Stuntmutt

So three years ago, I did the whole bit - queued up in Oxford Street for a midnight opening and a copy of Halo 2. Well, this time around, a couple of things were slightly against me. Firstly, I became a Dad a few months ago and staying out late isn't really up there on the responsible parenting chart. Secondly, Westminster Council banned midnight openings this year for fear of overcrowding.

There was, however, a big launch party going on at Waterloo.



The London IMAX had been done up nice 'n' tidy and would be host to all sorts of celebs, press, industry figures and lucky compo winners.



Well, just when I thought I'd have to wait until the morning of the 26th, I was lucky enough to accompany my mate, LawlessBig Dal to the aforementioned event.



This is me queuing.



This is me saying sod the queue, let's head back in an hour.



I was a little bit worried it would just turn out to be stuff I'd seen on the internet. Sure enough, we got the Diorama video, and a walkthrough of Tsavo Highway by bungie's Joe Tung and Lee Wilson. Interesting enough, but not really gripping. The much feted celebrity deathmatch was a bit shonky. Pharrell slunk on, mumbled a hello, then proceeded to suck like a thirsty horse. Sure, the names on the screen said Carmen Electra and LL Cool J were his opponents, but they were in other countries playing via Xbox Live. So all we could see was a bunch of people who looked like they'd never played Halo before missing each other with rockets and falling off the map on a big screen. Yes, I do realise the pot just cast aspersions at the kettle.



But the night took a sweet turn. On entering, we had all been given either red or blue wristbands. Two red crowd members and two blue were called down to the front for 2v2 game of slayer. We were told that if the red team won, everyone with a red wristband would get a free copy of the game, same for blues if their team won. Well that got the crowd behind the players. The reds spanked the blues by about forty points. Of course, it was all a bit of schtick and as consolation prizes, everyone was to be given a free copy of Halo 3 when they left.

I was out of there like a shot. Sod the umpteen networked HD setups in the lobby. Sod the free bar. By 8.20pm, I had a copy of the game in my hand. And at a price that was right.



I went home and finished the fight (going to work the following day after just two hours of sleep). I dashed through on Normal just to see how the story ended and I loved it. I'm now going back through on Heroic and it's even better. Next week, I'll make a start on Legendary. And hopefully, I'll get a chance to play a little multiplayer too.