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 | June 2007 |  |
June 2007 Archived News
News June 30 2007
I think I'd rather go with sun, thanks.
Wow, nice. Hit the beaches in s7yle, with your new Master Chief beach towel. The only downside? The $35 pricetag. Thanks, x1zero. (Louis Wu 19:12:13 UTC) (permalink)
What They Learned
IGN talked to Frank O'Connor about what Bungie got back from the Halo 3 Beta; it's a decent read. Thanks, boesman. (Louis Wu 12:09:16 UTC) (permalink)
It's Raining Elites
Heh - a fun take on an overdone concept. Thanks, Major.Dump. (Louis Wu 12:05:06 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Wars - Not Dead
Thunder has posted a new Halo Wars Update - there's not a lot of new info there, but there IS a promise of more to come in a week or two. Thanks to Mike Smith for letting us know. (Louis Wu 12:03:50 UTC) (permalink)
iCommerce
The iPhone was available to the public yesterday - Mister Froggy took a look at the economics of the phenomenon in Halo, Articulated #51. (Louis Wu 11:54:00 UTC) (permalink)
Spartan PMS Jokes
Sane Intolerant pointed out another pair of Halo Toy Box strips (1 | 2) - humor seems to be going downhill. (Louis Wu 11:51:02 UTC) (permalink)
Looking for steaming logs
Frankie's written up the latest Bungie Weekly Update, and it's a combination of tantalizing tidbits and facets of frustration. TELL US MORE, you'll scream. OMG IS IT SEPTEMBER YET? you'll demand. And WOWZERS YOU HAVE A 71 TERABYTE DRIVE CAN I HAVE IT? you'll whine. (Of course you won't. Who wants a 71 terabyte drive? How on earth could you download enough porn to fill that?) Go read. AND HEY! MISTER CHIEF IS BACK! (He's in our Weekly Update Archive, too.) (Louis Wu 01:36:24 UTC) (permalink)
News June 29 2007
Fishy Trip Mine.
BOLL's third guest One One Se7en goes up today... all I can say is, give it a few seconds to sink in. (Louis Wu 12:00:17 UTC) (permalink)
Multiverse, in High Res
We'll be posting the full collection of Zune Giveaway finalists in the not-too-distant future... but Jamie98s has released a high-res version of his 'Multiverse' vid over at GamingTV - check it out! (Louis Wu 11:55:38 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fan Fiction
Just a small batch of Fan Fiction this week - only 6 pieces. Get 'em read! (Louis Wu 11:53:16 UTC) (permalink)
Halo as art
Zerowind117 took a lot of inspiration from Halo this past year in his Practical Design class - check out this forum post for some of his projects! (Louis Wu 11:36:16 UTC) (permalink)
Playing with that thing he likes
The most recent 'Humpday' Challenge at Bungie was played against a pair of guys who work on the TrueSkill ranking system - it was sort of a pickup match, and Bungie won it handily. (I think they like this "we can only play Humpday matches against internal people for the time being" stuff, because right now, they're better than the competition. I'm wondering how whiny the tone's gonna get when they're playing against community members again, and having their collective butts handed to them on a regular basis.) There's also some smack talk about Luke's old employers, and how they couldn't stand the heat... thanks, MasterChief2829. (Louis Wu 11:24:34 UTC) (permalink)
GamesRadar talks to Sketch
GamesRadar has posted a new Halo 3 Q&A - it's an interview with Brian Jarrard about what the Beta did for Bungie, and how it played out in general. The tricking community should take note of this comment:
There were definitely some areas that fans managed to reach that our designers either never intended or were aware of but couldn't fix in time for the beta. The final game will not allow people to get outside of the map or break the way the game is meant to be played.
Man... that sure sounds like a challenge to me! Thanks, MasterChief2829. (Louis Wu 11:14:21 UTC) (permalink)
News June 28 2007
Release date for Halo: Uprising #3
While attempting to answer a forum question, I came across a page we haven't mentioned on Marvel's website; it's a details page for Halo: Uprising #3. There's no new info in the summary (it's roughly the same summary that the first two books had), but it DOES list a release date of September 26, which tells you that the comic series will NOT be finished before Halo 3 hits the shelves. (Louis Wu 22:36:34 UTC) (permalink)
Clix - you're it!
Bungie's Luke Smith went to talk to Mike Elliott, Senior Game Designer with Whizkids, the guys making Halo ActionClix. He came back with some interesting information about the game, and about how games are developed in general. Give it a read! Thanks, Hellhawk. (Louis Wu 20:37:39 UTC) (permalink)
Cardboard Mjolnir Armor - Cheap!
DominoEffect noticed a pretty amazing Mjolnir armor costume on the Half-Life Fallout forums; amazing because it's all made of cardboard (with some paint and LEDs) and the total cost is about $26. For anyone who's dying for a cool Halloween costume - this guy shows it can be done in a few days, with stuff most of us have around the house. Wonga! (Louis Wu 18:33:55 UTC) (permalink)
A Grizzled Ancient Speaks
GameCritics.com has put up a great interview with Shi Kai Wang, 3D Art Lead for Halo 3. Everything from how to get into the industry, to what Halo 3 means to the crew, to Transformers past and present are covered - well worth the read. Thanks, Chi Kong Lui. (Louis Wu 13:08:00 UTC) (permalink)
Nylund on videogame stories
Cody Miller noticed that there was a short piece written by Eric Nylund in the current Game Informer magazine - he discusses writing stories for video games, and Halo's story comes up. (Louis Wu 12:36:17 UTC) (permalink)
Items On Normal
Sane Intolerant let us know that there's a new ep of Halo Toy Box up - his 360 is busted, so content for the next while will focus on Nintendo stuff. (He's still using Halo action figures, which makes it semi-relevant here.) (Louis Wu 12:34:36 UTC) (permalink)
Blood Gulch Chronicles Ep 100
The final episode of Red vs Blue's Blood Gulch Chronicles was released this morning - it's up for everyone now (sponsors and the general public alike). It answers some questions, wraps up some storylines, and, well... go watch it. (If it seems like there are three separate links for the movie... there are.) No spoilers here. (Lots of good lines, though.) Congrats to the Rooster Teeth crew - amazing job! (There's also a really short interview with Gus over at 1Up.com.) (Louis Wu 11:54:48 UTC) (permalink)
News June 27 2007
Batteries Not Included.
BOLL, unhappy with the idea that ZZoMBiE13 got a full week's worth of guest strips for One One Se7en, while he only got a single day, has submitted extra strips for your viewing pleasure. Check out today's strip and see if you approve! (Louis Wu 15:08:55 UTC) (permalink)
HAFT - Shut yo' mouth!
We already follow a couple of comics done using action figures - the first was Miniature Halo, hosted right here. More recently there's been Halo, Articulated and Halo Toy Box. But one we haven't covered specifically has been unfolding in Elnea's Red vs Blue Journal for a little over a year. (The first official episode of 'Halo Action Figure Theater' showed up on May 16, 2006 - but the name appeared a month earlier, and she'd been using the figures for do-it-yourself comics for a year before that.) She's collected all the actual episodes of this story (which is pretty darned convoluted, but quite funny at times) on her mac.com webspace - you can read the entire thing without needing an RvB account. Let her know what you think!
(Louis Wu 14:18:52 UTC) (permalink)
Wait... was that Pinkuh?
Luke McKay has done another drawing of Cortana - and I think you can tell, his style is changing a bit... (Louis Wu 13:32:19 UTC) (permalink)
LE Helmet up for grabs on eBay
Wow, that didn't take long. PFG noticed a Legendary Edition Spartan Helmet for sale on eBay - current bid (with just over four and a half days left) is a bit over $50. These helmets will eventually house Halo 3 discs - but not for a few months. (Louis Wu 13:15:08 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Forza Winning Entries Posted
Bungie has posted the winners of their Forza car modification contest (they originally announced it here) - all four winning cars are pretty danged cool! Check 'em out. Thanks, Radiago713. (Louis Wu 12:37:16 UTC) (permalink)
H2V review from 411Mania
411Mania.com has reviewed Halo 2 Vista; overall, they liked it. (They gave it a rating of 8.1/10, with high marks for Sound and Fun Factor.) They did gripe that using a keyboard/mouse combination results in definite lag - this is the first time I've heard this. (Louis Wu 12:26:14 UTC) (permalink)
A fresh coat of paint, but not much else
On the other end of the spectrum, Exclaim tried out the Halo 3 Beta - and were pretty much unimpressed. Too many 14-year-olds teabagging the reviewer's corpse, apparently. (Louis Wu 12:25:32 UTC) (permalink)
A Labour of Love
Next Generation has posted a review of the Halo 3 Beta - written by Edge magazine. They're overwhelmingly positive; they feel Bungie has taken the lessons of Halo 2 (and Halo) to heart, and are on track to release a game that will surpass both. High praise from a magazine that has given only 5 10/10 reviews in their history - one of those to Halo. (Louis Wu 12:24:45 UTC) (permalink)
Attack of the Factoids: Halo 3 Beta
Games.net is hosting what has got to be the most bizarre gaming news feature I've seen in a while: a video of gameplay on the Halo 3 Beta (nothing special), coupled with 'factoids' - info about laser weapons developed in real life, the definition of a 'Pyrrhic Victory', who we're fighting in Halo and what kind of war it is... It's odd.
(Louis Wu 12:21:00 UTC) (permalink)
Metroid Online Update
Seraphim wrote to say that work has continued apace on the Metroid Online mod for Halo CE (no, they're not switching to Vista); swing by their site for the latest news. There's a movie up at Gametrailers, showing off their newly coded morphball - press the flashlight button, and you turn into it - anytime, anywhere. Nice! (Louis Wu 12:20:12 UTC) (permalink)
News June 26 2007
Calamity
Heh - we got word from Trevor Mack that there was a monster montage at Halo3Forum; 22 minutes, 350 mb, gameplay from a host of players. I told him that we generally don't front-page H3F montages unless the request comes from the site owner - and that 22 minutes is pretty ridiculous for a montage anyway. Curious, though, I downloaded it; I mean... 22 minutes? I gotta say - I was floored by the gameplay. Some INSANE kills. Tweak is astoundingly good with noscopes from the back of a Mongoose. Not too long after that, I got a note from Z, asking if we'd announce this very montage - so there you go. If you love montages, and have the time (and disk space) to grab a 350 mb movie... go get Calamity. (Louis Wu 20:14:52 UTC) (permalink)
WA 2v2 Tourney
Relentless Azn stopped by to point out an upcoming 2v2 Slayer tournament this Saturday in Kent Washington - check his link for more details. (Hint for folks posting updates like this on our forum - at least say WHERE your tournament is! The location of the game store in question was not only not in his forum post, but it was nowhere on the front page of the website!) (Louis Wu 20:03:13 UTC) (permalink)
Halomega Updates
Mike, from Halomega, let us know that there's lots of new content up at their site. There's a new videos section up (they'll host your member vids, as well), they've got a new Sig of the Week contest, and they're looking for your opinion on Halo 3 as a hype-killer. (Louis Wu 19:59:35 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 on XP - you're on your own
So, we mentioned a hack recently that will let you play Halo 2 Vista on Windows XP - and today, a group known as Razor 1911 released their own crack (I read about it here first, but Cody Miller saw it at Next-Gen) - in response, Dennis Powers, of HaloMaps, has issued a statement. He believes that playing the game through buggy emulation, with no support, is a bad idea; he's not going to be hosting any of the cracks. Finding them won't be hard, if you want them - but as one of the largest sites for PC-based Halo creations, he's saying it's not worth it.
(Louis Wu 19:51:05 UTC) (permalink)
HBO Zune Giveaway: Results
Took us a little while to reach everyone, and get all our ducks in a row... but the results for the HBO Zune Giveaway are now online! On top of the 4 Zunes we promised when this whole thing started out, we've convinced Bungie to provide some extra prizes - second place in all four categories will receive an awesome metal Carnage Zone street sign, and we've provided a special Judges' Choice award for one entry that we felt had not been properly recognized by the public. (Yes, we can do that. We run this place.) Check out all the details, and download high-resolution versions of the winning movies, on the Contest Results page. (Louis Wu 12:01:07 UTC) (permalink)
More info (and pics) about Master Replicas guns
A week ago, we mentioned the new stuff coming from Master Replicas - a pair of weapon replicas - but at the time, the only info about these could be found on store sites. Last night, ODSTAdrianFii noticed that some info - and a pair of photos - are now up on the Master Replicas site itself... and man, do those look good. I'm still waiting to find out how big they are - but I must say, they're gorgeous. (Louis Wu 11:33:50 UTC) (permalink)
RvB in Wired
Wired has posted an article commemorating the 100th episode of Red vs Blue (due to be released tomorrow evening), and looking back over what RvB has stood for (and inspired in others) over the past 4 years. Good read. Thanks, MC_Leprechaun. (Louis Wu 11:29:27 UTC) (permalink)
Frag Fest T
Tango pointed out a new Halo t-shirt (also available in 2XL ) available at Hot Topic - sort of elaborate, but interesting. (Louis Wu 11:23:23 UTC) (permalink)
Labor Intensive
Mister Froggy has posted Halo, Articulated #50 - the strip contains things you never knew about the Covenant, and the page contains info about his next project. Go look! (Louis Wu 11:15:00 UTC) (permalink)
News June 25 2007
Zune Giveaway Update
We promised that the Zune Giveaway results would be posted by this evening - but we're having trouble reaching some of the winners, to get higher-resolution versions of their entries for display on the Results page. As soon as they come in, we'll post the whole page - it might be tomorrow, and for that we apologize. (Louis Wu 22:01:58 UTC) (permalink)
Mario vs. Spartan
trigger119 sent word of Mario vs. Spartan, a short machinima with a very well-done battle scene between Mario and a Halo 2 Spartan. It's only a few megs - go grab it! (If you're curious about the new TLD for GamingTV, read this post.) (Louis Wu 21:50:07 UTC) (permalink)
Whippersnappers
Heh - a reporter for the Edmonton Sun challenged Tom 'TSquared' Taylor to a 1v1 match on Lockout. Here's his side of the story - and here's MLG's take. Funny stuff. Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 21:40:22 UTC) (permalink)
Playing with Numbers
rapture was messing around with Google's new Hot Trends feature, which replaced Zeitgeist. (Check out the top searches for the week ending May 18, 2007...) Hot Trends lets you compare search terms, with lots of interactive features to play with. For example, rapture looked at Halo vs Gears of War... while KP opted for something slightly different. Careful - you can lose a lot of time to stuff like this!
(Louis Wu 20:51:05 UTC) (permalink)
Flugtag Halo Entry, On Film
eddie m noticed that Red Bull USA posted a video of the Halo Ghost Bike entry to the Flugtag competition this weekend in Nashville... watch the guys ham it up for the camera before their attempt... and then watch the attempt itself. I give 'em straight 10s for style, myself. (Louis Wu 20:42:42 UTC) (permalink)
2v2 Slayer Tourney in NYC
Nitro288 noticed that the NYCLAN website is advertising a 2v2 Slayer tournament with a $1000 purse, to be held in NYC on July 15. If you're in the area, give it a shot! (Louis Wu 20:37:14 UTC) (permalink)
When Admins Forget
Bzerker wrote to let us know that Treeskunk Productions has released Outpost: Backwash Episode 0: Before the Beginning - it's available in multiple formats, ranging from 21 to 74 mb. It sets up the mission the Elites have before them... and the interaction between players. Go watch! Update: wow, it's one of those days. We announced Ep0 of O:B back in October of last year; the steel trap is definitely disintegrating. What Bzerker was pointing out to us was not Ep0, but a totally unrelated film on the same page: the TSP Commercial (down at the bottom). Filmed on Desolation, it's a shameless commercial for both Treeskunk Productions and Second-Foundation.net (though it uses humor to take the edge off the selling). Go watch! (Louis Wu 18:15:47 UTC) (permalink)
Anti-Betrayal Deployment.
Today's Guest One One Se7en strip was created by BOLL - and it shows that not everyone is enamored with Halo 3's bubble shield. Folks might want to keep this strip in mind when playing against Stuntmutt this fall... (Louis Wu 17:03:15 UTC) (permalink)
HTB is back
Sane Intolerant let us know that he's created two new Halo Toy Box strips - he says they're both centered around Shadowrun. Look Before You Teleport, and Reusable Targets. I don't get them. But then, I never played Shadowrun. (Please don't flood me with mail explaining these; I don't really need to know.) (Louis Wu 16:44:53 UTC) (permalink)
ARG Watcher Needs a Hand
Nathan Gibson, who's maintaining the website Maximum Fear as a repository of information about the Iris ARG, let us know that he'd love some help. If you're interested in working on extra content for the site (mostly editing and putting together theories from content sent into the site), stop by the site - his email address is in the top left corner. (Louis Wu 15:30:39 UTC) (permalink)
Part One.
Skavenger, unhappy that he's been out of the Halo news for so long, has whipped up a really cool piece of machinima. Oh, wait, that's right... he's only really capable of mediocre films. Unwilling to foist that sort of work on you, he's fallen back on his old favorite - a puzzler. This one starts as a word search - but that ain't how it ends... go see what you can do with it. C'mon, Skav needs the attention. (Thanks to Morningstar for posting it - Skav's smart enough to know that when he gets near the forum, things start breaking.) (Louis Wu 13:02:01 UTC) (permalink)
Retconning the Halo Arsenal
Gravemind has taken a look at the human weapons Bungie has included in the Halo series, and wondered a little about how they'd work if Bungie had stuck closer to reality in their design. (As he says in his forum post, it's just a "what if" speculation - don't take it too seriously.) It's in two parts, due to space limitations on 1Up blog posts - part 1 is here, part 2 is here. (Louis Wu 12:56:28 UTC) (permalink)
57 Chevy - coming up next
Wow. bs angel has customized her pink Spartan... with a screaming guitar. LOVE the frets. (Louis Wu 12:32:29 UTC) (permalink)
H2V WowLoader Source Code
TheGhost wrote to let us know that the author of the WowLoader program we mentioned yesterday has released the source code for his work, in the hopes that someone can pick up where he left off. The post he made on h2vista.net explains what's missing or needs work - and the loader, as well as the source code, can be downloaded from there without having to jump through the Rapidshare hoops. Programmers... start your engines! (Louis Wu 12:28:44 UTC) (permalink)
News June 24 2007
Messin' with the Fans
A few days ago, we mentioned an article at the Hushed Casket which detailed the situation with a college student swept up involuntarily in the Iris ARG - rapture just gave us the heads-up about a YouTubed clip from G4's Attack of the Show in which they interviewed the guy live. If you start hearing rumors that Halo 3 is coming out for the Playstation 3... you can totally blame Kevin Pereira. (Louis Wu 23:13:33 UTC) (permalink)
H2V under XP - now
By now, the news that Falling Leaf is working on a program that will allow you to play Halo 2 Vista under XP is pretty common knowledge (though some of the issues with the company are not quite so commonly known - but that's another story). They're shooting for later this summer, though... but why wait? An enterprising programmer known as xtc has released WowLoader-0.2.rar - a tiny program that will allow you to install Halo 2 Vista under XP. How well does it work? In the words of Samusaaron3, who told us about it:
The game currently does not seem to run flawlessly - I have a pretty nice system, but I have to turn the settings down pretty low to have it run smoothly. Not bad for a free program though.
Intriguing news for those who don't want to upgrade to Vista! (Louis Wu 22:54:18 UTC) (permalink)
This Sucks.
The last of ZZoMBiE13's guest One One Se7en strips went up today, as a special Sunday Strip - Elites might be able to kiss better, but they've got some other problems. (Louis Wu 16:42:45 UTC) (permalink)
Zune Art, categorized
EliteSniper177 extracted all the Halo artwork from his Halo 3 Zune, packaged it up in categories, and made a zipfile out of it. He also provides instructions on how to use them as backgrounds. (Louis Wu 16:39:49 UTC) (permalink)
The Riot 53
Sigafoos let us know that The Riot 53 is now up - discussion of their recent LAN, and of course community updates. Go listen - 26 minutes, 10.5 mb. (Louis Wu 16:34:01 UTC) (permalink)
The Spartan Effect: Episode 5
A couple of days ago, Rookie Rabbit Productions released The Spartan Effect: Episode 5. It's up to their usual standards (check our news archive for older episodes), and they've asked for some hosting help, so that folks don't have to deal with FileFront if they don't want to - we're happy to oblige. You can grab the original WMP9 file (61.5) or a re-encoded QuickTime (58.5 mb) from our servers. (Their server has links to many other flavors; if you'd rather watch this on YouTube, you certainly can.)
(Louis Wu 14:47:52 UTC) (permalink)
Female Elite Art at DA
RVideo put together a collection of links to fan art on the DeviantART website that shows off female elites. Interesting way to spend some searching time! (Louis Wu 14:07:46 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Theme for Windows XP
Belchfire is offering a free XP Halo 3 theme - go see if it'll make your desktop prettier! (Louis Wu 13:38:34 UTC) (permalink)
Yay for random Halo references!
A couple of random Halo references in yesterday's F@NBOY$ - thanks, AngelicLionheart. (Louis Wu 13:32:24 UTC) (permalink)
McFarlane preorders now available
Littlebigman found a place where you can preorder McFarlane Halo stuff - in bulk. (As in, they're not offering preorders on individual figures; you have to buy collections.) If you've got the cash, be first in your neighborhood with a preorder! (Louis Wu 13:13:53 UTC) (permalink)
Podtacular 117
Podtacular #117 (!!) has been released - an hour's worth of discussion about the new ARG (and other stuff, of course), Guest host is KapnKrunk. 43 mb. Thanks, Big Goalie Dan. (Louis Wu 13:09:45 UTC) (permalink)
Nashville Flugtag Report, Halo-Style
HallwayGiant was at the Red Bull Flugtag event yesterday in Nashville (we mentioned it in early May), and snapped some pics of the Halo Ghostbike that was in the competition. From the Event Results page, it doesn't look like they won anything - but man, they made a nice-looking flyer! (Louis Wu 13:05:54 UTC) (permalink)
Still Sharp
Heh - Stuntmutt might be caring for a newborn (well, with help), but he's still got time for teh funni - he stopped by the ARG forum yesterday to post a bonus shot at the ARG, and at a community regular - and he used the AutoMagic 117 Stripz script to do it. (Scroll further down the ARG thread for a pic of the little 'un and daddy.) (Louis Wu 12:59:45 UTC) (permalink)
News June 23 2007
Alien Biology 101
Mister Froggy posted Halo, Articulated #49 today - don't look too closely at it, it's disturbing. (Louis Wu 04:45:11 UTC) (permalink)
ShocKWav3 looks back at NJ
3Suns pointed out a great Meadowlands writeup at MLGPro.com, written by ShocKWav3 - go check it out. (He also points out that there's quite a lot of news there, posted recently but not mentioned here - check the News Archive for a full list.) (Louis Wu 04:38:40 UTC) (permalink)
We keep 'em honest.
Toronto's 680 News Radio has an interview (text-based) with Tyson 'Ferrex' Green, Halo 3's Multiplayer Design Lead. Nice read. (Louis Wu 04:33:38 UTC) (permalink)
Metroid vs Halo
Interesting - ripten is creating a 'King Of The Game' series - they've posted early sketches of Samus Aran vs Master Chief. Fun! (Louis Wu 04:26:46 UTC) (permalink)
Laser Tag Plasma Rifle - it vibrates!
Back in February, we reported on a then-upcoming laser tag set. It's still upcoming - but there's a picture now. Check it out at the UK site Forbidden Planet. Thanks, PFG. (Louis Wu 04:07:14 UTC) (permalink)
Needle Glory
The Bungie Weekly Update went up a few hours ago - it's full of stuff that will make you wish it was already September (except then you'd have missed the whole summer, which wouldn't be any good at all... or you'd be missing the dead of winter, if you live in the southern hemisphere, in which case - oh, this is getting out of hand, time to end this parenthetical sidetrip) - go read. If B.net gives you trouble, there's always our Weekly Update Archive. (Louis Wu 04:01:16 UTC) (permalink)
Machinima Finalists Reduced
Unfortunately, it's come to light that two of the machinima finalists in the Zune Giveaway had been released already on the web - one of them almost two full years ago - and so we've had to pull them. Apologies to those who've already voted for them. Here's hoping the next contest we run, folks actually pay attention to the rules. (Louis Wu 03:22:21 UTC) (permalink)
News June 22 2007
Super Size Me.
ZZoMBiE13 continues with his Guest One One Se7en series today - this strip looks at what might have been. If, say, Bungie'd hired Michael Bay. (Louis Wu 14:27:34 UTC) (permalink)
Zune Contest - Machinima Voting Opens
A number of you have already noticed that the Machinima finalists are now up for public voting in our Zune Giveaway - swing by, watch the movies, and pick your favorite! Voting is open until Monday morning. (Louis Wu 13:58:25 UTC) (permalink)
Scoring free copies of GTA4
FiringSquad was at the Halo 3 Beta Press Event in New York in May - and they've gotten around to posting the interview they did with Frank O'Connor while they were there. Nothing earthshattering - but it's a nice read. Thanks, Mariachi. (Louis Wu 13:54:10 UTC) (permalink)
Illusions are teh bomb
BOLL is known for his sanity-bending Flash creations - but this time, the creation is just an image, no Flash in sight... and we need to seriously warn people prone to epileptic seizure not to follow the link. For the rest of you, the image is pretty cool. (Louis Wu 13:30:48 UTC) (permalink)
Brothers of War: Episode 10 Trailer
Time Glitch stopped by our forum to point out a trailer for 'Brothers of War: Episode 10'. Nice voiceover, nice camera shots. Looking forward to the film! (Louis Wu 13:28:18 UTC) (permalink)
Harenil Betatage 2
Harenil released his second Halo 3 montage - nice kills, nice cuts, a fun watch. It's pretty large; 177 mb for a 7 minute flick. Great quality, though. (Louis Wu 13:24:23 UTC) (permalink)
Humpday Challenge: Steaktacular
Bungie played another Humpday Challenge this week; this one was for something REAL - steak dinners. (This was mentioned in last Friday's Bungie Weekly Update - Frankie and Joe Staten had to go 31-50 against Luke and Joe Tung in order to win free dinners.) Did Tung and Smith beat the 20 point spread? You'll have to read 'Steaktacular' to find out! Thanks to Hellhawk for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 13:20:26 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox Live Friends 3.0
Wil Gieseler let us know that version 3.0 of mindquirk software's Xbox Live Friends, a Mac OSX program that lets you access your friends list from your Mac) has been out for a bit - lots of new features, like gamerscore charts, sortable achievements, access to your XBL messages and more. Check it out! (Louis Wu 12:59:13 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fanfic
Twelve new pieces available in the Fan Fiction section this week - busy writers! Go read. (Louis Wu 12:06:45 UTC) (permalink)
When Spartans Don't Measure Up
Devin Olsen found an article on the Baddest Bottle Openers on the Planet. Many of the respondents in the thread disagreed with the inclusion of the Halo Spartan opener on that list... go read why. (Louis Wu 11:56:34 UTC) (permalink)
The Future of Online Gaming
There's an interesting read over at 1Up.com - it's about the future of online gaming, and it has some pretty cool concepts discussed in it. Halo 3's Lead Designer Jaime Griesemer was one of the developers interviewed for it - and Halo gets mentioned a few times in before-its-time functionality. Thanks, JeSteR 343. Update: Red_Breast noticed that if you continue through the 'Future Of' articles, you'll find that Jaime had some things to say about the future of First Person Shooters, too. Well... First Person games, anyway. (Louis Wu 11:43:42 UTC) (permalink)
News June 21 2007
Slick Halo Signatures
Venom at SimpleGFX.net wrote up a tutorial for creating cool-looking signatures you can use on Halo forums around the net. Thanks to The Photoshop Roadmap for pointing this out. (Louis Wu 20:11:17 UTC) (permalink)
Working on Efficiency
Overswarm has written a new article entitled 'Working on Efficiency' - playing to stay alive, rather than playing to get kills. There's a nice example of how this works in a common stalemate situation on Lockout. Good read! (Louis Wu 20:06:15 UTC) (permalink)
WETA's handiwork
Nice - JAY132 was digging around the WETA Workshop website, and came across what looks to be a BR55 in production. (It's the first image in the Gallery link he's posted.) Who knows if they'll ever get back to those... (Louis Wu 15:35:31 UTC) (permalink)
H3 Brute Captain, Modelled
ethereal has been working on modeling the Halo 3 Brutes, as shown in the Brute ViDoc a few months ago. Awesome start! (Louis Wu 15:07:49 UTC) (permalink)
If you're gonna steal...
Both Blackstar and nash--housewares noticed that a video of an iPhone knock-off also contains some Halo content... (Louis Wu 15:05:27 UTC) (permalink)
The Making of Starry Night
Wow, very cool. S3NATOR noticed that over at the Digital Domain website, they not only have the Starry Night commercial shown last December, but they have a very cool 'Making Of Starry Night' piece, as well. The site is Flash-based, so you'll have to navigate there. Go to 'Commercials', then 'Behind the Scenes'. Click on the Starry Night image in the top row, and you'll get the commercial, along with clips showing how it was put together. Very fun to watch. (Louis Wu 15:02:05 UTC) (permalink)
New McKay Art
Luke McKay posted a new image in his Red vs Blue collection - we've added it to his gallery here. He wanted to make it clear that the Master Chief is very, very tall; I think he gets the point across. (It also seems that I forgot to mention back in April that I added another RvB comic he did... oops.) (Louis Wu 13:02:06 UTC) (permalink)
Halo History Done Quick
runnersdialzero let us know that All About the Games has posted a user-generated 'Brief History of the Halo Universe' - it outlines the Halo storyline as laid out in the books in a relatively short article. (I tried to read it from the point of view of someone who didn't know much about the Halo universe... and an awful lot of it seemed like gibberish. If you're conversant with the main details, though, it can flesh out the general order of things for you, filling in gaps you might have from books you haven't read.)
(Louis Wu 12:42:09 UTC) (permalink)
McFarlane Talks Toys
Bungie interviewed Todd McFarlane, the man behind the company that will be making new Halo 3 figures next spring. There's a bunch of information about how they decide what markets to target, and how they go about making the figures. Interesting read! Thanks, Hellhawk. (Louis Wu 12:14:59 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 Prank Call
This is a pretty bizarre prank call - I'm not sure what else to say about it. The tech support guy... seems gullible. (Louis Wu 12:10:21 UTC) (permalink)
News June 20 2007
Before You Die You See...
Today's Guest One One Se7en from ZZoMBiE13 actually made me laugh. Out loud. I think Stuntmutt better consider cutting that paternity leave short... (Louis Wu 17:03:12 UTC) (permalink)
Chase, Revamped
Nabsuh has reworked his original CHASE video (we mentioned the old one here). Different ships this time around - way cooler effects. Check it out - it's quite small! (Louis Wu 16:52:25 UTC) (permalink)
Ice cream is not always good.
Shishka has updated his 1Up blog with some questions people ask about the Blastacular Map Pack maps. (There's also some head-shaking stories about people getting fired - I'm sort of glad I don't work in the games industry.) Good read. Thanks to CertainAffinity.net for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 14:48:22 UTC) (permalink)
That Terrible Grip
Heh - the boys at Penny Arcade turn their sights on the Halo 3 ARG - always good to get the cynical viewpoint. Thanks, Russ Robey. (Louis Wu 13:20:13 UTC) (permalink)
Custom-painted Elite
Interesting. So back in May, Xbox Australia and Bungie auctioned off an airbbrushed 360, signed by Bungie, to raise money for Make-A-Wish. They pulled in almost AU$25,000. Now, there's a box for sale on eBay in the US that seems to claim to be the same kind of product - except 1) it has no signatures, and 2) it's an Elite, not a 360. (I suppose it never actually says who did the airbrushing - so it's not REALLY claiming to be anything other than a standard painted Elite.) Current bid is $810; auction ends in 10 hours. It DOES look like a nice paint job; if you're in the market for a new Elite, and want one with a custom Halo 3 paintjob on it, and you're willing to pay several hundred bucks for the painting... take a look at this. Thanks to Xbox 360 Fanboy, who found it yesterday. (Louis Wu 13:15:49 UTC) (permalink)
When ARGs Attack
Wow. This story would almost be funny... if it didn't involve a poor, uninvolved bystander whose life was turned upside down by a series of coincidences. (As someone who is still - more than 9 months in - dealing with calls from the Xbox Live service center due to a mistakenly supplied phone number, I can totally sympathize.) Swing by The Hushed Casket, and read an interview with Michael VanderZand, a Michigan college student who got caught up in the whirlwind hype of the Iris marketing campaign by accident - and wants out. thanks, rapture. (Louis Wu 12:28:10 UTC) (permalink)
ARG News
Nathan Gibson pointed out Maximum Fear, a summary of the Alternate Reality Game started with Adjutant Reflex's appearance a bit over a week ago. It's concise and clear, and pulls its data for the most part from the Bungie.net group CompoundIntelligence (founded when the ARG went live). If you find args.bungie.org daunting to jump into with a crib sheet, this is a great place to start. (Latest news, for those who missed it - Adjutant Reflex was destroyed last night by an entity whose identity is currently unknown, and the countdown clock has finished its run - for some, that means it's down to zero, for others it's frozen at 001 012 034 053. Your input is welcome - drop by and put in your two cents!) (Louis Wu 12:04:43 UTC) (permalink)
Lego Mjolnir
RyanUltima has created a Mjolnir suit out of Legos - it looks pretty amazing. The YouTube video found by Wolverine Monkey is pretty low quality - we've contacted RyanUltima, who's agreed to try and get us higher-resolution footage. We'll keep you posted! (Louis Wu 11:53:14 UTC) (permalink)
Mat board armor progresses
James Falcon sent along another few pictures of his in-progress Mjolnir suit - there's a belt, some gloves, the glove plates, and the beginnings of a chest plate. Go see! (Louis Wu 11:50:55 UTC) (permalink)
News June 19 2007
Zune Giveaway -Parodies Now Up!
Hmm... I think I might have done the math wrong - but the Parody selection for the Zune Giveaway is now available for voting. (I know, I said 8pm PDT - but I coded the page for 5pm EDT, subtracting 3 hours instead of adding them. Oops.) Don't worry that the Montages were skimped on - we had 3908 votes submitted for that section, more than twice the number that went up for the Original Song category. You've got until Friday morning to pick your favorite of the 7 parodies now online; go listen! (Louis Wu 22:26:30 UTC) (permalink)
Halownage Update
Legendz sent us a news update about Halownage - they're currently looking for replacements for a 1v1 ladder they're running (cash prize) - check details here. They're also hosting what they consider to be the best montage trailer to date - Brohan's Final Montage. See if you agree. (Louis Wu 22:08:50 UTC) (permalink)
A pretty cool custom faceplate
bs angel (you may recognize the name - she's a Cavegirl that hangs with the Bungie guys sometimes, she's played some Humpday challenges) recently had a custom Halo faceplate created by Pavel Dolgov. (Search our news for him for other artwork he's done.) She blogged the entire process - Check it out (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3). Final faceplate is here. Dolgov's faceplate gallery is here. (Louis Wu 22:02:43 UTC) (permalink)
Zune Pictures Online
Kostas Tzounopoulos has put the preloaded pictures you can find on a Halo 3 Zune online on his website, Zune-Online.com; these are extracted directly from the Zune, so the quality is as high as is available. There is some spectacular artwork in here. (Gizmodo showed all of this content a few weeks ago - but they put up photographs of the Zune's screen - this did NOT do the artwork justice.) (Louis Wu 21:54:11 UTC) (permalink)
And the Spoilers Begin.
Wow. Not sure where the info came from - but Xbox360Achievements.org has posted a full list of 49 achievements for Halo 3. Peripheral information that can be gleaned from the list is enormous (including level names, gameplay hints, and more). Do not look at this list if you're not interested in seeing campaign spoilers. It's not 100% clear to me where this list came from - but the majority of gaming sites out there seem to think it's legitimate. (If it's NOT legitimate, someone went to a lot of effort to create this content. I'm not totally convinced - one of the achievement icons is the logo for the now-defunct Bungie game code-named Phoenix - but I'm keeping an open mind.) First place I saw this was on our forum, from Naburu, who found it at Xbox 360 Fanboy. Update: If you weren't sure these were real or not (and I wasn't) - Achieve360Points.com found a link to the info on xbox.com (you need to be signed in to see it); makes it far less likely that this was faked. (Louis Wu 17:59:59 UTC) (permalink)
Videotaping your man blogs
Major League Gaming has expanded into Canada! MLGCanada.com opened today - you can check the press release at MLGPro.com, GameBattles or Marketwire, or a story on CTV's Canada AM - or just check out the new site. There's tons of new content already - including a new vid from longtime machinima favorites Fire Team Charlie (check for it in the 'Featured MLG Videos' list on the front page). Thanks, Andrew.
(Louis Wu 16:47:29 UTC) (permalink)
HaloGrid CapCon (recurring)
HaloGrid is running a series of Caption contests - week one kicked off 5 days ago, and the top captions for the first picture are now up for public voting. Thanks, Trindacut. (Louis Wu 13:25:13 UTC) (permalink)
vnunet finds H2V underwhelming
vnunet.com has reviewed Halo 2 Vista - they felt it took too long, and it offered too little. 3/5. (Louis Wu 12:24:12 UTC) (permalink)
I'd buy THAT for five dollars...
Wow. Now THAT'S cheap. sorahn points out a deal at Slickdeals.net whereby you can pick up Halo (the original Xbox version) for $6 - $5 for the game, plus a buck to ship it. Update: looks like we cleared 'em out. Sorry for those still looking! (Louis Wu 12:21:28 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Mac 2.0.2 released
Last summer, Halo Mac went Universal - you had to pay $5 for the upgrade, but for folks with Intel Macs, it would run considerably faster. HookMeUpImLocal noticed that 2.0.2 was released yesterday - mostly bug fixes and tweaks. Grab the update from Apple.com, or from Destineer's own page. (Louis Wu 12:18:21 UTC) (permalink)
TTL Update
Dweezle stopped by this week with the Tied the Leader update - swing by their site for a couple of new pieces (they're still recovering from their Halo 3 bacchanalia) - there's a 22 Questions interview with Kevin Steele, of RetroBlast (not even REMOTELY Halo-related, but hey, we were there), and an optimistic piece about the Halo-flavored McFarlane goodies coming soon. Go read! (Louis Wu 10:41:49 UTC) (permalink)
EGM's gonna get their minds blown
GhaleonEB noticed a small item on the latest EGM Live podcast - sounds like the crew is headed up to Kirkland to see some Halo 3 singleplayer this week. Yes, you can be jealous now. (Louis Wu 10:29:21 UTC) (permalink)
Murphy's Law
Mister Froggy let us know that Halo, Articulated #48 is now up - and I must say, it's a little disturbing. (Looks like Gravemind noticed it before I got a chance to post this.) (Louis Wu 10:20:18 UTC) (permalink)
Muscle Cars
Luke, on Bungie.net, has posted a short article, showing off some of the fan-created Forza cars that have resulted from Bungie's offers for free (virtual) schwag - I'm thinkin' Pimp My Ride's gonna be calling any minute. Thanks, Fires7orm. (Louis Wu 10:08:37 UTC) (permalink)
News June 18 2007
Master Replicas Weapons - coming soon
Interesting - X1Zero noticed a pair of scaled weapon replicas up for preorder right now at GameStop - a BR55 Battle Rifle, and a Covenant Carbine, both being attributed to Master Replicas, and both due in early September. (No pictures yet.) Back in February, we mentioned a press release stating that Master Replicas was getting into the game - but it wasn't known what they'd be making. I guess we know the start of the line... Update: Sh0rtBusKid found pics at the UK site Game Lifestyle - nice! (Louis Wu 23:48:39 UTC) (permalink)
Proto-Typical.
Today kicks off a series of guest One One Se7en strips created by ZZoMBiE13 - you might remember his work in our Miscellaneous Art section. If today's strip is any indication, it's gonna be a good week... (Louis Wu 18:21:53 UTC) (permalink)
Free Shadowrun with H2V
Wow. Halo 2 Vista came out a few weeks ago - so did Shadowrun. Both are Vista-only, both debuted for $49.99 each. Now you can buy the pair at Circuit City - for $39.99. (The deal is actually labeled as 'Free Shadowrun with the purchase of Halo 2'.) That was fast... (KP gets credit for noticing this first yesterday.) (Louis Wu 11:53:22 UTC) (permalink)
Where's my Gravemind Underoos?
20th Century Fox has signed a deal to become the primary licensor for Halo, according to this story in Variety - this doesn't mean the Halo movie is back on the table, but it DOES mean that you'll be seeing a "broad array of products, from books to apparel to collectible merchandise, in conjunction with the release of "Halo 3" in September." For how long? Elie Dekel, executive VP for domestic licensing, says "he's confident his division can continue to sell licensed products in the next few years until a fourth "Halo" game comes out." Whee. (Louis Wu 11:36:28 UTC) (permalink)
McFarlane Details
The official press release for the McFarlane Toys deal with Microsoft is now up on the Spawn.com website - it contains a breakdown of the proposed action figure lineup, expected in stores in Spring 2008, as well as a shot of the Master Chief prototype. Check it out! (Louis Wu 11:30:01 UTC) (permalink)
News June 17 2007
ARG Discussion Continues Apace
The game begun last week with the introduction of Adjutant Reflex is in full swing; our ARG forum is buzzing. (There are now almost 500 people signed up there - pretty amazing, for a site that didn't exist 4 days ago). Again, we'd like to point out a decent timeline of events so far (it's missing stuff that's happened over the weekend, but it can certainly bring you up to speed on the most important stuff) - and oriol asked us to point out a recap of events so far over at Grunts"R"Us. Read up, figure out what's going on, and jump in!
Update: apologies - I suggested that Sir Topham Hat's timeline of ARG events might be missing content from this weekend - I based this on the fact that the 'Last Edited' stamp on the post was Friday afternoon. There is clearly content from the weekend in there - the 'Last Edited' date is wrong. The post, in fact, contains everything that's been confirmed so far. (Louis Wu 18:07:00 UTC) (permalink)
The Rumor Mill Commences
wii60 has a collection of rumors about E3 'O7, purportedly from an E3 Floor Manager - among the tidbits was this: "Bungie working on new title/series not related to anything in the Halo/Marathon Universe." I guess we'll see when E3 rolls around. Thanks, Red Breast. (Louis Wu 17:58:16 UTC) (permalink)
Bendis talks about Uprising
Comic Book Resources was present at a presentation at Wizard World Philly, where Brian Bendis (author of the upcoming 'Halo: Uprising' comic from Marvel this summer) talked a little about what folks could expect. Don't read it if you don't want ANY info. (Louis Wu 17:55:11 UTC) (permalink)
The Riot 52
Sigafoos let us know about The Riot 52 - just before taking off for a huge clan gathering/LAN. 25 minutes, 10 mb, lots of mockery. Go listen! (Louis Wu 17:47:10 UTC) (permalink)
Fan Montages
A couple of montage offerings mentioned on our forum recently - Nick Burgos pointed out a collaboration between a number of fans, and trigger119 put together his own footage. Take a look. (Louis Wu 17:40:08 UTC) (permalink)
Halo on a DS - again
Bizarre - the rumor that wouldn't die. IGN is bringing back discussion of Halo on the DS. (This last came up back in January.) Thanks, The Lamonster. (Louis Wu 17:37:05 UTC) (permalink)
Sometimes, The Internet Makes Me Sad.
Wow... I'm pretty discouraged today. We have a lot of company this weekend (a half-dozen people from two separate branches of the family), so I haven't been near a computer for a while... but when I checked this afternoon, I found several dozen emails casting aspersions on every single entry in the Montage section of our Zune giveaway. Videos that had been displayed elsewhere before the contest, videos that included clips from existing films, one person even claimed that 3 of the 7 videos contained footage from his public fileshare space during the beta (this, of course, is totally unverifiable at this point). More people seem to be looking for ways to disqualify entries than seem to be interested in the contest itself. I'm not sure how to handle this; I have no doubt whatsoever that if we disqualified every entry, and put up 7 NEW films, we'd get the same collection of emails. I have no doubt that some of these accusations are true. I have no doubt that some are NOT true. And I know that we're halfway through the voting on this phase. I feel as though the whole montage section has been tainted; I don't know how to fix this. I'm going to let the voting continue on the 7 entries we have right now, and then I'm going to disqualify any films I can PROVE have violated our rules - and the prize will go to the remaining entry with the highest score. This is not ideal, but I can't think of a better way to handle this without scrapping the section entirely. Here's hoping the parody and machinima sections go better. (Louis Wu 17:30:40 UTC) (permalink)
News June 16 2007
Fan-made Spike Grenade
Major Silva built a Spike Grenade, and wrote up directions so you could do the same. Take a look. (Louis Wu 13:10:17 UTC) (permalink)
Zune Giveaway - Montage Voting Open!
Nearly 2000 of you cast votes for the best original song, as submitted to our Zune Giveaway - we'll be announcing that winner, along with the winners of the other 3 categories, on June 25. For now, we're asking you to revisit the Voting page - the top seven montages are now posted. You've got until Tuesday night to pick your favorite - so get to watching! (Total download size for all 7 is about 145 mb, and total watching time is about 22 minutes.) (Louis Wu 12:11:49 UTC) (permalink)
Getting Tunged? Ew.
Been a long night - but Bungie put up its standard Weekly Update a few hours ago - it's a pretty interesting read. Lots of juicy tidbits about music, a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at bug-squashing, and good old-fashioned fanboyishness. No Mister Chief... which makes me cry. Or maybe not. (Not a word about the ARG stuff, either... hmm.) You can, as usual, read a local copy in our Weekly Update Archive, as well. (Louis Wu 04:08:10 UTC) (permalink)
News June 15 2007
IGN's ARG writeup
IGN has a writeup of the ARG stuff to date online. If you haven't been following along (and you didn't feel like reading Sir Topham Hat's summary this morning), this might be a nice way to catch up. Thanks, xMixMasterx. (Louis Wu 19:00:33 UTC) (permalink)
Work In Progress.
Today's Guest One One Se7en was created by Shishka - while the artwork bears NO resemblance to the original, the Shleprock-like personality should be easily recognizable. (Louis Wu 16:39:46 UTC) (permalink)
Podtacular 116
Podtacular 116 has been released - discussion with an H2V player, plus Tied the Leader, 2old2play, and Halo Unyielding. Go listen! Thanks, Kiaffex. (Louis Wu 16:20:18 UTC) (permalink)
Last chance to vote for Original Song
A quick reminder: voting for the best original song entry in our Zune Giveaway ends in less than 24 hours; if you haven't looked them over and made a choice, now's the time! We'll be putting the montage finalists up in the morning. (Louis Wu 13:07:52 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fan Fiction
Eleven new pieces for you in the Fan Fiction section for you today - enjoy! (Louis Wu 12:52:59 UTC) (permalink)
Goin' Inside
Over on Bungie.net, there's a new Halo Humpday Challenge written up - it's not really a typical challenge, it's a bunch of internal games on a network none of us has access to, playing at least one map we've never seen... but it's an interesting read nonetheless. Thanks, Avateur. (Louis Wu 12:20:48 UTC) (permalink)
Swords and Pistols
BARBARIC RAGE was looking around, and stumbled on this thread at the Statue Forum - pictures of the upcoming Master Chief ARTFX statue from Kotobukiya. That thing is gorgeous! The thread links to a website that purports to have a preorder available for this piece - but the link on their main page doesn't work. Coming in September... (Louis Wu 12:07:17 UTC) (permalink)
H2V reviews at GT, VE
GameTrailers has a video review of Halo 2 Vista (in HD) for your viewing pleasure (QuickTime or WMP9). Thanks, MasterChief2829. Update: Should have looked through my mail before posting this - there's another H2V review at Voodoo Extreme. (Pretty unhappy with it - couldn't get MP to work.) (Louis Wu 12:02:11 UTC) (permalink)
Oh, Piss-boy...
A few months ago, KP took his mandatory break from Bungie (contracted employees must take three months off after nine months on) - and the way things worked out, he was hired back not by Bungie, but by Xbox.com, working under TriXie and organizing the cool content they bring to you. What sort of cool content, you might ask? Well... things like an interview with KP, conducted by TriXie. Heh. (It's a funny read, and mentions Halo a LOT, making it relevant here even if it wasn't about KP.) (Louis Wu 11:40:11 UTC) (permalink)
Watching... and waiting
The new ARG that kicked off a few days ago is exploding; last night saw the uncoverings of an absurd amount of new information. There's a summary of the earlier parts of the timeline at args.bungie.org, written by Sir Topham Hat - it's a bit behind right now, but it's a good start. (It would seem that all of this began with a link found in a newspaper that wasn't supposed to be released before the weekend - we might be ahead of the game here.) Poke around args.bungie.org to learn about a comic on Halo3.com, the base-7 countdown clock, a mysterious MySpace page, and the identity of the company behind this game. And more. (I'd really like to suggest that newcomers READ a bit before they start posting; you'll find that an awful lot of what you want to talk about has already been talked about. Bring yourself up to speed FIRST, and you'll be contributing to the signal, rather than the noise.) (Louis Wu 11:31:19 UTC) (permalink)
News June 14 2007
Spartan-III hybrid armor - CGI
BlendedEcks posted a pic of his latest CGI work - Spartan III armor. Wow. (Louis Wu 20:31:57 UTC) (permalink)
That guy needs some Windex.
This is just... weird. Sometimes I don't know what Attack of the Show is thinking... Update: Wow, it's even worse. nash_housewares points out that the MC video is a parody of THIS vid. Don't watch this if you have any respect at all for David Hasselhoff. (Wow, that was a pointless sentence.) (Louis Wu 19:31:34 UTC) (permalink)
History Circling Back Upon Us.
The big news this morning is an email that went out to folks who've signed up for Xbox Flash mail. Compton started a thread on our forum about this (but you're probably better off getting a discussion going at the ARG forum, since this is almost certainly related). For folks who didn't get a copy, you can see it online here (in English or French - thanks, Zulag). As many, many people have noted, this feels like the early Cortana letters... nice to get back to roots! (Louis Wu 14:32:14 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox Controllers, Figures coming from McFarlane
More info about the halo 3 Xbox Controllers - apparently Todd McFarlane created the artwork, and each one will be packaged with a limited edition Halo 3 figurine created by McFarlane, as well. Pretty nice! Lots of people got us this news - looks like Tango was first. (Louis Wu 14:25:10 UTC) (permalink)
Another K'NEX rifle
JustyB also made a Halo rifle out K'NEX pieces - his work's here. (Louis Wu 14:21:36 UTC) (permalink)
Aftermath
Newsweek has done their OWN post-mortem on the Halo 3 Beta - it comes in two parts. Part 1 has comments from the print media: representatives of Newsweek, EGM, OXM, USA Today, San Jose Mercury News. Part 2 has comments from the online media: The Hushed Casket (go rapture!), Gearheads of War, Kotaku, Entertainment Weekly, Ars Technica, Halo Anyone?, and the Frag Dolls all weigh in. 3Suns, who let us know about this, is unhappy that folks are focusing on the fact that graphics 'don't look as good as Gears of War'. (I'd say to those who feel this way: wait until you see the single player campaign before you make your mind up.) Go read - good stuff. (Should I feel slighted they didn't ask us for an opinion?) (Louis Wu 14:13:31 UTC) (permalink)
Perspective
Bungie's written up a post-mortem on the Halo 3 Beta experience; what they learned, what they were surprised by, what they expected. How much they're listening. Read it; it should make you more confident that the final product will be a lot of fun to play. Looks like Zattack89 was first on our forum with the news. (Louis Wu 14:03:37 UTC) (permalink)
Parting Shots
Over at Rampancy.net, Narcogen has written up a final look at the Halo 3 Beta, comparing some of the changes in gameplay from Halo 2's model. Take a look. (Louis Wu 13:44:42 UTC) (permalink)
Gamers Outreach Foundation
You might remember Zach Wigal, the guy who had his dreams of a Halo lanfest dashed by his school administration, and went on to form a charity in response... well, that charity's website is now up and running. Go check it out! (Louis Wu 13:32:17 UTC) (permalink)
News June 13 2007
ARG forum opened
In order to keep traffic on the main HBO forum to tolerable levels, we've opened a forum specifically designated for ARG discussions. If you're interested in the Adjutant Reflex mystery, args.bungie.org is the place for you! Thanks a million to Webshift and the rest of the crew for volunteering to keep up with you guys. (Louis Wu 22:03:30 UTC) (permalink)
Lightish Red Vs. Blue.
Today's guest One One Se7en looks at life in Blood Gulch Outpost, as seen by some not-so-tough soldiers. Red vs Blue characters courtesy of Luke McKay. (Louis Wu 21:14:56 UTC) (permalink)
ONI SpecWeps - yeah, baby
Some very nice hi-res pictures of Halo 2 weapons in this post... check 'em out. (Louis Wu 20:48:08 UTC) (permalink)
The Forsaken (a Halo 3 Horror Film)
Time Glitch stopped by to point out 'The Forsaken', a new machinima from Flem Productions - it's a cool little story about MIAs/KIAs, nicely filmed in the Halo 3 Beta. Lots of links in the forum post. Go grab a copy! (Louis Wu 20:46:28 UTC) (permalink)
Ode to Mongoose
GamePro has announced the winner of their Halo 3 Zune Haiku contest - I like it, I like it a lot. Thanks again, Dry Ice. (Louis Wu 19:05:18 UTC) (permalink)
A third of a petabyte
Ginormous numbers... that's what Major Nelson is reporting today, about the Halo 3 Beta. Thanks, Dry Ice. (Louis Wu 19:03:33 UTC) (permalink)
TrustedReviews looks at H2V
TrustedReviews put up a review of Halo 2 Vista - 6/10, good but not great. (Louis Wu 18:55:02 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Finals Breakdown
MLG has a great writeup of the final battle between Carbon and Final Boss at MLG Meadowlands last weekend. Check it out! Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 18:50:10 UTC) (permalink)
A Higher Power
Today's Ctrl+Alt+Del has a small Halo mention - if you don't understand what the rest of the strip is about, read this article. Thanks to Mattgcn for letting us know, last night. (Louis Wu 17:34:45 UTC) (permalink)
Vista H3 Countdown Gadget
Pedro the Penguin found a Halo 3 countdown gadget for his Windows Vista sidebar. Gotta keep up! (Louis Wu 16:14:20 UTC) (permalink)
Lego Zanzibar Progress
A while back, we mentioned a Lego rendition of Zanzibar, by Kooberz. Recently he was contacted by the folks putting together some fan-related content for the Legendary Edition of Halo 3 - so he got back into it, and posted some links to the newest work. I gotta say... wow. (Louis Wu 16:05:31 UTC) (permalink)
I wouldn't use it for a melee...
Obliticutter put together an Assault Rifle (MA5B) using K-NEX bricks. Nice! (Louis Wu 15:22:55 UTC) (permalink)
Try, try again
Screen Play, a column in The Age (a Melbourne, Australia newspaper), has a post up today that suggests that the Halo 3 Beta had nothing whatsoever to do with beta testing, and everything to do with hype-building. (The main argument is that since you haven't been contacted by Bungie for feedback now that the beta is complete, they clearly didn't WANT your feedback... so how could this be a 'beta'?) It sort of ignores everything Bungie's ever said about the beta's purpose - that it was specifically set up to test their backend stuff, the stats reporting, the tools for measuring validity of spawn points, etc.) Everyone's entitled to their opinion, I suppose. Thanks, Brett Cunningham. (Louis Wu 15:14:34 UTC) (permalink)
Forum Floodage - and Halo Unyielding
Wow. So the whole AdjutantReflex thing (looks to be another ARG, this time with possible Bungie input) is taking over our forum - it's cool, but it's drowning out all other content. (It's hard to find tidbits now. I'd be willing to put up a temporary forum specifically for this discussion, if I could get some volunteers I trusted to admin it... please let me know if this appeals.) In the meantime, I'm going to try and tease out the goodies that are buried between AR-related posts. The first thing I noticed was an announcement by Laird that a new trailer for Halo Unyielding Part 2 has been released; nice space battle scenes! Take a look. WMP9 format, 15 mb (with a QT coming soon, apparently). Update: Mirrored now at GamingTV, along with a self-encoded QT and a streaming flash version. Thanks, trigger119.
(Louis Wu 15:05:17 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Zune Giveaway - Start Voting!
Voting is now open for the first category of the Halo Zune Giveaway - swing by and grab the 7 finalists for the Original Song category, and then pick your favorite! Update: Hold tight - turns out one of our finalists had to be disqualified (it had been released 3 years ago, and has been out on the web ever since); we're currently working on its replacement, and will be ready to go soon. Sorry about this! Update 2: We've settled on a new finalist - voting is open again. Sorry for the delay! (Louis Wu 12:07:13 UTC) (permalink)
News June 12 2007
Cinematography and such
Very interesting article about the team working on Halo 3 Cinematics over at Bungie.net - all I can say is 'D.A.M.N.'. Go read. Thanks, Avateur. (Louis Wu 22:47:56 UTC) (permalink)
Anything Goes - Last Chance!
Adam Kovic, over at Machinima.com, pointed out a page containing 40 entries to their Halo 3 Anything Goes contest - voting starts in 2 days, so you still have a tiny bit of time to get an entry in and be eligible to win a free copy of Halo 3! (We first mentioned this contest last month - the deadline has moved up since then.) (Louis Wu 20:49:23 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Controllers and Headset
Looks like some new Halo 3-branded schwag has appeared - Mariachi was first on our forum with a link to the wireless headset, and MasterChief2829 pointed out a page over at TeamXbox that contains shots of the headset and two new controllers. Reaction seems to be mixed - some love 'em, some hate 'em. (Louis Wu 20:45:33 UTC) (permalink)
Games Toaster reviews H3 Beta
Games Toaster wrote up a preview of the Halo 3 Beta - they think it bodes well for the final game. Update: bah. Looks like this was lifted, wholesale, from an older Gamespot preview. Plagiarism sucks. Thanks, Uukla the Mok. Update 2, 15 June 2007: Cian Ginty, the editor of Games Toaster, stopped by to point out an apology letter about this. The article's offline. I applaud the editorial staff of Games Toaster for handling the situation in this manner. (Louis Wu 19:45:20 UTC) (permalink)
TTLIBIB
It's early... but XerxdeeJ has returned to the Tied the Leader Tuesday Updates with a vengeance. There's an open letter to Bungie in thanks for the Halo 3 Beta... and a call to arms, Halo 2 arms to be specific. Get fired up! (Louis Wu 06:15:14 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Beta T-Shirt giveaway
Grunts"R"Us is firing up a new contest - put together your favorite moment from the Halo 3 Beta, and you could win a shot at one of three Beta T-Shirts (the green ones you had to be at the Halo 3 Press Events to get). Nice! Thanks, oriol zertuche. (Louis Wu 06:14:13 UTC) (permalink)
Halouvre Update
prometheus was out of the country this spring, so the Halouvre didn't get a lot of updates - but he's back now, and there are a number of new and updated galleries. Check out RVideo's stuff, along with new pieces from Argodaemon, TGO Seraph, Fires7orm, and
Dojorkan. Be gentle - every time we mention him, the site goes down!
(Louis Wu 06:11:48 UTC) (permalink)
Another Kind of Saved Film
Mister Froggy let us know that Halo, Articulated #47 was online. Is anything waiting for YOU now that the Halo 3 Beta is over?
(Louis Wu 06:10:26 UTC) (permalink)
The Cure
Marcelo Vega, of Brazil's www.xboxtoday.com.br, sent us this picture, obtained by a friend of his, a doctor. Haloperidol is an antipsychotic, and is marketed as Haldol (among other names) here in the US - but in Brazil, it reminds gamers of something else.
(Louis Wu 06:05:12 UTC) (permalink)
Only diehards need apply
GamePro has posted their review of Halo 2 Vista. Sounds like they would have given it a higher score it it had come out for XP.
(Louis Wu 06:04:02 UTC) (permalink)
Best of Both Worlds v2 Part 1
Z dropped us a line about another dualtage - Gears of War and Halo 3, from inX 2Bit. Enormous file (172 mb for 6 minutes) - but the quality's quite nice. Good footage, too.
(Louis Wu 06:02:39 UTC) (permalink)
News June 11 2007
Arrayed Intelligence
Hmm... and hmm. Hmm? (Louis Wu 19:41:18 UTC) (permalink)
It's all about the angry fanbois
Simen, a regular at Subnova, has written up a fun timeline of the Halo 3 Beta (with some random Halo-related milestones thrown in). Swing by to give it a read! (Louis Wu 17:18:30 UTC) (permalink)
Shield with Forerunner-inspired design on eBay
Interesting. Someone's selling a shield they've made - the artwork is a Forerunner symbol. (It doesn't seem to be a symbol from Halo itself; the description says it's 'inspired by' the game. But it's close.) Thanks, Fragclone. (Louis Wu 17:09:13 UTC) (permalink)
Unnatural Disaster.
Stuntmutt's paternity leave is in effect, and the One One Se7en guest artwork begins today. First up - a brand-new crossover strip from Gruntsbane, of Halo Babies. The white boards are brilliant! (Louis Wu 16:21:12 UTC) (permalink)
Breakin' Up
Obienator made a funny little vid in honor of the end of the Halo 3 Beta - you can check it out on YouTube, or download it in high-res flavors from us. (All links are in his forum post.) I KNEW there was something funky about that game... (Louis Wu 16:16:06 UTC) (permalink)
EGTV Halo 3 Piece - for Europeans
Dry Ice noticed a post on Major Nelson's blog about an EGTV piece available for free download on Xbox Live Marketplace, with a preview of Halo 3. Caveat - it's available only in Europe. (Louis Wu 16:11:26 UTC) (permalink)
The Halo 3 Beta: A Noob's Guide
QuickTactical pointed out 'The Halo 3 Beta: A Noob's Guide', a new movie made by Epic Films (directed by EAGLE EYE 318, filmed by QuickTactical). Voices are a bit quiet - but it does a pretty nice job of pointing out some of the intricacies of the Halo 3 Beta, and is funny to boot. Vid quality is very high. Mythica, YouTube, b.org links are all in the forum post. (Louis Wu 13:55:34 UTC) (permalink)
GTV Monday Movie Playlist: SodaGod
trigger119 has posted another Monday Movie Playlist at GamingTV - this one focuses on the work of SodaGod. Follow the link, and watch some of the best of SG's work, in random order! (Louis Wu 13:44:16 UTC) (permalink)
Beta Withdrawal
Sane Intolerant sends word of a new Halo Toy Box episode - Beta Withdrawal is what many of us are suffering this morning. Looks like this is the last ep for a while; SI's off to do other stuff. (He says keep checking his DA page, though.) (Louis Wu 13:39:28 UTC) (permalink)
360Zine Previews Halo 3 Beta
360Zine has put up a new preview of the Halo 3 Beta; the latest issue, Issue 7, downloadable as an interactive PDF, contains lots of info, along with a contest to win a copy of Halo 3 Legendary Edition. Adobe Reader 8 on a PC will give you full access to all the features - Adobe Reader 8 on a Mac will give you access to most (not movies, apparently). OSX's Preview does a pretty lousy job overall with this one. Go grab a copy (35 mb), and see what they've got for you! (Louis Wu 13:35:38 UTC) (permalink)
It's not goodybe... okay, yes it is.
And... it's over. Last night, around midnight PDT, the Halo 3 Beta was turned off. If you were in the middle of a game, you were allowed to finish, and for a little while, custom games worked after Matchmaking was turned off - but eventually, EVERYONE was locked out; a very enjoyable 3 weeks has come to an end, and we'll have to wait until September to get back into this. Halo 2 still waits - both on Xboxes and on Vista PCs - but you might find you have a little trouble adjusting to the changes. Oh, how I'll miss my Spiker Grenades! Wayward Spleen™ put together a tiny Flash animation showing off high-res versions of all the ranks (minus the two highest, which he hasn't finished yet) - 'tiny' means under 7k, a tribute to Flash's vector format. And oh, while we're mentioning high-res stuff, High Resolution Halo is working on Medals and Ranks, as well. I guess pretty pictures are gonna have to hold us for the next three months... (Louis Wu 13:03:30 UTC) (permalink)
Escape Station May Halo Pentathlon Writeups
onij stopped by to point out that the Halo 3 Beta Tournament set up by Escape Station went off as planned, and was, in fact, a success. They've got a writeup available (viewable by all) and video highlights (you must be logged in to watch). Go take a look! (Louis Wu 12:57:03 UTC) (permalink)
News June 10 2007
HBO - Running on Drool
Well, the original plan involved embarrassing usage of baby pictures - but the Photoshop time simply ran out. I can still take this opportunity to wish CYBRFRK a happy 40th birthday! You're officially a geezer, dude! (For what it's worth, mnemesis had a birthday on Thursday. I'm not gonna even MENTION how old he is - cause he's older than me. Suffice it to say, though, that a new walker from Acme Medical Supply is even now winging its way to his door.) (Louis Wu 22:11:10 UTC) (permalink)
The Riot 51
Sigafoos let us know that The Riot 51 is up - 21 minutes, 8.5 mb, full of stuff. And you're not listening right now... why?
(Louis Wu 22:06:11 UTC) (permalink)
GA H2 Tourney
Twister33547 stopped by to point out a Halo 2 tourney in Lithonia, GA, on June 17th. Check his post for details. (Louis Wu 22:01:53 UTC) (permalink)
Keep up on MLG
MLG Meadowlands info - GotFrag has a summary, MLG has live (free) video coverage, and more news than you can read. (Louis Wu 21:54:31 UTC) (permalink)
Zune Contest - entering next phase!
The submission period for the Halo Zune Giveaway ended last night (much to the chagrin of a number of forgetful people) - we've been forced to make some changes to the judging of the entries. Check this forum post for complete details. (Louis Wu 16:27:16 UTC) (permalink)
News June 9 2007
That's what I call riding shotgun!
Rooster Teeth has posted Red vs Blue Episode 99 for sponsors - and dang, they're looking to go out with a bang. It's pretty amazing, overall - if you're a sponsor, go watch now. If you're not, wait until Monday, and then watch. One more ep! (Louis Wu 12:11:49 UTC) (permalink)
GameKings, Translated
Elite TAR took the time to fully translate the recent GameKings video, with comments. If you don't speak Dutch, this is your best way of finding out what the REST of that story is! (Louis Wu 12:05:31 UTC) (permalink)
H2 Head to Head
IGN has posted another Insider Head-to-Head feature - this one is is an overall comparison of Halo 2 Vista with Halo 2 Xbox (more extensive than their previous video head-to-head). (Louis Wu 12:02:48 UTC) (permalink)
Oh, Hello There!
Tikirabbit has created a Halo-related entry for a contest at CGSphere.com. Nice work! (Louis Wu 11:59:44 UTC) (permalink)
John, Unmasked
Veegie pointed out a model someone has created of the Master Chief - with no armor. Interesting! (Louis Wu 11:58:22 UTC) (permalink)
Look out!
Mister Froggy let us know that Halo, Articulated #46 is live; I think everyone who's played the beta can sympathize with this one. (Louis Wu 11:56:45 UTC) (permalink)
Serious Business
The Bungie Weekly Update is a marvel to behold; there's a really nice breakdown of what you'll find in each version of Halo 3 (subject to change, of course, but getting pretty darned close to final), you'll find great info about the customization options you'll face when you fire up Halo 3, and you'll see some really nice pictures from Forza 2. (If you customize Forza 2 cars for fun, make sure you check the end of the update carefully; you could win a pretty cool car for your troubles.) There was a fight over firstiness on our forum - looks like Plasmoe beat Frankie. As always, if there's any trouble with B.net for you (or you just want to do some searching), this update is available in our Weekly Update Archive. (Louis Wu 01:47:34 UTC) (permalink)
News June 8 2007
Pretty artwork
sorahn has put up a couple of posters on his wall - these were created from the content to be released on the Zune in a couple of weeks. Check out Cortana, and the Chief. (Yes, these were rendered from the 320x240 versions on the Zune. Amazing, huh?) (Louis Wu 19:43:11 UTC) (permalink)
X-Plane Tank now Downloadable
Mid7night has released the downloadable version of his Scorpion for X-Plane - swing by his forum post for a link. (Louis Wu 19:40:10 UTC) (permalink)
New H2V content at HaloMaps
Dennis Powers, of HaloMaps.org, pointed out two new maps for Halo 2 Vista from NiTrOuSoXiDe2k (who was part of the H2V team, actually), showing off how easily new maps can be made using the Halo 2 Map editor tools. Check out Beach Battle and Earth City - they both look pretty nice! (While you're there, check out his views on Halo 2 Vista as a game.) (Louis Wu 19:36:51 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 - it's big, but not THAT big.
The latest rumor floating around is that Halo 3 is so huge, as a game, that it can't fit on a single disc. Joystiq has a story about it, CVG has a story about it, Xbox360Fanboy has a story about it. (Actually, now that I read CVG's entry again, it's just a straight report that the art's out - no speculation there at all. Good for them.) Bungie is pretty amused by the misinterpretation of the artwork; there'll be more info in tonight's Weekly Update, but for now, you should understand that one of the discs is a DVD and the other is a 360 executable - sort of like the discs that come with magazines like the Official Xbox Magazine. They're labeled the way they are because they have to go through test - but they are NOT both game discs. (Louis Wu 18:33:59 UTC) (permalink)
I Wasn't Allowed To Call Her John.
We have a very special One One Se7en for you today - as of last night, Stuntmutt is a daddy! He's going to be taking some paternity leave, but don't fret - he's lined up some awesome guest artists for the next few weeks. We'll start rolling out those strips on Monday. For now... check out the cute widdle baby! (Louis Wu 16:32:25 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Medals Index - yes, another one
PEZ wrote to point out that halowiki.net has posted what might be the most complete Halo 3 medals index to date. Go look. (Louis Wu 16:25:25 UTC) (permalink)
Shane Kim Talks about Halo 3
Gamespy has a sizeable interview with Shane Kim, Microsoft Game Studios' Corporate VP, about Halo 3. There are lots of tidbits that might make you go 'hmm...' - let's see if I can grab a couple of juicy quotes.
"The feeling I want people to have after they finish Halo 3 is the same feeling they had when "Return of the King" ended. Satisfied, but sad." [Sad? uh oh... -ed]
"Bungie has their plans well mapped out. You have to, when you have a studio like that, and you need to know what you're moving your people on to. So they have the collaboration with Peter Jackson on the animated series." [This quote was actually picked up by FallHammer, in our forum - misstatement by Kim, or a leak of what the next project really is?]
There's quite a bit more - go read. And then discuss. More when we know it. Update: The interview has been edited to read 'interactive series', rather than 'animated series'. (Thanks, Monochron.) It's not a coverup - it was a mistake. (Louis Wu 16:15:03 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Meadowlands - coverage kicks off
Bunch of Pro Halo news; MLG's second tournament of the season kicks off today in the Meadowlands, and there's a bunch of buzz. The Newark Star-Ledger has a summary article, Amped eSports looks at the key matches, and MLGPro.com has plenty of its own content (thanks, 3Suns) - team changes (again), Sound Arguments Ep 16, and a look at the Carbon/FB rivalry. Go read - gaming starts soon!
(Louis Wu 15:46:20 UTC) (permalink)
Cinema Blend is unimpressed
There's a Halo 2 Vista preview at Cinema Blend (2.5/5, they didn't think there was enough there to warrant buying at full price). (Louis Wu 15:38:54 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fanfic
Eight new pieces available in the Fan Fiction section this week - go read! (Louis Wu 15:32:29 UTC) (permalink)
Halo's in the paper everywhere
More newspaper articles from forum members - Spu7n1k grabbed the rest of the Singapore Digital Life article we mentioned a couple of days ago, Rosco-128 snagged some pics from the Queensland (Australia) Courier Mail, and plasmAGuy scanned (and translated) an article in French from a paper in Montreal. It's an international news blitz! (Louis Wu 15:17:33 UTC) (permalink)
News June 7 2007
I thought she was 18, officer.
Black Aye slipped something in my beer last night, and when I woke up, an interview was posted on his website. And then he's brazen enough to post on our forum about it... man, when this hangover goes away, I'm goin' huntin'. (Louis Wu 22:53:07 UTC) (permalink)
That's just way too many kills.
Over on Bungie.net, you'll find an interview with SmokedYeti. Who's SmokedYeti, you ask? Oh, nobody... he's just the first guy to gain 'General' rank in the Halo 3 Beta. Over 20,000 kills (in over 1100 games) - it's unlikely you're gonna catch up to him. Go read why. Thanks again, Vandle Valsher. (Louis Wu 22:48:17 UTC) (permalink)
Pwned List
xMixMasterX pointed out a new stats site - it'll take a while to grab your Halo 3 Beta data, and it's switching back to Halo 2 on June 11, so if you haven't registered yet, you'll be doing it twice in a week... but if you want someplace that can add up all the medals you've gotten in the Beta, this might be the place. (Louis Wu 22:44:15 UTC) (permalink)
War Craft
This week's Halo Humpday Challenge had a bunch of Blizzard guys meeting a bunch of Bungie guys on the field of battle - but not along company lines. They split up every game, making it really hard to tell who was challenging whom (and why). The writeup was just as confusing - though I suppose it might make more sense to someone who, say, has PLAYED some Blizzard games. (Sorry - I've been a little busy.) Thanks, Vandle Valsher. (Louis Wu 22:40:46 UTC) (permalink)
Now a Warthog
Last month, we mentioned a Pelican addon for Microsoft Flight Simulator - gijake noticed that a Warthog has been added to the same page. Check it out! (Louis Wu 22:35:15 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 fiddy bux
Blackstar found a pretty nice price for Halo 3 - saves you $10, at least. Check it out! (Louis Wu 22:32:31 UTC) (permalink)
ManCannon Vids Wanted
James "Peench" McCormick, of PreGameLobby.com, let us know that the site is giving away a Halo 3 Beta shirt (one of the green ones from the press event, not the charcoal or brown ones you can buy at the Bungie Store). You have to hurry, though - the contest only lasts until the end of the Beta, this coming Sunday. Swing by their forum for details on what you need to do to win. (Louis Wu 20:00:47 UTC) (permalink)
When Pigs Fly.
Almost forgot to post this - rapture found a version of Halo 2 for a platform nobody ever expected. (Local version of the image, if they happen to fix it.) Nice typo! (Louis Wu 16:56:49 UTC) (permalink)
A Phoenix Tat
This isn't exactly Halo-related... but phoenix.bungie.org is pretty dead, and the Phoenix team DID all move on to work on Halo 2, and it's cool. John Andersen dropped Gholsbane a line (Gholsbane created the original EPS line art that folks messed with to make their phoenix fan art), to let him know that he (John) liked the logo so much he'd gotten it inked on his arm. Looks great! (Louis Wu 14:44:16 UTC) (permalink)
Just Vid It.
Dang. Those High Speed Halo guys are HARDCORE. Check out Full Path Halo - a project designed to see how fast Halo levels can be speedrun... with all baddies being killed. The Halo Vidmaster is finally defined. Thanks, Ducain. (Louis Wu 14:35:40 UTC) (permalink)
Master Chief Model
Kiory dropped in with pictures of his new Master Chief model. Take a look! (Louis Wu 14:20:31 UTC) (permalink)
Noobs Gone Wild: Beta!
BoneKin has put together some fun "omg what did you do!" moments in a video he calls "Noobs Gone Wild: Beta!" If you've never done any of these yourself... I don't ever want to play with you. (Louis Wu 14:16:55 UTC) (permalink)
I wonder if it goes faster because of...
ManKitten has been playing a lot of Forza 2 lately... but he never forgets his roots. Props. (Louis Wu 13:51:50 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Box Art - revisited
Last week, we pointed out that Amazon had posted an image nobody had seen before as the Halo 3 Standard Edition box art; we suggested it could very well be the final version. A couple of days ago, SPARTAN-137 noticed that the box art shown on xbox.com had changed - it was using the 'Emotion' image Bungie released in late April. (I suggested that this wasn't definitive - but later learned that this image was, in fact, being used internally in many places.) And today, GhaleonEB let us know that Amazon, too, has changed their box art to match this image. For better or for worse - it looks like we now know what the Standard Edition box art looks like. (Louis Wu 13:43:37 UTC) (permalink)
Podtacular Ep 115
Big Goalie Dan points out that Podtacular Episode 115 is up - 56 minutes, 40 mb, guest hosted by George from aeropause.com (a general gaming blog). Go listen. (Louis Wu 13:31:53 UTC) (permalink)
Video Head-to-Head
If you're an IGN Insider, you can download a 'Video Head-to-Head' comparison of Halo 2 Xbox and Halo 2 Vista (as well as H2V vs H3 Beta). It's sort of an interesting concept; they tried to play through Cairo Station on both boxes at similar speeds, with the video set up next to each other... but 1) you can NEVER get the gameplay exactly the same, 2) it's hard to tell how much of the graphic glitches are due to the video compression and how much can be attributed to the platform. Judge for yourself. (If, of course, you're an Insider.) (Louis Wu 13:24:28 UTC) (permalink)
Press Coverage
Halo press for the day: Gamespy has a review of Halo 2 Vista (3/5, they thought it was too little, too late) - thanks, HaloPlanet; The New York Times has a profile of Lil' Poison, the (now) 9 year old Halo pro (don't forget about Bug Me Not if you don't have a NYT account), and FG_Jolly sent along a local review of the beta from the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader. There's a lot of Halo buzz out there these days! (Louis Wu 13:17:17 UTC) (permalink)
News June 6 2007
Bubblehead Over Heels
Paul Maestri has sent along Halo Heads #60, 'Bubblehead Over Heels'. We're back to Kitty 117... and things are getting messy. Check it out! (Louis Wu 20:22:46 UTC) (permalink)
Unaccustomed.
Stuntmutt's thinking ahead, looking for potential gotchas in the Custom Game options for Halo 3; check today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 15:18:13 UTC) (permalink)
Co-opted.
Wow. IGN put together their list of the Top 10 Best Co-op Games... Halo 2 made the list (at number 7), but Halo is nowhere to be seen. Bizarre. Thanks, Morpheus. (Louis Wu 15:12:44 UTC) (permalink)
MC Graces Digital Life
Spu7n1k posted the cover of the weekly tech magazine from a Singapore newspaper - now THERE'S a pretty cool armor permutation! (As Luke mentions on Bungie.net, the customizations are cosmetic only; they won't affect gameplay.) (Louis Wu 14:34:17 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: pixelated project update
A few months ago, Leviathan mentioned he was working on a 2D version of Halo - today he's back with new screens. Looking good! (Louis Wu 14:28:44 UTC) (permalink)
Player Match Commentary: Shockwave
MLGPro has a Player Commentary vid from Carbon's Shockwave, looking at their Losers Bracket Final series against FBI The Agency. Great tips for folks looking to better their game! Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 14:20:56 UTC) (permalink)
Retreat To The Citadel
Today's Penny Arcade comic (soon to be available at this permanent link) wonders whether the pleasant world of tabletop gaming will be adversely affected by the introduction of the Halo community. I'd like to hope not - but I'm not putting any money on it. Kudos to KP, who wants to take credit not only for the news of the strip, but for the inspiration of the 'd-bag' protagonist. (Louis Wu 12:33:14 UTC) (permalink)
GameKings talk to Bungie
Wolverine Monkey noticed a video piece by the Dutch program GameKings on YouTube - it's an interview with Bungie, based on a visit they made earlier this year. Most of it is in Dutch - but the interviews are in English, and the background footage is all from the internal Halo 3 Beta - it includes the two maps that weren't included in the public beta (Epitaph and Last Resort). Some nice interview tidbits (Jaime's story of a Banshee double-steal is pretty funny), and the footage in the background is great. MasterChief2829 pointed out a higher-quality version on GameTrailers - but for those of us who have trouble with GameTrailers' Flash interface, the YouTube version might be better. (Louis Wu 12:22:42 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 Strategy Guide updated for Vista
Stephen 'SoundEffect' Loftus wrote to let us know he'd picked up the Strategy Guide for Halo 2 Vista. Basically, they updated the Halo 2 Strategy Guide (for Xbox) with new screenshots, keyboard info (duh), and all the new maps released since 2004. Finally, there's a section on Achievements (including details on how to get them). Looks like it might be worth grabbing if you've got H2V! (Louis Wu 12:12:00 UTC) (permalink)
X-Plane Scorpion
Mid7night has run out of flying vehicles to port to X-Plane - so he's bringing in the rolling ones. (We already mentioned his warthog.) Last night, he pointed out preliminary shots of a Scorpion. I think he plans to take over the X-Plane universe by force. (Louis Wu 12:09:10 UTC) (permalink)
FS2H Weekly Update Se7en
Devrous put up a new update for his Freespace 2 Halo mod - a shot of the Seraph, and a second video tour. Check it out! (Louis Wu 12:06:03 UTC) (permalink)
Community Rating of H2V
rapture wants to know what fans think of halo 2 Vista - the whole package. Swing by Halo2(pc).org for a poll, and make your voice heard! (Louis Wu 12:00:39 UTC) (permalink)
Hangin' in the wind
jayWHY let us know that he ranted a bit about Halo PC in the wake of yesterday's player stats update - there are some long-suffering fans out there. (Louis Wu 11:58:50 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Press
There are Halo 2 reviews at Home Theater Magazine (liked it - 4/5), Game Informer (liked it - 8/10), and IGN (sort of liked it - 7.5/10). Similarly, there are Halo 3 musings at 24 Hours (they discuss an exclusive interview I can't find), Monsters and Critics (they're already lamenting the end of the beta), and SF Weekly (they see Halo 3 as a refined version of earlier games). Busy day for news! (Louis Wu 11:55:27 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 Graphical Comparison
Snave put together his own Xbox vs Vista graphics comparison for Halo 2 - does a pretty good job of showing what you're getting! (Louis Wu 11:38:29 UTC) (permalink)
News June 5 2007
T-Shirts for the Chief(s)
Kotaku has announced the winners of their Halo 3 Beta t-shirt giveaway (thanks, madcowjim) - congrats to PostIt-Chief and to Sean Bradley (whose energy sword was featured here just last week). Nice going, guys! (Louis Wu 18:28:19 UTC) (permalink)
The TTL AtLANtica
XerxdeeJ surfaced on our forum to point out a sneak preview of an upcoming writeup - the Tied the Leader clan held a large event over Memorial Day weekend on the beach. Great pics (except for the naked guys at the end - can YOU prove they're wearing bathing suits?). (Louis Wu 18:07:28 UTC) (permalink)
Emblem Contest Winner Announced
Over at Bungie.net, the winner of the Emblem Design Contest (remember?) has been revealed... it's a Pirate Yang to the Flaming Ninja Yin. Thanks, Radiago713 and deadguy71. (Louis Wu 17:53:40 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Wars Models
Veegie found a pair of models posted by Ian Joyner, who did some 3D modeling work for the Halo Wars trailer last year. Gorgeous! (Louis Wu 16:06:05 UTC) (permalink)
Elite Love
Heh - Major.Dump watched 'I Want Master Chief' and couldn't help himself. (Louis Wu 16:03:45 UTC) (permalink)
Pro Content from MLG
A couple of new pieces for you over at MLGPro.com - there's an interesting article about 'team killing' (no, not the griefers that kill their own teammates, but the practice of working together to take down an opponent), and the surprising conclusions indicated by statistical analysis of the games at Charlotte last month, along with a Head to Head video interview with Elamite Warrior. Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 15:37:34 UTC) (permalink)
News Flash
Mister Froggy pointed out that Halo, Articulated #45 is up. That Arbiter seems pretty resourceful... (Louis Wu 15:22:01 UTC) (permalink)
Halopedia FanFic Contest
Wow - two Fan Fiction contests announced in two days. Yesterday, we mentioned one at Halo Wars Heaven - today, we've got news from CommanderTony, of Halopedia, who points out a fan-run one there. As far as I can tell, there aren't any prizes - but just recognition is something, right? (Louis Wu 15:19:49 UTC) (permalink)
Halo PC - not dead yet
This is interesting - sawnose, over at Bungie.net, has posted stats of the number of unique product keys of Halo PC (and CE) that have played online in the past 30 days. 4 years after release... and there are still nearly 150,000 people playing it? Wow. Thanks, Fires7orm. (Louis Wu 15:14:51 UTC) (permalink)
Galactic Warrior
Heh - I'm not sure this won't cause a rush to find these outfits before they get pulled off the shelves... but Kotaku has a story about a Master Chief-looking costume for sale in K-Marts in Australia. It sure doesn't look Microsoft-sanctioned... but we've received more mail from people looking for buyable Halo costumes than nearly any other subject, so I'm guessing the market won't care a whole lot about whether these are approved or not. (Maybe if Microsoft actually got a licensed version out there...) Thanks, Littlebigman. (Louis Wu 14:55:59 UTC) (permalink)
Killing PC Gaming?
GameDaily has a rant up today about how Microsoft seems to be trying to kill PC gaming - and Halo 2 Vista is Exhibit One. Ouch! Interesting read, though. (Louis Wu 14:51:52 UTC) (permalink)
News June 4 2007
NO GOOD TV?
Apparently, NO GOOD TV, "the
world's largest producer of uncensored celebrity news and entertainment
programming" is going to host an event in which celebrities play Halo 3 before release - with the matches televised by NGTV. Um... okay. More in the press release. Thanks, Anton P. Nym. (Louis Wu 21:49:49 UTC) (permalink)
I wanna see Cortana's rookie card
Cybrfrk dug around and found yet ANOTHER Halo-branded item - Halo Trading Cards. According to the TFAW page they're on, they're due out at the end of August - looks like Topps wants in on the Halo cash cow. (Louis Wu 21:28:25 UTC) (permalink)
Halo: Uprising Cover Surfaces
PsychoRaven found a page at the online store for Things From Another World for Uprising #2 (the second of four Marvel Halo comics coming this summer). It shows the cover of this issue - something that Marvel's page for the same issue does not. Pretty nice! (Louis Wu 20:19:21 UTC) (permalink)
Vote for your favorite outfit
Kotaku's Halo 3 Beta t-shirt contest is nearing its end; they're down to the final 7 contestants, and looking for help from you, the public, to help with the voting. Thanks, madcowjim. (Louis Wu 17:47:44 UTC) (permalink)
Putting His Back Into It.
Last week, Bungie posted an article about the audio for Halo 3 (see here) - it started off with a description of Jay Weinland's hunt for specific sounds. Stuntmutt has an idea about where some of those sounds might be coming from... check today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 16:28:46 UTC) (permalink)
Newbalicious
Narcogen used the discussion between two journalists last week (parts 1|2|3) as a jumping-off spot to explore the ease with which beginners can get into Halo multiplay. Interesting read! (Louis Wu 16:22:06 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 Cardboard Cutout for Sale
Toby Allen wrote to point out an auction on eBay.uk - It's a Halo 2 cardboard cutout, the kind you'd find in a game store. Looks to be in pretty good shape. Starting bid is £19.99, almost 10 days left on the auction. Check it out! (Louis Wu 16:17:23 UTC) (permalink)
Charlotte Stats - Complete
Z pointed out that over at Stats Reloaded, they've compiled full stats for the MLG Charlotte tournament - it's pretty interesting to compare teams this way! (As far as I know, this sort of statistical analysis isn't available anywhere else - including MLG's own site.) (Louis Wu 16:13:14 UTC) (permalink)
Fighting the Hype
The Seattle Times has an article asking what all the hoopla is about - go see if you agree! (Louis Wu 15:54:34 UTC) (permalink)
Halo - The Movie Trailer (again)
Last month, we mentioned a Halo trailer that had been created from clips from other movies; since then, Lt. Tuma has gotten quite a bit of feedback about his film, and he's gone and recreated it. Go watch! (Louis Wu 15:25:57 UTC) (permalink)
Xbox.com's Halo 2 Challenge
Back in early April, we mentioned a teaser for an upcoming 'Halo 2 Challenge' that was found in Trixie's blog on Xbox.com. The Thurmanator noticed that an info page is now up at Xbox.com - go check it out! Cool prizes, 15 days to play (starting, probably not coincidentally, the day after the Halo 3 Beta ends). (Louis Wu 15:11:28 UTC) (permalink)
New Halo 3 Info from Toronto Sun
Yesterday, John_117 posted a note about an article in his local newspaper - the Toronto Sun. Our policy with newspaper scans is the same as our policy with magazine scans - we will not link them until the issue is no longer available on newsstands. (It's why you won't find any links to the GamePro article here yet...) This was Sunday's paper, though, and today is Monday - so thanks to Hawaiian_Pig, who scanned in the article (along with closeups of the pictures), you can get a good look at some of the changes expected for Halo 3! (If you're totally against knowing anything about Halo 3, this article could be considered to have spoilers.) (Louis Wu 15:04:42 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Fan Fiction Contest at HWH
watchwood stopped by to point out a new fan fiction contest at Halo Wars Heaven. Submit a story by July 15, win a shot at some cool Bungie schwag. Go read their page for full details. (Louis Wu 14:44:34 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Countdown Widget
DS noticed a Halo 3 Countdown Dashboard widget for OSX users - the page it's on also has a few Halo 3 icons for your folders. (They have to be pretty big to be nicely viewable, in my opinion - but they're well-done.) (Louis Wu 14:38:09 UTC) (permalink)
AT Reviews H2V
Action Trip looked over Halo 2 Vista, and found it to be fun, but (under Vista) a resource hog. Well... Vista was the hog, apparently, but since you can't play H2V on XP (yet), it comes down to the same thing in the end. Give it a read. Thanks, Ure Paul. (Louis Wu 14:26:23 UTC) (permalink)
News June 3 2007
Bashing in the Dark
Rockslider stopped by with word that he'd written up some new tactics (as well as expanded on ideas already listed) for enjoying the beginning of the level Keyes in the first Halo. Go see! (Louis Wu 22:39:59 UTC) (permalink)
The Riot #050
Sigafoos writes to point out The Riot #50 - a special episode. They're a year old! There's standard community stuff, retrospective stuff, and more. (Part of the more - and this is a direct quote - "Oh, and we strip Chief naked and have him fight a bear.") 31 minutes, 13 mb. Go listen! (Louis Wu 20:42:55 UTC) (permalink)
Red Light, Green Light
Sane Intolerant sent word of his latest Halo Toy Box effort - Red Light, Green Light. You know... I'm starting to wonder if I'm living in someone ELSE'S video game... (Louis Wu 20:39:56 UTC) (permalink)
Rotoscoping Tutorial
Elnea wrote up a much more complete description of how she did the Cortana scene in the recent 'I Want Master Chief' vid - you can read it in her RvB Journal, if you have an account there, or on our forum, if you don't. As someone who doesn't know how to do this sort of thing, I found it fascinating. (Louis Wu 15:59:55 UTC) (permalink)
On the 'Tube
It must be YouTube Sunday. We got three separate YouTube links in the last 12 hours - let's see what's up, shall we?
- Desound Molo let us know about a GameDaily piece that picks out the Top 5 Halo 3 Beta Weapons. I was amused by how the demonstrator kept dying.
- Max Capo pointed out a Halo/RvB parody history project he and some friends did about a year ago - Jacques Cartier, as Caboose?
- And darthbob stopped by the forum with a link to a pretty funny (though quite profanity-laced) story about a Master Chief action figure playing the Halo 3 Beta. (This would, in fact, explain a bunch of the people I've played with...) I loved this - but some IRC denizens were less impressed.
Go watch - YouTube needs the pageviews! (Louis Wu 15:56:32 UTC) (permalink)
News June 2 2007
Behind IWMC - Tuts and Bloops
Remember that movie last week - I Want Master Chief? It got a little bit of press. (And scored the ladies an interview on Bungie.net.) A bunch of people were curious about the Cortana scene in the video - so Elnea put together a short video explaining how she created that. (WMP9 is 15.2 mb, QuickTime is 18.7 mb, plus a YouTube version is up as well) In addition, OboeCrazy released a short blooper reel; we're hosting WMP9 and QuickTime versions (9.3 and 10.1 mb, respectively), OboeCrazy's hosting an AVI version (16.8 mb), and there'll be a version on her YouTube page soon. Fun stuff to watch on a Saturday afternoon! (Louis Wu 21:25:03 UTC) (permalink)
When the World Ends
Mothergoat stopped by to release a new Halo-inspired tune - 'When the World Ends'. Go listen. (2:29, 3.4 mb) That man is pretty amazing. (Louis Wu 20:52:47 UTC) (permalink)
Fan Armor Continues to Improve
James Falcon has sent along pictures of his facemask, improved shin guards, and thigh guards for his in-progress Halo armor; check out his page for details. (Louis Wu 19:22:05 UTC) (permalink)
When your dad knows comic artists...
Leinil Yu is a comic book artist who's done quite a bit of work for Marvel comics. Last year, for the San Diego Comic Convention, he created a pretty cool Halo-related image, which he uploaded to his DeviantART space. A couple of days ago, Cody Paulson dropped in to our forum to mention that he'd been given a copy of the image, by the artist, for his birthday. (He's a family friend.) Not too shabby! (Louis Wu 19:19:44 UTC) (permalink)
Spartan Laser Update
CitizenErased27 is still working on the details of his Spartan Laser replica - today's pictures don't show much improvement, but they DO show a rather disturbing proclivity... (Louis Wu 18:55:32 UTC) (permalink)
Debatable lists
prometheus found a list of the Top 25 Video Game Heroes of all time - Master Chief came in at 25. Some forum regulars are pretty suprised by the list. (Two links in the first post, in case one doesn't work.) (Louis Wu 18:51:26 UTC) (permalink)
RvB Ep 98 Director's Commentary
Speaking of Red vs Blue - if you're a Sponsor, you should visit the Sponsors forum there; Director's Commentary for Episode 98 (last week's episode) has been posted. There's no explanation of some of the plot intricacies... but there's some nice discussion of the shots, and how they were done. Check it out! (Louis Wu 18:38:37 UTC) (permalink)
HD RvB Season 2
If you swing by Xbox Live Marketplace, you'll find that three new episodes of the Red vs Blue series - 20, 21, 22, the first three episodes of Season 2 - are now available for download in HD format. Nice! Thanks, DHalo. (Louis Wu 18:29:24 UTC) (permalink)
Looking Ahead
Wayward Spleen™ gives us a taste of what a Halo 3 signature from Query Spree might look like in this forum post. (Louis Wu 14:19:39 UTC) (permalink)
X-Plane Pelican, Warthog now for download
Mid7night has made his Pelican Dropship, along with his Warthog, both for X-Plane, available for download - check his forum post for full details. (Louis Wu 14:17:58 UTC) (permalink)
Betarded.
The Halo 3 Data Archive has an editorial piece on the Beta called 'Betarded' - they look at the new GamePro info, for example. Poke around the rest of the site; there are a bunch of other updates, as well. Thanks, Lyca. (Louis Wu 14:15:40 UTC) (permalink)
Game Fuel
Mister Froggy points out a potential danger of the upcoming Halo 3 Mountain Dew drink in Halo, Articulated #44. (Louis Wu 14:12:22 UTC) (permalink)
One More Week
The Bungie Weekly Update is up - etiquette lessons (yeah, like the worst offenders are actually gonna READ this), some fun campaign nuggets, details (along with better-than-previous pics) of the upcoming HaloClix action figures, and more. Read it at Bungie.net, or read it in our Weekly Update Archive - we don't care. (Louis Wu 01:38:27 UTC) (permalink)
News June 1 2007
Halo 3 Interview at The Wire
We got word from Paul Semel that he's done a pretty nice interview with Brian Jarrard about Halo 3 - some interesting questions and answers. Swing by The Wire to read about it! (Louis Wu 22:56:05 UTC) (permalink)
Blindsided.
There's a discussion right now on our forum about the new Hill Bungie's developed for King of the Hill games in Halo 3. Stuntmutt's view on this seems to echo my own - check today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 16:32:42 UTC) (permalink)
One from Many
Jobyn stopped by to point out an interview with DTS Wheels, of the Tied the Leader Gunslingers, in the current issue of The Blue Skittle magazine. The man's pretty eloquent - go read about the philosophy of the clan, and what they're trying to do in the gaming community. (Louis Wu 16:06:08 UTC) (permalink)
Fun with Fireworks
Rockslider gave us a visit to point out a new section in his Bad Cyborg collection of Halo 1 campaign extension ideas. This one is more of a lark than many - but geez, he's coming up with new ways to get enjoyment from a game released almost 6 years ago... (Louis Wu 14:36:25 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fan Fiction
Only six new pieces for you in the Fan Fiction section this week... short reading! (Louis Wu 14:08:12 UTC) (permalink)
Double your Pleasure
This week's Halo Humpday Challenge was a bit fairer than last week - It was Frankie vs Sketch vs Luke vs RvB's Burnie Burns. (Well, they paired up in each game, playing Double Team - but it was different pairs each time.) Astoundingly enough, Sketch was on the losing team each game... and Frankie was on the winning team 2 out of 3 games. Something awfully wrong happened there... (Luke, amazingly, was on the winning team EVERY GAME. I call chetz.) Thanks to JRod4549 for the first heads-up. (Louis Wu 02:04:52 UTC) (permalink)
EGM's Halo 3 Beta Poll
The guys at 1Up are running a short poll on the Halo 3 Beta - results will be published in the August issue of EGM (which hits newsstands on July 3). It's pretty short (about 15 questions) - so if you've been playing in the Beta (or even if you haven't - question 1 asks whether you have or not), go tell 'em what you think! Thanks, shoe. (Louis Wu 01:49:11 UTC) (permalink)
| June 2007 | |
