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 | November 2006 |  |
November 2006 Archived News
News November 30 2006
MS PR says limited beta
We're still waiting for confirmation from Bungie on some of the more controversial pieces of this... but a Microsoft press release sent out this morning suggests that the Halo 3 beta next spring will be limited to North America, and that it will NOT be all-inclusive.
Beginning Monday, Dec. 4, by visiting http://www.halo3.com, gamers in North America will be able to register for the opportunity to be one of the select members to join the unprecedented "Halo 3" public beta program, scheduled to kick off in spring 2007.
Astute readers will have noticed that that Halo3.com url redirects to Bungie.net right now - it remains to be seen if there'll be a special portal next Monday. Thanks to Sep7imus, who found this at Kotaku, and BOLL, who found it at Destructoid. Update: the full press release can be read here, on Gamerscoreblog - thanks, chargeorge. (Louis Wu 19:05:30 UTC) (permalink)
Things That Make You Go Hmmm...
If you visit live.xbox.com, you can see what the people on your Friends List are doing, if they're online. There were some odd entries this morning, from a couple of Bungie employees... now I'm nearly 100% certain that nobody's actually putting time into building a Pimps at Sea game, fun as it might be - so what could these guys REALLY be playing? Hmm. Well, I know what game Bungie's been focusing on pretty intently for the past year... and I know that a PUBLIC beta of that game will be coming in the next few months. So is it feasible that a PRIVATE one is happening now? (Louis Wu 17:54:50 UTC) (permalink)
CGI Ad Teaser
Whoa. Over at Bungie.net, you'll find a screenshot from the upcoming Halo 3 ad, airing this Monday night on ESPN. If you don't have access to ESPN, you'll be able to see a 720p version on Xbox Live Marketplace soon after. (If you don't have a 360, I'm certain a version will be on YouTube within minutes of the airing.) Check it out! (Louis Wu 17:36:57 UTC) (permalink)
Karma discusses success, MLG Ep 4 teaser up
Over at MLGPro.com, you can find a blog entry from Karma, discussing Carbon's success this year - interesting read. There's also a teaser for Episode 4 of the MLG Pro Circuit show coming up this Saturday. (Louis Wu 17:34:16 UTC) (permalink)
Static - Episode 6: Enough
Over at the Halo CE Chronicles website, the final episode of Static has been posted - Alex gets clear of the Hunter, finally, and a surprise twist makes lots of things clear. It's double-size - 60 mb in downloadable WMP9 or QT, 36 mb in streaming Flash format. Nice end to the story! (Louis Wu 17:01:36 UTC) (permalink)
News November 29 2006
I want one.
Dojorkan found a pretty fun pic. (Louis Wu 23:07:48 UTC) (permalink)
Pestilence
Not long ago, we released Pie Chapters 1 and 2, from Machine Enema - both were fantastic examples of Halo machinima. Recently sodaGoD completed Pestilence, set in the same universe as the Pie stories, but on a different tack. As before, cinematography is excellent, storyline is strong, voice acting is top-notch. I loved this film. We've got it available in both WMP9 (125 mb) and QuickTime (129 mb) formats - grab a copy and follow Jurnigan's swath of destruction! Over at GamingTV.org, you can also grab a much higher-bitrate version (320 mb, WMP9 format), and small QT version (mp4, 320x240, 52mb) - thanks, trigger119. (Louis Wu 21:48:57 UTC) (permalink)
XBL Playlist Changes Now in Effect
Compton noticed that the XBL Playlist changes we heard about a couple of weeks ago are now in effect - if you log into Xbox Live to play Halo 2, you'll find a much smaller set of available playlists. Team SWAT is dead... long live Team SWAT. (I'm happy that the last game I played last night was, indeed, Team SWAT. We didn't win - but it was fun.) (Louis Wu 20:47:41 UTC) (permalink)
Barbed Comments.
Last week, our forum was awash with complaints that the Halo screenshots released recently looked more like Halo 2 with a spit-shine than 'next-gen graphics'. The folks voicing their opinions didn't want to hear that these shots came from an alpha build of Halo 3, or that some of the textures used right now are placeholders, cribbed from Halo 2. They just wanted to know why Bungie would release less-than-perfect examples of what Halo 3 will bring us. Stuntmutt has his own ideas about this - check today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 20:42:50 UTC) (permalink)
Art. Evolved.
prometheus stopped by to point out a bunch of cool new stuff at the Halouvre - there are some SPECTACULAR new shots in the various galleries. (He also mentioned that they're coming up on their second anniversary... wow, it really doesn't seem like that long ago! Happy Birthday, guys!) Check out the links in his forum post. (Louis Wu 18:42:11 UTC) (permalink)
Species - Episode 2 (Renewed)
Koethe, from the MjR37 Team, wrote to say that Episode 2 of their series, Species, is now available for download from Mythica.org. QuickTime format, 14 minutes, 37 mb. Funny stuff, nice use of mods (though I'd have to say, if HaloNinja was anywhere near me, I'd stuff a rocket launcher in his mouth). If you haven't seen Episode 1, watch that first. Episode 3 is on its way, apparently! (Louis Wu 17:16:52 UTC) (permalink)
Issue of the week - Turret
PEZ writes to point out that over at halowiki.net, they've started up a new feature - Issue of the Week. This week's focus is the Halo Turret - go read about it! (Louis Wu 17:06:34 UTC) (permalink)
Goovies? They couldn't come up with a better name?
At bit-tech.net, there's an article entitled 'Goovies: Why games'n'movies don't mix' - and they look at Halo for insight into the future of this genre. Thanks, JPOGDNA. (Louis Wu 16:49:12 UTC) (permalink)
Inside Microsoft - at the Escapist
Issue 73 of the Escapist covers Microsoft, in detail - every major article is about them. Two hit Halo in more than a passing note - The Number of the Beast discusses the I Love Bees campaign, and The Perception Engineers talks about Human Factors psychologists, and how they helped Bungie make Halo more fun. As usual for Escapist articles, they're well-written and entertaining. Thanks to Wolverine Monkey for letting us know. (Louis Wu 16:40:26 UTC) (permalink)
Spotlight: LordGideon
I hate it when real life gets in the way of fun. Sorry for the update delays. Last night, KP posted a new Community Spotlight on Bungie.net - this one focused on LordGideon, the guy behind PraetoriaGuard, Halo2Cheaters.com, Halo2Gametypes.com, and the soon-to-be-opened HaloEverywhere. (Okay, so his friends do all the work - he just makes it look pretty. But don't tell anyone.) Go read about what makes this busy guy tick! Looks like DHalo was the first to tell us about it. (Louis Wu 15:58:33 UTC) (permalink)
News November 28 2006
TTL - more than just a pretty gun
It's Tied the Leader Tuesday! That means XerxdeeJ stops by our forum to point out all the cool new stuff you can find at TTL this week. This week contains a 22 Questions interview with Dolbex (who'da thunk he wanted to be a tour guide?), a clan profile of the Halo2Junkies (stats rule), and a very cool announcement of the launching of the Tied the Leader Foundation; 30% of the proceeds of store sales (and 100% of direct charitable contributions) collected by the Foundation will be "donated to organizations that insure fighting men and women who are wounded in action receive the extra help they need in rehabilitating themselves to a fruitful and productive life once they return stateside." Nice! Get to buying! (If only their Baseball T's came in XXL...) (Louis Wu 16:47:49 UTC) (permalink)
JB Halo - 2D Sidescroller
Mukelo, from Invalid Mob, wrote to point out a new 2D scroller created by allbowdown, and downloadable from their site. Has features like weapons zoom, grenades, and sword lunging. Executable for Windows - 2.5 mb, go grab a copy. (Louis Wu 15:57:54 UTC) (permalink)
Making it all happen
IGN did a one-year retrospective on the Xbox 360 - high and low points of its first year, as well as a look at what's coming. Halo gets a number of mentions, as you might expect. Thanks, Grey Wolf. (Louis Wu 15:53:53 UTC) (permalink)
Halomega wants an intro
Wow, seems like the 'offer some cash for video content' idea is getting around - Halomega is running a contest to produce a video intro for their site, with a $50 prize. (They're also offering video hosting for any vid - check this page for details.) (Louis Wu 15:21:41 UTC) (permalink)
Legit goes for gold
Everybody's getting into the 'videogaming is a sport' thing, it seems - the Tampa Bay Fox affiliate covered Storm Ventures' Legit last week in a personal interest piece. I chuckled when they got to the part where his dad put his foot down... go watch. Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 15:18:57 UTC) (permalink)
Halopeno So Hot Editing Contest
Halopen Films is celebrating their one year anniversary (it was yesterday, actually, but I didn't get this posted in time) with the Halopeno So Hot Editing Contest. This is an editing contest using stock materials - Halopen Films is supplying the soundtrack, and the video footage will come from our Cutscene Library. $70 in Gamestop prizes are on the line. Go read the contest page for more details - and start editing! (Louis Wu 01:36:07 UTC) (permalink)
News November 27 2006
H:P Update
Mintz writes to point out some updates at Halo: Portable, including the latest podcast, and portable versions of the Lego Halo 2 trailer. Go look! (Louis Wu 22:13:03 UTC) (permalink)
Would You Credit It?
Ever since Bungie teased us with the comment that the X button now does something new (and cool), folks have been dying to know what it is. Speculation has run rampant on our forum, and on other forums - but nobody's really sure. Of course, it's Stuntmutt to the rescue! Check out today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 21:09:32 UTC) (permalink)
Podtacular's Season Tounaments
Podtacular is running their Season Tournaments - sign up, and play some competitive Halo! Thanks to ImmortalThree, who noticed this at Bungie.net. (Louis Wu 21:06:26 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Pro Circuit Ep 3 online
If you missed the MLG Pro Circuit Episode 3 on USA this weekend, go visit MLGPro.com - they're streaming the entire episode from their front page. Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 21:03:00 UTC) (permalink)
Bach says studio or no movie
Interesting. Robbie Bach, Microsoft's President of Entertainment and Devices, was recently interviewed by Dean Takahashi - and he suggested that if Microsoft doesn't find an outside backer for the Halo movie, they won't make it at all. (He doesn't think it makes sense for Microsoft to be in the movie business, so if they can't find a studio to produce it, they'll pass on the project altogether.) Thanks to Narcogen, at Rampancy.net, for noticing this. (Louis Wu 20:30:27 UTC) (permalink)
The Riot 26
Sigafoos writes to point out The Riot #26, posted yesterday. Lots of community news, lots of word discussions, and the dark side of fanboyism - go listen! (21 minutes, 8.5 mb) (Louis Wu 18:22:27 UTC) (permalink)
Eat It
Yesterday's Pixellated Pupils contained a Halo nod - I gotta say, it might be fun to PREPARE, but I wouldn't be interested in EATING the meal those guys are making. Thanks, AngelicLionheart. (Louis Wu 17:23:36 UTC) (permalink)
Creo nullus terga dare
Laird stopped by our forum last night to announce the release of the trailer for Halo: Unyielding Part 2. It's 47 mb in WMP9 format, 20 mb in QuickTime format - certainly made ME want to see the final product! Update: This movie is mirrored at GamingTV.org, as well. (Louis Wu 17:17:21 UTC) (permalink)
Ornamental Fever
Thanksgiving is over, I guess it's time to start thinking about Christmas... Omega certainly is. (Louis Wu 01:03:29 UTC) (permalink)
The Dustiest of Trails
Heh - today's RPG-TV looks at the Halo 2/Gears of War XBL rivalry... should bring a chuckle. Thanks, Kotaku. (Louis Wu 01:01:19 UTC) (permalink)
News November 26 2006
Halo on a Marimba
Nice - ibshimo2 found a YouTube video showing PinoyFiesta playing the Halo theme... on a marimba. Great job! (Louis Wu 23:57:48 UTC) (permalink)
A Gamer Grows Up
I told you it was montage day... Z wrote with word of 'A Gamer Grows Up', a montage put together by Midpoint... with player-provided rap along as part of the soundtrack. 92 mb, WMP9 format. (Louis Wu 23:56:46 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Theme from VGL
XBWFeenix went to the Video Games Live show in London this weekend, and shakey-cammed the Halo 3 theme performance. (He had a press pass, but the attendant didn't understand - hence the subterfuge.) Link is in his forum post. (Louis Wu 19:31:55 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Icons
Thanks, JPOGDNA wrote about some Halo 3 icons he created from the new screenshots you could use for MSN, AIM, or other places where ~100x100 icons are useful. No registration needed to view the page. (Louis Wu 19:29:59 UTC) (permalink)
SiNGH's Second Montage
Also on the montage front, we heard from Millsy about SiNGH, a top UK player who just released his second montage - 313 mb zipfile with several movies showing the building of the main, 10 and a half minute montage. Visit Halo4Life for more details. (Louis Wu 19:27:16 UTC) (permalink)
Nvincible's 1v1 Montage
I guess it's the weekend for montages - we heard from CiphA, of Halomega.com, about a montage from I Nvincible I - 74 mb of 1v1 action. They also run a 4v4 League, with cash tourneys coming soon. Go watch the vid, sign up for the tourney. (Louis Wu 19:24:59 UTC) (permalink)
News November 25 2006
Do kids even know who Sammy Davis Jr. even IS?
Something Awful posted major plot points from Halo 3, just to spoil you. Funny, but not particularly polite. (Careful who's reading over your shoulder.) Thanks to Narcogen at Rampancy.net for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 17:08:02 UTC) (permalink)
New Montage Stuff from H3F
Z, from Halo3Forum.com, wrote to point out two new montages - Fr0zen's 4th 1v1 Montage (127 mb) and a trailer for an upcoming Team CyP Montage (28.4 mb), both in WMP9 format. Check 'em out! (Louis Wu 17:05:44 UTC) (permalink)
Blind with Imaginary Power
Last night, over at the Red vs Blue website, Episode 84, 'Strong Male Figure', was posted for sponsors. Tucker learns about being a dad, and the Red Team gets used to their new commander. I don't like Simmons any more. (Louis Wu 17:02:43 UTC) (permalink)
Pour it on.
Nice! There's a new Halo 3 T over at the Bungie Store - liquid metal. Thanks, Sniping Ajax. (Louis Wu 16:46:02 UTC) (permalink)
The Five Best Things about Halo 3
1Up.com wraps up their three weeks of Halo 3 coverage with an article on the five best things about Halo 3. Read it and drool. Thanks to Drakkari for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 16:33:49 UTC) (permalink)
Freelancer: Combat Evolved Updates
William Sullivan-Angulo, of the FL:CE team (a Halo conversion for Freelancer), wrote to point out a bunch of new stuff - an intro video for the game, a teaser video for the Inner Colony Seiges (story stuff), new screenshots, and a new store. They're also up for some Mod of the Year Awards - you can vote here. Check 'em out! (Louis Wu 16:27:08 UTC) (permalink)
Matchmaking Bug - Maybe not Useful, but Funny
Legend, from Halo Base, sent us a note about a bizarre glitch experienced by some folks in matchmaking - you need to watch the vid (44 seconds, 2.8 mb, WMP9 format) for yourself. Freaky... (Louis Wu 16:13:58 UTC) (permalink)
The Mainstream Myth
Interesting article at Gamesindustry.biz - a discussion of what qualifies as 'mainstream' or 'mass market', and how those things got to where they are. Halo is held up as an example of a video game that has reached far beyond its normal target audience, with some speculation as to why. Thanks, deftangel. (Louis Wu 16:11:14 UTC) (permalink)
News November 24 2006
Fenix Rising.
As he shows in today's One One Se7en, Stuntmutt knows which side his bread is buttered on... (Louis Wu 18:15:04 UTC) (permalink)
A bit of Friday Artwork
Two very cool pieces of artwork showed up in the last couple of days - rather than wait for the next Misc Art update, I thought I'd publicize these now. The first is a gorgeous render (1300x975, 85K) of the Master Chief, helmetless, created by benman08. The second is a pretty amazing piece of collage work (2248x1330, 260K) ; DMDyet pasted together a bunch of pieces of cardboard for a spectacular final product. (His description of the process is here.) Update: my misunderstanding - it seems this was built with paper TEXTURES, not actual paper. Still pretty cool to look at! (Louis Wu 18:08:50 UTC) (permalink)
YouTube Confusion
A couple of days ago, we posted a Lego recreation of the original Halo 2 trailer, made by Marshall Brekka, of InfalliBull Productions. We recently got mail from Marshall - apparently, a lot of people are uploading this file to YouTube, and not crediting him. The YouTube username of the original creator is infallibull - if you see this file posted under another name, they should be giving credit where credit is due. (Louis Wu 18:08:22 UTC) (permalink)
Studio360 interviews This Spartan Life
More This Spartan Life goodness... Damian Lacedamian was interviewed for the public radio show Studio 360 - the interview airs tomorrow, and is available today for listening on the Studio360 website. A video that went along with the radio interview is available on the TSL website. (Louis Wu 17:39:37 UTC) (permalink)
Post-Turkey Fanfic
Twelve new pieces available for your reading pleasure in the Fan Fiction section - check 'em out! (Louis Wu 17:11:35 UTC) (permalink)
Immure 2 Released
Earlier this week, we mentioned an imminent release of a Halo CE map; this morning, NeuroKoNeza stopped by our forum to point out that Immure 2 was now available for download. Check out the forum post for links, including a screenshot and a dev-cam flythrough video! (Louis Wu 17:00:03 UTC) (permalink)
Hannaford's Ark Storm
darthbob noticed a new mylar print in the Bungie Store - this one is an image created by Bungie's Isaac Hannaford, and it's called 'Ark Storm'. Gorgeous piece of work - if you've got $40 lying around, grab one of the 500 copies of this print! (Louis Wu 16:53:28 UTC) (permalink)
That Screenshot Text
I didn't think this was news, but it's spawned so many threads on our forum (and others) that if I DON'T front-page it, it's going to overrun us. In one of the screenshots released recently, there's some faded text behind the blue Spartan on the left - clearly, whoever photoshopped the text out only did half the job. The text reads 'Out of Ammo' on the first line, and 'Press [X or Y - only half of the letter shows]' on the second. RVideo makes a solid case for 'X' in this post on the Halo3Forum, actually. Folks first noticed the words when the scans from LEVEL magazine started circulating in late October - I didn't mention it then because of our policy about magazine scans. Now that high-resolution versions of these screens are posted legally, though, more and more people are noticing this, and many of you it's some sort of an egg, or something. If it really reads 'X' in the second line, it might have been removed because Bungie doesn't want us to know what the X button does in the new UI, yet - but it might have simply been removed to make the screenshot cleaner. Either way, there's not really enough info to figure out what it WOULD have said after the pressable letter... but now that it's been front-paged, I hope folks don't feel the need to start new threads in our forum, pointing it out. (There are dozens already.) And to whoever cleaned up that screenshot for release to the web in the first place... hey, next time could you do a more complete job? Thanks. (Louis Wu 16:49:56 UTC) (permalink)
Frag Dolls on This Spartan Life
First off, apologies for scaring anyone yesterday - I'm fine. On to the news... let's start with Chromium's post about an interview with the Frag Dolls, done by This Spartan Life's Damian Lacedamian, created for Spike TV's 2006 Video Game Awards. (You'll need to click on the 'This Spartan Life' link on the left to see the vid.) As usual, the interview takes place within Halo - but this one will give you a little bit of insight about the Dolls - where they come from, how they got involved in this stuff. Go listen! (Louis Wu 16:37:16 UTC) (permalink)
News November 23 2006
Go eat turkey.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I had visions of getting up a bit early this morning, before the preparations started (we'll have over 20 people in the house in less than 3 hours) and putting up whatever Halo news we've got in the queue... but that was before spending several hours last night in the emergency room with electrodes taped all over my body (don't even ASK). So, new plan... we here at HBO wish you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, and we'll see you back here tomorrow! I'm offline for the next 12-24 hours. (Louis Wu 16:37:22 UTC) (permalink)
News November 22 2006
Things you might have missed
Over at Bungie.net, there's a pretty cool screenshot dissection; go read it, and see what you might have missed in the high-res screens released yesterday. Lots and lots of little details... thanks to sui, in irc's #hbo, for the heads-up. (Warning - the page is pretty huge to load right now; the full, 5+mb screenshots are embedded. If you're on a slow connection, you might want to wait a bit until this is fixed - shouldn't be long.) (Louis Wu 19:32:04 UTC) (permalink)
I want that stuff. NOW.
The other half of 1Up's Wednesday coverage is a Q&A with Bungie about the upgrades to Halo 3's matchmaking - there's tons of great stuff in there. After reading it, I'm thinking Halo 2's matchmaking looks a little drab! Check it out. (Louis Wu 19:21:05 UTC) (permalink)
1Up Halo 3 Podcast
Justinian let us know that the 1Up Halo 3 Podcast, half of Wednesday's Halo 3 content during this final week of Halo 3 coverage, is now available for download - EGM interviews Bungie just for you. Almost an hour and a half, 22.5 mb... go listen! (Louis Wu 19:16:12 UTC) (permalink)
Static Episode 5
Dennis Powers writes to point out Static, Episode 5 - 'What Would my Daughter Think?' is available at the HCEC website. Alex comes pretty close to death, and figures out his next step. As usual, it's available in WMP9, QuickTime, and streaming Flash formats. (Louis Wu 19:13:05 UTC) (permalink)
Lots of Halo Flash
Mukelo, from Invalid Mob, wrote to point out that they've been collecting Halo Flash games from around the web, and have made them all available from their site. They've got 17 right now - and though we already host a bunch of them, there are others I've never seen before. Take a look! He also points out that though it's not finished yet, there are lots of cool Halo downloads in their being-worked-on Downloads section. (Louis Wu 17:15:21 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Pro Circuit Ep 2 Now Online
3Suns points out that the second TV episode of MLG Pro Circuit is now available for free (in full) at the MLGPro.com website. If you missed it last week on TV, go watch on the web! (Louis Wu 17:12:55 UTC) (permalink)
New Campaign Details.
Stuntmutt is a little nervous about the upcoming CGI TV ad for Halo 3... check today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 14:10:07 UTC) (permalink)
It's in there. Forever.
So, if you're an architect, beware of employees like Boxer. They're sneaky. (Louis Wu 14:02:17 UTC) (permalink)
Sleep is an afterthought.
There's a new Community Spotlight up at Bungie - Kitty, from the PMS clan, holds forth on the rigors of clan membership (those girls are SERIOUS), Marty's studliness, and Bob. Who's Bob? Ask KP. He won't give out that YouTube link. (Louis Wu 12:01:53 UTC) (permalink)
News November 21 2006
When you need to curb-stomp the competition...
For folks wondering about the timing of the current Halo 3 publicity blitz (and there shouldn't be a lot of you; it's pretty obvious, if you spend a little while thinking about it), there's an article over at Newsweek that pins down some numbers in next-gen console sales (well, let's be specific, Xbox 360 sales), and discusses what might be needed if Microsoft's going to hit some self-imposed targets by year-end. Marketing event needed to reach goals? How about a Halo 3 ad on Monday Night Football? Thanks to Narcogen for pointing out the article. (Louis Wu 17:08:49 UTC) (permalink)
Now THAT'S Just-in-time Delivery.
Over at High Impact Halo, scurty's been playing around in the Pillar of Autumn; he's managed to get himself into the escape pods without activating them, something which doesn't seem to have ever been done before. And it's pretty cool to see the totally bare inside of those pods; I guess they don't get seats until you get close. Thanks to Ducain for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 17:03:20 UTC) (permalink)
CVG looks at Halo Wars
Computer and VideoGames has a 'preview' of Halo Wars posted; I hesitate to really call it a preview, since it's more an attempt to determine gameplay features from posted concept art... but it's up, nonetheless. Thanks to Mike Smith for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 16:57:29 UTC) (permalink)
OSX Halo Folder Icons
sorahn created a bunch of Halo-related folder icons for Mac OSX - pretty! Check 'em out. (Louis Wu 16:37:30 UTC) (permalink)
If it's Tuesday, this must be TTLland
It's Tuesday, so it's time for another Tied the Leader update from XerxdeeJ - he stopped by to point out the new stuff; a 22 Questions interview with Jessica Chobot of IGN.com, a Clan Profile of the Cayote Cavegirls (I haven't forgotten, IndianPrincess!), and a kind word for a tired old man. Go read! (Louis Wu 15:47:42 UTC) (permalink)
Hi-res screens
Bungie has put 5 of the new screenshots (floating around the net at this point, victims of a misunderstood embargo date) on Bungie.net, in hi-res splendor. 2 are at standard 720p size (1280x720), but three of them are huge - 3840x2160 - and give you a wonderful chance to zoom in on details. (There are lots - look around.) Clearly, more will be coming in the not-too-distant future. Thanks to KP, who pointed these out on our forum. (Louis Wu 13:49:21 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 Lego Trailer - in Hi-res
Several days ago, jester_343 pointed out a video at Google; someone had gone to great lengths to reproduce the original Halo 2 announce trailer (the one released back in August 2002) using Lego bricks. It's an amazing piece - but I was unhappy with the quality, so I contacted the creator - Marshall Brekka of InfalliBull Productions. He was kind enough to give us a higher-res version of the film - one that does his work better justice. You can grab a copy in WMP9 format (28.5 mb) or QuickTime format (29 mb). Compare it to the original - it's beautiful! (In the discussion thread that was spawned by jester's post, RVideo pointed out a vid he'd made - as he calls it, the 'thematic reverse' of this video; it's a flythrough of Turf, modded with Lego textures. Definitely interesting stuff - worth a look, as well!) (Louis Wu 01:31:24 UTC) (permalink)
New Info on Halo Wars Coming Soon
Interesting... Thunder visited the Halo Wars forums to announce that he's the Community Manager at Ensemble Studios, and will be the liason between the developers and the fans - and that there will be a new update coming in December. Noticed by RedNovember... keep your eyes open! (Louis Wu 01:19:46 UTC) (permalink)
Immure 2
NeuroKoNeza stopped by our forum to announce that Immure 2, a sequel to a map created back in September 2005 by himself and Mothergoat, will be released this coming Friday, November 24. He's removed the Wasp, the flying single-person fighter, that unbalanced gameplay in the first version, and replaced it with another new vehicle - a Flame Hog (a custom warthog with a massive flamethrower on the back). Lots of pictures are available. (Louis Wu 01:17:47 UTC) (permalink)
News November 20 2006
Build it yourself.
PEZ wrote to point out a neat feature at halowiki.net - any user can create their own variant of the main page. He wanted to highlight a new alternative built by LegendaryMark - he liked it so much, he actually MADE it the front page! (Louis Wu 22:55:03 UTC) (permalink)
Gears of Huh?
1Up's 3 Weeks of Halo coverage continues today, with Luke Smith's blow-by-blow recounting of the tiny clip of campaign action the EGM boys saw while they were at Bungie's offices last month. He does a great job of making you wish you worked for a gaming magazine... thanks to Saint for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 21:32:45 UTC) (permalink)
A Word of Thanks
Today's Penny Arcade looks at what happens when you switch games, but don't switch tactics. Thanks to Stuntmutt for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 20:14:55 UTC) (permalink)
Rep-Wii-sent
Today's Halo Heads looks at the lengths Nintendo Wii fans will go to express their love for their system. I'm hoping Paul Maestri made this one up from whole cloth... because the alternative scares me. (Louis Wu 20:01:57 UTC) (permalink)
Ha Moniker.
Last week, SketchFactor gave the Halo community a new name. Today, Stuntmutt lets Bungie know what he thinks of this idea, in the current One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 16:56:12 UTC) (permalink)
LifePod Launches
MereCatfish wrote to point out LifePod, a new podcast by FireDragon04, Nic, and Mere with a focus on Halo CE. They have an open-forum style chat section with a panel of community members, and this first episode includes an interview with Masters of the Custom Map Team. Episode 1 is 50 minutes, 42 mb. (Louis Wu 16:38:15 UTC) (permalink)
Goodies at the Bungie Store
Jonathan Rivas wrote last night with word of a bunch of new content at the Bungie Store; you can buy the Carnage Street Sign (replace your street's stop sign and watch the hilarity ensue!*), the Halo Hockey Jersey, Limited Edition (which you can't seem to actually order; it has special sizing, but the chart's not available), the Women's Lip Tee (long-sleeved and luscious), and the return of the Halo 2 Backpack in Blue/Black. Just in time for Christmas shopping!
*Don't do this. It's stupid and dangerous, and will probably get you in a lot of trouble. (Louis Wu 16:33:27 UTC) (permalink)
Carbon Unseats Final Boss
Congratulations to Carbon, who won the top spot at this weekend's MLG Nationals in Las Vegas - they have beaten Final Boss in 3 consecutive tournaments, and are now officially on top of the Halo Pro scene. A summary, including game-by-game scores and a prize breakout, can be found at MLGPro.com. Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 15:38:55 UTC) (permalink)
News November 19 2006
Is it me?...
Apathy in the UK takes a look at the relative staminas of Gears of War and Halo 2. (Well, sort of.) Thanks, Dervish. (Louis Wu 23:26:00 UTC) (permalink)
The Riot #25
Sigafoos writes to point out The Riot #25 - they're no longer WikiRiot, but it's the same team. A brief explanation of the move, plus community news, the Halo 3 stuff from last week, and 'a call for any community/group/etc that wants to be covered to let us know.' (The podcast explains more about that.) 32 minutes, 13 mb. Go listen! (Louis Wu 19:46:12 UTC) (permalink)
Animator vs. Animation II
A few days ago, Arbiter_347 pointed out a Flash movie with a Halo cameo in it; the movie was HILARIOUS, but the Halo content was so minor that I passed on a news post about it. (It's a really, really, REALLY well-done movie, though.) However, since then, the vid has been mentioned by others (Grande Carne, later that day, and sorahn, this morning) - so maybe it SHOULD be pointed out on the front page. Well, now it has been. (Louis Wu 15:37:06 UTC) (permalink)
Gender Rhetoric in Halo 2
DanteThePoet wrote a paper for his Strategies in Game Design class - the question was 'How does gender rhetoric apply to a specific game?' He picked Halo 2 (you could probably have guessed that by the fact that you're reading this newspost on HBO), and last night posted the essay itself, in Microsoft Word format. We've put up a local mirror, for that time in the future when his college version is gone. Give it a read! (Louis Wu 15:29:41 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Content comes fast and furious
3Suns has been keeping track of all the tournament goodness coming out of the MLGPro.com website - you can find a series of posts on our forum, with links and descriptions. (Louis Wu 15:26:49 UTC) (permalink)
More GoO Character Realization
SEspider took his own crack at modeling one of the critical characters in Ghosts of Onyx (we already mentioned the work Omega did) - it's modeled in Blender. Once again, if you haven't read the book, hold off... but otherwise, check this out! (Louis Wu 15:25:07 UTC) (permalink)
News November 18 2006
Lost: Halostyle Ep 10 - The Ultimatum
We got word from Haloplayer that Lost: Halostyle Episode 10, "The Ultimatum", was available at the Injured Knee website. Teh funni continues in this episode, and they're not 100% certain their bandwidth will hold out, so we're making local versions available - WMP9 format (52.8 mb) or QuickTime format (49.2 mb). I really like this series - great voice acting, great quality, classy camerawork, and it's funny. Go watch! (Louis Wu 22:12:51 UTC) (permalink)
You'll Regret The Day!
IceWeasel put together another stop-motion vid, ODST vs Heretic Elite... different story, better effects. Pretty funny! (Louis Wu 20:00:29 UTC) (permalink)
Halo - Past, Present, Future
Gamespot has put up an interview with several Bungie employees (Frank O'Connor, Brian Jarrard, and Jaime Griesemer), looking back at Halo and Halo 2, and discussing where the franchise goes from here. It's a pretty interesting read. For some odd reason, it's filed under Halo PC, even though it discusses ONLY the Xbox versions. There's also a short montage, entitled 'Five Years of Halo', though I think it should probably be called '2 years of Halo', since the oldest clips come from the Halo 2 launch events. Thanks to Sir Topham Hat for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 17:34:31 UTC) (permalink)
Gears of War Now Top XBL Game
It took a little over 2 years... but Halo 2 has finally, for the first time since its release, been toppled from the position of Most Played Xbox Live Game this week. Gears of War now sits on top of that hill. It remains to be seen how LONG GoW stays up there... but it's there now. It's been a good run for Halo 2! Looks like Brent Horsley was the first to let us know. There's also a discussion thread on our forum, if you'd like to chime in. (Louis Wu 16:42:48 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Vidcast 6
3Suns stopped by to point out that MLG Vidcast 6 is now online; Jason and Trunkers look at the chances of the up-and-coming teams, in terms of which ones have a shot of breaking into the top 3 at Nationals, which start today in Las Vegas. It's a 10 minute piece - lots of detail. Check it out! (Louis Wu 16:39:06 UTC) (permalink)
Halo PSP Wallpapers
Argodaemon has whipped up a whole bunch of Halo PSP wallpapers - if you're looking to make your PSP more Halo-like, swing by the Halouvre and see what's there! (Louis Wu 16:36:46 UTC) (permalink)
An Artist's Impression
Omega spent some time going through Ghosts of Onyx for written descriptions of some of the new characters we meet in that book - he's now drawn them, as he believes they appear. Great job - don't visit if you're trying to avoid GoO spoilers, but otherwise, check this out! (Louis Wu 16:31:52 UTC) (permalink)
Wolves for Ninja and Collectibles for You
The Bungie Weekly Update is posted over at Bungie.net - and in keeping with the 'make your head spin' motif of the week, it's full of things that'll surprise you. Hints about what's to come (soon), and major changes to the XBL playlists are the biggies. Go read! (Of course, it's also available in our Weekly Update Archive.) (Louis Wu 02:10:53 UTC) (permalink)
Knowing Old People is Sad
Red vs Blue Episode 83, 'In Memoriam', is now available for sponsors. Sarge is forced to sit through the lamest funeral service EVAR. Most of us at least have the benefit of being dead when our own services come around... Thanks to halofreak1991 for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 01:05:55 UTC) (permalink)
Even Marketers Like It
weephun noticed an analysis of next-gen games by a market research firm called BrandIntel - they list the top 50 'next-gen games' (new or soon-to-be released titles for the PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360), and Halo 3 makes 4th on the list, behind Gears of War, Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Madden NFL 2007. (Louis Wu 00:57:22 UTC) (permalink)
1Up Multiplayer Map Chat
The 1Up Show, Episode 56, is now available from the 1Up Show page - it contains 10 minutes of Halo 3 analysis (in-depth looks at the three maps the EGM guys got to play, including strategies and fighting highlights), starting around 26 minutes in. If you want just the Halo portion (there's tons of other stuff on the 1Up show, including info about the PS3 launch, the Wii, and the Motorstorm demo), you can grab it at GameVideos.com (it's about a quarter the size of the large 1Up show versions). This finishes up 1Up's Halo coverage for the week - but there's another 3 day's worth of stuff next week! (Louis Wu 00:52:56 UTC) (permalink)
News November 17 2006
The Melody
Jamie98s let us know about a new movie he'd completed, 'The Melody'. The MPRRS is still closed for reconstruction, but I found The Melody to be an interesting departure from the normal Halo fare, so I told him I'd host it. You can grab it in WMP9 format (56.7 mb) or QuickTime format (50 mb) - Jamie's movies usually have great cinematics and composition, but this one adds some funky post-production editing for a really unusual story. Check it out! Update: This has now been mirrored at GamingTV - thanks, trigger119! (Louis Wu 20:50:47 UTC) (permalink)
Immortalized in Halo 3... You.
Wow. Every year, Penny Arcade's Gabe and Tycho host a Charity Auction Dinner for Child's Play, a charity they began a few years ago to get games to kids in hospitals. This year's auction is December 13th, and today Gabe posted a list of some of the goodies you'll be able to bid on during the event. On the list:
A tour of Bungie and a line of dialogue in Halo 3.
Yep - you'll get to hang out at Bungie's offices... and you'll have a line of dialogue recorded and included in Halo 3. Thanks to MinkOWar for the heads-up. Update: Oops, looks like Bagre let us know first, via email - my bad! (Louis Wu 20:42:48 UTC) (permalink)
Oblivion - The Spartan Project
Brandon stopped in with an update of Oblivion - the Spartan Project, a Halo-to-Oblivion (PC) conversion. Lots of pictures, lots of written info - check it out! (Louis Wu 20:35:21 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Interviews on OXM Podcast
OXM's Ryan McCaffrey wrote to point out KOXM Episode 39, the latest episode of the Official Xbox Magazine podcast; it's Halo week, so they've interviewed Frank O'Connor and Eric Nylund, and topics of discussion range from the announcements made a couple of days ago to Ghosts of Onyx. Nearly an hour long, playable 14 mb (downloadable or streamable from their site) - good stuff, go listen! (Louis Wu 20:03:27 UTC) (permalink)
No Tungs.
Stuntmutt takes a look at a new Halo 3 weapon in today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 17:13:55 UTC) (permalink)
Ze movies, boss, ze movies!
TTL Demag0gue stopped by to let us know that there are a bunch of new movie reviews posted at Penitent Tangential, his Halo movie review blog. Go read - and chime in with your own views! (Louis Wu 15:29:37 UTC) (permalink)
Amazingicity.
Once again, the Miscellaneous Art queue has been emptied, and there are 31 new entries in the collection. Normally, I don't like to draw attention to specific pieces when posting a large group, because I worry that folks will look at the highlighted bits and ignore the rest. (Don't do that - everything posted today is worth a look.) I'm mentioning a few things, because I don't want them overlooked by people who rarely visit our art sections. There's a ton of great stuff from DeviantART regulars Kamino185, opticneuralinterface, and HyperSoldier... there's an amazing wall painting done in tribute to ANOTHER piece of fan art... well, there's just lots of Halooey goodness. Go delve! (Louis Wu 15:21:53 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie answer questions on German Xbox site
We got word from Marc, at Germany's Halo Universe - their sister site Xbox Aktuell has an opportunity to take part in a Bungie Q&A. Readers can post questions until next Thursday morning. The page is in German, but English questions are welcome (that's less work for Marc, translating). Questions should be posted on Xbox Actuell's forum. (Looks like you have to be registered to post - this might be a little difficult if you don't read German. However, if you've got a question for Bungie, it's worth a little trouble, right?)Update: Matt wrote to let us know that Britxbox.co.uk is also participating in this Q&A - this might be an easier route for English speakers. (Louis Wu 13:20:54 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fanfic
Twelve new pieces in the Fan Fiction section this week - what are you waiting for? (Louis Wu 13:11:48 UTC) (permalink)
The Twelve Games of Xbox
Blown-Upp noticed an article at Eurogamer, entitled 'The 12 Games of Xbox'; it looks back at 'a list of the finest exclusive games ever to grace the system'. Number 1? The Halo franchise. (Yeah, I know. It's two games. They doubled up on a few franchises. It's hard to tie it into Christmas if you call it 'The Fourteen Games of Xbox'.) (Louis Wu 13:07:38 UTC) (permalink)
OH SHEETS HE'S GOT A NEEDLER
This week's Halo 3 Humpday wasn't really a challenge - it was a 3-player game between SketchFactor, Frankie, and KP. What makes it interesting is that since High Ground has been described in detail (including concept artwork showing layout) by EGM and others, the writeup goes into minute detail about the game. Strategery abounds. (Shenanigans, too.) Thanks, Velez. (Louis Wu 02:24:28 UTC) (permalink)
Towering Cels
Dustbunny27 points out a new pair of cel-shaded pieces he's created over at DeviantART - nice work! (Louis Wu 02:20:54 UTC) (permalink)
The Pros Pour It On
Tons of new content up over at MLGPro.com, just in time for Nationals - 3Suns has nicely laid it all out in this forum post. Stuff, stuff, and more stuff! (Louis Wu 02:19:23 UTC) (permalink)
News November 16 2006
Totally Random Act 2 [Directors Cut]
Pothole Studios has released a remake of their first ever video - you can grab Totally Random Act 2 [Directors Cut] on their website. Owned by a soda machine! Two and a half minutes long, available in both WMP9 and DivX formats. Check it out! (Louis Wu 22:51:01 UTC) (permalink)
Wooden Ships
Dennis Powers writes to say that Static, Episode 4 is now up - it's called 'Wooden Ships'. Alex speculates about his environs, and begins to tire of the chase. Crosby, Stills, and Nash accompany. As usual, available in WMP9, QuickTime, and streaming Flash. (Louis Wu 20:56:14 UTC) (permalink)
That's just... big.
Heh - if you're interested in a super-high-resolution version of the campaign screenshot released yesterday (uncompressed TIFF format, 5120x2880, 28 mb), you can find one over at HaloPlanet. Nice! (Louis Wu 16:17:41 UTC) (permalink)
More info on the Halo 3 teaser ad
Interesting. Pro-G is reporting that the Halo 3 teaser ad that will air on December 4 here in the US will air on the Britain's Channel 4 on Friday, December 15 - and will be visible on xbox.com then, too. This hasn't been confirmed by other sources yet, but it certainly makes sense. Thanks, MereCatfish. (Louis Wu 15:58:31 UTC) (permalink)
Halloween 2006
BitMaP points out another Halo-related strip of Strouperman, his webcomic. You know... I think I know those guys. (Louis Wu 15:55:00 UTC) (permalink)
1Up puts up THEIR Halo screens
Heh - I should check ALL mail before posting. Looks like 1Up decided to go ahead and release all the new assets they have, since they're already out there on the web. (There's been no announcement from Bungie yet about this content, but I'm guessing it'll come today.) Oddly, though the news post says they've released concept art and renders, I can only find the new screens - but maybe that'll change soon. Anyway, thanks to Black Six for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 15:11:39 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Base pulls screens down
We were contacted by Oliver, of Halo Base - turns out the word they got from GameCity about the screens yesterday was that GameCity was allowed to release them; they wouldn't have linked to them (or mirrored them) otherwise. They've taken DOWN their mirrors, now, because they've learned from a Microsoft PR representative that the official release date is still a little ways off. (I'm not sure that's not going to change - seems like the horse is out of the barn, at this point - but pulling them until they've been officially released is certainly the honorable thing to do.) They've asked that you stop following links to their screenshots page for the time being; there's nothing there any more, and their servers are a tad overloaded from yesterday. Thanks! (Louis Wu 14:59:08 UTC) (permalink)
News November 15 2006
Memories of a Ring
EGM's Wednesday Halo 3 content continues, with a great article that looks back over some of the stuff said about Halo and Halo 2 before release, and how those things actually turned out. One more piece remains for the day from them - but it's not online yet. In the meantime, check this one out! (Louis Wu 22:56:49 UTC) (permalink)
New screens... a bit early
Wow... seems like every time there's a big coordinated content release, and European gaming sites are in on it, stuff gets leaked before the official release date. It's out there now - so you might as well check it out. Be aware, though, that this material was distributed to LOTS of gaming sites, all at the same time - and the ones that aren't showing it to you are following the rules. (Won't matter much soon - Bungie will likely put up official versions on their site asap, since it's already out there... but you gotta wonder, why is it just the European sites breaking embargo every time?) The screens originally showed up on the Swiss site GameCity, and have been picked up by Halo Base, in Germany - who've got things nicely organized into screenshots, renders, and concept art . Update: Halo Base has pulled down their mirrors until the screens are officially released. (Louis Wu 20:20:01 UTC) (permalink)
The UNSC Shortsword
More new Halo content today - this time, though, it's Halo Wars, not Halo 3. Swing by the official website for a new screen (in multiple sizes) of a UNSC Shortsword, a pretty nice looking Flying Wing. (Louis Wu 20:06:38 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 300 - Redux
Last week, we pointed out a remake of the trailer for '300', the upcoming Frank Miller movie about ancient Sparta. Today, we got email from Berzerker dude, of Treeskunk Productions - he's made another one. Like bikeman704, he used existing cutscene footage, and like bikeman704, it's really nicely put together. I'm intrigued by how few clips they share (I noticed about half a dozen). Sounded like Treeskunk didn't have the bandwidth to host this, so we're doing it for them - you can grab this in WMP9 format (17.2 mb) or QuickTime format (16.8 mb). (Louis Wu 17:19:57 UTC) (permalink)
The Needler And The Damage Done.
EGM said the Halo 3 needler is way better than the Halo 2 needler. Stuntmutt chimes in on today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 17:06:08 UTC) (permalink)
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
IceWeasel pitted an ODST against a Heretic Elite, in a stop-motion tribute to a great movie. It's one of my favorite scenes of all time, and he did a great job with it. Go watch! (Louis Wu 16:37:46 UTC) (permalink)
Female Marine Screentest
RVideo whipped up a short screentest showing what Halo might look like with a female marine as the main character. He warns that he didn't spend a lot of time putting this together - but I found it to be fascinating. Great angles! (Do him a favor - use our download links, save his bandwidth.) (Louis Wu 16:15:32 UTC) (permalink)
Whole Lotta Halo Love
The REALLY big news today is embodied in an article called 'Happy Halo Day' over at Bungie.net. In fact, there are 4 separate stories, all bundled into one jaw-dropping article. There's a CG Halo 3 ad (with new music) that will air on Monday Night Football on December 4 (and be available on Marketplace, and presumably online, after that), and the next installment in the 'making of' documentary series will be released soon after; there are new Halo 2 maps coming out next spring - you'll likely need to have an Xbox360 if you want to download them; there will be a Halo 3 public beta next spring, as well; and there's a new Halo 3 screenshot, taken in a campaign level. You'll want to pore over the actual article for the low-down nitty-gritty on all of these bombshells. It's shaping up to be a fun year for the Halo Nation! (That's our new 'official' name, apparently. Details of THAT are in the article, as well.) This, too, has a sizeable thread already in our forum, for discussion. (Louis Wu 13:41:36 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Pours on the Content
3Suns collected up all the new content available at MLGPro.com for us - to start with, there's a sneak peek at Episode 2 of the MLG Pro Circuit, airing this Saturday at 10 am. (A lot of pros are actually going to be at the Nationals in Las Vegas when this one goes live, so a sneak peek isn't a bad idea.) After that, there are a bunch of previews of the top-rated teams; Legendz, XiT Woundz, and one we missed a couple of days ago, Shook on3 Gaming. Check 'em out... Nationals are just 3 days away! (Louis Wu 13:30:07 UTC) (permalink)
Anniversary Panel
There is an enormous amount of new content at Bungie.net this morning - I'm afraid, in fact, that there's so much some of it is going to get lost. Let's go in order, I guess. First up is an article posted last night - it's called 'Anniversary Panel', and it's a compilation of 5 mini-interviews with 'press' folks (I'm not sure I'd call myself 'press'), getting a sense for what we're looking forward to, what we hope has been improved, what we hope remains true. There's a surprisingly large range of answers (surprising to me, anyway) - check it out! There's a thread about it on our forum, started by Horus, if you'd like to discuss it. (Louis Wu 13:21:12 UTC) (permalink)
News November 14 2006
Curb Stompers
Heh - when I saw the title of the latest Halo Heads, I thought it would be Gears of War-related. Nope... it's a shot at the PS3 availability... and the hubris of certain Sony execs. Funny stuff... unless you're in line right now. (Louis Wu 19:41:44 UTC) (permalink)
Bandwidth alternatives
Tol Eressea stopped by to point out that with Blogspot (or other free blogging sites) and Google Video (or, presumably, YouTube), you can set up a place to show off your better games to family and friends - and it doesn't have to cost you a penny. The first post on Knights Templar (Live) is a fun game to watch, too. (This post is not a hint that the MPRRS is closed forever - on the contrary, we're hard at work bringing it back. I still believe there's a place in the Halo community for high quality, peer-reviewed video hosting - and we're committed to providing that place. That doesn't mean that there aren't other solutions for people who don't need what we're offering, though.) (Louis Wu 19:29:39 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie Announcement
At-GNaT points out that today's Little Gamers comic is Halo-related. (Louis Wu 16:55:59 UTC) (permalink)
Tied the Leader - Kicking Hard
As is the custom on Tuesdays, XerxdeeJ stopped by our forum to point out new content at Tied the Leader. There's a 22 Questions interview with Karma, of Team Carbon, the recounting of a debt to be paid, and a Clan Profile of the TTL MLG clan. (There's also a paean to the goodness that is Gears of War... but this is a Halo site.) Check it out! (Louis Wu 15:56:31 UTC) (permalink)
Beating 'em at their own game
Rampancy.net noticed a quote in an Xbox.com article about Gilbert Arenas, of the Washington Wizards, in which he stated that he wanted to start modding his Xbox, to get revenge on the modders that are ruining his Halo 2 rankings. Hookay... (Louis Wu 15:54:35 UTC) (permalink)
Stormy Playing
The MLGPro.com website has a preview of Storm Ventures posted - get to know more about these guys before the Nationals this weekend! Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 15:49:44 UTC) (permalink)
WikiRiot - Down, for Now
We got a note from Sigafoos - apparently, WikiRiot has been cancelled, and the site has been pulled down. There's no explanation for what happened on the halowiki.net website, but it sounds like it wasn't pretty. Sigafoos wanted to assure everyone, however, that they would be continuing their podcast in a non-wiki format, beginning this Sunday. More details when they're available. (Louis Wu 15:47:07 UTC) (permalink)
Making the good better
The second half of EGM's Monday content is now up at 1Up.com - Combat Evolving, a discussion of multiplayer aspects as they stand in Halo 2, and ways that Bungie is working to make them better (or more fun) in Halo 3. Great info - lots to look forward to! Go read. Update: Looks like Esteban Lagarde started a thread on our forum about this, if you'd like to discuss it. (Louis Wu 01:40:02 UTC) (permalink)
News November 13 2006
Life-changing.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote up an article on women gamers; they focused on Kari 'The Don Wan' Toyama, and how gaming pulls her together with friends and supporters. It's a great read. Look for her online, but don't get mad if she beats you... (Louis Wu 21:48:53 UTC) (permalink)
Press X To Post at HBO.
Over at 1Up.com, part of their Monday Halo 3 content - a writeup of the Halo 3 Humpday Challenge between Bungie and the EGM staff - is now online. Written in the style of the Bungie.net humpday writeups, this chronicles the blatant cheating and general poor sportsmanship of the Bungie team... and reissues the 'X-button' tease that's got fans in such a tizzy. Go read. Thanks to Drakai for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 18:54:04 UTC) (permalink)
Bow Chikka Ow Ow.
Bungie asked recently for community feedback about an idea to add a female spartan death scream to Halo 3 multiplayer. Stuntmutt looks at one of the possibly unforeseen consequences in today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 17:46:55 UTC) (permalink)
Killtacular
I finally got a chance to go through our uploads directory - and buried amongst all the movies that people keep uploading (even though it says REALLY CLEARLY at the top of the page not to upload movies), I found a song submitted by StitchLips, called Killtacular. It's pretty hard rock; he says it's inspired by playing Halo 2 online. You'll find a download link and the lyrics on this page. (Louis Wu 15:36:23 UTC) (permalink)
Guilt O' Lantern 06 - Results Are In
Voting ran for a week on the 2006 Guilt O' Lantern contest - and while a significantly smaller group of people voted this year than last (under 2,000, compared to last year's nearly 6,000), there still emerged a clear winner - congratulations to Lacie O.! Michael Coffing, who won the last two years, and was actually forbidden from winning one of the top three prizes this year, had the second-highest total of votes. Second Prize, with just a few fewer than Michael went to Adam Beeman, and Third Prize belongs to Ryan Heiner. We'd had some lofty goals for prizes - they didn't work out, so we've fallen back to gift certificates. All four prizewinners will get their choice of store - The Bungie Store or Gamestop/EB Games; first prize will get a $150 certificate, Second Prize $100, Third Prize $75 - and Michael Coffing will get a $25 certificate. (Don't feel too bad for him; his haul in the past two years includes a pair of Xboxes, a copy of Halo, a gift card, a bunch of small stuff, and two custom recordings from 343 Guilty Spark on his answering machine.) Check out the voting... and start thinking about designs for next year! (Louis Wu 14:08:15 UTC) (permalink)
Halo CE 2v2 Tournament
MereCatfish writes to point out that the Halo CE 2v2 Tournament is now accepting team registrations. As the title might suggest, this will be a league of 2-player teams for Halo: Custom Edition on the PC. This is the successor to the Halo CE League; there are no prizes, this is for fun. If you've got a copy of Halo: Custom Edition, and a teammate... sign up! (Louis Wu 13:54:27 UTC) (permalink)
News November 12 2006
Halo 3 Countdown Timer
Cody Brigan has created a Halo 3 Countdown Timer - it currently counts down to Christmas 2006, because he doesn't have a release date for Halo 3, but it's pretty nonetheless! (Louis Wu 23:35:51 UTC) (permalink)
New stuff at MLG
3Suns points out a couple of interesting things at MLGPro.com right now - a preview of FBI GamerGraffix, and a newly launched online tournament. Check 'em out! (Louis Wu 23:34:29 UTC) (permalink)
WikiRiot 24
Sigafoos writes to point out WikiRiot 24, which discusses the December issue of EGM, the new MLG TV stuff, the Podtacular league, and lots of clan/wiki stuff. 35 minutes, 14 mb. Go listen! (Louis Wu 20:28:40 UTC) (permalink)
Onyx
We've got one more from Bryn Casey - it's a scene from the Ghosts of Onyx, and if you haven't read the book, this could be classified as 'spoilers'. Fantastic piece, though - check it out if you can! (Louis Wu 17:41:02 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Pro Circuit Ep 1 Online
If you missed the first episode of the MLG Pro Circuit on the USA Network yesterday, the MLGPro.com website is rebroadcasting it in its entirety. Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 17:08:18 UTC) (permalink)
H5K Project
Chryton noticed an advertisement for the H5K Project, a Halo 2 tournament in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on November 27-29. $35 to register, $5000 first prize. More details on their website. (Louis Wu 17:05:17 UTC) (permalink)
Halo Base posts Halo 3 'screenshots'
Germany's Halo Orbit has renamed itself Halo Base - and they've posted 5 new Halo 3 'screenshots'. (These are technically scans from the December EGM magazine - but they got them by screen-capturing the images off the recently released 1Up Show vid; as video screen caps, they're definitely legal for posting on the web.) Thanks, Legend. (Louis Wu 17:01:15 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 still the top XBL game
Gears of War was released this week - and while it rocketed to the top of the Xbox 360 Top Live titles, it couldn't unseat Halo 2 as the top overall Xbox Live title. We'll have to see if another week or two of folks buying the game can accomplish that... thanks, Major Nelson. (Louis Wu 16:57:03 UTC) (permalink)
News November 11 2006
Pumpkin Voting - closing tomorrow night
A quick reminder - you've got another day or two to vote for your favorite pumpkins in this year's Guilt O' Lantern contest. Vote turnout is way, way down from the last couple of years - I'm not sure if that's because we haven't done a very good job of promoting this, or if folks are just tired of Halo-carved pumpkins... but please, if you haven't voted yet, swing by and do so. Won't take you more than a couple of minutes! (Louis Wu 18:03:18 UTC) (permalink)
MLG Vidcast #5
The MLG Vidcast #5 is available on the front page of MLGPro.com - most of it is concerned with the MLG Pro Circuit show on USA (you DID watch that this morning, didn't you?), but there are a couple of minutes of play-by-play focus on the Ogres that haven't been seen online before. Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 16:04:05 UTC) (permalink)
LE Series 2 Figures up for Preorder
Sane Intolerant linked to Toywiz.com, and a page that lets you preorder the Halo 2 Limited Edition Series 2 action figures - Prophet of Regret, Jackal Sniper, Teal Elite. (I dunno - might be fun to buy a bunch of Jackal Snipers and strap explosives to 'em...) (Louis Wu 15:58:20 UTC) (permalink)
The Halo-only version of the 1Up Show
EGM's Mark MacDonald pointed out that the Halo-specific portion of the 1Up show can be watched via streaming flash (or downloaded, in hi-res form) from GameVideos.com. And I'd like to take this opportunity to announce that I'm a little silly sometimes; I described the Halo content in the first news post of the day - but I was describing the content of Episode 53, not 54. This new one contains video footage of the EGM team in Kirkland (though no onscreen action), as well as interviews with Lars Bakken, Tyson Green, and Marty O'Donnell. Check it out! (Louis Wu 15:55:07 UTC) (permalink)
Lady Spartans
The Bungie Weekly Update is live at bungie.net - and though there's no Mister Chief this week (how I miss the little guy!), there's a mini-interview with Eric Nylund about Ghosts of Onyx, some info about upcoming changes to the XBL playlists, and some teasers about Halo 3's water. Go read! (You can, of course, read it in our Weekly Update Archive, as well.) (Louis Wu 01:54:11 UTC) (permalink)
1Up has Halo 3 multiplayer impressions
Over at 1Up.com, their Friday Halo 3 content has been posted - the 1Up Show, Season 4, Episode 5 contains footage from the EGM visit to Bungie (among other things). The movie's huge - 344 - 977 mb, depending on format and resolution; I can't tell you anything about it yet, because it's going to be at least an hour before I see it. However... my guess is, it's worth the download. Thanks to many people in this thread started by Esteban Lagarde - especially Bad Pogo, who found a direct link to the show. Update: Okay, I've seen it now; the Halo 3 content is actually chat between three of the EGM staffers who were at Bungie, discussing what they saw, how they reacted, what they thought, etc - no footage, no screens, but some pretty interesting content nonetheless. (Louis Wu 00:00:44 UTC) (permalink)
News November 10 2006
Tra5h Ta1k's Machinima Festival Opening
Very nice - over at the website for the Ill Clan's Trash Talk, there's a new episode that was made specifically for the Machinima Film Festival last weekend - it has Trash Talk's Ill Will interacting with characters from various nominees at the convention, including Church and Tucker from Red vs Blue, and Damien Lacedamian from This Spartan Life. Fun! Thanks, The First Spartan. (Louis Wu 19:45:26 UTC) (permalink)
Revok Your Privileges.
Stuntmutt has a message for the EGM crew in today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 19:33:48 UTC) (permalink)
Peter Moore Confirms Halo Movie Delay
Peter Moore talked to MTV - didn't really say anything that isn't known, but he sounded upbeat about the Halo movie, even though it's on ice for the moment. Thanks to DHalo, who found this at TeamXbox. (Louis Wu 16:23:26 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fan Fiction
Just twelve new pieces this week in the Fan Fiction section - should be readable by lunch! (Louis Wu 13:32:00 UTC) (permalink)
All we need now is John Madden.
3Suns pointed out a new preview of the upcoming MLG TV content - and it's pretty amazing how 'pro-sports' it's all starting to look! Swing by and check it out... it looks fantastic. (Louis Wu 13:23:12 UTC) (permalink)
Cold Blue Steel
seRn stopped by to show off a piece of art he made for a friend, cut out of 16 gauge stainless steel. The links in his first post point back to his website, the images in his second post are local versions. (Save him the bandwidth, and look at the local versions...) (Louis Wu 13:19:31 UTC) (permalink)
WSVG Grand Finals Details
The details of the Grand Finals Championship Event of the World Series of Video Games were posted yesterday on the WSVG website; in the Halo 2 competition, 4 qualifying teams are competing for a grand prize of $20,000, rolex watches, and computer systems. Nice haul! Thanks, GotFrag. (Louis Wu 13:13:35 UTC) (permalink)
The Crying Game... Bah.
Bungie collected a group of people begrudged by Joe Tung, and then beat them in their first Halo Humpday win in... well, a long time. I guess if you pull a bunch of people together that have nothing but the hate of a Bungie programmer in common, you've got a chance that they might not play well as a team - so you might, just might, win. Look for this strategy in the future - next week, Bungie's playing a group of Starbucks baristas that have all served Frankie a caramel mocchiato before 11 am. (Louis Wu 12:58:22 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 2 Vista - New Info
Over at Bungie.net, there's an updated Halo 2 Vista FAQ, with lots of answers for the questions you might have about the upcoming Halo 2 Vista release. ('Upcoming' means 'early 2007', not 'next week'.) Check it out! (Louis Wu 00:46:20 UTC) (permalink)
News November 9 2006
Sound Arguments
Over at MLGPro.com, there's an audio analysis of the New York results, with specific breakdowns of Carbon and Final Boss. MP3 is 5.5 mb, 12 minutes long - go listen! Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 22:10:25 UTC) (permalink)
Bob
Dennis Powers writes to let us know that the third episode of Static is now online at the Halo CE Chronicles website. Alex is in trouble! It's a good thing Bob's a lousy shot... go check it out. 30+ mb in QuickTime or WMP9 formats (640x480), or 19 mb in streaming Flash format (320x240). (Louis Wu 21:48:39 UTC) (permalink)
HALO 2 For 2
Paul Maestri, too, wishes Halo 2 a happy birthday - with a new episode of Halo Heads. (Trust me, guys - the rationale expressed in the second panel will NOT fly with your wives.) (Louis Wu 18:54:29 UTC) (permalink)
Mr. Video Game Single Player
gold_leader pointed out this video at YouTube, which parodies the Bud Light 'Real American Heroes' ads, includes a Halo reference, and is quite funny. (Louis Wu 17:02:25 UTC) (permalink)
Gaming is Work
An article at news.com.au focuses on Tom 'Tsquared' Taylor - and suggests that playing videogames professionally isn't all fun and... well, games. Give it a read to see the rigors Tom is subjected to daily. (Louis Wu 16:54:13 UTC) (permalink)
Halo in Drawn Together
Last week, a number of threads popped up in our forum about a Needler sighting on the comedy central cartoon 'Drawn Together' (here, here, and here). It seems that clip is now available on YouTube (thanks, Aaron Camp). (Louis Wu 16:50:43 UTC) (permalink)
Is it a Spider?
Max (]-=ODST=-[ Epsilon) sent along a screenshot (3k) of a Gears of War achievement that pays tribute to Red vs Blue - Burnie mentioned this last week in his Red vs Blue journal, because they're thinking about giving a cool prize to the first person to earn this achievement, but for those of us without a 360 (or a copy of Gears of War), now you can see it for yourself. Get tagging! (Louis Wu 16:20:22 UTC) (permalink)
Happy Birthday, Halo 2!
Today is the second anniversary of the release of Halo 2 - and fans want to say 'Happy Birthday!' Black Guard collected shots from around the web of Halo cakes, and Mattbluhalofan actually created a special pic just for today (155k). Play some Halo 2 today to celebrate! (Louis Wu 16:12:02 UTC) (permalink)
MLG TV Ads on YouTube
MMaster dropped by to let people know about three commercials filmed for the upcoming MLG TV season on USA - I'm not sure they'd make me watch, but they're fun, anyway. Check his forum post, watch for yourself! (Louis Wu 16:05:28 UTC) (permalink)
There's Something About Halo 2
A few people pointed out that the full version of 'There's Something About Halo 2' is now available at Newgrounds - looks like Sane Intolerant was first. We mentioned one of the five parts of it a couple of weeks ago - but the whole thing is done now. Artwork is great, in all sections - humor is a bit more variable. (Louis Wu 16:03:37 UTC) (permalink)
Stained Glass Halo
Tucker Barrie noticed a really nice looking Halo 3 stained glass window for sale on eBay - but you have to be able to pick it up in Buffalo, NY; the seller isn't shipping. Starting bid is $500, you've got another day before the auction ends. This is definitely a unique piece! Update, 29 July 2008: the eBay listing has long since expired, and I never saved a copy of the image itself - but Empress Cortana pointed out an article at deputydog that looks at stained glass geekery, and the Master Chief is there. In case THIS article goes down someday, too, we've mirrored a local copy. (I figure since deputydog got it from the eBay listing (see the watermark), they won't mind too much.) (Louis Wu 16:00:52 UTC) (permalink)
Derailed Poppycockery.
Over on Bungie.net, you'll find a Community Spotlight on Dweezle, of the Tied the Leader guys and a rage-filled sharkfeeder. Go read about what makes the guy tick! (Then bug him to hold another lan, and make sure he invites you.) (Louis Wu 00:54:44 UTC) (permalink)
News November 8 2006
Time, we got nothin' BUT time
The HSP Timeline page has been updated with events from Ghosts of Onyx. Read the book, if you haven't already, and go check out how the events fit into the larger picture. I guess I gotta work on the vessels and names pages now. (Clearly, this timeline contains spoilers for those who haven't read the book yet - you've been warned now.) (mnemesis 19:30:05 UTC) (permalink)
The knee plate's connected to the thigh plate
Ross Mills looks to be the proud new owner of a set of Mjolnir Armor... (Louis Wu 19:06:52 UTC) (permalink)
H3 Multiplayer Map Goodness
The 1Up Multiplayer Map Preview is now online (thanks, mercury) - in-depth descriptions of Snowbound, High Ground, and Valhalla. They sound great! Go read. (Louis Wu 17:23:32 UTC) (permalink)
Is that all?
Another 72 dialogue snippets have been added to the Dialogue Databank, courtesy of Hellhawk (they've been queued up for MONTHS, I'm sorry it's taken so long); there are still almost 100 snippets total waiting in the queue, but there's light at the end of the tunnel! In the meantime, go listen to a few dozen Elite and Female Marine clips! (Louis Wu 17:19:18 UTC) (permalink)
New Halo 3 Stuff at 1Up
Dry Ice pointed out some new Halo 3 images at 1Up.com - four of 'em. (I'm not sure I'd call 'em 'screens'... they're cutouts and concept art. But they're definitely new, and pretty cool!) Credit goes to Umbra, on the Bungie.net forums, apparently - link in Dry Ice's post. (Louis Wu 16:23:27 UTC) (permalink)
MCDB cleared out
Took me long enough, but I finally cleared out the long-suffering batch of entries, sorry to all that were patiently waiting for their work to appear. Some folks are still not quite getting the point of the Cynic's DB, I urge you to reread the main page before you submit your entry. That said, I'd like to take the opportunity to highlight an entry that really made me chuckle (and groan of course!), as well as exemplify the kind of entries we're looking for. I'd like to continue highlighting entries in the future. So without further ado, checkout Beowulf's entry, A Little Respect. (Ding 14:27:00 UTC) (permalink)
Taking A Jab.
Today's One One Se7en is a demonstration of the maxim, 'when in doubt, pun badly.' (Louis Wu 14:21:12 UTC) (permalink)
More Midi Halo Stuff
BlueDingo5 sent along three new Midi pieces - the full Halo 3 music, the full Halo Wars theme, and Pursuit of Truth (full, with chords). The archive is a tiny 7K, zipped. He figured out the notes with his keyboard, recorded them, then USB'd them to a freeware midi program for saving. There might be a couple of small mistakes, but mostly he wanted to say thanks to Marty O'Donnell for the initial work. Check these out! (Louis Wu 13:44:55 UTC) (permalink)
Montages - with a twist
Two slightly different montages from Halo3Forum this morning, thanks to Z. First up is Reid18's Nubtage, which shows what happens when someone really good goes into Team Training - the Killimanjaros come fast and furious - it's 133 mb, in WMP9 format. The other one is Yasha's 'Almost a Montage' - it's clips of what MIGHT have been really cool montage pieces, if the snipe had worked, or if the grenade had stuck. EVERYONE should be able to feel for this - we've all had days like this. (For some of us, EVERY day is like this.) 56 mb, WMP9 format. Check 'em both out! (Louis Wu 13:40:09 UTC) (permalink)
News November 7 2006
Fun With Frags
Paul Maestri sends word of Halo Heads 26 - another example of why you should pick your friends more carefully than you pick your nose. (Louis Wu 19:59:10 UTC) (permalink)
A Halo Soldier's Legacy
The Brian Morden foundation has been featured in the Altoona Mirror. For those of you that weren't around, here is a summary of Brian's association with Bungie and Bungie fans. It's good to see the Angels continue the good fight. Many thanks to Dawn, Brian's mom, for the update. (Ding 16:52:37 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 300
bikeman704 remade the trailer for '300' (the film about Sparta based on Frank Miller's graphic novel) using Halo footage - it's all stock, but it's really well put together. (This is a great counterexample for all those people who say that stock footage is yesterday's news.) The 13.6 mb WMP9 version is being hosted by Mythica.org - I'm making a QuickTime version (14.2 mb) available, as well, because I like it a lot. Check it out! (Louis Wu 14:34:51 UTC) (permalink)
Energy Sword for Sale
DHalo noticed an Energy Sword available for purchase on eBay - starting bid is $230, and the auction has 5 days to run. This is the same guy who makes needlers with real crystal (we've mentioned him before) - he's also the guy who won a thousand dollars for his Spartan costume last week. Check it out! The sword looks pretty nice in the dark... (Louis Wu 14:22:17 UTC) (permalink)
While you were sleeping, they were writing
XerxdeeJ stopped by to point out the last week's content at Tied the Leader - and there's quite a bit. You'll find clan profiles of PraetoriaGuard and 2old2play, a 22 Questions interview with Brannon Boren, a rant about Hollywood's inability to see past the beancounting, an admission of weakness, and a rant about quitters. Man, they've been busy! And they have time to play Halo, too? (Louis Wu 14:14:43 UTC) (permalink)
EGM Article Info Summarized
Yesterday, Velez got REALLY lucky and found a copy of the December EGM at a local store (way ahead of when it's supposed to be sold); he's being good and not posting scans, but he did a nice job of summarizing some of the new information available. You're still gonna want to read this on your own (and look at all the pretty pictures)... but the info is really nice. (I didn't post this earlier because it hit Digg.com last night, and I wanted to wait until the bandwidth crunch was over before adding to the load.) (Louis Wu 03:06:34 UTC) (permalink)
XBL FFA Tourney, Nov 25
kdawg15 wrote to point out an FFA tournament coming up on November 25 on XBox Live, run by XM Rated - you can find more details on their forum. Tell 'em kdawg15 sent you! (Louis Wu 02:58:35 UTC) (permalink)
Easter Eggs EVERYWHERE
Heh - the new EU commercial for the Xbox 360, Cops and Robbers, shows some cars with nicely customized license plates. Gears of War, 1106 (wait, that's NOW!), and Halo 3, 07 (sounds about right) - fun homage! Nice catch by Wolverine Monkey. (Screengrabs in this post.) (Louis Wu 02:41:50 UTC) (permalink)
News November 6 2006
It's A Phallusy.
Ever since the term 'Man Cannon' was mentioned (as a new feature on the maps played by the journalists who visited Bungie last month), folks have been making snide comments about it. Stuntmutt decided to get ALL of this out of the way by simply hammering the sexual innuendo into the ground. Go read today's One One Se7en, and then let's move on to more mature ridicule, okay? (Louis Wu 19:28:35 UTC) (permalink)
Play it again, Sam
Lots of new features will make their first appearance in the Halo series in Halo 3. One of the most anticipated is films - the ability to replay the action from the last game, with camera control. To get a sense for where this particular feature stands, swing by KP's Red vs Blue Journal - registration is required, but it's free - and check out his description of a replay from a hotly contested game. I'm getting shivers just thinking about it! (Louis Wu 19:16:30 UTC) (permalink)
1Up Halo Torrent Starts
The flood of Halo info from EGM has started - you can find blog entries from Dan Hsu, Mark MacDonald, and Luke Smith, chock full of personal observations (and in Dan's case, pictures), now live on the 1Up website. There's plenty more coming - we'll keep you informed! Update: Crispin Boyer's blog is now updated, as well. Thanks, DHalo. (Louis Wu 19:00:57 UTC) (permalink)
The Best Of GamingVidz
QsK King submitted a montage compiling the best gameplay from GamingVidz.com to the MPRRS (before the shutdown) - it's a pretty nice montage! Lots of fun kills, nice coordination with the songs. It's nearly 8 minutes long, but it covers work from a large number of people. You can grab it in WMP9 format (103 mb) or QuickTime format (104 mb). (Louis Wu 18:44:49 UTC) (permalink)
All dressed up...
Interesting - we got mail from Evelynn, at The Cartoon Doll Emporium - they've created a dress up doll of Master Chief. Mjolnir armor... and a ballerina tutu? Go see what you can put on this poor guy! (Louis Wu 16:22:38 UTC) (permalink)
Halo-Ween Travelogue from TSL
This Spartan Life put together a fun little 'Halo-Ween' Travelogue; it's a celebration of the holiday, more than a serious commentary on things. TSL regular Sgt. Hartsock uploaded a copy of it to YouTube, so you can watch it without using the TSL bandwidth - take a look! (Louis Wu 16:14:34 UTC) (permalink)
GamingTV Kicks Off
A few days ago, GamingTV.org came online - it's a new site devoted to hosting machinima, and though it's not Halo-exclusive, it certainly focuses on Halo. It's being run by trigger119, who's been around the Halo machinima community for a few years now - if you haven't checked it out yet, you should! (Louis Wu 16:03:59 UTC) (permalink)
The MPRRS - Offline, for now
I didn't think folks would notice so quickly, but I'm getting mail, so I might as well make this public. Several events this weekend have made it clear to me that the Movie Peer Review Rating System is no longer functional; a significant number of reviewers are members of machinima clans, and (contrary to the rules they agreed to when they signed up) do not always skip videos made by clan members. Similarly, machinima makers who have friends that happen to be reviewers are getting inflated scores from these friends whenever movies are submitted. Because of this, a number of movies which probably would not have been released had the system truly been impartial have made it through to the public. This weakens the entire foundation on which this system is built; if you can't trust that the films coming out are the cream of the crop, what's the point of the MPRRS in the first place? To be totally honest, I simply do not have a solution for this problem at the moment. I have no way of knowing who knows who behind the scenes - we worked on trust, and that's been broken now. Because of this, I've shut the system down. If we can come up with a reasonable way of ensuring this problem doesn't continue, we'll reopen the doors. In the meantime - I apologize, you'll need to find other hosting for your videos. (Louis Wu 03:10:41 UTC) (permalink)
News November 5 2006
Pumpkin Picking - Vote Time!
Took a little longer than I'd hoped - but voting is now open for the 2006 edition of the Guilt O' Lantern pumpkin-carving contest! Swing by, check out the entries, and pick your favorite 5 - we'll give the top rankers some cool schwag! (Louis Wu 22:54:19 UTC) (permalink)
Welcome Back, Ben
Laird points out that Alone Episode 8, 'Welcome Back Ben', is now available for download. Not a lot of Halo content in this episode, but it's nice to see the series is going to be finished! WMP9 format, 55.4 mb. (Louis Wu 22:51:52 UTC) (permalink)
WikiRiot 23
Sigafoos writes to let us know that WikiRiot 23 is now online - 40 minutes, 16 mb, and the chatter covers the new Halo 3 pages on the wiki, clan challenges, and the new WikiRiot forums. Check it out! (Louis Wu 22:07:11 UTC) (permalink)
Pushing Me Away
EternalScrappy submitted 'Pushing Me Away' to the MPRRS; they liked it. (You might have noticed a large number of EternalScrappy vids coming through recently. We have, too. We've also noticed some reviewing... irregularities associated with these films. We're not going to penalize any films that have already come through the system, but we're going to be looking very closely at future films - ALL future films. (The problems we're noticing weren't something I thought we had to worry about at all - I guess I was being naive.) I suppose this is a heads-up to filmmakers in general... if you try and game our system, you might end up being shut out of it completely. Again, though - that's a warning from this point forward; it doesn't affect this current release.) You can grab this in WMP9 format (40.7 mb) or QuickTime format (42.5 mb). (Louis Wu 21:07:10 UTC) (permalink)
Appealing to Halo Hotshots
Interesting article in the Toronto Star; it suggests that the new ad campaign for the Canadian Forces is using 'a kind of video-game imagery' to attract new recruits. The idea is that the target audience is males aged 17 to 25... a big video game playing crowd, so if you 'speak their language', they'll respond to your ad. Halo is mentioned several times (though it is not part of the ad campaign - in fact, no video game is actually shown in these ads.) I found a pair of the ads on YouTube; you can definitely see the 'video game imagery'. I'd be interested to know how well this works - are commercials that show war in terms that might be more familiar to young people more effective as recruiting tools than commercials that are 'squeaky clean and all about getting a job' (an assessment of the last CF campaign)? (Louis Wu 16:40:53 UTC) (permalink)
Halo VGL Clip at AOL
Alex Tice pointed out a video clip from Video Games Live over on AOL; yes, there've been others around, but this one is the entire Halo piece, including the intro, and it's really nicely filmed. Streaming only. (Louis Wu 16:35:11 UTC) (permalink)
Harvest, after the Glassing
Major.Dump continues his 3D animation experiments - this time, it's a pair of Seraph fighters, weaving through a small Covenant formation, with a glassed Harvest in the background. Nice work! (Louis Wu 16:22:31 UTC) (permalink)
News November 4 2006
1Up Show talks Halo 3
1Up.com's Halo coverage starts for real on Monday (keep your eye on this minisite), but the most recent 1Up Show (Episode 53) contains quite a bit of Halo coverage. It's huge (266-755 mb to download, available for streaming as well), but according to Cocopjojo, worth watching. Check it out! (Louis Wu 15:19:18 UTC) (permalink)
Local News Feature on MLG Pros
A Connecticut Fox affiliate did a story on Major League Gaming, and the money to be made playing Halo 2 professionally - it's been tossed up on YouTube. Swing by MLGPro.com for details. Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 15:14:48 UTC) (permalink)
New montages at H3F
Z gave us the heads-up about a pair of montages available over at Halo3Forum.com; Wes2000's montage is getting some great reviews (folks love the music choices), and Don Miguel's Montage is chock-full of killtaculars. Both in WMP9 format, both just under 140 mb. Grab 'em if you got the space! (Louis Wu 15:09:31 UTC) (permalink)
New Halo content for Half-Life 2
Cap KEEZ pointed out that a new version of the Halo Models Pack for Garry's Mod (Half-Life 2) has been released - some great looking stuff in there! If you've got HL2, give this a look! (Louis Wu 15:07:07 UTC) (permalink)
The Grif Reaper
Red vs Blue Episode 82, 'The Grif Reaper', was released last night for sponsors, just before the team headed to New York for the Mackies. It's unlikely it'll be up for the masses before they get back. This episode contains a funeral. (I cried.) Looks like LX925 was first. (Louis Wu 14:40:28 UTC) (permalink)
Five New Beauts from Bryn Casey
Bryn Casey was quiet all summer - but he's back, with a vengeance! There are five new images in his Gallery here - check out The Flood, Scarlett, Dogfight, Flood Cage, and Streets. Awesome stuff! (Apparently, there's still more on the way!) (Louis Wu 02:53:34 UTC) (permalink)
Slipperier.
The Bungie Weekly Update has been posted (thanks, Frankie) - reading it should make you want to bust down the doors of Bungie Studios and steal some time on the test machines - even if it's only for the few minutes it takes the cops to break down the barricades you left in the lobby. But if you wanna stay legal, there's stuff about things to buy at the Bungie Store, too. Party pooper. (And, of course, you can read it in our Weekly Update Archive.) (Louis Wu 02:07:56 UTC) (permalink)
Carnage for Brits
Walshicus pointed out a Halo tourney in Crawley (Southeast England) coming up on the 19th of November. More details in his post! (Louis Wu 02:07:03 UTC) (permalink)
Halo The Movie
Lukey125 found a Halo-related strip of Little Gamers - another perspective on the Peter Jackson influence. (Louis Wu 02:05:43 UTC) (permalink)
Mystic and Snowtorn Cove at HaloMaps
Dennis Powers points out two new, and decidedly different, Halo CE maps available for download at halomaps.org. Mystic places you in a mist-filled valley with castles hidden behind waterfalls; a unique skybox gives the whole level a different feel. Snowtorn Cove is a winter take on a classic Halo CE map - absolutely worth a run-through. Check 'em out! (Louis Wu 00:36:06 UTC) (permalink)
HHMD
Joystiq, in order to brighten your mood a bit, has dug up a few video performances of the Halo theme for your enjoyment. None are new, but they're nice to have all together! (To be honest, I'd never heard the guitar solo before.) Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 00:26:41 UTC) (permalink)
News November 3 2006
Rikki Tikki ATV.
Self-deprecating humor works really well when you suck. Check out today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 20:01:37 UTC) (permalink)
Don't Stay
EternalScrappy continues on his MPRRS-passing moviemaking spree; his remake of 'Don't Stay' (song by Linkin Park, action by Bungie and Scrappy) made it through last night. Not a lot of plot - just a well-timed music vid. Great camera work. Grab it in WMP9 format (41.3 mb) or QuickTime format (43 mb). (Louis Wu 19:57:52 UTC) (permalink)
3D animations from Major.Dump
Major.Dump has been learning about 3D animations - he's posted a few of his early works. You'll find some in this post (local, more easily downloaded versions, including QT, are in this post), and another one here (local versions here). Pretty cool stuff! (Louis Wu 19:36:08 UTC) (permalink)
Achronos said there's a Wraith, too.
PEZ wants to collect all the clues about Halo 3 multiplayer in one place - what better place than a Wiki? Swing by halowiki.net and peruse his starting collection - and if you have other confirmed info, add it! (Louis Wu 19:28:39 UTC) (permalink)
Friday's Fan Fiction
Twenty new pieces available in the Fan Fiction section this week - some big names! Check it out. (Louis Wu 19:20:20 UTC) (permalink)
Heavenly maps and nail-biting gameplay
The Halo Humpday Challenge was, once again, internal, and Halo 3-based, rather than Halo 2. KP teases you with tidbits of gameplay for a game you won't see for a while... and gets in a shot or two at his boss. Fun writeup, as usual, as long as you can get past the envy. Thanks, LoneRanger 2.5. (Louis Wu 18:17:45 UTC) (permalink)
Carnage for the Rest... of your clothes.
IceWeasel noticed that you can now buy the Carnage symbol at the Bungie Store - but it's no longer a sticker, now it's an iron-on patch. At $3, you should buy a couple; they'd look great on backpacks. (Louis Wu 18:12:10 UTC) (permalink)
It's time for the Mackies
A quick reminder - the Mackies, the annual Machinima Awards, take place this weekend, and the Machinima Festival that goes with them starts tomorrow; you can read articles at both Newsday.com and Wired.com. Halo projects feature prominently in both articles. (Louis Wu 17:53:27 UTC) (permalink)
MLG TV - lots of teasers
Bunch of new video content over at MLGPro.com - you'll find some gameplay stuff linked from Foulacy's blog, and a nice feature on Dave "Walshy" Walsh (included in the longer trailer in that blog, but available on its own, as well) for the upcoming TV season. Thanks to 3Suns for both. (Louis Wu 17:50:10 UTC) (permalink)
Outside - The Arbiter
EternalScrappy put together 'Outside', a video about the Arbiter set to the eponymous song by Staind. All of his footage came from cutscenes - but he did a fantastic job matching the action to the lyrics. Cinematics, of course, are great - Bungie did 'em. A couple of MPRRS reviewers weren't happy to see purely cutscene footage... but given the limitations, the piece is really well-done. 58.1 mb in WMP9 format, 65.8 mb in QuickTime format. (Louis Wu 01:00:43 UTC) (permalink)
News November 2 2006
Virtual Wiiality.
Paul Maestri points out that Halo Heads 25 is available - it made me laugh. Go read. (Louis Wu 21:49:36 UTC) (permalink)
Static, Episode 2: Last Will and Testament
Dennis Powers writes to point out that Static, Episode 2: Last Will and Testament, is now available for download. (Static is the latest story in the Halo CE Chronicles universe.) Petty Officer Alex Hicks thinks he might be stranded alone, forever... but he discovers he's not alone. Grab this version in WMP9, QuickTime, or streaming Flash versions off the the HCEC website. (Louis Wu 21:18:25 UTC) (permalink)
Freelancer: Combat Evolved v116.24 Release
We got a note from William Sullivan-Angulo, the leader of the Freelancer: Combat Evolved team, that Alpha version 116.24 of their Halo Total Conversion Mod for the MS PC game Freelancer has now been released. It's a community-based online multiplayer role-playing game - if you're interested in participating, you must be a member of their online forum, and then join a faction to play. More details can be found on their website. The press release flyer can be seen here. Downloads can be found here. (Louis Wu 20:26:26 UTC) (permalink)
Spartan Armory
Hmm... bob1 points out a store on eBay where someone will make you custom Halo lego bits. That's probably useful to someone... (Louis Wu 20:01:30 UTC) (permalink)
Spartan Costume wins $1k
Man, I HATE when I put stuff aside to post later and then forget. demus let us know last night that there was a story on digg.com about a costume contest in which the winner was a home-made Spartan. (Nice job, too!) $1000 for the win... not bad! (Louis Wu 19:16:52 UTC) (permalink)
The Spartan Effect, Episode 3
Rookie Rabbit Productions are back with Episode 3 of their Spartan Effect series; it passed the MPRRS with flying colors. There's not a lot of action in this episode, but it pushes the plot forward, and it's funny. Very well-filmed (great camera angles), and nice voice acting. Lots of goodies if you keep your eyes open. It's big - 10 minutes long, about 80 mb, depending on version - but definitely worth watching. They've said they don't need hosting - but they've said that before, and it hasn't turned out so well, so we're putting up mirrors anyway. The WMP9 we're hosting (81.5 mb) is the same as you can download from FileFront, off their site - but the QuickTime version (78 mb) is re-encoded, and deinterlaced (the interlacing was getting distracting). Watch this one - and then keep your eyes open for Episode 4! (Louis Wu 15:15:55 UTC) (permalink)
Video Interview with Eric Nylund
Thanks to simen, who found a video interview with Eric Nylund, focusing on the Ghosts of Onyx. No spoilers, and not a LOT of new info - but it's always nice to put a face (and a voice) to someone you know a little bit about. This was done by a group called Expanded Books, and their website contains other video formats, if you're unhappy with YouTube's Flash presentation. (Louis Wu 14:39:40 UTC) (permalink)
halowiki summarizes LEVEL article
PEZ writes to say that halowiki.net is back up and running, and wanted to point out a summary page containing the information available in the LEVEL article released last week. No scans, no wholesale transcription - just a nice overview of the new info. Check it out! (Louis Wu 14:27:58 UTC) (permalink)
Sprint 7
Over at Bungie.net, there's a new Developer's Diary, this time written by Shogo Ishii of Hired Gun, detailing the current status of Halo 2 Vista. Give it a read - she'll be here soon! (Louis Wu 01:05:31 UTC) (permalink)
Good Morning, Worm, Your Honor...
I'd meant to post this yesterday, but things got busy... RVideo went to a little trouble to capture a full view of the Gravemind cutscene in Halo 2, using a devcam. (This is considerably more difficult than it sounds, because that particular scene already has scripted camera motion, rotating around the characters; it's a delicate dance to keep your focus in this environment.) The view he provides allows you to see the entire cave Gravemind is sitting in - and, in fact, all of Gravemind. It's a view behind the curtain; it's like a panning shot that shows you how a filmmaker created a shot in a movie. You see the props that don't normally make it onscreen. It's pretty cool, but if you're one of those that loves the magic of the presentation, you might want to give this a miss, because it definitely shows you where the limits are. (I'm putting a spoiler tag on this post, as well, because Gravemind himself is a Halo 2 story spoiler.) You can grab this in WMP9 format (28.6 mb) or QuickTime format (32.6 mb). I say thanks to RVideo for the peek! (Louis Wu 00:57:53 UTC) (permalink)
News November 1 2006
Halo 3 Spoilers - and how we're dealing with them.
This has come up a few times in the forum - now it's appearing in my mailbox, so it's probably time to deal with it publicly. We have a spoiler system in place for Halo and Halo 2 information. This is ENTIRELY story-based; the spoilers we're talking about have to do with Halo's story; plot, universe, what have you. Folks have been asking whether it's time to institute a Halo 3 spoiler setting - and the answer is 'no'. The answer is no for a very simple reason - there IS no Halo 3 story information out yet that can be considered 'spoiler' material - and there almost certainly won't be until Halo 3 is nearly ready for release.
If you feel that you want to play Halo 3 without knowing ANYTHING about what's coming - new weapons, new maps, new vehicles, changes to armor, whatever - you have a single choice; stay off the internet. (Well, stay off Halo-related sites.) That information is not considered story spoiler material; we will not be blocking it with a spoiler cookie. Our belief is (and has always been) that knowledge of information that Bungie deems 'releasable' before the game is out will not in any way impact your enjoyment in playing the game. You are welcome to disagree with that belief - but you're on your own avoiding it. We don't have the time or energy to decide what consitutes a 'spoiler' in that sense to the millions of Halo fans out there. (I guarantee you, the range of what's acceptable is nearly infinite - from 'no info at all' to 'everything except the color of John's underwear'.)
There WILL be a Halo 3 spoiler setting implemented - probably a month or two before Halo 3 is released (in order to catch any potential leaks in magazines) - but it will NOT cover information released by Bungie before that point, and it will not happen sooner than that. (Louis Wu 20:19:52 UTC) (permalink)
Mute Radio Ep 5
BlueStrike2 sends word that Mute Radio Episode 5 is now available for download. 12.5 minutes, 12 mb - MLG NY, MLG on TV, MLG Las Vegas, and life in general... go listen! (Louis Wu 20:07:03 UTC) (permalink)
Guilt O' Lantern Update
Eep, forgot the update. The 2006 Guilt O' Lantern contest closed for entries last night - things are sort of busy right now, but in the next few days, the entries will go up for public voting. Thanks to all who entered! (Louis Wu 19:56:42 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Details over at 1Up
Over at 1Up.com, Luke Smith has written up a clarifying article; the scans floating around from Sweden's LEVEL magazine, and more recently from FAMITSU magazine, generated a lot of speculation around the net. This article clears up the worst of the misunderstandings, and makes some cool things clearer. (For folks confused about the 'Frostbite' level referenced in the LEVEL scans - this article confirms that the three maps shown were Valhalla, Snowbound, and High Ground - Frostbite was obviously a bad translation.) Give it a read-through, for a great summary of what's currently known! Thanks, Binford04. (Louis Wu 19:02:43 UTC) (permalink)
Rear Gunner.
One of the new tweaks that Halo 3 will sport, according to the magazine info floating around the net, is that your secondary weapon will be carried on your back, making it possible for other players to know what that weapon is. Most people have been pretty positive in their response to this feature - but Stuntmutt shows you a drawback in today's One One Se7en. (Louis Wu 16:28:51 UTC) (permalink)
Skittles - Bonus!
Luke McKay created a fun Haloween-related doodle yesterday - we've added it to his Gallery here. Me, I'd take the trade. (Louis Wu 15:55:52 UTC) (permalink)
Bungie.net Fan Art
Last week, we mentioned that Bungie.net was going to start highlighting community artwork. Last night, the first batch was posted - and I must say, there's some killer stuff in there! Here's hoping some of those people choose to submit their work to our Art sections, as well! Lots of folks noticed this - Sep7imus was first. (Louis Wu 15:19:08 UTC) (permalink)
I don't think that's regulation.
Heh - A tech writer at Microsoft took some photos in her building's lobby yesterday. Poor Chief! Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 15:13:10 UTC) (permalink)
Carbon Looks Forward to LV
MLGPro has an interview with Carbon posted - they go over the games in the NY finals, and the upcoming Las Vegas matchups, in a lot of detail. Unless you keep up on pro doings, the language might be hard to follow. It was really nice to see thoughtful analyses of performance, without a lot of trash-talking. Las Vegas will be a tourney to watch! Thanks, 3Suns. (Louis Wu 15:09:19 UTC) (permalink)
halowiki.net - bad now, but getting better
PEZ writes to say that halowiki.net has been experiencing server-related problems, and is switching hosts; accessibility for the next few days will be spotty. Please be patient! (They'll be keeping people up to date with developments on the WikiRiot website.) (Louis Wu 14:36:39 UTC) (permalink)
Escape the Fate - A Halo Tribute?
Tex points out a song that seems to clearly reference Halo - it's called The Guillotine, by Escape the Fate. Never heard it... but now you know! (Louis Wu 14:34:24 UTC) (permalink)
Halo 3 Pre-Order Info Blitz
Quite a number of people let us know that Gamestop and EB Games are taking pre-orders for Halo 3 (all three versions of it) starting today. The earliest mention came in this forum thread, started by Max Power - there are details, as well as an audio recording of the message Gamestop has been leaving on voicemailboxes all over the country. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether there's any real need for pre-ordering... but the info's out there. (Louis Wu 14:31:01 UTC) (permalink)
| November 2006 | |
