There's nothing quite like the excitement of a Bungie release. When Halo 3 launched, fans screeched tires from the parking lots of game retailers to get back home as soon as they could to slap in a game disc they'd be playing for the next three years. Online multiplayer- on launch night- was a completely different social scene than it was in Halo 2. If only for one night, the random people you were match-made with were filling your headset with "Ooohs" and "Ahhhs" and "Did you see that?" instead of blatant trash-talking laden with obscenities. It felt like one of those rare events when the whole world was watching... and you were part of it.
Halo 3: ODST, for all of it's awesome firefight action and atmospheric open-word city searching, paled in comparison with Halo 3 as a launch night experience. Cooperative campaign was a lot of fun, but you were limited to four players. And because it was the first time anyone had set foot into the darkened city streets of New Mombasa, it took some time for players to navigate their way to the actual campaign levels with the best action sequences. ODST Firefight- as we all know- did not provided for online matchmaking. So it was you and three of your friends... for as long as you could stay awake... finding your way through the dark as mostly soothing music played. (That being said, we at the SGP know it's an incredible game whose depths we are still exploring.)
In less than 24 hours, that Halo 3 launch experience will be relived with a vengeance!
Like a fresh box of doughnuts, Halo Reach is so laden with delicious choices that players are forced to choose only a few of the many gluttonous options available to begin digesting immediately. With both Campaign Mode and Firefight Mode sporting matchmaking online play, you can choose where you want to share your "Ooohs" and "Ahhhs" with the world. As this functionality has grown, the term "multiplayer mode" has become a bit of a dinosaur in the context of contemporary video gaming... and most certainly when applied to Halo.
So get your NAT squared away, and rehearse your best take of "Look at the size of that thing!" because Halo: Reach is going to be massive! See you online!!!
