a 'hero' did rise

many tents were pitched last night in anticipation for the midnight release of halo 3. in fact, many gaming stores held a release party to welcome the third edition of microsoft's most successful franchise. while i did not attend any of these 'release parties,' [you know who you are], i did pick it up sometime tuesday afternoon. one of the funnier things related to halo 3 is the option for people to buy a version that includes a replica helmet that will house the halo 3 [or any other] video game case. seriously, is that necessary? some people are just dumb. with that being said, i still haven't played the game. so until i have actually played halo 3, i will continue to wonder what could bungie could do to improve the game from halo 2. aside from master chief being able to wield three guns at a time with the help of a third arm, the only things i can think that would have improved would be as follows: better graphics, new maps, and new weapons. and basically that's it. there may be other new wrinkles, but they won't be essential [read: things that people can do without]. halo 3's release also generated enough buzz that people who don't know anything related to video games were asking me about it. at first it surprised me that these people mentioned it, but then again, one person called it 'hero 3.'