Territories=t eh suck

((Warning: geek rant ahead!))

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Halo 3 review

Poe Ghostal snipes a n00b

Looking at that screenshot, I’m suddenly reminded of the first videogame I remember playing, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons for Intellivision. Man, videogames have come a long way in a mere quarter-century. But then, I suppose it only took us twice that time to go from flying the first plane to landing on the moon.

Incidentally, that screenshot was taken in-game by yours truly. It shows my digital avatar, Poe Ghostal, sniping some poor mook.

So, Halo 3. Its release received the kind of marketing hype once reserved solely for summer blockbusters (before they became manufactured a-dime-a-dozen products). It has already made hundreds of millions of dollars.

I was one of those people who was really into the whole “Haloverse” as well as the game itself, and I was greatly anticipating the end of the saga. Here are my impressions.

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New Halo 3 figures

Bubble Head

Speaking of Halo 3 toys, here’s a glimpse of some variant Spartans in McFarlane Toys’ upcoming line. Yay for bubble heads!

(On a side note, I recently scored a few more–non-Halo related–articles for ToyFare. Stay tuned for more info.)

Yet more Xbox drama

Two nights ago, my Xbox 360 died again.

This was my third, though it had been built around the same time as my previous two–September 2006. I was in the middle of playing Halo 3 with some friends when the DVD drive began to make a sound somewhat like a weed whacker. A moment later, it declared my Halo 3 disc unplayable, as well as any other disc I put in there.

This time I brought it back to Sam’s Club and simply requested a refund. I took the refund and bought a brand-new Xbox 360 at Best Buy. It has a manufacture date of August 4, 2007 (the day I got engaged–coincidence?). It has the new Zephyr motherboard with the improved heat sink. I made sure to confirm this–the word “Zephyr” was right on the box’s SN label.

Since the refund from Sam’s Club was for the full price in September and the 360 has had a $100 price drop since, I was able to get the new console as well as an extended warranty that would let me swap the 360 anytime it broke down for the next two years. Of course, by dropping the cash for the warranty, I virtually guaranteed this console will never break down (or at least, not for two years).

John Harvard plays Halo

Cute.

Here’s the pic.

Halo, Goodbye

Dear friends,

I’m that guy.

Yes, I’m that guy who, upon finally getting back to his beloved Xbox 360 with his brand-spanking-new copy of Halo 3, put the disc in the machine and…the Xbox 360 died.

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Halo 3 impatience

Well, I’ve got to get through one more work day before I can play Halo 3. My friend Tom wisely recommended I take tomorrow off, rather than today, because I’ll no doubt be up pretty late tonight.

I wasn’t crazy enough to buy my copy last night at midnight, so I’ll pick it up after work today. I had preordered the Legendary Edition, but after hearing reports of scratches on the discs I think I may trade down to the regular edition.

I’ll post my thoughts on the game on these pages in a few days, of course. Until then, be sure to scroll down and check out my various Halo 3 articles from ToyFare.

The post about the Halo 3 Beta

As anyone who’s been paying any attention to this blog knows, I’m pretty excited about Halo 3. A few weeks ago, my wonderful girlfriend DG got me my very own copy of Crackdown, which included access to the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta (fortunately, Crackdown is a great game too—you can read my review of it here). The Beta is not a demo of the regular game, which is due for release on September 25. Rather, it’s only a test of the game’s multiplayer component, which allows players to battle one another on three maps (such games are colloquially referred to as “deathmatch”).

(Warning: Halo 3 gameplay spoilers to follow)
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