Hawty McBloggy Invites You to Play

Halo has changed my life in so many ways. It’s an amazing game and has changed FPS’s for the better. Halo is the only game where I have actually got goosebumps playing. When you watch Jenkins mission log and first see the Flood….the fear….it’s real. When you smash through an army of Covenant in a warthog on the beaches of Mombasa…..the satisfaction as alien blood splatters on your windshield. When you watch the Arbiter slay the Prophet Of Truth, you feel like you really witnessed the end of a war. With three amazing Halo games out already, I can only imagine the series future…..and it’s beautiful. Happy Bungie Day, FocusedWeevil

Author: brandon92069

I just wanted to thank Bungie for everything they’ve done for the community. They put up with tireless complaints from every corner of the world and their sense of humor remains in abundance. Thanks for halo and for everything. Happy Bungie Day, Like 7 Kittens

Bungie, I just wanted to thank you for changing the way people play video games. The first time I played Halo 1, (five years ago) I never went back to another game. Keep up the good work and good luck on the seventh step to world domination! I’m with you all the way!!! Happy Bungie Day, D taktics

Bungie has given me years of entertainment for which I am very grateful. They have always been dedicated to the end experience and the story. So many titles crash and burn because the focus ends up on mass appeal rather then staying true to the story elements that gave the title its fan base in the first place. Bungie Studios would be the place for me if I was ever to work in the industry. There are a lot of great companies out there, but Bungie, you have my heart. To all the Bungie employees, temps, and contractors past and present, I say thankya big time. Happy Bungie Day, VoltRabbit

I just want to thank Bungie for helping with getting my wife into playing HALO. Before my love affair w/HALO my wife did play some games but mostly kiddy stuff like Spiro the Dragon. It wasn’t until I started playing HALO nonstop and talking about it nonstop that she couldn’t take it anymore and decided to try it out herself. Long story short she loves it and has been with me in line for the midnight releases of both H2 and H3. Thank you Bungie for making such a great game that it helped make my marriage even closer instead of breaking it up. Happy Bungie Day, Adam

Author: WaiHo C

Before I set one virtual foot on Halo, I was online at bungie.net, reading everything the site would offer up, browsing and interacting on the forums, visiting Louis Wu’s incredible resource, www.halo.bungie.org, and in general driving my wife crazy that, the year before, I had bought the GameCube instead of the Xbox.

When the time came, I plunged into Halo headfirst, playing every difficulty, all the way through, falling in love with the story I’d read all about online. The surprise of The Flood was not diminished, even though I knew exactly when and where I’d find it. That speaks volumes to the power of Bungie’s storytelling. What’s more, once I defeated the game on Legendary, I played it again, and again. Over 25 times, on Legendary, start to finish, while waiting for another game to steal my interest away. Until Halo 2, none could.

Halo 2 introduced me to Xbox Live, and playing online against a passel of fellows who could be at turns good sportsmen or absolute monkeys (no offense to real monkeys). Luckily, I eventually found my way to Lungsy2K and his clan, “Don’t Give A Chit.” We share the philosophy of playing to have fun, win or lose, and to not be a jerk.

Before Halo 3 came out, when the Iris campaign was ramping up, it was my great pleasure to assist Louis Wu and the fine guys at args.bungie.org as one of the many moderators for their site. I’ll never forget the teamwork (calling each other personally!) and anxiety we all experienced as we sought the keys to the servers that would divulge more secrets about Halo 3.

Another fantastic group I had the pleasure of interacting with is Tied The Leader, whom I have recently reestablished ties with. I’m impressed and excited by the efforts they are making to honor our servicemen and women, and by the staunch code of ethics they adhere to. These men and women are an honor to know and play with.

What does all this say? In a nutshell, Bungie expanded my world with a video game. Happy Bungie Day, Lloyd Woodall

In honor of Bungie Day, I’m going to go ahead and let my good friend bs angel post what I jokingly call; the “Lost AHCS Comic”. I made a gag about the Chief pestering the Bungie staffers for Recon armor. When I wrote it, I thought it was funny but once it was finished I wasn’t sure. It seemed a little self indulgent so I decided to hold off and leave it as a “bank” strip that I could use if I was ever behind or needed to take a couple days off. Then Stuntmutt ran a One-One-Se7en that was pretty similar to the one I’d drawn. Knowing my fan base would crucify me for such a similar comic, I decided not to run it and just left if sitting on my HDD. UNTIL NOW!!! I hope you enjoy it, to the extent that it can be enjoyed. Happy Bungie Day, ZZoMBiE13

Well Bungie, I wanted to thank you for the amazing opportunity you’ve given many people. So much more than the game you made is the community you’ve allowed to build. Was it not for Halo I don’t believe I would have had a chance to meet such awesome people in Army of the Republic (AoR) and Cavegirls and witnessed some of the largest deeds of generosity for someone over the internet. Of course not everyone will agree with the changes you guys make but we can all agree you made one hell of a game.

Oh, and BTW, thank you guys for the chance to play you in the Humpday challenge. If you don’t remember me, I was the “scourge on top of the tower.” Happy Bungie Day, AoR Selden

Author: Rhamsey

Me and my best friend became best friends because of playing Halo CE together at LAN parties. We went to elementary school together but never hung out before Halo CE. Me and My brother met some really good friends at a Halo 2 tournament (who live about three hours away). Created a really cool clan with those friends as well. CE United. (AKA full name) Combat Evolved United. I love the short name more. My brother moved to Vegas and met his fiancé because of those friends we met at that Halo 2 tournament. Halo got me my senior prom date. One of the friends we met at the Halo 2 tournament I was just in his wedding in January 08. Thanks for everything Bungie. I <3 U. Happy Bungie Day, VVilly

Well, as for many, this little game series called Halo is more then just a game to me. I was never really a big Bungie fan beforehand, but the night my friend showed me Halo 1, I was hooked and didn’t sleep at all that night. I even thought Cortana was 343 at one point and that Elites grew out of the back packs of Grunts lol.

I gotta say though, with all the people I’ve met and all the laughs and great times, I’ll never forget this game series and always play it. I can hear my future wife now… “You stayed up playing Halo till 3 AM didn’t you?” Then me, laying my head on the breakfast table. “…Maybe…”

Thanks Bungie for this great game series! Happy Bungie Day, QuackJAG

Author: B5D BeLoVeD

Bungie thank you! Now that I have that off my chest I can finally say what you guys have done to my life. I remember the day I first saw HALO: CE in person.. Me and my dad stared at the box with its gold Game of the Year ribbon on it. My dad leaned over to me and said that his friend had said it was the greatest game out. I went and saved money from there to get an Xbox just for Halo. I remember the day I got Halo: CE. It was the day I had a painful dentist appointment then I went straight to Toys R Us to get it and played it all night. I remember the classic custom games on Ivory Tower against my cousin in Halo 2. I remember trying to beat Halo 2 on Legendary (still haven’t). I remember the day I say the PSA from Red Vs. Blue about the Beta. I remember winning my first three games in Lone Wolves in the Beta. I remember bugging my dad to get up at midnight to get my copy of Halo 3 (which he didn’t). I remember being blinded by the graphic in a co-op attempt on Sierra 117 on Legendary. I remember seeing playing my first Lone Wolves Match on Snowbound. I remember joining BNET and the community. I remember the times of me trying to get recon from photoshopping to comedy. I remember the day I looked at my life and said I learned more through this game than any thing else, from the real world to the Halo world. But the thing I truly remember is who made this all happen, I remembered you, Bungie. Happy Bungie Day, B5D BeLoVeD

Dear Bungie Staff, I’d first like to thank you for not only giving us one of the best games of all time, but for being actively involved with your fan base.

I started playing games when I was old enough to hold a controller and since that day I haven’t stopped. My love for Halo started about 3 years ago when a friend of mine invited me to an upcoming Halo Party. I had never played Halo before so my friend gave me one of his old Xboxes and told me to go out and buy a copy of Halo 2. Halo has now become an important part of my life, whether it’s playing with friends, finding common ground when meeting new people or taking out my stress with an assault rifle.

So I’d like to conclude by saying thank you Bungie!!! We love you! Happy Bungie Day, Angelofbac0n

Author: Wheeler

So, here are my thanks to Bungie for making a game series, such as Halo: they’ve given me many memorable moments (such as when I use a PP to take down Chieftains), they’ve made the series entertaining, and I’ve whiled away countless hours playing them, with my friends, trying to get achievements or skulls. Ah, those were the days. So, um, yeah, thanks to BUNGIE! Happy Bungie Day, Trar

Author: Syv49

I read the Weekly Update because I’m so obsessed with Bungie and their awesomeness, saw that Bungie Day would be here shortly, and then became excited, but then realised, I’m away on a school thing and miss all the happiness and super bonuses to download to show Bungie how obsessed I really am =(

If you see this, please know I’m a massive fan of Halo, and the books, and would really like it if somehow you (Bungie) could send me the delicious codes for the downloads? P.S I love Bungie!!!! Happy Bungie Day, Crazeye0

This is going to be hard because there are so many that I could write a full length book. I’ll touch on a few memories that stand out for me.

Halo brought several of my nephews and I closer just by simply playing the games. We spent countless weekends playing, eating microwaved heated hot dogs and chips and fragging the crap out of each other. I truly miss spending weekends, holidays and hot summer days playing the Halo CE campaign with my only nephew that was interested in the campaign. I remember our very first day with Halo 1. We played until 2:30 AM. Since I’m close to 30 years older than my nephew, I fell asleep sometime after 343 Guilty Spark and I vaguely recall a few moments of the Keyes and Two Betrayals level. I finally woke up at the start of The Maw and I we managed to complete the game.

Since I’ve spent thousands of hours recording the Halo dialogue I thought I would thank Marty for thinking of me when the IWHBYD was added to the Halo 2 campaign. The combat dialogue is just one of the things that keeps me hooked with the Halo series. What got me hooked into recording the dialogue was a Grunt on the Pillar of Autumn saying, “I just wet myself”. I figured there was more of this funny dialogue, so I started a five year run recording the combat dialogue. I miss torturing the marines and the Covenant characters and making Sergent Johnson and Sergent stacker’s virtual life a living hell just so I could record their dialogue. Some day I may get back in the groove and start recording the Halo 3 dialogue again….maybe!

I’ve met many HBO forum members while playing Halo 3 matchmaking and I’ve enjoyed partying up with every one of them. I have countless fond memories of playing alongside some of the finest players, and people, in the HBO community. We’ve had our rough times playing in matchmaking, frankly who hasn’t, but we keep coming back and having fun….that’s what video games are for.

I would like to thanks Louis Wu for hosting my snippets and creating the HBO dialogue databanks. A huge thank you to Bungie for creating the Halo series. I’ve been a gamer since video games were created and I have never played such a truly fun and entertaining series of games in my life. I honestly don’t go even one day without playing Halo. Happy Bungie Day, Captain Spark

Author: Aerochainz

Bungie – to the masterminds behind one of the great gaming franchises – They’ve earned their right to be placed in the elite class of gaming history to have created not only a great gaming experience, but creating an iconic character that is as easily recognized as Mario or Sonic. Thanks for providing a reason to fire up the 360 over the Wii, PS3 and every other console. Happy Bungie Day, pontifixx

To those at Bungie, I want to keep this brief so I don’t waste any of your precious game-making time. I would just like to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR WONDERFUL GAMES. They have changed the world of gaming forever, and for the better.

P.S: Good luck taking over the world! Happy Bungie Day, Caelan96

I really appreciate the community that Bungie has fostered. When my 360 redring’d, I sent it in and got it fixed and, as everyone in that position knows, you get a free month of Xbox LIVE Gold for your trouble. It was getting close to the release of Halo 3, so I decided to hold onto my free month for a while.

About two weeks before Halo 3 was released, I decided to activate my free month of LIVE and spend that time honing my horrible, HORRIBLE skills in Halo 2 in preparation. One of my very first games I played was CTF on Terminal (6v6 if I remember correctly). The opposing team scored the first cap, and four of my teammates left. I was decidedly angry, and almost left as well. But I was standing at the flag, when I looked to my left, and saw that one player was continuing to fight with me. He said that, even if it was just him, he would never stop fighting. Even though we lost that match, I never forgot what he said. Since then, I have never quit a match (willingly… however, my internet connection sucks, and so I can’t really help it). That one incident is what really got me into Halo, especially the community.

So, all in all, I just really wanted to thank all the Bungie staffers – past, present, and future – for founding such an awesome community. Happy Bungie Day, DenimDan312

Author: WALGREENSS

Bungie!!! You fine folks are awesome… not anything new to hear I am sure, but I just wanted to say thanks for creating a game series that has brought a lot of fun and frustration for that matter (HAHA) to my life. Keep on keepin on and I look forward to your next project(s)!! Happy Bungie Day, Steffini aka “BeatrixKiddo23″

Je tiens a vous remercier BUNGIE pour ce superbe travaille que vous faite j’espere encore plein de bonne surprise de votre part et longue vie a BUNGIE et a halo. Bungie jours heureux, béal

My two favorite Halo memories: Both occurred in campaign mode. The very first time I played the original Halo, I was on co-op with my friend, and we got stuck on Attack on the Control Room. We had reached the part where you had to open the gigantic door in order to go underground with the scorpion. Problem was, neither of us saw the button that you push to open it, so we both backtracked through the whole level for THREE STRAIGHT HOURS trying to find some way to get through. Once I finally found the button, we both felt like idiots.

The second memory was on the final level of Halo 3, also on co-op, but with a different friend. It was a first time for both of us as well, and we started driving the warthog towards “Forward Unto Dawn.” However, as things started exploding around us, we both began screaming. And we kept screaming until we reached the end of the game. No rollercoaster ride was more intense.

So my thanks to Bungie for giving me awesome times with my friends that we’ll never forget. A lot of my high school friends and I became closer thanks to Halo LAN parties. Go for world domination!

P.S. If they ever start building the giant slingshot in step 7 of their plan to take over the world, sign me up for the construction team. Happy Bungie Day, Andrew Valentino

Thank you Bungie – not only for all of the games in the Halo franchise that you have made and we all have enjoyed, not only for the fun hours of matchmaking on all of the wonderful maps (my personal favorites are Relic, Terminal, Ghost Town and The Pit), not only through the friendships I’ve formed and close friends I’ve made while online in your games, but thank you for an obsession that makes me wake up in the middle of the night, throw pillows at the coat rack in the corner of my room and scream to my sleeping husband – “Frag out! I’ve got you covered”. Now that’s a true signal that you’ve made some great games. Cheers and continued success!! Happy Bungie Day, Dallavalamp

I’d just like to say that HaloCharts.com would not be possible if it weren’t for Bungie’s awesome website and the amazing series of games they have developed. I missed out on Halo and Halo 2, but after getting into it all with Halo 3, I can say that I’ve never seen such a strong, devoted and active community of fans. So to Bungie, thank you for what you have created and I look forward to your future creations. Happy Bungie Day, firestream

(click image to view and download 1440×900 wallpaper made by firestream)

Since it’s Bungie day and all I thought I would write a quick note of thanks to everyone on the Bungie staff. I’m 34 years old (yes I feel old compared to the other players) and purchased my Xbox at the end of February this year, 2008. My Mom had recently passed away (one week prior) and a lifelong friend which I went to visit after the funeral happened to have an Xbox and Halo 3. He tried to get me to play during my visit but I resisted, not really being in the mood a week after my Mom had passed away. During the hours that I watched him play I would read everything I could online about Halo and Halo 3.

On the 4.5 hr drive home I decided to “invest” (once again, I feel old) in a Xbox and especially Halo 3. I needed a distraction from the death of my mother and a reason not to go out to bars and waste my money, time, and risk any trouble. Honestly, I think I’ve saved +$2K in not going out and have kept the roads safe.

I’ll have to say that my “investment” was quite worthwhile. I’m able to keep in touch with my friends that I grew up with and introduced me to Xbox and Halo 3, while making new and fun friends that push me to play better and most importantly provide some consolation about the current loss of my Mom.
Sincere thanks. Happy Bungie Day, Scott

Bonjour ! Je voulais juste vous dire que je ne suis absolument pas decus de halo 3 comme certain le disent. Le mode On-Line est d’enfert :p Juste dommage que la RECON ne soit pas accessible a nous. elle est tellement belle :-) Bungie jours heureux, Maximilien

Good morning, I have just wanted you thank for everything it is great games which you have us make, it is really great, and then, I hope that this shall give you desire to make it still, because they are really great, I wish you good continuance you =) Happy Bungie Day, Kayzer n0wel

Dear Bungie, I would like to personally thank you all for creating the single greatest franchise in the world, Halo. For the first year or so of its existence, I hadn’t been all that interested. I’d played a level or two of the first one, but since I didn’t know much, if any of the plot, the experience wasn’t very enthralling aside from the superb gameplay. But once I rented, and eventually bought it for myself, I quickly became captivated by its epic story. From the first time the Chief stepped out of the cryo chamber on the Autumn, to finding out that he and Cortana had survived at the end of Halo 3, I was amazed by the grand and dramatic scale of the narrative. To be perfectly honest, it was the first game I’d ever played that had a story I could actually care about and get sucked into.

I would also like to say that Halo has also captured the attention of my girlfriend, who has recently become almost as big a fan as I am. It all started with a humorous anecdote from a multiplayer match on Rat’s Nest. When I told her about it, she immediately wanted to see the map for herself. So, I ended up giving her a virtual “tour” of Rat’s Nest. As we walked through its tunnels, she was instantly hooked, and wanted to see more. We had eventually covered almost every map before she asked me if we could do some campaign together. Unfortunately, being the hardcore spoiler-hating person that I am, I just couldn’t allow it without first showing her Halo 1 and 2. After giving her my original Xbox and making a trip to Game Stop, I set her off on her Great Journey through the breathtaking universe of Halo. Since then, she’s become quite a fan of it (we’ve even made our own map together on Standoff).

Once again, I would like to thank every single person at Bungie for making such awesome games. I wish you, and every other person in the world a very happy Bungie Day. Happy Bungie Day, Kaptain Ovakill

Author: AusQB

I remember logging into Bungie.net and seeing a PM. I was just a normal, responsible forum goer until then… the message was a FoF invite for the Halo 3 Beta. I felt honored that I could be chosen to play the Beta early just because of good behavior and community involvement in the forums. I couldn’t have been more excited. Happy Bungie Day, XMixMasterX

My most memorable Halo 3 moment was when I was playing CTF on Rat’s Nest. It was two to zero, with us in the lead. I was in the side seat of a Warthog with a rocket launcher, and two of my friends were also in the Warthog. Then, as we came up the slope, we saw another Warthog roaring towards us. I hit their Warthog dead on, getting a double kill, and watched their carcasses sail over our head.

I made all three flag caps in the game, and we won in under 3 minutes. That was my most memorable Halo 3 Moment. Happy Bungie Day, ReleasetheMonk

First off, I Thank you so much Bungie for creating amazing games! Second, my favorite moment was in Halo 2 when AL Capown fell asleep in the middle of a game. Just so happen to have someone recording at the time, and he was sleeping on the trigger. So we continued for hours to give him a killtrocity. We then put him on the conveyor belts upon which he almost killed us by throwing a grenade (still while asleep) I met many people from that alone and it was fun to mess with him about it for a while. This is the video for anyone who has not seen or wishes to again. I still watch it once in a while. Happy Bungie Day, datdamsniper

Well thanks to Halo and the Bungie Humpday, I met the 8-Bit Brigade. Over time these clanmates became true friends, so much so that I traveled to the states (I live in Wales, so a bit of a commute) for the epic that was the clan meet. Beer was drunk, games were played and I came back to my wife with a new tattoo of our clan logo. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for the great work you guys continue to do. Thanks from overseas. Happy Bungie Day, monkeyspit99

Thanks to some dudes in the States at some game company or other making a videogame teaser reel that looked awesome when I passed the electrical store on European Xbox launch day back in March 2002, I got myself an Xbox and one game. That game kept me hooked for a good few years. Other games came and went, sucked, blew or were merely “okay”, but this one stayed.

Friends saw this one game, and were taken by the multiplayer carnage. Eventually, a number of them ended up getting their own Xboxes as a direct result of my endless spamming their brains about this one game from this one company. Many had never played video games much before. One hated FPS games and liked only Final Fantasy type nonsense. But even she became hooked.

Thanks to this one game from this one company, I was privileged to experience some of the best and most awesome LAN parties and social gatherings. Nothing will beat that pre-Xbox Live experience of physically lugging a console round to someone’s house, racking up two or more TV’s and consoles, getting the beers and pizzas on standby, and playing on till nothing but the most ridiculous hours of the early morning, when the hardcore players’ eyes hurt, their thumbs ache, they stink of sweat, beer, smokes and adrenaline. And so do the boys.

The best of good times. The game was Halo: Combat Evolved, and the company? Bungie. You guys rock, and for all those hours spent laughing, swearing, drinking, ingesting far too much pizza and generally having needler fire directed towards my armor-clad ass, you are most definitely deserving of a big “thankyou”. So say we all! Happy Bungie Day, dogsounds

My Best Memory of Halo: I have had many incredible experiences while playing Halo. I met my first Xbox Live friend in one of my first games on Halo, however we only became friends because we laughed at how I stuck the back of his leg while he tried to melee someone else which scored me a double kill. My first double kill.

I experienced an incredibly baffling betrayal when a bunch of friends were messing around. One of them was going to betray me with a Spartan Laser but (according to the film clip) the laser reflected off of the orange rings signifying that his shields were charged and then changed him into a monitor just before he killed himself. All the while nobody had shot at him at the time but it counted as me betraying him.

But my most favourite memory of Halo 3 was when I first got to play it after 3 weeks of having the Legendary Edition and a 360 with the Red Lights of Death. I had the day to myself and beat Halo 3 with the noise blaring on a big screen tv. I had shivers while playing the last few levels because the flood were on my side, then Miranda died, then I stopped the Halo’s from firing, then the flood turned on me and then there was a new Halo ring. The shivers continued right until the ending where Sergeant Johnson met his unfortunate end and when the Master Chief made his escape. It was an incredible day.

Halo has given me a lot of enjoyment. In fact Halo 2 was one of the first games that got me interested in the FPS genre. I have met new and friendly people on live while playing it. I have written and developed my writing skills while working on a Fanfic based on ODST’s. Whenever I feel like giving up I remember all the Master Chief went through in his training and the war against the Covenant. He might have been a character in a video game but he was a damn good one.

And that is the message of the Halo Games to me. Never give up because who knows you might actually make it. Halo has offered me alot of fun and experiences. I just have to work on repaying the favour. Happy Bungie Day, TemplarComander

Author: gamer404

Favorite Halo memory: Playing through Halo:Combat Evolved split screen with a friend in one week, and messing with him the whole time because I knew the game better then he did (although it was my first time). Watching him run after me as I drove off in a warthog in “The maw” was priceless and gives me something to remember our time together even though I moved. Happy Bungie Day, GT-Sasuke U

Dear Bungie, You had me at Halo. 7/07 is the most awesome day of the year! What a coincidence that my 20th birthday is on the same day. Thanks for all the wonderful memories, and the free Halo 3 map. Happy Bungie Day, Silvercube

I think perhaps my best Halo memory is the week around the release of Halo 3. I can remember the Thursday, Friday and the Monday before finding random people in my school’s hallway and saying how many days left until Halo 3. The day it came out, I, unfortunately, had Quiz Bowl and Marching Band practice. I can remember the pure joy when QB practice got out and I held the game in my hands that my mother so lovingly picked up from Game Crazy on her lunch break (I reserved it in August.) I was so disappointed that I only had an hour to play until Marching Band practice started. As soon as it was over (AT FREAKING NINE O’CLOCK!), a friend of mine and I rushed to my mom’s car so we could come back to my place and play on Xbox Live until 10. That Friday, I hosted a party that I had been waiting for since your memorable announcement at E3, my first Halo THREE party. That weekend was one of the most enjoyable of my life. And it’s all thanks to you, Bungie! Thank you for for all the awesome games over the years, and good luck with that whole world domination thing! Happy Bungie Day, Hscooby249

Hmm, most memorable moment from Halo. I am going to have to say my first playthrough of the Halo 3 campaign. It was just simply great to go through the final chapter of this epic. I was blown away by the cutscenes and gameplay, seeing how everything was fitting together, and that amazing ending. I have played many games on many systems in my life(PC, Sega Genesis, N64, Gamecube, XBox, XBox 360, SNES), but the Halo series holds a place that no other game I have played has achieved in means of gameplay and story. Thank you, Bungie. Happy Bungie Day, Sarge Tomzilla

Author: Phenomenon IV

My most memorable Halo moment: Who could ever forget the first time they saw it? The moment your whole house got quiet when it unexpectedly unfolded. The moment that embodied the Master Chief’s true dedication, selflessness, courage and love. The moment that thrust Halo from the stature of mere ‘game’ into undeniable suspense. The moment that best described the story of the fight for the survival of a species, ‘our species’, and the tale of a true hero. The moment when he caught, then cradled, the broken body of a fellow Marine. The moment that transformed Halo from casual entertainment into a seriously heart wrenching story and… some really, really, damn good and unpredictable sci-fi. Thank you Bungie. Thank you for 7even years of art. Happy Bungie Day, Odin

My most memorable Halo memory: I was playing a one flag Unranked BTB CTF game on Last Resort, about a week after Halo 3 came out. It was the first round, I was on defense. I quickly made the rush to grab the Spartan Laser, got there first, and decided to pick up a needler for good measure. I decided to start charging mah laser on a Warthog, and at the very last second, a Ghost flew in and I nailed both the ‘Hog and the Ghost with one shot of the Spartan Laser. I know a lot of people probably get the same or better, but that’s my most memorable moment because I’m one of those people who NEVER gets lucky like that. Happy Bungie Day, Jay2645

My most memorable moment in Halo history has to be playing Halo CE co-op with a friend of mine. We were playing The Maw, and were sitting back in a corridor while the Covenant and Flood were fighting. We just watched them for a while, with the hunters blasting the flood to pieces, until one flood (combat form) came up to one of the hunters and lifted it up, choking it to death. It was seriously the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, so thanks Bungie for blowing my mind!!! Happy Bungie Day, spartan117087

Favorite Halo memory: It was my freshman year in college, and on a Wednesday night several people from our dorm decided to play some Halo. We gathered about 12 people, and set up in our floor’s lounge. We had many great games, but the last one was by far the most memorable.

The game was CTF on Sidewinder, no time limit, 3 captures to win, touch return, and flag at home to score. The teams were evenly matched, and due to the rule set, it was very hard to score. About 30 minutes went by before my team nabbed a point. 15 minutes later, the blue team responded. Two hours after the game had started, it was tied 2-2. Despite playing for over two and a half hours, the energy was still there. In fact, it grew with each passing minute. Flag raids that ended in death were accompanied by screams of anguish, while the other team let our howls of joy.

It came to the point where both teams had the flag and were heading back to base. It was flag at home to score, so it quickly became a matter of who could kill the flag carrier first. The blue team’s flag carrier was killed, and their flag returned. I had the flag, and it was a race to our capture point. My teammates were dying left and right behind me, as I made a last ditch for the cap point, everybody stood up. We didn’t hold our emotions back let me tell you, and by the time I captured the flag (with two health bars left), noise erupted from the lounge resembling a stadium. We were so into it, we just let it all out.

Well, turns out we woke up some people three floors above us with our little celebrations. All of us were brought to the disciplinary committee. We were banned from playing Halo on our floor, and given a noise violation ticket by the sheriff. But hey, it was totally worth it. Happy Bungie Day, Cody Miller

Author: Tyler fish

Halo changed the way I view video games. The first time I ever saw it I knew I had to have it. I sold everything PS2 merch I had and bought an Xbox that day. I played Halo 1 until I couldn’t get hurt on AOCR on Legendary. I knew that game in and out.

I have been a avid Halo player since then and haven’t seen other game developers treat their community like Bungie treats us. No other company has the stat tracking and community involvement Bungie has. I love them for this reason. They try their best to please the fans and also please themselves. Thank you Bungie. Happy Bungie Day, TW Shaumarai

Here’s my favorite moment in Halo3, and maybe all of Halo: My buddy Eric and I were playing matchmaking, and it came up 1-flag CTF on Avalanche. I think this is our current favorite gametype and map so we were happy. It’s played in four rounds, alternating offense and defense. We started on Defense, and the other team was really good, and our team was NOT communicating very well, so naturally they scored our flag. After the first round, our team seemed to step up our game, but the other team’s defense was too powerful and we were unable to score the flag. Round 3 starts, and it takes everything we have to keep the other team away from our flag, but after a couple close calls, we manage to finish the round.

The score is now 1-0 (them), we have no chance of winning and their defense is incredible, so things are looking grim. We go on the offense and manage to get their flag out of the base a couple times but with no luck. After a good attempt of grabbing their flag from their teleport exit (and failing again), there’s only 30 seconds left of the round, and nobody on our team is talking. The disappointment is palpable, especially after we pulled our defense together so well the previous round.

[time remaining: -00:00:22] I respawn at our base. I know their flag will return to their base in a moment, so I decide to make a suicidal mongoose run to their base and launch through their mancannon, and pray that Fate is with me.

[-00:00:16] While driving past the shotgun spawn in the middle, the UI tells me that one of my teammates has taken the flag. I revise my plan, and decide to park at the enemy base’s mancannon exit, just in case my teammate 1) survives and 2) decides to use that route to flee

[-00:00:12] I park at the mancannon exit and look up, and who should be flying towards my mongoose but Eric, holding the flag, with the enemy frantically shooting at him. He grabs the back of the ‘goose and I hit the gas.

[-00:00:02] We start racing the long way across the map, heading towards our base’s teleporter exit. Hot on our (w)heels is an enemy ghost and a Wraith tank. The ghost starts shooting Eric, quickly taking his shields all the way down.

[sudden death: -00:00:16] The ghost knocks us off the mongoose as we are driving up the snowy ramp near our teleporter exit. Our teammates MIRACULOUSLY show up in a warthog and take the ghost out mere miliseconds before Eric expires. The wraith takes the warthog out of the equation a second later and starts shooting at us.

[sudden death: -00:00:09] Eric and I run for it towards the teleporter. His shields are down, the wraith is shooting at us from lower ground, and time is running out.

[sudden death: -00:00:05] The teleporter is growing on our screens. Over the voice chat, I start counting down with the timer so Eric knows how vital the time remaining is. “4… 3… 2…”

[sudden death: -00:00:02] We make it through the teleport, and several explosions immediately go off. The enemy teammembers who did not have any vehicles had charged into our base and were waiting for us, but didn’t know where we were coming from, and had thrown grenades everywhere at the last second

[sudden death: -00:00:01] Eric scores that flag, ties the game, and we are both immediately vaporized with grenades. In two different houses in San Diego, significant others are awoken at 2am by jubilant celebratory shouting. Happy Bungie Day, JR The Great

Author: I are insane

What’s the most memorable moment of Halo? Simple. When I got Halo 3, all my friends and I would play every night, nonstop. And every night, we would do a little campaign action. Over time, all we would play was the last level (I haven’t touched Halo 3 in a while, due to personal reasons so I forget the name of the level ) and man, it was fun. We never managed to finish it though. We all managed to finish it solo, though never as a four man group. Weird. Well, anywho, we figured out that since in the beginning there are two warthogs, and that at those little circle things you get another just in case, we all ended up having our own Warthogs. So we all decided to drive by ourselves. Near the end, we all followed one of my friends, and we thought we could actually finish it. But, of course, we failed again. You know why? It’s because that idiot I call my friend (lol just kidding) drove into a panel, and the panel fell through the floor. Unluckily for all of us, we followed him and we ALL died. Laughing ensued, and that was memorable for me…… Happy Bungie Day, Corporol Church

May 12, 2007 – Saturday
It all started with my obsessive check on the Bungie Weekly Update. After a few lines of reading it, there was a blurb that caught my eye, like it did for many Bungie Fans:

“The event itself coincides with the launch of the Friends and Family Public Beta, giving a small selection of lucky folks an early entry into the Beta. If you’re a regular Bnet user of good standing, you might want to check your PMs – Roger and Tom picked a semi-random collection of Bnet users and PM’d them codes for the Beta, so in theory, you could be playing today. For everyone else, you’ll join the fun on the 16th.”

and a little further down:

“Now, if you didn’t make it into the Friends and Family Beta this way (and in all likelihood, you did not) then fret not. Next week you can play via Crackdown and you still have plenty of time to go pick up a Crackdown, or a Gold account, or an Xbox 360 or whatever piece of the puzzle you might be missing.”

I figured, well.. I’d missed the first drawing for entry even though I’d entered the drawing through eight different countries. I’d also missed the 3 for 3 deal because I forgot what day I was supposed to go back and enter, after playing the three hours in the middle of the night. I had already bought Crackdown, solely for the purpose of gaining access to the Beta that way. I was resigned to wait.. it was marked on my calendar (my girlfriend had been eyeing the date with dread for awhile now).

Until then, I thought the “Friends and Family” program was already done with.. I thought for sure those folks would know who they were by virtue of being friends or family members of folks that work at Bungie. Ok, granted, I DO know a lot of the folks at Bungie, but only in a stalker sense. I can name a few of them, I feel affected by them, and smile from ear-to-ear when I read interviews or other Bungie stories that say things like “and Marty (the famed composer for Halo music) was suddenly hollering ‘I just Owned someone with the Mongoose!’” I smile because I can literally hear him saying it, and the delight in his voice. I’m telling you.. I am SOOO there.

Anyway, I almost felt stupid even checking my Bungie messages.. “A regular Bnet user of good standing” Was that me? I’m not much of a regular there.. the Forums are much too fast paced for me.. I’m a 5-times daily visitor to HBO (www.Halo.Bungie.Org) , and rely on Louis Wu to keep me up-to-date on the good stuff. I skim and participate on the HBO forums every now and then, but I don’t really know the regulars. I just know that some of the Bungie folks actually stop by there from time to time, and when I post, I always hope I’ll get a personal reply from one of them, or otherwise somehow just KNOW that some of them have run into some of my posts and enjoyed them.

So, I logged-in, and there was a curious little thing that happened.. My gamertag (deadguy71) showed-up in the corner of the screen like it usually does, but right after the words “Message Center” there was a “(1)”. ZOMG! Ok.. so my heart skipped a beat, but I had a feeling that this was gonna’ be a gag like Stuntmutt did in his “one one seven” comic strip. I paused slightly.. both savoring the rush of excitement, and waiting for the damn message center to hurry-up and load. I can’t stand it.. so I look away to my personally built Camo-painted Halo 2 armor on top of my china cabinet.. with its glinting golden visor winking at me. I actually held my breath, turned back to the computer and my inbox finally appeared.

Low and behold, a subject line reads: “Welcome to the Halo 3 Beta Fr…” OK… HEART FAILURE!! (just writing about it has given me goosebumps again..) OK.. ok.. calm down.. it’s probably just a gag from an online friend or something.. I look at the “sender” and it says.. “Disembodied Soul”. Ok, I don’t recognize it.. is that good? Or REALLY good? Without another moments hesitation I begin reading the message:

“Welcome to the Bungie Friends & Family Halo 3 Beta! In order to play the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta, you will need an Xbox 360 with a hard drive and an Xbox LIVE Gold account…”

I read it three times, only getting that far into the message before starting over. I had to look away, and then made a very loud inarticulate sound that can only be described as sort of a gagging sqwalk. My girlfriend’s daughter says” Mike? You ok?” My eyes were welling-up and all I could do was smile like crazy back at her. “What happened?!” she asked.. grinning my obviously infectious grin right back at me. “I’m in the beta 3 thing… Right now!” I croaked back at her. “That’s in a few days, right?..” I shook my head.. “NOW?!”" she replied incredulously. “Yeah, I got invited to get in early.. the Friends and Family of Bungie thing!.. right now..”

“HOLY Crap!”

Yeah, that summed it up pretty well.. Holy Crap. I was maybe 20 minutes away from playing Halo 3. You have to understand.. I was rear-ended in a car accident a few weeks back and got a little shaken up. Some of my first thoughts, after contemplating what horrors my girlfriend might have gone through, were, “just think.. if that guy had hit me harder.. I might never have lived to see Halo 3 come out.” Yeah.. it’s THAT big of a deal.

So anyway, I left open the instructions on the computer screen, unhooked the internet feed from the computer, and put it on my Xbox 360. I followed the instructions and began downloading the 959MB Halo 3 Beta game file. It took a lifetime to download.. I kept calling it out, “Yeah! we’re at 2%!… Still at 2%…. okkkkkk WHAM! 3%!” (How do folks put-up with me sometimes?!). When it was done, I started it up.. The screen went blank and a little bit of text showed-up in the right hand bottom corner: “Halo 3 Beta”, replaced by: “Love, Bungie” I’m telling you.. I suddenly had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.. unbelievable.. this was REALLY happening.

The haunting musical tones of Halo 2 started up.. and a 3-item selection menu came up, while the background toured through a blued-out landscape that I suddenly recognized from the maddeningly few screenshots Bungie had released of one of the Beta test levels. I couldn’t select anything because I was just in awe of seeing the blued-out 3d tour of one of the levels that I’d been dreaming of for months. I finally broke from my reverie when my son started saying.. “C’mon dad! Press the ‘A’ button!” Oh yeah.. I supposed I SHOULD actually play it.

I pressed ‘A’, went through a couple of menus, and then three beeps announced that it was looking for other players on the internet. I waited.. looking at my own gamertag in the new Halo 3 styled listing.. still reeling. Then the screen went black and the level appeared on the screen for the first time.. “Slayer” the announcer said and the game began (on High Ground). I spawned at the base, and the first thing I noticed was the new mongoose.. right there in front of me! Heck yeah! Time to go drive the new Halo 3 four-wheeler that was cut from the Halo 2 game! Finally!

Oh no! There’s an enemy who hasn’t spotted me yet, but has obviously decided to go for a ride himself.. Oh HELL no! I started shooting at him, as he spotted me and returned fire. We moved around a bit, both trying to hit, but not BE hit by the other. He moves in a little too close, and I saw my opening, I quickly pushed the ‘B’ button and use my gun to punch him in the head! Down he goes! Five seconds into the match and I’d not only gotten my first kill, but I’d also gotten my first Halo 3 medal: “BEAT DOWN!”. The differences between us was that this was his 5th Halo 3 match, and he came in first place with 26 kills as opposed to my measly four kills. According to the stats I also had the dubious honor of being his “most killed” adversary.

Anyway, my first adversary done, I got on the mongoose and started rolling, while a guy jumped down almost directly in front of me. Hey! Just like Marty the Halo music guy running over a newbie with the Mongoose in that IGM magazine story! This “newbie” easily managed to avoid being run down, and I slammed into the wall behind him, as he dropped a grenade at my feet and jumped away. BOOM! Dead within 10 seconds of starting the match!

I respawned (restarted) pretty close to the beach mongoose, got on it, and started running over the small hills, careening through side tunnels and suchlike, until I saw my chance.. some guy was standing there, apparently trying to figure-out how to pick up a new weapon, and had his back to me. Wham! I had my Marty moment! I owned him with the mongoose, and had my second medal… (the “SPLATTER!” medal) umm.. maybe 40 seconds into the game. A couple of curious flashes of red and then BOOM! A Spartan Laser suddenly cut through me and my mongoose, leaving me on the ground dead beneath my own smoking and ruined mongoose. I guess that might have been that other guy’s first “LASER KILL” medal.

Shortly after my respawn, I became further absorbed by Bungie’s excellent creation, and essentially stopped trying to kill folks. I ran around looking for the new guns and for a chance to play with the amazing water effects, count swaying daffodils, and even shout out in surprise, “Check it out! There’s a leaf falling out of that tree over there!” I looked over excitedly at my son for his reaction, but I guess he’d taken that kinda thing for granted.. It was his obviously his turn after mine, so I played through the rest of it.. and we all ohh’d and aww’d over all the cool new things, like detachable turrets that left your character running along with a massive machine gun.. just cutting down enemies whose last words were: “Holy Crap! what gun is THAT?!” We recorded the match on the game recorder, and ohh’d and aww’d over the new stats, and then I left my son to play.

I went outside to work on my car which had to be fixed before lunchtime. I couldn’t afford a mechanic to do the work, so I had to figure out how to do it myself.. the whole time thinking.. “I wonder if I can use the portable airlift to get out of the level?” as I mashed my mechanically non-inclined fingers in one of the belts I was trying to remove. Then I stabbed myself in the finger with a chisel while thinking “I’ll bet I could use the airlift to throw the mongoose high into the air, and get someone to shoot me with something that would push it the extra distance over the top edge of the level, or make it spin fast enough that I can dismount and get thrown over the top.”

I then had to take my son home to his mom, but afterwards, I rushed back inside and played for hours and hours and hours. I remember every bit of it.. the guys at Game Stop asking why I was selling CrackDown before the beta even opened to the public. “because I’m already in there dude.. I’m friends and family.”

That just about sums up my feelings for Bungie… Friends and family. I hope we reach the 7 billion kills by 7/7, and I’m looking forward to seeing Bungie’s name on more stuff soon. “World domination? You had me at Halo.” Happy Bungie Day, deadguy71