So yeah, after staying up all night to see Halo 2 off in style...it was still going! When was it going to end??? People were confused..some were ecstatic, some were distraught...most just couldn't believe their luck.....
I was knackered! 8am!!! And it hadn't stopped.....it could go at any minute, or be on for days! I decided I'd made it this far, so I'd sit around for a bit longer. Detwiler had had enough...he had already sat through two countdowns and neither of them had given him the closure he seeked. He said his farewells, and left us to battle on for him....
Ivantrembow and the rest managed to hang on until 1.30pm GMT, which is when I decided I had better give up too, as I was meant to be signing on...we sent our friend requests and went our seperate ways, and reflected on the games we'd played, the things said and done....
At least I did for about two minutes, and then I faced a two mile walk to try and get a bus to the Jobcentre...I set off knowing too well that the lack of sleep and food would make it difficult to get there on time, and was proved right when I arrived at the next village to see the bus zoom past in front of me! Feck!
After calling the Jobcentre to see if I had to go in that day or could wait until Friday, I walked another two miles back home and collapsed on the sofa.....I didn't need to go in until tomorrow....I should probably try and sleep...or get something to eat........But...Halo 2 is still going. I can see people on my friends list playing it. Another few games then!
And that was me until 3.30am on Friday morning.....Slowly people started giving up, trying to end on a good game. But a hardcore few hundred decided to sit it out! I tried, but having had no sleep the night before it was only a matter of time before I had to give up....I didn't know then that if I had stayed logged in I could still be there now...the servers have been shut, but those still playing have until they log out or are forcibly removed from the game. The guy whose team I finished in sent me a friend request and I notice he has now been playing for 3 days solid....
It was an experience that will stay with me forever, probably because the game has been burned into my retinas...it changed my views on LIVE a bit too. I realize now that game communities can all come together and stop the silly insults or annoying habits, and share an experience that will never happen quite the same way again...It was almost like some sort of weird festival. A Woodstock of sorts for the gamers of the 00's...I'm just glad I hung around until the last 600 or so players, and had a great time!
Only a few guys and girls remain online now....the community is split down the middle, some saying it should have ended at 12 PST Wednesday, and others willing the remaining to hang on as long as possible....
Halo 2...it's been a blast! I may have only experienced the online stuff over the last year, but it's the game that helped build LIVE....it's influenced many of today's shooters, and has now been played more than 800 million times online...In fact here's some stats for you....
•Unique Players (not including guests): 6,603,900
•Kills: 36,784,837,266 (Or something like 5.5 times the current population of the earth)
•Assists: 10,422,552,715
•Current total games: 803,136,816
•Current player games: 5,417,490,994
•Seconds in Matchmatchmade games: 1,798,459,752,186
•Minutes in Matchmatchmade games: 29,974,329,203
•Hours in Matchmatchmade games: 499,572,153
•Days in Matchmatchmade games: 20,815,506
•Years in Matchmatchmade games: 56,991 (So since around 54,981 BC, about the time Europe was thought to have started being inhabited by Neanderthals)
•Seconds playing campaign on live: 850,462,468,852
•Minutes playing campaign on live: 14,174,374,480
•Hours playing campaign on live: 236,239,574
•Days playing campaign on live: 9,843,315
•Years playing campaign on live: 26,950 (Or about 1.7 billion dollars at a minimum wage of 7.25)
•Total Clans: 8,653,124
•Clans with 8+ members: 68,868
•Clans with 16+ members: 16,752
It's been a heck of a journey for it.........but now, it's finished it's fight!
RIP HALO 2
2005-2010
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