The Things We Do for Halo

  I’ve taken notice of the release of the last four Halo games. Not because I particularly care for the game, but because I’ve cared for Mike for at least that long and if something matters to him, it matters to me. That’s how good relationships work, I think. Anyway, with PAX Prime just around the corner, I’ve been thinking about the events that I’ve gone to where Halo was a large factor or sometimes even the reason we’re there.

  Sometimes there are very special events that preclude game launches. PAX Prime will most likely be one of them. Another such event that we participated in was the ODST Truck Firefight matches. We drove an hour and a half (I might be exaggerating) to get to Hillsboro, Oregon’s Game Stop store to see this truck:
Inside the truck has are, I think, ten XBOX 360 consoles and LCD TV’s. They’ve got it set up for a good gaming experience, as long as you don’t mind the mixed up sounds. So, we stood in line and climbed inside and yes, I played a round of Firefight (because they handed me a controller and told me to sit down). I killed three jackals and two grunts. I only died twice. It was one of my best games because I stayed positive. I know. We also scored a really sweet license plate frame. It says: My Other Car is a Warthog.

  I realize that Halo, and Microsoft, are pretty much bff’s at this point so I wasn’t surprised at all to see a Microsoft Games booth at this years Emerald City Comicon. And low and behold, there was Halo. Mike was excited to get the chance to play the new maps. Oh yes, we played Halo at Comicon. They were showing off their new maps, the Defiant Map pack. I played for a few minutes but only because they needed a fourth person for that station. I quickly handed the controller to the first envious little kid I saw watching me. But, with Comicon, comes great costumes and neat people and TONS of Halo fans. There were a lot of the people that Mike knows from the Halo Waypoint there as well. It was really neat to put faces to names. We also met Grif and his super hot wife Gryffin!

  Any fan of video games knows that the really big games get to have midnight release parties. Sometimes the semi-big games get release parties. Some stores just have one every Monday night for S’s & G’s or because they’re always open. I’ve been to the release parties for Halo 3, Halo Wars and ODST. I didn’t go to the Reach release. I don’t know why. The midnight release party goes like this in our town: people begin gathering in front of the game store at about 10 PM. People of all ages gather. My particular favorite are the parents of the teenagers that stand in the line and watch as their sons and daughters mingle with the other teenagers. Sometimes the store’s employees will come out and give away swag or just provide general entertainment. Eventually, the store opens, the people get their game, and everyone goes home happy. We’re usually home by 12:30 on these types of nights. Perfect time for me to go to bed while Mike spends the next 24-36 hours breaking in his new game.

  So, there are many more things to do with Halo than just play the game. There’s an entire social scene that revolves around it. I’m pretty excited for PAX. Maybe we’ll get to meet more cool and interesting people.