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 | December 2010 |  |
December 2010 Archived News
News December 31 2010
E.O.A. Episode 7
MelkorTheGreat stopped in with word of DWT Productions' E.O.A. Episode 7 - the finale of the series. (There IS a set of tutorials for these tricks coming soon, but this is the last video in the 'show 'em off' series.) Funky Reach tricks - go watch! (Louis Wu 19:26:25 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fan Fiction
A bit later than usual, but if you swing by the Fan Fiction section, you'll find six new pieces for your reading enjoyment. So go enjoy already! (Louis Wu 19:23:54 UTC) (permalink)
The Long Road Home
If you didn't get a chance to see it when it was originally on the Waypoint XBL portal, check out The Long Road Home - a very cool piece that explores some of the events bridging Halo 2 and Halo 3 - now up on the Waypoint website. Lots of good story content in there, and some nice clarifications. Give it a watch! (GrimBrother One 16:02:09 UTC) (permalink)
Finishing 2010's Fight
From everyone here at HBO to all of you, we hope that you have a safe and Happy New Year celebration, wherever you may be. 2010 saw the culmination of 10 years of hard work and dedication from Bungie with the release of Halo Reach. I for one want to thank them personally for the worlds they've created, and giving us reasons to keep gathering and discussing. 343 Industries also provided us with some very exciting Halo content in 2010, and 2011 certainly looks to continue that trend in full force. We wish them all the best of luck in carrying the torch. Happy New Year, HBO, thank you for all the ways that each of you make this community what it is! (GrimBrother One 15:44:16 UTC) (permalink)
And on the 6th Episode, they failed.
Chris10023 let us know that Episode 6 of Halo Reach Fails is up. Go and check out what could just as easily be a highlight reel of MY playing time! (GrimBrother One 15:41:08 UTC) (permalink)
A Cruel Farewell
Thanks to CruelLEGACEY for sending along a note to let us know that his Farewell to Halo 3 Montage is up for your viewing pleasure, just as we're also saying farewell to 2010! Go give it a look! (GrimBrother One 15:37:00 UTC) (permalink)
News December 30 2010
Winter Contingency Speedrun, with Commentary
Speedruns of various campaign levels have appeared in our news feed - heck, there's even a website devoted to collecting them - but most of these are bare runs. That is - if you don't understand what you're seeing, you're out of luck. DEEP NNN stopped by with a link to a speedrun of Winter Contingency that has commentary by i6 Hitman, from 2old2play - he points out what's important and what isn't. Tyrant has proven, over and over again, that commentary is tremendously useful when looking at walkthroughs - here's another example. (Louis Wu 14:42:39 UTC) (permalink)
Thelma and Louise, Updated
The Alpha ELite stopped in with word of a new glitch near the end of Reach's campaign - no film, but this could yield some pretty fun footage! Give it a read. (Louis Wu 14:42:04 UTC) (permalink)
Achievement Horse #4
jarsp was the first to let us know that the Achievement Hunter boys have posted Achievement Horse #4 - new maps, new challenges, new insults. You can, as always, download the maps yourself and give these challenges a try - great stuff! (Congrats, Geoff - 4 and 0 is a pretty impressive record!)
(Louis Wu 14:40:56 UTC) (permalink)
News December 29 2010
Waypoint Ordnance: Spikers and Pistols
The newest Waypoint Ordnance piece looks at the visceral Brute Spike Rifle, or "Spiker". Really neat shots; I always found this weapon very interesting (and it had a great sound!). Also, if you missed it, last week they featured the quintessential Halo weapon, the Pistol, with some great renders, as well as some info on its many forms found throughout the Halo Universe. Go and check these out! (GrimBrother One 15:11:19 UTC) (permalink)
Deliver Accolades
Both 1up.com and Kotaku had the Halo: Reach trailer "Deliver Hope" in their Top 10 Game Trailers for 2010 list. Can't say I disagree, I still can't help but stay and watch it all the way through if I see it come on... Go and see what other trailers made the cut! (GrimBrother One 14:42:59 UTC) (permalink)
Lego my Mjolnir
Don't know if it's capable of housing a smart AI, but this Lego Spartan suit is certainly an attention grabber. Check it out! (GrimBrother One 14:34:59 UTC) (permalink)
Giant Bomb Plays Reach
Giant Bomb's been recapping their Game of the Year pics for 2010 - and Reach took up a significant portion of the 27 minute Day 2 episode. The game snagged Best Co-op - but most of the episode is devoted to 'Best Xbox 360 Only Game' - they did a playthrough (with commentary) of some campaign levels, and the discussion is pretty funny. Thanks to GAF's UltimaPooh for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 14:34:25 UTC) (permalink)
News December 28 2010
HBO: Reconified - Winner
MilkManMike was the winner of our Reconified contest - his name was picked at random from the pool of eligible entries, and he's now the proud owner of a Recon helmet, courtesy of LORD ARKADIUSZ. Stay tuned for more chances to win goodies! (Louis Wu 14:59:50 UTC) (permalink)
Greg Bear Cryptum Reading/Signing
Bongo let us know that Greg Bear has posted on his Facebook fanpage that he'll be reading and signing Halo: Cryptum at the main University Books in Seattle, on January 4th at 7pm. (You can buy an autographed copy if you can't make it in person.) (Louis Wu 13:03:50 UTC) (permalink)
Official HRD Screenshot Guide
Ender Xer0 told us about a feature up now at Halo Reach Daily: it's a guide to creating cool screenshots, created by Artful Fiver. Swing by and give it a read - and use some of the techniques to make your uploads prettier!
(Louis Wu 13:03:28 UTC) (permalink)
Fails of Reach Fan Challenge
CruelLEGACEY sent word that he's put up a fan challenge - if he can get 1000 subscribers to his YouTube channel (he's currently sitting at a bit over 600), he'll start taking fan submissions for a special "Fan Fails" episode of his 'Fails of Reach' series. Full details in his website post.
(Louis Wu 13:03:02 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Battle of Miridem trailer
MastaSin333 stopped by with word of a new animation trailer for his upcoming webcomic, "Halo: Battle of Miridem". Go watch!
(Louis Wu 13:02:37 UTC) (permalink)
Arby 'n' the Chief: Christmas 2010 Special
joncjg put together a Christmas Special starring Arby 'n' the Chief - it might just be the first time I've ever seen a spider play Scrabble.
(Louis Wu 13:02:10 UTC) (permalink)
News December 27 2010
VG's Game of the Year, #5
VideoGamer is putting together their Game of the Year feature - today, they're up to #5. The game at that spot? Halo: Reach. There's a video discussion at their Game of the Year Hub, and a bunch of written opinions on the #5 page. Congrats, Bungie! (Louis Wu 11:41:00 UTC) (permalink)
Battle of Zanzibar - Update
Kooberz has been working on a stop-action LEGO drama based around his Zanzibar recreation for a couple of years (this was our first post about the movie, and this was the most recent). He's back, with a progress video - and word that it should be finished soon! Go watch... amazing stuff! (Louis Wu 11:31:47 UTC) (permalink)
Fireworks on Halo
Slap Happy has put fireworks into Halo Custom Edition - pretty fun! Thanks, MatthewDratt.
(Louis Wu 11:30:47 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Reach - Fails of the Year 2010
The Achievement Hunter crew has put together their Fails of the Year 2010 (you can watch it on YouTube if you'd like a higher res) - it's a two and a half minute quick view of some of the funniest weirdnesses of their series. Go watch!
(Louis Wu 11:29:58 UTC) (permalink)
News December 26 2010
Reach Randomness 2
2900d4u and his brother just released Reach Randomness 2 - and it's full of good clips (and a GREAT opening). Go watch it! (Louis Wu 15:49:54 UTC) (permalink)
Christmas Bonus (x2)
Urban Reflex played through the entire Reach campaign on Heroic - and pulled out a couple of funny moments. And poena.dare followed up with a nostalgic redo of a VERY old piece of Bungie lore. Go check 'em both out! (Louis Wu 15:46:40 UTC) (permalink)
Utilizing new tools
TCKaos got a new tablet for Christmas - and he's already whipped up a nice Halo piece (warning - it's large)! Check out New Alexandria.
(Louis Wu 15:44:56 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Reach Daily Christmas Contest
FoxmanFX let us know about the Halo Reach Daily Christmas Contest - you've got to play a game of Gruntpocalypse on Glacier without dying, and you have to do it before Sunday's challenges are posted (which means a bit more than 7 hours from the time of this post - sorry). If you succeed, you can be in the running for a bunch of prizes. Read the full rules at Halo Reach Daily! (Louis Wu 03:42:01 UTC) (permalink)
A Tale of Love and Betrayal
BlueNinja had an interesting experience with Carter and Kat, and was kind enough to document it for your viewing (and reading) pleasure. So view and read. (Louis Wu 03:41:32 UTC) (permalink)
Team HBO Invades Christmas Eve
pete_the_duck and friends played a bunch of Invasion on Christmas Eve - and he had stories to tell, stories with pictures. (Well, video.) Man, I hope Bungie fixes their Silverlight player to allow turning off of auto-start... because pages like this can be PAINFUL. (Louis Wu 03:41:08 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Wars Arbiter Designs
Leviathan ran across some cool concept art for the Arbiter, created by a Halo Wars artist. Interesting stuff! (Louis Wu 03:40:42 UTC) (permalink)
Alert: Incoming Transmission
Phoenix_9286 had an ODST-themed holiday wish - go read. (Louis Wu 03:40:27 UTC) (permalink)
HBO Friday Failtage: Christmas Edition
padraig08 compiled a bunch of HBO-supplied clips into the HBO Friday Failtage: Christmas Edition - HBO regulars, doing what they do best! Go watch. (Louis Wu 03:40:10 UTC) (permalink)
Game of the Year, 2010
Yahoo UK put up a list of the top games of 2010 - and Halo: Reach took the top position. Not bad! Thanks, ElzarTheBam. (Louis Wu 03:39:52 UTC) (permalink)
Fails of the Weak, Volume 14
We took Christmas Eve off - but the Achievement Hunter crew didn't. Fails of the Weak, Volume 14 went up Friday evening, on schedule - go watch Jack and Geoff cackle about boneheaded plays! (Louis Wu 03:39:06 UTC) (permalink)
News December 25 2010
Pax.
2010 was a pretty momentous year, for a lot of reasons - we're going to take the day off to celebrate with family. From all of us here, to all of you and yours,
As has been the case for the last few years, we have a new Christmas Comic for you, from Stuntmutt... and some cool artwork shamelessly stolen from Bungie... and a day of rest. See you all on Sunday!
News December 24 2010
How the Brute Stole Christmas
Heh - HaloGAF's AlmostMilk whipped up 'How the Brute Stole Christmas' - made me smile. Give it a read! (Louis Wu 21:19:41 UTC) (permalink)
Ode to the Elites - Unleash The Animal
AssaultGodilla has a pre-Christmas music video for you - it pays tribute to the Elites, and is set (tightly, as always) to Disturbed's "The Animal". Go watch - great stuff. (Even though I'm not a huge fan of the song, I have to admit it fits really well.) (Louis Wu 18:14:14 UTC) (permalink)
The Fails of Reach - Episode 5
CruelLEGACEY let us know that Fails of Reach - Episode 5 is live now on his site. Some of these are definitely user error... but the bad luck fails are painful to watch! Check 'em all out. (Louis Wu 18:10:08 UTC) (permalink)
HBO: Reconified (a giveaway)
LORD ARKADIUSZ had an extra Recon Helmet code (from a Legendary Edition) for Reach - so he's decided to give it away. All you've got to do is sign up; we'll pick a winner at random on Monday evening. Toss your name in the hat! (Louis Wu 13:19:56 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fan Fiction
There are just two new pieces in the Fan Fiction section this week - go read 'em! (Louis Wu 13:19:25 UTC) (permalink)
Pro Fail Wat, Episode 2
Shadow8P told us about his series called 'Pro Fail Wat' - it contains clips that show off pro play, fails (by either Shadow or his opponents), and 'wat's - bizarre occurances in-game, all accompanied by commentary. Take a look! (Louis Wu 13:18:58 UTC) (permalink)
PGCR: Episode 60 (Christmas Special Episode)
SK1LL4XED sent word that the Postgame Carnage Report crew has posted their Christmas Special episode - Halo discussion, gaming news, and really disturbing holiday songs. Two hours - go listen!
(Louis Wu 13:18:37 UTC) (permalink)
News December 23 2010
Halo 2 Statue for sale
Joshua Allen stopped in with a link to a VERY expensive statue from Toys on Fire - a half-height Halo 2 Master Chief statue, for $1,200 (canadian). These have gone for $300-600 on eBay in the last couple of years, so unless you need noe RIGHT NOW, this might be a bit overpriced. (Louis Wu 21:32:36 UTC) (permalink)
Pixel Force: Halo Trailer
Apologies for the lack of news - holiday doings take up a LOT of time, I guess.INSANEdrive let us know about a trailer for Pixel Force's Halo, a retro 2D makeover for the popular game. (His post also contains links to articles at Kotaku and Joystiq.) Looks like the game itself will be out in January... (Louis Wu 21:25:20 UTC) (permalink)
News December 22 2010
Halo Effect 3
Jimbothy let us know about Halo Effect 3, a Halo/Mass Effect machinima mashup. (Audio is from the Mass Effect 3 trailer, video is from Halo.) Not bad! (Louis Wu 22:04:33 UTC) (permalink)
Gourde Poster Series gets new press
JDQuackers pointed out a piece created by Matthew Davis a couple of years ago (it was just highlighted by Kotaku today, but hit the web in 2008) - it uses the Master Chief as a (literal) poster boy for desensitization. Agree or disagree - it's nicely presented. Update: our forum thread elicited comments from the poster's designer. (Louis Wu 20:33:36 UTC) (permalink)
Achievement Horse #3
Achievement Hunter has released Achievement Horse #3 - another set of fan-made challenges are attacked by Geoff and Jack, with great commentary. What an awesome series! Go watch, and go download the maps so you can try these yourself. Thanks, Overdoziz.
(Louis Wu 20:14:32 UTC) (permalink)
Project Aftershock Hits 1000 Files
=SW=Warlord let us know that development for Project Aftershock, the Halo themed mod for Crysis, continues apace. They've hit the 1000-files mark, with lots of new visual assets for you. If you check out this page of the thread on the CryMod forum, you'll find some recent work - gorgeous stuff! (Louis Wu 20:13:33 UTC) (permalink)
Advance looks at Cryptum available online
Thanks much to Archilen for noticing that the first two chapters of Greg Bear's Halo: Cryptum novel are available online! Go here for chapter 2 on Waypoint's web portal, and to Tor's site to register (it's free) and see chapter 1. What are you waiting for!? (GrimBrother One 18:27:00 UTC) (permalink)
343's Hiring for Halo
More new Halo jobs available at 343 Industries, as of yesterday - are you hunting? Thanks, Alienshogun. (Louis Wu 16:54:05 UTC) (permalink)
January 4th is coming soon!
GrimBrother IV noticed a Facebook Wall photo from Greg Bear - looks like he's gotten his advance copies of Cryptum. (For folks who don't have a Facebook account, and can't see this - a localized version is here, and the caption reads "Is it even okay to open the box yet?"?) Gotta love those slippers! (Louis Wu 14:51:08 UTC) (permalink)
Group Hug, Everyone!
They're on vacation, so Bungie.net's front page isn't being updated... but Bungie put out their last podcast of the year yesterday, you can find it on the Podcast page. Marcus, Joe Tung, Lee Wilson, and Chris Carney join urk in the recording booth to discuss Reach, what wasn't, and what was. Great stuff! Go listen. Thanks to geekinabox, who noticed it on the RSS feed. (Louis Wu 14:44:06 UTC) (permalink)
Where is that in the Armory?
NASA recently published photos of various spacesuit variants, some that have been used, and some that never made it into service. There are even some very cool x-ray shots taken of them. What's the Halo connection? Take a look at picture number 5, and you tell me. They even got the color right. Cue new Waypoint Ordnance piece in 3, 2, 1... (GrimBrother One 13:50:46 UTC) (permalink)
Achievement Mgalekgolo
CruelLEGACEY sends word that he has a new Reach guide available, and this time it's for the Noble Map Pack Achievements. If you've been having a time with trying to recomplete Reach's Achievement list, definitely go and give this a look! (GrimBrother One 13:46:36 UTC) (permalink)
News December 21 2010
Johnson's Day Off
Rockslider was privy to an interesting briefing by Sergeant Johnson... but I guess he didn't get the video camera out until just after it ended. Read all about it in his forum post - then go watch the footage. (Louis Wu 17:44:35 UTC) (permalink)
New Century Fundraiser a Success
You might rememeber that fundraising package we mentioned last week - a collection of Halo goodies, signed by Bungie devs, put on eBay to raise money for Jen Taylor's Seattle theater company? Bidding closed yesterday - and the final price was $3000, well above the Buy It Now price. Awesome beans! (Louis Wu 11:35:42 UTC) (permalink)
Torturing Myself Through Reach
Chris101b noticed an article at The Big Pixels - it's a picture of addiction. Addiction to Halo: Reach... (Louis Wu 11:35:04 UTC) (permalink)
No More Begging
One of the roughest Reach Achievements is 'If They Came to Hear Me Beg' - where you need to jump onto an Elite and assassinate him from a height that would otherwise kill you. Most people try this on Reach's 9th mission - and an AWFUL lot of Spartans have died jumping off that first cliff during the attempts. CruelLEGACEY has put together a guide to earning that Achievement on Nightfall - he's not (by far) the first, but his video is fun to watch (unless you're scarred for life from your own attempts), and shows you exactly where to start. (Louis Wu 11:34:19 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Guard Duty Pages 64-74
Part Eight of Hedgemony's Guard Duty (the last part) is now live; if you've missed any part of this story, the links for all previous parts are included in the first post. Great tale! (He was so focused on finishing this, he didn't even notice when he passed 1000 images in his 'Hedgemony Loves Halo' collection... now THAT'S dedication.)
(Louis Wu 11:33:33 UTC) (permalink)
News December 20 2010
Division Zero Teaser
Interesting - Zee-V70 stopped in to announce a teaser for Division Zero, a machinima set in the Reclaimerverse. Cool idea! (Louis Wu 18:37:53 UTC) (permalink)
The Challenge Challenge
Seraph XXVII wants to hear your best idea for a Reach challenge. He wants it so badly, he's got two Noble Map Pack codes to give out to his two favorite entries. You've got a week - get thinkin'! (More details about what he's looking for, and how you need to get it to him, in his forum post.) (Louis Wu 18:28:01 UTC) (permalink)
FIFA Stadium
b0anerges let us know about FIFA Stadium, a Forge map that lets you play... soccer. Golffer? Solf? Stickball? I have no clue what you call it, but it looks REALLY cool. There are several videos included in his forum post (gameplay, a look at the full arena, and some behind-the-scenes stuff on scoring), and a post at Forge Hub, as well. Go check this out - and get playing! (Louis Wu 14:13:28 UTC) (permalink)
DWT Productions - Halo: Reach E.O.A. Episode 6
MelkorTheGreat stopped by yesterday with word of DWT Productions' E.O.A. Episode 6 - more Reach tricking. Don't watch this while distracted; you won't have any clue what's going on! (That is: there are some pretty cool tricks in here, but they're not explained at all; if you don't pay attention, you won't know what you're looking at.) (Louis Wu 14:09:31 UTC) (permalink)
Waypoint - Chock-full of Halo Goodness
Totally spaced on the Weekly Wrap-up at Halo Waypoint - there are a few things you may not have seen:
- The Weekend Webcomic is a new episode of Master Chief's Pets, a series started last year by warrioronlydude.
- There's a new episode of Halo Reach: Headshot, covering Breakpoint.
- Death McGunz took Jonathan Coulton's "Re: Your Brains" and added Halo footage to it. (Plus a bit more.)
- Sometimes, crates are evil.
- 8-Bit Brigade hosted a holiday fundraiser for Child's Play, and there was plenty of Halo schwag for the taking. (This ended yesterday, unfortunately. Sorry.)
There are also plenty of screenshots worth seeing. And there are some exclusive bits you might have missed:
- MEGA Bloks' Assault on Squad 45 is now up - both Part 1 (which we mentioned last week) and Part 2 (which is exclusive to Waypoint) - amazing stop-motion stuff!
- The Return, a story from Halo: Evolutions, was turned into an animated comic on Xbox LIVE back this spring, and makes its web debut now. It's 20 minutes long, the art is spectacular, and if you missed it on LIVE, here's your chance to see it.
- The latest OutREACH segment is an interview with XerxdeeJ, the leader of Tied the Leader. Great discussion about how a little bit of planning can make your Halo experience much more positive!
Go explore - there's tons more! Update: looks like Assault on Squad 45 Part 2 is available on YouTube, as well, if you have any problem with Silverlight. (Louis Wu 14:05:53 UTC) (permalink)
News December 19 2010
Hushed Apprentice - Winner
Bones153 picked a winner for his Hushed Apprentice raffle - congrats, NartFOpc! (Louis Wu 18:59:55 UTC) (permalink)
Legendary
RedGrimRune combined How I Met Your Mother with Halo: Reach for his latest 6th Circle comic - go see!
(Louis Wu 18:59:13 UTC) (permalink)
No! Wait! Oh, crap...
Over at NeoGAF, MrBig pointed out a Bungie.net clip made by Hotrod192 - it... sort of breaks canon. Spoilers, of course.
(Louis Wu 15:41:15 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Top 10 on Xbox LIVE: Episode 4
Looks like MLG's Top 10 list is no longer on the web - because they're selling it on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. However, the number 2 clip in their latest collection was a killtastrophe from Ure Mama - who was proud enough to put it up on his own YouTube channel. (Watch it quick, I'd guess.) Thanks, Arnie.
(Louis Wu 15:40:31 UTC) (permalink)
Digima - Watch the Spark
Luke McKay mentioned a machinima series called 'Digima' - it was created by DigitomProductions, and there are three episodes so far. It's fun - go watch! (Louis Wu 15:39:58 UTC) (permalink)
Reach Matchmaking Upcoming Changes
Bungie's Jeremiah posted some upcoming playlist changes we should be seeing soon (no actual timeline given, and this is not a complete list). Some great stuff in there - give it a read!
(Louis Wu 15:39:09 UTC) (permalink)
News December 18 2010
Happy Halodays, love Bungie
It's the holiday season - and Bungie's taking it easy. Doesn't mean they don't have anything for you, though... last night's Bungie Weekly Update went live on time, thanks to Chris 'runningturtle' Gossett, and while it might not be full of details about what Bungie's been up to this past week, it DOES contain some pretty cool goodies. The coolest, by far, is the Bungie Holiday Card - what a labor of Halo love! See how many details you can pick out - there are nods to all SORTS of things in there. Other update highlights: the VGA Halo trailer, which you might have seen if you'd watched the VGAs this year, is now available for download (or streaming), some fun-to-read Reach stats have been compiled in a pretty nice format, and the year's last Blame Stosh is... awesome. As always, a local version is available in our Weekly Update Archive. Go read it! And kick off some Happy Halodays! (Louis Wu 16:11:49 UTC) (permalink)
News December 17 2010
Fails of the Weak Volume 13
Wayward Spleen™ noticed that the latest Fails of the Weak is live - the Achievement Hunter crew, Jack and Geoff, comment on some sad, sad occurances in the Reach playverse. (Louis Wu 21:33:35 UTC) (permalink)
PGCR Episode 59
SK1LL4XED sent word that the latest Post Game Carnage Report is live - lots of Halo discussion. Go listen! (Louis Wu 21:29:46 UTC) (permalink)
Mythic Difficulty Guide - Exodus (and more)
It's Friday, so it's time for new chapters in Tyrant's Mythic Difficulty Guide, and his Legendary Walkthrough on YouTube. If you're shooting for Solo, Legendary, All Skulls On, No Saves, No Deaths, it's time for Exodus - this is your first chance at real boots-on-the-ground urban combat in Reach, and Tyrant doesn't disappoint. Twelve videos (and plenty of text) will give you the tips and tricks you need to beat this challenge. If Legendary alone is more your style (or if you're already done with Mythic Exodus and preparing for Mythic New Alexandria), swing by YouTube and check out his 3-part New Alexandria walkthrough - better video quality, better audio quality, and... an interesting intro. (And of course, an efficient guide to beating the level, but that almost goes without saying.) (Louis Wu 16:48:08 UTC) (permalink)
Contempt for human life?
Interesting pickup by Kotaku - a street artist in San Francisco is making a statement about modern warfare... by using imagery from Halo. Ouch! (Louis Wu 14:42:21 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Concept Art Theme
Over at NeoGAF, xxjuicesxx noticed a Windows 7 theme composed of concept art shots for Reach - good GRACIOUS those are gorgeous. (If you're not on Windows 7, and you'd still like to view these shots - there are 13 of them - you can change the .themepack extension to .cab, and extract the images with a standard RAR extractor.) (Louis Wu 13:52:41 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Guard Duty Pages 50-63
Hedgemony is nearly finished with his 'Guard Duty' comic - he posted another dozen-plus pages this morning. Great artwork, great storyline! Go follow.
(Louis Wu 13:51:43 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fan Fiction
Four new pieces showed up this week in our Fan Fiction section - go read 'em! (Louis Wu 13:50:54 UTC) (permalink)
Sandman - Halo: Reach Montage 1
There's a highlighted montage on Halo Waypoint's website that shows off some pretty impressive gameplay - go watch Sandman rip it up on Reach (with some editing magic from SillyGoose). (Thanks, Dogiojoe) (Louis Wu 13:50:06 UTC) (permalink)
News December 16 2010
TPP: Noble Map Pack Week 2 - Tempest
Brian Gilmore let us know that Geekscape.net has posted the second in their series of Noble Map Pack articles - this one focuses on Tempest, and has some tips that can increase your average lifespan on the map. Read it, jump into the DLC list, and win some games! (Louis Wu 21:14:19 UTC) (permalink)
IGN Top 10 Kills for 12.15
IGN is back with another installment of its Halo Reach Top 10 Kills series. Some pretty awesome ones in there! Thanks to ChrisTheeCrappy for the heads-up on our forum. (GrimBrother One 15:09:06 UTC) (permalink)
MC's Hammer
Halo Waypoint's new ordnance piece is up, and this time, it's on the Gravity hammer. Go and check out some nice renders and good info! (GrimBrother One 14:58:50 UTC) (permalink)
No Strings Attached
Kotaku put up a short piece on a really neat marriage proposal that involves Muppets. No really. The beginning of the video sees one of them playing a familar game. The Halo connection is a bit of a Reach, perhaps, but it's a heart-warmer. Go check it out :-) (GrimBrother One 14:50:59 UTC) (permalink)
A Fistful of Arrows Returns
Leviathan is back with four more pages of A Fistful of Arrows, his astounding Halo graphic novel - a recap (since it's been a while) and Page 17 can be found in this post, while Pages 18-20 are in this post. I cannot say enough about this series - it floors me. (Louis Wu 13:52:18 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Reach - Achievement HORSE #2
Chris101b was the first to let us know about Achievement HORSE #2, the second in Achievement Hunter's 'challenge' series. This time around, they played on a bunch of community-created challenges - some of those look TOUGH! What a great mini-game idea for Reach! (Louis Wu 13:49:10 UTC) (permalink)
DWT's E.O.A. Episode 5
MelkorTheGreat let us know about E.O.A. Episode 5 - it's another collection of cool tricks and glitches. Check it out! (Louis Wu 13:45:19 UTC) (permalink)
News December 15 2010
Get cool schwag, help Cortana
If you visit eBay right now, you'll find a pretty amazing collection of Halo schwag - a signed (by the entire Bungie team) Halo Reach poster (it's a one of a kind image of Cortana and Halsey, created for Jen Taylor - you can't find this anywhere else), a signed Legendary edition, a release party gift bag, and a Noble 7 figure from SDCC 2010. Opening bid is $500, buy it now price is $2250 (I'm surprised; I'd guess it could go higher than that), and all proceeds benefit Jen's theater company, New Century Theater Company. (Louis Wu 18:42:38 UTC) (permalink)
Crashed Episode 3 - That's Our Ricky
Paul Shelley let us know that Treeskunk Productions has posted Crashed Episode 3 - Ricky's back, despite a LOT of death events. Go watch. (Louis Wu 18:41:43 UTC) (permalink)
Another Legendary Guide Surfaces
CruelLEGACEY let us know that he's started a Halo Reach Legendary guide; Winter Contingency is up now. The guide consists of YouTubed videos, with commentary included as annotations. You can compare these runs to Tyrant's Legendary guide, for multiple techniques! (Louis Wu 17:51:37 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Guard Duty Pages 41-49
Hedgemony's Guard Duty series continues - Part 6 contains pages 41-49, and a pretty major plot twist. I got my fingers crossed! (Louis Wu 16:34:15 UTC) (permalink)
Anchor 9 Theme on XBLM
ElzarTheBam noticed that Xbox LIVE Marketplace currently has a Halo: Reach Anchor 9 Theme available for purchase (240 MS Points, or about $3). No previews I can find at this point. Update: there's a video showing off the theme on YouTube - thanks, D3T0N8R. (Louis Wu 12:51:00 UTC) (permalink)
Learning to Love the Bloom
Kotaku Australia has been putting together a list of their favorite gaming moments of 2010. Learning to use the DMR in Reach is on it. (Louis Wu 10:56:12 UTC) (permalink)
343 E.G.G.M.A.N.
hyokin was inspired by the Sonic Adventures 2 soundtrack to create an ode to 343 Guilty Spark - as odd as that concept seems, it actually works. Go watch. Vid is (of course) 3:43 long.
(Louis Wu 10:52:55 UTC) (permalink)
News December 14 2010
Halocharts Game Aggregator
padraig08 noticed that Halocharts has added a Game Aggregate Stat Sorter tool - you can combine games and look at aggregate stats for the combination. Pretty cool! (Louis Wu 14:29:56 UTC) (permalink)
Community OutREACH - CaptainTony
Halopedia's CaptainTony is the latest interviewee in Halo Waypoint's Community OutREACH series - it's a fun interview as they destroy the opposition in a game of SWAT on Powerhouse. Go watch! (Louis Wu 14:24:05 UTC) (permalink)
News December 13 2010
Halo: Reach Legacy Grand Prix
CruelLEGACEY let us know that he's got a video up for his Legacy Racetrack - go check it out, then get to racing!
(Louis Wu 22:20:54 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Guard Duty Pages 35-40
Hedgemony has posted pages 35-40 of his 'Guard Duty' comic - things are getting a little dangerous for our heroes in the field. On more fronts than one. (Louis Wu 21:40:17 UTC) (permalink)
Never Too Late
AssaultGodzilla has whipped up a new Halo music video - this one is a tribute to Master Chief, and is set to Three Days Grace's ""Never Too Late". As always, there's some great synching between visuals and music. (Louis Wu 16:50:14 UTC) (permalink)
Festive Carnage
Sk1LL4XED sent word that the latest Post Game Carnage Report blog post has a list of their "Top 10 most festive video game levels", just in time for Christmas. Halo entries snag positions 9, 7 (of course), 2, and 1. Not too shabby! (Louis Wu 16:35:50 UTC) (permalink)
News December 12 2010
Waypoint Weekend Wrapup
Ooh, it's Sunday - that means Halo Waypoint has a Weekly Wrapup to tell us what we missed!
- Halo: Reach Best Fails Ever 5 is the fifth episode of yet ANOTHER Fails show.
- Machinima.com's Headshot takes a look at Anchor 9.
- When it snows, you make snowmen - and when you're a Halo fan, you make Spartans.
In addition to these fan creations, there was a bunch of new Waypoint-created content, as well:
- Part 3 of The Arbiter finishes the story of this critical Covenant character.
- bs angel put together a collection of her favorite color-free screenshots - it's amazing what you can do with Theater Mode!
- Greenskull gives a walkthrough of a modified version of Swordbase in Green's Machines 2.
- Episode 3 of 'Franchise Player', the Rooster Teeth-created miniseries, is now live.
Go watch! (Louis Wu 15:41:48 UTC) (permalink)
Arby 'n' the Chief S04E13: The Spider
jon cjg has released Episode 13 of Season 4 of Arby 'n' the Chief - 'The Spider' is all about a fear of arachnids. Man, when you're the size of an action figure, ALL spiders are big! (Some just wanna hang, though.) (Louis Wu 15:41:24 UTC) (permalink)
High Energy Content at High Speed Halo
RC Master wanted to make sure folks knew that there are seven new runs (and a speedrunning trick/tutorial vid) up at High Speed Halo, all posted in the past month. Here's a quick rundown:
- Halo 3: ODST Data Hive SLASO (mythic) in 21:00 by VincentKurayama
- Halo 3 The Covenant Heroic in 13:42 by Dark Devastation
- Halo 3: ODST Data Hive Heroic Co-op in 12:29 by Ensnared Cadaver and Rorcin
- Halo 3: ODST Kikowani Station Easy in 4:26 by Ensnared Cadaver
- Halo 3: ODST Kikowani Station Normal in 4:26 by Ensnared Cadaver
- Halo 3: ODST Kizingo Blvd Easy Co-op in 3:57 by Ensnared Cadaver and Bishop of Angst
- Halo 3: ODST NMPD HQ Heroic Co-op in 5:47 by Ensnared Cadaver and Bishop of Angst
- Halo 1 Speedrunning Tricks video by slYnki
Plenty to watch - go explore! (Louis Wu 15:36:15 UTC) (permalink)
Pow Pow
TDSpiral was inspired by a Forge World experience to create 'Pow Pow', a very cool Mongoose piece. Check it out! (Louis Wu 15:33:52 UTC) (permalink)
A Saturday of Awards
In addition to the Spike VGA's, there was a second ceremony that took place yesterday - Machinima.com's 2010 Inside Gaming Awards. Marcus Lehto and Marty O'Donnell were on hand, and they took home 'Best Innovation in Game Design' (for Forge 2.0), beating out Call of Duty: Black Ops (wager matches), Dance Central (full body recognition dancing), Heavy Rain (interactive cinematography experience), and Rock Band 3 (Pro Guitar mode and peripheral). Not bad! Congrats, guys. (Louis Wu 15:33:16 UTC) (permalink)
Reach has the Best Multiplayer. Duh.
In case you missed it last night, Halo: reach went home with the award for the Best Multiplayer Game at the annual VGA's. Congrats to all the nominees and winners of the night (whether or not we agree with the selections!). (GrimBrother One 15:24:10 UTC) (permalink)
News December 11 2010
The Hushed Apprentice
Bones153 wants to share his Forgetacular entry with the HBO community - and as a thank-you for all the testing help and feedback he's gotten, he's gonna make it worth your while. Download the map, take a screenshot of yourself playing on it, and upload that to B.net, and you could win a 1600 MS Point Card. Noice! Check his post for full details - and a movie showing highlights of the map. (Louis Wu 21:11:14 UTC) (permalink)
Reach - Under the Hood
Eurogamer's Digital Foundry has done an in-depth interview with a number of Bungie employees (graphics engineer Chris Tchou, character designer Chris Opdahl, community/writer Eric Osborne, senior animation lead Richard Lico and character engineer Max Dyckhoff). It's very, very technical - if you're not interested in the details of how the magic happens, this might be boring to you. On the other hand, if you enjoy reading the GDC talks every year, this will be right up your alley. I have only a vague sense of what's being talked about - but it's FASCINATING to me. For folks who can wrap their head around the tech stuff, go read this. There are even tidbits for non-techies, though you have to dig; there's an interesting answer from urk about why missions get cut (and why they won't be resurrected later as DLC). This is stuff EVERY fan should know. (As a sort of bonus, there's also a full run-through of Reach, sped up to the point where the entire game fits into a bit less than 17 minutes... weird.) Thanks, Alex Goh. (Louis Wu 16:23:24 UTC) (permalink)
Master Chief Leg Tattoo
Cody Brigan stopped by with some photos of a Master Chief tattoo he put on someone's leg recently - really nice work! (There might be an Arbiter coming soon, on the other side...) (Louis Wu 15:15:22 UTC) (permalink)
Master Chief Under My Christmas Tree (Reach Version)
Bryan Simon has re-recorded his "Master Chief Under My Christmas Tree" ode to Christmas and Halo in honor of Halo: Reach - go check out the new version! (Louis Wu 15:14:53 UTC) (permalink)
Have a glass of eggnog, on urk
Last night, urk posted what might be the last Bungie Weekly Update of 2010 - holidays are family time, after all! It contains news about the Forgetacular contest (judging is delayed), playlist updates if you missed them earlier this week, and a bunch of odds and ends - including bits about the Winter Pentathlon coming up in January. As always, it's available in our Weekly Update Archive, if you need that for any reason. (No Silverlight needed there!)
(Louis Wu 15:13:47 UTC) (permalink)
News December 10 2010
Halo Waypoint plays Santa
In the 'heartwarming ending to sad stories' category, Kotaku has an article about gaming companies (including the Halo Waypoint team) providing replacement goodies for a medical center in North Carolina, where a not-very-nice person recently stole a bunch of consoles meant for kids recovering from cancer. Congrats, EA and Waypoint! And boo to the jerk who thought that child cancer patients were a decent source of free consoles. Thanks, Rolandk73. (Louis Wu 20:10:19 UTC) (permalink)
Fails of the Weak Volume 12
Fails of the Weak Volume 12 is now online at Achievementhunter.com - the only thing worse than having your clip highlighted on this series is getting ridiculed by Jack and Geoff while you fail. Good stuff. Thanks, Mid7night. (Louis Wu 19:37:27 UTC) (permalink)
I'm an Armor-Locking Fool - Winner
Congrats to Twen7yOz Slayer - his entry in our recent "I'm an Armor-Locking Fool" contest was chosen by Hypertrooper as the winner! (There were actually several top contenders, so Hypertrooper picked one of THOSE at random.) A Reach shirt and cap will be on its way from Germany shortly! (Louis Wu 17:19:36 UTC) (permalink)
Fire Team Zulu (Digest Edition)
FyreWulff reminded us that even though there haven't been updates on HBO (or B.net), there HAVE been new challenges posted at Fire Team Zulu - both Reach and Halo 3 challenges, culled from community suggestions. Good stuff! Read the summary in his forum post, or all the details in the FTZ newspost. Challenge yourself! (Louis Wu 17:04:32 UTC) (permalink)
Assault on Squad 45
MegaBLOKS has put together a stop-motion movie using their Halo figures, and some fun special effects. Really nice work! Assault on Squad 45 Part 1 is on YouTube right now; a teaser for Part 2 (to be released next Saturday) is available on their website, if you're willing to sign up for the Mega BLOKS Brigade. Take a look! (Louis Wu 15:56:17 UTC) (permalink)
Don't bore Emile. He doesn't like it.
Wow... I knew Emile could be crass, but... Thanks to T07WRX5 for the find. (Louis Wu 15:43:58 UTC) (permalink)
Mythic Difficulty Guide: Long Night of Solace
Long Night of Solace may be the most diverse level in Halo's campaign - it's got outdoor combat, space combat, indoor combat... it's a veritable cornucopia of Covenant carnage. And now you've got a guide that can help you through it at its roughest! Tyrant has released the LNoS chapter of his Mythic Difficulty Guide - it's heavily loaded with video (21 clips this time around!), plus text descriptions of the preferred plans of attack. Go study it - then make your own Mythic run! (And as always, if Mythic is out of your league, or if you just need some practice before attempting it, he's one week ahead on his Legendary Guide at YouTube; the walkthrough for Exodus - in three parts - went up last night.) (Louis Wu 15:12:14 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox Elite Stencil
Orange Chikin stenciled an Elite on his Xbox - a fine way to show his Halo love! (Louis Wu 13:56:50 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fan Fiction
Three new pieces are live in the Fan Fiction section this week - go read! (Louis Wu 13:55:12 UTC) (permalink)
Funny Halo Reach Fails and Laughs 6
lostguru pointed out that the sixth episode of Funny Halo Reach Fails and Laughs went live a couple of days ago - some interesting clips, but maybe not enough to flesh out a 9 minute video. Go see for yourself! (Louis Wu 13:53:56 UTC) (permalink)
News December 9 2010
What the...
Absolutely NSFW, but one of the Backstreet Boys (the dude's in his 30s now; I wonder if 'Boys' still applies?) put on a Halo costume and took a bunch of really random pictures with a naked woman. I... I simply don't understand how this stuff happens. Thanks, I guess, to bluerunner, for finding it. (Louis Wu 18:35:36 UTC) (permalink)
The Fails of Reach - Episode 4
More Reach failure moments from CruelLEGACEY - The Fails of Reach, Episode 4 has been highlighted by Bungie's Comm Chatter, and has a number of grin-inducing incidents. There's even a website for this stuff from here on in! (Louis Wu 18:21:08 UTC) (permalink)
Map Spotlight Week 7 - Apex
a rascal cat continues his series of Map Spotlights with Week 7 covering Apex, from MADMAN Redux. Go read the interview, then download the map! (Louis Wu 18:15:18 UTC) (permalink)
IGN Top 10 Kills
IGN has put up its latest Top 10 Halo Reach Multiplayer Kills. A really nice collection of sweet victory... or defeat, depending on how you look at it (like from my usual point of view). ChrisTheeCrappy also noticed in our forums. Go and check it out! (GrimBrother One 15:42:14 UTC) (permalink)
News December 8 2010
Halo Wars Stat Tracking - It's Not Dead!
Last month, we mentioned a report that the Halo Wars website was being dismantled, with some of its functionality being moved over to the Halo Waypoint website. Folks were pretty unhappy that the online stat-tracking was being discontinued - but don't worry, the Waypoint team was listening! Cocopjojo posted a note today announcing that stat tracking will continue - w00t! More details at Halo Waypoint. (Louis Wu 22:00:57 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Guard Duty Pages 24-34
Hedgemony has submitted almost a dozen new pages of his Halo: Guard Duty comic - check this post (and the three followups) for Part 4! (This batch features cameo artwork from TDSpiral - nice stuff!) (Louis Wu 21:23:45 UTC) (permalink)
Tartar Sauced
ZaneZevin let us know about an article on Complex.com charting (in their opinion) the 50 Lamest Bosses in videogames. After reading why the venerable Brute made his way on the the list, keep going and check out who -or what- landed the Number 1 spot... (GrimBrother One 20:36:15 UTC) (permalink)
Waypoint Ordnance: Assault Rifles
Waypoint has a new ordnance piece up, this one chronicles some of the various iterations of the UNSC Assault Rifle. Nice shots and cool info await your clickage! (GrimBrother One 20:10:33 UTC) (permalink)
The Grunt is not a lie
Don Whitford let us know that his wife made a Grunt Birthday Party Cake for him this year - you can see it in her blog. Don has a pretty awesome wife! (She apologizes for getting Grunt blood color wrong... I say it looks delicious as is!)
(Louis Wu 19:32:19 UTC) (permalink)
Swag
It wouldn't be a Wednesday without a montage on B.net - so luckily the dualtage from KayEmX and FKIV is up there now. Snipe Central. (Would be nice to see more objective playing in FFA objective games... but I guess SOMEONE's gotta be rockin' the K/D...) (Louis Wu 19:29:48 UTC) (permalink)
Reach, Rewritten
General Battuta has been a vocal critic of the Reach campaign story - and now he's given you an opportunity to see what he might have done differently. He's begun a rewrite of the script - and there are some substantial changes. Go read it - and see how you feel! (Louis Wu 13:39:41 UTC) (permalink)
The Ace of Aces
Bry has finished his 'Ace of Aces' machinima - the highlight (as might be expected) is the Sabre flying, but the overall presentation - music, cinematography, etc - is really polished and worth seeing. Go follow the exploits of the UNSC's greatest flying Ace!
(Louis Wu 13:19:06 UTC) (permalink)
Get to work, Noble!
Tex was playing some Co-op on Winter Contingency, and was amused by Carter's lack of focus - so she drew up her viewpoint. Good stuff!
(Louis Wu 13:18:41 UTC) (permalink)
Awesome Games Done Quick
Cody Miller is participating in a 5-day Charity Speedrun Marathon - he, personally, will be playing Halo, Portal, and MGS 2, back-to-back-to-back, on the first day. Money is being raised for the Prevent Cancer Foundation - get prepared for some awesome speedruns, and contribute to this great cause!
(Louis Wu 13:18:02 UTC) (permalink)
Five Minutes with Firefight's Menus
A Gamasutra feature, 'Five Minutes With...', takes on the Firefight menu system - they're not even PLAYING the game, just setting it up. It's a great read, and if you haven't gotten lost in these menus yet, this article might help. hnc on our forum was first with the news. (Louis Wu 13:17:18 UTC) (permalink)
Achievement HORSE
The Achievement Hunter guys came up with a new kind of game - they're playing HORSE (the classic 1v1 basketball game, modified in concept to play nicely in Halo). Build a simple challenge, then try and be the first person to complete it. What a lot of fun! Check it out. Again, thanks, urk.
(Louis Wu 13:16:58 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie News Roundup
Bungie had a few informational posts yesterday:
- If you full-party boost, you should read this to see what is, and is NOT, allowed.
- The MLG Playlist is now active on Xbox LIVE - if you're looking for a more predictable game, this is your list! Also, Breakpoint Invasion is now in the Noble Map Pack hopper (it's still in the Invasion hopper, but it only shows up there if all players have the new maps, so this might be a better chance to play it).
- Finally, the Bungie.net mobile site is live - if you've got a mobile device, this will make navigation oh so much easier! Check it out.
Looks like Tuesday was a busy day for Bungie! (Louis Wu 12:33:43 UTC) (permalink)
TRR: Forge the Studio
You may have noticed that news coverage yesterday was pretty sparse; sometimes real life gets in the way of HBO. Sorry. Gonna do my best to catch up this morning; I'm in and out, so there may be gaps in the timing. First up: The Running Riot is conducting a contest to build a new 'studio' in which to conduct its in-game interviews. Swing by Forge Hub for full details! (thanks, urk)
(Louis Wu 12:33:15 UTC) (permalink)
News December 7 2010
TheDigitalSet.com Forge Contest
imSuck sent word that TheDigitalSet.com is hosting a Halo: Reach Forge contest - create a cool map (guidelines on the contest page), win a bunch of goodies. You've got a week - get Forging! (Louis Wu 21:25:25 UTC) (permalink)
Elite Fireworks
Rockslider has been launching Elites. The pink and blue explosions are beautiful! Read his forum post for details - then go watch the vids! (Louis Wu 11:48:11 UTC) (permalink)
Reach Challenges on your Windows Phone
Caleb 117 noticed a Windows Phone 7 app that displays the daily and weekly challenges, and can be linked to your gamertag to show you YOUR progress. Nice! Check his post for full details. (Louis Wu 11:45:08 UTC) (permalink)
News December 6 2010
The Top 7 Games with Fantastic Flashbacks
James M. let us know that GamesRadar has a piece on 'The Top 7 Games with Fantastic Flashbacks' - Halo 3: ODST comes in at #6. Always nice to be remembered! (c wut i did thar?) (Louis Wu 18:51:04 UTC) (permalink)
Monday Movie Madness
Bungie.net's got a few new videos for your afternoon-wasting pleasure - a couple were even posted Friday, but we never got to 'em:
- IGN posted their Top 10 Kills for 12/1 - some are great examples of skill, some are fun, and some are fails.
- Funny Halo 3 Productions put together their Christmas Splat-tacular, a great splatter montage.
- DefendTheHouse is back with Halo Reach Mythbusters, Episode 4 - as always, some seriously cool stuff. Absolutely worth a watch.
- Chimp released his first Halo: Reach montage (edited by Klima) - heavy on the editing, but short and sweet - less than 3 minutes of actual gameplay.
- Project Air released "Origins", a Halo 3 trick-jumping vid. Amazing stuff.
Go watch! (Louis Wu 18:48:12 UTC) (permalink)
MN talks NMP with Bungie Dudes
Derek '_mantis' Carroll and Eric 'urk' Osborne had 20 minutes of time on Major Nelson's latest podcast to discuss the Noble Map Pack - the writeup gives you the timestamps, if that's the particular part you want to listen to. Check it out! (Louis Wu 18:06:58 UTC) (permalink)
Guard Duty pages 17-23
Hedgemony has posted pages 17-23 of his "Guard Duty" comic - start in this post, then follow his links. His artwork is fantastic!
(Louis Wu 18:00:51 UTC) (permalink)
I'm an Armor-Lockin' Fool!
Hypertrooper got some cool Reach schwag from Microsoft Germany, but couldn't use it - so he's offering to give it to you. All you've got to do is provide him with a crazy Armor-Lock clip. It has to be yours (no submitting your friend's cool kill or fail), it has to be a clip (not a screenshot), and it needs to be on Bungie.net (doesn't need to be rendered, though that's helpful). Submit your best shot before Friday, and a cool Reach hat and shirt can be yours! (Louis Wu 17:39:46 UTC) (permalink)
I'm So Poor Contest - Winners
We received almost 400 entries to our "I'm So Poor" contest for Noble Map Pack codes - I wish we had that many codes to give away! (Only 10, folks - sorry.) So here's what happened: the entries were split into "funny" and "serious", and dupes were removed. Then 5 entries from each group were selected randomly. Gamertags were checked to 1) make sure that Reach had been played, and 2) had NOT been used with the Noble Map Pack yet. (Yes, this might have bitten you if you'd played with your friends. None of our potential winners had that issue.) I decided NOT to share the serious stories - but here are the 5 winning funny entries (unedited):
- Ninja Slothboy: because microsoft increased the cost of xbox live by $10 a year. If they hadn't done that I could have bought the map pack. As it is we only turn on the heat long enough to thaw out the water in the bathtub so we can get clean once a week. Although clean is relative. If you saw the state that water is in after 6 weeks of family bathing you would know what I'm talking about. We're so poor that my daughters have to work in the coal mines for 6 hours a day just so they can afford to buy the tools they need to work in the salt mines.
- nikoli1287: I had to take out a second mortgage just to pay for a new helmet in Halo Reach.
- Garbled: I didn't buy Halo 2 or 3, I just added roman numerals to my Halo: CE disk.
- Lebeau 182: my ten gallon hat is a water jug
- WolfSarge: my eviction notice said, "All your apartment are belong to us"... Then an ominous disembodied voice announced "Territory-LOST".
Congrats, also, to the 5 'serious' winners: Civicmirror, Hextall2727, AVA1L, DanGerst, and Neo5601. Emails have been sent out with codes to all 10 - if you are on this list, and didn't get a code, please check your junk folder! Thanks to everyone for entering, and to Bungie for providing the codes! (Louis Wu 15:40:40 UTC) (permalink)
News December 5 2010
Halo Reach Fails: Episode 5
chris10023 let us know that Halo Reach Fails: Episode 5 hit the net recently - always fun to see players (and AI!) showing serious lapses in judgement! (Only thing worse than firing too close to yourself when you're ambushing someone with a Rocket Launcher... is doing it against a Hologram.) (Louis Wu 15:13:35 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Reach Game News: NMP Review
Jimmy Jangles wrote up a review of the Noble Map Pack after playing for a while - go see if you agree with him!
(Louis Wu 15:11:28 UTC) (permalink)
Carrying the Standard
UK's Electronic Theatre put together their list of the Top Ten Xbox 360 Exclusive Games - and both Halo 3 and Halo: Reach make the list (at #3 and #1, respectively). Not bad! (Louis Wu 15:09:31 UTC) (permalink)
Ultimate Halo: Reach API Image Pack
HaLo2FrEeEk took the time to collect and organize the image assets that can be found throughout Bungie.net - if you ever find yourself in need of, say, the outline of a Skirmisher, or the medal for an Assist Spree, this pack can help. Almost 1500 images packed into a sub-40mb zipfile... check it out! (Louis Wu 15:08:56 UTC) (permalink)
Forge Lesson 39: Dedication
GodlyPerfection is back with another Forge lesson - this one is titled 'Dedication', and the idea is that continuing to work on a map after it's fleshed out can lead to a polished product. Give it a read! (Louis Wu 15:08:25 UTC) (permalink)
News December 4 2010
I Wish I Had a Jetpack
Bryan Simon is back with another vid - this one's called 'I Wish I Had a Jetpack', and tells a sad story. (Amazing gameplay from Kampy, though.) (Louis Wu 21:16:45 UTC) (permalink)
Fan-made Forerunner Diorama
Mr.Sci-Fi created a Forerunner diorama, for displaying your Halo action figures - fantastic work! It's for sale on eBay right now, if you're interested. (Louis Wu 14:28:36 UTC) (permalink)
Snip3down The Movie
ViDoL put together a 15 minute ode to MLG Pro Snip3down - I could live without the soundtrack, but the gameplay is UNREAL. (Well, it's not Unreal, it's Halo 3, but you know what I mean.) This is Halo 3 gameplay at a level I can only gape at. Thanks to kylej for the heads-up.
(Louis Wu 14:26:59 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Aces Teaser
Bry is considering making an Aces video in Reach - his teaser is up now. Go watch!
(Louis Wu 14:17:45 UTC) (permalink)
Fails of the Weak Volume 11
Achievement Hunter's Fails of the Weak Volume 11 (that's not a roman numeral 2, that's eleven) contains funny situations and funnier commentary - go watch. Beckx embedded it on our forum, if you'd like to watch it there.
(Louis Wu 14:14:17 UTC) (permalink)
Wrapping Up The Week
As expected, the Bungie Weekly Update went live yesterday - lots of good stuff in there. There are reminders of what the week brought (Noble Map Pack, Podcast), warnings about a new wave of autobans (don't mod stuff!), new mobile wallpapers, info about an upcoming mobile version of Bungie.net - and lots and lots of free map codes (for those quick enough to grab 'em). Go give it a read!
(You can, of course, do so in our Weekly Update Archive, as well.)
(Louis Wu 14:12:16 UTC) (permalink)
News December 3 2010
I'm Too Poor for the Noble Map Pack Contest
Are you one of the sad ones left out of the Noble Map Pack fun? We've got 10 more codes to give away - so tell us what's keeping you from buying, and you might just find yourself in possession of a freebie! (Louis Wu 18:41:13 UTC) (permalink)
Mythic Difficulty Guide: Tip of the Spear (and more!)
Tyrant's Mythic Difficulty Guide grows by another chapter - this time, he'll help you get through Tip of the Spear with no deaths and all skulls on. Twelve videos supplement his writeup, showing you exactly how he does it. But wait! That's not all! His Legendary Guide has been updated too - swing by YouTube to watch the three-part walkthrough of Long Night of Solace (the subtitle of this chapter is 'Killionaires... in... SPACE!"). Use it to prepare yourself for next week's Mythic runthrough of this level - or just to help you finish that Legendary run for the Achievement! Great stuff. (Louis Wu 16:51:08 UTC) (permalink)
Fighting With Fairfax - THIS WEEKEND
We'd like to remind you that the Fighting With Fairfax outREACH Tournament, to raise awareness for Infantilie Spasms (and have a lot of fun playing Reach), is taking place THIS weekend - there's still room for more teams (2 player or 4 player) to sign up! Swing by the website, grab a slot, and Join the Bunny!
(Louis Wu 16:09:06 UTC) (permalink)
TPP: Noble Map Pack Week 1 - Anchor 9
Brian Gilmore let us know that the Teabag Prevention Team has tackled Anchor 9 in the first of their series of Noble Map Pack Tips articles. Getting pummeled in low-grav? Give this a read!
(Louis Wu 16:04:21 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fan Fiction
Two new pieces for you this week in the Fan Fiction section - give 'em a read! (Louis Wu 16:03:12 UTC) (permalink)
The Sphere of Intangibility
FyreWulff filmed an odd effect visible when playing Assault on hilly maps - made me laugh!
(Louis Wu 16:02:37 UTC) (permalink)
Odds and Ends
Hedgemony found some random Halo-related Tumblr goodies - go see! (Louis Wu 16:02:00 UTC) (permalink)
RIP, DXP
FyreWulff has posted the final Double Experience Playlist list for the lifetime of Halo 3 - he's pretty sure the list is now dead. Sadness! (Louis Wu 16:01:20 UTC) (permalink)
News December 2 2010
An Epic Waiting to Happen
Richard Ross sent word of a couple of academic articles about Reach - as odd as that sounds. That is - these are articles written about the Reach storyline, but from a scholarly viewpoint. Halo: Reach as epic draws parallels between Reach and the Greek 'epic circle' style of storytelling. (It's marred by a confusion between the character of Catherine Halsey and that of Cortana, the AI based on Halsey's mind - but otherwise is a pretty interesting read.) Halo: Reach as practomime looks at how the gameplay itself tells its own aspect of the Reach story. Both were written by Roger Travis, for the blog 'Play the Past'. Both take a decidedly thoughtful approach to the fun-oriented video game. Give 'em a read!
(Louis Wu 22:58:35 UTC) (permalink)
Reach Matchmaking Update Changelist - November 30
Bungie's Playlist Fungineer, Jeremiah, posted a changelist for the Reach Matchmaking playlists over at Bungie.net - check it out to see what's been updated! (Louis Wu 22:56:02 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie Podcast: 12/02/10
Only 5 months late, Bungie's 6th podcast of 2010 has finally hit the interwebs - go listen as Derek Carroll, Sam Jones, and Jason Sussman talk about the Noble Map Pack and the meaning of life. (Well, the map pack, at least.) (Louis Wu 22:39:53 UTC) (permalink)
They do stats. Not shots.
This week's Halo Humpday Challenge was against the HaloCharts crew - and the fact that the writeup is not a Top Story on Bungie.net should tell you who won. (But it doesn't, actually.) Go read it - It's a decent writeup, and it sounds like there was a lot of fun being had. Better luck next time, HC crew! (Louis Wu 22:32:10 UTC) (permalink)
You can't run! You can't run!
JDQuackers tipped us off to a new live action/machinima mashup from Chalan Marsalus (I had better luck watching it directly on Vimeo). Can our heroes protect their precious cargo? Watch and find out! (Louis Wu 22:08:40 UTC) (permalink)
Movies, Maps Chattered About
Bungie's Comm Chatter has a couple of community map-making stories:
- Forever Forgers has a listing of some favorite maps, along with descriptions and links.
- a rascal cat has Week 6 of his Map Spotlight series - focusing on Troubled Waters, by Odin12345. Go read the interview, then check out the assets (a screenshot, a flythrough, a download link).
It also has a couple of movies:
- CruelLEGACEY's Fails of Reach, Campaign/Firefight Edition has a whole bunch of giggle moments - worth watching.
- Stewie2552's Funny Halo Reach Fails and Laughs 5 is full of wtf moments in both Campaign and Multiplayer. The Armor-locking Triple Vehicle Kill was my favorite, though the banshee betrayal after the awesome assassination was a close second.
Go check it all out! (Louis Wu 20:36:27 UTC) (permalink)
That Pipe is Pro!
snakegriffin pointed out a pretty cool thread at Bungie.net - I learned all sorts of things about the Grenade Launcher by reading it. Take a look! (Louis Wu 20:06:34 UTC) (permalink)
Behind every great man...
Cracked has a collection of 6 Video Game Heroes Made Useless By Supporting Characters - and Halo's Master Chief is #1 on the list. You may or may not agree with their logic, but it's a fun read. Thanks, Sl'askia. (Louis Wu 17:25:39 UTC) (permalink)
Achievements and Challenges, Oh My!
FoxmanFX stopped in with word of a new Noble Map Pack Achievement Guide at Halo Reach Daily - as well as the HBO edition of HRD's daily Challenge guide. Check it! (Louis Wu 17:01:57 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Reach E.O.A. Episode 4
MelkorTheGreat is back with the latest from DWT Productions - Halo: Reach E.O.A. Episode 4 is full of new glitches and tricks. Once again, some amazing stuff! (Louis Wu 17:01:32 UTC) (permalink)
Forger - A Machinima Series
DeathMcGunz has been making a machinima series for about a month now - there are 8 episodes so far. Kevin and Roger are a pair of players in Reach that Forge stuff. Understated humor - I liked 'em!
(Louis Wu 17:00:54 UTC) (permalink)
G4's Reach Coverage
Morpheus brought us a bunch of G4 links that reference Reach in various ways - always nice to have summaries!
(Louis Wu 17:00:28 UTC) (permalink)
Firefight Versus - a clarification
Lars Bakken had a message about the Firefight Versus playlist, for folks who might not grok the whole idea - thanks to MoltenSlowa for bringing it over to our forum. (Louis Wu 16:59:29 UTC) (permalink)
Answers for your NMP Questions
Bungie's written up a Noble Map Pack FAQ explaining some of the nuances of how the DLC works, in terms of when you'll see the maps in Matchmaking, what happens if you're trying to play with people that don't have them, and so on. Give it a read!
(Louis Wu 16:58:31 UTC) (permalink)
News December 1 2010
Giant Bomb Quick Look: Reach Noble Map Pack
Giant Bomb has a half-hour video Quick Look at the Noble Map Pack - if you've got the time, go see what they thought! (Standard matchmaking, with voiceover commentary.) (Louis Wu 21:11:25 UTC) (permalink)
Oh So Noble
Minime637 was touched by the beauty of the new maps - there are 6 new panoramas up in his DeviantART gallery, with previews in his forum post. Nice! (Louis Wu 19:26:44 UTC) (permalink)
Out of Noble
Kotaku has a few videos taken from outside the playing areas of the three new Noble maps - the skyboxes that Bungie has created for these playing spaces are AMAZING. Go watch.
(Louis Wu 16:00:01 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Guard Duty Pages 8-16
Hedgemony has posted the next batch of Halo: Guard Duty pages - start here for pages 8-10, then follow his links for pages 11-16!
(Louis Wu 15:59:34 UTC) (permalink)
MP-SP - Halo Reach Noble Map Pack
Adam Dorsey sent us word of the latest episode of Multiplayer Singleplayer - and his review of the Halo Reach Noble Map Pack. Not your typical review...
(Louis Wu 15:58:45 UTC) (permalink)
Fallout's Megaton - in Reach
Sidd stopped by with word of a famous town from Fallout 3 - recreated in Reach. Go check out Megaton!
(Louis Wu 15:56:58 UTC) (permalink)
Buy magic, win cool stuff
Retsof-Noraa found a site that's giving you a shot at a custom-skinned Reach Xbox with every order above $25 you place between now and December 31. Nice deal! Take a look at Ellusionist. (Louis Wu 15:56:03 UTC) (permalink)
Devin-Sent - Noble Edition Results
Congrats to cbwilliams17, Silver Blade 14, MarcScott, Kapura, Banshee 105, Taco Power PhD, and EazyB - these 7 won Devin's latest giveaway and are now proud owners of the Noble Map Pack! Stay tuned for more. (Louis Wu 15:54:47 UTC) (permalink)
| December 2010 | |
