Halo has been happening around me lately, with two recent examples proving yet again why this game is fun.

Last Tuesday night (April 15th) we went over to family's house for a cook-out; burgers on the grill, fresh-baked cookies for dessert, etc. - a really great night. What capped if off, however, was the fact that my brother-in-law recently hooked up Xbox Live again.

So after a long day at the office and a fun night with family, I went home and went to bed - right? Wrong! I did my duty and after tucking everyone in to bed at our place, drove back to the in-law's house and played some slayer! It was a blast to be back on live again; even at the late hour there were still plenty of people playing Halo 2. There were even new maps I hadn't seen yet, which is always a bonus. I was definitely a little rusty, but got back into the groove pretty quick.

Many thanks to my brother-in-law who not only extended the invite, but let me hang out until 2:30 a.m.

If that wasn't enough, we had friends over the next night (April 16th) - and a certain game was played for roughly four hours. That certain game? Halo: Combat Evolved. This is the couple my wife and I had introduced to Halo, and they couldn't wait to play. Rockets on Derelict, Slayer on Prisoner, even some sniping on Boarding Action - very cool.

The girls did great in their own right, with a certain someone getting to know and loving the red B button. We all had a great time, and finished up past midnight.

All this to say, Halo is still pulling its weight when many other games have out-lived their fun. Hail the Maser Chief!