Master Chief Owns November 9th.

Of course everyone in the electronics, technology, and entertainment fields know what today is….Halo 2 release day. Millions of fans have been anxiously awaiting its release since the roll out of the Xbox itself. Halo is in fact one of the chief reasons owners were persuaded to purchase an Xbox in the first place. Singularly, it is Microsoft’s most popular game for the console selling more than 4 million copies since its release. With the arrival of Halo 2, Xbox owners have something to be excited about again.

In all the stores I visited there was only one game on everyone’s mind. There were lines of people who were just getting off work or out of school and running out to pick up their copy of the game. At least all the ones who didn’t go to midnight release parties at some of the larger retailers.

Ignoring the media hype and the excited fans for a second, Halo 2 is a remarkably good game. Not because there is anything so radical and new, as to blow your socks off, but because it builds on everything that made the first a success. Adding improvements that fans asked for like online play, better weapons and vehicles Bungie (developers) has done an excellent job in balancing the needs for this successful game. Clearly, they have pushed the envelope of what this aging console can do paving the way for the next generation of consoles. Until now, few developers have really utilized all the power in an Xbox leaving critics to question the technical merits in coming out with a new system.

Due to some issues always inherit in releasing a game, not all retailers had reserved copies on hand for their customers. These were either issues with the shipping service they used or with Microsoft’s strict adherence to its hard street date of November 9th. As a whole though most retailers had plenty of copies of the game and in the larger markets I’d venture to say anyone who wanted could buy one.

In the coming days look for an in-depth review of Master Chief and his new efforts to save mankind from total annihilation.