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DIY Machinima in Halo 3
In addition to confirming what we learned this morning, 1UP has revealed that you will be able to "save your own movies from Halo 3's single- and multiplayer gameplay." Now it will be even easier to share your new Warthog-jumping record or Human cannon hilarity with the rest of the world. Will we be able to share our machinima masterpieces over Xbox Live? 1UP also revealed that there will be three different version of Halo 3 (how numerically appropriate): standard, collector's edition, and the "one SKU to rule them all" Legendary edition. Their 3-week love fest with Bungie's latest begins next week.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
1UP confirms Halo 3 news, more to come
1UP has officially confirmed the Halo 3 info that we uncovered earlier today. What's interesting is that they reveal all the same details that we discovered. Obviously, this can't be all that there is to the EGM cover story or 1UP wouldn't spill the beans. After all, why buy the magazine if 1UP already told you everything, right? 1UP does reveal another detail or two that we didn't have earlier. One, there will actually be three SKUs of Halo 3, a standard, collector's, and the aforementioned "Legendary" edition. Two, 1UP hints that Halo 3 will include an in game recording option, allowing budding machinima creators to make their own movies, or letting vets record their best runs. 1UP promises to have three solid weeks of Halo 3 coverage. Stay tuned for all the latest info, and be sure that we'll give you the lowdown on the cover story when it shows up in our mailbox.[Thanks, hot zizzy]
New Halo 3 info, new weapons, new grenade [update 1]
It wasn't long ago that Bungie sat down with gaming magazines around the world to share the first real information about Halo 3. And it looks like Swedish magazine, Level, has the dubious honor of being scanned first. To be fair, these aren't exactly scans, but we'll take what we can get. The magazine reveals new details about weapons, vehicles and multiplayer. WeaponsSpiker - a new Brute weaponSpartan laser - a laser that tears vehicles apartNail Grenade - sticks into walls and sends nails everywhereVehiclesThe Mongoose is in! This is the ATV that was cut from Halo 2. It seats two and has no weapons. Designed from recon and quick travel.Multiplayer goodiesThe "Man Cannon" - Spartans do their best Human Bullet impersonations for some extremely rapid transport. Players can still shoot in the air, and can be shot down.ControlsThe X button has a new, still secret feature. Reloading has now been allocated to the bumper buttons. Right bumper reloads the right weapon, and the left bumper reloads the left. Genius. MiscellaneousYou can now see your secondary weapon when it's not in use. In other words, it's actually slung over your shoulder instead of magically appearing out of thin air. Also, a 4 DVD "Legendary" edition is planned that will have material from Red Vs. Blue, documentaries, and a collection of all cut scenes from the game (possibly the whole series?).Please take this info with a grain of salt, as it has all been translated from a Swedish mag that we've never heard of. If anyone has picked this magazine up, let us know. You should be able to confirm all this info when the infamous EGM story finally shows up. So, who's excited? Raise your hand.Update: 1UP has officially confirmed most of this information and has also revealed some more info. Click here for details.[Thanks to both Xboxygen and Aeropause for sending this in.]
Halo 3 demo rumored for early 2007
Game Informer has posted a rumor that we might see a Halo 3 demo in the first half of 2007. Of course, some of our more hopeful readers have suggested we might see the entire game in the first half of 2007, but that's neither here nor there. GI doesn't reveal their "sources," so you'll have to take this with a cubic centimeter of salt. Also, GI speculates that Halo 3 will mark the first demo that isn't free. This is just pure speculation on their part, but it is an interesting question. Frankly, charging for any digitally distributed demo is pretty far fetched, but MS might be able to get away with it for a Halo 3 demo. Would you pay for it? How much?At any rate, demo or no demo, expect some big Halo 3 news shortly. At least the biggest Halo news in a while, as this is the time of year when Bungie typically reveals new tidbits. If nothing else, the much ballyhooed EGM cover story should have some new details.[Via Xboxic]
Halo movie denied, Hollywood pulls out
Variety, paragon of gaming news, is reporting that Fox Studios and Universal have pulled funding for the Halo movie. Hearing the nightmare chorus of fanboys screaming, "Why God? Why!?" into the heavens, I can only give you one answer. Money. Amid rumors that the film's budget would reach $200 million -- originally projected at $135 million -- the studios demanded at the last minute that the filmmakers reduce their deals. This demand was also made in light of the fact that Microsoft had already been promised $5 million up front and 10% of the gross.This turn of events has led some to speculate that Halo's director -- newcomer Neill Blomkamp -- is too inexperienced. This was, however, dismissed by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh's representative, Ken Kamins,"Everybody is supremely confident in Neal [sic]. Part of what excited Peter and Fran was Neal's [sic] vision. We're very confident this film will move forward with the creative partners intact, who will take the film to production."We're a little concerned that Variety managed to misspell both Neill's name and Bungie Studios' name (they spelled it Bungee), but hey, that's Hollywood for you. So, with Halo's fate hanging in the balance, how do you feel? Did you even care about it the first place?[Via Joystiq]
Halo, the Latin epic
To what extent is Halo an extension of the interactive storytelling of old? The latest issue of The Escapist has a thought-provoking piece comparing Bungie Studio's Halo with Virgil's The Aeneid. The theme of a revered, super-human warrior protecting his home world against two enemies (one with whom we can sympathize, in the case of the Covenant / Greece) is prevalent through each tale. The interactivity, according to author Roger Travis, is an illusion for both the gamer and the Roman audience: we are immersed within the story but have no say over its outcome. Master Chief as Aeneas notwithstanding (no word on where multiplayer fits into the comparison), to what extent could one design a game where the progression is wholly determined by the user? Could the lore of World of Warcraft be expanded through the present-day actions of its masses? Even open-ended games like Fable and Oblivion have main quests and endings. To play devil's advocate to our own question, perchance a central plot is required in story-driven games in order to give the wandering avatar an initial feeling of purpose. Could there be a cutoff point where the user is left to his or her own devices, or must we always be in pursuit of some tangible outcome laid before us?
Halo Wars trailer gives us goosebumps
Okay, so you missed the X06 briefing and the Halo Wars trailer. Your 360 crapped out on you and you couldn't download it from Marketplace. To top it all off, your slavish devotion to X360F prevents you from looking it up on one of the internets. It's okay, friend, we understand your pain. You need merely click "continue" to see the video embedded after the break. And by the way, that headline is not a joke. It gave us goosebumps (well, maybe not Ken, but he is made of sterner stuff than I). So, who wants this game? Raise your hand.
X06: Two new Halo projects announced (w/ Peter Jackson!)
The most awkward moment of today's X06 press briefing may also have been the most profound. We are of course talking about the moment that Peter Jackson took the stage to massive applause. While PJ -- we call him PJ -- looked a little nervous talking in front of so many people, what he announced could turn out to be one of the biggest announcements for the video game industry this year.
Bungie podcast, hear the waaambulance live [update 1]
Bungie has posted their very first official podcast. While it's kind of short on Halo 3 tidbits, the show should be interesting to any Halo fans out there. For example, the podcast reveals that the composer of the Halo series, Marty O'Donnell, used to make his living writing jingles. You might know his work for either Mr. Clean or Flintstones vitamins (which the podcast's theme song is based on, incidentally). The podcast also let's us hear some of the placeholder dialogue from Halo 3 and some never before heard sound effects, though it's not as interesting as you might think. In the end, though, the best part of the show is the live reading of Bungie's now infamous Waaaaambulance. For those who don't know, the wambulance is Bungie reading letters from some of the dirty cheaters that have been banned from Live and are now begging to get their accounts back. Good stuff. We look forward to future episodes. Follow the read link to download the show.Update: Corrected spelling mistake. Cuz I'm a moron.
Halo 3 has revised controls, panic abounds
It's a rough time for Halo fanboys. Every week Frankie gives us an update with almost zero information. It is our job as fanboys then to take this information and blow it way out of proportion. So what is it this week? Bungie is changing the controls! Egad, it can't be true. What's more, Bungie is toying with the idea of adding plenty of new setups ranging from hardcore to grandma friendly. The end result of all this is that we'll have a setup that makes more sense on our 360 controllers -- especially now that the black and white buttons don't exist. Basically, all we know now is that the bumpers will receive more logical actions than turning on the flashlight and teamspeak. The only other tidbit of news this week: the AI is coming along nicely. As an example, the AI of a warthog gunner has been changed significantly. In the words of Frankie: "In previous Halo games, the gunners were smart and would pick off targets in a logical fashion, but this time around, and it could be my imagination, the gunners are more precise and easier to influence. You can target individual bad guys by steering the Hog and even 'convince' your gunner to pick a more relevant target and have him stop trying to blast a lone grunt hiding behind a rock when a bigger menace approaches." Hey, as long as we can still stick a sniper with infinite ammo in the passenger seat, we're cool. Other than that, it's all quiet on the Halo front -- unless you'd like to read what Peter Jackson has to say.
2010: A Halo 3 Pre-Order Odyssey
A certain big box store is taking pre-orders for Halo 3 with a listed release date of December 30, 2010. The whole idea of pre-ordering video games, which hardly ever sell out, is pretty stupid to begin with, but this stretches a tired ploy to the limit -- no matter how low the rate of return on your junior savings account. Not that anybody puts stock in retailer release dates, but let's hope Bungie works a little faster than than the slow minds at Best Buy. [Thanks WickedOwl]
Eric Nylund talks Ghosts of Onyx
In Friday's weekly update at Bungie, there's a nice interview with Eric Nylund, author of the good Halo novels, The Fall of Reach and First Strike, as well as the upcoming Halo novel, Ghosts of Onyx. He chats about the Halo story bible, how he became involved with the Halo franchise in the first place, and he discusses the differences between writing a novel and writing a game. This is the man who's writing Gears of War, lest you missed that info. It's worth a read for those that like to learn about what goes into making video games. You can also check out Franky geeking out over some schweet ground textures. He also asks an important question: what's that weird non-Spartan armor on the lower right hand side of the cover? Any guesses?
Halo 2 run makes the record books
Halo 2 player, Cody Miller, has reportedly been entered into the 2007 Guinness Book of World Records. His accomplishment? A speed run of Halo 2 with no deaths -- on Legendary difficulty. There is no mention of his actual clear time, but no deaths is impressive all by itself. Anybody with a copy of the Guinness care to send us a scan? It should be on the only page with Master Chief. And anyway, how the hell does anyone make it off of Cairo Station on Legendary without dying once? Cody explains it himself right here (there's even a video here). [Via Joystiq]
Halo faceplate is the real deal
Bungie has confirmed the existence and design of the rumored Halo faceplate. The more perceptive of you have probably realized that the faceplate in question is pictured above (click on it for an embiggened pic). The faceplate will be available sometime in October. Not bad, but as some have pointed out, it doesn't do much for vertically aligned 360s -- unless you enjoy the thought of knocking the Cheif onto his back. So, let's have a show of hands, who's planning on picking one up?
F$%# (bottle) rocket n00b!
Halo fan FyreWulff has created a replica of the SPNKR rocket launcher to celebrate US independence this year. The launcher -- still a work in progress -- takes on the trademark Halo design, including the "HOLD LIKE THIS" image on the side. Describing his project, FyreWulff said: "...This is not meant to be a 1:1 remake of the Halo rocket launcher. I'm basically "skinning" another (fake!) rocket launcher to look like it, as best as possible." The launcher will be used to fire holiday shells and bottle rockets this 4th of July. Whether you're a Halo fan or not, surely there is no better way to celebrate our country than by blowing up a small part of it. Follow the read link for more pictures. Anybody else have any cool holiday projects? [Via HBO]
Waste your money on more Halo toys
Joyride Studios has released Series 8 (they're up to 8?) of the Halo figurines. Among them are Spartan 117 with Flood infection form, a SpecOps Elite, a Jackal, and the Elite Heretic Leader. Why anyone would buy the Master Chief again just to get a Flood form is anybody's guess. Because I already have Master Chief. I mean, all of you have Master Chief, right? Right? Anybody?[Via Bungie.net]
Halo 3 happy ending?
To all the haters who complain about frivolous blog posts and possible spoilers. Lighten up. It's the best day ever! [Thanks Joe]
Halo 2 celebrates half a billion games played!
Bungie is partying it up, and with good reason: Halo 2 is proud to have had half a billion games played on Xbox Live (we know a lot of you contributed!). From the words of Bungie, these are actual games and not player-sessions. The number was logged as of noon yesterday, and we suspect it won't be long 'till their next milestone is reached. Congrats!
Halo: Combat Evolved on XBLM?
The April issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly has yet another Halo rumor to report (p. 67): In last issue's Rumor Mill, I mentioned that Xbox 360 owners will soon be able to buy full Xbox 1 games via Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace. And now I've got the juicy scoop on the first game that Bill Gates' crew will make available. Look for Bungie's epic first-person shooter Halo on the Marketplace sometime before this summer. I only hope the developer makes this version's multiplayer mode Xbox Live compatible." Not a bad way to fill up a couple gigs worth of HD space and sort of believable given Sony and Nintendo's plans to release old games online. How many people think this will come to pass? If they can can make Halo available via XBLM, why not Halo 3? [Thanks, Zilazapper]
Halo 1 & 2 to be "upgraded" on Xbox 360
1up has pointed out an interesting quote in the latest Bungie Weekly update. Besides detailing the new Dead or Alive 4 addition, Spartan 458, the update also alludes to "how Halo one and two look on 360, and it's all good news." While no other information was mentioned, it does sound like the Halos might be getting a few technical tweaks in their transition to the next generation Xbox console. Crisper models? Faster frame rates? HDTV support? It'd be interesting to see if the improvements are anything to shout about, but imagine what else companies could do when they bring their Xbox games over to the 360. How about, for example, making Halo 1 Xbox Live-compatible? [via 1up]
