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LAN = FUN – TriForce Guy →

Posted on May 24, 2011 by GrimBrother One

As a lifelong Nintendo fanboy with a brand new Gamecube, my first
experience with Halo in 2001 was underwhelming.

“Wow, this game sucks.”

I had never even heard of Halo until one of my friends bought the
comically-large Xbox and tried to get us to play multiplayer.

“You can only hold two weapons? And your health regenerates?
Let’s go back to Perfect Dark…”

But at that moment I hopped into the Warthog for the first time and fell
in love. It wasn’t until later when I played through the Campaign that I
learned to appreciate the two-weapon system and how recharging shields
forever changed multiplayer shooters for the better. I quickly became
the biggest Halo fan in my group of friends, which really says something
because that was the only game we all played for years. Ten years, to be
exact.

Unfortunately, just prior to discovering Halo I had spent ages of saved
up birthday and allowance money on my Gamecube. It was a great system
with some fantastic games, but none of them were Halo. My friends,
birthday money intact, all bought Xboxes just for that one game.

It was almost funny, you could ask any of them who the biggest Halo fan
was and they would point to me, the one guy who only got to play away
from home. The only perk was that since I was also the best player (my
pistol skillz on Hang ‘em High were legendary) I could talk the most
trash at our LAN parties.

“How are you losing to me so badly? I don’t even own this game.”

As the resident Halo fanboy I would regale my friends with tales from
Frankie’s weekly updates. If anyone had a question about some obscure
facet of the Halo story they would come to me for the latest theories
from bungie.net or halo.bungie.org.

When Halo 2 launched, I still didn’t have an Xbox. When my friends came
to school the next day they were busy chatting with each other about the
midnight release and the first few campaign levels. Thankfully, they
brought the instruction manual to school for me to read and I completely
ignored my Calculus class that day: I spent the entire period decoding
the garbled Prophet message in the Conversations with the Universe
pamphlet.

It’s a good thing I was an expert at Calculus, because it paid off later
on. After an entire school year of tutoring all my friends in math and
solving the group homework for them, they all pitched in (even the
girls) and bought me a used Xbox and copy of Halo 2. “There. Now you
can’t use your ‘I don’t own this game’ excuse any more when you beat
us.” It was a very touching experience and that Original Xbox still
holds a place of honor in my entertainment center.

When I graduated high school and moved away to college I was worried
that I’d lose touch with my closest friends. Halo 2 put those fears to
rest. If anything I was spending more time with my friends, only instead
of playing splitscreen Warthog Wars on Blood Gulch we were capturing
flags on Zanzibar over Xbox Live. I don’t want to sound overly
sentimental, but I honestly believe that Halo 2 helped me maintain my
high school friendships better than any other means of contact available
and I am eternally grateful for that.

I’ll just hit the high points from there on to keep this as short and
sweet as possible:
- I got a reputation in my college dorm for being the guy to beat at
Halo. New residents would show up at my door looking for a challenge. I
made some great friends that way (after I won, of course.)
- Where were you when the Halo 3 Finish the Fight trailer debuted? I was
literally moving out of my dorm room carrying a couch when the download
finished. I stood there watching the trailer with my 3 best friends, the
excitement in the room palpable. I still get goose bumps every time I
hear Marty’s score for Finish the Fight. Goosebumps and back pains (that
couch was heavy.)
- I worked an entire summer in a terrible job just to save money for an
HDTV to play Halo 3 on. Totally worth it.

Just as Halo 2 kept me in touch with my high school friends, Halo: Reach
keeps us playing together on a weekly basis to this very day. I’ve
become more and more involved in the Halo Community over the past year
or so and it’s such a welcoming and friendly place that I don’t think
I’ll ever quit. Every time I pick up a controller I still whisper to
myself:

“Man, this game rocks.”

- Daniel Duncan (ncsuDuncan)

(Daniel is not only a fan, he’s also the co-manager of the 2011 Halo Community Tournament)

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LAN = FUN – TriForce Guy →