Microsoft kicked off today’s launch of Halo: Reach by having Spartans fly over landmarks with jetpacks.
Analysts project Halo: Reach sales to hit over $200 million in one day, and Microsoft expects it to be the “biggest game of the year.” What better way to celebrate today’s launch of the game than with a guy dressed as a Spartan flying around on a jetpack?
That’s exactly what Microsoft put together in various spots around the world, including Trafalgar Square in the UK. Scarf-adorned Spartans were spotted guarding Trafalgar Square in a calm, serene scene that didn’t seem terribly out of the ordinary, aside from the guys dressed in power armor holding giant guns. The scene was kicked up a notch when one Spartan whipped out his jetpack and went for a brief flight before landing in-between the other two Spartan guards.
The tie-in to Reach is that the latest and greatest from Bungie incorporates the new addition of jetpacks, so this wasn’t just a cool PR stunt. Though it looks easy in the game, the man flying over Trafalgar Square had to make sure his armor gave him enough mobility to adequately control his real-world jetpack.
He didn’t land on any children, so the flight seems to have gone just fine. The stunt was a really cool idea, but I can’t imagine what people with no idea what Halo was must have been thinking. Men wearing futuristic armor, holding giant weapons, and flying through the air isn’t exactly something you see every day.
Thanks for the heads up Kollega!
