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October 2008

October 2008 Archived News

News October 31 2008

Boo.
The Bungie Weekly Update has some cool Halloween pics, a little tiny bit of info about Halo 3: Recon, and podcasts. Two of 'em. A new one, and the Lost Podcast from PAX. Nobody can complain about the lack of info in the Weekly Update until they've listened to the podcasts. Period. You can, as usual, read it in our Weekly Update Archive, if you're so inclined. (Louis Wu 23:50:02 UTC) (permalink)

Darkspire's back.
Wonga. Darkspire Films is back - with two new products (and the promise of another pair). Aynder Seal is six and a half minutes long, weighs in at 180 mb, and is confusing as hell. Luna Habladora is six minutes long, 250 mb, and a lot less serious. It involves, as the title might suggest... a talking moon. They're both part of the same storyline. Both are in HD QuickTime format (1280x720), and recorded at 60fps. Thanks, SaberUmbra. (Louis Wu 21:48:42 UTC) (permalink)

Operation Chastity Kicks Off
Pete Cooper stopped by to announce a Warthog construction project, as part of 'Operation Chastity', a Halo live-action fan film. Details are in his forum post! (Louis Wu 19:50:16 UTC) (permalink)

Pop Loc N Drop It - Halo style
Over at the Bungie Blog, urk highlights a... rather strange video. It made me laugh! (Louis Wu 18:16:16 UTC) (permalink)

Enigmatic Observation... Revisited
Whoa, very cool. A couple of years ago, BOLL created a really intricate easter egg for One One Se7en, Stuntmutt's long-running Halo comic. It's unclear how many people found it at the time... but over in his blog, he's written up the whole episode - thought process, intermediate artwork, and more. A fascinating look into the brain of one of HBO's most prolific content submitters! Check it out. (Louis Wu 16:54:21 UTC) (permalink)

H3RPG DXP Weekend
Halo3RPG has a 'Halo-Ween' playlist, made by Adam, set up for double experience this weekend. (I don't know what that means.) Thanks, sniperX47. Update: Scotty from H3RPG stopped by with a bonus offer - he's got 7 beta keys for the PC version of Call of Duty: World at War. If you want one, read his post - they'll go fast! (Louis Wu 16:23:28 UTC) (permalink)

Teabag Prevention #26 - Rat's Nest
jake108 let us know that the Teabag Prevention Team has taken on Rat's Nest - read their guide to help stay out of trouble! (Louis Wu 14:51:42 UTC) (permalink)

A reprieve for folks looking for Orange Hayabusas
Last week, TheDonWan posted two sought-after McFarlane Orange Hayabusa Series 3 Spartans, still sealed, signed by Bungie (here, and here) - well, if you missed your chance, she's put up another pair! This one ends at 10:55 pm PST, November 1st (Saturday night) - and this one ends 12 minutes later. Get your sniping apps ready! (Again, all proceeds go towards the FLAG Tournament charities, for breast and cervical cancer research.) (Louis Wu 13:13:02 UTC) (permalink)

Paint Mister Chief Day
Hawty McBloggy is running a fun art activity - swing by and create a Halloween-themed Mister Chief image! As Frankie has said numerous times, drawing Mister Chief takes absolutely no artistic skill - so anybody can play! (Louis Wu 13:12:22 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Music is EVERYWHERE
Weird - Wired Magazine has put up a Wired Science story about the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (a facility on a tiny island at the end of Long Island, in New York) - and the background music during the entire piece is 'Covenant Dance', from the original Halo soundtrack. It works, I guess... just an odd choice (and no acknowledgement in the credits). Thanks to Matthew Patterson for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 13:10:50 UTC) (permalink)

Slipspace Event
TTL Demag0gue stopped in with word of Reclaimer 106 - something odd is going on. He's also been playing with Photoshop - some of those pics are great! (Louis Wu 13:10:28 UTC) (permalink)

Top 5 Scary Games from Bizarre
Taco Power points out that Bizarre Magazine has rated Halo among the Top 5 Scary Games (due, in large part, to a particularly scary level in the first game). Warning: the magazine (linked in his forum post) is not particularly safe for work. The Halo story is on page 21, if you want to use the pdf navigation stuff at the top to jump right to the Halo content. (Louis Wu 13:09:52 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 3 Funtage
John_117 put together a new montage - he calls it a 'funtage', and it is. Some nice display of skills, but also lots of funny stuff; grenades not doing what was expected of them, vehicles falling out of the sky, etc. There's a moment, about a minute and a half in, where I was flabbergasted. (Still am.) Go watch. (Louis Wu 13:09:21 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Interactive Strategy Game Pics
Merc noticed that Joystiq has a gallery of pictures of the Halo Interactive Strategy Game - you can get a decent look at the pieces. Check it out! (Louis Wu 13:08:54 UTC) (permalink)

Teamwork FTW
pete_the_duck stopped in to mention that he wrote up a pair of neutral-bomb Assault games he and friends played on LIVE a couple of weeks ago. There is nothing really special about the pair, other than that they were lots of fun for the (winning) team that played - but the writeup is great, and shows off Halo 3's "omg did you see that?" rewatchability. Great games, guys! (Louis Wu 13:07:38 UTC) (permalink)

Friday's Fan Fiction (and a challenge update)
Six new pieces are up in the Fan Fiction section. Surprisingly, only one of them has been submitted for the "You're Doing It Write" challenge... go read. (There's just over a week to submit entries to that challenge - go spend Phædrus' money!) (Louis Wu 13:03:54 UTC) (permalink)

RvB Reconstruction: Chapter 19
The finale for Rooster Teeth's Red vs Blue: Reconstruction is now available for all to watch - and it's a doozy. Nearly ten minutes long, it wraps up almost all loose ends in the series... almost. Effects are really well-done... if you're not paying close attention, you won't even realize some of them are effects. (That's a good thing.) All in all, a really satisfying conclusion to the tale they've been spinning for almost seven months. Go watch! (Louis Wu 01:12:56 UTC) (permalink)

News October 30 2008

Give us yer pumpkins!
Just a reminder - our Guilt O' Lantern contest will accept entries only until Midnight, eastern time, tomorrow night! That means you have a little less than 33 hours to submit your creation. We've posted a prize list, finally - go see what you can win! (Louis Wu 19:10:05 UTC) (permalink)

Fun with Filters
Hawty McBloggy found a clever little video on YouTube (okay, not little - 7 minutes) - it's like a Halo rave. (Louis Wu 18:36:18 UTC) (permalink)

Living Dead is back
It's Thursday, which means it's time for a new Double XP Weekend to kick off. Ranked Halloween-themed games... mmmm, brains! (Louis Wu 18:16:37 UTC) (permalink)

A 5 year old engine... lookin' fresh.
Over at Modacity, Masterz1337 has posted a bunch of pictures showing off the latest work in a Halo Custom Edition single-player mod... I have to say, I'm impressed. Go check 'em out! Thanks, Botolf. (Louis Wu 15:39:29 UTC) (permalink)

Wearable Hayabusa Helmet - In Progress
Tim Munro sent us a link to a YouTube video showing off his latest Halo project - a 1:1 scale wearable Hayabusa helmet replica. He's only about halfway done... but it definitely looks great so far! Check it out. As we hear about its progress, we'll keep you informed! (Louis Wu 15:35:15 UTC) (permalink)

In-game 5.1 surround sound audio tests
Wow, sort of an odd set of creations... but it works pretty well! Over at Bungie.net, I khriz I posted a series of films that can help you test a 5.1 surround sound system - shots from different sides, sounds from various distances, ambient sounds... download 'em and give 'em a try! (Louis Wu 15:32:40 UTC) (permalink)

News October 29 2008

MLG/ESPN Top Ten #12
MLGPro.com's released another MLG/ESPN Top Ten video - #12 has 3 minutes of some pretty amazing gameplay. Check 'em out. Thanks, urk. (Louis Wu 21:23:48 UTC) (permalink)

Two Boxes - now available to the public
Bungie Favorites, the ever-changing fan-created collection of maps, gametypes, films and screenshots highlighted by Bungie, has been updated with a second batch of material from the NeoGAF community. If you want to learn a little more about the community and how they use Forge, urk has talked TJ Captain Blood about his map, Arabella (and about Forge in general). (Louis Wu 19:07:11 UTC) (permalink)

Embedded
Treeskunk Productions has released Outpost: Isil Episode 10 - it's all about the evil clowns. And stuff. Available in about a million formats, from a million different places. Thanks, shiruken. (Louis Wu 16:33:53 UTC) (permalink)

Forge Like a Pro
Dragoncoals told us about Forge Like a Pro, a new contest from ForgeHub. Make a map, win 1600 MS points (there are three categories, three separate prizes). Runners-up get honorable mentions. You've got a couple of months - get Forging! (Louis Wu 14:16:46 UTC) (permalink)

Imagining the possibilities
Hawty McBloggy sat down with Predator5791, a Forge artist who's created some amazing work. Swing by and read about what drives him! (Louis Wu 14:16:19 UTC) (permalink)

Limited Options
TTL Demag0gue told us that he's posted Reclaimer 105 (things are getting dicey), along with a wallpaper in a lot of resolutions. (Louis Wu 14:15:54 UTC) (permalink)

HBOFFPotW - Oct 24 Edition
kr-1426 stopped in last night to let folks know that the most recent HBO Fan Fic Pick of the week (written by fallschirmjager) was posted a few days ago - go see what was good last week! (Louis Wu 14:14:19 UTC) (permalink)

Real7alk Community Montage #1
RandomSauce let us know that the first Real7alk.com community montage has been posted - it's 6 minutes of fun clips, nicely put together. Go watch! (If you're interested in submitting to future montages, swing by the Real7alk forums and get involved! (Louis Wu 14:13:46 UTC) (permalink)

News October 28 2008

Hallowed Forge
Bungie's looking for cool Halloween-related Forge content to put into this week's update - swing by to see a few examples (and be sure to laugh at Stosh for even THINKING that last one has anything at all to do with Halloween - it's a demon eating a fish, fergoshsakes!). (Louis Wu 22:54:45 UTC) (permalink)

It's all about the number 1
Over at Bungie.net, a new community spotlight has gone up - this one is focused on Bryan Simon, who recently wrote 10 odes to Halo 3's awesomosity. It's pretty long, but the key point to take home is that Bryan loves his mom. Good on ya, Bryan. (Louis Wu 22:51:21 UTC) (permalink)

I was looking for Lilo...
Back in mid-September, Hawty McBloggy mentioned a Halo-themed cross-stitch pattern she was planning on making. Looks like it's done. I can't say I agree with the sentiment... but hey, everybody has their own way of showing affection. (Louis Wu 19:58:30 UTC) (permalink)

TGR knows what it doesn't want
Last week, we mentioned an article at TheGameReviews.com looking at features they wanted to see in Halo 3: Recon - they're back this week with an article containing five problems H3: R should NOT have. Some make sense - some don't. Go decide which is which. (Louis Wu 19:44:40 UTC) (permalink)

French Panoramas
Johnny Be Good, of Halo.fr, sent along a link to his Flickr-based Panorama collection. Awesome shots! (Louis Wu 19:15:35 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 3 Mythic Walkthrough - Floodgate
Daniel 'Tyrant' Morris' Solo Legendary All Skulls On tutorial continues with Floodgate, probably the easiest level in the game at this difficulty. That said, there are still nuances that will get you killed if you don't pay attention - so watch his vids, and read his text, for the most secure path through! (Louis Wu 15:09:16 UTC) (permalink)

Splazed.
Wow. urk, over at Bungie, found a 'Splasertage' from a guy who's got more than 18,000 spartan laser kills under his belt. According to Halo3.junk.ws, I've only got a few thousand kills more than that... with EVERY weapon, combined. (This one really benefits from the higher-quality YouTube version... and the writeup there says 21,000 kills, not 18,000.) (Louis Wu 15:03:23 UTC) (permalink)

A Drawn-on Life
Heh - Kotaku has a story about Matt 'mothergoat' Cox, who has produced a rather large body of work in the Halo fan community and is now a lead designer at 5TH Cell. Apparently, he went on vacation recently, and while he was gone, his coworkers pranked him by wrapping his entire desk in brown paper (which they then lovingly labeled). Even the Master Chief Legendary helmet on the shelf got wrapped! Fun stuff. Thanks, ArteenEsben. (Louis Wu 15:02:42 UTC) (permalink)

TTL Tuesday
XerxdeeJ stopped by because it's TTL Tuesday - he comes bearing news of a pretty cool little egg in the Halo 3: Recon trailer (maybe), and a great highlight reel put together by TTL Hoovaloov, showing off some of the dumbest (and funnest) stuff that can happen with vehicles in Halo 3. (Mostly. There's an awesome example of spawn FAIL on Foundry tucked in there, too.) (Louis Wu 15:01:22 UTC) (permalink)

It's easier to build a base with existing planets.
Heh - prescient, or just lucky? NiTrOuS 343 ran across an article at Yahoo News that discusses the Epsilon Eridanus system... and how scientists think they've found evidence of a planetary system there. Reach just got more feasible! (Louis Wu 14:59:52 UTC) (permalink)

Pwning Cancer
The Fight Like a Girl tourney that dominated our front page's sidebar for a few weeks went off this weekend without a hitch (that I know of) - they raised almost $4000 for worthy causes, and a lot of people got the chance to play against Bungie employees in 2v2 competitions. One of these was written up by mendicantbias00 in his 'The Thunder And The Surf' blog. Check it out - pretty pictures, fileshare links, final results! Update: JonnyOThan corrects my 'without a hitch' comment... in hilarious fashion. (Louis Wu 14:58:57 UTC) (permalink)

News October 27 2008

Indestructible
We got word of 'Indestructible', a Halo music vid set to music from Disturbed done by Luck0, of HaloGrid. You can watch it on YouTube, or discuss it on the HaloGrid forum. Really nice camerawork, and great attention to detail - this one really works! Thanks, Jordan Pimentel. (Louis Wu 23:51:46 UTC) (permalink)

A peek behind the curtain
A Bungie artist, who shall remain nameless (beyond his rather vague gamertag), replied to a whole series of questions over at Bungie.net (none of which really had anything to do with art). His answers are pretty interesting... but it's possible that the information he provided was presented in a way that might make things hard for Bungie down the road. (He posted something a bit later that basically reads "okay, I'm going to shut up now" and very soon after that, the thread was locked.) It's interesting stuff - but please try not to throw tidbits back in Bungie's face out of context ("Campane contint cut from Halo Threa says Bungle employ!"), rather read it as interesting backstory you normally don't get a chance to see. Thanks to The J3ster for pointing this thread out! Update: wow, that was fast. The entire thread was deleted. Guess it's just easier not to have that info out there! (Louis Wu 23:30:40 UTC) (permalink)

TEC Awards 2008 - Bungie's Acceptance Video
We mentioned a few weeks ago that Bungie's sound team won the Creative Achievement in Interactive Entertainment Sound Production from the Mix Foundation - what we didn't notice (until Marty pointed it out) was that they'd posted the awards acceptances online. Here's the clip of Marty and company accepting this TEC Award - check out Noguchi's picture-taking! (Louis Wu 18:00:35 UTC) (permalink)

Fight or Flight
TTL Demag0gue stopped in to announce that Reclaimer 104 is online. We've learned something intriguing about Viper... (Louis Wu 17:59:18 UTC) (permalink)

A Quickie Guide to Drunken Gaming
GotGame considers Halo 3 to be one of the top 3 games to play while drunk. Having done that, I'd have to say I disagree. Go see what you think. (Louis Wu 17:58:37 UTC) (permalink)

Thumbslap - arranging games with your friends
We got word of a new service purporting to help you get together with friends to play online (lots of games, though the press release mentioned Halo 3 specifically) - I haven't tried it, but anyone who does, and wants to share their experience, our forum is open! (Louis Wu 17:58:07 UTC) (permalink)

Vacuum Sealed
Hawty McBloggy found a pretty bizarre-looking female Spartan custom figure on eBay - I don't think she's happy with the EVA helmet. (Louis Wu 17:57:43 UTC) (permalink)

Gamers in Action - Let's Get Creative Competition
maximumfear let us know about a new contest at Gamers in Action - Let's Get Creative raises money for Child's Play, and you can participate in a number of different ways. Swing by the page for full details! (Louis Wu 17:57:10 UTC) (permalink)

News October 26 2008

Using Myths in Matchmaking
RandomSauce let us know that the Halo 3 Mythbusters are looking for people who've used tricks they've learned from the Mythbusters movies in Matchmaking. Send fileshare links to halo3mythbusters@gmail.com, and you may find them used in a montage called (appropriately) "Using Myths in Matchmaking. (Louis Wu 19:27:25 UTC) (permalink)

Hard Justice: Episode 3
DigitalPh33r's Hard Justice: Episode 3 is now online. I'm thinking this is one society that SHOULD collapse on itself. Thanks, UnSiLeNtSlAyEr. (Louis Wu 18:49:32 UTC) (permalink)

Memorable First Enemies
Decommissioner found an article at Gamepro that delineates the 38 Most Memorable First Enemies (why 38? you got me...). Halo's Elites make the list at #22. (Louis Wu 18:43:34 UTC) (permalink)

Fairfax 'n' the Chief
Wow... I'm floored. Hawty McBloggy enlisted the help of a LOT of friends to create an amazing montage of pictures showing off Fairfax the Bunny in a variety of Halo-related situations. Photoshop for the win! Fairfax is Marissa's Bunny, and he's out there to build awareness for infantile spasms - Hawty has shown that when a good cause is on the line, the Halo community can really step up. Check out the pics, leave your comments in the thread, and then visit Marissa's Bunny's page and see how you can help! (Louis Wu 18:06:22 UTC) (permalink)

Show off a good kill, win MS Points
Alex Costa, of WinMicrosoftPoints.com, is running a new contest - this one is called 'Halo 3: I R Pro' and if you send in your best kill clip by November 7, you've got a chance of winning 1600 Microsoft Points. Read the contest rules for full details, including how to upload clips. (Louis Wu 18:01:40 UTC) (permalink)

Master Chief Theater 3000: Episode 207
The latest version of Master Chief Theater 3000 - Episode 207, covering Sacred Icon - is now up on YouTube. Go watch! Thanks to Pyrosmile Updates for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 17:58:27 UTC) (permalink)

News October 25 2008

A quick look at the work of Tobias Buckell
When it was announced, back in June, that Tobias Buckell was going to be writing the next Halo novel, I visited Amazon and picked up his existing work; I wanted to know what we were getting into. What with new novels from Richard Morgan, Alastair Reynolds, Jim Butcher, and others, I didn't finish the last of Buckell's novels until this month - but I've put up a short look at his work, as it might pertain to a Halo fan. Mini-version: I'm looking forward to November 25th! Go read the slightly longer version. (Louis Wu 19:21:51 UTC) (permalink)

The Best Defense...
Forecast The Series: Episode 7, from Young Street Productions, is now online for your viewing pleasure. Time to set up a new defense system! Check it out. (Louis Wu 19:07:58 UTC) (permalink)

Inside Halo 26
AvatarAang let us know that Inside Halo 26 is now up - news (most of it about Machinima.com) jokes, and the Top 5 Plays of the Week. (Number One was pretty cool.) (Louis Wu 17:24:51 UTC) (permalink)

Teabag Prevention #25 - Standoff
jake108 is back with anther Teabag Prevention article at Geekscape - this one looks at Standoff, and helps you find ways not to suck. Go read! (Louis Wu 16:19:30 UTC) (permalink)

ForgeHub Rube Goldberg contest
Dragoncoals let us know that ForgeHub is running a Rube Goldberg contest right now - build a really cool and clever map, win account upgrades. Read the contest page for full details! (Louis Wu 16:19:08 UTC) (permalink)

Site Hiccups
Yes, HBO got hacked last night. No, no permanent damage was done. Some pages might not work right for a little while, but please be patient. Thanks! (Louis Wu 16:17:36 UTC) (permalink)

News October 24 2008

It goes up to G.
The Bungie Weekly Update is live over at Bungie.net (and, of course, in our Weekly Update Archive) - some cool screenshots, info about November's matchmaking updates, a short tidbit about a game you should be playing, if you're not, and some teasers about Halo 3: Recon. Go read! (Louis Wu 23:57:32 UTC) (permalink)

Phil - Day Seven: Deja Vu
More machinima highlighted at Bungie.net - check out Phil - Day Seven. The last time we mentioned Phil was back in July, when Phil - Day Three was released. (Louis Wu 20:38:29 UTC) (permalink)

Some Halo is loved by IGN readers
IGN put up a reader's poll for the top 100 games of all time (2008 Edition) - Halo2 came in at #50, and Halo at #15. No Halo 3 at all. Thanks to Planet Halo for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 20:35:38 UTC) (permalink)

TGR looks ahead
TheGameReviews.com has five features they want to see in Halo 3: Recon. See how many you agree with. (Louis Wu 17:22:25 UTC) (permalink)

Showin their luv
Funky - over in the Bungie Blog, urk pointed out a tribute vid created by a pair of fans who built a Rube Goldberg-like structure in Foundry. (Louis Wu 16:57:47 UTC) (permalink)

Are Critics Gamers?
There's a pretty interesting read over at Gamasutra - Keith Boesky, a game agent and attorney, former president of Eidos, talks about the disconnect between reviewers and consumers. The interesting thing to me was his point that in most fields of entertainment, stuff with mass appeal is simplistic, while the critics love the quirky, the obscure, the deep... whereas in games it's the opposite. Halo gets a couple of mentions, though it's nowhere near the center of his article. Go read - and then stop by our forum to discuss! (Louis Wu 15:50:49 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 3: The Ten Word Review(s)
Ran across a website called 'The Ten Word Review' - it collects just that; ten-word reviews of stuff. There are five entries for Halo 3. (They range from insightful to... well, stupid.) (Louis Wu 15:20:32 UTC) (permalink)

Beattie on Halo: 'Almost a responsibility to write it'
FriendlyFire noticed a new interview with Stuart Beattie over at Tom's Games - Beattie is the screenwriter who's trying to drum up interest for his Halo spec script. He talks about why he jumped on this project, and why he thinks someone should take him up on his offer. Go read! (Louis Wu 15:17:43 UTC) (permalink)

Finding Glitches through Boredom
Wow, this is one of the most useless glitches I've seen - but the fact that someone stumbled on it makes it newsworthy. ADD for the win! Apparently, if you jump back and forth between the main Halo 3 menu and a lobby menu, quickly and for a really long time, eventually the background that shows in the individual lobby will 'stick' - and that will be the background for ALL menus (until you start a game up). You can even see the image without the blue filter (well, part of it, anyway) if you go into Forge. As to WHY you'd want to do this... sorry, all out of ideas. (Louis Wu 14:32:59 UTC) (permalink)

Blowing S#!t Up the Bungie Way
I'd post the permalink for this, but it doesn't include any useful information - because the link is in the summary. Bungie has put up a new presentation - this one was done by Effects Art Lead Steve Scott, and it talks about effects and how they evolved in Halo 3. Interesting stuff! The download is 88 mb, zipped - it's mostly videos. Swing by the Bungie Publications page to download it. (Louis Wu 14:03:22 UTC) (permalink)

Orange Hayabusa - another chance
The Orange Hayabusa Spartan auction ended yesterday - final bid was $255, proceeds going to the Fight Like a Girl tourney. Awesome! If you're sorry you missed out, though, it looks like there's a SECOND one! This one ends in a little less than three days, and current bid is just over $180. What are you waiting for? (Louis Wu 14:02:18 UTC) (permalink)

Rorschach Inkblot Test - Cold Storage
It's been a few months - but Hawty McBloggy's Rorschach Inkblot Test is back, this time looking at the global heatmap of Cold Storage. (The last one was from Avalanche - the article contains a summary of results from there, as well.) What do you see? (Louis Wu 14:00:48 UTC) (permalink)

Cavegirls - stand down, we've got this
With all the strides we've made recently in terms of accepting women into the ranks of hardcore Halo lovers, it's disappointing when an example of blatant chauvinism rears its ugly head. It's our duty, however, to shine light on these things, because awareness is the first step towards enlightenment. Thanks to Matt Soell for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 13:59:06 UTC) (permalink)

Halo machinima fan art
ZZoMBiE13 continues his study of RvB: Reconstruction - he recently posted a closeup of the Meta. Love the chin horns! (Louis Wu 13:57:26 UTC) (permalink)

Friday's Fan Fiction
Ten new submissions for the Fan Fiction section this week - and a number of them are flagged for the 'You're Doing It Write' contest, as well. Go read! (Louis Wu 13:55:18 UTC) (permalink)

Out of Time
The Reclaimer 103 is now online (thanks, SonofMacPhisto) - Viper's danger is becoming apparent, and it looks like things are about to heat up. (Louis Wu 13:47:30 UTC) (permalink)

Impossible
xen eldridge let us know that HaloRPG.com has a plasma-pistol-only Double XP weekend. Hmm... (Louis Wu 13:46:45 UTC) (permalink)

Fan Art: Halo Generations
Hawty McBloggy continues her Fan Art spotlight series with a work from Halcylon - it was inspired by a Star Wars image, but it's all Halo. check it out! (Louis Wu 13:41:02 UTC) (permalink)

News October 23 2008

Last Chance to Fight Like a Girl
KP stopped in to remind people that today is the last day to register for the Fight Like a Girl charity tourney - and there's been a last-minute addition of a 2v2 challenge against Bungie employees! Go register, if you haven't already. (Louis Wu 23:33:05 UTC) (permalink)

Kill each other for Life
Love From the Game is hosting a charity tournament - $30/team to get in, the ladder is open now, and runs through the end of November. The winner goes home with $1000, the runner-up gets $500. Proceeds benefit the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute. Awesome! Gather up a team, and sign up! Thanks to urk, at the newly-bulging Bungie Blog, for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 18:26:16 UTC) (permalink)

Balls!
Been frustrated by the Alas, Poor Yorick achievement, and the scarcity of oddball games on appropriate maps? Be frustrated no more - the latest Double Experience weekend has just kicked off... and it's 3 Ball. An entire playlist devoted to gametypes involving 4 teams and 3 balls... yummy. Go read about it at B.net, or play it (until Monday morning at 2 am PST) on LIVE. (Louis Wu 18:04:18 UTC) (permalink)

Marissa's Bunny - jammin' with the Spartans
Remember when Fairfax the Bunny showed up here? Fairfax is Marissa's Bunny - he travels around the world, making people happy and building awareness for Marissa's infantile spasms. (He's got a whole website - you should visit it, if you hadn't before.) When Fairfax left here, he headed north, to Boston. Where he hung for a while - I guess nico's apartment is just a really comfortable place. But he's on the move again... recently, he arrived at the digs of Hawty McBloggy, and last night, the first pics emerged (thanks to geophf for the heads-up). Apparently, there'll be more as the week goes on. Keep an eye on this adorable bunny, and his antics; not only can he make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, he can help you realize the plight of Marissa. Don't forget to check his website, as well, for details on what you can do to help. (Louis Wu 14:56:18 UTC) (permalink)

Mythic Walkthrough Gets a Facelift
You might or might not have noticed an upgrade just applied to Tyrant's Mythic Walkthrough here on HBO - yesterday, we added streaming embedded versions of all vids to all existing pages. The download versions are still there, for anyone who wants them (say, if you want to watch them offline, or because you don't have Flash installed in your browser), but for simple stepping through the walkthroughs, we hope you find the streaming versions convenient. (Louis Wu 13:55:08 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 3: The Plasma Grenade Who Lived
Bryan Ojeda found a very funny video on YouTube - LigerKG got stuck at the same moment that the host of his game quit... and the result was a blue spider that stayed with him until he died (well, even longer than that). (Louis Wu 13:34:49 UTC) (permalink)

I don't know what to say.
Wow... this thread made me very, very sad. A denizen of the Bungie.net forums was served divorce papers this week... because he spends more time with video games than with his wife. (I think what REALLY threw me for a loop, though, was the response - when faced with the loss of his wife and child, he posted "well, more quality time on Halo now!!") The thread is locked; you can't follow up there (either with commiseration or ridicule), but I thought it was worth pointing out. As much as I love Halo... please remember, it's a game. People are way more important than games. Thanks to Tyrant for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 13:26:01 UTC) (permalink)

Crazy Pelican Flying
Mid7night posted a 41 mb, 2.5 minute video showing off his X-Plane Pelican flying around the 'Lost Isles of the Pacific' - I'm sure glad I wasn't in the back! (Louis Wu 13:20:46 UTC) (permalink)

Flaming Ninja Challenge 2 - The Tutorial
pete_the_duck has posted a video showing the solution to his Flaming Ninja Challenge 2 - do not watch this if you're trying to work it out for yourself, but if you've given up, or if you want to make sure that your solution matches his, check this out. (I looked at the Challenge when it was posted, and thought "that seems out of my league, jumping-wise." I watched his solution vid, and thought "I was so totally right.") Kudos to anyone who figures this out on their own - and kudos to anyone who runs it even KNOWING the solution! (Louis Wu 13:19:02 UTC) (permalink)

Flip your Banshee
BuckyStudios let us know that Flip Your Banshee is now up on YouTube. A musical tribute to one of the more flexible vehicles in the Halo 3 armada, it contains some really beautiful Banshee moves! Definitely worth the two minutes of your time it takes to watch it. (Louis Wu 12:43:56 UTC) (permalink)

Orange Hayabusa can help cure cancer
Just a reminder - the orange Hayabusa figure being auctioned off for charity (we mentioned it a couple of days ago) will sell today - auction ends in 11 hours or so. Current price is $220.27 - get your bid in! (Louis Wu 12:31:43 UTC) (permalink)

Detroit-area Halo 3 tourney
According to the Detroit Free Press, there's a Halo tournament coming up this Saturday in Ferndale (a suburb of Detroit) - admission is $20 in advance, $25 at the door, top prize is $100... but you get to play on 65 inch screens. Swing by if you're in the area! (Louis Wu 12:26:39 UTC) (permalink)

News October 22 2008

HALOween Movie Contest
Machinima.com is running a contest that will let you win a Blackmagic Design Intensity HD capture card for your computer - just recreate your favorite horror scene from your favorite horror movie, using the Halo 3 engine. You've got just over a week - contest deadline is October 30. Check out the contest page for full rules and details! Thanks, Phreak. (Louis Wu 22:13:04 UTC) (permalink)

Building Social Communities for your Game
There's a great article over at Gamasutra, discussing how (and why) game developers can (or should) build social community sites for their games. It probably won't come as a surprise that Bungie.net and Halo 3 are huge parts of the article. (Louis Wu 22:03:22 UTC) (permalink)

Warthog Build
Holy... we got an email from Gavin Allmond, pointed out a pretty amazing page - a member of a forum he frequents is building a homemade warthog, inspired by the Weta vehicle. (Yes, life-size.) I've grabbed a local copy of the page, if we do something stupid like bring down the site - but for now, go visit darkforcez.com and check out an honest-to-goodness obsession. (Louis Wu 21:38:01 UTC) (permalink)

Writing For Love
Bungie's newest hire, urk, is making good on his contract, right out of gate. Check out 'St. Louis to Seattle: Urk's Tale' over at Bungie.net - a short but sweet look back on how he got where he is right now, a journey of interest to anyone looking to work for Bungie someday. I'd say welcome to the madhouse, urk, but you've been here for a while... (Louis Wu 19:51:20 UTC) (permalink)

The Cole Protocol - back copy
TTL Demag0gue let us know about a new post on Tobias Buckell's blog - it contains the back copy from his upcoming book, "The Cole Protocol". Read it, and you'll get a general idea of what the novel's about. Can't wait until next month! (Louis Wu 18:35:52 UTC) (permalink)

Community Spotlight: NeoGAF
Community-generated Bungie Favorites are fresh again - this week, the offerings come from the Halo contingent of the NeoGAF forums. Go read about these degener- er, fine upstanding citizens, and then play their silly games. Thanks, urk. (lolollolololololo) (Louis Wu 18:09:18 UTC) (permalink)

Hail 'N' Kill
Kral, from Halo.fr, sent us word that he'd created a Halo 3 montage - it's called "Hail 'N' Kill", and while it's very heavy on the effects, they don't (usually) get in the way of the actual gameplay, which is pretty impressive. (It starts sort of slow, but builds up nicely.) I think if I had to pick my favorite kill, it would be the noscope on the man-cannoner on Isolation (about 3:07). It's just over 4 minutes long - give it a watch! (Louis Wu 14:19:11 UTC) (permalink)

Bounce me, baby
Hawty McBloggy ran across a YouTube vid showing a 5-ricochet sniper kill - sort of makes you wonder what the limits are, doesn't it? Update: Ninjamonkey 117 stopped in to let us know that the max number of ricochets is 10 - at that point, the bullet stops. If the 10th object is a body, it is unharmed. (Louis Wu 14:18:53 UTC) (permalink)

Viper's Grand Plan
TTL Demag0gue has posted the latest Reclaimer comic - #102 reveals a little bit about Viper and why they're doing what they're doing. (All that's really missing from the inset on the third panel is a pinky finger.) (Louis Wu 14:18:32 UTC) (permalink)

EOD Wearable Helmet
Tim Munro sent us this pic of his completed Halo 3 EOD helmet master; he'll be using this to produce wearable copies. Very nice! (Louis Wu 14:17:52 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Wars Updates - Cobra, and Tokyo Musings
Looks like the Halo Wars website got a couple of updates last week - we missed 'em, but Planet Halo didn't. Go check out the Cobra, a funky rolling railgun, and a Dev Diary from the Tokyo Game Show. (Louis Wu 14:17:27 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 3 Mythic Walkthrough - The Storm
Gah! I totally forgot to post the fourth installment of Daniel 'Tyrant' Morris' SLASO walkthrough of Halo 3 yesterday - but you can read (and watch) The Storm right now. 9 movies, and 3500 words worth of tips, should get you through this level without dying! Check it out. (Louis Wu 12:23:43 UTC) (permalink)

News October 21 2008

The Flaming Ninja Challenge 2
pete_the_duck is back with another obstacle course - the Flaming Ninja Challenge 2 is a for-fun romp through a modified Blackout, doing your best not to die. Check out his post for full details! (Louis Wu 20:05:14 UTC) (permalink)

ConK3rS' Master Chief Helmet
ConK3rS has been building a pepakura Master Chief helmet - he sent us a bunch of pics. Amazing to follow the progress! (Louis Wu 19:53:29 UTC) (permalink)

Get a rare McFarlane Figure, Save Women
InnerRayg made mention of this a couple of days ago, but KP pointed out today that it really hasn't been announced on our front page: there's an eBay auction going on right now for a sealed McFarlane Orange Hayabusa figure, packaging signed by Bungie employees. A signed figure by itself is worth something... but the Orange Hayabusa is apparently quite rare (it was only released in the UK), and unsigned models are going for upwards of $300 on eBay. Buy this one, raise mad money for the Fight Like a Girl Charity Tourney - money will go to breast and cervical cancer research. You've still got a couple of days - go bid! (Louis Wu 17:30:43 UTC) (permalink)

Oh, The Irony
In honor of its first birthday, ZZoMBiE13 has created a new episode of Another Halo Comic Strip - I had to laugh. Check it out. (Louis Wu 15:45:01 UTC) (permalink)

Denial Will Get You Everywhere
Hawty McBloggy found a pretty funny parody vid - OtherJesus says that if playing Halo is wrong, he don't wanna be right. (If you're not familiar with the Amy Winehouse song he's parodying, you can find it here.) Hawty assures you that any similarity between the addiction described by the song and her own Halo record is just coincidental. (Louis Wu 13:54:51 UTC) (permalink)

SBG BTB Invitational Recap
Over at Tied the Leader, you can read about the 1st Annual BTB Invitational, organized by the SBG clan. The final match has now been played, and friends were made across the net. If you want to know who WON, though... well, XerxdeeJ makes that a little bit of work. Read the article for details. (Louis Wu 13:51:12 UTC) (permalink)

Being wrong isn't a democracy.
Red vs Blue: Reconstruction Chapter 18 is now online for sponsors and the public alike. The story is being brought to its conclusion (only one more episode in the series), and things are heating up - but there's still plenty of comedy to keep things light! Go watch. (They've also completely overhauled their website, so don't be surprised if things look a little different.) (Louis Wu 13:37:42 UTC) (permalink)

MLG/ESPN Top Ten #11
MLGPro.com has posted its 11th MLG/ESPN Top Ten - as always, some really nice clips. (The 3-shot extermination commentary made me laugh.) Thanks to urk, now firmly ensconced in the Bungie web content booth, for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 13:27:55 UTC) (permalink)

News October 20 2008

Arby 'n' the Chief: S3E03: Professional
UnSiLeNtSlAyEr let us know that DigitalPh33r's latest chapter in the Arby 'n' the Chief series is now live on YouTube - Episode S303 is called 'Professional', and introduces Craig, an MLG Pro. Well, in his own mind. Just over 7 minutes. (Louis Wu 19:49:44 UTC) (permalink)

My7hos' TTL Foundation Charity Auction, Round Three
My7hos let us know that he's got some new figures up for sale at eBay - and, as with the previous batches, all proceeds go to the Tied the Leader Foundation. Some pretty cool stuff this time around - you might get your mitts on a civilian hog with chrome rims! Check 'em out. (Louis Wu 19:04:33 UTC) (permalink)

The Biased, Chapter 1, Page 13
OddGodHMK let us know that The Biased, Chapter 1, Page 13 is now up - and things are becoming clearer... sort of. (Louis Wu 18:26:32 UTC) (permalink)

Coagulation appears for Far Cry 2
Coagulation has been rebuilt using the Far Cry 2 level editor - I'm not sure I see it, really, but it's cool that they're starting so quickly. Thanks, Shake Appeal. (Louis Wu 14:38:21 UTC) (permalink)

Caught
TTL Demag0gue stopped in to let us know that Reclaimer 101 is up - looks like the Reclaimer might have a small problem. (Louis Wu 14:07:55 UTC) (permalink)

Bungie - Looking Forward
GamesIndustry.biz has posted the second part of an interview they conducted with Brian Jarrard and Luke Smith during the Tokyo Game Show (we mentioned Part 1 here) They talk about how they're happy with Halo's success, but that they're also looking forward to the next project, and how that project is totally independent from Microsoft. As Narcogen at Rampancy.net points out, that doesn't necessarily mean that Microsoft will not be publishing their next title - but it's certainly not a given. (Louis Wu 11:52:33 UTC) (permalink)

A Puppy In Halo 3
I ran across this video yesterday - it deserves mention just for the surreality. (It doesn't end as you'd expect. Well, it didn't end as I expected.) (Louis Wu 11:35:59 UTC) (permalink)

We need your pictures. Again.
Bah. If anyone submitted entries to our Guilt O' Lantern contest yesterday... please submit them again. Your contest administrator is an idiot. Thanks. (Louis Wu 11:32:18 UTC) (permalink)

News October 19 2008

Inside Halo 25
Inside Halo 25 is up - Halo news, and some fun plays. Check it out! Thanks, AvatarAang. (Louis Wu 20:54:01 UTC) (permalink)

Apples and Bananas
Cinema Blend has a 'screenshot comparison' between Resistance 2 and Halo 3; I'm not sure how you can do this in a reasonable manner, but hey, they tried. (Louis Wu 20:51:36 UTC) (permalink)

343 Guilt O' Lantern 2008
Every year, we've hosted a pumpkin-carving contest, and we've given away some really cool stuff. This year, real life has gotten in the way, and we just HAD a contest where we gave away a lot of really cool stuff... so it's unclear what we're going to have in the pot for pumpkin-carvers. However, that doesn't mean we can't have a contest. (And it doesn't mean we won't have ANYTHING - I've already gotten a couple of generous offers from fans willing to kick in to the prize pools. It just means I don't know WHAT we'll have, come November.) Announcing, therefore... the 343 Guilt O' Lantern 2008 Contest. You've got a little less than two weeks to get us your pics of cool pumpkin carvings. By the time the submission window closes, we'll have a prize list up - but carve your pumpkins for the love of the sport, not for what someone will give you for it. And thanks to everyone who gently pushed to make this happen again this year. (Louis Wu 19:42:55 UTC) (permalink)

Sniper Jackals Down
Rockslider has come up with a reliable way of taking down a pair of Sniper Jackals on Tsavo Highway - and discusses using a feature Bungie included to keep the game from getting too frustrating as a way to replay sections of the game. Check out his new work on Bad Cyborg! (Louis Wu 19:37:43 UTC) (permalink)

HRBTM's 1st Community Montage
Morpheus put together a Community Montage - clips from folks who sent him goodies, nicely blended. a bit long (almost 10 minutes), but some great footage! Check it out. (Louis Wu 19:32:15 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 3 Mythbusters: Episode 5
RandomSauce let us know that Halo 3 Mythbusters is back with another episode of Halo oddities - Episode 5 is now online. Some have been seen before (taking down a pelican in Sierra 117 was demonstrated back in June), but many are new and intriguing. I like the three-weapon glitch! Check it out. (Louis Wu 13:48:20 UTC) (permalink)

News October 18 2008

Still a Brigadier
Hawty McBloggy found a fun rap called 'Still a Brigadier' - if you're having trouble getting those General stars, you might just relate. (Even if you can't relate - I'm 15 levels away from even the 'still' in this song - it's pretty funny. Go listen! (Louis Wu 19:30:58 UTC) (permalink)

TPT #23: Play Nice in the Sand
jake108 sent word that the Teabag Prevention Team has posted #23 in their TP guides - this one gets you through Sandtrap. (Louis Wu 14:02:11 UTC) (permalink)

Spriggs Shorts: Road Trip, Part One
AvatarAang pointed out that the Spriggs machinima team has put up a short - it's called 'Road Trip, Part One' and it has a lot of blowy-up thingies in a minute forty five. Go watch! (Louis Wu 14:01:56 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 3 RPG: DXP = TXP
xen eldridge sent us a note that Halo3RPG is doing another DXP Weekend - it's called 'War' this week, and it's two teams of 50, with a score to win of 500. And because it's special, it's not double xp, it's triple. Thanks, apparently, go to Adam and Scotty. It's live until Sunday. (Louis Wu 14:01:22 UTC) (permalink)

HBOFFPotW, October 17
kr-1426 let us know that the HBO Fan Fiction Pick of the Week is now online at the HBOFF forum; there were a lot of stories to choose from, so it's a hefty discussion. (Louis Wu 14:01:03 UTC) (permalink)

Congrats, Urk. (And Thanks, Marty!)
Today's iteration of the Bungie Weekly Update is actually quite full of content - there's a File Share FAQ (one that should have been posted a week ago) - with even more info from Stosh, a cool trick for viewing screenshots (seems to be broken on Macs), more info about Bungie Cards, tips for maximizing your Bungie.net enjoyment, info about the Art of Halo book, the welcoming of a new Bungie employee, recruited directly from the community, and a bunch of fan questions (and Bungie answers). And the track from the Halo 3: Recon trailer, courtesy of Marty. (You rock, Marty.) And a scary, scary picture that should probably never have seen the light of day. Go read! (And listen.) You can, as always, read this in our Weekly Update Archive. (Louis Wu 02:19:39 UTC) (permalink)

News October 17 2008

RvB PSA: Columbus Day
Last night, Rooster Teeth posted a new PSA in honor of this week's Columbus Day - unfortunately, it's Sponsors-only. If you're a sponsor, though, swing by and watch it; Caboose is a funny guy! (I meant to post this this morning, but forgot. Thanks to AvatarAang for reminding me.) (Louis Wu 21:32:20 UTC) (permalink)

MaraFlower Tea Set
Empress Cortana painted a tea set at Busch Gardens with a familiar pattern... check it out! (Louis Wu 21:29:03 UTC) (permalink)

Looking for questions for the BWU
Yesterday, Luke Smith kicked off a thread on Bungie.net asking for questions for tonight's Weekly Update - it might be too late to get yours in, but the thread's not locked, so give it a shot! (Louis Wu 16:47:07 UTC) (permalink)

Fighting Off Boredom
ZZoMBiE13 whipped up a scene from RvB: Reconstruction, showing the Red Team surviving boredom as they await the return of Church and Wash. He also put together a wallpaper version - great details! (Louis Wu 16:30:30 UTC) (permalink)

Friday Caption Fun, Round 22
It's Friday, so it's time for Friday Caption Fun at Hawty McBloggy's - read last week's submissions, check out this week's pictures. Go play! (Louis Wu 16:30:03 UTC) (permalink)

SlayerStats - Halo 3 stats on your iPhone
iPhonexe has created SlayerStats, a Halo 3 stats app that runs on your iPhone (or iPod Touch). Check it out! (Louis Wu 16:29:36 UTC) (permalink)

The Biased, Chapter 1, Page 12
Nick Ambrose let us know that The Biased, Chapter 1, Page 12 is online - the Reds aren't taking chances. (Louis Wu 16:29:14 UTC) (permalink)

The Digital Content Crisis
Marty O'Donnell talked to Joystiq recently about the issue of used video game sales. (It's not the first time he's spoken out about this.) The thread on our forum kicked off by Ross Mills has drawn a lot of comments, from fans, from Bungie/Ex-Bungie employees, from Marty himself. Is the solution digital sales? Do you really want to hold the content you buy in your hands? Where do you stand? (Louis Wu 16:28:29 UTC) (permalink)

When Football Meets Halo
Sports Illustrated.com included a pic of a New Orlean Saints fan in an awesome suit. Hawty McBloggy found it on Geekologie, and put up her own comments. Don't worry, HP - I'd have posted this even without a sexual innuendo. (Louis Wu 16:27:51 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Story Page: Little Steps
Jillybean let us know that she's updated the Halo Story Page with some canonical discussion. What's canon? Go read, then decide for yourself. (Louis Wu 16:27:22 UTC) (permalink)

Don't worry - America's still playing video games
It looks like for the first time since March 2006, retail sales of video game software (year over year - that is, for the current month compared to the same month last year) will decline in September. However, Wedbush Morgan analyst Morgan Pachter says don't think this is a sign that Americans are abandoning video games in these times of economic chaos - rather, blame it on Halo 3. It's not that we're buying less NOW, it's that we bought a ridiculous amount THEN. Gives a whole new meaning to the term "Halo effect". Thanks, Sep7imus. (Louis Wu 16:26:44 UTC) (permalink)

Friday's Fan Fiction
Thirteen new entries for the Fan Fiction section this week - none of them are entries in the You're Doing It Write contest, but there's still plenty of time for that. Go read! (Louis Wu 16:24:41 UTC) (permalink)

News October 16 2008

Grifball DoubleXP Weekend Has Begun
The latest Double Experience Weekend is now live - you can play Grifball to your heart's content, at least until early Monday morning. The Official Grifball website (affiliated with Rooster Teeth, not Bungie) has two fun programs going this weekend - Adopt-a-Noob and the XP Competition. If you introduce someone to the Grifball community, or if you legitimately earn more XP than anyone else in the playlist, there might be goodies for you. (Read about 'em on the Grifball website.) (Louis Wu 18:54:44 UTC) (permalink)

Why do games have to kick each other's butts?
GameDaily has an article entitled 'Why Gears of War 2 Kicks Halo 3's Butt' - but anyone who calls Marty's Halo music 'wimpy piano nonsense' can't really be taken seriously. Go read the other 7 reasons; they're equally silly. (Marcus Fenix is deeper than Master Chief? C'mon...) (Louis Wu 15:55:27 UTC) (permalink)

Snipedown profiled by hometown paper
The Zionsville (Indiana) Times Sentinel has a piece on Eric 'Snipedown' Wrona, a member of Str8 Rippin (currently the top-seeded team on MLGPro.com). Been a little while since we've seen one of these "local boy makes good" stories about a Halo pro... (interestingly enough, Snipedown was in the Zionsville news a couple of months ago, as well - for having his Xbox account stolen.) (Louis Wu 15:49:45 UTC) (permalink)

ZOMBIES HALOween Charity Tournament
News from kilaMOMjaro, of the PraetoriaGuard and Gaming4Others - they're running a HALOween Zombies Charity Tournament to benefit the Epilepsy Foundation. A promo pic with all the details can be found on the PG forum, and registration ($5) is now open at the G4O website (click through the pic). First prize is a copy of Left4Dead, a limited edition Halo 3 t-shirt signed by Bungie and RvB people (I'm on there too, somewhere - silly MOM), and a pillow case filled with candy. There are prizes for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places, too. Lots of fun, a great cause... how can you lose? (She also reminded us that the next Frag a Friend community leader get-together is happening tomorrow night at 9 eastern.) (Louis Wu 13:49:31 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Roll'd
Pyroman put together a Halo Roll'd video (in the style of the Barak Roll'd vid that came out a couple months ago) - it's probably the only time you'll be happy you've been Roll'd. (Louis Wu 13:35:19 UTC) (permalink)

Any last requests?
ZZoMBiE13 continues his look at the RvB: Reconstruction crew - his latest picture shows a scene in which Grif is about to be executed. Nice work! (Louis Wu 13:23:16 UTC) (permalink)

News October 15 2008

Halo 3: Recon details (and talk of pie)
The interview we mentioned yesterday in which Xbox3Fanboy's Dustin Burg collected questions from fans about Halo 3: Recon has gone live today on Joystiq - swing by and give it a read! Some of the info is stuff that's been said before (though most of it bears repeating; rumors have a way of growing no matter HOW often someone from Bungie shoots them down), but much of it is new, or useful elaboration on known info. Thanks, xmoosev3. (Louis Wu 13:34:03 UTC) (permalink)

A New Hero Shall Rise
DeepCee was inspired to create a new mascot for... well, I'm not sure, but I like him a lot. (Louis Wu 13:02:48 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Wars Preview at 1UP
1UP posted a Halo Wars preview based on what they saw at the Tokyo Game Show - we didn't notice until BlueNinja brought it to our attention this morning. Give it a read for their take on the gameplay. (Louis Wu 13:00:51 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Armor for Sale
Last year, we set up a gallery for Mad Cow's Master Chief armor - this year, he's selling it on eBay. (He wants to build an ODST suit, and hopes this will help fund it.) You can see from our gallery that he's put a lot of love into this one... if you're looking for a Halloween outfit, this might be it! (End date is just under a week away.) (Louis Wu 11:38:18 UTC) (permalink)

No Relation to 'Lick'
Jim Smith was the first to let us know that today's Least I Could Do comic had a Halo reference. (He points out that the comic is not particularly kid-friendly, but this strip is certainly safe for work.) (Louis Wu 11:37:43 UTC) (permalink)

Flag Planted.
Hawty McBloggy couldn't let a story with a focus on sex and Halo simply fade... Last week, we mentioned a Dutch study which suggested that men who were quick on the trigger in video games might be... quick on the trigger in other areas. Hawty has taken it upon herself to help those guys out. Go read. (Louis Wu 11:36:42 UTC) (permalink)

Meetup
TTL Demag0gue let us know that Reclaimer 100 (a milestone!) has been posted - and it looks like the Reclaimer might have a little trouble. (Louis Wu 11:36:10 UTC) (permalink)

News October 14 2008

Montage Man Part 2 Trailer
Raptree Forever came back by with word of a trailer for Montage Man Part 2 - Part 1 came out back in January. I liked Part 1; I'm not sure I get the same vibe from the Part 2 trailer, but I'm willing to wait and see. (Louis Wu 20:09:40 UTC) (permalink)

The man's a machine.
Wow. Just... wow. Back in July, we pointed out that Pahis had destroyed the 'Million Point Challenge' set up by High Speed Halo back in October 2007 - using only three levels. His total score, at that point, was 2.2 million. He'd also completed the full game in SLASO mode in four and a quarter hours. Cody Miller stopped by to announce that Pahis has shattered the 3 million point milestone for Campaign scoring... and he's down to just over three and a half hours for his SLASO speedrun total. Pahis - holder of both High Score and SLASO Speed records, for every level in Halo 3. As Cody says... Inconceivable! (Louis Wu 18:19:54 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 3 Mythic Walkthrough - Tsavo Highway
The third episode of Daniel 'Tyrant' Morris' SLASO walkthrough of Halo 3 is now online - Tsavo Highway can be a tough level on a lot of difficulties, but this guide will get you through the worst of it nearly unscathed. Go read, and watch the instructive videos! (Louis Wu 14:55:49 UTC) (permalink)

Can My Mom Have Recon?
Bryan Simon has posted his tenth (and final) Halo song on YouTube - it's called 'Can My Mom Have Recon?' and it's a funny look at those folks who think that asking for Recon for someone ELSE is a good idea. (Something that was even funnier for me was that I actually play with someone whose mom plays too - and she IS pretty good. She's not a 45, though. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't want Recon, because she makes fun of me for wearing it.) If you'd rather have an audio-only version, we're hosting the mp3 - 3.3 mb. (Louis Wu 14:20:02 UTC) (permalink)

X3F wants your Halo/Bungie Questions
Whoa - I managed to miss this until now; I'm not sure if it's too late, but I'll give it a shot. Xbox360Fanboy is sitting down with Bungie later today to talk to them about Recon, and they've asked for your questions. Stop by the news post, add your question as a comment - there might still be time for them to filter through. (Louis Wu 12:49:35 UTC) (permalink)

Believe Revisited - a fan's view
kr-1426 had made a couple of fake TV spots for Halo 3, following the 'Believe' mold, which he planned to release around the time of Halo 3's anniversary, but he didn't get to it. They're up now, though, and I must say, Remembrance is really well-done. (Louis Wu 12:14:34 UTC) (permalink)

TTL - Gettin' Old
XerxdeeJ stopped in to announce that Tied the Leader is celebrating its third birthday - Happy Birthday, Gunslingers! Swing by and watch their September Highlights as you toast their three years of existence. (And while you're there, read the story of Hayden, the Gunslinger baby who showed that gaming networks are good for more than frags.) (Louis Wu 12:06:56 UTC) (permalink)

Master Chief watches Soccer
b0anerges spent an evening in the Rio Tinto Stadium watching soccer... in his custom-made Master Chief helmet. Check out the pics! (Louis Wu 12:05:56 UTC) (permalink)

RvB: Reconstruction Chap 17
It's hard to keep track when it's a holiday sometimes, but yesterday was Monday, so a new Red vs Blue: Reconstruction (Chapter 17) was released. It's available for everyone now - and it's a doozy. Some pretty big bombshells in this one... along with some classic (and I mean classic) RvB humor. Go watch. (Louis Wu 11:37:44 UTC) (permalink)

News October 13 2008

The Biased, Chapter 1, Page 11
More comics - OddGodHMK told us about The Biased, Chapter 1, Page 11. Things don't look too good for the Blues. (Louis Wu 20:13:16 UTC) (permalink)

Genesis
TTL Demag0gue stopped in to announce Reclaimer 99 - with poetic info about the Cavalcade. (Louis Wu 16:07:23 UTC) (permalink)

Inside Halo Episode 24
Inside Halo Episode 24 is online - Bungie news, the Halo Wars CGI trailer, and the Top 5 clips of the week. (These clips are no longer spectacular plays - just funny stuff. I love number 1.) Thanks, UnSiLeNtSlAyEr. (Louis Wu 14:13:07 UTC) (permalink)

One Trick Pony
vlad3163 noticed a Halo-related strip at The Gun Show, a webcomic from KC Green. (Louis Wu 14:11:21 UTC) (permalink)

You're Doing it Write - new details
I hate it when contest rules change after the contest has been announced - but I'm not running this, so I'm just doing my best to make sure you know of the new rules. Phædrus has received some financial help from other generous members of the Fan Fiction community, so he's altered the specs for the Charity Drive challenge he announced yesterday - we've updated the original post to reflect the new (hopefully final) rules, and if you're planning on submitting, you should definitely read it over. (Louis Wu 12:20:07 UTC) (permalink)

News October 12 2008

HBOFFPotW - and a Writing Charity Drive
Phædrus has posted the most recent Fan Fiction Pick of the Week - and offered an astoundingly generous challenge. For each of the top 10 stories submitted to the HBO Fan Fiction section that meets his guidelines ("Top 10" will be judged by him) before November 7, 2008, he will contribute $80 to one of two childrens' hospitals - Childrens' National Medical, in Washington, DC, or to John Hopkins Childrens' Hospital in Baltimore, MD. (If the winner doesn't have a preference, Phædrus will pick.) The guidelines are pretty simple:

• The fiction must meet all normal Fan Fiction submission rules
• Entries must have 'HBOFF: You're Doing it Write' at the top or bottom
• The entry must be at least 1500 words long (this is higher than the normal 750 word limit); no poems, unless the poem is 1500+ words long
• The submitter must be registered at the HBO Fan Fiction forum by November 7, 2008
• The submitter need not have submitted any stories in the past
• One submissions per person

If you can meet all of these requirements, get to writing, and help Phædrus spend $800 for two worthy causes - Child's Play, and the continued health of the HBO Fan Fiction collection! Update, 13 October: Phædrus has updated the rules - the ones listed now are valid as of noon UTC on 13 October - please make sure you've fulfilled the NEW regs, rather than the original ones. The total pool has increased, thanks to the generosity of others in the Fan Fiction Community. (Louis Wu 20:31:13 UTC) (permalink)

H3RPG Podcast two
Scotty let us know that the second Halo 3 RPG podcast is out - updates and questions about the game. 67 minutes, about 70 mb, mp3 format. (Louis Wu 18:01:26 UTC) (permalink)

Multiwinia Comedic Spoof Trailer
Dan the Stick pointed out a trailer for Multiwinia, a real-time strategy game with graphics inspired by early arcade games, which spoofs the Halo: Believe trailer. Really nice piece of work! (Louis Wu 15:53:12 UTC) (permalink)

Programmers needed for Halo Zero 2
quququ1 stopped by our forum to point out that the creator of Halo Zero, a 2D fanbuilt sidescroller, is recruiting for folks who want to help build Halo Zero 2. Read the post for details. (Louis Wu 15:47:08 UTC) (permalink)

Music from recent Halo-related trailers
Davis Beutler ripped the music tracks from the Five Long Years Halo Wars Trailers (Part 1 and Part 2), as well as from the Halo 3 Recon trailer - some sound effects are included, but dialogue is not. Swing by his forum post for download links - he provided a link to all three, in .wav format, from Rapidshare (40 mb), and i've converted the files themselves to 192kbps MP3s (total size is about 8 mb) - your choice. He's working on transcriptions. (Louis Wu 15:39:17 UTC) (permalink)

More Bungie Recon Stuff
GameReactorTV filmed a short informational session given by Brian Jarrard and Luke Smith in Tokyo, about Halo 3: Recon - you can watch it on YouTube. Thanks, Kuroyume. (A different session was filmed by GameSpot - same general info.) (Louis Wu 15:36:58 UTC) (permalink)

Tapping at my bulkhead door
DarthCadeous501 reimagined Poe's "The Raven" in Halo terms - go read. (This is not the same poem that mendicantbias00 released two months ago.) (Louis Wu 15:34:03 UTC) (permalink)

News October 11 2008

Campaign Episode 1 - a closer look
So a couple of days ago, I posted a note about the Machinima Film Festival Awards, and pointed out that Campaign Episode 1 had gotten an honorable mention for 'Best Editing'. It was one of the few nominated films I hadn't heard of, so I followed the link from the Nominations page to watch it. The streaming link didn't seem to work... so I logged in to Vimeo to get the download link. (Vimeo lets you download HD versions of its hosted films - but you must create an account to do so.) The MP4 was listed as just under half a gigabyte... and 20 minutes long. Whoa. I passed, because Thursday was a pretty busy day. However, since then, I've found the time to watch this, and if you've got the 20 minutes and the bandwidth, I'd definitely recommend it. It uses Campaign footage (Tsavo Highway and Sierra 117) to tell a story of Spartan 171, in a universe that doesn't exactly match the one we know. VERY nice editing, and pretty deft machinima techniques; I found myself immersed in an unfamiliar story, even though I was fully acquainted with the surroundings. Visit the Vimeo page, create an account if you don't have one, and download the HD version (it's at the bottom of the page once you've logged in) - I think you'll like it. (Louis Wu 12:37:30 UTC) (permalink)

Halo: it's for friends.
Shacknews has put together a list of the top co-op games coming in the next year or so - both Halo 3: Recon and Halo Wars are on the 'On the Horizon' list. Nice! Thanks, vshields ash. (Louis Wu 12:26:31 UTC) (permalink)

Master Chief Theater 3000 Episode 206
smiley let us know that Master Chief Theater 3000 Episode 206 is now online - it covers Halo 2's Delta Halo and Regret cutscenes. (Louis Wu 12:26:11 UTC) (permalink)

Deus Ex Machina Returns
DigitalPh33r has returned to his Deus Ex Machina series (last release: a bit over 3 months ago) with Episode 9 - "Doomsday (Part 2 of 2)" Act 4. Might take you a little while to remember where things left off. This is clearly not the end. Thanks, UnSiLeNtSlAyEr. (Louis Wu 12:24:44 UTC) (permalink)

HALO: EPIC MOVIE
heavenlyyeti ran across HALO: EPIC MOVIE, which is pretty much as silly as it sounds. (Louis Wu 12:24:18 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Spec Scripts - Everybody's Writing One
Markus B sent word that another spec script for a Halo movie is floating around out there - the IMDb page for Joseph Bat lists one he wrote. (No, we haven't seen it, or heard of it, or know what's in it, or know who's looked at it.) (Louis Wu 12:22:20 UTC) (permalink)

IGN's Top 25 360 Games
IGN posted a Top 25 Xbox 360 Games list - and Halo 3 came in 4th. (Really? Mass Effect takes 1st?) Thanks, Planet Halo. (Louis Wu 12:19:41 UTC) (permalink)

Halo-Initiation Sequence
jericho and friends created Halo-Initiation Sequence, a live-action short with some hard-to-listen-to sound and fun effects. Interesting piece of work! (Louis Wu 12:16:15 UTC) (permalink)

1UP puts Halo 3: Recon in Perspective
Zeouterlimits noticed a pretty comprehensive interview at 1UP.com - Luke and Brian cover a bunch of stuff that hasn't been covered (or discussed explicitly) in other interviews, or in Bungie's own Q&A. Some of the information was already out there (Luke Smith clarified that Christian Allen, who came to Bungie after being Creative Director on Ghost Recon, is not working on this project on the NeoGAF forum a couple of weeks ago, for example), but some is pretty new. Bungie is pretty clear that "features that couldn't fit into the game" won't be added to this expansion - which probably means you shouldn't get your hopes up for stuff like sprinting, peeking, shooting lights - all features discussed (and scrapped) years ago. The Halo 1 pistol will NOT be making a return. This is NOT the beginning of a series of episodic releases (Brian termed it "an endcap to the Halo 3 experience"). The January 6, 2009 date that many have noticed in the KEEP IT CLEAN teaser is NOT an actual release date of anything - Bungie doesn't KNOW (exactly) when the Mythic Map Pack will be released. There will probably not be any map releases between the Mythic Map Pack (total map count: unknown, but likely 3) and Halo 3: Recon. And more. Definitely worth a read for every hardcore fan out there - it'll go a long way towards keeping expectations reasonable. (Louis Wu 12:09:02 UTC) (permalink)

Bungie Weekly Update: Tokyo Edition
Luke Smith wrote the most recent Bungie Weekly Update while still in Tokyo - and it's basically a Q&A session for Halo 3: Recon. If you're unclear about some aspect of this upcoming project, check it out - you might find your answers inside. It is, as always, also available in our Weekly Update Archive. (Louis Wu 10:15:25 UTC) (permalink)

News October 10 2008

The Golden Hour
Over at Ascendant Justice, there's a new piece up, written by Cocopjojo - it's called 'The Golden Hour', and it's an analysis of the Halo 3 Recon trailer. As is usual for AJ documents, it's pretty thorough in its observations - give it a read, you might learn stuff you missed in your own watching! Thanks, Zeouterlimits. (Louis Wu 20:54:51 UTC) (permalink)

Transmissions - and Contest Results
Bah. I hate it when I write up newsposts, but manage to close windows before they're actually POSTED. This morning, TTL Demag0gue posted Reclaimer 98, with lots and lots of new info - and the blog post includes the winner of his Reclaimer Comic Contest, as well. Swing by and catch up - and check out the winning comic! (Thanks to Demag0gue for noticing the newspost that never was.) (Louis Wu 20:45:43 UTC) (permalink)

Audio Square-Off: PS3 vs. Xbox360
Gamasutra has an article comparing audio features of next-gen consoles - and Halo 3 is the test game for the 360. There's a short interview with Marty O'Donnell that will make almost no sense to people who don't use the software bundle 'Waves' - but will probably be wonderful for those who DO use it. (Louis Wu 18:48:33 UTC) (permalink)

Snipers are Wussies
Bryan Simon seems to have an issue with snipers - go listen to his latest song (#9 out of 10), 'Snipers are Wussies', on YouTube, or grab the mp3 version (3.5 mb) from our files server. There's a thread over on Bungie.net if you'd like to comment (or start one on our own forum!). (Louis Wu 18:00:14 UTC) (permalink)

Retrospective Interview - Hardy LeBel on Halo Multiplayer
Gamasutra has interviewed Hardy LeBel, Multiplayer Lead Designer on the first Halo, about the history of Halo's multiplayer code, and how it almost didn't make it into the final build. He talks a lot about building gameplay that appeals to a broad spectrum of gamers - I think it's safe to say, in hindsight, that he (and the small team he worked with) succeeded. Thanks to hnc for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 17:40:08 UTC) (permalink)

Get H3r.
Halo 3: Recon has brought another long-retired artist out of hiding - there's a new One One Se7en today. I think Stuntmutt nailed it... (Louis Wu 17:21:31 UTC) (permalink)

TPT does H3R
Over at Geekscape Games, the Teabag Prevention Team takes a look at the Recon trailer, and tries to figure out what it means for gamers - give it a read. Thanks, jake108. (Louis Wu 17:16:40 UTC) (permalink)

Don't let her go, Luke.
Luke Neill pointed us to a blog post written by his wife Sarah - it's entitled 'Why Every Wife Should Buy Her Man an Xbox360', and I think a lot of married gamers would be happy if their spouse saw things this way. It's actually solid reasoning for ANY non-Halo-playing spouse - male or female. (Louis Wu 13:43:46 UTC) (permalink)

Friday Caption Fun, Round 21
Hawty McBloggy is back with another round of Friday Caption Fun - great submissios for last week's pic, and yet more Spartan pr0n for this week's pic. Go tell her what you think! (Louis Wu 13:41:53 UTC) (permalink)

Friday's Fan Fiction
Only five pieces this week in the Fan Fiction section - and two of them are poems! Go read. (Louis Wu 13:37:54 UTC) (permalink)

PreGame Lobby Episode 7
TG HellJumper stopped in yesterday to announce that PreGame Lobby Episode 7 was posted yesterday. Melander and his crew are up to something... go watch! (Louis Wu 13:13:23 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 3 Recon: Tokyo Interview Roundup
Here are some of the articles covering Luke Smith/Brian Jarrard interviews in Tokyo:

• Guardian.co.uk has a 9 and a half minute video interview with the pair - lots of tidbits, including "Mythic Map Pack is coming early next year" and "Recon is a labor of love for our fans" (and that Luke is just in Tokyo for the girls)
• IGN talked to both reps, and came away with quotes like "Recon is less of a galactic romp than Halo 3" and "When Halo 3: Recon launches, it will come bundled with two map packs that will be released as DLC beforehand. One is titled the Mythic Map Pack (coming early 2009) and another is still unnamed." They also learned that there will be no downloadable version of Recon - box only.
• Bungie told Kotaku that "Halo 3: Recon is not a tactical squad based shooter." It will come with its own new achievements totalling 1000 points. Bungie say "We're not viewing this as a full game."
• Gamesindustry.biz got more info about maps: "We actually have a Mythic map pack coming out early next year. We don't have firm details or a date yet, but we do have one more map pack coming out, and then we do have some maps associated with the actual Recon retail release." They also got Brian to agree that "Halo 3 Recon would be a 'final statement' from Bungie as far as the Halo trilogy was concerned". (Thanks, Eastbeast314.)
• Eurogamer discovered that Recon has only been in full production for a couple of months, that Bungie isn't willing to divulge all the details they have about ODSTs, and that there "might be a surprise later that we'll talk about, that might benefit people who have Halo 3, but it's not a requirement." Brian said that "The word 'stealth' terrifies us."

I'm sure there'll be more interviews popping up throughout the day - depending on when they show up, we'll either update this post, or start a new one. Update: 1UP.com's preview is the first to ask about Recon armor, and whether it'll be available to buyers of the game. Update 2: Zeouterlimits let us know that Giant Bomb has some questions and answers as well. Not a lot new, but the comments about Recon armor might give some of you pause. Update 3: Joystiq has an audio version of a group interview Brian gave (probably the same one that many other sites used for their coverage). (Louis Wu 11:39:16 UTC) (permalink)

News October 9 2008

No more hiding from success
Clever fan '7heSuper' is back with another fun post - see if you can figure out what he's saying! (Louis Wu 20:24:05 UTC) (permalink)

Rocket Race Weekend Now Live
Bungie's Double XP weekend went live a couple of hours ago - it's Rocket Race this weekend, and you can earn double experience until Monday morning at 2 am PST. Go Goosin'! (Louis Wu 20:21:47 UTC) (permalink)

Halo3RPG DXP Weekend
sniperX47 sent word that Halo 3 RPG is having Brute Appreciation Weekend - Brute Shots and Maulers for Double XP. (Louis Wu 20:21:14 UTC) (permalink)

The Biased Chapter 1, Page 10
OddGodHMK let us know that The Biased Chapter 1, Page 10 is online - Red doesn't totally buy Blue's story. (Louis Wu 20:20:55 UTC) (permalink)

Mongrilled.
A couple of days ago, we mentioned pete_the_duck's writeup of a night of shenanigans with some HBO forum regulars in Halo 3 Matchmaking. One of the popular incidents involved pete jumping off his mongoose just in time to be flattened by a teammate's Warthog - it was such a beautifully bone-headed move that Blackstar created a new medal for it. Check his Medals page for 'Mongrilled' - it's down at the bottom! (Mouse over the thumbs for full-sized versions.) (Louis Wu 17:31:19 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 3: Recon - ruining the franchise for good?
Not everyone thinks Halo 3: Recon is a good idea - a writer at CNET believes that it's a clear selling-out of Bungie's once-proud position in the gaming community. He even thinks it's coming out too soon - he thinks it's being rushed for the money. Go see if you agree! (Louis Wu 16:58:16 UTC) (permalink)

Luke Smith comments briefly on H3R
For folks worried about what's been said (or, more accurately, what HASN'T been said) about Halo 3: Recon - Luke Smith stopped in to the NeoGAF forum with a couple of notes - he and Brian Jarrard have a bunch of interviews lined up tomorrow, so we should be getting more info then, and he wants you to know that 'stealth' doesn't necessarily mean 'Splinter Cell'. Thanks, Luke! (Louis Wu 16:46:50 UTC) (permalink)

Machinima Film Festival Nominations
Sgt_Hartsock let us know that This Spartan Life has been nominated for two Mackies (the Machinima Film Festival awards) - it's up for Best Series, and Best Original Music. If you want to learn more, he's set up a club for the show at 1UP.com. Other Halo content up for Mackies this year: Smooth Few Films' Bag Boy (we mentioned it in February) has been nominated for Best Short Format, Best Voice Acting, and Best Writing, and Without Providence (a film I'd never seen, but which you can find on the DouGroup's website) is up for Best Cinematography. (Jonathan Quail, which used to be hosted at GamingTV, received an Honorable Mention in that category.) Blackstone [Log 1], from Dispatch Films (we mentioned it in July) is up for Best Sound Design and Best Editing. And finally, Campaign Episode 1, from William Urbina (another new one for me) received an Honorable Mention in the Best Editing category. (Louis Wu 16:13:05 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Wars TGS Demo at GT
onebitrocket was the first to let us know about a new trailer at GameTrailers.com, showing off the Halo Wars demo at TGS (including the Flood reveal). Go watch. (Louis Wu 14:30:23 UTC) (permalink)

Art of Halo 3 - coming soon
Warm Machine, over at NeoGAF, noticed that Amazon is listing a book entitled 'Art of Halo 3', to be released next month. No real details yet (other than that it's hardcover, written by Fernando Bueno, and is being published by Prima). The Prima site itself lists a publication date that's one week later than Amazon's. (Louis Wu 14:28:30 UTC) (permalink)

Dutch study shows the downside to being a General
The discussion continues about the Halo 3: Recon trailer - but other Halo news doesn't stop when big stuff shows up. Yesterday, Gizmodo posted an article about a Dutch study that linked quick reflexes (in, say, video games like Halo) to premature ejaculation - maybe fodder for the losers in a postgame match? Some entertaining commentary in our forum... (Louis Wu 14:24:12 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 3: Recon
A few weeks ago, the KEEP IT CLEAN teaser was released on Bungie.net - and then there was nothing. No comments from Bungie, no explanations... nothing. Until tonight. The Tokyo Game Show keynote kicked off at noon, October 9 - which translates to 8 PM PST October 8, or 11 PM EST October 8 (about an hour ago). The Halo material was all shown in the last 15 minutes - the first half was Halo Wars (the Flood was revealed as another enemy you'll fight in the game), and then the new Bungie trailer was unveiled. You can download it for yourself, at Bungie.net, in a variety of flavors, or in 5.1 goodness from Xbox LIVE Marketplace - but it'll tell you that the new game is called 'Halo 3: Recon', it will be available next fall (Fall 2009), and it will show you the fight from the viewpoint of an ODST Marine. There's plenty more speculation and information on our forum at the moment - jump in! Update: The Recon page in Bungie's Projects section contains an acronym - who will be the first to decipher 'WHVIDLDSHBYJSDO'? Update 2: If the trailer wasn't enough for you, check out the Xbox.com page on the product (thanks, Naburu). (Louis Wu 04:13:28 UTC) (permalink)

News October 8 2008

Man, did you see that?
One thing that Halo 3 lends itself to very nicely, what with the saved film feature and built-in screenshots, is storytelling. Over at the NeoGAF forum, GhaleonEB has been entertaining the troops, weaving fascinating tales of heroism and carnage. (Here's a recent one.) On our very own forum, pete_the_duck has been doing the same thing - and now he's got a home for them. He let us know that he wrote up last night's exploits over on 'petetheduck Still Plays Halo 3' - pics, vid clips, funny stories. This is why Halo 3 remains popular - because this sort of reliving of events is so easy. (Louis Wu 21:08:57 UTC) (permalink)

With Apologies to Luke McKay
In a surprise return to comic-making, ZZoMBiE13 sent me Another Halo Comic Strip #113 today - it's a funny take on the RvB: Reconstruction machinima series. This doesn't mean AHCS is coming back regularly - but it DOES sound like there'll be one now and then - great to hear! (Louis Wu 19:24:19 UTC) (permalink)

Hooking Up - with Halo
Woody Tondorf let us know about the HBOlab web series, 'Hooking Up' - a "college comedy series about relationships and communication." Episode 3 is now online... and Halo plays a hefty role. Go watch! (Louis Wu 17:49:21 UTC) (permalink)

Even the clean titles are innuendo-filled.
Hawty McBloggy points out a pretty nice Top Kills video - she's really harsh about the audio, but it's worth watching either way; the kills are great. (Louis Wu 16:59:48 UTC) (permalink)

My New Home in Halo
Bryan Simon continues his musical outpouring of love for Halo 3 - his newest piece is called 'My New Home in Halo', and it looks at some of the multiplayer environments with a distinctly non-military eye. If you'd rather listen to the MP3, we have that, as well (2.9 mb). (Louis Wu 13:50:55 UTC) (permalink)

Vacant Shatterboxes
TTL Demag0gue let us know that Reclaimer 97 is now online - looks like Ferial isn't as on top of things as he thought! (Louis Wu 13:48:28 UTC) (permalink)

The Evolution of a Cover
Yesterday, TOR Books put out an official press release for The Cole Protocol, the new Halo novel due soon from Tobias Buckell, and S043 brought news of it to our forum. There was cover art in the release - but we'd mentioned the cover art back in July. There was a release date for the book - but we mentioned THAT back in June. I was going to pass on this press release altogether... but Metalingus627 pointed out that the cover art in the TOR press release (203k) was different from the version posted by Buckell back in July (37k). Mostly it's the armor that the Spartan on the cover is wearing - but there are some minor differences in the background, as well. According to the press release, The Cole Protocol "reveals the location of the Spartan Gray Team and delves deeper into conflicts brought about by the Human-Covenant War." These are Spartan-IIs, just like Master Chief. I thought this was interesting enough to highlight. Take a look! (Louis Wu 13:44:57 UTC) (permalink)

The M64D - it's not your dad's magnum.
Chris Bryan was most recently in our news with new content more than three years ago - but his Master Chief suit has inspired many to build their own, and now he's back with shots of a pistol he created. Take a look - great work! (Louis Wu 13:28:18 UTC) (permalink)

News October 7 2008

Video games make you unqualified for politics?
Ouch. Joystiq points out a smear ad being used in the political fight for Maricopa County (AZ) District 1 Supervisor... incumbent Fulton Brock points out that while he is credited with "bringing new, high-quality jobs to the East Valley", his opponent is a "[s]killed player of popular video game Halo" and that Hermes was quoted in his college newspaper as saying "I am addicted to 'Halo' and play almost every night." Like Joystiq, this sort of thing would push my vote towards the new guy, even if I wasn't a Halo fan. Thanks, darthbob. (Louis Wu 21:46:52 UTC) (permalink)

Wooden Battle Rifle, from The Land of the Midnight Sun
Norway's S1l3nt V1p3r let us know that he's been working on a wooden Battle Rifle - he posts his pictures over at the 405th forum. (That's the whole thread - you can see a recent update here.) Looking pretty snazzy! Too bad his real name isn't Roland... (Louis Wu 17:45:00 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 3 Mythic Walkthrough - Crow's Nest
The next installment of our Mythic Walkthrough - Crow's Nest - is now online. Daniel 'Tyrant' Morris will provide tips and tricks to get you through what might just be the hardest level in the game (at least in this particular configuration). The video portion of this level is massive - all told, there are over 250 mb of clips illustrating the text. (Be gentle!) The full run is also available as a saved film, if you'd rather watch that way. (There's even a second clip, showing an alternate technique for one of the hardest segments.) Go read, go watch, then try it yourself - if you can beat this level solo, on Legendary, with all skulls on... you're part of a very, very elite cadre of Halo 3 players. (Louis Wu 14:11:43 UTC) (permalink)

Tuesday Comics
Clefton Twain posted a new Halo Funniez on our forum (cute, though I'll tell any copycatters that that sort of joke only works once), and Raulboy continues his series, The White Space. (Louis Wu 13:45:39 UTC) (permalink)

Red vs Blue PSA #4: Rock Bottom
Yesterday was Monday, so the Rooster Teeth team posted a new Halo-based video. No, it wasn't the next chapter of Reconstruction, allowing you out of the cliffhanging you've been doing since last week - it was a new PSA, this one aimed at explaining the current financial crisis America faces. These guys scare me - but they make me laugh while they do it. Looks like vlad3163 was first with the news. (Louis Wu 12:54:34 UTC) (permalink)

7 on 7 - first shot
Don't forget that today is your first chance at the 7 on 7 Achievement - you simply need to enter a matchmaking playlist with 7 EXP in that list. (If you have a list with exactly 7 NOW, you'll unlock the achievement as soon as you load the playlist.) Don't leave it too long; apparently there are still some glitches with experience being awarded, and it might take you longer than you'd expected to build up 7 points. (Louis Wu 12:47:59 UTC) (permalink)

The Five Long Years Part 2 - Downloadable
The Five Long Years Part 2 trailer is now available for download (in several sizes, up to 720p HD) at the Halo Wars website. There's also a description of the Arbiter we see in the vid:

The Arbiter. A rank every Elite soldier will take with honor, but knows the task at hand will be his last. This Arbiter was forged in darkness, an evil and angry soldier he was imprisoned for crimes against the Covenant. In reality, he was a very effective soldier, but far too violent, even for the Covenant. This Arbiter has but one task, the annihilation of humanity from the galaxy, a task he is close to completing.

Sounds like a slightly more morally ambiguous Arbiter than the one who follows... go grab a copy of the vid. Thanks to Planet Halo for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 12:38:04 UTC) (permalink)

News October 6 2008

Hard Justice: Episode 2
DigitalPh33r's Hard Justice Episode 2 is now up - I think it can't tell if it wants to be funny or serious. Thanks, AvatarAang. (Louis Wu 21:17:45 UTC) (permalink)

Bungie.net Fileshare Changes Live
Oooh... pretty. The Bungie.net Fileshare hawtness is live (no 'render to video' feature yet, but the rest of what's been discussed is there). Heads-up: that link will work a lot better if you're signed in. Go look! Thanks, Blinding. (Louis Wu 20:15:41 UTC) (permalink)

The Worst First Level Ever?
alt.vg has an article about how terrible Halo 3's first level is - some of the complaints made me think about how information is presented to gamers by the games they play, and the line developers walk between making things too frustrating for beginners, and too easy for veterans. I think one of the problems here was that the recommendation that Halo 3's campaign be played on Heroic was aimed specifically at returning players - folks that would know to look around for things like weapon caches (which would eliminate one of the major complaints here) and to use cover when facing enemies at long range. Then again, I could just be a Bungie apologist. You decide. (Louis Wu 17:40:58 UTC) (permalink)

Of Balls, and Poles, and Polishing and Such
Hawty McBloggy has written yet another batch of Halo pick-up lines (I'm not sure how she can call it "Yet Another Top Ten Halo Pick-Up Lines" - it seems to me you can really only have ONE Top Ten... but then, she knows far more about this stuff than I do). She mentions that one of them has the potential to get you slapped - I'd say several of them do. Go try 'em out! (Louis Wu 16:49:59 UTC) (permalink)

Old Familiar Feeling - Aliens
rhubarb pointed out that a new article has gone live at Ascendant Justice - this one is written by va1or, and looks at the inspiration the movie Aliens provided to the Halo series. Interesting read! (Louis Wu 13:54:41 UTC) (permalink)

MLG Dallas - Triggers Down Takes First
Triggers Down pulled out an exiciting victory over favorite Str8 Rippin to become MLG champs in Dallas yesterday - you can see the full Hall of Champions here. You can watch the final game via Video-on-Demand. Congrats to TD! (Louis Wu 13:48:20 UTC) (permalink)

Monday Comics
Okay, one of these was a Sunday comic. Sue me. Yesterday Raulboy posted his latest 'White Space' comic - looks like the Chief has found a pretty funky skull. And this morning TTL Demag0gue told us about Reclaimer 96 - Interrogation, in which Ferial gets ready to extract info forcibly from Eternal Refuge. (Demag0gue would also like to remind you that today is the last day for submissions to the Reclaimer Comic Contest - so get your work in soon!) Update: Looks like The Biased Chapter 1, Page 9 is now online, as well - the enemy begins to be revealed. (Louis Wu 13:29:39 UTC) (permalink)

FFPotW
kr-1426 let us know that the Fan Fiction Pick of the Week for October 3 is now online at the HBOFF forum. Go get a summary of what was released, and which story bubbled to the top! (Louis Wu 13:28:37 UTC) (permalink)

News October 5 2008

Halo 3 Mythbusters: Episode 4
RandomSauce sent word that the fourth installment of the Halo 3 Mythbusters series is online - some very cool tricks in there! Check it out. (Louis Wu 18:28:36 UTC) (permalink)

Wowt.
Jillybean was trying to find ways of not finishing her REAL work, so she turned a five-year-old sketch made by Shishka into yarn-based reality. She provides pictures and full instructions, for anyone wanting to make their OWN baby Covie. (Louis Wu 18:26:54 UTC) (permalink)

New Halo Wars Gameplay Vids
DHalo pointed out a new pair of Halo Wars gameplay vids over at GameTrailers (they're both dated October 5) - check 'em out for details on Beasely Plateau and Hornets on Chasm. (Louis Wu 18:25:10 UTC) (permalink)

When Gamers get Bored
Pwn or Die has posted a pretty bizarre feature - "What if Sarah Palin Was In Video Games?" Check out their version of Cortana. (We're just letting you know it exists - this is not a political endorsement or condemnation.) Thanks, Buttskunk. Update: Vote Quimby. (Louis Wu 18:24:29 UTC) (permalink)

News October 4 2008

Bungie Wins TEC Award for Sound Production
Back in June, we mentioned that Halo 3 was up for Creative Achievement in Interactive Entertainment Sound Production from the Mix Foundation - Winners were announced last night, and Bungie went home with the goods! Congrats to Marty O'Donnell, Jay Weinland, C Paul Johnson, and Mat Noguchi! (Thanks to Marty for the heads-up.) (Louis Wu 21:07:32 UTC) (permalink)

Vote for Bungie
Bryan Simon put up Vote for Bungie, a political song we can all get behind. It's only tangentially Halo-related, but it's funny, if only for the thought of voting for Shishka for public office. If you'd rather listen than watch, the mp3 is available from us (2.8 mb). Thanks to The Handmade Hero for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 21:01:50 UTC) (permalink)

Xtreme Deer Sightings
Inside Halo 23 was released today - Solid Snake, Halo news, Achievement stuff, and Top Plays of the Week. (And randomness.) Thanks, AvatarAang. (Louis Wu 20:59:05 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Wars: Field Trip to Harvest
As we mentioned on Thursday, there was a new cinematic unveiled on GameTrailers TV last night - DHalo pointed it out while it was being broadcast, and then Impervium passed along the online link once it went live. It's a pretty impressive piece of animation - and it unveils quite a number of tidbits of the upcoming Halo Wars storyline. Go watch it - and then jump into the thread linked above and toss in your two cents! Update: looks like the entire episode is online - you can see more Halo Wars content, including Campaign gameplay, in there. Thanks, Bzerker01. (Louis Wu 14:59:29 UTC) (permalink)

Teabag Prevention #22 - Valhalla
Jake108 let us know that Teabag Prevention #22 is now up - this one covers Valhalla. Check it out for tips and tricks! (Louis Wu 14:59:09 UTC) (permalink)

You had something they didn't.
Heh - here's an interesting use of Halo 3 audio, in a trailer for a new video series honoring Kobe Bryant. Thanks, LD2k. (Louis Wu 14:49:19 UTC) (permalink)

You're Doing It Wrong - Results
AnTi PRO, from Arm The Flag, let us know that their Doing it Wrong contest (we mentioned it in mid-September) has been completed, and winners have been announced. Follow the links for the top three winners, plus a bunch of honorable mentions. Funny stuff! (Louis Wu 14:40:56 UTC) (permalink)

Multiplay Halo 3 Cup
There's a 4v4 Halo 3 tourney kicking off in a few weeks in the UK - it takes place in Stoneleigh Park (near Coventry, Warwickshire), and the total purse is £2000 (half of that goes to first place). Full details can be found on their website, with rules showing up here. (Louis Wu 14:35:21 UTC) (permalink)

More ZZoMBiE Reconstruction Art
ZZoMBiE13 continues to create artwork inspired by the RvB: Reconstruction machinima series. His latest offering is an imagining of a scene in Episode 6 - it's viewable at DeviantART, or in Wallpaper form right here. (He's also returned to work on an older image of the Meta - the sketch can be found here.) (Louis Wu 14:31:13 UTC) (permalink)

FFPotW - running behind
The crew at the the HBO Fan Fiction forum is a bit slow right now - Mark25 has just posted the Fan Fiction Pick of the Week... for LAST week. Oops. Thanks, A Halo Fan...natic. (Louis Wu 14:29:47 UTC) (permalink)

McFarlane Action Figures - Helmet Pack Update
InnerRayg pointed out some news from Spawn.com about the new helmet-packs coming out for McFarlane action figures - looking pretty slick! You can keep up on ALL McFarlane figure options by checking out their new Halo Product page - pretty slick. (Louis Wu 14:29:25 UTC) (permalink)

BlueNinjaPanos
BlueNinja has posted another bunch of panoramic shots at his Views from the Edge website - read his post for more details! (Louis Wu 14:28:58 UTC) (permalink)

Bungie Weekly Update - with some meat on them bones!
Brian and Luke are in Tokyo for the Tokyo Game Show (which starts next Thursday, so the Bungie Weekly Update was left to Shishka this week. And as much as I'd like to say that one should never, ever leave Shishka in charge... I have to admit, it's a pretty sweet update. There's quite a bit of info about the upcoming changes to the Bungie.net filesharing capabilities - that screenshot search looks gorgeous! There's a very, very welcome new addition from Roger Wolfson - 'Render to Video' for Bungie.net film clips. (I love GameVee as much as the next guy, but having it built into the Halo 3 system makes far more sense.) There are details on the changes in store for Halo 3 matchmaking in October (the new playlists are finally nailed down on the Playlist page, so you can see just how long you're going to have to wait for that Oddball game in DLC FFA). There are details about getting the 7 on 7 Achievement, available for the first time this coming Tuesday - one tidbit I hadn't realized is that you have to enter the playlist AFTER you win your seventh game, or it won't register. (This is pretty critical if you decide to use the Icy Treats list that is going up specifically for the achievement... because if you log off after your seventh win, thinking you've gotten it, by the time you come back the next day, you won't have a CHANCE to get back in.) And finally, there's a description of how the new Banhammer features are deciding whether you're cheating or not - apparently, they haven't found a false positive yet, despite a LOT of complaining. That, to me, is pretty interesting. (If you want to sleep well at night, skip the final picture in the update.) You can, as always, read this update in our Weekly Update Archive. (Louis Wu 12:23:18 UTC) (permalink)

News October 3 2008

New panoramas from RVideo
We got a couple of new panoramas from RVideo - a gorgeous shot of the Ark (325k), and a cool shot of a Pelican (140k). Check 'em out! (Louis Wu 17:14:15 UTC) (permalink)

Master Chief's Cutoffs - 204
smiley let us know that Master Chief's Cutoffs (outtakes for the Master Chief Theater 3000 series) has been updated with Episode 204. You must be a member of pyrosmile.org to watch. Update: looks like Episode 205 is available on YouTube, as well. (Louis Wu 17:12:58 UTC) (permalink)

My, what a big bomb you have!
It's time for another round of Friday Caption Fun, from Hawty McBloggy - she's got some good answers for last week's shot, as well as a pretty nice perspective trick for this week's shot. Go see what you can come up with! (Louis Wu 14:32:09 UTC) (permalink)

Pieces to the Puzzle
TTL Demag0gue pointed out that Reclaimer 95 is online - the pieces are starting to fall into place. Well, for the Reclaimer, anyway, if not for us. (Louis Wu 14:30:15 UTC) (permalink)

Friday's Fan Fiction
Light addition to the Fan Fiction section this week - just six pieces. Go read! (Louis Wu 14:28:41 UTC) (permalink)

News October 2 2008

Fight Like a Girl
KP has a way with words - but it's not always the way you want to go. A nice example is his intro to the Cavegirls' Fight Like a Girl tournament, coming up in 3 weeks - it will benefit breast and cervical cancer research, and it promises to be a blast, if the last couple of years are any indication. Signups started yesterday - read his post, laugh a little, then swing by and sign up! (Louis Wu 23:38:27 UTC) (permalink)

That just looks... painful.
Devin Olsen, jealous of the press Hawty McBloggy gets by turning up unique Halo action figures on eBay, has found his own truly bizarre creation - a Custom Halo 3 Hayabusa Spartan... with wrist blades. Yep, you read that right - this guy could take on Wolverine. (Given that his blades are 2-3x as long as Wolverine's, he might even win.) (Louis Wu 20:00:38 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Photoshoot (pre-edit)
Adam Grumbo sent us a link to a series of photos taken at a recent shoot at the Austin Airport. All I can say is... dang. Nice work! He hastens to point out that these have not been digitally edited at all. Update: Hawty McBloggy has put out a call for folks to 'shop these pics... go read her writeup, and then add your own goodies! (Louis Wu 19:31:40 UTC) (permalink)

Hard Justice: Episode 1
DigitalPh33r's Hard Justice: Episode 1 is now up on YouTube. I'm a little confused - it looks like he just added 4 new minutes to the 4-minute 'promo' released a couple of weeks ago. (I guess I always thought a 'promo' was suppose to give you a taste of what the full version would be like, not BE the first half of the full version - but I've certainly been wrong before.) The series looks to be commentary on an overbearing police state... judgement is reserved until more content is released. Thanks, UnSiLeNtSlAyEr. (Louis Wu 19:04:43 UTC) (permalink)

MLG Pro Circuit - Dallas
The MLG Pro Circuit continues with MLG Dallas, opening tomorrow night. You can read the full preview here, on MLGPro.com. There's plenty of other Dallas content up now or coming soon - pro players put in their own predictions for which team will garner the 8th National Championship spot by winning this weekend, and there'll be lots of video coverage, starting with the Pre Game Show tomorrow night at 9 eastern. Swing by and root for your favorite team! (Louis Wu 18:46:26 UTC) (permalink)

Double XP at Halo3RPG.com, too
xen eldridge let us know that Halo3RPG.com is also running a Double XP weekend this weekend - Team Incineration. (Louis Wu 18:45:51 UTC) (permalink)

EXP is back - and Team Snipers is Up
This morning, Bungie posted a final update in their ongoing saga about the Experience problems folks have been having on LIVE. Looks like everything is finally worked out - but Experience not gained in the last couple of days will NOT be retroactively assigned. On the plus side, the Double XP weekend has just gone live - this weekend, it's Team Snipers. Go shoot someone! (Louis Wu 18:00:48 UTC) (permalink)

Scared of the lights
OddGodHMK let us know that The Biased, Chapter 1, Page 8 is up - things are getting weird. (Louis Wu 17:58:25 UTC) (permalink)

I'm sorry about your planet!
Captain Spark dropped off another batch of dialogue snippets harvested from Halo 3 - check 'em out in our Dialogue Databank. Good stuff in there! (Louis Wu 16:27:20 UTC) (permalink)

Multiple Penetration, by Hawty McBloggy
Hawty McBloggy is trying to get better with a Spartan Laser - looks like she might still need a little work. In the meantime, though, she's found a video with some pretty impressive laser kills... go watch! (Louis Wu 14:30:47 UTC) (permalink)

Stu Beattie discusses Fall of Reach script
GameDaily has interviewed Stuart Beattie, the guy behind the spec Halo script that recently inspired concept art - he talks about why he wrote it, what it's about, and why you'll love it. Go read. Thanks, Psychophan7. (Louis Wu 14:28:22 UTC) (permalink)

A Halo CE Roadtrip Redux
Siliconmaster482 has revisited his idea of showcasing the Halo Custom Edition maps created by the community (we mentioned his first attempt about 3 years ago) - he's created a five-minute, high-quality video that shows off a huge number of maps (though really only the middle two and a half minutes contain actual footage). You'll find details and links to downloads and streaming versions in his forum post. (Louis Wu 14:25:53 UTC) (permalink)

Game with Fame: Four Bands
More Game with Fame stuff coming up - on October 7, four bands will be online to play Halo 3 with you. Swing by Xbox.com for details, and info on how to get involved. (Louis Wu 14:12:49 UTC) (permalink)

Ark panoramas
nomis78 whipped out another pair of Ark panoramas - they're images we've seen before, but the composition on both is pretty nice. Check 'em out! (Louis Wu 14:12:25 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Wars on GTTV
According to this GameTrailers TV promo, Halo Wars will be shown this Friday night at 1 am on GameTrailers TV (and after that on GameTrailers.com) - 'exclusive Campaign coverage' and more. Thanks, LoneRanger 2.5. (Louis Wu 14:12:00 UTC) (permalink)

More Halo Goodies in the Fable II LCE
What the... Ross Mills pointed out an article at Kotaku that details the contents of the Fable II Limited Collector's Edition - and among the stuff you'd EXPECT in a fantasy game, there's a listing for "Spartan armor and energy sword". Now, we already knew about the Spartan armor - but there's an energy sword, too? Wonga. (Louis Wu 14:10:44 UTC) (permalink)

News October 1 2008

Just Add Strategy
Edge has posted a worrying piece on Halo Wars - they wonder if Ensemble has dumbed down (well... de-complicated) the RTS genre in an attempt to appeal to the FPS crowd that is Halo's main audience at the moment... and in doing so has managed to create a game that appeals to neither Halo's base nor the typical RTS fan. Here's hoping they're worrying needlessly! (Louis Wu 21:50:13 UTC) (permalink)

Microsoft's Halo team - and info on Bungie's next reveal
I wasn't going to post this, because much of the information (Payton, Yu, etc) had already been circulated... but then we got a tidbit I hadn't seen before. So: Edge Online (thanks, Michael Smith), along with ShackNews and Joystiq (thanks, bentllama) are reporting that Microsoft is confirming some of the new, big hires of the internal Halo team at Microsoft Game Studios: Ryan Payton, who worked on Metal Gear Solid 4, is heading up the Peter Jackson Halo project, working alongside Ex-Gearbox programmer Corrine Yu, her husband Kenneth Scott, formerly of Id, David Wu, from Pseudo Interactive, and Frank O'Connor, formerly of Bungie. (And, as we now know, Nathan 'bentllama' Walpole, also formerly of Bungie.) A pretty all-star team! Edge also confirms that there will be a major announcement from Bungie at next week's Tokyo Game Show, with reference to the recently released 'KEEP IT CLEAN' teaser. (Louis Wu 20:54:47 UTC) (permalink)

405th Source, Issue 01
Adam Grumbo, from the 405th Infantry Division, let us know that the first issue of the 405th Ezine is now available for download, in PDF format. It's hefty - weighs in at 21 mb - but it's chock-full of interesting stuff, and well worth the download for any Halo fan. There are spotlights on costume creators, interviews with community celebrities (author Eric Nylund and actress Kristen Rutherford from the I Love Bees campaign), tutorials, fiction, and more. Like everything these guys put out, this is polished and professional looking; grab your copy now! (Louis Wu 16:01:30 UTC) (permalink)

Movin' On Up
If you were wondering what sort of experience was needed for each playlist advancement (as opposed to the TrueSkill rank advancement), Grunts R Us is here to help. Check out their Playlist Progression Ranking page. Next stop - a dee-luxe apartment. (Louis Wu 14:59:45 UTC) (permalink)

Church Art
ZZoMBiE13 continues to bring life to moments and characters from the RvB: Reconstruction series - his latest work is called 'Ghost Church'. Take a look! (Louis Wu 14:38:08 UTC) (permalink)

Unpacking a Virus... and Linked
TTL Demag0gue has posted the latest Reclaimer - #94 gets Reclaimer a little closer to understanding the relationship between Ferial and Viper. And Raulboy stopped by with a new pair of The White Space comics. (Louis Wu 14:30:46 UTC) (permalink)

KEEP IT CLEAN: JAVA EDITION
Over at NeoGAF, Bryant pointed out that he'd created a fun little Java applet for a Computer Science class at school - no actual image files used. We're mirroring the content, to save his bandwidth. Take a look - it's great! (Louis Wu 14:27:05 UTC) (permalink)

You're coming with me
Decommissioner ran across a t-shirt at Split Reason that pays homage to the ever-so-satisfying Kill from the Grave. I might just buy that... (Louis Wu 14:24:57 UTC) (permalink)

How did YOU want the Trilogy to end?
Hawty McBloggy has invited a guest writer who looks at what he considers flaws in the Halo storyline, and how it turned out. Give it a read, and see if you agree! (Louis Wu 14:24:28 UTC) (permalink)

Top 50 Xbox Characters
Decommissioner noticed a Top 50 Xbox Characters article at Gameplayer - Halo provides entries on pages 5 and 11. Not bad! (Louis Wu 14:21:23 UTC) (permalink)

October 2008

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