User:ArcticGhostXCV

About Me
My name is Will MacDonald, and I am a 19 (almost 20) year old student. I live in the far north-west of Scotland on a series of islands known as the Outer Hebrides. Living in such a remote places, I have to deal with poopy weather, poopy shops and poopy broadband internet. I currently study at Lews Castle College in Stornoway, the closest thing to a city we have in the Hebrides (it is just a town, and not a very large one at that). I have just completed the first year of my History and Archaeology degree and I am currently applying for summer jobs in the hope of getting some money together with the hope to move out of my parents place.

Hobbies include reading, drawing, computing and Xboxing :P Seriously I'm a bit of an overly excessive gamer, and I am an achievement hunter, with almost 60,000 gamerscore (so close!) I like to play a wide variety of games, with Fallout, Skyrim and Grand Theft Auto constituting most of my non-Halo gaming material. I always come back to Halo, however as it is my all-time favourite franchise.

Halo: Combat Evolved
My love for Halo started a long time ago. Right at the beginning in fact! I begun playing all the way back in 2001 at the age of six, when my older brother brought an Xbox home with Halo: Combat Evolved. Needless to say, I was instantly hooked, and I would play the campaign time and time again. It possessed such a unique magic and was such a joy to play that I couldn't put it down. At such a young age, my skills were pretty much non-existent, and I would not dare to play above the Easy difficulty. With broadband still a dream in my neck of the woods, I didn't have anyone to play with except my brother, who is almost four years younger than me and in the years of 2001-2004 was a little too young to comprehend the awesomeness of Halo! I still remember the first time I experienced such mind-numbingly awesome moments such as stepping out of the crashed lifeboat and gazing upon the wondrous Halo ring for the first time and the beach assault in the Silent Cartographer. It was unlike anything that I had ever seen, and even now nothing has quite hit me in such a unique way. Oh, and the fear and unease I felt creeping through the swamps of 343 Guilty Spark, unsure of what I would find. The atmosphere and tension in that level has never been present in any video game that has come since. All in all, the first Halo represented my entry into video-gaming life, and started my life-long infatuation with the franchise.

Halo 2
When Halo 2 was revealed to me to be on the horizon, I became so excited that I could hardly control myself. A sequel to my very favourite game of all time?! I couldn't believe it! At the age of 9, I was slightly older and slightly more aware of the process of video game releases, and as such when I knew of the release date, I had it marked down on my calender and I spent many dreamless nights just anticipating how freakin' awesome this game was going to be. I begged and pleaded with my mother to buy it, and with her realising my undying love for the first game, which I had played thousands of times by that point, agreed to get it for me. So when November 2004 finally rolled around, the first thing I did was plead with my mother for the game, which I knew she had got, having watched her purchase it online. No sooner was it in my hands than my Xbox was on, and the sacred Halo 2 was started. Initially I was blown away. The first level felt a lot to me like Halo CE, and I was instantly at home. The new weapons, features such as dual-wielding and new enemies made for an unforgettable experience. I enjoyed fighting in defence for humanity's home planet, and was surprised when we were suddenly whipped away, only to be placed in the boots of the Arbiter, who would soon go on to be my all-time favourite Halo character. I really enjoyed seeing things from the Covenant's perspective, as it gave the alien conglomerate a real personal feel, shifting them from evil enemies I knew nothing about. I finally understood what the Covenant's goals were, and this made the war feel real to me. I still didn't possess the capabilities to play online yet, so I played mostly campaign as well as local multiplayer with a group of friends.

Expanded Halo Universe, the books and beyond
Shortly after Halo 2's release, my friend came into possession of a box set containing three books. These were The Fall of Reach, The Flood and First Strike. These was completely unknown to me. I had no knowledge of these books existence and was absolutely hyped to get my hands on them. My friend agreed to lend me one book, while lending another book to another friend while he read the third one. Once we were done we would all swap books and so on. Being a complete weirdo, I wanted to read The Flood, as I could think of nothing better than reading a book recounting the events of the first Halo game. I blasted through the book in record speed, and soon read the other two. It was a uniquely gratifying experience. I soon got my mother to buy these books for me and over the years I read those books hundreds of times. By 2007 each one was tattered with use, one missing its cover and the pages all showed years of use. I read the books just as much, if not more than I played the games. Once Ghosts of Onyx came out, it too was subjugated to the same punishment, losing its cover and generally becoming a mess. The Halo Graphic Novel also fell into my possession, and I spent much time drawing from it, especially enjoying the diverse assortment of Flood forms shown in the book.

Halo 3
I was 12 years old by the time Halo 3 rolled around, and had just started secondary school. By this point we finally got internet speeds that were somewhat decent, and pretty much all of my time in the months up until the games release was spent watching footage of the game on YouTube. Ever since the breathtaking E3 video in July, Halo 3 was all I thought about. I watched trailers, spoilers, leaked footage, you name it. I really, REALLY wanted it on release day, but my mother stubbornly refused to bow, proclaiming it, along with the Xbox 360 to be Christmas presents. I cringe now when I think back to the fuss I used to kick up demanding the game before Christmas. Once I got my 360 on Christmas Day, I started playing Halo 3, only to find that the console didn't have any kind of storage (the core console had nothing back then, just the box and its cables and controller.) I played through that campaign many times, reaching mission 4 or 5 before turning off my console, bemused as to why I had to start   my campaign over each time. Only later did I realise the lack of any built in or external storage. Soon enough I got a memory card, and later a hard drive and I was set. Halo 3 was my first online Halo experience, and boy did it grab me and keep me hooked. I clocked so much time with Halo 3 online, playing matchmaking, custom games and forge constantly. Halo 3 is still my favourite Halo online experience (didn't play much Halo 2 online before it's closure and not enjoying Halo: Reach and Halo 4 so much).

More Halo EU stuff
Following Halo 3's release, I soon got Halo: Contact Harvest and Halo: The Cole Protocol. I enjoyed both books, although I didn't read them as much as the first four novels, and they were overshadowed by my Halo 3 playtime. I also got the Halo: Uprising hardcover book when it came out in 2009, and as with the Halo Graphic Novel, I drew plenty of pictures based on the book's material.

Halo Wars
I got Halo Wars shortly after it's release. Now this was completely new to me. I had never been much of an RTS player. Besides the occasional game of Command & Conquer, the genre was mostly untouched by me. With my favourite game franchise entering it's territory, I was willing to place my unease aside and try my luck. I surprisingly enjoyed the game, probably just because it was Halo! My friends didn't like the game, not being very adventurous and Halo Wars was outside their comfort zone. I still played many games of Skirmish with my younger brother and Halo Wars remained in my treasured collection of Halo games.

Halo 3: ODST, Helljumper, the Encyclopedia and the concept of achievements
Halo 3: ODST was a blast. The setting and pace of the game was brilliant. I was eager to further explore the battleground of New Mombasa, after Halo 2's quick cut-off of that side of the story. The characters were brilliant, and I could sympathise with each and every one and the character-driven narrative of the game appealed to me. Finally we got to see the universe through the eyes of regular human soldiers (or ODSTs, whatever!) instead of through a super-soldier or an alien. I also explored the Firefight mode, and with a group of friends I set out to play each map with the goal of getting the 200,000 point achievements in the game. It is here that I finally took notice of the achievement system on the Xbox 360. Suddenly I was hooked. I made it my goal to get as many achievements as I could, both in ODST, but also in previous titles i.e. Halo Wars and Halo 3. Even when I got a new profile later in 2011 or 2012 I still went back and got most of the achievements. I also got the Halo: Helljumper comics and the Halo Encyclopedia for Christmas of 2009, both of which were read many times, and as with the Graphic Novel and Uprising, both were the subject of many drawings.

Halo: Reach
Naturally I was excited for Halo: Reach. I was eager to witness the fall of the great planet for myself, having read about it countless times in the novel and hearing it referenced throughout other Halo media. The campaign was a joy to experience, despite it's contradictions of the previous novels (the sequence of battle, Dr. Halsey seeing SPARTAN III's before Onyx etc.) I was happy to see Firefight back, with all of it's improvements and customisable features. For whatever reason, though, I never really got into the multiplayer side of things. Matchmaking didn't captivate me, aside from the occasional game of Invasion, and I have probably played a total of three custom games in Reach. I do not know why it didn't appeal to me, but alas.

Halo CE: Anniversary
I was absolutely thrilled to hear that the game that started it all was getting a full next-gen facelift. This was to be the first great undertaking of 343 Industries in their new management of the Halo franchise, and what a first choice. A better present to the fans I can't think of! The remaster was pulled off expertly, and I was able to experience the game that started the series, and my very first video-game in glorious next-gen fidelity. Everything was perfect. It was the same perfect game, only with a new paint job, soundtrack and it more than exceeded my expectations. It was a truly special experience, and I don't think any other company could have done a better job.

Missed opportunities, growing up etc.
Regrettably, I didn't manage to acquire any of the Forerunner or Kilo-Five trilogies at the time of release, and I still haven't had the chance to read them as of now (summer 2015). I wasn't aware of their existence until far after Halo 4's release, and even then it was a while until I purchased them. I didn't read as much by that point, even less so now, so the urge to read these books has not been strong. As such, the concepts of the Didact and Jul 'Mdama and his faction were wholly unknown to me in Halo 4. I had only seen the Librarian and the Didact referenced in the Halo Encycolopedia, and knew next to nothing about them, other than that they were somewhat pivotal to the backstory of the universe in regards to the Halo Array. By this point I was in the latter half of secondary school. I had exams to focus on, as the work I did there was crucial if I was to eventually go into university. As well as this, I had to maintain something of a social life too. Less free time, growing up etc. It sucks, but is unfortunately part of life.

Halo 4
I was reasonably excited for Halo 4. After all it was the grand return of the Master Chief, icon of the franchise. I was thrilled to resume the Chief's story, if a little anxious knowing that the great Bungie Studios had passed the torch over to 343 Industries. They had done a bang-up job with Halo: Anniversary, but this was a completely original game, being developed from the ground-up. To my great relief, 343 had managed to pleasantly surprise me. The story of Halo 4 was excellent; the interaction between Chief and Cortana was deep and masterfully implemented. The ending actually evoked proper sadness in me, and was heart-wrenching to watch. It was the closest I had came to an emotional breakdown in a video game! I (along with everyone else) wish that 343 had left out the QTEs, brought in Firefight (Spartan Ops was good and all but...) and damn, what did you guys do to the plasma pistol!?

Spartan Assault, the Xbox One, Broken Circle and Master Chief Collection hype
For a while, I was content to just play the whole slew of Halo titles that were now available to me. By this point I had a lot of games to choose from. Being more of a campaign guy, I played through them all many times. Other games also occupied my time, Fallout and Skyrim primary among them. I also had to prepare myself for finishing with secondary school, getting my university applications sorted and fixing myself some summer work (we all need teh £££) I played through Spartan Assault a couple of times, first on my 360 and then on my laptop. It was a cool concept, top down shooter-style Halo, and the game impressed me more than I thought it would. In 2014 I finished school, and got accepted for a History and Archaeology Bachelor of Arts degree at Lews Castle College, Stornoway. For my 19th birthday in July 2014 I got an Xbox One. Up until this point I had been satisfied with my 360, as I had not heard the greatest things about the One. This all changed with E3 2014. Upon the announcement of a 'Master Chief Collection' containing Halo CE: Anniversary, a remastered Halo 2 Anniversary, Halo 3 and Halo 4 - essentially the must-have Halo collection, my mind was set. I needed an Xbox One. With my birthday around the corner it was the perfect time. Starting university in September, a lot of my time was devoted to assignments, coursework and the like. As the Master Chief Collection neared release, I became more and more excited. With this, Halo 5: Guardians on the horizon and a multitude of other Halo stuff in the future, it was a good time to be a Halo fan! I bought Broken Circle, and managed to get it read before the MCC hit. Also, I finally managed to buy the Forerunner and Kilo-Five trilogies, but they haven't yet been looked at.

The Master Chief Collection!
November 11, 2014. The Master Chief Collection hit! The first thing I did was play though the entire four campaigns chronologically on Legendary difficulty (I usually play on Legendary). It was such a good experience. Blur totally outdid my expectations; Halo 2 Anniversary's cinematic's were absolutely beautiful. All four games ran perfectly for me, with the exception of several Halo CE terminals glitching and booting me back to the home screen. I didn't really run into most of the bugs that plagued many others around release day (and still do!) and contributed to the collections flawed release. Not being much of a multiplayer person, it was nevertheless great to be able to play some Halo 3 matchmaking again, even if I couldn't devote as much time as I would have wanted (not a kid anymore!) Halo MCC still stands out as the definitive Master Chief experience.

Spartan Strike, New Blood, Hunters in the Dark and E3 2015/Halo 5: Guardians hype!
After many long months of delay, Halo: Spartan Strike came out. Just like Spartan Assault, but improved (goodbye micro-transactions!) It was a blast. The digital novella Halo: New Blood was great. I read it on the go to and from college. Excellent backstory for Edward Buck, setting him up for Halo 5: Guardians. The announcement of four further Halo novels is excellent news for us Halo fans, although I don't know when I'll be able to get around to reading them. E3 2015 was phenomenal - it is a great time to be a gamer! Halo 5: Guardians looks fantastic. The whole Chief/Locke dynamic is awesome and I can't wait to see how it plays out in-game. Warzone looks epic - 24 players, how will that work?? Buck is back! And *quivers with excitement* Blue Team is here!! OMG, ever since reading the Fall of Reach for the first time 10 years ago, I have been waiting for them to make an in-game appearance. Finally it's happening. 343 really are outdoing themselves with the Halo franchise, and if Halo 5 plays like it did at E3, it will be one of my favourite Halo's yet! I also got Halo: Hunters in the Dark, but I haven't been able to read it, due to job-hunting, housework, crop planting and other such pursuits. Soon though...

Games

 * Halo: Combat Evolved ✅
 * Halo PC ✅
 * Halo 2 ✅
 * Halo 2 Vista
 * Halo 3 ✅
 * Halo Wars ✅
 * Halo 3: ODST ✅
 * Halo: Reach ✅
 * Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary ✅
 * Halo 4 ✅
 * Halo: Spartan Assault ✅
 * Halo: The Master Chief Collection ✅
 * Halo: Spartan Strike ✅
 * Halo Online
 * Halo 5: Guardians

Individual novels

 * Halo: The Fall of Reach ✅
 * Halo: The Flood ✅
 * Halo: First Strike ✅
 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx ✅
 * Halo: Contact Harvest ✅
 * Halo: The Cole Protocol ✅
 * Halo: Broken Circle ✅
 * Halo: New Blood ✅
 * Halo: Hunters in the Dark
 * Halo: Saint's Testimony
 * Halo: Last Light
 * Halo: Shadow of Intent

The Forerunner Saga

 * Halo: Cryptum
 * Halo: Primordium
 * Halo: Silentium

Kilo-Five Trilogy

 * Halo: Glasslands
 * Halo: The Thursday War
 * Halo: Mortal Dictata

Anthrology

 * Halo: Evolutions ✅

Comic series

 * Halo: Uprising ✅
 * Halo: Helljumper ✅
 * Halo: Blood Line ✅
 * Halo: Fall of Reach ✅
 * Halo: Initiation ✅
 * Halo: Escalation ✅

Reference books

 * The Art of Halo: Creating a Virtual World
 * The Art of Halo 3
 * Halo Encyclopedia ✅
 * Halo: The Essential Visual Guide ✅
 * Halo: The Great Journey: The Art of Building Worlds
 * Awakening: The Art of Halo 4 ✅
 * Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide ✅
 * The Art of Halo 5: Guardians

Official guides

 * Halo: Combat Evolved: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
 * Halo: Combat Evolved: Sybex Official Strategies & Secrets
 * Halo 2: The Official Strategy Guide
 * Halo 3: The Official Strategy Guide ✅
 * Halo Wars: Official Strategy Guide
 * Halo 3: ODST Official Strategy Guide ✅
 * Halo: Reach Official Strategy Guide ✅
 * Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Official Strategy Guide
 * Halo 4: Official Game Guide ✅

My websites

 * Twitter
 * Facebook
 * Instagram
 * YouTube
 * Twitch
 * Fanfiction
 * Xbox Live
 * Bungie.net
 * Halo Waypoint

Today is Wednesday, August 28, 2024