With Microsoft set to launch Xbox One, the third Xbox console so far, and the next generation of online gaming upon us, I thought I'd share one particular Xbox memory before asking you for yours. I didn't get an Xbox 360 at launch and I never owned an original Xbox, but when Halo 3 came around I was hungry.
I played a ton of Halo 2 with friends. For years we gathered around a pair of networked Xbox consoles to play 8 player matches on Lockout, one of the greatest multiplayer shooter maps ever made. Soon we were separated by distance, but thankfully Xbox Live filled the void.
Halo 3 was set to launch. I pick up an Xbox 360, a second controller, a year of Xbox Live Gold, and Skate a week in advance and got down to enjoying the system before spending a full 12 hours playing Halo 3 from midnight launch to noon. While I've never purposefully ditched a class or a job to play video games, I was so engrossed in multiplayer mayhem that I couldn't be bothered with concepts like time.
While my Xbox 360 has had a long healthy life, it did suffer an unfortunate Red Ring of Death episode not unlike a heart attack, within the three year warranty. I've enjoyed Mass Effect and Grand Theft Auto and the best of gaming in the past six years, but it's time to say goodbye as the Xbox One is almost here.
What are your Xbox memories?
