Tag Archives: Halo

Nine long years ago, a somewhat unknown game developer released what is arguably the most successful and influential first person shooter of our time, Halo.

This historic event had implications of all varieties to millions of avid gamers and technologically deprived people alike around the world. To some, like yours truly, it marked the start of their console gaming career. Microsoft’s Xbox was virtually carried by its major launch title to unimaginable heights above Sony’s Playstation 2 and Nintendo’s GameCube, establishing it as the premier gaming console of the generation. To the vast majority however, Halo was the beginning of a beautiful and loyal relationship with a super soldier, his AI crush and their creators sitting pretty on a pile of cash and women in Kirkland.

There aren’t too many words to describe the rapport Bungie has with its community; intimate, amorous, carnal. Over almost a decade, the humble geniuses behind Marathon and Myth have supplied the world with an excuse to call off work, get drunk and sit for hours in a basement filled with four TVs and fifteen other guys (maybe a girl or two who knows) capping flags, shooting everything in sight and just indulging in hilarious, drunken, chaotic fun. For this we are eternally grateful.

As any self-respecting Bungie fan knows, they seem to be in the final stages of acquiring the number 7 as a corporate trademark. As such, the 7th day of the 7th month is revered as a sacred occasion during which we celebrate the coveted gifts that have been bestowed upon us over the years. Yet, in true Bungie fashion, the gifts keep coming our way during this day of days. Rather than some gamer pictures or a new map (which would be ridiculous at this point), Bungie teamed up with Rooster Teeth to produce this tantalizing Reach trailer:

That’s right bitches, Blood Gulch is back. If you hadn’t already assumed it was, then you need to read up on some common sense self-help books.

Anyway, I don’t feel I need to waste my own time reiterating the features showcased within the video since you just watched it. What I will say, however, is that a lot of children will be sleeping happily tonight. I can only assume that immediately following the release of Halo 3 beta and gamers bore witness to the “disappointment” that was Valhalla, the Bungie.net servers almost crashed due to the hundreds of hate threads complaining that it wasn’t Blood Gulch. Well now they can wipe away their tears and clean out their diapers because its back and on steroids.

That wasn’t the only gift though. In fact, the other gift is the reason I am finishing this blog after Bungie Day has officially ended. For 24 hours, Bungie made available to everyone the coveted flaming helmet chest piece, reserved only for Bungie employees. During the time I played matchmaking, there were roughly 290,000 players online to enjoy this final act of generosity within Halo 3, some of which were still wearing full Recon (/sigh). What made it slightly less than enjoyable was the fact that Ryan, CloneOutcast, Mink and myself all are in different countries, making it somewhat frustrating regardless of who got host. Lame excuses for shitty performances aside, it was a nice way to essentially say goodbye to Halo 3, since once Reach comes out, it will likely begin to die as Halo 2 did.

So we hope you had a fun time trying to pretend to be a Bungie employee and we wish Bungie all the best in the future.