HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!
....And dont forget about all the other great titles that it had!
I remember sitting outside Target in a line of about 20 @ Midnite. It was 2am and the line started growing. 5am, a "flood" of people arrived. 7am and even more spilled into the parking lot. From 2 quick headcounts, there were over 220 people inline when the manager came out and handed the 1st 32 people in line a ticket, the rest were sent a packin! Xbox launch was huge in these parts, we had news crews in the parking lot along with several police cruisers. It exceeded the DC launch for me in regards to hype and excitement and anticipation(the 360 has since obliterated those 2 launches).
I was lucky number 13. Did that number ever curse me? Hell No! Over the years I got 2 more and all worked flawlessly. It helps Im thousands of miles from Jon Lui!
I had my GF with me and the guy behind us offered her 40.00 for her to act as if we werent together so she was lucky person 14(yeah someone missed out in the line but the guys nephew didnt!).
That money bought breakfast, lunch, and dinners for the next couple days(vacations days I used at work so I played from Thursday morning until Sunday night).
I didnt even care for Halo much until about a month after launch. I was 2 busy playing PGR and DOA 3 at first
Rallisport hit shortly after, as did Morrowind and Silent Hill 2! I knew within the first 6 weeks that the Dreamcast got replaced as my all-time fav console. I was thoroughly impressed by every aspect of the machine. Being able to listen to your own music while playing a game?! That feature alone was worth the money spent!! Games in 480p?! DD 5.1!!?! Consoles were finally merging into home theatres in a respectful manner
Once I did start Halo, I liked its cutscenes, especially the one where you meet and fight the flood for the 1st time. The scene always gives me goosebumps!!! I never drooled over the game, I didnt think it looked that great graphically like some did or still do. What I liked was the flow of the game and the kickass control scheme. Finally! A console controller that could be used very efficiently in FPS titles! The music kicked ass too and the Chief became a character I wanted to keep alive, standing proud and tall(until Halo 2 anyways).
It was the first game to ever be played at what became almost a weekly event, a Spoonie Xbox Lan party! Prison map, nothing but rockets with 8 loudmouths, 8 consoles, 8 tv's... what a blast!
I will cut this short or Ill only end up going thru the list of 79 games I had and why I loved them all for different reasons
This time next year we will be having a "Happy 5 years to Xbox Live!" party
I am still thankful every day that on my B-day in 1999, the guys got together and decided to go ahead with the project. If it wasnt for the Xbox, Id still be throwing 500.00 out the window every 4 months on a new pc video card..Nooooooooo Thanks!!!
