I'm a Halo fan, and damn proud of it!

Let's get something out of the way first - I'm a Halo fan and I have been ever since the first Halo on the original Xbox. I'll be the first to admit when I heard about Halo for the first time on the Xbox I was a skeptic. In fact, I somewhat begrudgingly agreed to play the game with my friend Mike (Spiff) even though I had my doubts about the quality of an FPS on a console. (What? No mouse and keyboard? sheesh!)

It wasn't until the second and third levels of the original Halo that it all began to click into place for me. My first experience with Halo was doing co-op. I fondly remember our first co-op sessions with the game. My initial draw to the game at the time was the ability to play alongside my friend cooperatively, united in a singular effort against our foe.


Later on, as we advanced, so too did the story of the Covenant, the Forerunners, the Flood, the secret of the Halo installation, and Master Chief himself. Here was an FPS with an actual story! (And there was much rejoicing.)


Halo multi-player gave birth to what we coined in our little circle of friends as, the "Halopalooza" - a day-long event held at someone's house with as many Xboxes, copies of Halo, TV's and gamers we can muster. We try to hold these monster events a couple times a year and they are a complete blast! There's nothing like sitting across from your friend and seeing his expression while you snipe him from across the map or beat him down with the butt-end of your rifle. (Oh sweet game violence... you are like a cup of awesome in a sea of infinite win.)


In 2004, Halo 2 was released and it improved on Halo 1 in nearly every way. Better maps, better visuals, better weapons, better multiplayer options, vehicle-jacking, and some would argue, a better story. I personally liked how Bungie developed the story and enriched the Halo-verse with the introduction of the Arbiter (the doomed holy warrior of the enemy faction). This of course is much debated online, but I rather enjoyed seeing the interstellar war from the opposing perspective and the strife present within the ranks of the Covenant.

This September lightning is set to strike a third time when Bungie will deliver to eager gamers another truly epic masterpiece, Halo 3. A swarm of media is popping up on the net and creating nothing short of a frenzy surrounding this game. Can 1 MILLION pre-orders be wrong? Halo 2 smashed day-1 sales records when it topped $125 million dollars. Microsoft hopes Halo 3 will break even those records. In fact, they're hoping it will eclipse the opening weekend sales record of the most successful feature film in the history of the silver screen - Spiderman 3 ($151 million dollars in it's opening weekend).


Gamers around the world (whether they support Halo 3 or not) hope this and other titles like it will continue to prove to the general public that videogames are a valid form of entertainment and not to be taken lightly.

Here's a selection of links to help sate your thirst for all that is Halo 3 until 12:01 AM, September 25th.

Links:

• Bungie.net - Bungie's own website with weekly updates, screenshots, podcasts and more!
• Halo3.com - The official website of Halo 3 - complete with wallpapers, content, and other items of interest in the Halo-verse.
• Halowiki.net - A fan-created database centered mainly around information available in the Halo 3 beta and other recent announcements.