Over the past few days I have come to hate ODST Firefight. The name bore a sense of joy to me before. But now, all it reminds me of is heart ache and sore fingers (kinda like my ex-girlfriend, but that's a different story...). This story starts with me asking my friend if he wants to help me get some of the last firefight achievements I need. 
 
An hour later on Lost platoon - a map he says he made it all the way to 400,000 on with Legendary - him and his nub friend had gotten themselves killed enough to end the game. Onto Last Exit. And hour into that - an hour of them leaving to make a sandwich and eat said sandwich while I covered their asses - they said they had to leave for the night. NOOOO! Damn you firefight and your game ending quitting!! 
 
Deflated, but determined to get at least one achievement, I decided "F**k it, I'll do it myself". That's also what I ended up saying at night during my relationship with my ex, but again, that's a different story... 
 
Knowing that I couldn't handle all skulls on Normal, I opted for the much easier, but obviously longer, route of playing on Easy. An hour in and I only had 40K. I nearly quit then and there, but I thought I might have a chance to get the achievement. Luckily I didn't because I made it. It did take me nearly 3 hours to do, but I made it. My last kill was a stick on a brute chieftain. I stuck around for the bonus round (which happened to be the next stage by chance) and then left. 
 
It was pretty enjoyable, but not too challenging. I simply jumped in a ghost for most of the game (ahem, 400+ splatters!), kept my pistol handy if I wanted to deck some grunts, and retreated into the main building when I was too swamped with drones during the Black Eye stretches of the levels. Got pretty darn good at it by the end. I probably could've kept going for another 100K if I'd tried, but after 3 hours of the same stupid Covenant, it was time to escape... 
 
Will I do it again. Probably not. Two days left before In return the game and I don't fancy spending half of them in Firefight for 30 more gamerscore...

After 4 hours, I completed the Halo 3: ODST on Legendary! Nothing beats the ol' "2 achievements unlocked for 200G". 
 
It wasn't always easy, but it was pretty fun. The friend I was playing it with has a bit of a temper, so I'd come up behind him and melee him once before running away, dodging his grenades and laughing. Ah... The funniest moment however was during one particular session in the Mombassa Streets. He was getting blasted by snipers. "Save me! Help help help!" "Don't worry I'm a legend" I said as i picked off the sniper with my pistol. Just to rub it in I decided to brag about my feat one last time "Oh yes, I am Spawn Man and I am a friggin leg-". The exact moment my lips began to say "legend", I was sniped dead by a jackal. To make it worse is I screamed a little and everyone in our party cracked up laughing. 
 
We eventually got to the last fight without many hiccups - the coastal highway was brutal, but we managed - and we were set for the final battle. After giving our rockets to Buck and Dare (and after numerous comments on how I'd tap Dare and how he thought she had a knife face), we were ready. Somehow I got separated and ended up BEHIND the Covenant drop point, so I hid in this little alcove. It was quite hilarious really because just as I did this, the Brute Chieftain dropped with his massive gravity hammer. 
  
We literally stood eying each other up for a few minutes. Then my friend died and respawned in my little alcove. Obviously he hadn't showered because the chieftain rushed and wiped him out. I retreated into my little corner and whimpered "I'm safe - he won't find me in here..." Then he blew me away with his hammer. I didn't scream this time, but everyone still laughed. 
 
We fought to the end and then it was over. Unlike other campaigns however, it was pretty easy on Legendary - I'd certainly consider doing it again for fun. Now I just need to get Naughty Naughty, some of those Firefight achievos, all the audiophiles and of course those pesky Vidmasters. All in 3 days before I return the game.

Well I've started the ODST campaign on Legendary with a pal in hopes of snagging some achievements before I return the game. I think all I have left to get is to finish the game on Heroic and Legendary, some firefight achievos and those blasted Vidmaster ones. Oh, and good samaritan/naughty naughty due to the fact I accidentally stuck one of those pink balloon things the first time I played. Don't judge me! He was squealing in attack mode! 
 
Unfortunately, the game sucks just as much as the first time, although it is slightly more enjoyable with a partner. I've found most campaigns are indeed funner co-op. Oh and before I move off the subject, funner should be a word! Fun means enjoyable. Funny means humorous. Funnier means it was more humorous. "The co-op was funnier co-op" just doesn't mean it was more enjoyable. I'm surprised no one has picked up on this yet. Let's start a movement! Funner for all!

Damn university assignments stopped me from coming home early to play the last of the Halo Reach Beta. I guess the only joy I'll get out of it now is giving feedback from my limited time onto the Bungie forums. Sigh. 
 
Did manage to revisit some games with my dad last night - he was complaining that he only has an Xbox in his room while I have the 360, so I offered to show him some games. We started off with Trials HD which he found hilarious, and then moved onto The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Dead Space. By the end he was well asleep, so I kept playing Dead Space without him. Worse graphics and easier than I remembered, but maybe it wasn't as scary because he was there snoring. 
 
Definitely want to revisit some more games I've neglected for a while (I'm looking at you Mass Effect, Orange Box and Devil May Cry 4) for some more achievements and simply for the bragging rights finishing a new game brings. Off to be am I.

Yes! I'm officially a Halo Reach Beta tester! With only a day to spare too! The Beta took an age to download, but once it was safe and secure on my hard drive, it was undoubtedly well worth it. Didn't have anyone to play with at first, so was chucked into the deep end, but being a Halo enthusiast, I landed on my feet. Never been a Beta tester before - feel kinda special! Like I'm changing history! THE POWER!
 
So thoughts? I played about 6 games in the limited time I had and got a fairly good impression of the game, although I obviously wasn't able to play EVERYTHING. Generally, I had a good time; I met a guy who was able to explain most of the features to me and it ended with a friend request - I even only managed to get called a dick once! Score!
 
But the gameplay is what I really came for. The firefights, the new weapons, the cool shit. Did I get that? Meh. I had fun, but it felt really unfinished. I'm sick of other games trying to borrow their multiplayer from MW2's success. Unfortunately Reach is no different - loadouts, perks, stronger grenades, damn even the crosshairs expand when firing! What happened to games trying to forge their own way ahead? ODST's borrowed open-plan layout failed miserably, so why should this work? Why can't Halo be Halo and Call of Duty be Call of Duty? 
 
That said, not all of the new features failed - the armour perks actually were pretty fun, and although the loadout feature took away from some of the tactics of trying to capture important weapons, it does allow for some more customized play. I wasn't too keen on the new weapons (that needle rifle was just plain weird and with the expanding crosshair, the BMR or whatever it is was just frustrating; even the shotgun didn't feel right) or some of the objective game modes, such as Invasion and the one where you have to destroy the generators, primarily because the former was too difficult for the Elites and the latter because it just wasn't challenging enough. 
 
Since we're on the topic, Elites and Spartans. Why change what was working? Why make the Elites big as hell and the Spartans so small? For campaign, yeah, it'd work fine, but for multiplayer, at times it just felt plain one-sided. I did not like the difference in size and abilities at all - it only drifts the game further away from the essence of Halo and into something quite different. 
 
My final qualm was on the actual matchmaking system. The one good feature of MW2 which Halo Reach did NOT take was the bloody joining/quitting system! In 4 verse 4 games, someone quitting is still just as devastating to a team as it was in Halo 3 - and yet Bungie have yet again failed to produce a remedy to that. A quitting time out? My friend which joined towards the end of my session laughed at it. Who cares if they get banned for 15 minutes of their life, I want to WIN! And it just ain't gonna happen 2 or 3 verse 4. 
 
So I did have some great fun playing the Beta, but that the fun I had wasn't with the Halo I knew and loved, but one seriously warped by outside influences - I thought the franchise was stronger. I feel like maybe I might have a chance to change the features I'd undoubtedly be whining about later on if it was another game, but it seems Bungie have once again set their mind in stone. Long live the new grenades though! Stronger is always better when it comes to explosives. Except when it comes to noob tubes. 
 
And now my extra long blog post comes to an end. Adios.

So this is a gaming site right? So I guess I should write about games then eh? 
 
As you can tell I'm new to this blogging, but gaming? I consider myself a veteran! Ever since I was seven I've been jumping on turtles, collecting coins, shooting bad guys and driving into walls at high speed. And that's just in real life! (Just kidding! I love turtles! I really do! *Turtle pancakes*) 
  
Things haven't changed much since I was seven - just the graphics and how many times I have to verse a boss before I chuck the controller at the screen. I just finished BioShock 2 and loved it (see my review) and now I've set my sights on the Halo Reach Beta. I returned my Halo 3: ODST game back to the store a week after buying it (which apparently you can do, luckily, since ODST sucked), so I had to go out yesterday and re-buy it. Yep. That shit is going straight back to the store once the Beta is over. 
 
So I'm excited and kinda nervous, like I'm about to have my "first time". I must say, ODST really tarnished my high respect for the Halo series, and it took my whole friends list screaming at me to get the Beta for me to finally concede. Peer pressure. Ugnh. 
 
With the last few weeks of university coming to a close, and deadlines licking my boots (seriously good tasting boots though), naturally I must play gratuitous hours of Xbox 360! As soon as I'm done surfing the web. And watching TV. Actually, really anything I can do to procrastinate over my assignments. Toodles.