I Am A Pathetic Halo Fanboy Geek
Stood in line at BestBuy last night starting at 10:30 to get my hands on a midnight-release copy of Halo 2. I was one of the small percentage of thirty-something-plus geeks in line (one or two guys may have been in their forties, but it was definitely a younger crowd). Kudos to my mega-cool wife for granting the kitchen pass for me to make the midnight run.
Got a free poster of the Master Chief (instant strife between my boys -- which one gets to put it on his wall??) and entered a drawing for a 3-foot tall statue of the Chief, but I don't think I won that. The doors opened promptly at 12:01AM and I exited the store less than 10 minutes later, probably the 50th person or so in Plano, Texas to [legally] own the game. Yay!
For the extra 5 bucks, I went ahead and got the Limited Collectors' Edition in the nifty aluminum case with the bonus DVD of extras (behind the scenes, outtakes, commentaries, concept art, etc.)
Got home in time to play it for an hour or so. The graphics are definitely several steps up from the original Halo. So far I haven't seen any ham-handed politicking, Lileks' concerns notwithstanding. The banter from the space marines is so far more varied and colorful, there are a few new species of Covenant aliens, and the new weapons (the battle rifle and SMG, esp. with the two-handed shooting option) rock.
A more objective review (not just subjective impressions) will follow in due course. If my posts are lighter than their already nigh-insubstantial form for the next couple weeks, you'll know what I'm doing.
Looks like the guys at Penny Arcade were in line too.
http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3
Posted by: owlish at November 9, 2004 08:43 AMBy the way, on the title: "I Am A Pathetic Halo Fanboy Geek;" no, no, no.
Be Proud of who you are. Look in the mirror and say some of those self-affirming thingees. "I am good at killing aliens." "I can kick my son's butt at video games." "And darn it, people like me." "I may be a Halo Fanboy, but I can use it to increase my geek rating significantly."
Then kick some alien butt.
Posted by: owlish at November 9, 2004 08:56 AMMy wife won't let me have video games. Can I come over and play?
Posted by: RP at November 9, 2004 01:56 PMOwlish, there were several frat/football types, like in that Penny Arcade strip. Interesting crowd overall -- geeky like an SF or comics convention, but not quite the same degree of social awkwardness. Quite a bit tougher-looking (and coarser-talking) than Star Trek fans.
RP, any time! But you have to pay your own way to Texas. Maybe when your kids are a bit older, your wife will change her mind (mine did -- we didn't get our Xbox until last year when eldest child turned 9).
Maybe. I'm doubtful, but maybe.
Posted by: RP at November 9, 2004 03:47 PMAnd in other fun news, Headline News was comparing the first day of Halo 2 economically to a movie opening, and G4TechTV is having Halo2 day. Yippee!
Posted by: owlish at November 9, 2004 06:22 PMJohn,
One of the students in my Intro to Aerospace Eng class sent this email on Monday afternoon:
Professor Hall-
I am speaking for the entire class. We will be on our way to the mall to pick up copies of halo 2 at midnight. This is the biggest release ever. No other movie or video game compares. I think it would be a great idea to cancel class for tomorrow. In halo 2 there are many aerospace vehicles, so technically we will be studying some form of class material while saving the earth.
- Ryan Koubek
Note: You are the coolest teacher at VT.
Thought you might appreciate it. BTW I did not cancel class, possibly endangering my status as "coolest teacher at VT."
Posted by: chris at November 12, 2004 09:16 AMHey, about the "ham-handed politicking" of H2, Michelle Malkin has an entry that points out the creative editing that went into that quote. See this entry (at least if I did it correctly.
BTW, I already have 2 copies of H2. I have 2 boys and they each have their own Xbox, so I reserved them each a copy, gave it to them on the afternoon of the 9th and said, "Merry early Christmas!"
Posted by: Glen at November 12, 2004 03:00 PM