Microsoft's decision to omit four-player split-screen multiplayer from Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is nothing short of a travesty. The lazy developer robbed me of the chance to play the game against my brothers...again. 

Back in 2003, my little brother purchased an Xbox bundle which included both Halo: Combat Evolved and Top Spin. In those days, I was a PlayStation fanboy, so this purchase incensed me to no end.

That is, of course, until I played through the game-changing campaign with my sibling. We fought each other afterwards in splitscreen competitive mode. Our conflicts often turned heated...even violent. This time, it was different: I happily flew off in a Banshee while he attempted to clip my wings with any gun he could get his hands on. I wanted Reuben (my younger brother) to run me over and then desecrate my corpse. 

Soon, Beau would be home for Christmas. 

Beau is my older brother...my more successful, infinitely more-sociable sibling who turned his back on video games for a life in federal politics. If there was one thing that could bring him back to the fold, it was Halo. I was sure of it.

Reuben and I continued to work in the lead up to Christmas; Beau arrived late Christmas Eve. Fragging would have to wait: We had to visit relatives and do other things that families do over the holidays. We would have to delay my older brother’s return to nerdvana.

Finally, we managed to trap Beau in front of the TV late on Christmas night. We loaded the game with what we thought was our secret weapon. There was only one problem: We only had two controllers. How did this not occur to us until then? I felt so stupid. 

“No worries,” I said. “We’ll rent one from a video store.” So we drove to pretty much every video-rental outlet in North Brisbane. Every encounter was exactly the same: We engaged in small talk, we bought junk food, and our expressions sunk when we heard, “Sorry, we don’t rent controllers for the Xbox.” 

We arrived back home still licking our wounds, and we resolved to play the game anyway, with the winner keeping a controller. It was great. We laughed, we cried, and we died repeatedly. Beau escaped to a life of international travel, marathon meetings, and an endless run of nights that ended in trendy bars. Reuben and I still engage in a daily ritual of fragging and teabagging. 

This Christmas, Beau returns home from Thailand, and the Damen brothers will reunite with a copy of Halo. Again, we’ll take turns at splitscreen multiplayer, with no ability to accommodate the three of us at once. Most of the video stores we used to visit are out of business now, but we still desire junk food and small talk. 

What are your favorite Halo memories?