Life and Leisure. Tech and Toys.

I intentionally arrived late at 12:20am to avoid a long line but when I got there this was the scene in Irvine CA. The line moved quickly and I was able to checkout by 1am but that was much later than I had originally expected. This was the line for people who pre-ordered but didn’t arrive early between 8pm – 11pm to pay and receive a voucher. The voucher line was much longer but were able to start checking out right at midnight. Since they already paid it moved very quickly. The non-voucher line had to wait until the entire voucher line finished before starting to checkout around 12:45am.

This is a decent strategy to cut down wait times and encourage people to show up for the launch party but I did hear a few complaints. People who paid their game in full prior to the launch party (8pm – 11pm) didn’t receive vouchers at all. They were forced to stand in the non-voucher line even though they were already paid for and just needed to pick up the game. In my opinion these people are one and the same as those with vouchers. They should be able to stand in the same line.

Those without pre-orders were discouraged to wait in line because they didn’t know if they had enough copies.

Quick Impressions

• Single player – the first 3 missions were very intense and very different from one another. Good contrast!
• Multiplayer – It definitely feels like there’s a lot more going on even though there are some large maps. The new secondary weapon system is very cool, more than just handguns. Death Streaks are also a cool addition to help people who keep dying.