Big Update:

Ok, It's been awhile, so I've got a lot to update, and yet, I don't. Ya see, I'm a bit short on time, because I'd like to go to the air show today, which is way more important than millions of people I don't know getting updates about my life. That being said, here's an update for all you digital stalkers anyway:

This past week was E3 down in LA. Halo fans (one of which is me) got a big exciting look at this Fall's Halo 3: ODST. It looks to be way awesome. It's going to be quite different from the Halo trilogy too, despite its being built upon the Halo 3 engine. For example, you're playing as Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, not Spartan-117. So no energy shields, not jumping over tanks in a single bound, and no duel wielding rifles. The life bar is also making a return, with a cusion of "stamina" to make up for the lack of energy shields.

A couple new weapons will be showing up. First, is a silenced version of the SMG from Halo 3. The second, and most exciting, is the return of the "god pistol" from Halo: CE. It's not quite the same, and is now called the Auto-Mag, but the effect is the same. A powerful, long range, scoped pistol of Covenant-slaying death.

One of the most exciting things for me though, is the Non-linear campaign. Once you drop into New Mombassa, the city is yours to explore (quiet though, it's crawling with Covenant, and you don't have shields, and are precariously low on ammo.) Your goal is to find out what happened to the rest of your squad earlier that day. So you explore/fight your way around the city looking for clues to thier fate. Each time you find a clue, you are rewarded with a flashback level (these being more linear), which you will play from the point of view of one of your squad mates. This continues until "everything comes together" (whatever that means) as you find the last clues. By the end of the game, you will have played as all six members of your ODST squad.

Oh, speaking of the rest of your squad, you aren't the squad leader. You're simply "the Rookie." Your squad leader is Buck, played by none other than Nathan Fillion, AKA Captain Mal from the Serenity. They even made him look like Mal. Check it out in the Opening Cutscene. I new the guys from Bungie were Firefly fans, since they gave Mal, Janye, and Wash's characters cameos as marines in Halo 3, but this just cofirms it as they give Mal a leading roll. Hopefully he's not dead like most of the marines/ODSTs are by the end of the Halo Saga. We'll find out when ODST releases on 22 Sept. 2009.

Oh, and Bungie decided to let us in on one more project. It's a prequal to Halo: CE, but takes place after the events of Halo Wars. Take a gander at Halo: Reach. Again, I'm way excited. Halo fans know just how important the Fall of Reach really is to the Halo Saga's story. In fact, it's the event that sends Master Chief and Cortana off on their first adventure on a Halo Ring, and sees the end of the Spartan II program. Too bad we have to wait until 2010 to figure out any more.

Now, for a change to Airsoft News. We've played a few games out at my friend's property, and it looks like we're going to have a huge turnout at our next one, which is coming up this next weekend. So much so, that Echo1 USA is going to be sponsering us by sending out some ammo and T-shirts to give away... and maybe some extra goodies too (they were non-specific as to what). Yay, we're sponsered. Echo1 is an awesome company too, and I really like thier guns. (I really love my MP5 CQC).

In fact, I think my next loadout is also going to revolve around an Echo1 gun. They just released a new AK-47 model that I want. It's light, has a V3 Metal Gearbox, even has real wood furniture. It also has a longer barrel, and higher velocity than my MP5, so it will be a bit better for outdoor stuff, especially as our games get bigger. Though, I think I'll still prefer my MP5 for mid-range combat or when I'm acting as a spotter when my friend is Sniping. That's the beauty of having multiple guns. You get to switch off in between games, thus letting you play a few different styles thoughout the day.

Anyway, my plans for the AK: I want to get a pack of Mid-cap magazines for it, allowing me to use it as a normal assualt rifle. However, I also want to get a Drum Magazine and a Bi-pod for it so that I can also us it as a SAW. Sitting in an enchrenched position and firing 3000 round down into my advancing, helpless enemies just seems like something that would be fun. Unfortuantly, even with the discount that I get working for AirGunDepot.com... I'm still looking at about $250 to build that rig. And that doesn't even include the Tracer Unit that I want to get! (Fortunatly, the Tracer Unit will be intercangable with my MP5, so I only need one.) Sigh... Maybe I'll get a raise sometime soon... and my birthday is next Friday... I can dream.

Now, time to go get ready for that Air Show I was talking about.