The Stuff of Legend

Everything Legendary.
Originally uploaded by todd.burbo.

I'm finally starting to recover from the initial shock of Halo 3's release. And by recover, I mean sleep more than 2 hours a night and occasionally leave the house.

Everyone's been asking me what I think of the game, but I'm at a loss for words. I want to send Bungie an overly sentimental and sincere Hallmark card, thanking them for doing such a good job on this game. I love it like I love a great record, which I believe is a testament to Bungie's love for their project. It's more than a product to them, and it really shows, especially in Campaign mode, where Halo 2 seemed a bit lacking.

I'm no game designer, so it's hard for me to pinpoint exactly what Bungie did (although Wired took a crack at explaining it), but Halo 3 recaptures the feeling that made the first installment so, well... Legendary. I lol'd when I was killed, I pumped my fist with excitement during cinematics, and I felt the same bittersweet love at the end that I felt when The Return of the King faded to black (for the final time). What I'm trying to say is, the third part has cemented this trilogy's status as an all-time great. If it could, it would surely win 10 Oscars.

While there is no game award prestigious enough to honor a game like Halo 3, Bungie might take consolation in the fact that their game smashed media sales records in its first day of release. That's across all mediums, mind you. Films, records, books... you name it. Halo beat them all, including the highest grossing film, Spiderman 3, and even mother-fucking Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. It crushed them. And keep in mind, only American sales have been tallied. When the worldwide numbers are in, first-day sales are expected to exceed $300 million. First. Day. Sales.

To everyone that's going to rip on me for this entry: have you considered that, just maybe, you've been missing out?