Xbox fans are eagerly awaiting the next game in the Halo series, Halo Infinite, but that's not the only project 343 Industries have been working on in recent years. Made in conjunction with arcade developer Raw Thrills in 2018, Halo: Fireteam Raven is a co-op light gun shooter in the vein of Time Crisis. Players take a seat in an impressively themed cabinet space and take on Covenant forces with a wide array of familiar Halo weaponry. Despite the craft that went into its creation, many Halo fans likely don't even know that it exists due to its limited release in the United States and the continuous decline of arcades everywhere.
Halo: Fireteam Raven features a new squad of elite ODST soldiers (similar to the main character of Halo 3: ODST) stationed aboard the Pillar of Autumn when it discovered the Alpha Halo during the events of the original Halo. Players guide this group through six missions that parallel Master Chief's journey in the first game. They encounter everything from Elite encampments to teeming hordes of Flood, all leading to a finale that wraps right back around to Combat Evolved's ending. While the gameplay does occasionally rely on cheap tactics in the tradition of light-gun shooters, the overall package is a delightful break from the FPS norm for the franchise.
How did Halo: Fireteam Raven avoid the attention of the majority of the Halo fanbase? Outside of its lack of a home port, the biggest culprit lies in its exclusive launch in Dave & Buster's locations. Exclusive games are par for the course when it comes to the chain of restaurant/arcade hybrids. Rather than fill their halls with games from the 1980s, the company has funded everything from an arcade version of Minecraft Dungeons to a human-scale rendition of Hungry Hungry Hippos. They work closely with Raw Thrills on a lot of these games, and Halo: Fireteam Raven was one such collaboration.
How Does Halo: Fireteam Raven Connect With The Master Chief Collection?
Despite being an arcade exclusive, 343 Industries did include some aspects of Fireteam Raven in their ongoing updates of Halo: The Master Chief Collection. In April of this year, Season 6: Raven launched in-game. Alongside a brand new map for Halo 3 and the introduction of Escalation Slayer, the update included a bundle of cosmetic content inspired by the arcade shooter. Even before that, anyone who sits down at a physical cabinet and links their Xbox Live Account via a QR Code receives online stat tracking via Halo Waypoint and an exclusive nameplate for use within The Master Chief Collection.
Despite being several years old, it's likely that any local Dave & Buster's location will still have Halo's arcade outing up and running. Because of the company's financial ties to many of their cabinets, games tend to stick around in its arcades for years and years past their debut. Since Halo Infinite release date is still months away, now is the perfect time for any Halo fan to grab a fistful of quarters and see what they've been missing the last few years.
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