Everything you need to know

We're about five hours away from getting our mitts on our copies of the game, but I thought it;d be good to give you guys an idea of what to expect over the next 24 hours or so.

Around 9 p.m. tonight, Brian will be heading down to the Best Buy in Bellevue, where Bungie and Microsoft will be present for one of their "official launches". That's supposedly when the festivities begin, and if you can't make it, he'll be your eyes and ears. I, on the other hand, will be at the ho-hum "regular" midnight launch at the EB Games in Pacific Place. Here's a list of other EB Games and Gamestop locations that will be open at midnight for you to get your Halo fix at the earliest possible moment.

Once the formalities are outta the way, we can start with the good stuff. With our copies in hand, we'll be live blogging all day Tuesday as we make our way through the campaign. For those of you who weren't quick-thinking enough (or too honest) to call in sick from work, feel free to tag along. We're hoping to beat the campaign - on Legendary difficulty, of course- playing together over Xbox Live, along with a hefty helping of multiplayer. We don't know exactly what's gonna happen, but you can expect a few things: 1) Stream of consciousness impressions, 2) Photos/video as we can put it together, and 3) Lots and lots of complaining from Brian after I've stuck him with yet another plasma grenade (who cares if we're on the same side, right?).

You can follow along the whole way, either by watching our profiles to the right - I'm "plaidtopia" and Brian's "writergamer" - or by visiting our pages on the newly-upgraded Bungie.net. We'll try to mark spoilers, as well, for those of you with delicate sensibilities.

And, in case you missed it, here's today's Seattle Times Halo-related content:

- Mark Rahner's review of the game
- A small video of some very handsome fellow handing Mr. Rahner a sound defeat during a preview match
- A look at Halo 3's impact on Microsoft as a company
- Brier Dudley's column today regarding an very familiar landmark in the new game

In the meantime, go ahead and let us know what your plans for the release are in the comments below. Are you skipping work/class/the rest of your adult life?

- Nate Robinson