Omega Squad Report 6: Post-Apocalyptia in the Haloverse

By the rings, there is no time for snappy, witty introductions, so don't count on it. This is Pata 'Elishon, partner and blood brother of Grundo 'Fishon, and, as we speak, all of Halo 3's XBL community is rioting.

What is it this time? Recon? MLG? Gamerpoints? No.... It's NXE, the New Xbox Experience.

Now, I know what you're thinking. We all know that, deep down, we hate the Wii-like avatars (causing confusion for those who have the 360 and Wii) and confusing setup, but that's not why people are commiting suicide both in-game and off.

No, it's because of the changes to the Achievements that are causing the destruction of the Halo 3 community. The most well-known glitch of the implimentation of the NXE is the loss of one of the most famous Halo permutations: The Katana Body Piece. Now, I know what you're all thinking: Why is everyone so hyped up on the Katana? It's simple, really. While I mean no offense to the community, some have become obsessive on their avatar and rankings and permutations, and the loss of all three has caused paranoia and death to many.

Second only to this is the loss of Security permutations, most notably its Shoulders. Other achievements, such as Spartan Officer, are not unlocked upon achieving them.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Again, why is this a big deal? Well, Matchmaking has calmed down as most of the average, casual gamers have quickly filled the gaps, though occassionally you'll see MLG teams rioting against the casual gamers for not understanding their loss. However, the Flamiteers are hard-pressed to keep hackers and rioters down. Some have snapped entirely, creating a final farewell in their Forge maps before their untimely demises. Other custom games have either be turned into protests and assemblies, either planning their assault on Bungie, Microsoft, or just purely rioting and killing each other for their losses. The Flamiteers and Mods have arrived to settle this, though the rioters are, naturally, obsessive players who cannot bear the loss of their armors. Of course, those with the Security Shoulders and other hard to obtain achievements and armor permutations are extremely proficient in the game, and Bungie's troops are hard-pressed to stay alive in a single game, more or less put down the rioters.

And, in the midst of all this, many have died in and off game due to the chaos. Some have committed suicide and others mass murder in the wake of the shock. Let us take a minute of silence to respect those fallen in this tragic glitch.

This is Pata 'Elishon. Remember the fallen.

Pata 'Elishon