I’ve gotten a slew of emails today asking if I was nerdy enough to camp outside Best Buy last night to be the first in line to purchase Halo 2 on its release date… Surprisingly, I was not.
I did however pick up a copy today on my lunch break. This was after I had gone online to check the inventory and availability at local retailers. You see, I was on a mission of infinite dorkiness, and I used all the tools at my disposal.
On my drive to Best Buy I viewed every car in front of me as the potential individual that would purchase the last copy before I got into the store. This made it easier on my conscience to justify running them off the road. What if I missed out on the last copy? What am I capable of? I began to prepare myself for what my reaction would be in case this scenario played out…
Would I:
a) Drive to another store and repeat the process indefinitely.
b) Attempt to snatch a copy from a 14 year old in line at the register and have him subsequently kick my ass.
c) Realize that a video game could never provide true happiness.
d) Curse the fact that I failed to put my Zillion Dollar Idea of bulk purchasing 500,000 copies of Halo 2 and undercutting retailers by selling them directly from my home into motion. (Btw, this is an actual idea I came up with. I even created spreadsheets crunching the numbers and sought advice from web developers. I could have been so rich by now it’s not even funny.)
e) Come to grips that I wouldn’t be the first person on my block to own the most highly anticipated video game in history.
f) Take a deep breath, crack my knuckles, and begin an epic killing spree…
As I walked into the store, contemplating all of these options, I was relieved to find they had an ample stock on hand. Aside from having to put up with a sales associate trying to up sell me the collector’s edition, with a DVD documenting the making of Halo 2, it was virtually a hassle free experience. (On a side note, I took great offense that the sales associate thought I was nerdy enough to be interested in watching a documentary about the creation of a video game. This is a new low for me.)
Aside from posting these thoughts on Zillionaire on company time, I also took the opportunity to read through the instruction manual for Halo 2 at my desk. Needless to say, I will not be receiving the coveted “Employee of the Decade Award†anytime soon. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any mention of a flamethrower being added to the weapons arsenal, one of the rumored improvements in the sequel. They did however add a laser sword, so maybe that makes up for it. I’ll have to give it some more thought.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need race to home with utter disregard to pedestrians and other motorists. There’s a newly released video game to be played! We’ll soon find out if that excuse will stand up in court…
And finally, I’ll warn you right now, there is likely more to come on Halo 2…
I feel ya, MR. Last night I put in a call to my “video game connect.” He told me he’d have plenty of copies available and he’d hold one for me. However I was shocked to walk in and not see lines out the door. What’s up with that? Here we go again, back to saving the universe.
I know there are females out there who get as excited about new games as Matt but I’m almost positive I speak for many other wives and girlfriends when I say this day is not a good one for me. Halo 1 was finally getting old to the husband and we were getting back to the good ol days of stimulating conversation, well conversation, and even eating meals together. With the release of Halo 2 I’m kissing all that good-bye. I guess the bright side is we no longer have to fight over the remote, I just accept the fact that I get the 13″ in the spare bedroom all to myself.
Halo 2 on xbox live was a spiritual experience for me. welcome all to the new religion. I perfer the laser sword above all other weapons. Especially if you are invisible. It is the most entertaining way of killing that I have ever expereinced. My hat is off to microsoft.
The Christbox finally has the second coming of its king.
Krusty is 100% correct. The laser sword, especially in my hands, proved to be the most fatal weapon of our first night with Halo 2. At one point, I had at least 10 kills in a row from it. I haven’t seen invisibility yet so I’m looking forward to taking it up a notch.
Right behind the laser sword, the dual-wielding rifles are my second favorite option. I strap on a few of those, put my head down, and start running over people like a bull in Pamplona.
I’m really happy that there are more than just a few good multiplayer maps. So far, I think they all have potential.
And the litany of stats that the game now keeps is really vital. Finally, I can shut Solo up when he starts claiming my kills. I think the medals are my favorite. It’s nice to get a little recognition now and then.
When I heard that Halo 2 was coming out (I have to admit it was yesterday that I first heard). I must be hanging out with the wrong people. No one I know ever brought this up in polite conversation! I thought this might be a nice Christmas gift for you, but now I see that someone couldn’t wait a month or so….
JR, I feel for you… I walk in the door every night to NCAA Football 2005. Ever so often have I been tempted to break the disk “on accident” while cleaning, only to realize that it will shortly be replaced by 2006. I have resorted to spending my nights at the Mall. Thank god Brian only has a playstation and not an X Box, or I would be in trouble!