The release of Halo 3 was wildly anticipated, as the video was the third in the original three-part series of the Halo videos. As a result, the Halo 3 trial download was one of the most downloaded game demos in the history of the Xbox 360. But what many people don’t remember is that the Halo 3 trial download went on to make another game ie Crackdown.

What does the Halo 3 demo download have to do with any another video game? Well, it has a great deal to do with the sale and promotional effort for a video that was originally meant for release on the Xbox system. Microsoft had become concerned that Crackdown wouldn’t sell a lot.

And so they used a marketing gimmick, the one of bundling Crackdown with an access code to the Halo 3 trial download. And it worked a treat in that Crackdown sold 1.5 million copies within the first half year of its release. Those aren’t Halo 3 figures, which sold 8.1 million units in just over a year, but for a lesser well-known game that’s absolutely fantastic.

Microsoft had resorted to the Halo 3 trial download tactic because of poor opinions about the game from the game testers. They thought the nonlinear nature of the game off-putting, often leaving them asking themselves what they were supposed to be doing next.

As a result of this, the powers that be knew that something had to be done or the game would be a dud. It may seem dodgy practice at first to try to push sales of a game that’s expected to be unpopular, but in hindsight people like the game and it was a good thing that they were able to get the chance to play it.

In Crackdown, and that includes the version bundled with the Halo 3 free download, individuals play the role of an agent who is detailed to beat the kingpins or leaders of various gangs. To do this they use various superhuman powers such as super strength and super agility. In order to gain these powers, players have to build up experience by defeating enemies who then release experience orbs. The clever idea in the system was that the kind of orbs released was reliant on the manner in which the agent killed the enemy. For example, a firearms orb appears if the enemy was killed with a gun.

So, although at first sight this game bundled with the Halo 3 free download appears to be no more than a veiled marketing gimmick, in reality, it exposed gamers to an exciting new gameplay world.

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