By now, just about everybody knows that Halo 2 has been updated with new maps, playlists, and cheat fixes. I haven’t tried them out yet (but will after the greatest TV show ever is over). I did talk to a clanmate this afternoon about it and he gave it the thumbs up. But he likes movies starring Kirsten Dunst, so he may not be the best authority. We’ll have to wait and see for ourselves. Update forthcoming.

Update (3 hours later…): The clan had a chance to try out pretty much everything except the new maps (because I haven’t bought them and now I won’t because I don’t want to give my clanmate (you know who you are) the satisfaction of saying “I knew you’d cave in and buy them.”) Highlights included big team battle (CTF) in Containment and a Slayer in Warlock. Containment felt like a smooshed Sidewinder but it was enjoyable. The Slayer match in Warlock was crazy frenetic and I never had a chance to get my bearings. We also ended the night on a Sniper Battle which was enjoyable. Overall, I give the new changes a thumbs up. Or, in keeping with the theme of the blog, a big thumb mashing on a button. Because that’s just what I do.

Just a couple thoughts about playing games on Live.

First, there was the recent update/tweak to Halo 2′s gameplay. In a previous life, I was a Halo boxer. It was how I played – I’d rush with the Assault Rifle business end to take down the shields and then I’d use the other business end for a little smackdown action. It was pretty effective and served me well. Halo 2 1.0 nerfed my modus operandi. It took a while to divorce myself from it and I lived without it. Halo 2 1.1 has all changed that. It’s like an old friend has moved back into the neighborhood. I still take a beating going with the shoot-shoot-punch but now it’s much more effective. Instead winning three out of ten times, I’m putting the beatdown on the bad guys eight out of ten times. This simple tweak has increased my enjoyment tenfold. Just last night me and my clanmates went 8-2 in our matches. I am very eagerly anticipating the new playlists and playing on the new maps next week.

The other game I’ve given a try on Live is Burnout 3. Burnout 3 is such a great single player game (I unlock unlockables like a machine!) but most multiplayer racing games suck because it has to be split-screen. Well I gave B3 a ride (pun!) on Live and it is a great diversion. I immediately noticed the guys playing were actually cool to play with! No Halo 2 kiddies tell me what he did to my mom (or my dead corpse) and no kids screaming obscenities and farm animal noises. The guys were cool, we chatted about the next-gen Madden game, the next Burnout game, and just chilled. It was relaxing — just like a game should be. That said, I won’t be playing B3 anytime soon – I haven’t unlocked enough of the good cars. I was running around in the “Tuned Compact” when everyone else had the Dominator. I got smoked each and everytime. Once I unlock some of the better cars I’ll be jumping back on Live.

… and not a drop to drink.

I am a confessed stat junkie. I noticed a few weeks ago that bapenguin (an editor at Evil Avatar) was linking to something called a “TPS report”. I followed the link and wanted my own Halo 2 TPS report, immediately. So I downloaded Query Spree, downloaded all my games and created my own TPS report. It’s important to note that Bungie purges their data at a regular pace, so I had to purge the database that Query Spree creates of incomplete games, so I’ve played more games than show up in my TPS Report, but all my recent games are all there. I’m not a spectacular player, but I hold my own.

I also took the liberty of downloading the stats of my clanmates. I also started a simple page for my humble Halo 2 Clan. Enjoy!