For the past several weeks, the TTL Gunslingers have been tracking the progress of the ODST Transport Van – which we have lovingly dubbed ‘The Helljumper Express’ – as it rockets across the country in a whirlwind tour in anticipation of the drop of Halo 3 ODST.

To date, we have intercepted this movable feast of hype in Oregon, Arizona, Texas, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. In every location, this event has inspired its attendees with a renewed enthusiasm for the Halo franchise. City after city, gamers are reporting in with newfound eagerness to return to the warfront against the Covenant in the service of the United Nations Space Command.

More than a mere transport, the Helljumper Express is a rescue vehicle; preparing gamers to drop and putting their virtual boots back on the digital line. Depicted below is the tour leader, callsign “Patrick”. At every stop, he has served faithfully as our paramedic, administering a much-needed shot in the arm. He’s a gentlemen and one hell of a party leader – just the sort of medic you would want on such a mission of advanced reconnaissance.

Gamers all across this Halo Nation of ours are answering this most recent call to arms. Having finished the fight, they are opting in for another tour of duty. You are invited to sample their experiences in their own words…

CASE STUDY: TTL FEZZER
This self-professed “slave to his education” has been mysteriously absent from the Halo warfront for some time now. When a gamer is mere steps away from becoming a licensed healer of beasts [what you might refer to as a “Veterinarian”], how do you tear him away from his studies?

“The Bungie marketing machine knows their trade, and they practice it well. There is no mistaking the purpose of this tour. And from this gamers perspective, they are accomplishing their goals. The whole event, from entering and exiting the truck was about 15-20 minutes. But that was plenty of time for me to see how fun and awesome this game is going to be. I am looking forward to the full version and all it has to offer. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to Drop.”

CASE STUDY: TTL LOCKE
Once an Overlord in the ranks of the TTL Gunslingers, this gamer has since migrated off-world to sample the galactic intrigue found in EVE Online. [GASP!] Poor bastard is lost in space. How to do you bring a trusty gunhand like this back into violent congress with the Halo Nation?

“The game has all the good qualities of Gears of War, and none of the bad. Wrap that up in a Halo package, and its simply a blast to play. One of my favorite moments was hitting a cloaked brute with an Incendiary grenade, and then seeing him get hammered into a group of grunts. Someone order the flaming gorilla? Another fun moment involved thinking I could go toe-to-toe with a Hunter, and having it end badly… very badly. (Hey…I had the pistol, I got cocky)”

CASE STUDY: TTL CUTENESS, TTL PONY, TTL BUNNY
Pony is depicted below. He’s not a monogamous gamer. His partners in crime [Cutness and Bunny], tend to bounce from hero to hero in search of fresh adventures and more points to add to their ever-escalating gamerscore. They have been just as much in love with the Master Chief as any of us… but their eyes tend to wander as a game shows its age.

Cuteness: “Truthfully, I’m a 100% Call of Duty guy. You’re not a super soldier, you’re just some expendable grunt – you’re fragile. ODST feels like the next generation of that. You’re fragile, albeit not as fragile as in CoD, but more so than the Chief, and it feels right. You’ve got the 4 player Co-Op. Difference here is that is is a challenge. It was a good experience, and I guess I won’t be canceling my pre-order now to help pay for my MW2 Night Vision Goggles.”

CASE STUDY: TTL DEMAG0GUE
The gamer behind the Reclaimer is more an artist than a warrior – just don’t make the mistake of asuming that he is not a little of both. Even artists need new horizons. When a user employs a game as a canvas, rather than an arena, they crave new design elements for their pallette.

“The black-lit, HD gameplay was gorgeous, and the action was non-stop and intense! This webcomic creator is already thinking about ways to blend this latest of Bungie’s titles into the Reclaimer story line. New maps, new characters, and a mob of angry Covenant forces hell-bent on human annihilation provide the potential for new story-telling opportunities.”

CODA: THE GGN GETS WORKPLACED
Some gamers never stray too far from the Halo Nation. When the Helljumper Express rolled through Chicago – cradle of the Haloverse – faithfull combatents were on hand to pay homage. On this occassion, Bungie did what they do better than any development house in the business: they served as a catalyst for community among gamers. The Good Game Network [represented by Tied the Leader and Halo 3 Wheelmen] rallied to join Halo 3 in the Workplace and sample what is yet to come.

Depicted above [from left to right]: Workplacers Ghuta and Krewl Intent, Yours Truly [above], TTL Goody, and H3WM Il Duce. Off camera: TTL Radiomond and Conradi. Thanks for the ride, ‘Workplacers. Pay you back in-game sometime.

Of course, these guys had to show us up by bringing bloody flags!

“No flag, no country!”
~Eddie Izzard.

Are you prepared to drop? You have just over one week to find out. The Helljumper Express is far from being on its last legs, but it is on the last legs of its journey.

This could be you! The rescue mission will take all comers. Form a line and get some, Marines! We are ODST. Are you?

ADDITIONAL PHOTO CREDITS: TTL Stuicide, TTL Radiomond.

Posted by XerxdeeJ