Well, for us personally here at Rampancy, the circle has finally completed. The new Bungie game that eventually became Halo was a mere collection of rumors referred to collectively as Blam when sites like HBO and The Core (later Rampancy) started. Later it was introduced, to the surprise and awe of many, at Macworld New York in the summer of 1999, and was immediately heralded as the next big thing in gaming, and that as a Mac game would singlehandedly revitalize the Mac gaming scene.

That didn't happen, of course. Bungie became the premier Xbox developer and Halo the must-have title that drove Xbox sales, and only now, at the end of 2003, more than four years after we first heard the strains of Marty O'Donnell's soundtrack during a demo film generated in real time, using OpenGL, on a Macintosh, can we play Halo, in real time, using OpenGL, on our Macintosh.

And now our holiday care package has finally arrived at Rampancy headquarters, including a copy of Mac Halo, two copies of Halo for Windows, as well as Eric Nylund's latest Halo novelization First Strike, which was devoured all in one sitting last night. More on that later. In general, I enjoyed it, and I have to say I enjoy Nylund's style better than that of William Dietz, who novelized the plot of the first Xbox game in the title Halo: The Flood. However, the most interesting things about it were the potential implications for the plot and gameplay of Halo 2.

It feels great to finally play Halo on the Mac; the game is just as much fun as it ever was, and the new maps and weapons, as well as the availability of internet multiplayer, are more than welcome additions. One might be tempted to grouse about how long it took, but that isn't finally the point.

It was especially gratifying to see that the Special Thanks section of the original game-- which appears in the Xbox version's booklet and in-game credits, was carried over into the books and credits for the Mac and PC versions. Especially gratifying since Tyson "Ferrex" Green of Bungie, primarily responsible for starting The Core/Rampancy and whose legacy is a major part of the reason this site is still here, was kind enough to send out thanks to the denizens of Rampancy.net and Rampancy Hotline in his special thanks, for which we're eternally grateful.

Frag on, you crazy diamonds.