To say that the Halo series is influential in gaming is a huge understatement. Here’s a list of what the game contributed to the foundations of FPSs today.

Regenerating Health

Love it or hate it, Halo: Combat Evolved introduced a then-new concept by stripping away the one big cliche in FPS history: health packs. Not that there was anything wrong with those, but having the ability to regenerate your shield so that you can continue the fight without scurrying around the map looking for bits and pieces of potions or medikits lying around the floor? That’s a huge bonus in keeping the continuous flow of FPS gun-play.

Console FPS Controls. That Worked.

Goldeneye may have introduced the alien concept in the late 90s, but Halo perfected the scheme. Two analog sticks for movement and camera? Check. Right Trigger for shooting? Check. Face button for instant melee and weapon-switching? Double check. The basic groundwork Halo set up worked well for the many shooters made for the console regardless of which controller you’re holding.

Close Combat

Speaking of which, Halo did introduce melee combat as a viable alternative combat strategy for killing fools online. Back then, it was fun to chainsaw demons in Doom 2, but it wasn’t practical for online combat against other Doom players(and when I mean online, I mean “24.4k external modem with the buzzing sounds and telephone line-hogging” online ).

Halo: Combat Evolved introduced the novel concept of one-hit killing some poor unsuspecting sap from the back with a push of the melee button. Coupled with the inclusion of the plasma sword in Halo 2, and you’ve got a new play-style with limitless strategical options if you’re the kind of person who likes it up close and personal.

Online Play & Community

All of that match-making online play that’s dominated by the likes of the Modern Warfare series? You can thank Bungie for all of those innovative breakthroughs on the console market. Folks in the US (and here eventually) were keen to fight online with the pay-to-play Xbox Live service. Not only that, but Bungie themselves have a huge respectable online community that’s fueled with Halo-related support, power-play videos, and other such community-related bonuses up to this day.

Machinima For The Masses

Machinima has been done way before Halo was made (Half-Life, The Sims, etc.), but thanks to then-small timers Rooster Teeth, this fine art of story-telling was pushed to the mainstream spotlight. All it took for Rooster Teeth was a lot of editing and character-controlling, and BAM! Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles was a big hit that helped propel the small team into a big company.

Pretenders To The Throne

Everyone tried to bring in their own “Halo-killer” to the table. Brute Force, Unreal Championship 2 (the love child of the hit PC series), the first Killzone, a whole slew of others riding on the marketing hype that it may surpass the first and second Halo. Sadly, the developers of said games only knew how to imitate, not duplicate, the very essence and foundation of what made Halo actually good in the first place.