Friday, August 21, 2009

Halo 3 Mod

By Casey Jones

A Halo 3 mod is usually thought of as any software modification that changes the game play in the super popular video game for the Xbox 360, Halo 3. But the term also includes many other modifications, such as physical changes made to the Xbox 360 console to show the world that you are a hard-core Halo fanatic.

However, before anyone can create a Halo 3 mod, they need the right tools, together with some technical expertise. These tools generally include a number of bits of software that allow people to de-construct, edit, and reconstruct Halo 3 files. It would also involve some hardware to allow the Xbox 360 hard drive to be uploaded into a PC and the files to be downloaded to that hard drive.

You have to do this because the Xbox 360 is not a unit on which files can be altered. In the past, the hardware developers, in this case Microsoft, made the tools available to those who paid the licence fee. But over time, especially in the case of Halo 3 mods, the community has developed several tools and techniques to accomplish what needs to be done for modification.

A Halo 3 mod also includes, as written earlier, physical alterations to the Xbox 360 console itself. For example, some people might take off the casing and actually carve the words 'Halo 3' out of it. They might also accompany this by painting the console red, blue or green to match the colour of the armour of their favourite heroes in the game.

It's a pretty extreme way to say to the world - I love Halo 3 - in that sometimes it could result in actual damage that renders the Xbox 360 unplayable. People often display their altered Xbox 360s on photo-sharing sites such as Flickr and when they go toattend live LAN events.

One of the things that people who are fanatical about the world of the Halo 3 mod try to insist on is that these should not be created for the purpose of cheating. Modifications are fun to get a new aspect on Halo 3 play or a new feel for certain levels. But if they're used to make the game unfair in favour of one person or team, they destroy the overall game for everyone.

One website where a person can find many a Halo 3 mod is H3mod.com. The site calls itself the 'future of Halo modding'. It seems to be a good place to start if you want to learn about a Halo 3 mod.

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