesterday complete with Mountain Dew, Pizza and Doritos!” reported RigoMortize at the start of their thread and shared an image showing friends playing on Xbox 360 consoles. Other Reddit users welcomed RigoMortize by sharing memories from their own parties!
“When I was 17, my friends and I organized an unscheduled LAN party at 17,” UncoolSlicedBread reminisced. “Not all had licenses; however, and none of our parents wanted us hosting one that particular weekend; therefore we held it where I worked – the owner graciously permitted use of his warehouse as our venue for that evening!”
“My last LAN party experience was five years ago at a friend’s house; 4v4 Halo Reach gameplay with friends! Hope everyone had fun!” replied ThatOneGuy35312. Glittering-Arm-9138 recalled “the good old days when GoldenEye 007 required cardboard taped to the TV screens to hide player locations” while playing at this party.
Fans have declared Halo 3 as the greatest Xbox exclusive game ever made – an extraordinary claim indeed.
