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| My MLG Dallas *Long* *IMG* | |
| Posted By: XMixMasterX <lbartender@hotmail.com> | Date: 8/31/09 11:35 a.m. |
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(Warning: Pictures are taken with crappy camera phone because the tickets stated 'No photographic equipment' and I left my good camera at home.) I arrived at the Hilton Anatole at about 9 AM on Saturday (Friday was date night). The drop-off areas were scattered with buses and backpack-carrying teens. I knew I was in the right place, but I seemed to have been the only person with my own car attending the event. I parked and ventured in to find the designated arena (or at least a map of the hotel). Inside was much the same scene, except for the buses. I got a good mental picture of the map, and then started following a small crowd of backpacks. About 3/4 of the journey through, a few of them started panicking. "Is this the way?" "Do you know the way?" "Are you sure?" "Do you know where we're going?" Several of them stopped to catch their panicky breath and reorganize their thoughts; I continued forward. After a stroll though a covered walkway I found myself face to face with the check-in tables and doors leading into the event area. I presented my ticket, strapped on my wrist band and headed past the lonely security guard.
I spent the first 30 minutes wandering around checking out the booths, gaming areas and trying to find the biggest line. Surely, ODST would have a pile of people eagerly awaiting it's first open session of the day. For some odd reason, it didn't have the discouragingly long lines I have always heard about for other events. I would have been first in line if I had known where to go; as it was, I ended up being about 30th. Instead of a line to play, it was a line to sign up for a time to play.
While waiting Shishka walked by and it didn't seem like anyone was interested in his presence. I gave a big "What's up Shishka?" He greeted me back and continued with his business. I struck up a conversation with the guy in line in front of me. He had a media pass, but wasn't with a website as I had assumed. He was there with the team '99 Problems'. He said they were the Puerto Rican champs and had gotten sponsored by Best Buy in order to make the trip. They were ranked 37th based off of past performance and previous MLG tournaments. He told me that he was disappointed with the guys because they lost to a lower seeded (approx. 140th seed) team the night before. I wished him luck as he finished signing up and I gave my name to the booth operators... another wristband - this one stuck to my arm hair. After signing up I headed towards the main stage. It is much smaller in person than it seems on the live feeds. Stadium seating and only about 15 feet between the spectators and players.
I decided to watch some of the side games while I waited for my 12 PM ODST gaming session. I felt like I was halfway between watching some kids play at a local game store and standing in line at the bank while the teller screamed "L1! L1!" It was neat to peek over the shoulder of some really good players while they did battle. Unfortunately I was peeking over the shoulder of the losing team. Slowly, a crowd started to form around me and I realized I had perfect standing position to watch over the shoulder of Snipedown and Tsquared from Str8 Rippin' on the 'Featured Stage'.
Two games later and it was time to play me some ODST. I stood and watched as some of the other players finished up their sessions. Shishka was kind enough to chit-chat and answer questions for the fans hanging out and watching.
Oddly enough, most of the questions were stuff a real fan should already know just from reading the BWU's. It seems he could have been talking about much more interesting things, but he didn't lose his patience. I asked him if I could take out a Banshee with an SMG and he said "You could try." The game was a blast, but I wasn't getting much help from the team. Two of the guys seemed to be rookies and the other went Rambo on us, running off to kill piles of Grunts and Jackals by himself. More than once I was the only one standing with the only life left in the round. The Hunters are going to be a BIT7CH to kill. You're slower, so it's hard to strafe around them. You can't jump as high, so you can't jump over them while they swing at you. And you're much weaker so a single slam of their shield puts you out of commission. I got stuck in a corner battling one of them and crying for help from my non-existent teammates. After a minute or two, his partner turned and also started shooting at me. By the time my so-called teammates decided to help, it was over. A single shield slap to Dare's helmetless face put that life to an end. I loaded a full box (?) of ammo from a ripped-off .50 cal into a dropship and couldn't take it down. It just meandered away after dropping off its precious cargo. If you weren't aware of enemies being dropped off or rushing through doorways, they would sneak up on you from behind. Several times I would hear Jackal chatter and have to swing around to defend myself from multiple flanking attacks. Once I caught on to their ways, I started picking them off as they approached along the edges of buildings and from behind corners. I didn't use my VISR except for the first few seconds, just to check it out. Everything seemed very dark, but it didn't hinder me that much. If I had remembered, I may have turned it on again later. Having not picked up any equipment, I was not prompted to accidentally hit 'X' at any point during my gameplay. Overall, I came in second. The old mustache next to me humbly tried to blame our poor overall score on himself, but admittedly we were all nubb cakes at this brand new game.
I walked back over and watched the last game of Str8 Rippin's matchup. It went to game 5, but SR put the other nameless-to-me team down. They headed to sign autographs at the free-all-day Dr. Pepper booth. I headed towards the main stage.
The first match I caught was Instinct VS. Classic. Classic went up 2-0, but ended up losing 3-2. It bothered me to watch them hover over an unguarded oddball, weaving back and forth checking around it 5 or 6 times before considering scoring some points by picking it up. 'Just pick it up!' I screamed in my head over and over. In my opinion, the oddball game was the difference maker in this match-up. Both teams played like pros and it was awesome to watch. The next match was Status Quo against Pistol and the Jets. Although Pistol's name is in their team's title, he didn't live up to the hype. Not to spit fire, but maybe he would have played better if he was on time. SQ put them away in 3 games. By this point my butt was hurting from the metal bleachers. Free hotdogs weren't until 3, so I grabbed some drinks before I ate. Besides the hotdogs, many of the details are a blur past this point.
I stood and talked to a booth babe from Kansas for the last 20 minutes of her shift. She was bored and tired, so talking to someone her age was surely a relief for the last bit of her shift. I felt bad for her because her booth wasn't giving away anything tangible. I gave in and let them take my picture in front of their green screen, but only after she assured me I could wrap my arms around and pose with a couple of hot chicks. I'll save face by not posting a picture of myself tipsy and hanging on two nice ladies. I didn't stay the entire night and I didn't return on Sunday. Although I had a good time, I probably won't be returning again... The free Dr. Peppers, t-shirts, hot dogs, gum and flirty booth babes weren't enough to warrant another visit. I'm glad I went, but I'll stick to the web feeds.
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