Spartanhood achieved

Yesterday I ranked up to sergeant, and with it came an achievement for becoming a Spartan. So you're not a Spartan until you're a sergeant. That seems a bit odd, but there it is. Above you see the other guy's view of Sythbane's ruthless golden Orbital Drop Shock Trooper visor. There was some discussion online last night about how to rank up, and "ranked" matches seem to pile on more experience points toward ranking up faster than social matches.

When I ranked up, I unlocked the helmet at right, the original Halo Spartan helmet.

Yes, I know we might be getting a bit tired of the Halo 3 stuff after a week straight of it, but the Halo frenzy will subside eventually, and then we'll be on to THE NEXT BIG THING (Ace Combat 6 is waiting in the wings for its turn onstage). But for now, everybody on my friends list is playing Halo 3, and they probably will be for a while. So it's still the main topic of interest.

Our fellow Sythbane Squadron members show a wide range of choices for customizing, reflecting their own personalities and taste. My wingman, Fortiscule, chooses to be a red elite, as seen here in his bungie.net profile shot.

Squadron contributor HZG is something of a purist, as you see from his selection of traditional green Mark VI armor.

And our friend ANT Pogo is garbed in his traditional Halo white armor with blue trim, but with the Close Quarters combat helmet. This helmet is popular because it is the only choice besides the regular Mark VI helmet when you start out, but also because it looks very cool.



Notice how Pogo's CQ helmet has a "T" visor, which echoes the design of a famous Mandalorian bounty hunter's helmet.

I couldn't even finish writing this post before some of these guys changed their helmets (including me). ANT Pogo just now donned a Scout helmet, Fortiscule has Combat armor, and I changed mine last night, too. It just goes to show you, gamemakers: EVERYBODY LOVES CUSTOMIZATION. Games that don't allow it miss the boat.