A Day With Microsoft (and Halo 3)

We sent Liam to infiltrate Microsoft and play Halo 3.

Rising bright and early – a combination of restless, childlike glee similar to that felt before Christmas and an irrational fear of missing my flight – I stuffed four Weetbix into my gullet, painfully navigated Wellington rush-hour traffic, and made my way to the airport. The entire way I couldn’t stop grinning like an idiot, for today was the day that I would finally get to infiltrate Microsoft’s headquarters and play Halo 3.

The plane to Auckland was a Boeing 737, which was luxury to me as I’m used to flying on those tiny little propeller planes that feel like they would drop out of the sky if there was a strong gust of wind. There was even in-flight entertainment! Fortunately, there were no snakes on board, nor was anything on the wing and I arrived safely in Auckland airport.

There I found a taxi driver waiting with a sign that had my name on it – something I’ve always wanted, so my day was already made – and I travelled to the Microsoft HQ in the most expensive taxi ride ever. Why on Earth is the airport so far away from the city?

The first thing that strikes you about the Microsoft HQ is just how fancy it is. I might just have a little mind that is impressed by little things, but their elevator not only worked, it could also carry 2100 kgs! If you were familiar with the lift that I have to ride every day to work, which feels like it would drop down the shaft if more than two people got in it, then you would appreciate why that was impressive.

Inside the unbelievably flash reception (complete with two Xbox 360 consoles for people to play, which I thought was really cute), I introduced myself to the timid temp who apologetically stated that she didn’t really know too much what was going on but said that Halo 3 was just around the corner – quite literally in this case.

So I ventured round the corner, and then another corner and then another corner and almost stumbled into some important-looking meeting. Considering that I was wearing a jersey that said “The Little Sailor Girl of Death,” I didn’t really feel like embarrassing myself any further, so I went back to reception to confess that I was lost.

With a new found tour guide, I was led to what looked like one of those doors from Star Trek – it even opens like one too – that contained the Xbox 360 room. I was quite relieved to know that I wasn’t an idiot and that it was quite hard to find; only a small, letterbox-sized window gave it away, so it was easy to miss.

Inside the Xbox 360 room, my jaw dropped. Five or six huge HDTVs with Xbox 360 Elites hooked up to them, all running Halo 3 in glorious high definition. Not to mention the deluge of other Xbox 360 related media that lined the room. Xbox 360 fans, if you die, this is the heaven you go to.

So I was introduced to Tolan, Microsoft’s Digital Lifestyle Evangelist (what a job title, eh?), and Jen Ferguson who is in charge of marketing and public relations for the Xbox brand at Pead PR (and is one of the two people who generously supply all the Microsoft prizes for competitions we run). Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet Angely Grecia, who works with Jen on the Xbox brand at Pead, but I’m sure there’s always next time.

After the introductions and agreeing to the promise that anything I saw Halo 3 related outside of what has already made public be kept 100% top secret, it was time to sit down with the game itself. There were currently some members of the mainstream media in the room – TV3, The Edge, etc – and as I sat down it was time for some multiplayer.

Having been a while since the Halo 3 Beta, and after some heavy Halo 2 binges, I was back in my old habits of pressing X to reload. This meant that I kept chucking down equipment when I wanted to reload, and generally it meant that I got my ass handed to me.

Because I didn’t want to come across as some kind of foul-mouthed psychopath in front of the present company, I wasn’t swearing like I did when I was playing the Halo 3 Beta. Oh yes, I was most definitely swearing on the inside – things far too foul for print – but that brain-to-mouth filter was working well.

However, after getting adjusted to the new control scheme again, I managed to hold my own. Indeed, in some cases, I started winning by a reasonably large margin. Tolan was getting quite annoyed with me, and at times I was actually a bit worried he might give me a smack in the back of the head. (He never did but I’m sure it’s only because he’s a professional!)

After I won a match of Slayer on Snowbound with a 15-point margin, it was the end of multiplayer as the mainstream media left and members of the gaming media came to join the party. It was time for some single-player heaven. I can’t tell you what it was like, but you can check out the full review on Monday 24 at 7:00 a.m. I can, however, rub it in:

Nyeh, nyeh, nyeh! I played Halo 3!

Right, that’s out of my system. Good.

So I played through the single-player campaign, the entire time a little celebration (not too dissimilar to the Ewok parade at the end of Return of the Jedi) raging in my head, and then exhausted and drained from prolonged exposure to too much awesome, I went outside to get some fresh air.

As the Star Trek door slid open, the last few rays of the setting sun blinded me and I realised just how long my butt had been in an admittedly very comfortable seat. After some fresh air, I returned to the Xbox 360 room and discovered that there was a fridge full of all kinds of imaginable goodies. I had no idea this fridge was there and I was horrified to realise that I only found out an hour before I was due to leave. After a Coke to quench my almost insatiable thirst, it was back to some multiplayer madness.

Playing with the gaming press rather than the mainstream press, the matches were now a little more even. I didn’t really win anything, but I managed to hold my own and not look like a complete nubblet. Midway through a nice match of Team Slayer, my taxi called to inform me that he was downstairs. After another ridiculously long and expensive taxi ride (just how big is Auckland?), I got to the airport.

I downed some grubby food from McDonald’s (because a) it’s cheap for airport food; b) even though it’s crap, at least you know it’s crap) and boarded the plan back for home. After a bit of a nap on the plane, exhausted from a day filled with awesome, I arrived back in Wellington.

When I got home, and on a rejuvenated Halo high, I bragged to everyone about playing Halo 3 and then got rather smug as I told them that I promised I wouldn’t say anything. It’s a great feeling to keep a secret you know everyone else wants to know. After a while, even my Halo high couldn’t fend off the need for sleep, so I tucked myself into bed and had sweet dreams about throwing grenades at the Covenant.

All in all, I had a fantastic day, one I will never forget. I just want to give a big shout out to Jen, Angely, and Tolan for the wonderful opportunity. The only downside is that Halo 3 is just so awesome that playing it a week early is like being given heroine and then told you can’t have it again for a while. I want Halo 3 now more than ever, and September 25 can’t come soon enough.

Be sure to keep it locked to NZGamer for more of our upcoming coverage of the Halo series as we count down the days to Halo 3!