Halo, Goodbye

Well, now she's really gone ahead and done it. Two-and-a-half years after nearly destroying our marriage by buying me an Xbox, the missus yesterday approved a pre-holiday purchase of Halo 2, the season's most eagerly anticipated new game. I can conclude only that she's tiring of my company.

My sister-in-law handed me the bag yesterday. I spent two hours last night as my alter ego the Master Chief, saving the planet from the vile and villainous Covenant hordes.

And it's just beginning.

Assuming H2 unrolls with the same manic intensity and epic length of its predecessor, I may not come up for air until the next presidential election. The original Halo set new standards in the way it fused a complex, layered plot, multiple settings, terrific graphics and sound, and breakneck action; it took me months to finish the game, and I was exhilarated every time I played. And that's to say nothing of the impossibly fun multiplayer version. If last night's testing of the waters is any indication, I'll be similarly consumed over the next several months.

So I'm left scratching my head over my wife's true motivation in securing what would have been at the top of my Christmas list. And I reply in the only way possible:

I love you, too, honey.

Comments

[J. Weitzel]

My XBox took a dump two weeks ago. Perfect timing! Just when the holiday game season begins!

Lev Grossman, a respected columnist who reviews books and pop for Time magazine, said "Halo" was so good, so intense, it made him cry.