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Watch Halo evolve in Did You Know Gaming's latest video
Did You Know Gaming explores the birth of the Halo series in its latest video, which drops some fascinating insight into the first-person shooter's references to Bungie's previous games. The video also dabbles in Halo's previous Apple exclusivity and discusses how it became a Microsoft property.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection review: Chief salad
Xbox One Before Halo 2 launched in 2004, I must have watched the trailer a hundred times – easily accessible from its permanent home on my college computer's desktop. Like many fans, my anticipation for the Xbox follow-up was ... let's say substantial. And, like many fans, I was a little disappointed by the campaign and its abrupt, cliffhanger ending. Thankfully, a genre-defining multiplayer suite did more than enough to salve any abrasions left behind by the rough campaign. Now, ten years later, 343 Industries and Saber Interactive have taken another energy sword stab at Halo's most maligned moment, slathering it with pristine visuals, a fully remastered musical score and gorgeously recreated CG cutscenes for Halo: The Master Chief Collection. All of these additions go a long way toward delivering the kind of grandiosity that original developer Bungie probably intended, even if they don't quite take away the sting of the campaign's final minutes (or some of the less interesting levels, for that matter). And this time around, you've got every single main series Halo game to soothe any lingering discontent, including Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 3 and Halo 4. That's every campaign level across all four games, every multiplayer map, player-created maps and gametype sharing, saved films, and a lovely kitchen sink, all flowing at a liquid 60 frames-per-second.
The Dark Below is real
Remember The Dark Below? The speculation and the agony? The short-lived controversy? Even after it was revealed to be a hoax, there were still a few who insisted that The Dark Below really was a thing. In a nutshell, they were right. The Dark Below really truly is an expansion. Just not for WoW. You may have heard of Destiny, the much-anticipated upcoming MMO from Bungie -- the studio famous for its creation of the Halo franchise. It's to Bungie that The Dark Below belongs, and it's the title of Destiny's first expansion. You see, those interested players who purchase one of the two Destiny collector's edition releases: Destiny: Ghost Edition or Destiny: Limited Edition will get special access to the Destiny Expansion Pass, which includes Expansion 1: The Dark Below, and Expansion 2: House of Wolves. So there you have it, everyone. The Dark Below is alive and well, albeit in an altogether different virtual universe, owned and developed by a different studio in a different state. Thus ends forever the mystery of The Dark Below. May it rest in peace, and live up to its, uh, Destiny.
Destiny gets classy with PS4 gameplay trailer
Destiny, the Bungie-developed multiplayer shooter set in "the last city on Earth" (our guess is Boise, Idaho), received a new video today. The developer discusses its approach to crafting the game and briefly explains the skills and abilities players will use that are unique to each of Destiny's character classes. The gameplay shown in the trailer is from Destiny's PS4 version, but the game will also arrive on September 9 for Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PS3. Bungie recently offered a look at the game's loot after announcing plans to launch a beta version of the cooperative FPS in July. We spent some time with the "$500 million bet" from Activision in video preview form back in April. [Image: Bungie]
Rumor: Halo 1-4 bundled in Master Chief Collection for Xbox One
The saga of Master Chief will be packaged up in Halo: The Master Chief Collection for Xbox One this year, Engadget reported. The bundle will seemingly combine Bungie's Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 and Halo 3 as well as 343 Industries' contribution, Halo 4, into one HD-remastered pack. The Master Chief Collection will apparently ignore Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach in order to hone in on the story of the iconic hero. The bundle would tide fans of the series over for the time being, as Halo 5: Guardians is slated to launch on Xbox One in fall 2015. [Image: Microsoft]
Halo mastermind takes his sci-fi shooter chops to mobile gaming with Industrial Toys
Alex Seropian, Bungie co-founder and creator of the Halo franchise, has a new studio focused on creating mobile, hardcore games, and his first title is going to be -- wait for it -- a sci-fi shooter.As a hardcore game, Industrial Toys' sci-fi shooter utilizes Unreal Engine and will exist in a world similar in size to the Elder Scrolls or World of Warcraft universes, Seropian said. As a web-based title, it may have some similarities to Team Fortress 2, president Tim Harris suggested after we asked about any online multiplayer capabilities:"It's interesting you bring up TF2," Harris said, laughing.That's where the familiarity from Industrial Toys ends: Seropian and Harris, the latter formerly of Seven Lights, are looking to innovate the touchscreen-control space in a major way, while adding community features integrated on a level other mobile games can't, well, touch.
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary supports 3D TVs
Microsoft has announced that Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary will have a 3D display mode. This confirms another piece of information from the report we gave you in February. Demonstrated to us at the recent Gamescom event in Germany, Halo's 3D intensity is scalable and only works in the game's updated graphics mode. Producer Dan Ayoub claims the framerate will stay "consistent" with 3D activated, even when things get hectic. The 3D experience will not be available in splitscreen co-op, nor when shifting over to Halo's original graphics engine. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary will be available on November 15.
Bungie fan porting Marathon to iPad, Marathon Infinity going open source
Daniel Blezek has been working on an iPad port of Bungie's nearly 20-year-old franchise for quite some time now -- more or less since the iPad launched in January of 2010, he says. Years of perseverance, a loving family, and some basic technical chops allowed Blezek to complete the port recently. Bungie and Blezek expect it to arrive on the App Store any minute, pending Apple approval, for the low, low price of zero dollars. If that weren't enough, Bungie has released the final game of the Marathon trilogy, Infinity, to the open source community, meaning it's likely to be included in the iPad App. Between the release of an iOS App recently and Marathon this week, it looks as though Bungie's support for the iOS platform is really up and running.
Bungie gives out blue flaming helmets in Halo: Reach
You know, when we think about heads on fire, we don't think about Bungie's illustrious flaming helmets in Halo. It's because we could never have one; we're not Bungie employees. Now we all can enjoy the loss of tactical advantage that only comes from having a head on fire! Bungie's giving the flaming helmets in Halo: Reach (plus a special name plate) to anyone who registers on Bungie.net or through the recently released iOS app -- you have until "the close of Bungie Day" on July 7 to get yours. Oh, and if you're wondering about Bungie Aerospace, keep wondering: Bungie's still not talking. Hit the jump for a PSA video produced by Bungie if you're looking for some more animated coverage.
Bungie celebrates 20 years with promise of Bungie Aerospace reveal, free iOS app
It's hard to believe that the house that built Halo has been around for nearly 20 years, and only kicked off the past decade of Halo games halfway through its lifespan, but that's the case. The now-independent developer is celebrating the big two zero this year, and in typical Bungie fashion the studio will be offering a variety of special items to its fans, starting with an already released (and free) iOS app. For those of you who without an iOS device, a whole mess of other things will be going down between June 23 and July 7 -- "Bungie Day" -- such as special additions to the Bungie store. And more importantly to us, the still mysterious "Bungie Aerospace" will be explained "in explicit detail. You can also win some totally serious actual steaks if you beat the Bungie dudes in Halo: Reach "by 20 kills or more" on July 7 -- a difficult feat for sure, but one worthy of earning the title "Steaktacular." The team will be in Reach multiplayer for all 24 hours of that day. [Thanks, Tyler C]
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary vs Halo: Combat Evolved: FIGHT!
You've seen Halo: Combat Evolved. You've seen Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. But have you seen the two compared side-by-side? We've got you covered! As seen above and in the gallery below, the remastered version of the original Halo has seen some pretty enormous updates. Check out that lighting!
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary multiplayer maps are for Halo: Reach [update: maps playable on Anniversary disc]
A total of six multiplayer maps from Halo: Combat Evolved will be playable in Halo: Reach's online multiplayer along with a retooled campaign level for Firefight mode. Halo: CE Anniversary will not support Xbox Live multiplayer whatsoever (outside of co-op). These maps are for loading into Halo: Reach (think: ODST), according to comments made by 343 Industries' Frank O'Connor on Spike TV. He also said it will be a budget-priced game. Hit the jump for the teaser trailer shown during Microsoft's E3 2011 press conference. Update: O' Connor clarified with Joystiq that Anniversary's multiplayer component, while employing the Reach engine, will still be playable on the Anniversary disc itself. The game will also include a voucher to download the maps for play within Halo: Reach. %Gallery-125553%
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary coming November 15, 2011
As expected, Microsoft has announced a remake for Halo: Combat Evolved to celebrate the series' 10th anniversary. The revamped version of the original Xbox launch title will deploy on November 15, 2011, boasting assassinations, online co-op and a fully remastered campaign. Update: David Ellis, 343 Industries' content producer, hit Twitter to clarify that you can "switch between classic & new graphics" in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. Good to know!
New logo, trademark lend credence to Bungie 'Destiny' project
Doing the detective work of any good fansite, HBO.org has turned up more evidence of the rumored "Destiny" MMOFPS in development at Bungie Studios / Bungie Aerospace / whatever Bungie wants to call itself. The site discovered that a company named "Podophobia Entertainment," formed by Bungie head Harold Ryan and music composer Marty O'Donnell, had registered a trademark for "Destiny" with the image seen above. The filing is classified under "Computer game software; Computer game software downloadable from a global computer network; Video game software; Virtual reality game software." "Destiny" is just the latest in a series of filings by the Halo dev studio, most recently incorporating "Bungie Aerospace" and trademarking "Crimson" for use with "Computer game software downloadable from a global computer network; Computer game software for use on mobile and cellular phones; Downloadable computer game software via a global computer network and wireless devices." As you might expect, Bungie has remained quiet on the filings and has yet to respond to our requests for comment.
Bungie Aerospace Corporation trademarks 'Crimson,' mystery continues
Bungie's trademark frenzy continues with the discovery of a trademark filing for "Crimson" within the past several days. GameSpot UK spotted the listing on the US Patent and Trademark Office website, which denotes "Crimson" as being "Computer game software downloadable from a global computer network; Computer game software for use on mobile and cellular phones; Downloadable computer game software via a global computer network and wireless devices." Presumably, whatever "Crimson" is won't be all three of those things. Interestingly, the filing applies to newly incorporated Bungie Aerospace (rather than Bungie Studios proper), while Bungie's previous trademark applications were all filed by a proxy corporation (as to hide their origins). As with previous reports, we've contacted Bungie for a comment, but don't expect to hear much back. Nor do we expect to hear anything at E3, as the studio has specifically said it won't be attending this year's show.
'Bungie Aerospace' incorporates, according to filings
The halo of fog surrounding Bungie's mysterious "Bungie Aerospace" logo/trademark grows murkier with the recent discovery of filings in both Washington and Delaware for "Bungie Aerospace Corporation." HBO.org unearthed the Washington state filing, dated April 27 of this year, which notes the company's initial incorporation in business-friendly Delaware state just one week earlier on April 20. Unlike the Delaware filing, the Washington one lists Bungie president Harold Ryan and head of strategy and corporate development Ondraus Jenkins as "governing persons" of the new for profit business. Rather than mirroring their current roles at Bungie, though, it appears that Ryan will be acting as "director" of Bungie Aerospace Corporation while Jenkins will be acting "president." Also listed is secretary director Allan Parsons, which is either a joke reference to The Alan Parsons Project, or an alternative name for executive producer Pete Parsons, or an outside hire with no Google-logged experience in the game industry (believe us, we tried). Bungie Studios is currently working with Activision to develop a multiplatform title. Copyright filings and web domain registrations for several names from the summer of 2010 were also discovered earlier this year, though the studio has provided no clues as to what any of the filings mean. Bungie is also planning some form of private beta for a game (or games) that has yet to be announced.
Bungie Beta Tester program relaunches
Bungie is hard at work on something right now -- that's for sure. What that something is, however, remains the big question. You might be one of the first people to actually answer that -- but, having sworn on your life, be unable to tell anyone -- should you get picked by the studio to participate in its forthcoming beta-testing program. Launched last November and relaunched this week, the "Bungie Beta Tester" signup survey is currently live on the company's official site, asking all types of generic questions about participants' gaming habits. Given the generality of the questions, we didn't glean much from signing up. We did learn, though, that Grand Theft Auto is part of the "driving/fighting/shooting" genre. Thanks, Bungie! It's unclear whether this signup round has anything to do with the beta signup emails that the studio sent out earlier this year to select site members. We've asked Bungie for clarification.
April Fools: Bungie docks the Pimps at Sea on Facebook
Bungie's classic Pimps at Sea series has seen its highs and lows during its storied history -- Pimps at Sea 64, Call of Pimps: Sea Warfare, Ar Tonelico Navale: Pimps of Ar Sea El -- but fans are assuredly in for a treat with the company's latest iteration: PimpsVille for Facebook! Bungie COO "and trans-media marketing guru" Pete Parsons explains the new project by saying, "I was talking to Mark Zuckerberg yesterday – who just so happens to be a really close friend of mine – and he said Facebook has something like 500 million users. I'm thinking if we can get one dollar from every one of those guys, we can easily make a billion dollars." Truer words, Pete! No time has been given for the launch of PimpsVille, but we imagine that Bungie will wanna get out ahead of kids going on summer vacation. Or it'll never come out, because it's totally fake, but you never know. Weirder things have happened, right?
Bungie admits to MMO hoax
Are they or aren't they? This is the multi-million dollar question for Bungie Studios, who had all but confirmed that it was working on a MMO of sorts. Apparently, this was either a ruse, a goof or a massive misunderstanding, as a Bungie representative clarified David Aldridge's comments at GDC as being nothing more than a tongue-in-cheek joke. Bungie fans, prepare to have your heart broken, in three... two... one: "In rehearsal Aldridge was convinced that everybody got the joke. It was all in the delivery, he assured us, and he was certain it was clear that he was playfully riffing off of the recent rumors. Unfortunately, most people can't figure David out -- they can't process him. And we don't expect them to. You can't process David Aldridge with a normal brain. You'd need tiger blood and Adonis DNA." While the studio tried to laugh off the miscommunication, this is sad news indeed for MMO fans who had hoped that Bungie was jumping into the ring. Last month we heard unconfirmed reports that this alleged MMOFPS was being developed under the code-name of Destiny.
GDC 2011: Bungie's MMO won't be WoW in space
The top secret MMO project from Bungie continues to raise fan and industry eyebrows despite the absence of any real information about the title. The game, rumored to carry the code name Destiny, will be massively multiplayer, and it will be set against a space/sci-fi backdrop. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess as to what will actually emerge from the Halo-maker's secret laboratory. Joystiq has unearthed a blurb about the project from this week's GDC, wherein Bungie lead network engineer David Aldridge was overheard referring to the game as "massively multiplayer" as well as the fact that it won't be "WoW in space."
