Years ago when the console wars split and The Xbox came out to contend with the PS2 I opted to stick with my PS2. Who needs a hard drive anyway?
Point being I never played Halo at all until about six months before Halo 3 came out and when I played I did them in order 1, 2, and then 3 for the single player "story" which is how I traditionally played games. The idea of the online mode being the big draw escaped me. 
 
All this is to say I suck at online modes. I got ODST for my son who loves Halo and isn't too terrible at the online stuff considering he's 10. I tried Halo 3 multiplayer and can't even begin to compete with the worst of players unless they have gone to the bathroom or something. Trust me, when I see a guy standing still I feel no shame in using them to boost my kills to 1 instead of 0 for the match.
 
So now Reach is coming later and the beta starts in early May and it's got filters according the the Giant Bomb news article, including how competitive people are. It makes me wonder if that means I could just play with bad players? Could this be my shot to even up the odds a little and try to get some enjoyment from the online mode? I have not only not enjoyed previous attempts to practice but it was literally a painful chore to "compete" with the people I was playing with. Isn't the match making supposed to already pair you with equal players? I suspect I just am not any good at the online mode. So that leaves story....
 
I don't understand Halo's story. I felt awesome in that last warthog sequence of 3, I felt the emotional levity of that last cut scene but I couldn't tell you who or what that giant plant thing was about or why Halo rings were made in the first place. I'm usually pretty smart about these things but the Halo universe just baffles me somehow.
 
Writing this all out I can't imagine playing the story mode on Reach but then again my kids want it, they'll be playing, and why buy a game I never play. So I guess this self therapy means I will play Reach, I'll suck at it and be confused, but at least feel justified in the $60 (Bungie...screw you with that Limited and Legendary edition crap. Fool me once on Halo 3 with the helmet but I won't be a patsy to you again). Worst case, I know Damien will dig the hell out of it, he's been playing the Halo games we have left (got rid of 3 in one of those "trade 2 and get your new game for $20" deals) so I don't worry he'll make plenty of use of the game.
 
I just wish I cared. I feel like my grandpa asking me why I liked these "super marvin brothers" back when Super Mario 3 came out! Between this and not being excited about motion controls like Wii, Natal, and most of the Playstation Move stuff I worry that I am getting old and will stop loving video games sometime in the near future...a fate worse than death in my current mind.