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 | December 2005 |  |
December 2005 Archived News
News December 31 2005
Stop Drinking The Laundry Detergent.
Over at Red vs Blue, their annual New Year's video has been posted for sponsors - should be up for everyone later today. (I'd guess before midnight, Central time... but hey, I've been wrong before.) Made me laugh - though I don't think it encouraged any actual resolution-keeping... Go watch! (Thanks, SaBoT.) (Louis Wu 20:36:37 UTC) (permalink)
Old images, revisited
Interesting. Slith points out a 'Covenant Mystery Ship' from the bridge screens on the Pillar of Autumn; there are representations of two types of Covenant vessel, and one looks similar to the CCS-class cruiser (the Truth and Reconciliation is of this class). The other is... squatter. The T&R-style ship can be seen in this in-game screenshot (I couldn't actually find it on a cutscene), and the 'mystery' ship is nicely represented on this high-res screen released by Bungie several years ago. Looks sort of like a Halo 2 boarding craft to me... what do you think? (Louis Wu 14:18:52 UTC) (permalink)
One Hundred Percent Unexpected
Pinkuh has updated her Lost the Lead comic - and this one is Halo-related! YAY! (There's no way to link directly to the comic page... this link will get you there, until she posts another one, and then it won't any more. But if you're visiting after this post went live, you're looking for the 12-30-05 strip.) Great artwork - but hey, that's to be expected. (Louis Wu 13:38:30 UTC) (permalink)
Money for Montages (and chicks for free)
Eep - I meant to post this yesterday, but it got lost in the pre-New Years Eve-planning. Z, over at halo2forum.com, announced a new montage contest a couple of days ago - and this one has what none have had before: cash prizes for the winners. There's a thousand dollars on the line; at least half of that, and maybe more, will go to the first-place winner, thanks to a sponsor... so if you're into making Halo 2 montages, you might wanna go check out the h2f thread. The submission deadline is several months off, so you've got time to collect good gameplay clips. (Louis Wu 13:31:49 UTC) (permalink)
Tommy Boy
Late last night, a new comedy passed the Movie Peer Review Rating System (submissions are WAY off, so we haven't been hosting a lot of films - are people just not making them any more?) - it's a re-enactment of a Chris Farley bit from the movie Tommy Boy. You can grab a copy in either WMP9 format (17 mb) or QuickTime (17.4 mb). This is not the same Halo content as the Tommy Boy clip that has been circulating the internet since early November (you can find a copy of that here, for example) - but it is the same clip from the movie itself. (Louis Wu 13:22:49 UTC) (permalink)
BMAC's Montage Trailer
BiGmAc2121 has a new montage coming out soon - the trailer for it was edited by MikeMan27, and can be found on Halo2Forum.com. 19 mb, WMP9 format. Short, sweet, action-packed. What more do you want? (Louis Wu 13:06:15 UTC) (permalink)
Northeast Tourneys
A couple of tournaments were announced on our forum yesterday - there's a 2v2/4v4 Halo 2 event in Pittsburgh, PA, on Sunday January 8 (forum post was here, with a tourney flyer here), and a Halo 1 event in Groton, CT, on Saturday January 7, with details in this post. Next weekend looks to be busy in the Northeast!
News December 30 2005
Def And Dumb.
If you don't like puns, don't read today's One One Se7en. (Then again, if you don't like puns, you've had 418 chances before today (not counting Sunday, Holiday, Guest, or Archive strips) to learn that lesson... so you do what you need to do.) (Louis Wu 16:07:39 UTC) (permalink)
Friday Fanfic
Well... it's the second week of experimentation with the submission process for the Halo Fan Fiction section, and clearly a number of submitters haven't bothered to glance at the submission guidelines. Several stories were rejected for lack of basic formatting for readability - if you want to ensure that your story is archived here, you need to at least read the rules. That said - there were STILL 22 pieces that got added this week - go read! (Louis Wu 16:02:47 UTC) (permalink)
Limitations of the medium
GU Comics incorporated Halo Zero in a strip a couple of days ago - it's pretty funny. Thanks, Ross. (Louis Wu 15:27:13 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Stats on your Google Homepage
oil has created a module for Google's personal homepage - you can read about it, see screenshots, and find install links in this forum post. Nice! (Louis Wu 15:21:29 UTC) (permalink)
It's The Thought That Counts
This week's VG Cats comic was posted a few days late - but it's got a Halo mention, so we'll let him go. Looks like Echoes was first with the heads-up on our forum. (Louis Wu 14:58:08 UTC) (permalink)
4v4 tourney in Ohio
You know the holiday stuff is getting to you when you start missing stuff. Scooter, from Game Junkie, posted a note on our forum yesterday about an upcoming tourney at his store in West Chester, OH, on January 21. $100/team to get in (this goes up a couple of days before the event), minimum of $800 in cash and prizes. There's a web page with more info. (Louis Wu 14:51:39 UTC) (permalink)
A Tense Countdown
What makes this week's Halo Babies comic so funny is how appropriate it is... for both the BABIES... and for forumgoers everywhere. (What does that tell you about forumgoers?) Go read! (Louis Wu 14:48:41 UTC) (permalink)
News December 29 2005
And even more art.
There were three images that had been included in Jilly's fanfic last week that did NOT get included in the Misc Art update this morning - and that's because Theo Prins has his own gallery page here at HBO. We've added those three images there - and the more I look at his work, the more I'm astounded by how much depth he can create with just a few strokes. If you haven't seen these... look now. (Louis Wu 17:32:57 UTC) (permalink)
Misc Art Goodies
As penance for letting the Wallpaper queue get so out of hand recently, I've cleared out the Miscellaneous Art queue, as well. You'll find the images that were included in Jillybean's Christmas Fan Fiction last week, as well as dozens of others - HrtBrkr, GT Gundam, Dillo, and Kristina Smith all have multiple entries, and there are a number of other impressive pieces. Go browse! (Louis Wu 16:34:30 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 top with teens
The Contra Costa Times put up a series of top 5 lists for teens for 2005 - and Halo 2 is the top choice on the 'Top 5 Video Games' list. Now that's too legit to quit. (Louis Wu 14:36:01 UTC) (permalink)
New montage vids at H2F
Word from Z, over at Halo2Forum.com, is that there are a couple of pretty snazzy vids to download over there. There's a trailer for an upcoming vid being made by three of the top 5 finishers in the montage contest that just ended there - nice frenzied action. (24 mb.) And there's Indica Haz3's first montage, heavy on the effects, but nice kill choices. (126 mb) Go grab 'em! (Louis Wu 13:57:30 UTC) (permalink)
Halogen Update
It's been about five months since we mentioned the Halogen project - a Halo total conversion for C&C Generals. Patrick Dalire sent us a note to go look - and I gotta say, it's looking pretty impressive these days! You have to go through the news posts one at a time to see new renders and screenshots - but it's worth it, there are some amazing ones. Here's hoping they turn on the sections of the site that would let you browse through all the units in one place! (Louis Wu 13:46:30 UTC) (permalink)
News December 28 2005
Cashing In
Gamasutra is running a feature where every day they post the top three games of 2005 from a different reader (most of which are members of the game development community). Today's picks come from Large Animal Games' Coray Seifert - and his number one choice was the Halo 2 Expansion Pack. (I found it interesting that his second choice was the GTA Hot Coffee minigame... but that's neither here nor there). We'll keep an eye on the feature, and if Halo shows up in other lists, we'll let you know! (Louis Wu 16:59:11 UTC) (permalink)
Whole Lotta Nicole.
A couple of weeks ago, Bungie posted a story about Nicole, the Spartan in the upcoming DOA4. In it, some of her statistics were mentioned. Apparently, according to today's One One Se7en... that got the interest of some specific people. (Louis Wu 13:36:17 UTC) (permalink)
Stubbs Contest Update
DOH! I missed the end of the contest - but better late than never, right? A couple of weeks ago, we mentioned a contest at Polymallet.com, home of Christ Hughes, who worked for Bungie and then Wideload. A couple of days ago, The Battle Cat, over at Wideloadgames dot org, announced that a winner had surfaced - and explained what was found, and what it meant. Congrats, Edward Duff! (While you're there, follow the link in the second news post to the Stubbs the Zombie video holiday card at Animation Farm - it's pretty funny!) (Louis Wu 13:32:28 UTC) (permalink)
News December 27 2005
At long last, ART!
Okay, it's true. I suck. I promised a month ago that the Wallpaper queue would be cleared out in a few days. I guess 'later this week' really means 'a month from now'... because the queue is cleared, and there are 28 new entries in the Wallpaper section (39 if you count variants). Sorry about that - but go look now, cause there's some good stuff in there! (Louis Wu 21:35:02 UTC) (permalink)
Dawn of War Halo mod
Looks like there's a team beginning to put a Halo mod together for Dawn of War - it's called Halo: Retreat and Retaliation. Information and early pics can be found at Mod DB. Thanks, MuffinMan. (Louis Wu 21:32:18 UTC) (permalink)
MC Armor for Sale
devildeggs has a fuill suit of Nightmare Armor that he no longer has room for, and is interesting in selling. He's in the process of repainting it (high-quality automotive paint), but if you are interested in this, contact info (and photos) can be found in his forum post. (Louis Wu 15:51:19 UTC) (permalink)
The Biggest Halo FFA... Ever.
Dyslexia wrote up a powerful 2-page narrative covering the 550-person FFA that started off MLG Chicago - it makes me wish I had a computer that could access VoD, so that I could WATCH these matches. Give it a read... and if you're on a Windows PC, sign up for VoD and see how they do it. Awesome stuff! Thanks once again to 3Suns. (Louis Wu 15:43:58 UTC) (permalink)
Stubbs... do you love it or hate it?
Competing reviews... Eurogamer reviewed Stubbs The Zombie, and concluded that even though it uses the Halo engine (which they love), and the premise is strong, and the potential high... they just weren't having fun playing it, and gave it a 4/10. On the other side of the coin, Gamegal.com decided it was awesome, and gave it a 9/10. They even put up a GameGal's Real Girl Gift Guide for 2005... and all three staffers had Stubbs on their lists. So there you have it - Stubbs is either a blast... or a dud. Thanks to 3Suns for finding the info. (Louis Wu 15:22:09 UTC) (permalink)
News December 26 2005
Stay Warm.
Hanchen Lu and 3Suns both pointed out a Halo 2-themed blanket at Josh Smith Online. Perfect for snuggling... or blowing people up! (Louis Wu 20:02:46 UTC) (permalink)
Stick a fork in 'im...
Mintz points out that there's quite a bit of new PSP-friendly content on Halo: Portable - and that this will be the last update of the year. Music, articles, videos, artwork, fanfic - it's all there! (Louis Wu 20:00:13 UTC) (permalink)
Could Well Earn Me The Ban Hammer.
Stuntmutt takes a crack at Frankie in today's One One Se7en. It might be missing a little off the top... (Louis Wu 14:16:30 UTC) (permalink)
Pro Gameplay at H2F
Over at Halo2Forum.com, you'll find a couple of great gameplay vids - Exit Woundz playing TmG and Exit Wounds vs Legendz (plus Fonzi and Ms Hotshy). Snipers on Sanctuary (both of them)... great to see how pros use cover. The first vid is 92 mb, the second 134 - both are WMP9 format. Go watch! (Louis Wu 13:01:14 UTC) (permalink)
DropShock Episode 08
DropShockRadio has posted their suicideXmas edition - in their words, 'girls get added to the "List" and some Plasma Punchout know-how.' Just under an hour, 27 mb - go grab a copy! (Louis Wu 12:35:49 UTC) (permalink)
PTG - one year old!
LordGideon wrote recently to point out that PraetoriaGuard had their first birthday on Saturday - and in celebration, they've released Episode 5, a celebration of that birthday, a sad farewell to Skvwire, and a an overall reminiscence of the past year in the Guard. 113 mb, in WMP9 format... go by, grab a copy, and wish 'em a happy birthday! (Louis Wu 12:26:24 UTC) (permalink)
This Spartan Life Webisodes on SpikeTV
Chris Burke, of This Spartan Life, let us know that some special films they'd made for SpikeTV have been put online. (They were originally created as support for Spike's Videogame Awards show that aired 2 weeks ago, but there were some unavoidable delays - they're just going up now.) To see them, visit the SpikeTV VGA site, and follow the VGA TV link. At the moment, I can see three of them - an interview with Jeph Howard of The Used, an interview with Curt Vendel, of the Atari Museum, and an interview with Geoff Keighley, the host of Spike TV's Gamehead. They're great interviews, interspersed with life in the Halo universe. More might be coming online (there were 6 originally), so keep your eyes peeled! (Louis Wu 12:09:11 UTC) (permalink)
Flame War: Faith, Hope, and Duality
Sponsors vs Freeloaders has released Episode 9 of their Flame War series - this one is titled 'Faith, Hope, and Duality'. The disparate storylines get more disparate - instead of a single cliffhanger at the end of this one, there are several. As usual, great filming, great voicework - a really nice piece. This episode is 10:20 long, and weighs in at about 70 mb for the large version, 20-40 mb for the smaller one. SvF is serving a Hi-res WMP9, as well as low-res WMP9 and QuickTime versions. We're mirroring the hi-res WMP9 (70 mb) as well as offering a hi-res QuickTime (68 mb). Grab the one that fits your bandwidth budget and viewing style! Thanks to Laird, on our forum, and Yaksha, via email, for letting us know. (Louis Wu 11:57:13 UTC) (permalink)
Jump Tactics Mix 2
Derik Olsson stopped by our forum to point out Jump Tactics Mix 2, a
new video release from the Jump Tactics team - awesome jumps, fantastic filming. If you like Jumping vids, you HAVE to see this one. Download links (AVI,DivX, and WMP9 formats, with QuickTime coming) can be found in this thread on the Jump Tactics forum. (Louis Wu 11:47:35 UTC) (permalink)
HBO-themed clan forum skin
c0ld vengeance slaved away on Christmas day in order to release a new skin for the ClanHBO forum - he did an awesome job matching the look of HBO. Swing by, edit your profile, and choose the 'HBO' Board Style to see it. w00t! (Louis Wu 11:39:14 UTC) (permalink)
Christmas Wrapup
Whew! Christmas was a day spent with family and friends, away from electronics of all sorts. (Yes, a number of electronic devices appeared under our tree... but their use was put off until today.) That didn't stop Halo fans from around the net from celebrating, though - so we've got a lot of catching up to do! Halo Babies put up a fantastic Christmas wish image, created by HB forum member Etoli. It's still on their front page - go see it. (Once it slips off, you can find it at this URL.) KillR pointed out that his Beyond Halo has a holiday greeting from the Great White North. Stephen Loftus turned his Pillar of Autumn model into a Halo-themed Christmas tree. Both Dillo and Darkneshasfallen posted Christmas-themed images on our forum. And da zing man created a great little 3D animation over at Newgrounds, entitled 'A Very Covenant Christmas'. I'm sure there are more examples around the Haloverse... but that should do for now! Update: There was a great Christmas wish from Amanda, of 7Pandas - I almost missed it. Their QuickTime version is noticeably degraded when compared to their WMP9 version - so I've whipped up another version. QuickTime users aren't second-class! (We're mirroring the WMP9, too.) (Louis Wu 11:31:12 UTC) (permalink)
News December 25 2005
It's that time again...
Once again, we here at HBO have snagged an older Bungie Christmas image - they do the drawing stuff better than we do. And once again, we here would like to wish you, there, peace and love during this holiday season. Pax.
And finally, in keeping with a long-standing (two-year) tradition, we'd like to present you another special Christmas wish from Stuntmutt.
We'll be back updating on Monday, the 26th.
News December 24 2005
Happy Halodays!
We got a very nice holiday wish from Boxer last night - and with that, I think we'll call it a day. Enjoy your Christmas weekend... we'll be back updating on the 26th! (There'll likely be a Christmas post that goes up tonight at midnight, UTC... but there won't be any more news. Time to go spend time with family!) (Louis Wu 14:36:36 UTC) (permalink)
The FireDragular Christmas Map Pack
FireDragon04 points out a thread over at the Gearbox forums, announcing a map pack he's released for HaloCE. Swing by, check out the screenshots,a nd download The FireDragular Christmas Map Pack! (Louis Wu 14:31:00 UTC) (permalink)
Looks like false advertising to me...
In the spirit of silly things done by retail stores to get your business, Pat Hillman took a cameraphone snapshot of a box he saw in his local FYE. This, to me, seems to be going just a bit too far... (Louis Wu 14:27:08 UTC) (permalink)
GTR talks to Team3D
Gamertag Radio has put up their last audio for 2005 - their 33rd podcast contains an interview with Team3D. Go grab it! (Louis Wu 14:23:50 UTC) (permalink)
Chicago Pics, Killer N Interview
MLG has put up a photo gallery for their Chicago blowout - nice stuff! There's also a spotlight on Killer N, the Player of the Week this week. Thanks (and Christmas wishes back to) 3Suns. (Louis Wu 14:20:58 UTC) (permalink)
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Over at Halo Babies, there's a truly bizarre illustrated version of 'The Night Before Christmas' - a lot of artists got in on the act. It's not the story I remember... but it's unique, that's for sure! Thanks, mrsmiley. (Louis Wu 14:17:24 UTC) (permalink)
News December 23 2005
The Squadron 14 - Poxy41
The Squadron Ep 14 has been released - you can grab the WMP9 version (20 mb) on Broken Console's site, or the QuickTime (22 mb) from us. I can't tell you much about it - I'm on my way out the door - but based on past episodes, it's likely worth the download! (Louis Wu 19:31:54 UTC) (permalink)
The Kiss Off.
You'd think on Christmas, Cortana would show a little more love for the common Spartan... poor One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 14:54:04 UTC) (permalink)
Weekly Fiction Update
We tried a week between Fan Fiction updates (by request of the FF community), and it doesn't seem like such a bad idea; 16 new entries this week. If the numbers rise to something intolerable, we'll consider ways to decrease it... but for now, this seems to be working! Go read. (Louis Wu 14:51:29 UTC) (permalink)
That stupid sign... again.
Bah. Sometimes the big sites are just... clueless. Back in early November, we posted a note about a poster that a local FYE in Arlington, VA had put up, touting Halo 3 (which, you might remember, hasn't been announced yet). The forum thread generated by that picture shows how the image is a poorly-done photoshop job, and NOT something a real Halo 3 campaign would use. Since then, we've had many reports on our forum of that sign showing up in other stores around the US. Well, today, it FINALLY got noticed by bigger sites (whee, only two months late!) - Spong suggests that the poster means that Halo 3 should be on sale soon (thanks, Marc Friedrichs), and ItPlays.net says the sign is proof that retailers are capitalizing on the almost-certain release of Halo 3 in 2006 (thanks, Mike Moore). Folks - while it's definitely true that some retailers are trying to make an early buck on what is probably the most eagerly-awaited Xbox360 title out there... the fact that someone hacked together a sign so they could do this does NOT say anything at all about the game - when it's coming, IF it's coming... anything. (And the only reason this is news is because the big boys are willing to take stuff like this at face value.) (Louis Wu 13:39:11 UTC) (permalink)
MCD - a hit
In its first day online, the HBO Halo Movie Cynics Database garnered 150 new entries (with 10 still in the queue to be processed) - and Cybrfrk has added filtering and searching to the interface, making it easier to pore through the results. If you dig carefully, you might even find entries by names you recognize... go browse, contribute, and HOPE that the folks doing the rewriting have enough sense to stay away from most of these ideas! (Louis Wu 13:23:56 UTC) (permalink)
Christmas Wraith
Gruntsbane has a Christmas strip for you up at Halo Babies - and it's Episode 117! How fitting. Go read! (Louis Wu 13:13:40 UTC) (permalink)
Podtacular Ep 41 - End of the Year
Podtacular has released its final episode for 2005 - you can grab Ep 41, Customs and Call-ins, from their site. Thanks, HaloPlanet. (Louis Wu 13:12:13 UTC) (permalink)
I don't think that's what they meant.
DoT_Gunslinger points out that today's User Friendly is Halo-related again... you gotta watch out when loved ones warn you like that. (Louis Wu 13:10:13 UTC) (permalink)
Name that tune!
Ever had someone whistle a snatch of the Gilligan's Island theme, and then be stuck with it in your head for the rest of the day? (Oops... sorry.) Yesterday, R-T3 wondered if anyone knew the tune that was used in the background of the Halo Demo Promo, released in mid-2002... and Marty O'Donnell himself chimed in with the following challenge:
A reward from me for anyone who correctly identifies it.
There've been a lot of guesses since then - but none have been very close. Captain Spark released just the audio from the trailer (to save you the 5 mb download), as well as a version with the speaking scrubbed out - you can find both in this post. (I doubt this will cause him bandwidth problems, but we'll mirror the files if he runs out of space.) Can you identify that tune? (Louis Wu 12:11:17 UTC) (permalink)
News December 22 2005
Taking it all more seriously
F13ND sat down with Saiyan, of Team3D, to discuss the team's performance at the MLG Chicago tournament recently. You can read the result on Team3D's website. (Louis Wu 17:30:25 UTC) (permalink)
The Editing Process
In what has to be one of the more amazingly coincindental bits of timing this week, Chairleg Productions has released a new movie entitled 'The Editing Process' today - you can download WMP9, QT7, and PSP versions from their downloads page. This video focuses on the making of the Halo movie... and if it wasn't for the fact that it actually takes TIME to make a movie like this, I'd swear they used our brand-new Halo Movie Cynics database for its content. It's brilliant - and I don't just say that because I'm in it (sort of). Go watch - and if bandwidth gets tight, we're happy to put up mirrors... this is funny stuff! Update: Rob Armstrong from Chairleg said mirrors were fine - so here you go: WMP9 | QuickTime7 | PSP (Louis Wu 15:19:35 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Maps in Far Cry
GameTrailers has posted a segment of GTtv that focuses on a Far Cry: Instincts fan who's recreated a number of Halo maps for Far Cry: Instincts - the video contains footage of both the Halo versions and their FC counterparts, along with running commentary from the fan. Fun stuff! Thanks, 3Suns. (To view it, you need to visit the Far Cry page at GameTrailers - it's currently the second movie down (labeled 'Halo Maps').) (Louis Wu 15:12:25 UTC) (permalink)
Easiest way to make a new logo...
Heh. In Surfers Paradise, in southern Queensland (east coast of Australia), there's an attraction called 'Spacewalker' - their website, as noticed by lightinfantry, uses an image that is rather familiar to most of us here. (I've taken a screenshot, on the off chance that any legal interest generated by this news post actually makes them alter the site.) You gotta wonder... do people just think that something as big as Halo is simply public domain at this point? (Louis Wu 14:23:39 UTC) (permalink)
Chronicles of Pain - Trailer
Chris Anderson is putting together Chronicles of Pain, a Halo machinima due in February. The teaser for this film passed the MPRRS this morning, so we're passing it on to you. It was originally submitted in QuickTime 7 format (H.264 encoding) - weighs in at 11.5 mb. For those who have trouble with that codec, we're offering a QuickTime Sorenson 3 version (12.7 mb), and a WMP9 version (11.6 mb). Grab the one that works best for you! (Louis Wu 14:03:15 UTC) (permalink)
Clich to the eh.
Dear beloved HBO... the time has come to let the Halo fans vent their spleen! We all know there's a Halo movie on the horizon... so what keeps you up at night that those unfamiliar with our beloved Halo might wreck? Cortana as the sassy sidekick? The insertion of a BFG in the MC's arsenal? Leonardo DiCaprio as the Master Chief? Andy Serkis overdoing it as a Flood Infection Form? Well, now you have a place to submit your worries. If we feel it's a valid (and competent) entry, it will be accepted and you can share your fears with the rest of Halo fandom. So head on over to The HBO Halo Movie Cynics Database and release the Ari Jacobs within you. And what's up with that treasure chest? We ain't saying! (Ding 03:04:08 UTC) (permalink)
News December 21 2005
A Matter of Perspective.
Eep, almost forgot. It's Wednesday, so it's time for another One One Se7en. Stuntmutt looks at another legitimate strategy in today's entry. (Louis Wu 20:40:23 UTC) (permalink)
Bigger than it looks
Stephen Loftus found some new information about the scale of Covenant Assault Carriers, and has therefore redone his UNSC/Covenant Ship Scale Chart. Those things are MONSTERS! (Louis Wu 19:47:38 UTC) (permalink)
This is what VoD is for.
Several members of 2old2play showed up at MLG Chicago last week - and Joel "doodirock" Albert wrote up their experience for the website. It was a pretty doomed attempt right from the start... but they made the best of it. Thanks to doodi and DSmooth for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 18:53:57 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Zero, Revisited
I was gonna let this one go... but everyone and their brother is writing about it, so I guess I need to say something. A couple of days ago we mentioned that Halo Zero, a fan-made sidescroller, was #10 on Gamespot's most popular game list. Yesterday, it shot to number 1 - and it's still there today. The reason I didn't want to say anything is because you're seeing synergistic feedback in action - the game is very high on the list of most popular games (and it's the only non-commercial game there), so people visit the page to see what it's about... which raises its popularity, which makes MORE people go look at it, and so on. It's a fine game - a pretty impressive effort for a fan-made product - but it's not the best game on the planet, and the expectations that are being built because of its position on Gamespot's list are unfair. (There are lots of forum threads over there about how crappy this game is - which it's not... until you start comparing it to Metal Gear Solid or GTA3 or WoW.) So: it's really fun that it's gotten to the top of the Most Popular list... but at this point, folks need to let it fall off again, or nobody will EVER enjoy it. (Louis Wu 18:46:11 UTC) (permalink)
Gunslingers all.
Tied The Leader is back, with a couple of extensive posts - and more, farther down. The most recent stuff: XerxdeeJ went to Chicago (writeup is still coming) , the TTL Gunslingers went looking for a fight on the 2old2play forums... and wrote up the results, and another Gunslinger wrote up a LAN event, complete with pictures. Good stuff! Thanks, XerxdeeJ. Update: looks like the MLG writeup went up just minutes ago... it's a huge photo-essay, and it's a great read. Check it out! (Louis Wu 14:43:08 UTC) (permalink)
Still Got It
PHW is mostly a Half-Life 2 related comic site... but the Weekday Strip involves characters from a number of games, and the most recent strip involves your friendly neighborhood Master Chief. Thanks, Vapor. (Louis Wu 14:29:44 UTC) (permalink)
Team Schooly D - For The Win
Sometime back in the Jurassic Period, Schooly D asked Pinkuh (who is part of his Halo 2 clan, Team Schooly D) if she'd make a poster for the clan. She said sure... not having any idea how much trouble it would cause her. It got finished last night, though, and she posted it on our forum. I've also added it to her gallery here at HBO. It's an awesome piece of work - check it out! (Louis Wu 13:52:34 UTC) (permalink)
Counting Angels on Pinheads
Now THIS is dedication. Nogard watched the Limited Edition DVD, and noticed that Joe Staten flips through a 160-page Halo 2 script on camera. He went to the trouble of transcribing as much as he could see - and posted it online. (It's an angelfire site, so even though it's a tiny page, it might go down - if it does, we'll put up a mirror.) This is intriguing just for the focus it must have taken. (Louis Wu 13:31:43 UTC) (permalink)
It ain't all filmmaking
Scifibrain.com interviewed Nathan Fillion, who played Captain Mal Reynolds in Firefly - turns out the guy's a Halo 2 fanatic. The interview eventually gets around to his filmmaking stuff... but the first chunk is ALL about Halo. Pretty funny! Thanks, Cornballer. (Louis Wu 13:28:49 UTC) (permalink)
News December 20 2005
The Twelve Night Siege
Jillybean has been creating Christmas stories for the past couple of years - and this year, she went a step further. She recruited some pretty talented artists from the Halo community to illustrate her holiday tale... and man, what a job they all did! The story is heartwarming, but when you add artwork from Theo Prins, Paul Davies, Shishka, Dillo, and several OTHER talented artists... wow. The images themselves will eventually be added to various collections around HBO - but for now, read the story in our Fan Fiction section, and check out the pics there (each of the thumbs leads to a larger version). Don't forget to leave your comments! (Louis Wu 16:23:12 UTC) (permalink)
Hang 'em High... FEAR it.
spookie1337 has begun importing Hang 'em High into the F.E.A.R. engine - you can see a bunch of screenshots in this thread on the fearmaps.com forum. He pointed the project out on our forum here. (Louis Wu 14:18:22 UTC) (permalink)
Ohio Tourney in January
zerosignal wanted people to know about a double elimination Halo tourney that will take place at the Bottom Line Bar and Grille in Austintown, OH on January 28th - no word on entry fees, prizes, or directions. If you're interested, I guess you should email him. Update: Looks like another one was announced on our forum last night - 4v4 on an upcoming (so far undetermined) Saturday, in Lititz, PA. Entry is $100/team, top prize is $1000. More details in the forum post. Update 2: And another one, in Groton CT, January 7. $10-$20/person, depending on type of competition, prizes based on participation. Go read! (Louis Wu 13:57:07 UTC) (permalink)
The Omen
Merecatfish pointed out that he's got a new HaloCE map available for download - screenshots can be seen in this Gearbox forum thread, and the map itself can be snagged from HaloMaps. Give it a look! (Louis Wu 13:54:28 UTC) (permalink)
Duke's Da Man.
Over at High Impact Halo, you can find a video tribute to the founder of that site, Ducain, put together by a collection of users and staff. The video's huge - 130 mb or so - and consists mostly of folks letting Ducain know why they're grateful to him for his contributions to the community. Go read the thread, and download the vid! Thanks to Faktablad for the first heads-up. (Louis Wu 13:46:58 UTC) (permalink)
News December 19 2005
Definitely Addiction.
Joystiq has a 'Five reasons why Halo 2 is #1' list - a solid list, I think. Go see if you agree! Thanks, Dt7. (Louis Wu 21:55:03 UTC) (permalink)
Quit While You're Ahead
The Squadron, Episode 13, has been released for the public - Durge continues to be bested by the humans, but the tides might be turning. You can grab the WMP9 version from Broken Console's site (11.2 mb, 4:55) or the QuickTime version from us (11.3 mb). (Louis Wu 21:29:41 UTC) (permalink)
Mash.
So there are some button combinations that can give you a leg up on the competition in Halo 2 multiplayer... but what happens when you get 'em wrong? Stuntmutt speculates in today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 15:30:55 UTC) (permalink)
Harrison Ford and Regurgitation
Jillybean has taken a whack at the overgrown forest that is the Halo Story Page mailbag - you'll find her latest prunings on the Story Page. (Louis Wu 14:51:33 UTC) (permalink)
H20 Updated
LunarShadow points out that the H2O Stats Reader has a new version out (1.2.0) - a bunch of new features are available (check the changelog for details). Looks nice! (Louis Wu 14:38:59 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Zero - it's THAT popular.
Wow, this is rather... strange, if you ask me. If you visit the front page of Gamespot, in the bottom left corner, you'll find a list of the Most Popular Games, presumably based on traffic to various Gamespot pages. Number 10 on the overall list is Halo Zero, a fan-made sidescroller we mentioned last week. If you look at just the currently available games, it jumps up to number 6. That blows me away - it's a fan-made sidescroller, in the middle of the Christmas season. Have you played it yet? (Thanks to LoneRanger 2.5 for noticing.) (Louis Wu 14:35:20 UTC) (permalink)
Sneaking In
Red vs Blue Episode 70, 'Sneaking In', was posted last night for sponsors. (Yes, that means it'll be out in the next day or two for everyone else - you don't need to send us mail when it happens.) Tex rocks (yeah, surprise), and she puts a lie to the 'the SMG is the wimpiest weapon ever' argument. And Church rocks, too (though I don't think he's quite as good with SMGs). This whole season continues to reach new levels of funni - I'm loving it. Looks like DirePhoenix was first with the heads-up. (Louis Wu 14:25:21 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Chicago Results
Team3D dominated as a team again at MLG Chicago - they won the 4v4 finals, though only one of their members placed in the top 4 in the 1v1 event. Threads were started on our forum by 3Suns (1v1 and 4v4), and there's a bit more info at Team3D.net, as well. (Louis Wu 14:13:40 UTC) (permalink)
MLG through the eyes of a non-pro
Toby Dillman went to MLG Chicago this weekend - and took a bunch of pics. Go read his writeup! Interesting to see the tourney from the viewpoint of someone who doesn't do this for a living. (Louis Wu 14:04:02 UTC) (permalink)
A New Beginning
Oliver Stopienski has released "The Halo Revolutions - A New Beginning" - a HUGE (320 MB, 16 minutes) amalgam of styles - mostly, it's a montage vid (alternately showing the usual stuff like no-scopes and sticks and griping about lag issues), but there's also a mini-chapter of his ongoing machinima project in the middle. Encoding seems to be DivX5 - but I can't be sure; I've only got one player that will even SHOW this vid, and it doesn't tell me much about the video stream. You can find it on the Halo Orbit downloads page (it's the third vid from the top). If you've got a large pipe and up-to-date players, go watch! (Louis Wu 14:01:16 UTC) (permalink)
News December 18 2005
Jump Tourney
Jump Tactics is sponsoring another Jump Tournament, coming up in January. Full details can be found on their site. Thanks, JumpTactics. (Louis Wu 22:11:14 UTC) (permalink)
4v4 PGL tourney in Florida in April
The PGL is hosting a $10,000 4v4 Halo 2 tourney in Florida in 2006, with the finals taking place in Miami on April 29. You can find more info (including how to register) on their web page. Check it out! (Louis Wu 19:18:03 UTC) (permalink)
Another Option For Games Listings
PEZ has added a new feature to halowiki.net - there's now a Recent Games extension. You can set up a page that keeps track of your recent games - it's an easy way to see at a glance some of the stats get on Bungie.net, all on one page. Nice! (Louis Wu 15:59:11 UTC) (permalink)
News December 17 2005
Radio Overload
Foo Mo Jive points out that two more Podtacular episodes have been released - Episode 39 and Episode 40. It's hard to keep up! (Louis Wu 19:27:32 UTC) (permalink)
Giving it another go
Video Games Live is kicking off again - and IGN has the Halo performance for download - by Insiders. Thanks, Tempus Fugit. (Louis Wu 14:54:48 UTC) (permalink)
Welcome to Chicago
MLG has an intro article up about their Central Conference Championships, which kicked off last night in Chicago. If you're on a PC, you won't be able to beat their Video on Demand service for watching games - in fact, you'll probably get a better view with VoD than you would if you were there! Go read/watch! Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 14:39:05 UTC) (permalink)
Still waiting...
A small article on Gamasutra points out that the number one game played on Xbox Live is STILL Halo 2. On the one hand, it gives me a warm glow that Halo 2 has such staying power. On the other... when is the next killer online app gonna come along? (Louis Wu 14:35:54 UTC) (permalink)
Fried Dough and Maypoles Don't Mix.
Looks like the Bungie Weekly Update is online now - congrats to Psychophan7, who posted before Frankie did. (I'm guessing Frankie left the office, or something, actually.) Awesome news about the Halo 2 Soundtrack Volume 2 (only a year later than expected!), a suggestion that there may yet be more Halo novels, a nod to Jon Stewart, a very funny incident involving a monkey, some basic common sense (what?), and a great Mister Chief. Should be in the BWU archive soon. Go read! (Louis Wu 01:00:59 UTC) (permalink)
News December 16 2005
Ask, and...
Wow, interesting. AfroRyan points out a 'Coming Soon' page for UDON Entertainment, a "Canadian-based art collective of over a dozen creators formed in 2000 to provide high-quality creative services to the entertainment industry." (They provide freelance artists to comic publishers, among other things.) Because it's likely that the image in question will vanish once the site goes live, we've archived a snapshot. That character sitting third from the left sure looks familiar... (Louis Wu 16:09:58 UTC) (permalink)
Stuck Fu.
Stuntmutt wonders about Nicole's special moves in today's One One Se7en. Weird... I hear munchkin voices from Red vs Blue when I read that last panel... (Louis Wu 16:03:05 UTC) (permalink)
The American Spartan
Elnea's been drawing up a storm recently, and I've been lax about adding content to her gallery here (mostly because some of it needs a new display system, which doesn't exist yet)... but she whipped up a patriotic image (and then colored it) a couple of days ago, and I think it's awesome. Give it a look! Update: whoa, just posted - and I couldn't pass it up. A beatnik spartan... that's the ginchiest. (Louis Wu 15:44:34 UTC) (permalink)
Team Action Sack
Halo Babies takes their own look at the ActionSack playlist with today's comic. I think I know how Baby Chief feels... (Louis Wu 15:06:39 UTC) (permalink)
Fan Fic Update
Ten new stories in the Fan Fiction section this week. (I've been asked to cut down on the number of updates to that section, so we're going to try one per week, and see how that goes. Seems like Friday is a fine day.) Thanks, as well, to russ687, who proposed some changes to the Fan Fiction rules page, based on community discussion. It's possible that new rules might be coming, as well, to help make the flood of stories more manageable. We'll see! (Louis Wu 14:43:11 UTC) (permalink)
Ice horde carnage
More megabattle goodness from rockslider - 40-50 enemies, ready to attack from behind a blockade of ghosts! Go read. (Louis Wu 12:30:12 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie Weekly Update Archive
Earlier today, Deten wondered if there was a local archive of Bungie Weekly Updates. It's something I promised a LONG time ago... but just never got to. So... I got to it. (No, this doesn't mean I'm going to get to EVERYTHING on The List in short order - it just means this was something that was relatively easy to put together.) The archive allows you to browse updates by date... or to search for specific text. (Each update also has a link back to the original article on Bungie.net.) Here's hoping others find this useful! (Louis Wu 03:44:20 UTC) (permalink)
News December 15 2005
OGRE1 Scopes Out Chi-Town Competition
Over at Team3D.net, there's an interview with OGRE1 about the upcoming MLG Chicago tourney - go read! Thanks, F13ND. (Louis Wu 23:32:58 UTC) (permalink)
Dark Horse did Oni, right?
Heh. Every time I front-page a forum post of mine, I get some flak from regulars about post-h00ring... but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. It's a quiet day, and I'm hoping to get more people to weigh in on this subject... how cool would it be if someone were to create a Halo-based comic book... and what stories would get told? There are TONS of hardcore comic fans out there who play Halo - let us know your thoughts! (Louis Wu 18:13:06 UTC) (permalink)
Dumb animals in a can of whoopass
Geezer Gamers has profiled BTB, one of their oldest clans - good read! Thanks again, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 17:23:32 UTC) (permalink)
PMS Pro Interviewed
Clan PMS, one of the larger (maybe the largest?) all-girl gaming clan, has been interviewed over at MLGPro.com. (Well, not the WHOLE clan - just four of them that showed up at MLG Atlanta recently to play as Team PMS Pro.) They talk about how hard it's been to get respect, how the whole sponsor thing works for women, how guys feel when they get beat. A good read - it should be mandatory for anyone who automatically starts talking smack on XBL when they find out they're playing with a woman. Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 17:18:31 UTC) (permalink)
Getting you through
The Sacramento Bee has an article about Prima Games, the publishing house that creates many of the gaming guides you can buy in the US. Halo 2 figures prominently in the story. (Louis Wu 16:46:19 UTC) (permalink)
Someone didn't take their meds...
There's a rather bizarre take on the Halo universe over at Newgrounds - a Flash movie called 'Halo 3 2: Halo 4 The Movie'. Interesting artwork - really, really strange story. Thanks, Xmoose. (Louis Wu 16:43:44 UTC) (permalink)
News December 14 2005
One Man's Meat...
Heh. Stuntmutt takes a look at the recent Playlist changes in today's One One Se7en. (I think I met that guy last week...) (Louis Wu 16:20:48 UTC) (permalink)
Plot Twists
Narcogen continues his look at the Halo script he got his hands on last month - this time, he looks at some of the ways that this script differs from the story as told in-game. (If you're looking to avoid all spoilers about this movie, don't go here. There's no guarantee that everything he's commented on hasn't already been cut or altered... but there's no guarantee that it HAS.) (Louis Wu 15:48:41 UTC) (permalink)
NSCS Update - Map Walkthroughs
Overswarm has updated his Not So Common Sense strategy guide with 4 new map walkthroughs - these are great for figuring out what people mean when they shout "they're in the Library!" or "Sniper coming up Base Bridge!". There's also a bit of information about what's eating up his time on the front page of the guide. Go watch! (Louis Wu 15:32:59 UTC) (permalink)
Lucky Panties
Gamer of the week over at MLGPro.com is Tsquared - nice read. (I loved the cop story.) Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 14:16:00 UTC) (permalink)
Not sure I'd call that a doodle...
Pinkuh's been inspired by all the talk of Nicole - and while this sketch (which was originally posted on our forum) isn't Nicole, it IS a pretty cool female spartan! I'm looking forward to the colored version! (Louis Wu 13:46:27 UTC) (permalink)
Briar's Armor - for sale, again
We've mentioned Briar's Armor in the past - they're back, with another suit for sale on eBay. This one has a starting bid of $1500 (as the last two did), and is red, with a weathered look. We even got a couple of pics of this suit, being worn to pick up an Xbox360 on launch day. (at the counter | with the goods) If you visit the site, you'll also find a few pics from DragonCon 2005, which took place in September. It looks like they got most of them from Star Wars Chick - there are a couple of girls wearing RvB shirts, too. Check it all out! (Louis Wu 12:03:16 UTC) (permalink)
Shut your noisehole is how.
There's a very cool new article up at bungie.net, discussing how Nicole, otherwise known as Spartan 458 and a denizen of Nassau Station (found only in Dead or Alive 4), came to be. (First off - the girl is HUGE. 6'8", 370 lbs; she's bigger than your average NFL linebacker. I'm guessing it's solid muscle, though...) There's lots of info about her origins, about her place in the Halo universe, about Frankie's ability (or inability) to pull off a plasma stick in DOA4. Go read! (Louis Wu 03:18:49 UTC) (permalink)
News December 13 2005
Checkmate involves stickydooms.
Very cool - Se7en One has created a Halo chess set in 3Ds max. This version is Elites vs Brutes... but there's speculation in the thread about other variants. Fun stuff! (Louis Wu 22:28:24 UTC) (permalink)
Teaser Trailer for Rendered Film
Doug Godfrey released a teaser for his 3Dsmax-rendered Halo movie - looking pretty slick! If you have trouble with divx-encoded files, we've put up WMP9 and QuickTime versions (as well as mirrored Doug's original AVI) - links are in this post. (Louis Wu 16:38:17 UTC) (permalink)
Retribution
Nice interview with Team3D over at MLGPro.com - talking about how they dominated in Atlanta, and about what's coming. Give it a read! Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 16:23:22 UTC) (permalink)
Marching Halo Redux
Some of you might remember a pretty cool video of a high school marching band playing Halo tunes... well, it looks like the Sandra Day O'Connor High School is going to be performing that show again at Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego, on December 27th. If you're nearby... you might wanna stop in! Thanks, Cybrfrk. (Louis Wu 15:16:14 UTC) (permalink)
News December 12 2005
Solitude
Mothergoat's at it again - a new map, coupled with great Halo-inspired music... check it out! Download, movies, screenshots and the music file are all available from his forum post. (Louis Wu 21:43:42 UTC) (permalink)
Seek THIS!
Thanks once again to Subnova's 3of9 - The Seeker is back online! Searching a large number of Halo-related websites, this search engine might very well be the only search tool you need to find that elusive tidbit of Halo info. Check it out! (Louis Wu 18:33:40 UTC) (permalink)
It's Just A Jump To The Left.
Wow... I could have SWORN today's One One Se7en was recycled... but the only Rocky Horror strips I could find were from Ross Mills, and they're not really the same thing at all. Anyway, the joke SHOULD have popped up before now... it amazes me how much fodder there actually is for this sort of thing. (Louis Wu 18:05:39 UTC) (permalink)
Monday Reading
Ten new pieces in our own Fan Fiction section today - I wonder how many of those should enter the contest at BFO? Go read. (Louis Wu 17:28:41 UTC) (permalink)
Original Stubbs Sketch - Up For Grabs!
Whoa, very cool. Swing by Wideloadgames.org - they have a story about a contest being run by Chris Hughes, who was the Lead Character Modeler for Stubbs the Zombie (and who, before that, was an artist with Bungie on Oni and Halo); find something on Chris' website, Polymallet.com, win a really nice sketch of Stubbs! Full details, in The Battle Cat's inimitable style, and including a shot of the prize, can be seen in the top newspost at WLG. (Louis Wu 17:07:06 UTC) (permalink)
Fan-run Fanfic Contest
I missed this yesterday, but Bungie.net has news of a Fan Fiction contest being run by Bungie Fans Online and the Bungie.net Fanfic Group. Full details can be found in links leading off that news article - go read! (Louis Wu 16:37:42 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Zero Released
linus (among others) pointed out that Halo Zero has been released in its final form. A 2D sidescroller, using the sprites from Console Troopers, it's getting decent reviews - if you've got a PC, grab a copy! (Louis Wu 16:35:46 UTC) (permalink)
Palm Springs Halo Tourney
Looks like a 3-day Halo tourney will be happening in Palm Springs, CA starting tonight, in the Mary Pickford Theatre. Check out this article for more details. $5 to get in, no word on prizes. (Louis Wu 16:33:02 UTC) (permalink)
Reid18's montage
Z pointed out another killer montage at Halo2forum.com - Reid18's montage is full of stickies. (Some pretty nice sniping work, too.) WMP9 format, 178 mb. (Louis Wu 16:28:44 UTC) (permalink)
Podamanjaro!
Friday, we mentioned Podtacular 36 - since then, they've released Episode 37 (HZanzibar tips, among other subjects) and Episode 38 (listener-submitted gametypes, funny gamertags, and more). Busy guys! Go listen. (Louis Wu 16:06:02 UTC) (permalink)
Turning Pro
F13ND, over at Team3D.net, has interviewed Hotshy about becoming a pro Halo player. If you're thinking about moving in this direction, you should read this! (Louis Wu 16:03:13 UTC) (permalink)
Sarge's ankles, Donut.
Red vs Blue Episode 69, 'Talk of the Town', went up for sponsors last night (which means the public versions should be up late tomorrow night or Wednesday) - go grab a copy if you're a sponsor. Hilarious stuff... and I'm looking forward to some butt-whupping by Tex in the near future. Hmm... looks like it was mentioned on our forum by Phan7om this morning. (Louis Wu 15:18:35 UTC) (permalink)
News December 11 2005
The Covenant CCS-class Battle Cruiser
Stephen Loftus has once again delved into the universe Bungie created, and put together a substantial quantity of information about the Covenant Battle Cruiser (the Truth and Reconciliation is an example of this class of vessel). It's a pretty fascinating read - but be warned, the page contains almost 300k of graphics (mostly in the form of thumbnails). Some of the pictures are amazing. Go read! (If you're new to Mr. Loftus' work, and you find this interesting, be sure to check out his other projects!) (Louis Wu 19:04:09 UTC) (permalink)
Open Source? Open your HEAD.
Heh. Today's UserFriendly comic tweaks Microsoft's CEO in relation to the upcoming Halo movie. Thanks, SteelGaribaldi. (Louis Wu 18:58:39 UTC) (permalink)
MADDOG's Montage
Z pointed out a new montage at Halo2Forum.com - gameplay is by MADDOG, editying by Crypty. Pretty impressive stuff on both fronts. Definitely worth a watch, if you've got a fat pipe (vid is 150 mb, almost 7 minutes long). WMP9 format, and pretty high bitrate, so you'll need a reasonably fast computer to watch it. (Louis Wu 17:27:31 UTC) (permalink)
28 years old?
Dustin Kaufman found another Halo-related MySpace - this time it's Cortana. Seems like EVERYONE'S doing it... (Louis Wu 16:57:15 UTC) (permalink)
Sunday Punting - er...
Stuntmutt has collected a bunch of recent Guest One One Se7en strips and posted them on his blog. You can decide whether this sort of thing gets better or worse as you get farther from the source. (There's also a nice little writeup about the strip he donated to the Blow Me Away charity auction - good stuff!) Go on and groan! (Louis Wu 16:55:11 UTC) (permalink)
News December 10 2005
CTF: My Anti-Drug
imSuck put together a commercial spoof based on the Anti-Drug series that you can see in the US. CTF: My Anti-Drug offers an alternative to drugs that most of us can relate to. The MPRRS liked it quite a lot, and it's short and sweet - grab a copy! WMP9 format is 8.1 mb, QuickTime format is 7.1 mb. (Louis Wu 21:05:20 UTC) (permalink)
SSPH 0.2: The Healers
7Pandas has put up episode 0.2 of their Silver Stars/Purple Hearts series (they're still in the 'pre-story mode') - this one, again, is primarily Sims-driven, but there is a bit of Halo content (and the story is very definitely set in the Halo universe). Very nice production work, and an interesting storyline - go watch! They're hosting a 44-mb WMP9 version of the episode (as well as a low-res WMP9, 11.1 mb, on their downloads page); we're mirroring the high-res, in case their bandwidth runs low, and we're offering a hi-res QuickTime version, as well (41.1 mb). I'm looking forward to the next episode already! (Louis Wu 15:07:54 UTC) (permalink)
Baldness: It's a Way of Life.
Bungie's Weekly Update went up an hour or so ago, and Frankie, predictably, was first with the news. Minor comments on recent Halo movie news, welcome news that SketchFactor is a DADDY, reactions to the playlist updates, mention of a nasty little bug in the recent emulator update on Xbox Live (more info can be found at Gamespot, Gamasutra, and Voodoo Extreme, among other places), some staff shifts (we'll miss you, Ninja on Fire! and welcome back, Shishka!), and the silliest Mister Chief in quite some time. Go read. (Louis Wu 02:45:04 UTC) (permalink)
News December 9 2005
I refuse to say Updizzle.
Mintz dropped us a note that Halo:Portable has a boatload of new content again this week - if you've got a PSP, go grab your stuff! MLG articles, music, Podtacular summaries - there should be plenty of stuff to keep your daily commute to school/work from getting boring. (Louis Wu 20:03:09 UTC) (permalink)
Not Just The Developer of PDZ.
That poor 360 - it's the butt of EVERYBODY'S jokes today. Even One One Se7en takes a shot. (Louis Wu 17:54:18 UTC) (permalink)
Bend It Like Bender
Go visit Halo Babies today - you'll finally understand why there's a shortage of Xbox 360s to buy! (Louis Wu 17:52:51 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fanfic
Ten new pieces in the Fan Fiction section today - have you read you Halo allotment yet? (Louis Wu 17:50:22 UTC) (permalink)
A Big Temptation
Empire, a British movie site, talked to Guillermo Del Toro a couple of days ago about his upcoming plans. Sounds like Hellboy 2 is definitely his first choice for next project, with Halo not TOO far behind... but if push comes to shove, he'd pick Hellboy over the Covies. Bottom line - there's STILL no definitive news about a director for the Halo movie. Thanks to Mike Smith for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 15:25:11 UTC) (permalink)
Truth's pants are on fire.
Finn's taken a break from his insane academic schedule (I'd have blown a fuse months ago) to clear out some of the choicer nuggets in the Halo Story Page mailbag. Intriguing stuff - check it out! (Louis Wu 15:04:54 UTC) (permalink)
Laughing Voices In My Head
Over at Geezer Gamers, there's an article describing the Pentathlon, a 5-game (duh) tournament "where you don't really care who wins, but you're just a better person for just having played in it." Sounds like a blast! Go read. (Louis Wu 15:02:42 UTC) (permalink)
Jiggly Spartans and Action Sacks
Heh. In the midst of a thread that wondered whether Team Ninja had gotten access to either the Halo movie script or a script for Halo 3, Frankie managed to both shut down speculation about what a particular passage meant (the material Team Ninja worked with to put Nicole together was created specifically for them by Bungie) and announce a new Halo Humpday Challenge writeup on Bungie.net (Bungie won, for the first time in a long time). Not too shabby! Read the thread, read the writeup. Feed the people. Stay alive. (Louis Wu 03:55:34 UTC) (permalink)
News December 8 2005
Madda Cheeb's Retro Hop'n'Bop Challenge
Andrew, from XboxOttawa, has released another Halo-based Flash game - this one is called Madda Cheeb's Retro Hop'n'Bop Challenge, and your job is to keep the flood from thawing! It's a cross between Mario and Halo, and it's pretty fun. If you're playing it on a Mac, be sure to use Firefox - it's painfully slow on anything else. (Works fine on Windows.) Good stuff! (Louis Wu 18:48:05 UTC) (permalink)
I'm thinking meringue.
Qbakies looks at some of the possible silver linings that might come with the cloud of fewer players on Halo 2's XBL multiplay. Personally, I haven't seen a drop yet, but he's right - it'll come eventually. He let us know on the forum. (Louis Wu 18:02:15 UTC) (permalink)
Gamespy Awards Voting
Gamespy's Gamer's Choice voting for Xbox Game of the Year 2005 is up... and the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack is in the running. Heh. Go vote! Thanks, Halo Planet. (Louis Wu 16:45:55 UTC) (permalink)
A knack for embarrassing timing
Over at MLGPro.com, there's a great photo-essay of the Eastern Conference Championship - telling the story of the weekend in pictures (and words). Good stuff! Thanks to Eastern Bureau Chief 3Suns for heads-up. (Louis Wu 15:34:09 UTC) (permalink)
News December 7 2005
Podtacular Update
Podtacular has released Episode 36 - they discuss the playlist updates, 360 madness, and some web resources. Thanks, Foo Mo Jive. (Louis Wu 21:13:50 UTC) (permalink)
Chicks dig warthog pilots.
The latest missive on the Tied the Leader blog is a look at the changes to the Halo 2 playlists on Xbox Live. Nice read! Thanks, XerxdeeJ. (Louis Wu 21:10:43 UTC) (permalink)
Bigger than Boy Meets Girl
Narcogen looks pretty deeply at the videogame-as-art issue (can a videogame be art? Can the story told by a game be as rich as the story told, say, in a novel, or by a film?) in his latest Retort at Rampancy.net. Go read - but prepare to think. (Louis Wu 20:48:21 UTC) (permalink)
Click-Boom!
Davidgojr submitted his montage, Click-Boom, to the MPRRS yesterday - they loved it. (The music, some felt, was overused... but sometimes you just have to go with a classic.) Great organization, some very fun techniques. A seven minute montage - and no black screens anywhere! Grab it in WMP9 format (87.7 mb) or QuickTime format (89.6 mb). Boom! (Louis Wu 14:11:54 UTC) (permalink)
Hardly A Shocking Development.
One of the rumors floating around last week was that someone other than Bungie was working on Halo 3. Stuntmutt speculates on who it might be in today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 14:00:59 UTC) (permalink)
Midweek Fiction
Eight new pieces for you in the Fan Fiction section today. What are you waiting for? (Louis Wu 13:59:21 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Pro Goodies
Some cool MLG content, again courtesy of 3Suns - there's the new Gallery, with some pretty darned slick organization, there's the newest Player of the Week piece, focusing on Walshy, and there's a blog spotlight on Xena (warning: Here There Be Pinkness). Check it out! (Louis Wu 13:57:03 UTC) (permalink)
Less Jaggies = More Better.
3Suns (who's still angling for a site rename, it seems), points out this article at Gamespot, which has a neat way to compare the graphics on the Xbox vs the 360. (Yes, they use Halo 2, so it's relevant.) (Louis Wu 13:53:56 UTC) (permalink)
Next up - Cortana, I guess.
Heh - Dustin Kaufman found Master Chief's MySpace. Even the Spartans are getting one... (Louis Wu 13:50:21 UTC) (permalink)
News December 6 2005
dZ x TheOwnly's first montage
dZ x TheOwnly's posted a new montage at Halo2Forum.com - 10 minutes long, 134 mb. The motion gets pretty frenetic by the end. Thanks to Z for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 21:44:56 UTC) (permalink)
Sharing your life.
Qbakies let us know yesterday about his gaming blog, Almighty Q(uandaries)... and today, he's updated it again with a new entry that looks at Halo, and Bungie's realization of online socialization that we know as MatchMaking, as family-builders - not the family you were born into, but the people you choose to surround yourself with. (Wow, was that all one sentence?) Great read, and a wonderful way to express some of the happiness I, myself, find online when playing Halo 2. Go read it. (Louis Wu 21:31:10 UTC) (permalink)
Game Appreciation 101
Joystiq listed the top ten 'hidden gems of our generation', videogamewise... and Stubbs the Zombie tied for 10th. Way to go! Thanks once again to 3Suns, who is quietly lobbying to get this website renamed '3Sunsnews.bungie.org'. (Louis Wu 15:49:44 UTC) (permalink)
VE's Best Fansite of 2005
Hehe - Voodoo Extreme is running a 'Best Fansite of 2005' poll... and we've been nominated. I don't think we stand a snowball's chance in Burial Mounds, given the competition and VE's core audience... but it's pretty cool nonetheless. Go vote! Master3xBOx was first with the news. (Louis Wu 14:53:58 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Atlanta Review Part II
The second part of Dyslexia's MLG Atlanta writeup has been posted at MLGPro.com - fantastic writeup, though I wish he'd have mentioned the maps they were playing on. (They're not ANYWHERE that I can find, in fact.) Go read about all the action! (The VoD Atlanta footage is back up, as well.) Thanks again to 3Suns. (Louis Wu 14:39:32 UTC) (permalink)
Spartan 458, deconstructed
IGN continues to post new information about Dead or Alive 4... and there continues to be new info about the Halo tie-in. This article has info about Nicole's special attacks (The MAC lunge and a plasma grenade move, for example), as well as another mini-interview with Itagaki. There's some pretty interesting stuff in there - go read! Thanks to 3Suns for noticing it. (Louis Wu 14:18:12 UTC) (permalink)
News December 5 2005
Hopefully it won't suck.
Interesting; 3of9, over at Subnova.com, noticed an interview with Peter Jackson at Dark Horizons; it's mostly about King Kong, but it has some fun quotes pertaining to Jackson's upcoming work on the Halo movie. You can read the entire interview at Dark Horizons, or the Halo-related chunk (in its entirety) at Subnova. (Louis Wu 21:11:00 UTC) (permalink)
When there's no news, make it up.
Wow. GamesRadar has one of the more bizarre 'news' articles I've seen in a while; they're suggesting that Halo 3 (a title that hasn't even been announced yet) might come on 4 double-layer DVDs. Where does this come from? Well, apparently someone is claiming that "one particular 'highly anticipated' Xbox 360 title is currently taking up four 9GB DVDs"... and, in GameRadar's words, "nothing is more anticipated than the next Halo." (Who is this someone? Heh. Your guess is as good as mine.) Wow... what a stretch. Thanks to Cybrfrk and ZiplocBodybag for pointing this silliness out. (Louis Wu 17:48:26 UTC) (permalink)
Delt-oro Halo.
Wow... even Stuntmutt is getting into the Del Toro-as-the-Halo-director speculation in today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 15:56:51 UTC) (permalink)
Monday Missives
Ten pieces added to the Fan Fiction section over the weekend - go read! (Louis Wu 15:02:12 UTC) (permalink)
Blogging the Movie
A new blog has popped up to keep tabs on developments about the Halo movie - there's nothing there yet that hasn't been posted elsewhere (like here, for example), but it's nice to have a central repository. Thanks, Paul Hayes. (Louis Wu 14:44:06 UTC) (permalink)
Voices in my head
Narcogen continues his look at the Halo script that's been floating around the net, specifically focusing on the MC-Cortana interaction. Interesting writeup. (No horrible spoilers, if you're trying to keep yourself pure.) (Louis Wu 14:24:39 UTC) (permalink)
DropShock Ep 7
We got word that DropShock has released Episode 7 - 360 shortages, strats, a new website, and a declaration of war. (I'd tell you more, but I can't seem to actually download the episode... it's been hung on 'Starting' for the last many minutes.) Go see if you can get your own copy! (Louis Wu 14:18:53 UTC) (permalink)
News December 4 2005
Bad Cyborg Says Fight Better!
rockslider keeps the Halo 1 campaign torch burning with a large expansion of his Tactics and Tips page for fighting the Covenant in the original Halo. Good stuff! (Louis Wu 15:38:14 UTC) (permalink)
AICN weighs in on Del Toro
Missed this Friday, but 3Suns noticed it this morning - looks like Harry Knowles, of Ain't It Cool News, is backing up the IESB story about Guillermo Del Toro talking about directing the Halo movie. Remember - this is NOT set in stone; some pretty big hurdles need to be overcome for this to work out. That said, it certainly looks like Del Toro is in the picture to some degree. (Louis Wu 15:34:13 UTC) (permalink)
Podtacular Ep 35
Foo Mo Jive points out that Podtacular Episode 35 has been released - Customs and Call-ins. He really enjoyed this one. 19.3 mb, 28 minutes. (Louis Wu 15:29:53 UTC) (permalink)
Me? I'd just use a Maglite.
Tyrian noticed a new weapon being developed by the US Air Force - dubbed the PHaSER, it actually just uses a laser system to temporarily blind an attacker. (It's pretty huge for that job - but I guess over time it'll shrink.) What made Tyrian send it to us was its Covenant-like lines. Fun stuff! (Louis Wu 15:25:13 UTC) (permalink)
Biography: Master Chief
NFL246 (who goes by Wronchi on Newgrounds) has posted a parody of the Master Chief's life in Flash format over there. It's pretty long (more than 10 minutes), but has some funny moments. Although he announced it on our forum, he was beaten to the punch by spartan erik, who noticed it 9 hours earlier. (Louis Wu 15:20:20 UTC) (permalink)
Inside the Beam Rifle
The UNSCDF guys have written up an article on the Covenant Beam Rifle. Go look. (Louis Wu 15:17:08 UTC) (permalink)
The Firestarters
MikeMan27 and Nefarious Dan have released their second montage, to pretty positive reviews - Mike credits his experience as a reviewer for the MPRRS for some of the polish in his work. It's heavy on the effects, with great synching to the music. WMP9 format, 139 mb. Go grab a copy from Halo2Forum.com! (Louis Wu 15:12:15 UTC) (permalink)
News December 3 2005
Halo: Portable Update
Tons of new material available at Halo: Portable - you'll find translations of new articles (MLG Atlanta Reviews, Weekly Update), new wallpapers, a music pack, and a reposting of the Enkidu fan fiction, all formatted for your PSP. Swing on by! Thanks, Mintz. (Louis Wu 22:38:15 UTC) (permalink)
Going for a Jump
Broken Console Productions' The Squadron, Episode 12, is now up for the public; you can find the WMP9 version on their website, and I guess we've become the default host for the QuickTime version. (Both weigh in at a bit over 12 mb.) This ep has the humans fighting for their lives on Terminal - one wonders when we'll run out of soldiers! Good cinematography, as usual. (Beautiful train splatter near the start.) Go watch! (Louis Wu 19:04:43 UTC) (permalink)
He wants a pony.
Red vs Blue Episode 68, 'Getting All Misty', has been released for sponsors. (That means it'll be free for everyone tomorrow night or so.) I can't tell whether I should be scared... or laugh my butt off. I guess I feel a little sorry for Tucker... but not really. Go watch! Thanks to Psychophan7 for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 15:07:14 UTC) (permalink)
Stuff I wish I didn't have to say
We recently had an incident where someone attempted to submit footage from a montage video that didn't belong to them to the MPRRS - this was caught by a reviewer, and deleted, but I wanted to remind EVERYONE out there: the percentage of the overall Halo community that reads HBO is pretty darned high... and the percentage of the overall community that has ZERO OVERLAP with HBO, in terms of readership, is almost zero - so the likelihood that you'll be able to submit a movie here that's already been released somewhere else, and have NOBODY notice, is pretty tiny. It's not worth it - we'll ban you from ever using our system again - so please... submit your own footage, okay? (Louis Wu 14:59:50 UTC) (permalink)
Little Boy's Rooms and Stats Wiping
The Weekly Upate has been posted over at Bungie.net - lots of stuff about the 360 (problems, and some solutions), plus a major Playlist update (read this if you care about your rank - don't complain after the fact that you didn't get to it), plus a little bit of Halo Movie stuff (no, nothing about a director, plus Mister Chief faceplates. What are you waiting for? Frankie, a man who NEVER backs down from a challenge, is waiting to hear your complaints on our forum. (Louis Wu 01:15:03 UTC) (permalink)
News December 2 2005
Lost the Lead - now live
Pinkuh's Lost the Lead comic finally has its own site - check it out! (Comments can go here.) (Louis Wu 20:54:52 UTC) (permalink)
More Bungie Schwag for Charity
I nearly missed this - but the goodies on the table for the Child's Play Fundraiser Dinner Auction, to be hosted by Penny Arcade on December 13, have been augmented by a number of items - one of which is an intriguingly-titled 'Bungie Gift Pack'. There doesn't seem to be anything more complete than that - but this is clearly on top of the Tour of Bungie that's been on the list for months. NOW are you gonna show up in Seattle in a couple of weeks? (Louis Wu 19:47:05 UTC) (permalink)
Next Up, Martin Luther.
Stuntmutt shows off his knowledge of religious history trivia, and bad puns (was that ever in doubt?) in today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 17:18:00 UTC) (permalink)
Friday Fiction
Just six stories today in the Fan Fiction section. Slowdown? (Louis Wu 16:44:58 UTC) (permalink)
Coming Full Circle
Dyslexia's written up Part 1 of his MLG Atlanta Review, over at MLGPro.com... powerful piece. Go read! Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 16:32:13 UTC) (permalink)
ArKiVe's Montage, and StatsReloaded
A couple of bits from Z, over at Halo2Forum.com: There's a new montage from ArKiVe (WMP9, 92 mb, lots and lots of fun sticks), and a new stats site has been launched: StatsReloaded.com. What this has that many existing sites don't have is room for new members; they're pretty sure they can handle 25,000 members (it opened yesterday, and they're already up to almost 800). Nice layout, and it's free - check it out! (Louis Wu 16:27:59 UTC) (permalink)
Die-Cast Hogs
LadyRziha posted a link to a site that sells die-cast warthogs... pretty cool-looking! Check 'em out. At $5 a pop, they'd make great stocking stuffers, wouldn't they? (Louis Wu 16:18:53 UTC) (permalink)
Overheating Plasma Rifles
Joystiq has a pointer to an article at The Brig.org, looking at the top ten ways you know you're playing too much Halo. (Yes, there've been dozens of these lists on our forum... but hey, this one got referenced by Joystiq, okay?) This one definitely seems aimed at an older crowd. (Louis Wu 16:12:25 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Movie News
Father Hartley was the first to point out a short piece over at Dark Horizons - which, in turn, references a post at IESB which suggests that Peter Jackson is talking to Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Blade 2) about directing the Halo movie. If true (and independent info suggests that it very well may be), and if the talks pan out, the Halo shoot might affect the the timing of Hellboy 2, the project that was (is?) next on Del Toro's plate. More information coming soon... (Louis Wu 16:05:44 UTC) (permalink)
DoA4 and Halo - at IGN
Eep, almost missed this. IGN's got an article up about Dead or Alive 4, and the second page includes a mini-interview with Team Ninja leader Tomonobu Itagaki about the inclusion of Halo material in the game. No new screens, as far as I can tell (that haven't already been released on other sites). Thanks, Wolfy. (Louis Wu 15:46:46 UTC) (permalink)
Forgotten Heroes.
Captain Spark has come out of self-imposed dialogue recording retirement to serve up another 11 snippets to the Halo community. These are pretty darn funny. You can grab them from his website, or browse them in our Dialogue Databank. (Louis Wu 15:30:18 UTC) (permalink)
Podtacular Ep 34 - Tips
Podtacular Episode 34 is up - n00b tips, general tips, tips for Foundation (the map of the week) - these are just the tip of the iceberg. (Sorry.) 22.8 mb, 33 minutes. Visit Podtacular.com for more details. (Louis Wu 15:14:07 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox Cooties
The latest Halo Babies introduces new characters... and definitely moves away from the 'Babies' part. Still... it's pretty funny! Go read. (Louis Wu 15:09:23 UTC) (permalink)
Yaargh.
Heh. Both EvilAvatar (thanks, Target4Hire) and Gamespot (thanks, T3muJin) have picked up on the wording of Bungie's latest job listing. Could Bungie REALLY be making Pimps At Sea, using the Halo 2 engine? Your guess is as good as mine. (Louis Wu 15:07:04 UTC) (permalink)
News December 1 2005
Halo SETI Marines to be retired
Daniel wrote to let us know that SETI@home, the organization that uses member computers around the world to help analyze radio telescope data in an attempt to find extraterrestrial computers, will be shifting to a completely new infrastructure in 2 weeks, and current groups will have their totals locked. From 1999 through 2002, the Halo SETI Marines participated in the program, looking for signs of the Covenant - and in fact are STILL looking, though we here at HBO no longer follow the search. However, come December 15, the workunit totals will be frozen. It's been a good run, Marines... thank you for your service. (Louis Wu 19:19:22 UTC) (permalink)
A funny ad that never was.
A few days ago, Dustin Kaufman sent us a link to a movie at break.com, showing an Xbox360 commercial that never got released. It's not really Halo-related (though you CAN say it's FPS-related)... and break.com seems to be having some trouble with bandwidth issues, but it's available on YouTube now, as well. Thanks to Pinkuh, who pointed out this Inside Microsoft blog entry. (Louis Wu 19:04:40 UTC) (permalink)
Is it real? Maybe.
Narcogen, at Rampancy.net, has gotten his hands on the script reviewed by El Mayimbe last month - and asserts that it's credible. Interesting read! (Louis Wu 18:53:18 UTC) (permalink)
The OGREs look back over November
Some great content over at Team3D - an interview with the OGREs about WCG Singapore (where they won $20k) and MLG Atlanta (where they split $6500 with the other two members of their 4-man team, and OGRE2 took another $1200 home in FFA championship money)... and reflections on Atlanta directly from the OGREs themselves. Go read! Thanks, F13ND. (Louis Wu 18:05:07 UTC) (permalink)
The rant that wouldn't die.
Back in November, we mentioned an article in the South Dakota State University Collegian in which a female student complained that Halo was sucking up time rightly spent with girlfriends. A couple of weeks later, we mentioned a rebuttal, by Lady Rziha. Yesterday, the Collegian posted yet ANOTHER followup, again from a woman, condemning not the attitude of the gamers who responded the first time, but the responses themselves. "In the time it took each person to write a letter about the game, he or she could have donated cans to the food pantry, picked up trash outside of their house, or have been a mentor to a small child." I gotta wonder... what could Sara have done in the time it took her to write this tirade? Next up - angry words from video game characters themselves, annoyed that people are manipulating them to make social points. It's a game, folks. (Louis Wu 17:41:50 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie Art Contest
Over on Bungie.net, there's word of an art contest being sponsored by Bungie Fans Online - it's Bungie-related, so it's not necessarily ONLY Halo, though I'd be surprised if the majority of submissions weren't about Halo. Prizes are 'some Bungie stuff' (not sure what that means, but that's what the note says), and submissions are due by January 7, so you've got just over a month. Rules and details are in the b.net post. Thanks goes to Wild Bud on our forum for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 17:33:28 UTC) (permalink)
| December 2005 | |
