Towards the end of 2006, Bungie announced they would be offering gamers the chance to play Halo 3 online in beta before the November 2007 release. The Bag Man thought life couldn’t get any better. He counted down the days, each passing day brought him closer to Halo 3 beta, but each day was more painful than the next. Then Bungie made the announcement: Halo 3 Beta would only be available for a limited time. Aaargh. “So, bring it on,” the Bag Man yelled.
But the evildoers at Microsoft took pleasure in making the Bag Man suffer. In December, Microsoft and Bungie revealed that gamers could “register for the opportunity to be one of the select members” of the public beta. Great? Wrong. Millions of Halo fans around the world entered. Only a select few were chosen. The odds were against our hero and he lost. “BAAAAH,” the Bag Man cried out.
Then in January there were two new ways to enter. Play 3 hours of Halo 2 multiplayer on Live between Feb. 1 and Feb. 3 and then register at Halo3.com or buy Crackdown. The Bag Man chose to buy Crackdown. A month later, he still has yet to see this Halo 3 beta. Bungie.net keeps telling fans, “It’s coming in spring.” But you see, the Bag Man just can’t wait that long. He needs Halo 3 beta now. He tried to pass the hours playing Crackdown, but it was a tedious task, knowing that the only reason he bought this pseudo-GTA title at all was to play Halo 3.
Why does Bungie torture fans? Because they can. Halo 3 is arguably the most anticipated title of the year. Bungie.net is gearing up for the release as we speak. The recently relaunched Bungie.net with a whole new interface. If you check the stats page they show the number of Halo 2 players currently online. At the time of this post, there are currently over 50,000 Halo fanatics online. Directly below the number of players is the “Player’s Hub.” And what’s below the “Player’s Hub” you ask? You guessed it Halo 3. So, it’s only a matter of time before Halo 3 Beta goes public. And when it does, the Bag Man hopes their servers are ready for an onslaught more massive than the Flood on Legendary.
My GamerTag is Yogizilla and I am proud to admit that my stats stink and so do my achievement points. WHEEEEEEEEEEE! Did you guys know that, in addition to buying Crackdown, there was a snapshot period in which Halo 2 player activity was tracked and the most-active gamers were invited to the beta? Yes indeedy. That was one of three major ways to get invited to the Halo 3 beta.
So, this is what it means to rewrite history. How low can you sink, Link? Or, should I call you Benedict Link? Who were you saving me from? Yourself?
Yes, the Bag Man remembers a point when you were better. Most likely because you camped out by GameStop to get your copy of Halo 2 at 12am. Yes in those early weeks, before Bags owned the game, you were better. He doesn’t dispute that.
Yes, the Bag Man remembers you saying, “Bag Man I’m on your six.” But, how many times did i turn around just to be greated by your wild-crossfire. “Wait look out behind you. I’ll save you.” Then Darkness. Followed by the one word everyone hates to hear. “BETRAYAL.”
You’d quickly apologize, “Damn, I’m sorry. I mean I warned you. Why didn’t you duck.” The Bag Man never complained. Halo 2 was war. In war there are casualties. The Bag Man accepted my fate and pushed on leading our team to many a victory.
Oh and when Halo 3 drops, the gamertag will be available. Will yours?
Agree with your gripe Bags on Halo 3.. but why are you so eager to play the beta?? Only to be stickied and assassinated again and again by your boy Link? I remember many a time during Halo 2 it was like “Saving Private Ryan”… Me saving you from certain annihilation. If anything, you should be spending this time on halo 2 rather than playing Crackdown. Oh, and why don’t you publish your gamertag so folks can see your stats?