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April 2011

April 2011 Archived News

News April 30 2011

Celebration Contingency Has Been Declared
katancik won a package of goodies from Bungie for his very early All-Star win - t-shirts, an action figure, and (best of all) birthday cards... with his own winning design. Awesome! (Louis Wu 23:13:17 UTC) (permalink)

Blockin' out the scenery
Stephen Loftus sent us another 20 signs for his "Signs of Halo" collection - they're spread out amongst almost all groups. This brings the total for the collection to 200 - not too shabby! (Louis Wu 22:42:41 UTC) (permalink)

The Mona Lisa Part 2
The saga continues on Halo Waypoint for The Mona Lisa motion comic. Still building, but getting better and better. Go check it out! Thanks to General Vagueness who also mentioned it on our forums. (GrimBrother One 15:40:31 UTC) (permalink)

Can a chainsaw cut through Spartan armor?
Hitmonchan, just before heading out for a weekend of debauchery and pantsless reveling, stopped into our forum with word of an interesting aside in an interview with Epic's Cliffy B. Apparently, the Master Chief COULD have been in Gears 3, but the idea was nixed by Microsoft because Gears is a bit too... bloody. Go read Cliffy's description of what might have been! (Louis Wu 13:23:43 UTC) (permalink)

A fan says PLAY!
Bones153 wanted to give folks some serious incentive to complete this week's Weekly Challenge - four copies of the Defiant Map Pack (or the equivalent in MSP, if you have it already) for the 4-player team that could score the highest and have the most fun. Read his (well-documented) post for full rationale, and rules - but be aware that it was supposed to happen last night at 10pm, so you're just reading to see what fan love can lead to. (Sorry I didn't get this posted yesterday!) Update: I'm wrong - you've got a week and a half! (Thanks to munky-058 for pointing out the rules addition I missed.) Get your team together, and win a ton of points! (Louis Wu 13:23:10 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Faith: The Lone Spartan
DeviantART's Mesmeretics released the first official poster for Halo: Faith (the fan movie we've been seeing lots of recently). Suitably grandiose! Thanks again, munky-058. Update: Looks like Grim noticed this yesterday (and I didn't). Oops! (Louis Wu 13:18:50 UTC) (permalink)

Grenade Launcher Clinic
If you're playing Stockpile, and you have an epic encounter, what better outcome could there be than to turn that into a machinima of sorts? Thanks to GAF's Account Attempt #4 for pointing this out. Made me laugh. (Louis Wu 13:13:08 UTC) (permalink)

Halo [R]Evolved - Truth and Reconciliation
SonGoharotto stopped by yesterday with another rewrite of his version of Pillar of Autumn, a rewrite of his version of Halo, and a brand-new release - Truth and Reconciliation. The overhaul of the original Halo script (to bring it more inline with newer canon material) continues! (Louis Wu 13:10:50 UTC) (permalink)

Fails of the Weak Volume 32
Fails of the Weak Volume 32 is now online - this shows that there are still plenty of silly happenings in Halo games, and lots of them result in funny death. Go watch! Thanks, munky-058. (Louis Wu 13:08:09 UTC) (permalink)

News April 29 2011

R(v)B N The Chief
Arby 'n the Chief creator Jon Graham popped in to the RvB offices. Hilarity ensued. Check it out! (note that the video will be completely live to the public at 9pm EST, but is up for sponsors now). (GrimBrother One 23:30:48 UTC) (permalink)

Teasing Faith
The team from the Halo: Faith fan film have a new teaser poster, and what a beauty it is. Go and check it out! Thanks to Munky-058 for catching it. (GrimBrother One 23:26:47 UTC) (permalink)

Weekly Update's Got Your Mind Covered
Today's Weekly Update doesn't disappoint in the awesome factor, especially when it comes to the All-Stars collection. Some amazing stuff in there. Add to that some very interesting matchmaking data, a funny Blame Stosh, and Neo from The Matrix (kinda). Go and give it a look! [That GrimBrother One, he never acknowledges all my hard work in our Weekly Update Archive! -lwu] (GrimBrother One 23:14:50 UTC) (permalink)

Tyrant's Mythic Tips and Tricks - Volume I
Daniel 'Tyrant' Morris sent word that the first volume of his series on 'Mythic Tips & Tricks' is now online - it's full of tricks that didn't make it into his Mythic Guide, but improve on existing options listed there. Some really cool stuff - almost makes me want to go try LASO again! (Almost.) (Louis Wu 19:25:00 UTC) (permalink)

Spartan Costume Flexibility Test Video
On Halo: Faith's Facebook page, T.J. LeDoux posted a link to a YouTube video demonstrating the flexibility of the Spartan costumes used in the movie. The video was shot by Pete Mander, associate producer and production designer for the film. Just to clarify, this is not footage from the movie. It's nice to see the armor in motion, though. Go look! (Hitmonchan 19:07:16 UTC) (permalink)

HaloChallenges Easter Egg Hunt
HaloChallenges.com is having an Easter egg hunt right now. Those who finish first will win a Spartan Armor (Green) avatar code. Once you've found all ten items on the list, send a message to HC Redemption and request a code. Good luck! (Hitmonchan 17:36:16 UTC) (permalink)

Bronze Master Chief. Beautiful.
Wow. You might remember some Master Chief sculpt images we posted a few months ago - Jason Evans had said he was going to cast this in bronze. Well... he did. That looks SPECTACULAR! Check it out. (Louis Wu 16:50:02 UTC) (permalink)

Morning Video Fix
Here's the Friday morning video round-up:

• If you're feeling down this morning, AlaskanWhalers has the remedy. Episode 16 of "Halo Reach Fails, Wins and WTF Moments" might be my favorite fails video yet. The clip at 7:12 is so deliciously evil. Definitely worth the watch!
• Here's a KaggyFilms production titled, "Wanna Trade." A few choice words make it NSFW, but I thought it was pretty funny.
• Part six of "Adventures in Halo: Reach Campaign Matchmaking" is online.
• The first episode of "Work in Progress," a new machinima by FNSProductions, has made its way to YouTube.
• TranQ posted his third community montage.

Go watch! (Hitmonchan 14:36:05 UTC) (permalink)

Fire Team Zulu: Queen Kat
FyreWulff dropped us a line about a new Fire Team Zulu challenge - this one's Reach-based and requires a bit of walking. (No difficulty requirements - so pick your favorite!) (Louis Wu 14:28:12 UTC) (permalink)

The Best Games Of 2000 To 2009: Halo
Last week, Edge began a series wherein they reminisce about their favorite games of the last decade. They started with Half-Life 2, followed a few days later with Resident Evil 4, and today focused on Halo. As with most things Edge puts out, the piece is superbly written, and it's a fantastic look back at what made Halo the iconic shooter we know it to be. Go read! Thanks, ElzarTheBam. (Louis Wu 14:17:51 UTC) (permalink)

Friday's Fan Fiction
Only one new story in the Fan Fiction section this week - go read it! (Louis Wu 14:10:22 UTC) (permalink)

Concept Art: UNSC Falcon
Isaac Hannaford updated his blog again - this time with some cool sketches of the UNSC Falcon. Love this stuff! Thanks, Hedgemony. (Louis Wu 14:09:44 UTC) (permalink)

Halo: Evilution T-shirt
Chancel on RedBubble designed a Halo-themed T-shirt that spoofs the evolution timeline image. Don't need another T-shirt? Get a sticker for your Trapper Keeper or whatever you kids use these days. Check it out! (Hitmonchan 13:35:30 UTC) (permalink)

2011 MLG Pro Circuit Schedule
The 2011 MLG Pro Circuit schedule has been announced. Here are the tour dates:

• June 3-5: Columbus, OH (Columbus Convention Center)
• July 29-31: Anaheim, CA (Anaheim Convention Center)
• Aug. 26-28: Raleigh, NC (Raleigh Convention Center)
• Oct. 14-26: Orlando, FL (Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center)
• Nov. 18-20: Providence, RI (National Championships; Rhode Island Convention Center)

More than $1 million worth of prizes are up for grabs! (Hitmonchan 13:21:38 UTC) (permalink)

Reach Animation Demo Reel
Richard Lico, senior animation lead for Halo: Reach, showed off his 2010 demo reel on the Penny Arcade website. Along with the YouTube version I linked to, he posted a Vimeo version and a download link for the reel in Quicktime. Go give it a watch! (Hitmonchan 13:00:14 UTC) (permalink)

IGN Talks Boot Camp and More
IGN recently interviewed 343 Industries and Marvel about their partnership on The Fall of Reach: Bootcamp. They mention some of the rewards and challenges of such a collaboration, as well as touch on the next installment "Covenant," including some new artwork. Go and check it out! (GrimBrother One 04:37:29 UTC) (permalink)

News April 28 2011

International Shipping for International Generosity
In case you missed it, Bungie announced that International Shipping has commenced for their popular Japan Relief bracelets! Hurry and get yours now! Thanks to ZaneZevin for noticing. (GrimBrother One 22:59:19 UTC) (permalink)

New Books Coming from DK
Over at NeoGAF, Dani pointed out a couple of upcoming books that might make some Halo fans happy - a new version of the Halo Encyclopedia (16 new pages of content, and presumably some errors from the first edition fixed), and a book called "Halo: The Essential Visual Guide", coming this summer from DK. (While it's true that Amazon's description for the book is clearly out of date (ODST is no longer the most recent Halo title), it matches DK's description word for word - which makes me wonder if the publication date is accurate. I hope so - looks like a great book! (Louis Wu 20:36:07 UTC) (permalink)

6000 Words
urk had word today of some pretty cool wallpapers from AirForceHero - pick your helmet, it tells a story! (Louis Wu 20:25:22 UTC) (permalink)

PGCR Ep 75
SK1LL4XED sent word that Post Game Carnage Report Episode 75 is up. Plenty of Halo discussion this week - including talk about A Fistful of Arrows! Go listen. (Louis Wu 20:22:09 UTC) (permalink)

Featured Presentation
Are you bored? Does the outside world seem foreign and inhospitable? I answered yes to both, so here's what I found to pass the time:

• Want to watch 116 players duke it out in a Halo-themed paintball contest? Payback350z has you covered. The player running around with the Energy Sword was awesome, and so was the first-person shooting.
• Here's a fan-made Halo movie trailer from 5233484. According to the description, he or she has never played the games before. Judging from the username, he/she is actually a robot, and this is a warning to humanity that our dependency on technology will bring about our untimely demise.
• Continuing the trend, tu1785566 made a Halo funtage with clips from Halo 3 and Reach. A rather unfortunate song choice, but the clips were good fun.
• Freelancer824 sliced together Halo cutscenes to the song "For the New Lunar Republic," which is apparently a bada** fan-made song for My Little Pony.
• The new "Pregame Lobby," titled "Things Change," is online. There's some NSFW language for you work types.
• Part five of Machinima Respawn's "Adventures in Halo: Reach Campaign Matchmaking" is up. In case you missed them, here are the first four parts: (1 | 2 | 3 | 4).
• DetoX edited a Halo 3 montage featuring RPG Hero. The video has NSFW lyrics.
• Finally, episode eight of "Anguish" came out today. Catch up with the episodes here: (1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7).

And if you're really bored, go watch Halo Legends. I'm about to watch it for the first time. I just got Netflix. Cut me some slack. (Hitmonchan 18:24:14 UTC) (permalink)

IGN's Top 10 Reach Kills (04.27.11)
ChrisTheeCrappy pointed out IGN's latest Top 10 Reach Kills vid - he wasn't really happy with them, but there are some fun ones in there! Check 'em. (Louis Wu 15:05:23 UTC) (permalink)

Le Colis
spartansniper619 let us know about Le Colis (The Package), a new machinima he released. No dialogue - none needed. Pretty nice job! Check it out. (Louis Wu 12:22:16 UTC) (permalink)

RvB CanWest Teasers
Laird stopped by with a quick summary of some of the highlights to be expected at RvB CanWest, taking place this weekend - if you can make it to Vancouver, this one should be a doozy! (Louis Wu 12:04:13 UTC) (permalink)

Read Smoother
Arithmomaniac has updated his 'HBO Forum Enhancers' (scripts and styles adjustments to make browsing our forum a bit more streamlined) - check his post for links. (You WILL lose the Challenges box in the top right if you install the Stylish script - just a warning.) Update: Arithmomaniac updated to put the Challenge block back in (but made it pretty easy to edit yourself if you want it gone). (Louis Wu 12:03:13 UTC) (permalink)

I am the Master Chief.
Hexlord posted four amazing photos (1 | 2 | 3 | 4) of a cosplayer in his custom-made Mark VI armor and weapons on deviantART. Did I use the correct armor this time, Grim? :^) Great stuff, Hexlord! (Hitmonchan 06:37:56 UTC) (permalink)

343i Motion Comic News This Weekend
As mentioned on the latest Running Riot Podcast, David Ellis, Alison Stroll and Jessica Shea (bsangel) will be showing off some motion comic stuff at RvB CanWest 2011 this weekend in Vancouver, BC. If you're going, be sure to take plenty of pictures for me! (Hitmonchan 06:21:40 UTC) (permalink)

The Running Riot Podcast Episode 33: David Ellis from 343i
If you missed David Ellis (and, to a lesser degree, me) on The Running Riot Podcast, here's the archived episode. I have nothing but great things to say about him. And remember, Ellis: Sword plus Sniper Rifle equals an unbeatable combination. (Hitmonchan 04:33:31 UTC) (permalink)

Of Chief Concern
SFX-360 put out a pretty neat article that poses the question: What If Microsoft Never Had Halo? It raises some interesting points to think about in the grand scheme of things. Looks like Master Chief might have saved a lot more universes than we previously thought! Thanks to the handsome and talented GrimBrother One for noti- wait, never mind. (GrimBrother One 04:07:15 UTC) (permalink)

What Is This Top 10 List You Speak Of?
ElzarTheBam brought word of something you don't see very often in game journalism... a Top 10 List. Go an give this rare bird a look, it might just have a familiar Ring to it... (GrimBrother One 04:02:31 UTC) (permalink)

Achievement HORSE Episode 21
The RT gang is at it again with Episode 21 of Achievement HORSE. Never a dull moment... well, never a lack of excitement at least. Go Check it out! Thanks to trappeddark1 for catching it. (GrimBrother One 03:59:15 UTC) (permalink)

Well, It Has Been Down For Se7en Days
C'mon, you all knew it had to be something like this. Thanks Avateur. (GrimBrother One 03:56:00 UTC) (permalink)

News April 27 2011

I told you I'm a sucker for these.
Twitter user FourteeTwo wants you to know about the plight of the Grunts. They're cold. They're lonely. They need a friend. Support the Adopt-a-Grunt Foundation by opening your heart and home to one today. As an added bonus, you'll receive a free leash for your new Grunt. (Hitmonchan 23:05:43 UTC) (permalink)

Tyrant's ODST Legendary Walkthrough - Kizingo Boulevard
The next chapter of Tyrant's ODST Legendary Walkthrough is now live on YouTube - tips and tricks to get you through Kizingo Boulevard with the least amount of pain! As usual, the start will get you through the streets of Mombasa on the WAY to the level... helpful if you've found yourself pinned down in a particular section. Go watch! (Louis Wu 21:59:15 UTC) (permalink)

The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Last week, I held a contest on my Twitter account (shameless plug) for a Mark V Spartan helmet (It's actually a Mark VI, but who's counting? ;-) -Grim), and Hyokin was the lucky winner. Instead of keeping it for himself, he decided to be charitable and hold a contest for it. All you need to do is draw, take a screenshot or Photoshop a picture of a purple Spartan rocking the EVA helmet. Also, I completely misinformed him about the helmet. It's for both male and female avatars. For some reason I thought he was talking about the Spartan armor. Sorry about that, mate! (Hitmonchan 20:04:32 UTC) (permalink)

Now If She Can Only Knit A Food Nipple
Captain Spark dropped in to show off a very cool gift he recieved. Grunt plushies FTW! Very neat, go and give it a look over at his blog! (GrimBrother One 18:51:52 UTC) (permalink)

Gaining Stride
Ghostkill sent along YouTube highlights of Round 1 of the 2011 MLG Stride Championship Series featuring Final Boss vs. Instinct. Check it out! (GrimBrother One 18:39:48 UTC) (permalink)

Making Gold from Clay
We heard from Antithesis recently; check out his Halo Sculpture gallery (specifically the third page) for great shots of a new, Reach-style Hunter and a very cool tribute to Waypoint's bs angel. Awesome beans! (Louis Wu 17:21:13 UTC) (permalink)

Live Interview with Mr. David Ellis
The Running Riot will have David Ellis, content producer at 343 Industries, live on its podcast show tonight at 9:30 EST. The lovely bsangel has some dirt on the man behind the 343 Sparkast if you need inspiration for questions. Here's mine: Where's my new podcast? You're tearing me apart, El-lisa! (Hitmonchan 16:27:53 UTC) (permalink)

Myyke's HBO 'All Halos' Competition: Week One
I love our community. Check out this contest from Myyke - he's looking for cool screenshots of ODSTs (either in-game or manipulated, just like Bungie's All-Stars rules). He'll pick his favorite 7 entries, and award each one a valid serial number from a stack of Italian Halo PC copies he's got. What does this get you? It gets you a Halo nameplate on Bungie.net. He'll be running this contest for 3 weeks, total; you'll have to come back next week to see what the criteria for the next 7 winners are. Myyke - you rock. (Louis Wu 16:09:59 UTC) (permalink)

Brutish
Couple of panos that do a nice job of characterizing Brutes... thanks, Hedge! (Louis Wu 14:31:10 UTC) (permalink)

HuD Halo: Reach Game Night
Hope Unto Dawn wants to play Reach with you - check this post from xExOp90x for details. (Louis Wu 14:30:40 UTC) (permalink)

The Yorker's Top 10 Gaming Easter Eggs
I meant to put this up Monday: Four members of The Yorker put together their list of the top 10 gaming Easter eggs. Our favorite food nipple Grunt from Halo: CE made the cut, along with an infamous glitch from Pokemon Red/Blue and Google Earth. (Hitmonchan 04:52:57 UTC) (permalink)

Own a Piece of 'Halo: Faith'
For the measly sum of $1,350, you can own the Mark V Spartan armor used in "Halo: Faith." And there's free shipping! (Hitmonchan 04:49:13 UTC) (permalink)

Bombs Disarmed
Thanks to all of your hard work, GrifballHub's missing bombs have been recovered. For their dedication and perseverance, six soldiers have been given Grifball armor and accessories (presumably of the avatar variety). Congrats to the winners! I might take note of this for future contests... (Hitmonchan 04:29:03 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Reach: Top 10 Moments from Seasons One and Two
In Episode 20, Anoj put together the top 10 greatest moments from September until now. No. 2 on the list is still one of my favorite Reach clips yet. Just a reminder: Anoj is accepting submissions for the next three episodes, "Unusual Kills (Episode 21)," "Exterminations (22)" and "Epic Fails (23)." (Hitmonchan 04:19:21 UTC) (permalink)

How Far Did the Apple fall From the Tree?
Kotaku just put out a blog post reminiscing about Halo's early days on the Mac platform and thoughts on what might have been. Certainly no footage that hasn't been around for a decade, but still always fun to give it a look again nonetheless. In fun related news, Marty himself wanted to add a few different reminders that Halo was always going to be cross-platform for both Mac and PC from the very beginning. You can learn a lot from your Elders... (GrimBrother One 04:04:01 UTC) (permalink)

News April 26 2011

The Tattoo Makes It
Pretty fun visualization of The Meta, from Luke McKay today! (I'm not sure those rings would feel really great under a helmet, though...) (Louis Wu 20:18:23 UTC) (permalink)

Of Best Friends... and Defense
Carver noticed that io9's got a piece on their choices for the 10 Greatest Handguns in All of Science Fiction and Fantasy. I'm sort of surprised by the Halo product that made it in... but I can't say it doesn't fit. (Louis Wu 18:55:03 UTC) (permalink)

Forge Suggestions
Forge Spotlight Episode 5 is highlighted on Bungie.net's Comm Chatter today - 4 cool community-created maps you might want to play with your buds. In a similar vein, you can also watch Greenskull's Forgefest 3 - fewer maps, but longer tests (with more players). Folks who'd rather watch 5 minutes of someone ELSE playing a map before they download it will like the second one, folks who just want recommendations of stuff to grab will like the first. Check 'em! (Louis Wu 17:21:11 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Theme A Cappella Cover
Now this is how you start an a cappella concert! The Vanderbilt Melodores began its spring concert with the classic Halo theme song (complete with chanting, drums and guitar riffs!) before transitioning into "Animal" by Neon Trees. Truly amazing. (Hitmonchan 16:10:03 UTC) (permalink)

Another Upcycled Shirt
Six months ago, we mentioned a one-of-a-kind custom Halo shirt on Etsy. There's a new one (I think from a different seller, though I can't be sure, the old entry is no longer valid) up now - if you're looking for a totally unique women's Halo shirt, check this out! (Louis Wu 15:24:07 UTC) (permalink)

Halo [R]Evolved - Level 2: Halo
SonGoharotto posted another chapter of his 'Halo [R]Evolved' script rewrite - and in fact posted a full revision just 5 hours later, based on initial feedback on the forum. Go check out how Flawless Cowboy might look, if later canon material were folded into the plot! (Louis Wu 14:55:21 UTC) (permalink)

Endure the Return
Calamity Janeway pointed out that if you're looking for an easy way to power through the Weekly Reach Challenge, Halo Reach Daily has your back. Check this post for a link to a custom Firefight gametype that will get you through this challenge in 15-20 minutes. (That's half of what it took me, using IGN's "Million Points in 10 Minutes" gametype.) It's an easy 10,000 credits! (Louis Wu 14:39:56 UTC) (permalink)

Fan-made Celebration Video
He might be a few months early, but BLADEGLITCHERS has posted his decennial Halo celebration video. Honestly, it's nothing more than the commercials and main videos for the games, but sometimes the simplest way is the most effective. Give it a click and get your dose of nostalgia. (Hitmonchan 09:14:19 UTC) (permalink)

Hey gang, let's play Halo 2 again.
Would you like a reason to play through Halo 2 again? CIA391 on the Waypoint forums has you covered with Halothon, an Oprah's Book Club of sorts for the Halo series. The community switched to Halo 2 on Thursday, but discussions opened up yesterday. CIA391 is trying to get various members of Rooster Teeth, Bungie and 343 Industries to come in and chat about the game. You have until May 25th to complete the game. And if you don't play it on solo Legendary, you just might make it. (Hitmonchan 09:05:09 UTC) (permalink)

'Halo: Reach Project Music,' Volume One
Inspired by imsuck's HMV Hell series, DudeAndBros designed a music video clip show of its own. The Pink Panther bits were top notch. Go watch! (Hitmonchan 09:02:26 UTC) (permalink)

'Reach: Revolution' Machinima Trailer
Here's something you don't see often enough: a machinima focusing on the Elites. The full version of Chronicler177's work will premiere on May 6. There's some nifty camera work and impressive fight scenes in this. (Hitmonchan 08:56:41 UTC) (permalink)

News April 25 2011

East wing, west wing, everywhere a wing wing...
Stephen Loftus dropped off a whole bunch of ODST signs for his Signs of Halo collection - they start at the bottom of this page, and continue to the next. I never really paid attention in the NMPD building... but I guess he did! (Louis Wu 22:51:31 UTC) (permalink)

Jacob's Join
Goodies available on Bungie.net's Comm Chatter today range from impressive feats of endurance, to cool Rube Goldberg creations, to calls for group night signups, to recaps of entertaining weekends. Go see! (Louis Wu 20:29:33 UTC) (permalink)

Makes no difference who you are.
Still hankerin' for a star? For Week 16, urk and his ragtag crew want you to showcase an existing or unique helmet, either in-game, drawn or modeled. Helmets can be either Spartan or Elite. In-game screenshots will be judged separately from handcrafted models and artwork. If you have any questions, urk has opened a discussion thread to answer them. Be sure to follow all safety guidelines when using dangerous materials, and good luck! (Hitmonchan 17:40:32 UTC) (permalink)

Yet Another Top 28 List
PC Advisor released its list of the top 28 first-person shooters of all time. Guess what game didn't make the cut? Borderlands. That list is dead to me. But don't worry, Halo 3 made it in at No. 8. Give it a read! (Hitmonchan 17:12:06 UTC) (permalink)

HipHopGamer Stirs the Pot on Bungie's Next Game
In the latest HipHopGamerShow, Gerard Williams talked about the rumors around Bungie's next game. Among them was one I hadn't heard before: the possibility of an NGP version. He stressed several times that it "could" happen, but he said if it did happen, it would release after it hit the consoles. The Bungie section of the video begins at 19 minutes and 40 seconds. Go watch! (Hitmonchan 16:50:33 UTC) (permalink)

Reach's Ashes - on Piano
Over at Rampancy.net, spartan182 posted a video of his transcription of Ashes being played on the piano. Great job! (Louis Wu 16:27:32 UTC) (permalink)

Fire Team Zulu: Keyes To The Past
FyreWulff's Fire Team Zulu expands yet again - the latest challenge is "Keyes to the Past", based on Halo: Combat Evolved. Beat Pillar of Autumn without any pistols (Human or Covenant) - fastest win gets you a brand new FTC achievement and a Defiant Map Pack code! (Louis Wu 13:41:53 UTC) (permalink)

20 Questions with JoeSki73
Willy's back with his 20 Questions series - first interview up is JoeSki73, a prolific Forger. Go read! (Louis Wu 13:41:22 UTC) (permalink)

Hey, that's... hey!
In 2009, Final Fantasy XIII was released - and one of the enemies was the Myrmidon. Cody Miller noticed a resemblance to a Halo baddie. (Louis Wu 13:39:31 UTC) (permalink)

Halo: Combat [R]Evolved
SonGoharotto decided to see what would happen if canon elements introduced in later games/books were folded back in to Halo: Combat Evolved. Go see how Pillar of Autumn changed! (Louis Wu 13:38:22 UTC) (permalink)

News April 24 2011

Homemade Reach Commando Helmet
405th member BLACKULA727 has been posting pictures of his work on a homemade Commando helmet and helmet mold. Here's the finished Commando helmet in all of its painted, shining glory, along with a picture of BLACKULA727 modeling it in his bathroom. Here are the pictures of the molding process (1 | 2 | 3 | 4) and a group of pictures showing the first casting. I love seeing what these guys make. Keep it up, 405th! (Hitmonchan 20:55:22 UTC) (permalink)

Free 'Halo Montage' Song
TheSpec.com wrote a preview article for a Video Games Live performance. Embedded in the article is the "Halo Montage" song from "Video Games Live Level 2," and it's free to download! Check it out. (Hitmonchan 20:32:53 UTC) (permalink)

UNSC Frigates in Minecraft
Minecraft Forums user Garified built two UNSC frigates, one small and one large-scale, in Minecraft. Judging by the picture he provided for reference, he modeled them after the UNSC Savannah from Reach. Pretty neat! (Hitmonchan 20:22:16 UTC) (permalink)

'Last Man Standing': Season 2, Episode 13
The next episode of the Reach-based game show is now online. Thanks itsmyyard for stopping by the forum and letting us know! (Hitmonchan 20:17:13 UTC) (permalink)

Waypoint Arsenal Update: M319 Grenade Launcher
Learn the history of the M319 Grenade Launcher in this handy write-up from Halo Waypoint. As an added bonus, the team provided six shots showcasing its sleek design from several angles. Try saying that five times fast! (Hitmonchan 18:22:28 UTC) (permalink)

A desperate plea
Horrors! All of the bombs from Grifball Hub have gone missing! Swing by and see if you can help find them. (Louis Wu 13:48:55 UTC) (permalink)

Avatar Code Giveaway - update
We're down to the very bottom of the barrel at this point; we've given away all of the female armor we had to give (except for a handful of Grif outfits). Thanks for all who participated - and once again, thanks to 343 for the codes in the first place! (Louis Wu 13:33:59 UTC) (permalink)

News April 23 2011

Lady Avatar Armor - Going Cheap
If you have a female avatar on Xbox LIVE, and you'd like some armor for her... drop me a line. I've got 4 Emile shirts, 5 sets of red Spartan armor, 4 sets of green or blue Spartan armor, 2 sets of pink Spartan armor, and 20 sets of the RvB Grif Outfit. (Again, all of these are for FEMALE avatars; you will not be able to use them with a male avatar.) These codes are courtesy of 343 Industries, and I'd hate to see them go to waste! (Louis Wu 21:33:45 UTC) (permalink)

Promo Video: Think Twice
Dart3rocks sent us word about a promo vid for Think Twice, a map we mentioned last week. One thing's for sure - the creators sure are working the marketing angles! (Louis Wu 19:02:34 UTC) (permalink)

Collapse
Moorpheusl9 noticed that Arby 'n' the Chief's Season 5 finale is now up. It's over half an hour long, and wraps up a whole bunch of the dangling threads from the last dozen or so episodes. (No, that wasn't a Greg pun. Mostly.) Go watch. (Louis Wu 18:56:42 UTC) (permalink)

'The Mona Lisa,' Part One
The first part of "The Mona Lisa" is now available on Halo Waypoint. It appears the web version is not working at the moment. Thanks for the heads up, General Vagueness! Update: The web version is now working. Go watch! (Hitmonchan 18:23:30 UTC) (permalink)

Reach FFA Tournament
Over at the Waypoint forums, Spartan117Ghost is hosting a free-for-all tournament next Saturday. The first-place winner will receive 4,000 Microsoft points, second place gets 3,200 points and third place will win 1,600 points. All of this is paid for out of his own pocket, so win, lose or draw, will you please thank him for his generosity? (Hitmonchan 17:49:20 UTC) (permalink)

Is nothing sacred?
Slashprofilms is back with another movie parody. "Dark Knight Parody" has some NSFW language, good laughs and a short running time -- a winning combination in my book. Go watch! (Hitmonchan 17:37:12 UTC) (permalink)

'CEmake' Suggestions
Over at Forward Unto Dawn, Dani offered ten suggestions for a Halo: CE remake. I thought his points about music, kill zones and keeping the plot intact were spot on. It's a great article. Give it a read! (Hitmonchan 17:27:45 UTC) (permalink)

Some things never change.
Firestorm12 let us know about Halopen Films' newest work - a pair of Warthog commercials. (30 second ad | 60 second ad) I'd buy one... props to Reclaimer52, who put them together. (Louis Wu 15:55:51 UTC) (permalink)

Romeo Day is Coming
Hedgemony stopped by with a teaser for his Romeo comic - Monday, May 30 is declared Romeo Day. Not only will he release his comic - he'll release a bunch of tribute art (one piece of which is included in this post). Can't wait! (Louis Wu 15:33:46 UTC) (permalink)

Indestructible
ZZoMBiE13 snagged the Invincible Grunt video we posted yesterday, and put it to music. Works pretty well! (Louis Wu 15:31:45 UTC) (permalink)

FNCC - Won
pete_the_duck announced a winner for his Flaming Ninja Challenge Contest last night - there were a lot of downloads, but only two entries to the actual contest. The winning run is embedded in his post. I gotta tell you, after watching it, I don't feel bad about not submitting - my fourteen hour, 742-death entry wouldn't have stood a chance. (Louis Wu 15:29:47 UTC) (permalink)

Fails of the Weak, Volume 31
Sl'askia was the first to notice the newest Fails of the Weak, over at Achievement Hunter - some pretty fun clips this week! (Louis Wu 15:24:00 UTC) (permalink)

That smile scares me.
As it does most Fridays, the Bungie Weekly Update went live last night (both on Bungie.net, and in our own Weekly Update Archive) - some meaty stuff in there this time around. May Playlist changes, info about file-tagging changes (and other banhammer-related activities), a story of a 117 million point campaign game (no, that's not a typo), info about the Bungie Beta Tester survey (have you filled it out?), a reminder to buy Japan Quake Relief bracelets, and lots and lots of Warthog shots. And a song, and a vid. It's a veritable cornucopia of content! (Louis Wu 15:06:15 UTC) (permalink)

News April 22 2011

Avatar Codes - want some?
Check this forum post for full details. We got lots. Lots and lots. (Louis Wu 18:41:15 UTC) (permalink)

Reach Inception
MaxRealflugel cut himself a new Halo: Reach trailer, using music from Inception. Go see how well it works! (Louis Wu 17:58:13 UTC) (permalink)

StrongSide talks Reach
The Examiner has an interview with StrongSide, the MLG Pro who currently plays with his new team, Warriors. If you have designs on a pro career, you'd do well to listen to one of the best! (Louis Wu 17:56:55 UTC) (permalink)

Friday's (late) Fanfic Update
We totally spaced on posting a Fan Fiction update last week, and NEARLY spaced this week - but it's live now. Five new pieces, from three authors. Go see! (Louis Wu 17:53:13 UTC) (permalink)

A Fistful of Arrows - Pages 33-37
Leviathan stopped by our forum this morning with five new pages for his 'A Fistful of Arrows' graphic novel. They're posted on the forum for nostalgia's sake, though they're also live in the story's dedicated site (the first new page is here). I have nothing to say about these that I haven't said already - but I'll repeat my sentiment that this might just be my favorite fan creation of all time. If you're new to AFoA, start at the beginning. If you're not, read the most recent five pages. Either way, marvel at a story well-told, and amazingly illustrated. (All of the new pages are also available without text - artwork-only. The links are below each page on the dedicated site.) And oh, yeah... Kat is cool. (Louis Wu 13:58:57 UTC) (permalink)

The Neverending Party
A couple of days ago, zerowind117 stopped by with word of an invincible grunt - shot in the head over and over, he simply wouldn't fall. He got a response from kornman00 (who had a similar experience) - but zerowind117's film wasn't rendered, so nobody watched (I guess). He came back today, and tried again - this time, NsU Soldier ponied up the render minute, and you can watch the video embedded in his post. It's pretty funny. (And the camera work only makes it better.) Confetti for everyone! (Louis Wu 13:57:21 UTC) (permalink)

PatriM3H
RVG E Nomini pointed us to his new montage PatriM3H - has footage from Halo 2, Halo 3, and Reach. Quality is... well, not the high point. (It's VGA at best, and recorded off the screen in many clips.) Some sweet plays, though! (A bit long, given the media, but maybe that's just me. And the very last clip just made me angry.) (Louis Wu 13:37:35 UTC) (permalink)

Sandman :: 4/14
Over at Halo Waypoint, bs angel pointed out a new montage from Sandman (with editing by SillyGoose) - it jumps back and forth between Halo 3 and Reach, and makes me want to go play both. Give it a watch! Update: looks like Hitmonchan beat me to this... by 8 whole days. You can't see me, but my head is hanging in shame. (Louis Wu 13:27:57 UTC) (permalink)

A Grim Is As A Grim Does
The Forge-Artist with the awesome name is back at it, as xSoGx Grim shows off his newest creation over at the Waypoint Blog: The Halo Wars Arbiter. Incredible work, definitely give it a look! (GrimBrother One 01:20:47 UTC) (permalink)

Insert Trendy IS NOT A LIE Joke Here
bs angel passed along a seriously awesome birthday cake that looks at least as good as I'm sure it tasted. Go check it out! (GrimBrother One 01:16:41 UTC) (permalink)

News April 21 2011

IGN's Top Reach 10 Kills: (04.20.11)
ChrisTheeCrappy noticed that IGN's posted their Top 10 Reach Kills for the week of April 20 - some fun stuff in there! (Louis Wu 17:09:08 UTC) (permalink)

Satisfyingly Destructive
Den of Geek has put together their list of The Top 10 Most Satisfying Weapon-based Moments in Videogaming - Halo 3's Brute Shot made the list. Go see what else did! Thanks, bluerunner. (Louis Wu 17:02:46 UTC) (permalink)

A FAQ for Bungie.net
A Bungie.net community member has put together an extensive FAQ - tons of info (including plenty of Reach stuff). Go take a look, see if there's something you've always wondered but never got around to asking! (Louis Wu 17:00:33 UTC) (permalink)

Grab a $250 Gift Card at Marissa's Bunny
Marissa's Bunny has yet another giveaway for you - it started on Monday, but it runs through this coming Monday, so you've got time to enter. For the price of some clicks or an email, you can be in the running for a $250 GameStop card! Not too shabby. While you're there, consider Marissa - their current fundraiser helps not only this sweet girl, but also winners of the iPad special needs giveaway! (Louis Wu 13:43:17 UTC) (permalink)

Halo: Legacy Teaser Trailer
Paul Shelley let us know about a new teaser from Daemon Productions - sounds like the series is coming in just a few weeks! The teaser's pretty promising - go watch! (Louis Wu 13:14:09 UTC) (permalink)

FNCC - Final Warning
A quick reminder - pete_the_duck's Flaming Ninja Challenge Contest ends tonight! If you haven't submitted your entry for this devilish test of skill, this is your last chance. If you win, you get 1600 MS Points! (Louis Wu 13:08:28 UTC) (permalink)

News April 20 2011

Geoff finds the cheese
k8lunch noticed that Achievement HORSE #20 is now live - can Geoff stop the Jack momentum? You'll have to watch to find out. (Some awesome maps in here!) (Louis Wu 23:59:21 UTC) (permalink)

Grunt's Birthday Surprise
If you thought your last birthday was bad, you should watch this animated short from PikaParody. It's refreshing to see Halo animation again. Go watch! (Hitmonchan 22:46:52 UTC) (permalink)

MLG EXTREME: The Movie
ShawtyHullstineFilms has been releasing a gameplay series called 'MLG EXTREME' (mostly just the crew fooling around in Halo) - now there's MLG EXTREME: The Movie. Almost 20 minutes of reminiscences from Halo 3 and Reach. And MLG play. (Louis Wu 16:50:27 UTC) (permalink)

Staff Needed for Halo Revolutions Vol 2
MaxRealflugel let us know that work is currently underway for Halo Revolutions Volume 2 (we'd mentioned Volume 1 back in January) - and that they're actively recruiting for artists and writers. Swing by The Secrets Within for full details! (Louis Wu 15:23:59 UTC) (permalink)

Highlands Death Race
If you are looking for a good speed rush in Reach, look no further than CruelLEGACEY's newest track creation, Highlands Death Race. Awesome stuff. Go and check out the video preview, then nab the track and gametype. Gentlemen... start your clicking! (GrimBrother One 05:11:48 UTC) (permalink)

News April 19 2011

Stormbringer RULED my childhood imagination
io9 has a fun little piece on the 10 greatest swords of all time - and since I'm posting it here, you can bet that one of these, at least, is Halo-related. Thanks, Urban Reflex. (Louis Wu 23:04:27 UTC) (permalink)

Tagged
If you thought it might be funny to add inappropriate tags to other people's work on Bungie.net... you should read this post. I guess Bungie's cracking down! (Louis Wu 22:43:17 UTC) (permalink)

Goodies coming from Halo Mega Bloks
Halo Mega Bloks has sent out an email blast with news of some new products, including the new Battlescape. Take a look! (Louis Wu 22:41:23 UTC) (permalink)

Comm Chatter Vids and News
Three new vids are up on Bungie.net's Comm Chatter today - There's Forge Spotlight Episode 4 (community maps, highlighted by DaItalianFish), a Forge Cafe Custom Game Night recap vid (cool custom maps), and Stewie2552's Funny Halo 3 Fails and Laughs 15 (been a while since we saw one of these!). And while you're over there, urk's got word of some stat enhancements at Halotracker. Go read! (Louis Wu 19:58:56 UTC) (permalink)

Chosen/We Deliver
RVideo put together a pair of very nice panoramas based on the last (real) level of Reach - go see! (Louis Wu 15:19:55 UTC) (permalink)

Model Of The Xenophobic Alien
nomis78 shared a hilarious piece he put together based off the "Gilbert & Sulivan" bit from Mass Effect 2. Definitely worth the listen, I thought it was great! (GrimBrother One 12:41:32 UTC) (permalink)

It's Gonna Be A Long Flight
So... Ever just had that awkward moment with a special someone? Hope it didn't go like this. (GrimBrother One 03:16:38 UTC) (permalink)

LASO Exodus Speed Run from HSH
RC Master bestowed upon us this evening a lovely little gift to those who might need help in this week's challenge: A LASO Speedrun of Exodus. Much to enjoy, and even more to learn. Go check it out! (GrimBrother One 02:19:49 UTC) (permalink)

News April 18 2011

Death by Bogey
AfRo SaUcE dropped by our forums to show off a fun betrayal that comes at the expense of his sister. Looks like me trying to play mini-golf. Give it a look! (GrimBrother One 21:42:04 UTC) (permalink)

Achievement Hunters' Top 10 Halo Eggs
Don't forget to check out Achievement Hunters' Top 10 Halo Easter Eggs of All Time! Man... the nostalgia factor is through the roof! Go enjoy! (GrimBrother One 21:39:59 UTC) (permalink)

Tyrant's ODST Legendary Walkthrough - Uplift Reserve
This was posted last Thursday, but I was away, and neglected to inform the rest of the staff - Daniel 'Tyrant' Morris has released the next chapter of his Halo 3: ODST Legendary Walkthrough, covering Uplift Reserve. It's not a tough level - but Tyrant gets you through the streets of New Mombasa prior to the level as well. Check it out! (And stop asking him about the glove. He's sensitive about it.) (Louis Wu 21:32:09 UTC) (permalink)

Halo: Faith Visual Effects Test
"Halo: Faith" posted an early visual effects test reel on its Facebook page. In the clip, the camera zooms in on a Warthog firing toward something off-screen. The camera zooms out and pans overhead, where a Banshee slams into a hovering Hornet. The Hornet plummets and smashes into the back end of the Warthog. The collision flips the 'Hog toward the camera, and the clip ends. Go watch! (Hitmonchan 20:58:13 UTC) (permalink)

Paper Warfare
DNAinfo.com wrote an article about Sarah Frost, a St. Louis artist who designed a functional paper gun gallery exhibit. Inspired by YouTube videos from school-aged boys, she said some of the guns she found online and placed in her display were inspired by Halo. In the first gallery shot in the article, I spotted what looked like an Assault Rifle, a Spiker and a Rocket Launcher. Pretty neat! (Hitmonchan 19:57:02 UTC) (permalink)

Redesigning Covers for Halo Novels
DarthYoda19 sent word of a fascinating project he's undertaken - he wanted to broaden the appeal of the Halo novels by redesigning the dust jackets to provide original artwork that would capture the spirit of each book, without pigeonholing the end product as a "Halo" novel. You can see his treatments of the covers for Ghosts of Onyx, Contact Harvest, and The Cole Protocol on this gallery page. I think he did an amazing job! (Louis Wu 18:53:01 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Sculpts - Jun and an Elite
Lance Rutledge sent us two new batches of Halo sculpts - a couple of shots of a quick Jun sculpt (he's adorable, and that gun is STRAIGHT), and 7 pics of a cool Elite sculpt. Swing by his gallery and take a look! (Louis Wu 16:52:01 UTC) (permalink)

Bungie All Stars Week 15 - Pumas Galore
The Bungie All-Stars Contest added quite a number of new stars to the online 'Starred' roster - but if you weren't one of them, you have another shot. Week 15 focuses on the UNSC Warthog - how cool a representation can YOU submit? Full details are on B.net, at the link above. (Louis Wu 16:40:24 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Waypoint Community Race Night
CruelLEGACEY let us know about a Community Race Night he's organizing with Halo Waypoint - details can be found on his site. (Louis Wu 16:27:27 UTC) (permalink)

Forge Lesson 47: Kleenex Testing
GodlyPerfection continues his Forge Lessons series - the 47th episode is all about getting folks to provide valid first impressions. (Louis Wu 16:15:26 UTC) (permalink)

Better Than a Slingshot
DeepCee stopped in with word of ODS Steve Episode 85 - I think I'd be nervous if I were anywhere near Steve on this one... (Louis Wu 16:13:46 UTC) (permalink)

Automated Threat Response Device... ouch!
Stephen Loftus added a dozen new entries to his 'Signs of Halo' collection - ODST has a wealth of oft-missed notices! Check out the UNSC section, in particular. (Louis Wu 14:16:12 UTC) (permalink)

Splasered Wraiths and Twisted Metal
DMFanella and three others went hunting for the Vidmaster Endure achievement a few weeks ago - the writeup (with dozens of pics, many of them panoramas) hit our forum this morning. Give it a read - it's entertaining! (Louis Wu 13:46:30 UTC) (permalink)

Behind the Scenes of Operation Chastity, Part One
Pete Cooper, writer and director of Operation Chastity, stopped by our forum with a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie. It's great to see everything in motion. Go watch! (Hitmonchan 11:52:52 UTC) (permalink)

Anger, Sadness, and Envy: Episode 21
Rampancy.net's Anger, Sadness & Envy Podcast is back out with a new episode titled The Winter of Our Discontingency. Always a great listen, go and check it out! Thanks to Cody Miller for Letting us know. (GrimBrother One 05:26:00 UTC) (permalink)

Halo and Nail Varnish
Continuing the comic news, Emily Clarke made a strip for GameJudgment that every man can relate to: With only 20 minutes to spare, do you paint your nails or play Halo? I would've chosen my nails, but then again I get grumpy when I don't feel pretty. What? Don't judge me! Go give it a read! (Hitmonchan 03:51:59 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Development Process Comic
Hejibits.com drew a biting comic strip on the development process of Halo: CE. It hurt, and I don't agree with the strip in the least, but I chuckled. (Hitmonchan 03:50:22 UTC) (permalink)

ODST Arctic Sniper Mega Bloks Figure
SpartanBloks reported the ODST Arctic Sniper figure has been found on store shelves. The site said the figure was supposed to release in the fall. The photo from the article was from site member MarkJames65, who found the figure at a Walmart in California. (Hitmonchan 03:45:30 UTC) (permalink)

Last Man Standing: Season 2, Episode 12
The new episode of "Last Man Standing," the Halo machinima game show, is up! Go watch! (Hitmonchan 03:42:27 UTC) (permalink)

Square Enix Play Arts Kai Giveaway
Figures.com is giving away Noble Team Play Arts Kai figures to seven lucky winners. One winner will receive all six figures (a $270 value), while six runner-ups will receive one figure each ($45 value). Participants must enter a valid email address. As always, please read the fine print before entering. The contest ends Friday. (Hitmonchan 03:40:10 UTC) (permalink)

Amazing Halo Speed Painting
Pointed out by NeoGAF's Tunavi, duks0111 made a beautiful piece of Halo art with Photoshop and After Effects in just seven hours. He uploaded a seven-minute video revealing the process. Wow…just wow. (Hitmonchan 03:38:18 UTC) (permalink)

Halo: Homefront Mod Update
Back in December, Broken Line Studios released a total-conversion UNSC mod for Homeworld 2. It looks like the group has been hard at work updating and adding models to the game. Moddb.net user V3LO has been posting images of the team's work. Go check them out! (Hitmonchan 03:36:52 UTC) (permalink)

Live-Action Machinima
Over on the Halo Waypoint forums, TAC zim posted part one of his machinima, "Betrayer: A Human Reach Story," in which he placed himself into the movie. It's an interesting concept that went better than I expected. This is the first of a trilogy, but he said that viewer interest will dictate the speed at which he makes the next two parts. Give it a watch! (Hitmonchan 03:32:54 UTC) (permalink)

E3 Prediction Time
We're a little under two months away from the biggest gaming expo of the year, and IGN Australia has offered its predictions for the show. Out of a 100 percent success rate, the staff is 99.9 percent positive that a new Halo game will be announced by Microsoft and 75 percent positive that a Halo: CE HD remake will be unveiled. Predictions are fun, but we'll see who's right when Microsoft holds its press conference at E3. (Hitmonchan 03:29:04 UTC) (permalink)

News April 17 2011

Forum scraping
Wow, I'd forgotten how tough it is to catch up when you've been away for a few days! The crew did an amazing job of bringing you Halo news since I left Thursday - I'm just pointing out a few forum links that might also interest you.

• Gravemind posted his 20,000+ word review of Halo: Reach - response was generally positive. (I haven't had time to read it, myself; like I said, I just got back this afternoon.) If your latest novel just ended... take a look!
• JDQuackers noticed a free Halo: Mobile Edition MMORPG - anyone tried this yet?
• Mazz put together a collection of (mostly) Unearthed panoramas - lovin' these.
• RC Master stopped in with links to films showing off Mythic Reach... done in less than 3 hours, total. Four crazy people (including RC Master) contributed runs.
• Stephen Loftus was able to watch (and film) the destruction of the Savannah... from space. No forcefield distortion! Pretty cool.
• TCKaos noticed a Japanese magazine showing a survey of Japanese gamers, and their satisfaction with various games. Halo: Reach took the very top spot. Whaaaaat?
• Kermit put together a pretty epic recap of Co-op Night, the last HBO forum collective campaign run-through. Definitely worth a read!

There's plenty more in there - this was just the stuff that stuck out in a speed-read of the last 750 posts. (Louis Wu 23:49:41 UTC) (permalink)

Waypoint Ordnance: Type-27 Banshee Fighter
The Waypoint team is at it again with more awesome Ordnance features, this time with the Type-27 Banshee Fighter. Some great info and good shots of the "Space Banshee" at various angles. Go check it out! (GrimBrother One 21:36:01 UTC) (permalink)

300 + 117 = Awesome Shirt
DHalo dropped in to show a pretty awesome shirt design he found over at RIPT Apparel. Definitely worth a click! (GrimBrother One 17:06:11 UTC) (permalink)

Spawn Fail
Alexander Hinkley, an Examiner.com writer, pointed out a spawning flaw in Big Bro Slayer. Camping near a cave wall on Hemorrhage, his teammate went to spawn near him but ended up spawning inside the wall. What's even crazier is the game treated him with a betrayal, and the spurned teammate booted him from the game. In his article, he argued it's not a glitch if the system punished him. Do you agree or disagree? (Hitmonchan 06:25:57 UTC) (permalink)

But where does the 'U' come from?
To test new gametypes and maps for matchmaking, GrifballHub will host three Grifball in Reach Neighborhood Tournaments (GRUNTs) this week. This article provides links to the two new gametypes and three new maps to be tested. The first tournament will be Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST. There's a special prize up for grabs for those who submit their highlight clips! (Hitmonchan 06:20:30 UTC) (permalink)

New Operation Chastity Photos
Machinima.com posted three new Operation Chastity photos (1 | 2 | 3) on its Facebook page. Sounds like that slideshow we mentioned yesterday might need an update now. (Hitmonchan 06:09:23 UTC) (permalink)

News April 16 2011

Roll out!
Slashprofilms made another parody in Reach. This time, the crew took on the Transformers series. Personal favorite moment: the Spartans rushing for the vehicles. Go watch! (Hitmonchan 21:08:43 UTC) (permalink)

Waypoint Weekly Wrapup 4-16-11
If you happen to find yourself unable to keep up with the myriad of content that goes up on Halo Waypoint each week, fear not! The folks at 343 Industries have your back, with their Waypoint Weekly Wrapup. Go and give it a look, there's always a lot of great stuff to see for any Halo fan! (GrimBrother One 20:47:19 UTC) (permalink)

Weekly Mgalekupdate
As always, Bungie serves it up nice with another Weekly Update. Perhaps lighter on prose, but heavy on Hunter; make sure you check out the awesomeness assembled for the latest Bungie All-Stars collection. Definitely check it out! (GrimBrother One 20:39:12 UTC) (permalink)

Cheaters
Moorpheusl9 pointed out that the new Arby 'n' the Chief episode, "Cheaters," is now online. This one comes in at a whopping 26 minutes. If you have the time, go watch! (Hitmonchan 19:12:45 UTC) (permalink)

Shooter Wars Tournament
Pdxbox.net is hosting a Halo: Reach multi-site tournament in GameStops around Portland, Ore. The website is using this tournament to raise money for the Game It Up Initiative. Registration fee is $5. Qualifiers begin today, but if you're unable to make it, more qualifiers are available April 30 and May 14. The championship round is scheduled for May 16. (Hitmonchan 17:05:20 UTC) (permalink)

I'm so sick of hearing this song.
SillyGooseGaming put together a Halo 3/Reach montage titled "4/14." Despite the questionable music selection, it's a good watch. Check it out! (Hitmonchan 17:03:42 UTC) (permalink)

Operation Chastity Photo Teaser
Operation Chastity uploaded a YouTube slideshow featuring all of the art and picture assets from its Facebook page. If you haven't seen these before, give it a watch! Update: The video is actually from MADMAN64B, and Operation Chastity had favorited the video. (Hitmonchan 17:02:08 UTC) (permalink)

News April 15 2011

Honorable Mention
Anoj posted the honorable mentions for Episode 19. Go check out the splatters that didn't make the cut! (Hitmonchan 22:34:17 UTC) (permalink)

Stop Spartan Cruelty
Maybe I'm just a sucker for PSA parodies, but I found this amusing. Set to Sarah McLachlan's classic "Angel," iAMChozoLord shines the spotlight on Spartan cruelty. Please donate today. (Hitmonchan 22:32:46 UTC) (permalink)

You better lose yourself in this montage.
Wow. BlearyFish's "Insane Montage" has some of the best clip transitions I've seen yet. Definitely worth a look! (Hitmonchan 22:31:14 UTC) (permalink)

One Year Ago Today: The End of Halo 2
For those who don't read the forum, FyreWulff wrote a great piece on the end of an era: Today marks the first year since Halo 2 went offline. Officially, that is. His post reflects on those who paid no heed to overheating dangers and electric bills to keep the good fight going. Give it a read! (Hitmonchan 22:22:13 UTC) (permalink)

Why?
Because it's awesome, that's why. (GrimBrother One 20:01:32 UTC) (permalink)

Certainly A Case To Be Made
If you get a chance, check out the AWESOME Xbox 360 Case Mod featured by bs angel on the Waypoint Blog. Gorgeous! (GrimBrother One 17:54:41 UTC) (permalink)

Fails of the Weak 30
ZZoMBiE13 let us know that the ever-awesome Fails of the Weak is up and ready for hilarity. Episode 30 already? Sheesh. Go check it out! (GrimBrother One 17:51:33 UTC) (permalink)

Balls To The Wall
From Teabag Prevention to Teabag Creation. It's the circle of life. Or something like that. Thanks (I think), General Vagueness. (GrimBrother One 03:58:45 UTC) (permalink)

News April 14 2011

Teabag Prevention Presents - Pinnacle
Brian Gilmore let us know that the Teabag Prevention team has now covered Pinnacle; if you find yourself getting domed from spots you can't find, this guide might help you out! Give it a look. (Louis Wu 18:20:53 UTC) (permalink)

Thursday Afternoon at the Movies
Few new vids on Bungie.net's Comm Chatter today:

• Geoff channels Rage Quit's Michael on the latest Achievement HORSE - great maps, funny commentary. Even Gus showed up for #19.
• The Forgehub Testers Guild has been busy - check out their latest vid. Some very cool maps in there!
• no weakness posted another Black and Yellow parody (we highlighted one a few weeks ago). t-bagging, it's an art.

That's lunch! (Louis Wu 17:17:02 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Waypoint Webby Nomination
Halo Waypoint is nominated for a Webby People's Voice Award! The site is contending for the Games-Related Entertainment category. Voting is open until April 28, but you should head over to the Webby Awards website and cast your vote now! (Hitmonchan 16:39:16 UTC) (permalink)

IGN's Top 10 Reach Kills: (04.13.11)
IGN's Top 10 Reach Kills for the week of April 13 are up - some pretty nice clips! Go watch. Thanks, ChrisTheeCrappy. (Louis Wu 14:07:49 UTC) (permalink)

Reach brings home a Pulcinella
Hitmonchan found this a few days ago - but the site was a bit messed up, and it was hard to tell. Looks like Halo: Reach won the Interactive Animation Award at the 2011 Pulcinellas, an award ceremony for "International Television and Cross-Media Animation" in Italy. Congrats, guys! (Louis Wu 13:27:46 UTC) (permalink)

Tashi's Weekly Montage Series - 04
Tashi continues his Weekly Montage Series - #4 has some fantastic clips. (Again, remember, all gameplay is his, and all gameplay was captured in the last 7 days. Some folks take months to build up enough decent clips for a montage.) I think I liked the clutch flag return on Countdown the best, but I had to wonder... where was the rest of his team? (Louis Wu 11:38:52 UTC) (permalink)

A Goodbye to a Friend
I've seen Halo screenshots get used for a lot of things... but I don't think I've ever seen one used to create a tribute to a fallen comrade. Thanks, Hedge. That was beautiful. (Louis Wu 11:20:56 UTC) (permalink)

The Secrets Within: The Scorpion
MaxRealflugel proves that the Scorpion Tank program was run by the New Jersey Waste Management division of the UNSC - go read! (Louis Wu 11:09:41 UTC) (permalink)

Leading Ladies of Halo, Plus a Fun Tidbit
An unrelated discussion on the Waypoint forums sent me digging for some information. What I found along the way was a very cool writeup from about a year ago on the GoingRampant Blog. The article focused on the role of female characters in the Halo series. It was a pretty cool look at some different aspects of the fiction, and even had a comment from Tobias Buckell that confirmed a very neat connection between Halo 3: ODST and Dirt from Halo: Evolutions. It's split into three parts, which you can find here: one, two, and three. It was certainly the first time I'd seen it. Go check it out! (GrimBrother One 08:17:22 UTC) (permalink)

Step by Step of a Levi to Bry
So, remember that awesome bookmark that Leviathan made for Bry a bit back? Well Our veritable flyboy whipped up a VERY cool timelapse of Levi's stellar work through each various stage. Check it out! (GrimBrother One 07:06:00 UTC) (permalink)

News April 13 2011

Waypoint Expansion - The Official Story
If you're looking for an OFFICIAL writeup of the goodies announced by the Halo Waypoint team this morning, we've posted 343's press release - give it a read. (Louis Wu 19:37:07 UTC) (permalink)

Dark Rain
When you experience a really cool storm, and you set video footage of that storm to appropriate Halo music... the end result is special. Go watch. (Louis Wu 19:35:26 UTC) (permalink)

HaloCharts Top Ten - Looking for Clips
HaloCharts Top Ten - Looking for Clips HaloCharts is putting together a multikill montage - they need your best kills. Go read the rules, and submit! (Thanks, urk.) (Louis Wu 19:34:06 UTC) (permalink)

She's Mighty-Mighty...
This is just... wrong. ZZoMBiE13 should be ashamed of himself. (But I do have to admit that I couldn't hold back a laugh when the Elite General showed up...) (Louis Wu 17:35:56 UTC) (permalink)

Smileanddealwithit interviews CruelLEGACEY
CruelLEGACEY sat down with iplayhalo of Smileanddealwithit - swing by if you want some insight into what makes this Halo fan tick. (Louis Wu 17:29:58 UTC) (permalink)

Cheer up, big man.
And I'll leave you guys with this Minecraft skin of Emile that made my day. (Hitmonchan 17:15:56 UTC) (permalink)

Interview with Dan Glass
Movie blog Flickering Myth has an interview with Dan Glass, visual effects supervisor for the "Deliver Hope" TV ad. He briefly spoke about the ad before moving on to his career in movies, but it's still a good read. Fun fact: Did you know that he was the VFX supervisor for the last two "Matrix" films and a designer on one of my favorite movies, "Muppet Treasure Island"? (Hitmonchan 17:08:21 UTC) (permalink)

LEGO M6G
Nick Jenson is back with another LEGO Reach weapon, the M6G Magnum (1 | 2). In case you missed it, here's Jenson's previous work that was mentioned on the front page almost a week ago. Go look! (Hitmonchan 16:44:02 UTC) (permalink)

Marty on Shelving Halo
Industrygamers.com has another interview up with Marty O'Donnell. In this one, he talked about moving on from the music of Halo and how it feels to start with a blank sheet of paper. (Hitmonchan 16:16:37 UTC) (permalink)

What's in a name?
GamingBolt found a small easter egg taking mild shots at popular games, like Halo: Reach, in Infamous 2. Thanks, ElzarTheBam. (Louis Wu 16:03:35 UTC) (permalink)

Pretty Pictures
nomis78 dropped off a small batch of panoramas - check 'em! (Louis Wu 16:00:11 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Waypoint - Near and Far
Looks like there's some pretty big news coming from Halo Waypoint today - CVG has an article about a bunch of new features for the Xbox LIVE version of the portal (we've put up lots of new screenshots here), and the tail end teases bigtime:

The Halo franchise will be enjoying its 10th Anniversary this year, with celebrations kicking off at the Penny Arcade Expo Prime in Seattle on 26, 27 and 28 August. Stay tuned for more information about the celebrations.

Will you be there? Seems like it'll be a party! Thanks, ChenK and ElzarTheBam. Update: The Halo Waypoint website has an article about the XBL update, the new Avatar collection (with WAAAY more screenshots - and helmets - than we've got), info about The Mona Lisa (including the trailer released last summer), and screenshots of the new Square Enix LE Reach figures. And oh, yeah... a tidbit about the PAX Prime gathering... (Louis Wu 14:49:27 UTC) (permalink)

T'was only a matter of time.
D'awwwww... (Louis Wu 13:01:57 UTC) (permalink)

Things are starting to come together
You might remember a pretty amazing animatronic Elite costume we mentioned a few times last year - turns out Pete Mander, the guy behind that costume, is the Production Designer for Halo: Faith. ManKitten noticed a link to some information about it on their Facebook page (I couldn't find it just now) - looks like it'll be in use in the movie! Update: nomis78 found a video showing off the turret they've built, too. (Louis Wu 11:10:09 UTC) (permalink)

How can you go wrong with 'smorgasbord'?
So a couple of nights ago, Frankie dropped a small teaser in our forum - Karen Traviss' Halo work was coming along nicely. Cool, but I didn't front-page it; there wasn't much to say. What makes it news now? Leviathan whipped up a cover for the book, based on the conversation. And let me tell you - I'd buy ANY book with that cover. (Louis Wu 10:19:27 UTC) (permalink)

Of Little Birdies and Such
Just as an FYI, someone on the 343rd floor of a particular Industrial building put a little hint out that today might be a good day for news. No promises, just saying that's what I heard... (GrimBrother One 04:57:07 UTC) (permalink)

Live Horse Showing
If you are able to catch it, trappeddark1 brought word of a live broadcast of the popular Achievement HORSE from our friends at Rooster Teeth. The stream can be found here, and will be live starting today, April 13, at 12:30pm (CDT). If you can, go and check it out! (GrimBrother One 04:52:53 UTC) (permalink)

RETROGRADE
Avcracy stopped in to let us know about Firelight Studios newest machinma, RETROGRADE. Definitely check this out, very cool stuff! (GrimBrother One 04:48:22 UTC) (permalink)

Linktacular
I don't want to flood the news feed with links, so I'll just post them all in one handy post.

• Episode 19 of Anoj's Top 10 series features some outlandish splatters. Definitely worth the watch!
• In the new episode of "Headshot," Mr. Sark and Chris Lockey talk about the Action Sack playlist. I loved the TMNT song used at the end. It's so nostalgic. (Darn you, underwater level! I mean that.)
• If you missed the MLG Dallas Reach action, G4TV has you covered with this wrap-up video.
• The new "Optical Overload" comic strip features a weapon that would ruin the Halo series for me forever. Some bad language is used for those at work.
• Reach managed to break back into the UK Top 10 chart, rising from No. 19 to No. 10 for the week ending April 9. Way to go, Australia! Wait, that's not right...

Go look! (Hitmonchan 02:55:49 UTC) (permalink)

Nice Digits, Bro
Mikasangelos over at NeoGAF found a dynamic Reach signature maker. Designed by Alex Reed, the site pulls in your Matchmaking statistics to make nifty little cards like this one. It doesn't use Firefight, Campaign or Custom Games statistics, so you won't be able to show off your sweet Firefight K/D. (Hitmonchan 02:51:56 UTC) (permalink)

Another Art Book for the Coffee Table
NeoGAF's Hypertrooper pointed out a new Halo art book entry on Amazon. "Halo: The Great Journey: The Art of Building Worlds" is a 192-page visual review of the Halo series, including "Halo: Legends." According to Amazon, it will release on October 18. The book will also feature another foreword from Frank O'Connor. Only time will tell if it's as paradigm-shifting as his previous one. (Hitmonchan 02:44:11 UTC) (permalink)

News April 12 2011

Locked In
If you're participating in Justgameblogger's Reach tournament, the ladder is now online. Good luck! (Hitmonchan 17:48:55 UTC) (permalink)

Reach Deals
Amazon and Newegg have reduced Halo: Reach to $29.99 for a limited time. Each site is offering free shipping. The Newegg deal lasts until Monday if you don't have the money now. While it's not a free copy of the game, it's the cheapest deal available if you're looking to buy it new. (Hitmonchan 17:42:25 UTC) (permalink)

Serious Inquiries Only
A Manhattan couple posted a Craigslist ad looking for a Halo: Reach tutor. They plan on pulling their son, Sam, from "an uncompromising school system" so that he can train to become a professional player full-time. Those who are interested would have to adhere to an 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. weekday schedule, which includes teaching Covenant history, fostering creativity with fan fiction and a daily supper of Red Bull and carbohydrate cubes. First round interviews will be conducted in a few weeks. Update: Someone flagged this amazing ad for removal, so here's the Dregslist repost. There's also a reply to the ad for extra hilarity. (Hitmonchan 17:40:44 UTC) (permalink)

Under the Sea
"Grifball Hubcast Episode 52" is now online. This week, HaloCharts.com member HC Jules talks about the HaloCharts website and makes his predictions for the GGL playoffs. Go listen! (Hitmonchan 17:38:54 UTC) (permalink)

Icey
Bungie's Comm Chatter has a link to a VERY long montage - you don't need 2 or 3 montages today, just this one will take up half your lunch break. Go watch KayEmX and FKIV's 'Icey'. (Louis Wu 17:36:44 UTC) (permalink)

Teabag Prevention Presents: Powerhouse
According to B.net, there's a new Teabag Prevention article up at Geekscape - this one covers Powerhouse. (You know, now that i think about it... it's been a really long time since I played a game on Powerhouse. I bet I could use some pointers!) Go give it a read. (Louis Wu 17:02:42 UTC) (permalink)

As Good as Halo Gets
So a few days ago, we mentioned an article on the blog 'Away From Keyboard' - the newspost was a little dismissive. (To be clear: I didn't ridicule the article because it was negative about Reach - I ridiculed it because it was ridiculous.) The editorial staff of the site contacted us, and asked us to point out that this was an article written by a guest, and possibly not indicative of the normal output of the site. (We did.) Today, a new article has been posted - it's as gushing as its earlier companion was derogatory. It's a nicely written love letter to Reach, and to Bungie for creating it - go see! (Louis Wu 15:26:27 UTC) (permalink)

Halo goodies for cheap on XBLM
ElzarTheBam noticed a sale on Xbox LIVE Marketplace - full details can be found in this post. Highlight of the bunch (for me): Reach's Noble Map Pack is 50% off, at 400 MS Points. (Louis Wu 13:47:43 UTC) (permalink)

Making with the Big Pictures
iMonkey777 decided to try his hand at panorama-making. "LD Spear demise" is easily my favorite, though all are fun. (Louis Wu 13:47:10 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Reach HBO Funtage
nomis78 put together a Reach funtage - it's just fun clips. The reason it's being frontpaged is because it was made entirely on an iPhone - clips were imported from Bungie.net renders, and compiled with effects from iPhone's version of iMovie. I must say... I'm impressed. It's astounding what you can do with a device that fits in the palm of your hand! (Louis Wu 13:46:32 UTC) (permalink)

Triple Reel
Machinima uploaded three new Halo videos on Monday:

• "Reach's Last Day," created by soFallenfilms, is a "Cloverfield"-style documentary about an alien structure on Reach. Pretty interesting!
• "Frostbite: Chapter One," directed by Ty Coker of Blood-Chain Productions, is set in 2347, when according to this series, the sun begins to burn out. Interesting script, although the voice acting could use some work.
• "Videogames Suck" is a video from AxeInfection that pokes fun at game companies. The title says it's a Reach machinima, but it's actually made in Halo 3. There's also a bit of foul language.

Give 'em a watch! (Hitmonchan 05:08:52 UTC) (permalink)

An Ox in The Spotlight
CruelLEGACEY Productions is at it again with a new Community Spotlight; this time on Ox Planet Media Productions. The feature includes a nice get-to-know-you session with the head of the group, as well as a look at their new machinma series, Recon 7. Go and check it out! (GrimBrother One 04:32:52 UTC) (permalink)

News April 11 2011

He didn't think he was getting out, did he?
After a week's worth of ridiculous Halo news coverage (putting the entire HBO staff to shame), we finally reached out and made Hitmonchan an offer he couldn't refuse. (Well, actually, he COULD have refused... but he didn't. So shut up.) A warm welcome, then, to our newest news hound! (Louis Wu 23:27:57 UTC) (permalink)

Was There a Better Way to Fight the Covenant?
MaxRealflugel wonders if the UNSC was doing enough in their battle against the Covenant. Swing by The Secrets Within to see his argument! (Louis Wu 19:50:36 UTC) (permalink)

Bungie All Stars - Week 14
Don't have a star for your Halo: Reach nameplate yet? Don't worry, Bungie's kicked off Week 14 of its All-Stars contest - it focuses on Hunters. Screenshot one, draw one, whatever - but get urk a Hunter by Thursday night and you're in the running. (Louis Wu 19:42:32 UTC) (permalink)

Forge Cafe Community Montage 1
Forge Cafe has posted a Community Montage - thanks to urk for the heads-up. Some great clips, some silly, some wtf - nice collection. (Louis Wu 19:30:04 UTC) (permalink)

Think Twice (Public Beta)
There are thousands of fan-created maps available on Bungie.net - Bungie's Comm Chatter has decided to highlight one that's currently in beta. Watch the video, and then get back to the creators about what works and what doesn't. (Too many angles for my taste... but I'm sure there are plenty of players who'll love it!) (Louis Wu 19:29:45 UTC) (permalink)

Workin' out the Grifball Basics
Goosechecka let us know that Grifball Hub's Kalbelgarion has created a tutorial vid called 'Grifball 101' - if you're getting hammered and not enjoying it, go watch! (Louis Wu 19:12:03 UTC) (permalink)

LNoS Seraph Crash - Prettified
Hedgemony whipped up a pair of panoramas of a Seraph crash on Long Night of Solace - wow. Just... wow. (Louis Wu 15:26:25 UTC) (permalink)

LEGO MC
Cody Moore pointed out a pretty cool LEGO Master Chief, created by Ewok in Disguise... I'm impressed. (Louis Wu 15:25:43 UTC) (permalink)

Monday Morning GAF roundup
He just ain't stopping. Swing by this post of Hitmonchan's for a collection of funny (and very short) YouTube reach tidbits, plus a potential Bungie sighting at the East Coast Game Conference this week, four hours of Defiant Map Pack gaming from Machinima Respawn (!!), another clip from Sanity Not Included, and more. (Louis Wu 15:24:07 UTC) (permalink)

News April 10 2011

Freelance Escape
Now this is dedication - a LEGO fan designed a set to mimic the chase scene in the Red vs Blue Season 9 trailer... with LEGOs. Nice! (Louis Wu 23:05:08 UTC) (permalink)

News from Elsewhere Sunday (Part 3)
Hitmonchan, after promising he was done for a while, came back this afternoon for ANOTHER round of Halo links. While I was out enjoying myself in Community BTB, he was sweating away in a room full of small children - wait, that's not right. Anyway, check out his finds.

• Slashprofilms tried to create a Jaws parody in the Reach engine. They ran into some problems.
• A gamesite editor is giving away a copy of Dr. Halsey's journal on Twitter - swing by if you'd like to get in on this.
• An article that seems to have been written several months ago showed up on X360 Magazine's website - they've come up with alternative punishments for Reach cheaters.
• He found a couple of nice montages - Arkanum and Thrust's Snipetality-edited trailer, and Just Mad's "I'm Still Just Mad 2" (it's old, but we've never mentioned it). Update: Oops, that was I'm Still Just Mad (the first one). The second one is here. Thanks, HMC.

There's quite a bit more; I only picked the highlights. Go look! (Louis Wu 22:59:30 UTC) (permalink)

Panoramamama
Some really gorgeous new panoramas from nomis78 today... check 'em! (Louis Wu 19:51:06 UTC) (permalink)

News from Elsewhere Sunday (Part 2)
Summary Two (from Halo Waypoint):

• bs angel has resurrected her 'Friday Caption Fun' feature on Halo Waypoint - this week's shot gives you a chance to caption a gentle Covenant interlude.
• supman098 built a cool stand for his Reach action figures - check it out.
• If you don't have the money for full Mega Bloks Halo sets, you can make do (pretty well, even) with just some basic pieces.
• What would Arby and the Chief look like if they worked for the Men in Black? jameson9101322 might know...
• Okay, there are times when you need to GET OUT OF THE CAR.
• The Waypoint crew has put together a feature on the Covenant Concussion Rifle - plenty of pics, some nice stats. Give it a read!
• Grifball: Double Agent 3 went live yesterday - check out the antics of Team Slipspace!

There's plenty more - go explore! (Louis Wu 16:32:41 UTC) (permalink)

News from Elsewhere Sunday (Part 1)
Summary One (from NeoGAF's Hitmonchan):

• Wezi82 built a Halo/Minecraft mashup - pretty cute!
• EuphorianFilms released Area 616 - the color filters go a long way to making this feel a bit more serious than the typical Halo machinima.
• Sanity Not Included has a Reach segment in its latest episode. Don't watch the rest of the video at work. Armor Lock haters will not appreciate this. (There's a followup at the end.)
• All-Ways Wireless tweeted about a Reach tournament on April 30 in Salt Lake City, UT. (Hitmonchan was kind enough to provide a Google Maps link.)

Many thanks to Hitmonchan for his news coverage all week! (Louis Wu 16:32:07 UTC) (permalink)

News April 9 2011

Halo: Reach Challenge Initiative
HaLo2FrEeEk wants to help you keep track of your challenge history - all you need is a Twitter account. (Guess that rules ME out...) check his post (and his site) for full details - and get ready to sign yourself up! (The service is not quite ready for users yet.) (Louis Wu 21:03:23 UTC) (permalink)

Still more from the GAF upstart
...and... more from Hitmonchan. Halo: Evolutions is up for an Audie (the Audiobook industry's equivalent of the Oscars) in Science Fiction/Fantasy. BenStreeper is building a Reach armor suit out of Fedex boxes. justCrafted wants your clips for a community montage, and has a teaser to show you what he'd do with them. And My Gamer Connections is offering a chance to play Reach with MLG Pro Ghostayame. Go soak it in! (Louis Wu 21:00:48 UTC) (permalink)

Now available in Gruntivision
Rockslider has decided to make his original videos (same screensize, but larger filesize, smoother animation) available from his site. Check his forum post for details! (Louis Wu 20:55:14 UTC) (permalink)

From our man in the field...
Hitmonchan put up another pair of posts on NeoGAF last night - here are some of the goodies he uncovered:

• MachinimaRespawn has posted another promo piece - this one stars Mrs Sark, Hutch, and the Dead Pixel. While I'd appreciate the help... I could live without the underwear.
• Justgameblogger is hosting a Reach FFA tourney on LIVE, with a Gamestop giftcard (or MS Points) as the top prize. Game day is next Wednesday.
• TheGamersHub posted a review of the Defiant Map Pack - probably not TOO many people still undecided about this, but you never know!
• NightshadeMachinima posted a Halo: Reach rendition of the Men in Black theme song. Pretty nicely done!
• jimexproductions1 cut a Halo Reach Trailer - it's not perfect, but it's pretty cool nonetheless! Go watch it.

(There's more stuff than that; I only pulled the best links.) Okay, my slaving all day over a hot forum post is done - I'm gonna go rest. (Louis Wu 15:45:33 UTC) (permalink)

Reid18 -- Halo 3 Montage 0.5
RVideo stopped in last night with a link to Reid18's unreleased Halo 3 montage... great piece of work! Take a look. (Louis Wu 15:22:30 UTC) (permalink)

Lone Wolf BOB Bites the Dust
Lord Friendship managed to kill the BOB (the gold Ranger Elite hidden on most (all?) Reach campaign levels) on Lone Wolf - if you want to watch how, swing by his fileshare. A pretty interesting video! (Louis Wu 15:21:47 UTC) (permalink)

Betrayals, loss of limbs, and glowing moas
ZZoMBiE13 let us know that Rooster Teeth's Fails of the Weak Volume 29 is live - they are ALL great clips this time around. Loved this one. (Louis Wu 15:12:32 UTC) (permalink)

FoR: Boot Camp Delivery Update
In a bit of a PSA, the Grim household recently received an update from Amazon.com regarding the Hardcover Fall of Reach: Bootcamp Graphic Novel. Looks like the estimated delivery date was moved up to April 13, 2011. For those of you picking it up in stores, this means you might be able to grab it as early as next week. Good stuff! (GrimBrother One 14:51:58 UTC) (permalink)

BWU For Me and You
Bungie once again provides us with a lovingly crafted weekend-readying reward for making it through the Monday-Thursday grind. The Weekly Update contains some knowledge nuggets regarding chess, PS3 hiring, and world-changing wristbands. Top it off with some gorgeous Covenant-themed backdrops and a fun Blame Stosh, and you've got yourself a kickstart to Saturday, mojimbo. Also available in Inverted Contrast Edition. (GrimBrother One 04:18:18 UTC) (permalink)

News April 8 2011

Halo: Faith - absorbed by Machinima.com
kanbo was first to notice a post on Halo: Faith's Facebook page - looks like they've been annexed by Machinima.com! Interesting. Distribution is now exclusive to Machinima's YouTube channel. (Louis Wu 18:03:31 UTC) (permalink)

More shots of McFarlane Reach Series 3
If you didn't get enough views of the newest batch of McFarlane action figures when we posted a link to Inside Pulse's photo set, you should swing by Halo Waypoint - they've got their own batch of pics. Some of those are looking amazing! (Louis Wu 18:00:52 UTC) (permalink)

Hey! Let's make a skateboarding movie!
Pretty handy little glitch for machinima makers - Stone Angel lets you walk around without actually walking, and without carrying a weapon. aCardboardTube put the video together (he's Bungei Boy on LIVE), Hitmonchan (really? AGAIN?) found the link. (Louis Wu 15:48:39 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Reach Advertising Wins Big
Remember how we mentioned Reach was up for awards in 9 categories at the MI6 Advertising awards? Looks like they went home with 13 actual awards. Whoa. (Thanks (again), Hitmonchan.) (Louis Wu 15:39:29 UTC) (permalink)

Love the logo
Heh - Andrew Jester might have figured out where the rings are built... (betcha woulda never guessed 'Indiana'!) (Louis Wu 15:33:47 UTC) (permalink)

Documenting the World
Stephen Loftus has added ANOTHER 15 signs to his Halo Signs collection - mostly civilian (I was amused by the Citizen Alerts - I hadn't realized Dave Dunn was the Minister of Information, or that Paul Russel was Secretary of Defense), but also a Covenant hatch label and a couple of UNSC signs. Go look! (Louis Wu 14:54:06 UTC) (permalink)

JointOps interview with Certain Affinity
Andrew Derksen let us know about an interview with Certain Affinity's Bill Fox and Adam Crist on a recent JointOps podcast. (The podcast is "Call of Duty" themed... but there's plenty of discussion about Halo products CA has built.) The interview starts at 20:43 in the 90-minute podcast. (Louis Wu 14:50:49 UTC) (permalink)

Memories
Skulk let us know about a new tricking vid from Xwo and friends at jumprs.org - a tribute to HIH. Good stuff! (Louis Wu 14:33:40 UTC) (permalink)

HTR Halo: Reach Community Montage 2
Edge, from Halotracker, let us know that he's put together another Reach montage from clips from the Halotracker Community; you can watch it on YouTube, and comment on their forum. (Louis Wu 14:33:10 UTC) (permalink)

Pixel Art Spartan Halo 3 T-Shirt
RedBubble has a fun Pixel Art Spartan T-Shirt - fun! (Louis Wu 14:25:34 UTC) (permalink)

Get Halo books - free
We neglected to mention this yesterday, but kanbo pointed out that if you sign up for a thirty-day free trial at Audible, you get two free audio books. (You will not be charged for these if you cancel within 30 days.) Since all the Halo novels are available from Audible, this might be a good way to get these! (Louis Wu 14:21:48 UTC) (permalink)

Tyrant's ODST Legendary Walkthrough - Tayari Plaza
Daniel 'Tyrant' Morris sent word that the ODST Legendary Walkthrough of Tayari Plaza (and the Mombasa Streets section leading to it) is now live - 21 minutes long, with helpful commentary! Go watch. (Just as a teaser, he also mentioned that he and some crazy friends are getting together to beat Reach on Quad-Mythic this weekend - as far as he knows, nobody's done this yet for ANY of the campaigns. Documentation will be presented forthwith.) (Louis Wu 14:14:17 UTC) (permalink)

Someone should get that man a website
Hitmonchan continues to scour the internet for interesting Halo content - there's no way I'm gonna complain, because he's making my job quite a bit easier. Here's a roundup of the goodies he found last night:

• Someone whipped up a Noble Team logo in Minecraft. Nicely done!
• If you didn't make it to MLG Dallas, there's a nice collection of photos on Flickr. (If you're just interested in the ones tagged Reach, those are here.)
• Halo Waypoint denizen Noble29 played Ashes, from Halo: Reach's official soundtrack, on piano. Wow. Really great.
• Two new vids from the MachinimaRespawn crew - The Dead Pixel saves the day for a frustrated Firefighter, and Mr Sark helps out when Campaign partners are hard to find. Funny stuff.
• IGN's posted their Top 10 Kills for 04.07.11 - Angry Hogs made me laugh. So did Windshield Wiper. (Hitmonchan doesn't like IGN's video player, so he linked to the DailyMotion mirror.)
• Away From Keyboard has written up an article explaining why Halo: Reach is the worst multiplayer experience in the series. I didn't get that far into it; his #1 complaint was present in Halo 2 and Halo 3, as well, and his #2 complaint says RIGHT IN THE DESCRIPTION that Reach is actually better than Halo 3. But if you're unhappy with Reach, go read this and commiserate.
• A video game company in Franklin, TN (just south of Nashville) is hosting a 1-day video game convention tomorrow - and there'll be a 4v4 Reach tourney to play in.

Okay, my work is done. Is it beer time yet? Update: we got word from Esc., an admin and founder of Away From Keyboard - the article we mentioned was contributed by a guest author, and does not reflect the opinions of the site in general. In other words - explore what else they have to offer, there are other viewpoints listed! (Louis Wu 14:07:32 UTC) (permalink)

Flaming Ninja Challenge Contest - a bit late
On April 1st, pete_the_duck announced a Flaming Ninja Challenge contest - somehow, we neglected to front-page it. (This is weird, because I REMEMBER writing the post.) The deadline is April 21, so it's not TOO late yet - and this morning, he posted a walkthrough of the course, to make your life just a little bit easier. Swing by his website for full rules and guidelines (and links to the map and gametype) - and get to the challenge! There are 1600 MS Points on the line. (Louis Wu 14:06:41 UTC) (permalink)

Pro Fail Wat - Episode 3
shadow8p is back with another Pro Fail Wat vid - fun clips, with commentary. Entertaining! (Louis Wu 14:04:35 UTC) (permalink)

Spartans Never Bow 2.0
AssaultGodzilla has recut his Spartans Never Bow video to replace a few scenes with clips from Halo: Reach. We liked the first one - this one's good too! (Louis Wu 14:04:00 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Reach: Black Ops
Jimbothy stopped in yesterday with word of a remake of the Black Ops trailer... in the Halo: Reach engine. I'm amused. (The comparison movie is amazing.) (Louis Wu 14:03:16 UTC) (permalink)

Friday's Fan Fiction
Seven new stories are up in the Fan Fiction section this week - go read! (Four of them come from one author, which violates the max-3-per-author-per-week rule... but I let it slide this time.) (Louis Wu 14:01:55 UTC) (permalink)

News April 7 2011

Zev: Reach Montage 3
Zev's got a Reach montage up on Bungie.net right now - 3 minutes long. Seems like a LOT of people turn their back to Zev. And that seems dumb. (Louis Wu 19:05:08 UTC) (permalink)

More rounded-up news from Hitmonchan
Hitmonchan is still at it - he's got news about a matchup between the PMS Clan and 2old2play (hey, look - it's old people vs girls!), traditional media coverage of the GameTruck (a semi tricked out with gaming goodies that will come to your party for some cash), and MLG's Reach Top Ten Episode 8, loaded with snipers. Go explore! Update: and even MORE! Submit your Twitter Tuesday questions to Playboy's Jo Garcia (NSFW background image) between now and Monday night and you're entered to win a Reach Legendary Edition. Plus, she's giving away Defiant Map Pack codes right now. (Louis Wu 18:54:47 UTC) (permalink)

ThunderPants: Acquired
jefftoolbox stopped in with some pretty cool sketches he's whipped up recently while playing Reach - check 'em out! (Louis Wu 18:41:52 UTC) (permalink)

Pano Pano on the Screen...
Unique Name posted a bunch of new panoramas - some real gems in there! Update: Unique Name pointed out that they're NOT panoramas, for the most part - they're enhanced screenshots. Doesn't change the fact that they're gorgeous. (Louis Wu 16:16:28 UTC) (permalink)

A cornucopia of links
Hitmonchan is really pushing for that reporter opening - check this GAF post out. LEGO Reach weapons, machinima, and awards - Reach is up for awards in 9 categories at the MI6 Game Marketing Conference Awards. Not bad! (Louis Wu 16:16:13 UTC) (permalink)

Tashi's Weekly Reach Montage Series - 03
NeoGAF's Tashi0106 has released his third weekly montage - great gameplay (especially when you consider that he's only using clips he collected in the past 7 days), great timing. Go watch. (Louis Wu 16:15:48 UTC) (permalink)

Emile Shot Glasses
Blaidd Drwg noticed a site that's selling custom shot glasses... gotta love the Emile one. (Louis Wu 16:14:57 UTC) (permalink)

Achievement HORSE 18
trappeddark1 dropped in with word that Episode 18 of the popular Achievement HORSE show is now up. As always, some beautiful successes, and even better failures. Give it a look! (GrimBrother One 05:50:32 UTC) (permalink)

Isaac has Tickets to the Gun Show
Black Six let us know that Isaac Hannaford has a new blog update. If you want to see some very cool big gun concept art, then clickey the linkey. Check it out! (GrimBrother One 05:45:16 UTC) (permalink)

News April 6 2011

A Beautiful Tragedy
Ooh, pretty. New pano from Croqueta. Me likey. (Louis Wu 20:56:36 UTC) (permalink)

The Grunt Failed
uberfoop wants to help you keep your grunts alive. To that end, he's put together a video of what NOT to do. This, too, is a farewell gift to HIH. (Louis Wu 20:35:55 UTC) (permalink)

Forerunner article at The Secrets Within
MaxRealflugel ties together information about the Forerunners from a variety of sources - go read his summary! (This contains Cryptum spoilers.) (Louis Wu 19:50:32 UTC) (permalink)

Two Grunts in a Battle
Sylar Stewart sent word of a discussion between a pair of grunts - is this how it would really go? Yeah, maybe. (Louis Wu 19:48:25 UTC) (permalink)

Comm Chatter Wednesday Roundup
Goodies from Bungie's Comm Chatter today:

• HaloCharts is kicking off a racing league - first event is in less than 3 weeks. Swing by for details and to sign up.
• Raaascal has Map Spotlight 18 shined on Jackal Creek, created by A 3 Legged Goat. Go read the interview, then grab the map!
• Stephen Chao created a Falcon out of LEGO bits - it's kickass. (Don't forget to check his other stuff - there's a whole folder full of Halo goodies.)

Diversity rocks! (Louis Wu 19:41:17 UTC) (permalink)

Waypoint says goodbye to HIH
Halo Waypoint put up their OWN tribute to High Impact Halo - a pair of videos, one each for Campaign and Multiplayer, touching on some of the highlights of the past 7 years. Go watch - and be happy that the Halo franchise is in the hands of folks who care this much about their community! (Louis Wu 19:00:01 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 1 Done Segmented - a Farewell to HIH
NOKYARD let us know that High Speed Halo has a parting gift for High impact Halo, as well - scurty and slYnki got together to create Halo 1 Done Segmented (a speedrun through the entire Halo 1 campaign, with an aggregate time of JUST under 117 minutes) - it's an amazing piece of work. You can leave comments on the freshly-minted High Speed Halo Forums - These guys show their love in a truly impressive way, and you can let them know how you feel, too! (Louis Wu 18:52:15 UTC) (permalink)

Snag that Scarab Gun... the definitive guide
Longtime HIH denizen Grumpy has two final vids compiling all the different ways to get the Halo 2 Scarab Gun in Outskirts and Metropolis. HIH Forum post on Outskirts is here, and Metropolis post is here. Enjoy his parting gift! (Louis Wu 18:43:40 UTC) (permalink)

PGCR: Episode 73, Team Classic, and a Contest
SK1LL4XED sent word that there's plenty of new Halo-related stuff up over at the Post Game Carnage Report - Episode 73 of their podcast is heavy on the Team Classic discussion, there's a separate Team Classic review, and they're running a Halo video contest with a deadline of May 21. Full details (and prize description) on their site! (Louis Wu 18:40:29 UTC) (permalink)

Make Tourneys Better, and Win Free Stuff
NeoGAF's Hitmonchan (who's gonna get hired if he keeps this up) pointed out a couple of news bits - an MLG video producer is looking for feedback to improve their live stream offerings, and Tor is giving away four Halo prize packs - you've got until tomorrow at 1pm (Eastern) to enter. (Louis Wu 18:35:36 UTC) (permalink)

Halo: Faith Pics Continue
Over at NeoGAF, Mikasangelos pointed out some new stills from Halo: Faith on their Facebook page - along with this first test composition from their vfx department. Gotta say... looks pretty good! (Louis Wu 18:32:50 UTC) (permalink)

The Art of Video Games - Voting Extended
Back in February, we mentioned The Art of Video Games, an exhibition coming next year to the Smithsonian Institution - Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo Wars are all up for voting. This is a reminder that the voting was SUPPOSED to have ended tomorrow - but has been extended through April 17. If you haven't cast your vote, register and do so in the next 10 days! (Louis Wu 15:35:29 UTC) (permalink)

The Time Has Come
Today is the last day that High Impact Halo will have new content; as planned, content will be frozen and the site will be archived here for posterity. Anakade stopped by with a farewell vid from DWT Productions. Glitchin' forever! (Louis Wu 14:29:34 UTC) (permalink)

Community BTB - Live
In case you didn't notice yesterday, the Community BTB playlist went live as planned - some great maps in there! In the games I played, Tank/Banshee domination was NOT a problem (as it is in standard BTB). Check 'em out. (The full list of maps can be seen on Bungie's Playlists page.) (Louis Wu 13:44:15 UTC) (permalink)

Planko - another minigame
shadow8p put together 'Planko', a Pachinko-type game built in the Halo engine. You can watch a video showing how it works; the download links are in the description. It's set up for team play, even! Has a couple of issues - but even so, it's pretty cool. (Louis Wu 13:40:26 UTC) (permalink)

To Be a Spartan
munky-058 posted a few video clips yesterday, as part of a farewell to the HBO community for the coming month (real life intrudes, apparently) - they're all fun, but it's the last one I'm calling attention to. In a quiet moment after the battle on the bridge of the Covenant Corvette on Long Night of Solace, Munky had a conversation with one of the marines. Most of us will never get the chance to hear this for ourselves; my guess is, you have to be on Legendary, and you have to keep that dude alive through this tough fight (and you probably have to have the IWHBYD skull on)... but it's a fascinating bit of discussion. Go watch. Update: kornman00 confirmed that this line can be heard elsewhere; he heard it while waiting for reinforcements on Winter Contingency. (The volume was really, really low - it was nowhere near as clean as munky's version - but you might be able to find other places where this is audible.) Update 2: And T07WRX5, too. I guess it's easier than I thought - but it's still pretty cool to hear! (Louis Wu 13:22:48 UTC) (permalink)

Turnabout Is Fair Play
A fan sent in an interesting article on Dorkly.com charting Villians who eventually became heroes. One of our favorite split-lips made the list. Go check it out! (GrimBrother One 12:56:28 UTC) (permalink)

News April 5 2011

Fan love, writ large
Halo Waypoint has a couple of cool bits for you today - a Legendary tattoo (that's an arm it's on), and some Halo goodies (a pistol and a mongoose) lovingly crafted in... Minecraft. Check 'em out! (Thanks, angel.) (Louis Wu 19:32:33 UTC) (permalink)

AotCR Bridge Descent: Shade Riding Variations
Rockslider stopped in with word of his newest AotCR video - Shade Riding off the bridge, in a LOT of variations. Is there anyone who's spent more time on that bridge than Rockslider? I doubt it. (Louis Wu 19:28:26 UTC) (permalink)

Sunlight
Bungie.net's got word of a Halo: Reach montage from ASiKK - a lot of work went into the syncing. Heavy on the sniping, heavy on the multikills. Go watch! (Louis Wu 17:29:14 UTC) (permalink)

Wait, A Sock Puppet?
Check out the latest in CruelLEGACEY Productions' new Community Spotlight series, focusing on Fear for Your Underwear Productions. It makes sense, I promise. Kinda. Go read! (GrimBrother One 15:34:53 UTC) (permalink)

More Halo: Faith Pics (and a new cast member)
wwm0nkey noticed an article at DeviceMAG, with new pics from the Halo: Faith shoot last weekend. Cool stuff! Update: wow, in a surprising bit of news, Steve Downes (the voice of Master Chief) has joined the cast of Halo: Faith! Thanks, padraig08. Update 2: Looks like the Facebook post has been taken down. I guess it's not official. :) (Louis Wu 15:08:29 UTC) (permalink)

Alone Teaser
Jimbothy stopped by with word of a teaser for 'Alone', a new machinima series coming from Finitum Productions - definitely takes some inspiration from ODST's early stuff, and looks pretty exciting! Looking forward to more. (Louis Wu 15:06:33 UTC) (permalink)

The Mark V Brigade
Shotgunchief and her buddies started with similar helmets. They're something more, now... (Louis Wu 15:05:34 UTC) (permalink)

Tyrant's Halo 3: ODST Legendary Walkthrough - Promo
Daniel 'The Tyrant' Morris has gone back to New Mombasa - the promo video for his Legendary walkthrough of Halo 3: ODST is now online. It's an interview with the man himself, and should give you an idea of what to expect in the coming weeks! Go watch. (Louis Wu 15:04:16 UTC) (permalink)

Blood Gulch: Evolved
ShawtyHullstineFilms did a little run-through of the three flavors of Blood Gulch: the original, from the first Halo, then Coagulation, from Halo 2, and finally Hemorrhage, from Halo: Reach. The evolution of a classic! (Louis Wu 15:03:28 UTC) (permalink)

Halo: The Cards
AceForge pointed out a set of Halo: Reach cards created by DeviantART's Shadowbeast-638 - nice work! (Louis Wu 15:02:36 UTC) (permalink)

Operation Chastity Belting Out More Photos
The Operation Chastity team updated their photo collection from the set of their teaser shoot. Great stuff in there, really looking forward to this. Go and check it out! (GrimBrother One 12:28:45 UTC) (permalink)

Gamepro's Top 32
Halo fan Dogiojoe let us know about a Gamepro article discussing their take on the Top 32 Xbox 360 games. Halo Reach made a very respectable podium spot, though I can't say I agree with almost any of their other placements. At any rate, it's an interesting read, go and give it a look! (GrimBrother One 12:22:08 UTC) (permalink)

News April 4 2011

Delivering Toys and Hope
NeoGAF's Hitmonchan found a couple of cool news tidbits - the next batch of McFarlane Halo Reach figures has been announced, and Scott Metzger, VFX artist on the "Deliver Hope" video, talked to Chaos Group about the project. Good stuff! (Louis Wu 19:11:27 UTC) (permalink)

Bungie All-Stars: Week 13
Annnnd... it's time for another shot at a Star nameplate. Bungie's All-Stars Contest is up to Week 13 - and this time around, they're looking for cool Campaign screenshots. Go read all the rules at B.net! (Louis Wu 17:51:31 UTC) (permalink)

All the Gold
If you like sniping, Bungie's Comm Chatter has a sniping video for you - All the Gold is some MLG action from Chimp. Go watch. (Louis Wu 17:49:38 UTC) (permalink)

Forge Lesson 46: Active Engagement
GodlyPerfection's back with another Forge Lesson - this entry discusses 'Active Engagement', the art of keeping your players involved. Go check it out! (Louis Wu 15:26:50 UTC) (permalink)

Turning the Tables
TTL Demag0gue has let us know that he's released the next episode of Reclaimer - things don't go well for Viper. (Louis Wu 15:24:56 UTC) (permalink)

Stag Night
MrWezzle pointed out that Arby 'n' the Chief Season 5 Episode 11 was released this weekend - Stag Night details the events leading up to the big wedding. Arbiter asks Greg for a little help... and some events occur that might cause problems down the road. Almost 20 minutes long - these are getting huge! (Louis Wu 14:53:09 UTC) (permalink)

Hedge sez: ODST Rocks
Hedgemony turned his pano skills to Halo 3: ODST... check out a couple of really amazing images. (Louis Wu 14:40:05 UTC) (permalink)

The Saga Continues
DeepCee let us know that he's updated ODS Steve - Episode 84 picks up where the story left off back in September. Steve might have a solution to the giant bomb... (Louis Wu 14:39:46 UTC) (permalink)

Looking back at Glorious Fun
The Memory Lane series on Halo Waypoint has been moved to the website (they were originally published on Xbox LIVE) - it contains videos looking back over some of the finest maps in the Halo 2 stable. Swing by and watch videos showing why Lockout, Headlong, Terminal, Sanctuary, and Ivory Tower will live on in Halo fans' memories long after the game itself has been shelved. (Louis Wu 14:28:34 UTC) (permalink)

Taken By Levi
Leviathan dropped by our forum with a megaton art post showing off more of his Cryptum concept art, as well as a few other Haloodles he drew up. Simply awesome... GO LOOK! (GrimBrother One 04:46:45 UTC) (permalink)

Operation Chastity Teasery
The awesome folks over at Operation Chastity wanted to show off some great shots from their recent teaser shoot. Great stuff. Can't WAIT to see all of this come to fruition! (GrimBrother One 04:43:47 UTC) (permalink)

News April 3 2011

Go Halo Go
wheeler actually meant to let us know about THIS video - this one has nothing to do with Think Geek, but it's pretty funny! (I think, however, if this came on the kids channel, I might have to turn it off.) (Louis Wu 22:58:21 UTC) (permalink)

Classic Customs 4 - a Tribute
Schooly D put together a montage of last night's Classic Customs action in a style reminiscent of the awesome Team Scoog videos from Halo 3. There should be more montages like this. (They're more about the glory of the action than they are about the individual accomplishment.) Go watch. And next week, when he posts an announcement about the next round, sign up. (Louis Wu 22:12:20 UTC) (permalink)

Slot Cars... without the slot
wheeler pointed out a new video from Think Geek, showing off a pretty amazing little product. Master Chief makes an appearance, making this HBO-relevant... but dang, I'm considering buying this product because it's just SO COOL. (Louis Wu 22:06:01 UTC) (permalink)

Domino's Grab Bag Giveaways, Round 16 - Winner
Congratulations to SaekaSA, who won Domino's HBO Grab Bag Giveaway. His choice of prize was the Noble Map Pack - so he'll be playing some Tempest soon, thanks to Domino Theory! Awesome stuff. (I'm not sure if I've made it clear, but Domino rocks.) (Louis Wu 22:01:59 UTC) (permalink)

On the set of Halo: Faith
If you check Halo: Faith's Twitter feed, you'll find some interesting photos - props, costumes (1 | 2 | 3 | 4), and more. Check it out! (Filming should wrap up today.) Thanks to Hitmonchan for the reminder. (Louis Wu 18:47:00 UTC) (permalink)

Signage Update
Stephen Loftus continues to document the signage of the Halo universe - his Halo Signs collection grew by 16 this morning. I'm working on a solution for finding new content - but check the end of the Civilian, Covenant, and UNSC sections for the latest goodies! (The Jiralhanae logo is really cool!) (Louis Wu 17:32:55 UTC) (permalink)

Halo imagery - in an odd place
Okay, I'm all for finding Halo symbology in other places... but this is just... weird. Ufochaser42 found a Forerunner symbol in the Fox animated show Bob's Burgers... in a place you don't normally find symbols. (Louis Wu 17:31:47 UTC) (permalink)

Bam! Bam!
It's official - Hedgemony can make ANYONE look good. (Louis Wu 17:30:22 UTC) (permalink)

They're moving in herds!
Asian Inferno created a Halo-based machinima to enter a Jurassic Park contest - and it's pretty cool! Check it out. (Louis Wu 17:26:22 UTC) (permalink)

News April 2 2011

Chess on the Beach - and in SPACE
FyreWulff has been exploring the boundaries of the Halo Chess gametype baked into Halo (and revealed yesterday in the April Fool's Fails of the Weak episode) - he discovered that in addition to Forge World maps, you can play chess on both Tempest... and on Anchor 9. Awesome! (Louis Wu 20:26:15 UTC) (permalink)

HT wants to buy your following
Spencermx14 sent word that HaloTracks is having a Twitter follower drive for April; follow them before April 30, you're in the running for a copy of Alan Wake for the 360. (Louis Wu 20:22:46 UTC) (permalink)

Immortalized
The powerful Halo 3 tracks "Finish the Fight" and "Never Forget" have been remixed by Sole Signal into a piece called 'Immortalized'... I love it. Stop by OverClocked ReMix to grab a copy. (Louis Wu 18:13:32 UTC) (permalink)

More Halo Sculpts
Lance Rutledge sent along another batch of Halo sculpts - we've added them to his gallery page here. He let us know he's got a Facebook page devoted to these little guys, as well - check it out! (Louis Wu 18:04:45 UTC) (permalink)

Halo: Reach - Death
Over at NeoGAF, Hitmonchan found a music video, created by spar7acvs, which does a pretty neat job of matching Halo Reach cutscene video to the lyrics in a song by White Lies. Give it a watch! (Louis Wu 16:36:04 UTC) (permalink)

Um... doesn't it have a top speed of 50mph?
Heh - fun. Apparently, a Forza 4 internal video leaked yesterday (it's in a lot of places - here's one), and about 1:10 into the video, logos of car companies whose products are in the game are shown in rapid succession. Included in this series is Asklon - the company behind Halo's Warthog. (They've made other vehicles, which is good - since the Warthog is not built for speed.) Thanks too Jayshum for pointing out the thread on a Forza forum. (Louis Wu 16:28:32 UTC) (permalink)

The Adventures of Koko Bear Chapter 1
kokobear (who used to upload here as Jamie98s) is back with 'The Adventures of Koko Bear Chapter 1', a very different sort of Halo machinima. In fact, Halo doesn't even make an appearance until three minutes into the video. (World of Warcraft's model viewer helps out at the start.) I'm pretty sure hallucinogens were involved in the writing of this machinima - but the end result is oddly compelling. Will Koko survive his meeting with the Watermelon King? You'll have to watch the next chapter to find out! (Louis Wu 16:01:26 UTC) (permalink)

Elegance
RVideo dropped in with word of an new community montage from Chaos Productions - it's definitely different from your run-of-the-mill montage. You'll have to watch it for yourself to see if that's good or bad; it's more about the editing than the gameplay, and for some people that's what pushes the envelope on montages, and for others it's what ruins them. There's no arguing that it's well-done, though - great blending of sound and action, great camera angles. Check it out for yourself! (Louis Wu 16:00:57 UTC) (permalink)

Fan-Driven Movie Rolls Film Today
Mr.Sci-Fi pointed out that the Halo Faith team has confirmed (via Twitter) that they're filming today. Looking forward to what comes out! (Louis Wu 16:00:40 UTC) (permalink)

Bzzt! Done!
A few weeks ago, we pointed out an odd series of posts on our forum - an ARG, of sorts, had kicked off. When it got bigger than our main forum could handle, it moved over to args.bungie.org. Yesterday, Arithmomaniac came by to inform us, regretfully, that the game had wrapped up - sounds like participants really enjoyed themselves! (Yes, this was fan-driven and fan-created. So the folks who were only interested in participating if this were 'official', from 343 or a similar group, did the right thing by staying on the sidelines. Those who played, though, seemed to feel that the lack of 'officialness' did nothing to hurt the actual game.) Hopefully we'll see a post-mortem down the line, but for now, all of the content is available in our ARG forum! (A sincere thank-you to Dagoonite for setting this puppy up in the first place, and pretty much forgoing sleep for the last month.) (Louis Wu 15:59:56 UTC) (permalink)

Spartan Warrior Continues
itsmyyard stopped in with word of Spartan Warrior, his gameshow where contestants run an obstacle course and are ridiculed for mistakes, but winners have a shot at a Kinect. Highlights from Tournament 2 are live, and signups for Tournament 3 are available. (75 people ran the course in Tournament 2. Nobody won.) (Louis Wu 15:59:29 UTC) (permalink)

Frostbite Chapter 3
AlphaGamma let us know that Chapter 3 of his Frostbite series is now live. Some neat cinematography, go and give it a look! (GrimBrother One 13:52:13 UTC) (permalink)

BWU Brings the Love to your Desktop
If your desktop background has been feeling ignored lately, or maybe it's simply gotten a little stale, the Bungie Weekly Update will have your problem solved for the immediate future. Some simply incredible pieces of art from the Halo community in there. Bookended by some Jeff Steitzer epicness and a funny Blame Stosh, this BWU is a fine entry in a grand tradition. (As always, you can also read it in our Weekly Update Archive.) (GrimBrother One 00:44:54 UTC) (permalink)

News April 1 2011

Fails of the Weak Vol. 28
Achievement Hunter has posted Fails of the Weak Volume 28 - and yes, they DID take advantage of the calendar with this release. And that's all I'm gonna say about that. Thanks, munky-058. Update: Well, okay, not all. Go here, then here. Download both. Open in Forge. Enjoy. (Louis Wu 22:29:36 UTC) (permalink)

Fire Team Zulu: Never Tell Me The Odds
FyreWulff let us know that Fire Team Zulu has a new challenge for you - Never Tell Me The Odds is a skull-filled run through Long Night of Solace, with access to human weapons only. Valid submissions will be entered into a drawing for a Defiant Map Pack code - so what are you waiting for? (There's a time limit on the run, to keep folks from milking those infinite enemies...) (Louis Wu 17:27:26 UTC) (permalink)

I am so awesome.
The crew at HaloCharts has always had your back when it comes to keeping track of your stats - but what if your stats aren't what you want them to be? Never fear, they STILL have your back. Try out the new Halo Reach Player Improvenator - guaranteed to make you a better player in seconds! (Well, on paper, anyway.) Thanks, urk. (Louis Wu 16:51:34 UTC) (permalink)

M.O'D.B.
We've always put up a new subsite when a new Bungie game is announced... but I have to say, I'm a little nervous about the idea of a 'pimpsville.bungie.org'. Maybe I'll get used to it... (Louis Wu 15:30:14 UTC) (permalink)

Romeo: One Shot (Teaser)
Yeah, it's April 1st, but this is totally real. And I can't wait until he finishes it. (Louis Wu 15:08:24 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Dance Central
1Up got an early look at Halo Dance Central, an upcoming Kinect game. Armor lock, NAO! (Thanks, Dani.) (Louis Wu 15:04:14 UTC) (permalink)

Pew Pew Pew
Burnie found this pretty cool Red vs Blue Revelation Chapter 20 Fight Secene, in stop motion. For all the violence, it's adorable! (Louis Wu 14:42:59 UTC) (permalink)

The Backbone of the UNSC Beast
MaxRealflugel takes a long hard look at the undersung heroes of the UNSC campaign - the Marines. Hoo-rah! (Louis Wu 14:34:26 UTC) (permalink)

Mister Chief: A Retrospective
If you're one of those people who gets a blank look on their face when they hear the phrase "Mister Chief" - you NEED to stop by Halo Waypoint today. NEED to. (Louis Wu 14:03:18 UTC) (permalink)

Friday's Fan Fiction
Five new pieces are up this week in the Fan Fiction section - busy week! Go read. (Louis Wu 14:02:32 UTC) (permalink)

Smashball - it's all about the club, baby
Looks like it's curtains for Grifball... swing by Grifballhub.com (soon to be Smashballhub.com) for details on Smashball, the greatest "online-sport-inside-a-first-person-shooter" ever. (Louis Wu 13:49:12 UTC) (permalink)

Muahaha
I really have to work on my evil laugh. (Louis Wu 13:41:54 UTC) (permalink)

This is Major League Gaming
Kotaku Australia has a look back at MLG's rise to prominence, including reminiscences of top players. Check it out! (Louis Wu 13:37:21 UTC) (permalink)

Panning Frenzy
nomis78 stopped by last night with links to 10 new panoramas - some really cool stuff in there! Go look. (Louis Wu 13:34:05 UTC) (permalink)

April 2011

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