This is reply is out of the blue, but I've never actually played "Halo", because it doesn't look like my kind of thing. Would someone mind telling me the basics of this series that I always hear all the X-Box fans raving about? What's the story of the plot? And is it really an "shoot 'em up" MMORPG that all the advertisements would have me believe it is? Reply or ignore this post as you see fit, as I hope not to interrupt any discussions here.
I've only played the first Halo. Haven't got a chance to play Halo 2 or Halo 3 yet, so I don't know exactly what the gameplay for those games are like, but I suspect it is not much different than the original.
The basis of the series, from what I can understand, is that the player controls Master Chief as he battles against the Covenant, an alliance of aliens led by the Prophets. The first game takes place on a ring-world called Halo (thus where the game got its name) which the Covenant want to control. The ring has some religious significance (sp?) with the Covenant.
Unlike Metroid Prime, the gameplay of Halo consists of largely just shooting and killing any Covenant that you come across while walking along. There is not much exploration in the game because there's usually only one way you can go, so it's hard to get lost.
So is it a "shoot 'em up game"? It would seem so, in my opinion, since the gameplay contains little true exploration (like what Metroid Prime has) and focuses more on killing as many aliens as possible. It still follows a plot at least, and I do enjoy playing it, and I still have fun with it. But in my opinion, the game doesn't have as much depth as Metroid Prime does.
Halo isn't a MMORPG, or are you referring to the Multiplayer section of the game?
If you ever decide to try Halo, I would recommend downloading the free trial version that you can find online so you don't end up wasting money on something you don't like.