I played the original Halo and a bit of Halo 2 on the original Xbox. I found both the games to be engaging and fun, and I thought a useable multi-player mode would add quite a bit to the gaming experience.

I then moved on to play more PC-based games, and I eventually was encouraged to donate my Xbox. A good friend of mine picked up an Xbox360 a while ago, and we played a bit of co-op Halo: Reach on his Xbox and his 50″ HD TV. As one might imagine, the overall experience changed significantly and I not so secretly envied an Xbox360 of my own so I could keel Covenant on my own. I never expected that such a desire would be fulfilled as I have always found other things (like a new iPhone) that attracted my discretionary income.

I was stunned when that very same friend bought me an Xbox360/250gb for Christmas (including the digital download version of Halo: Reach). After connecting the Xbox to my HDMI-switched tuner and 50″ Plasma, configuring the wireless adapter, and downloading the game, I fired off my first campaign mission. Wow. 1080p did this game a world of good, and the game play in the solo campaign was just as and sometimes more engaging as the original Halo and Halo 2. Even better, the multi-player via Live was useable and fun (even know I got my clock seriously cleaned by the online crowd).

Halo: Reach has a lot going for it, and I am very much looking forward to playing it online in co-op mode when my friend returns from his trip.

(btw, if anybody else out there is an Xbox Live gamer still playing Halo: Reach, let me know. Can’t say I’m any good, but I’m working on it.)