Discriminating Gamer

Less than a month until Halo 3. The more I read about the game more I can’t wait to play it. I’ve had the “Legendary Edition” pre-ordered since before last Christmas. It absolutely kills me to pay 129.99 for one single game, but I can’t help myself. I must have that miniature Spartan helmet. I hate Microsoft for the price of the Legendary Edition, I hate them for forcing my hand in buying a 360 (because of the Halo 3 beta), I hate that I had to buy Crackdown to get into the beta and I hate them for making me live in constant fear of a Red Ring of Death. And yet, I still jumped through all those hoops for the chance to “Finish the Fight.”

Somehow, I’ve given Bungie a free pass. I hold no ill will toward them and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because they’ve done so much right this time around. The multiplayer beta, a mere fragment of the final game, was more fun and complete then thousands of other full games out there. The way they’ve eschewed the secrecy of the past, methodically releasing more and more information about the game as launch day approaches. The way they’ve learned from the mistakes of Halo 2. They have managed to heighten the demand for this game to near-mythic levels. Good for them.

Anyway, Microsoft is walking a very thin line with me and If something goes wrong (i.e. Xbox failure before, during or soon after Halo 3 release), Halo 3 will be the last MS product I buy. That means more time with my Wii. More DS time. Definitely no second 360 for LAN parties. Still no PS3 in my future, but hello iMac. You get the idea.

My buddy Chris recently lost his barely-year-old 360 to the RROD (at left is the picture he e-mailed me soon after the meltdown). Chances are, he’s not getting it back before September 25th. He’s also missing out on BioShock, the Call of Duty 4 beta, Madden and NHL ‘08 and a host of other games. Honestly, I think I’m more upset about it than he is. MS began making amends when they extended all warranties to 3 years, but I’d rather next time they get their hardware right before rushing it out the door.

On the bright side, Halo 3 looks to keep me occupied for years to come (or however long my 360 holds out). I’ve gotten quite picky with the games I will devote time to (hence the “Discriminating” in the blog name), but I can already feel Halo digging it’s claws into me due to familiarity and a wealth of replay value. For those who don’t like getting verbally abused by 12-year-olds in the Rumble Pit, the replay value stretches far beyond online multiplayer this time around. Campaign co-op with competitive scoring, Forge, achievements, saved films - the list goes on as to why I will surely sink hours of my life into the game. I’m legitimately worried for my social life, which isn’t exactly vibrant to begin with.

Halo 3 will be amazing, end of story. Even if the story falls flat and the campaign is lackluster (it won’t be), it will still be amazing. Even though my expectations are higher for this game than any other in my long history of gaming, I am confident this game will exceed them. So much so that I spent hundreds on a potentially faulty system. The only way my Halo 3 experience can be ruined is the RROD. Unfortunately, at this point thousands of horror stories have proven nothing is beyond the realm of possibility. Halo 3 makes me willing to take the chance.