I remember how I began my love of Halo.
It was 2001, I was 4 at the time. My dad's Playstation had broken and he went shopping for a new console. He heard that Xbox was by Microsoft, so he went for that. He purchased the console and was given Halo with it. But he didn't really care for that, he wanted Star Wars games. I remember how he argued furiously to trade Halo for a Star Wars game, but when the cashier continually refused, my dad was forced to buy the Star Wars game and come home with 2 games to play.
He didn't touch Halo for a month, and when he got bored of shooting stormtroopers, he finally picked up Halo. I remember starring at the screen in amazement as my dad shot those Grunts, Jackles and Elites. Once my dad finished the game, he wanted to play multiplayer and invited me to play. That's when I began to play Halo. I remember all the fun games I had. Slayer on Blood Gulch and Boarding Action, Oddball on Prisoner and Hang 'em High, King of the Hill on Battle Creek. It was so much fun.
When Halo 2 was released in 2004, I was 7. My dad was going to buy it at the midnight sale, I remember begging him for hours to go with him. He finally gave in. At midnight, we got the second copy of Halo 2 that store sold, and the first Special Edition of it they sold. I was the 3rd person I knew to hold that game cover. First was the cashier, then my dad, then me.
I never played Halo and Halo 2's campaign myself until I was 11, I used to wait for my dad to finish it and then I would play on his saved game so I had all the levels. But I remember the fun I had on that game's multiplayer. We couldn't afford Xbox Live at the time, but you know you're playing a good game when you're having so much fun playing on a quarter of your TV screen. The awesome games I played. Capture the Flag on Headlong, Slayer on Ivory Tower, Rockets on Colossus, Assault on Zanzibar, I loved it! But I especially loved Headlong. The way that destroyed city looked had me playing in awe. I was always either in the Banshee or the Gauss Turret. I loved having the vantage points.
Then Halo 3 was released, I was 10. I still didn't have online play, but I remember not having as much fun on Halo 3 as I did on Halo 1 and 2. I don't know why, but that changed. On January 21st, 2009 I got Xbox Live. I played Call of Duty 2 first, it was the only game I could think of playing. But halfway through my 3rd game on COD 2 I thought "HALO 3!". I threw it in the disc tray and began shooting the absolute hell out of everyone. My first game was on Narrows, and I'll always remember that game.
I was so upset when Halo 2's online was shut down. I had gotten rid of Halo 2 before I got Xbox Live, so I never got to play it online. I met a friend last year who had Halo 2 PC, and I instantly asked to borrow it. He refused, so I insisted on playing it at his house. He agreed, and I jumped into online play. Finally, after 6 years, I got to have my game of Halo 2 online. It was Big Team Battle on Coagulation, and I did so well! It was like my skill was building up inside over 6 years and it finally burst out. But I still couldn't find any online games on Headlong. But I got to have that when I bought Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary, and played Big Team Battle on Headlong Anniversary. I know, it wasn't Halo 2, but it was close enough. I was so happy to have finally played my favourite Halo map of all time online!
Halo has earned it's possition in my heart, and it will never leave. I know for a fact, that one day, I will get to relive the time I missed out on during Halo 2's prime. I'm not sure how I'll do it, but I will.