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by OwenJones

The release of Halo 3 was wildly anticipated, as the video was the third in the original trilogy of the Halo games. Therefore, the Halo 3 trial download was one of the most downloaded game demos in the history of the Xbox 360. What many people don't remember is that the Halo 3 trial download helped make another game - Crackdown.

But what does the Halo 3 trial download have to do with any other video game? Well, it has a lot to do with the distribution and marketing effort for a game that was originally meant for release on the Xbox system. Microsoft had become concerned that Crackdown would not sell well.

So they employed a marketing gimmick, the one of bundling Crackdown with an access code for the Halo 3 trial download. And it worked because Crackdown sold 1.5 million copies within the first six months of its release. Those aren't Halo 3 numbers, which sold 8.1 million copies in just over a year, but for a lesser well-known game that's fantastic.

Microsoft had turned to the Halo 3 trial download tactic because of poor opinions about the game from the play testers. They found 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 thought that something had to be done or the game would be a dud. It may seem shady practice at first to try to force 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 one associated with the Halo 3 free download, individuals play the role of an agent who is assigned to defeat the kingpins or leaders of different gangs. To do this they utilize some superhuman powers such as super strength and super fitness. In order to obtain 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 method in which the agent killed the enemy. For instance, a firearms orb appears if the enemy was killed with a gun.

So, while at first sight this game bundled with the Halo 3 trail download seems to be nothing but a veiled marketing gimmick, in reality it exposed gamers to an exciting gameplay world.

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If you like Halo 3 and are interested in learning more about it, why not pop over to Halo 3 Info on our website called Halo 3 Insider Secrets