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Co-op Recap [JUMBO EDITION]
Posted By: Kermit	Date: 4/16/11 7:46 p.m.
Photo Credit: KornyMunky (Give this man a star already!) Ah, Co-op Night! It seems a lifetime ago, doesn't it? Let me tell you, it certainly feels that way for me. Towards the end of our co-op nights I felt something similar to what Marcus Lehto described, with his brain throbbing Reach, Reach, Reach. In the meantime, papa's got bills to pay, The Man to answer to, and the many hours I'd spent daydreaming about Wednesday nights had taken their toll on my REAL LIFE responsibilities. So once the co-op contest ciphering was over, I simply collapsed in a heap, only to get up quickly and realize it's crunch time and I've got deadlines from people who pay me $$$. Oh Sh*t! So ... that's what I've been up to, if you've missed me. Let me tell you what happened a little over one month ago. We played the final level of Reach, and then we played the final final level of Reach, and it was awesome. As usual, you can see stats from our final (PoA) games here. Here are some highlights (now jampacked with even more video!): The Pillar of Autumn NSU Soldier got the most assists with 7. Very appropriate number, NSU. I'm sure you planned that. The most cooperative award goes to Beckx, JDQuackers, Mazz, and Vagueness, who had the smallest kill spread between them (44--I didn't count score because scoring wasn't on, if you remember). At the beginning of the level, some of you couldn't help but beg just a bit more even though we didn't come to hear it. That splat you're hearing is the sound of spartans testing out ragdoll physics. Angry Old Man (the player formerly known as Snake Griffin) took the death leap, as did Vagueness and Snipe, but of course Snipe with his leet skills didn't get hurt (somehow). As far as I know, no one got the achievement on co-op night, but then again, maybe most of you already have it. (I don't ... sigh.) C.W. McCall would've been proud of the various truck convoys that were formed. I haven't had so much fun in trucks since I was a kid. My dear old dad used to have a 1963 baby blue Econoline van. The engine well was inside the cab between the two front seats, and sometimes I would have to sit on it, and even though it had this insulated fiberglass cover, it would get hot, especially in August in North Carolina. Once it caught fire. Not unlike this: Daddy would've taken this opportunity to light his cigar. Bones and others made makeshift turrents while surfing on top of trucks Teen-Wolf style, and they even managed to take out a few covenant this way. In general, though, Spartans didn't prove to be very proficient truckers. Don't quit your day job, Bones! Bluerunner and iMonkey get the Evel Knievel award for making the jump over the blown-out bridge, but Bluerunner gets extra credit because he made the jump without driving! Beckx and co. tried their best to hijack a Banshee early (keyword: tried). Padraig, for his part, was happy just to kill one, finally. That rocket had to work for it. Regarding munitions going the extra mile, this stray needle was intent on killing Loftus, even after he was dead. Now you're extra dead! I mentioned rockets: Beck held onto his precious SPNKR the entire game as if it were THE PACKAGE ITSELF, but at least he finally made good use of it when they got to the Hunters. Mazz tried to bring a forklift along, and he might have succeeded without the "assistance" of his teammates, with their errant Wraith plasma rounds and their "pushing" (a.k.a. whacking) on the forklift to get it upstairs. Who saw that coming? If it makes you guys feel any better, KornyMunky's "assistance" in the same situation involved shooting the forklift with a fuelrod. Although Mazz et al. beat on Emile the whole game for being such a meanie to Jorge, they had a change of heart after seeing him become a human shishkabob. (Isn't that always the way?) They sadistically abused the corpse of his killer. Dielectric Flux claims that a sadistic Korny was trying to kill him by making the the laser backfire, but Korny claims that Flux's good health was foremost on his mind. The jury's still out, but note that this was before Bones made this kind of FAIL infamous later that night on Lone Wolf. While Bones was actually trying to kill things, and, you know, finish the level, Bluerunner, IamOnlyInhuman, and DaCrazySpartan were mesmerized by a hole in the ceiling in the little room with the trash in it (right after you get past the Hunters). Sorry fellas, the film reveals nothing up there. Except maybe some bullet casings. Now. Vagueness, who I've long suspected of being a Loftus-in-training, pointed out data pads and the intricacies of the smelting machinery to his teammates. Regarding the machinery, there are safety hazards in those areas you need to watch out for, and it's not because the Boneyard facility isn't a union shop. Here Padraig does his part to improve safety. What goes around, comes around--if you're sneaky enough. This is the sort of co-op play I love to see. Dielectric Flux, Scalemaster117, and DMFanella come to KornyMunky's rescue. Love Korny's little "I'm alive!" dance. Even Spartans have down time. Do you ever wonder what they do with themselves after a long day of finishing the fight? Are you sure you want to know? Snipe is known to mix business with pleasure, and go dancing with hunters at Club Errera, and he couldn't resist doing it again, but before that, he took some time to teach us to moonwalk. Any space marine worth his salt should know how. Is this why Tyrant wears a glove? The Field Marshall guarding the Mac gun was one bad mofo, and it often took the entire team to bring him down. It may not look like ZaneZavin is doing much through most this clip, but what counts is that he does what counts. For the record, DMFanella did what needed to be done as well. Finally, we dealt the fatal blow to the Cruiser, and watched with awe as the Pillar of Autumn rose into the beautiful Reach sky. We continued to watch as it moved toward some kind of ring-like thingamajig (who knows what that was about), and then we found ourselves not so alone on Lone Wolf. Lone Wolf It's understandable considering that I doubt many of us have played Lone Wolf more than a handful of times, that we forget that Bungie took off the kid gloves when they made this level. It's as if they finally set out to show a thing or two to those smarty-pants who waltz through SLASO runs in 12 minutes while eating an apple. To paraphrase Nigel Tufel in Spinal Tap, Lone Wolf goes to 11. It's at least one harder. This means that if you slow down and start counting glass blades at any point, a drop-ship with superguns will knock you flat. Indeed, that is what happened to many. If you stayed outside at all, you were dead or you soon would be. Hyokin thought he'd found a secret hiding place, but instead found an especially explosive place. Does any other level have barrels like that? Do you see how Bungie is getting payback?! They train us to recognize explosive canisters and then invent new ones just for that map. They teach us to hide behind walls for protection, and then make these explosive barrels have the ability to explode through walls! Cheaters! My final seconds on Reach. I wuz robbed! Surprise, surprise, we all died. Beckx died trying to catch a Wraith, predictably enough. Bones as expected made a good fight of it, but died unexpectedly early because of an unfortunate drop shield. Dielectric Flux had a decent strategy, hanging out on the roof of the "house," but that was too dangerous to last very long. Mazz technically had the longest time by a few seconds, and used the chain gun to good effect, but because of a skull mix-up, his team wasn't quite playing at the same level. If you want to see how to play Lone Wolf in true Co-op Night spirit, check out the Snipe's winning run: We stuck together more than any other team. Congrats again to Snipe, for winning the contest! A Few Final Notes The real highlights of the night was the lobby before the games started. I can't recall ever being in a maxed-out lobby with so much good cheer and positive anticipation. Bones had prepared a little speech for us, and I have to say, it was amazing. Sean Connery himself could not have delivered it better. Heck, listen for yourself. Now starting about five seconds into that I was biting my knuckle almost until it bled to keep from giggling hysterically, and when the speech was over the lobby erupted with laughter and well-deserved words of praise for the performance. Thanks, Bones. You and Mazz and Padraig were part of a select group who didn't miss a single Co-op Night, and your enthusiasm and good spirits inspired me and kept me from burning out. I want to sincerely thank all of you who played. I've been loving Bungie games all these years, and thanks to you all, I really feel like part of the community now. Thanks to those who sent me reports and screens and clips from the games--without your help, these recaps could not have happened. Wu, thanks for letting me use your forum to organize and report. I've enjoyed HBO since it was blam.bungie.org, and if organizing these games has given some pleasure back to the good folks who come here, it's a tiny repayment for all the enjoyment I get here everyday. And of course mucho gratitude goes to Bungie, for making what I consider to be their masterpiece. Explaining how much fun this game is to someone not in the know is like trying to explain heaven to a bear. Aufwiedersehen, Kermit P.S. "Aufwiedersehen" means "see you again" if you didn't know, so know that Co-op Night is not saying goodbye. Speaking of seeing all of you, Padraig whipped up something very special for us. Consider this a parting gift from him and from me. What a handsome bunch you are. <3 Click to embiggen.

Message Index

Co-op Recap [JUMBO EDITION]	Kermit	4/16/11 7:46 p.m.
I knew I'd forget ...	Kermit	4/16/11 8:18 p.m.
Re: Truly deserved:)	Hedgemony	4/16/11 8:41 p.m.
There are those who said this day would never come	bluerunner	4/16/11 8:39 p.m.
Re: Co-op Recap [JUMBO EDITION]	Dielectric	4/16/11 10:39 p.m.
Re: Co-op Recap [JUMBO EDITION]	DMFanella	4/16/11 11:20 p.m.
No, you just didn't read it.	Kermit	4/17/11 12:20 a.m.
Re: No, you just didn't read it.	Dielectric	4/17/11 7:12 a.m.
Re: No, you just didn't read it.	Kermit	4/17/11 8:18 a.m.
Dielectric ...	Kermit	4/17/11 8:50 a.m.
Re: Dielectric ...	DMFanella	4/17/11 11:44 a.m.
Re: Dielectric ...	Kermit	4/18/11 12:47 a.m.
Re: Dielectric ...	Dielectric	4/18/11 6:39 a.m.
Re: Dielectric ...	Louis Wu	4/18/11 8:09 a.m.
Updated now	Louis Wu	4/18/11 9:19 a.m.
Re: Updated now	DMFanella	4/18/11 10:20 a.m.
Re: Updated now	Dielectric	4/18/11 5:45 p.m.
Re: Updated now	Kermit	4/18/11 9:02 p.m.
"LMAO" doesn't even begin to cover it. *NM*	ZackDark	4/18/11 9:43 p.m.
Re: Updated now	Dielectric	4/19/11 5:33 p.m.
I came as soon as I heard! :U *VIDS*	munky-058	4/16/11 11:32 p.m.
Re: I came as soon as I heard! :U *VIDS*	Kermit	4/17/11 1:00 a.m.
Re: I came as soon as I heard! :U *VIDS*	Dielectric	4/17/11 7:50 p.m.
This ring will make us brothers!	padraig08	4/17/11 12:51 a.m.
Re: This ring will make us brothers!	Kermit	4/17/11 1:11 a.m.
Re: This ring will make us brothers!	munky-058	4/17/11 2:29 a.m.
Re: This ring will make us brothers!	padraig08	4/18/11 2:11 p.m.
Re: Co-op Recap [JUMBO EDITION]	General Vagueness	4/17/11 1:21 a.m.
Re: Co-op Recap [JUMBO EDITION]	Kermit	4/17/11 1:23 a.m.
Wow, thanks for everything Kerm.	NsU Soldier	4/17/11 1:31 a.m.
Great recap. Thanks Kerm. On to ODST! *NM*	Beckx	4/17/11 6:53 p.m.
Re: Co-op Recap [JUMBO EDITION]	Kermit	4/19/11 10:18 a.m.