The Bull Pen #9

There is something that every gamer probably thinks about at least once in their lifetime and more than likely on a regular basis. That thought is, “How good am I really and what do my peers think of my abilities?” Sure, games have numbers and ranks that give an approximate idea of the skill level of a player but numbers and ranks can be corrupted or skewed through various means. In most cases, a fraudulent player will eventually be exposed but it is not always easy to tell beforehand. I bring this topic before you because I have recently asked myself this same question. I have a somewhat deceptive Halo 2 global rank of 18, which is based out of Big Team Battle. Ranked matchmaking is not something I usually enter on my own and even when I enter with my clan mates, it usually ends up being 6v6. I would like to think that I have shown my abilities in arranged games to be certainly higher than 18 but I am not really sure where the cap would be. Like any player, I have my strengths and weaknesses: strengths – SWAT games, vehicle operation, Battle Rifle; weaknesses – shotguns, bomb carrier, irrational behavior from time to time. Sure, I have my games where I do not do well in one of my strengths and games where I outperform my usual abilities in a weakness but for the most part, I have an idea of where and what I should be doing. I just always have that desire to know what my teammates think of me and what my opponents fear and do not fear about me. After all, while I may not wish to be a level 30 and up, I would like my fellow teammates say at the end of the game, “We’re glad we had you on the team as you were a key to our victory”, instead of, “Thanks for being a death sponge and costing us the game”.

While typing this blog, I hit upon a crazy idea for a way to liven up an evening of custom games (well, either liven up or drive people insane). Why not try some various game types on maps that usually do not get played with those game types? CTF Classic on Ascension sure sounds like a hoot and a holler. How about a game of 4-team Neutral Bomb Assault on Warlock? Zanzibar gets about every game type except King of the Hill so try that on for size, possibly with rockets and moving hill. I can only envision the wild kind of game that would go on if you did Swords Only on Elongation. Have you ever done OK Corral on Gemini? A game of team snipers on Foundation would be as heart-pounding as a SWAT game, that is for sure. Finally, the coup de grace, a game of oddball with 3 balls played on Terminal with rockets and sniper rifles for weapons. If you actually dare try and play some of these game types, let me know how they turn out and if your party members actually threatened you bodily harm for daring to try them.

Custom Game of the Week: The Amazing Race. Since the Race game type was not included in Halo 2, there have been attempts to bring something similar back to the fold. I have created something that kind of replicates it but also adds a new dimension to the game. To start off, you need to create a King of the Hill game with a moving hill every 30 seconds. If you think that does not sound bad, here comes the wrinkle: I designed the game to be played first and foremost on Waterworks with Headlong a distinct second. That is correct, you will be racing around the map trying to get to the hill only to see it move within seconds of you getting there (unless of course you are hill camping). Think of the hill as an Amazing Race route marker and your opponent as the Roadblock. Heavy vehicles and the Banshee are turned off while the other vehicles are random. You start with a Battle Rifle and Plasma Pistol and the weapons on map are set to no sniping. At last we get to the final piece of juicy information; team multiplier is turned on and uncontested hill is turned off as the winning time is an amazing 3 minutes. You have read that correctly as, unless you have an extremely coordinated team, you will be racing to at least 6 locations (whether or not they are different is irrelevant). This game should (hopefully) be a benchmark for coordination and teamwork as both teams will need to plan accordingly since rockets will be available for both sides and losing your vehicles could send you to a quick defeat. I hope to try this game out soon and will hopefully have an update on it next week.