More than 20 students gathered Saturday at a release party for the highly anticipated "Halo 2" Xbox game. AU Gamers hosted the event in a freestyle kill-or-be-killed format.
Players were separated by two rooms in teams of eight. Cries of "I've got your back!" and "Run!" echoed throughout the night.
"We shifted the people that sucked around to balance the teams and made sure everyone got a turn on the projectors," said Charles Olson, supreme commander of AU Gamers.
A few complaints arose as one room had the advantages of having two large-screen projectors and being entirely dark. Olson said that he would have preferred to keep everyone in one room for the social aspects and bragging rights.
The event was produced entirely through student efforts, with drinks, food, Xboxes and games all coming from volunteers.
Overall, student support of "Halo 2" was strong. "Halo 2" had 1.5 million preorders in the United States, CNN reported.
"'Halo 2' has better graphics, and its style of play is still like the original 'Halo'. That's why it's so good," game player Zack Wilson said.
"Halo 2" features Internet play, in which players can compete against others from around the world through Xbox Live.
This is the first in a series of gaming events planned by AU Gamers, a two-year-old club. Last year, the club held parties for "Quake 3," "Unreal Tournament 2004" and "Starcraft." Earlier this year, AU Gamers parked a van in front of Mary Graydon Center loaded with console games for students to play.
AU Gamers is currently planning on hosting a local area network (LAN) party for "Half-Life 2" and creating an elite eight-man team to compete against Georgetown and George Washington universities. Olson encourages any student interested in AU Gamers to e-mail augamers@gmail.com.
