- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Frankie: This will be kinda long, but it is worth reading. I am one of the "older" Halo players at 29, and have been playing for about 5 years now. My younger brother, Alex, turned me on to Halo, and I became hooked. It was a great way for us to bond, as he is 13 years younger than me. We played for hours every weekend and had a great time. About two years ago, my parents retired and moved to Athens, Greece, taking my younger brother and sister with them. All of a sudden, my "Halo Buddy" was gone.
My wife, Nicole, who barely tolerated my Halo habit, was glad that I no longer spent late nights playing Halo. After a while, though, she noticed that I was pretty depressed about my brother moving away. She realized that it wasn't so much about Halo, but about spending time with him. She broke down and offered to become my new "Halo Buddy." "How hard can the game be, right?" she told me. Well, the first several weeks were a fiasco. I let her use one of my accounts, xx Iron Duke xx, to learn the game, and she spent more time shooting the sky than anybody else. She became frustrated at the game, she became frustrated at me, she cursed Bungie, but she did not quit. On several occasions, I woke up in the morning to find my wife playing Halo by herself, vowing to get good enough to hang with everyone else. Within three months, Nicole had become a devout Halo player, logging hours of online time on her own console, with her own big screen, right next to mine. She had become my new, and best, "Halo Buddy", and a very competitive one at that!
About a year ago, my brother was able to get broadband service in Athens, and came back online. Now, the three of us regularly play together. Look for SorakNehpets, XX Iron Duke XX, and PinkShamallama online- That's me, Nicole, and Alex having a great time. After over 5000 matches logged on Halo 2, Nicole is now "hanging with the guys" in Halo 3. She is fragging, sniping, and pwning noobs like the best of them. All of my guy friends are amazed that my wife plays Halo with me. Needless to say, they are all pretty jealous!
But the story gets even better: 4 weeks ago, Nicole gave birth to our first child, Henry. Our friends gave us a couple of special outfits for him. One little shirt says, "Mommy's Little Spartan" and the other says "I think I stickied my diaper", complete with a sticky grenade embroidered on the rear! Now, when Nicole and I play, our little spartan is probably asleep on the couch between us. He'll be playing in no time...
So, did I meet my true love playing Halo? No--but my true love plays Halo with me, and we have a stronger bond because of it. Frankie, for being willing to do whatever it takes to make her husband smile, I think Nicole deserves a little Halo reward. Any ideas?? Maybe recon armor?? Thanks for your time.
Happy New Year,
Stephen Karos