Yeah: Me, Ben and Dave have been playing Halo 2, on XBox Live, since about 1:30 or 2:00 am. It took us a while to figure out the interface, match-building and so forth. It's new territory after all. But once we got online, it was pretty clear that the prophecies I had previously put forth, that Halo 2 would in fact be the downfall of my academic career, might actually have some degree of truth beyond my typically hyperbolic ravings.

In any event, this game absolutely rocks ass. It's well worth having had to wait in line at the mall for 2 hours, all the while interacting with some, shall we say, colorful fellow video game types. Ahh yes. Midnight release lines for video games at the mall are almost as bad as Magic tournaments. Almost.

Halo 2 gameplay comments: Sweet, and smooth. There are slight mechanical differences from the original that have thrown me off, and I haven't quite figured out the tactical implications of dual-wielding weapons. I end up trying to grenade or melee attack, and that just screws stuff up. But never the less. This game is terrific. And the energy sword. Drool. :)