The Magic of Halo

  Every gamer, on any console or system, knows that games have glitches. They’re programs, written by humans and they are bound to have some problems that the developers weren’t able to work out for various reasons. Be it that they never applied the exact combination of movements that causes the glitch or that they found it but couldn’t repair it through system patches, the games we play aren’t perfect. Whatever, we deal with it or we don't play the game.


  It can be said that some games have more of these glitches than normal. It can also be said that the more you play a game, the more likely you are to encounter it’s glitches which makes it seem like there are so many more. However they happen, Halo has glitches and with the number of games that I’ve seen, there are quite a few. But we love Halo, and glitches are bad, (and I can find a positive spin to almost anything) so I’ve decided to call it Halo’s magic.

  As with any magic, it can work for or against you. For example, this morning I was watching Mike play Gruntpocalypse and he threw a grenade, as he’s apt to do while playing Gruntpocalypse. We both saw the grenade blow up and one grunt die. Then, a few seconds after the explosion but before any extra shots had been fired, another Grunt died. What the...? Of course when you’re playing Gruntpocalypse alone and a Grunt dies, you get the kill for it so this is a good thing but there's no explanation for it other than magic. Somtimes the magic takes that rocket you just fired really, really far across the map (farther than the rockets have ever gone before) and kills three people when it does land. The magic is in your favor.

  Sometimes the magic works against you. There are times, I’ve seen it happen, when bullets come through walls or around corners to kill Mike or other players that he’s gaming with. Someone else gets the kill, of course, so the magic is in their favor. But whenever the other guy has the magic on his side, you do not. Magic gives the other player an unfair advantage and it's frustrating to the non-magical players, or muggles if you prefer.

  Sometimes, the magic is on the games side (assuming the game doesn’t want you to win) and things like betrayals by Warthogs from heaven happen or you bounce when you hit the water at the bottom of a waterfall, just to add insult to injury.

  Yet we keep playing. Why? In hopes that the magic will be on our side. In hopes that the magic will take a side seat for a few games and just let things happen. More often than not, the magic only plays a small part. And for more casual gamers, they rarely see the magic at all. But for those of you that get the glitches, suffer the gremlins, just try to imagine it's magic. And sometimes, just sometimes, the magic will be on your side.

The Fellowship of the Game

  Tonight, Mike hosted a Waypoint Community Carnage Night in honor of one of the community members who was recently killed in a car accident. A bunch of players that knew the member met up and they played a few games. It got me thinking about how none of these guys, or ladies, really know each other (with a very few exceptions) and yet when one of them is hurt, or worse, the other players and members feel the loss as if it were a closer friend.



  There’s a camaraderie amongst the gaming community, a fellowship if you will. These people don’t know each other outside of the games they share, but they know each other from the conversations they’ve had. Some times the guys will share stories about their day, sometimes they’ll open yell at their kids to go to bed or complain about their wife until she makes them turn off the game. (I call this being “wifed” and I make fun of the wives that do it.) No matter what they’re talking about, the people on the friends list are more than just random players.



  Sometimes the opportunity to meet the other players in real life happens, like what happened for us at ECCC, and it’s always neat to meet people and put a body to a face, gestures to a body, the sound of their voice without a microphone. We’ll probably meet a few more people at PAX. And PAX is what I imagine to be a humongous gathering of members of the fellowship. I can’t wait to see who else we’ll run in to. 

How Rocket Hogs Works

  I was sitting on the couch killing zombies on my phone* when I heard the familiar “oohh ho-hoooooooo!” that means that things are getting amazing in the game. So, I decided to watch because I like it when the game is amazing. I quickly realized that I had no idea what I was watching and I had to figure it out.



  Rocket Hog is one of the game-types that can happen when playing multi-team playlists. There are four teams of three players; each team is given a Warthog. I didn’t realize that three guys could fit in a Warthog, but they do. Then, they race to a glowing ring somewhere on the map. I think the game works best on maps like Hemorrhage because of the size. When the first team reaches the destination, the destination moves and the race continues. Points are awarded for reaching the destination.

 But like any game, there are challenges in the race. First, there’s the other players. Everyone on the map is moving in the same direction – towards the destination. This means that they’re not watching for you. it also means that if they die, they’re going to respawn somewhere else. I saw one race last night where Mike and his friends were about 100 meters from the destination and one of the other teams spawned in practically inside the glowing ring. Even I said “awwww” when I saw what happened.

  There are also landmines scattered all over the map. The landmines are kind of a Catch-22. They can destroy your Warthog or throw another Warthog into yours. This of course causes your entire teams demise. Then, there’s the wait for the respawn. (It never seems to work out that Mike and his teams' spawn in anywhere close to the destination.) But, the landmines also fling your Warthog into barrel rolls which are counted by the game. This means you can get a medal. Yay! Rewards are fun. Last night, Mike and his team did a really nice, Matrix-esque barrel roll. And landed it. I was impressed.
 
  And with a name like Rocket Hogs, there’s gotta be rockets. Mike was the gunner (rocketer?) last night. I like rockets because of the hissing sound and the explosions. In the race, rockets make a mess. When a rocket hits a Warthog, the Warthog blows up in a fiery explosion of car parts and Spartans. Sometimes, they hit other Warthogs and mayhem ensues.

 So that’s Rocket Hogs in a nutshell. Maybe you should pick it next time it’s one of your game-type choices. Give it a try.

*If you’ve heard the end credits to Plants vs Zombies know that killing zombies on my phone fits into the lyrics quite nicely. Go Windows Phone 7!

…You Might Be A Halo Widow.

  I saw something with Jeff Foxworthy in it recently. He’s pretty fun, if not over done. Anyway, I’m sure most people know about the “… you might be a redneck” jokes. They’re like a checklist of things that rednecks do, say or are so that a person can easily identify whether they are or know someone who is a redneck. I thought it might be nice if I did the same kind of public service announcement, in case you were wondering if you are one, or if you’ve made one.
 
  If you’ve ever waited for the screen to say “respawn in **” seconds before crossing the room… you might be a Halo widow.
 
  If you browse the internet in quick 60-90 second bursts, between games… you might be a Halo widow.

  If you know that every 7th of the month is off limits for plans… you might be a Halo widow.

  If you’ve given up any space on the walls or shelves in your home for a Halo Shrine… you might be a Halo widow.

  If you’ve ever caught yourself humming the theme music… you might be a Halo widow.

  If you recognize at least one map as a favorite because it’s pretty (mine is the garden one from Halo 3)… you might be a Halo widow.

  If you’ve ever waited for the announcer to call out “Game over.” or even “Round over,” before getting your good night kiss… you might be a Halo widow.

  And finally…

  If you’ve ever made your significant other watch an entire game just to see the splatter you got near the end somewhere… you might have made a Halo widow.

How do you know that you’re a Halo widow?