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December 19, 2004 Link to this post
Halo 2: Mediocre Start in Gamespot's Best Of
Gamespot has kicked off its Best and Worst of 2004 - there's a recap of the year (surprisingly, Halo 2's $125 million first day didn't make the list of notable events), and a bunch of Special Achievement awards. Halo 2 was up for Best Original Music, but lost; Best Sound Effects, but lost; Best Original Game Mechanic, but lost; they weren't even in the running for Best Story, or Best Graphics. They DID take home Best Multiplayer Game, so that's something. There's still more to come on this one - but the intro isn't very promising. Thanks, MiD33. (Louis Wu 15:38:40 UTC)
December 19, 2004 Link to this post
ONI S3 Up and Running
Zero Flaw has been working on O.N.I. Section Three for quite a long time - it's starting to look fleshed out. Explore it for a look into (one fan's view of) the Office of Naval Intelligence. (Louis Wu 14:58:18 UTC)
December 17, 2004 Link to this post
UK Tourney
And... a UK tourney, too. Vagusnet.com is hosting an online Halo 2 tourney, starting in about a month, open to all residents of the UK. More details can be found on their web page. Thanks, GameSHOUT. (Louis Wu 19:44:20 UTC)
December 15, 2004 Link to this post
Older maps, and where they fit
I've turned off the poll we started last week (Which map would you like to see return for Halo 2?) - the results are still up, and it's clear that the two favorite choices were Hang 'em High and Sidewinder, but it's also clear that almost EVERY map in Halo had its proponents. Please be aware that this poll has no binding effect on ANYTHING - Bungie saw it, but they're not obligated in any way to follow it. If they choose to release Halo maps, redone for the Halo 2 engine, you can be sure that they'll take this information into account - but there are other factors (like the new weapon balance, and so on) that are possibly more important; the choices they make will take into account ALL the factors, not just what some of us would LIKE to see. (Louis Wu 16:55:19 UTC)
December 15, 2004 Link to this post
Awards for all
Wow, I guess it's Awards time. As many people might remember, last night was the broadcast of SpikeTV's Video Game Awards 2004 - Halo 2 was up for a bunch of stuff, but GTA: San Andreas took most of it home. Jason Jones won Designer of the Year for the game, and Halo 2 won Best First Person Action. (An easier place to view the entire list of winners is Australia's The Age - thanks, Brett C.) Interestingly, Ron Perlman accepted the Shooter award on behalf of Bungie - thanks, Spike. The Gaming Big Boys did awards stuff too, last night:
- IGN's Best of 2004: Halo 2 takes home Best First-Person Shooter, Best Xbox Live Game, Best Soundtrack, Best Use of Sound, Most Innovative Design (for Bungie.net's XBL stats), and Xbox Game of the Year, with a Runner-Up prize in Best Graphics. (There's also some wallpaper to download.) Thanks, Jonathan Rivas.
- Gamespot has announced their Best and Worst of 2004 (the actual countdown starts on Friday), and Halo 2 is nominated for Best Original Music, Best Sound Effects, Best Multiplayer Game, Best Original Game Mechanic, Biggest Disappointment, Best Shooter, and Best Xbox Game. Thanks, KP.
And if all that awards stuff isn't enough for you, Voodoo Extreme is holding another Halo 2 vs Half-Life 2 poll - I guess Gamespy's ridiculous months-long one recently wasn't enough. (Half-Life 2 is currently kicking booty.) (Louis Wu 14:17:09 UTC)
December 14, 2004 Link to this post
Stryke Force Starts Up
Feenix dropped us a line about a new machinima series known as Stryke Force - a promo video and the first full episode are now posted. Video quality is quite good, and the story is intriguing... can't wait for the next episode! Take a look. (WMP9 format, 20.5 mb for Episode 1 - the promo vid is DivX format, and 9 mb. The Opening credits are included in the first episode, so unless you HAVE to have the hi-res version of them, you can save yourself the 8 mb download.) And don't forget to stop by their forum and let 'em know what you think! Update: well, that didn't last long. We got word about 2 hours after we posted this that the site had gone down for exceeding its bandwidth. (I'd have posted this note earlier had I noticed, sorry.) I can't do anything about helping out right now - but it's possible I can get a copy of the vid up later today. (Louis Wu 02:14:25 UTC)
December 13, 2004 Link to this post
I got a Dancin' Jones...
Hmm. A couple of days ago, Mr. Mojo Risin posted a note on our forum about a sighting of a nearly-naked Jason Jones in a cutscene in Halo 2. (Full details are in the forum post.) It wasn't until today that BOLL managed to snag a decent screenshot of this... and with the help of Tsmola, who pointed out the origin of the image, another Halo 2 egg is fully revealed. (Also, BOLL pulls down the coveted PostTacular with this news item - 4 in a day.) Warning - the thread contains story spoilers, to some degree. (Louis Wu 22:14:50 UTC)
December 12, 2004 Link to this post
Upping the quality, and a Kilimanjaro to boot!
TheTaintedOne posted a true widescreen (16:9) video (WMP9 format) captured of a game of FFA Melee Ball (the rules are explained in the forum post). He explained how he created the film in this thread on the HaloTV forum. Takes some higher-end video-editing software... but the results are quite nice! (Louis Wu 03:07:56 UTC)
December 12, 2004 Link to this post
Those guys keep writing...
New content added to Xbox.com since the last roundup we did:
- Strategy: The Perfect Clan - How to set up a clan
- Web Integration - Making the most of the Bungie.net resources
- Map Strategy: Tight Spots - Coverage of small maps
- Map Strategy: Zanzibar - Coverage of (duh) Zanzibar
- Strategy: Ghost Riding - Best tricks on a ghost
- Secrets of the Covenant - Story overview from the Covenant side
- Tips and Tricks - General strategies
- The Big One - Overview of a major portion of the Halo story arc
- Big One Tips - Followup on The Big One
- A Peek at Halo 2's Story - Teasers, mostly
- First Level Walkthrough - Cairo Station
- Scott Land: Weapons of Choice - Weapons overview
- This week in Xbox - 3, 2, 1, Launch! - OXM overview of XBL Halo 2 gameplay
- The 7th Column - Overview of Bungie's group site
- GamerSpeak: My Halo 2 Launch Party - One group's experience getting started
- Welcome to Earth - Walkthrough of Outskirts and Metropolis
It should go without saying, many of these contain spoilers. Whew. THAT should keep you busy for a while! (Louis Wu 02:54:11 UTC)
December 11, 2004 Link to this post
Now THAT'S Art.
prometheus has updated his site devoted to Halo Environmental Art, The Halouvre, with new 1600x1200 (and smaller) HUDless Halo 2 screens... and a tutorial on how to make your own. (I gotta say... it looks HARD. Or at least time-consuming.) Check it out! (Louis Wu 17:47:44 UTC)
December 10, 2004 Link to this post
News Roundup
Today's Halo Around the Net:
- The New Hampshire (UNH Student Newspaper) - Halo 2 addiction
- The Desert Sun (Palm Springs,CA) - Halo 2 on a big screen rocks
- Joystiq - another Flash Stats aggregator. Thanks, ICDedPpl.
- GameIndustry.biz - Halo 2 leads sales for November, but GTA San Andreas leads for the year.
- Washington Post - the rise of popular music in video games (with Halo 2 as a prime example). Thanks, Anton P. Nym (who actually found it at MSNBC).
December 8, 2004 Link to this post
Third Person View, FOV Increase
Wow, nice. Over on the Gearbox forums, bitterbanana has released a mod that works with both HaloCE and HaloPC - it expands your field of view (works nicely on widescreen monitors) and lets you view yourself from behind (third-person camera). Nice! Thanks, VerdaFolio. (Louis Wu 14:45:33 UTC)
December 7, 2004 Link to this post
Bungie.net forum outage
There's a note over at Bungie.net about an upcoming outage - starting around 1:30 pm Pacific time today, their forums will be down for roughly 12 hours for maintenance. Remember - they have a LOT of new visitors these days... they see a LOT of new posts, and all of them need to be adjusted right now. Thanks to lots of people - Michael S was first. (Louis Wu 11:37:06 UTC)
December 6, 2004 Link to this post
Halo Net News
An interesting grab-bag of articles from around the net this morning:
- Yale Daily News - Halo 2 interfering with grades
- Stuff (NZ) - Halo is 'about as close to a perfect game as you can get.'
- Winston-Salem (NC) Journal - Halo 2 is a must-have gift
- Austin360 - Big-Screen Halo 2 tourneys at the Alamo Drafthouse
- Washington Post - Op-Ed lamenting the rise of video games in general (and Halo 2 in particular) and their effect on study habits - thanks, Free at Last
- HowStuffWorks - Gift-Buying Guide lists Halo and Halo 2 as the 'gift of obsession' - thanks, Rip-Saw
Remember - if you run into articles that need a login to read, always try bugmenot.com first. (Louis Wu 14:34:35 UTC)
December 6, 2004 Link to this post
I haven't seen THAT for a while...
Pcsme found a truly retro Halo-themed logon screen for Windows users at WinCustomize. It's so old, it's new! (Louis Wu 14:20:09 UTC)
December 3, 2004 Link to this post
Halo CE Movie Contest
Gearbox Software, EPG Servers, and Halo Maps have teamed up to present a pretty nice contest; create a 90 second video on the theme 'Play Halo CE', and win free dedicated server hosting for Halo CE and Gearbox schwag. The full details can be found over at the Halo Maps website. You've got December 31 to get your entry in - go read the rules and get started! (Louis Wu 21:21:17 UTC)
December 3, 2004 Link to this post
Paper before pixel
Bentllama has updated his blog with some fascinating sketches - early work he did to teach himself how Elites moved. You want to see where an animator starts? Check this stuff out. (Louis Wu 10:45:02 UTC)
December 1, 2004 Link to this post
Halo Too.
A few days ago, Randy Glass put forth his thoughts about Halo 2 - and they inspired one community member to... well, go postal. The thread got locked soon after (before I had a chance to weigh in), and after calming down, the same fan started a new, calmer thread. It's so far generated quite a bit of insightful commentary about Halo 2, and how it differs from Halo, and is worth a read if you've already finished the game. (There are a number of posts in the thread containing spoilers.) The incident also, however, inspired Stuntmutt to look at the entire issue through the lens of One One Se7en - can humor defang the rabid fans? Let's see. (Louis Wu 15:57:14 UTC)
November 30, 2004 Link to this post
Cairo Station, Legendary - in 10 minutes.
Last week, a few people turned in speed runs of Outskirts - and I mentioned that I'd really love to see a speed run of Cairo Station, on Legendary. Today, Cody Miller obliged. I was amazed. It's not perfect - he dies twice (in the same place both times), but man... it's beautiful. 10:19, from start to finish. The film is QuickTime format, 64.8 mb, 480x360 (just like the GNF speedruns). Grab a copy, and check out the shortcuts you missed! (Louis Wu 15:36:29 UTC)
November 29, 2004 Link to this post
CAL adds Halo 2
the DJ points out that CAL (The CyberAthlete Amateur League) has picked up Halo 2, starting in January. There's no news yet - but the Halo 2 Division exists. More details to come! (Louis Wu 10:12:52 UTC)
November 28, 2004 Link to this post
Halorama Redux
About a year and a half ago, BOLL started creating panoramic views of Halo, using custom-built software and some video-captured footage. He's back... with his first set of Halo 2 Panoramas. At this point, he's using a modded controller to make his life easier, and he's put together a nice little flash interface for viewing the panoramas. We'll add more images as he submits them. (If you don't have Javascript enabled, or Flash installed, you can simply click on the thumbnails to see full-sized versions of the images with no fancy interface.) Right now there are 4 multiplayer strips, and 6 single-player ones (from 3 levels). The Delta Halo strips are GORGEOUS! (Louis Wu 22:24:15 UTC)
November 28, 2004 Link to this post
Pathways Redux
Normally, we keep Bungie-related news that's not Halo-based on its own subsection of Bungie.org... but I'm not sure where Hamish is right now, so I don't know when this news will make it onto the front page of the PiD section. Several days ago, Robin Osborne alerted us to Pathways Redux, a (then) upcoming mod for Doom 3 that reproduces Pathways into Darkness. By this time, it's actually been released - it's a 13 mb download. I haven't seen it in action yet - I don't have a copy of Doom 3 - but the readme suggests that the author, Brendon Chung, cared an awful lot about this project - so the chances are good that it's pretty faithful to the original. (The two screenshots on the site are pretty impressive!) If you've got a copy of Doom 3, give this mod a try - see what 10-year-old Bungie programming can inspire! (Louis Wu 15:04:57 UTC)
November 27, 2004 Link to this post
Ode to Bungie
Ryan 'Mhaddy' Matthews, over at the Junkyard, has started up the 'Write a Poem for Bungie' contest - well, actually, it starts up on Monday. No Haiku, unfortunately... but pretty much everything else is fair game. Lots o' schwag for prizes. Check it out! (Louis Wu 18:50:38 UTC)
November 25, 2004 Link to this post
Artwork now up
Yay... finally. I've made a dent on the Miscellaneous Art queue! There's still plenty more to post, but I've posted 30 pieces today; I'm giving thanks to the artists who've waited so long to see their work posted. And that will pretty much do it for the day... time to start cooking turkey, and waiting on guests. Happy Thanksgiving, all! (Louis Wu 15:10:09 UTC)
November 24, 2004 Link to this post
Halo at a discount
If you need a cheap copy of Halo 2, and you live in the US, you've got a shot on eBay; SYSTEMS pointed out an auction where someone tried it for 10 minutes (it was a gift) and put it on the shelf. Starting bid is $30, Buy it Now price is $40, and the auction ends in 15 hours or so (it was a 1-day thing to begin with). (Louis Wu 10:21:41 UTC)
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