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Halo 3 info leaked: new weapons, vehicles, features & Collector's Edition detailed [update 1]
Xbox Portugal has posted scans from an upcoming Halo 3 feature to be published in Swedish mag Level. Some serious translation work is needed before the full story comes into focus, but we have gathered that the images are from an alpha build of Halo 3, suggesting that many of the details won't reflect the final version. Check out the one-manned mini-Warthog Mongoose!UPDATE: Xbox 360 Fanboy has a summary of the new details:Weapons Spiker - a new Brute weapon Spartan Laser - a laser that tears vehicles apart Nail Grenade - sticks into walls, sends nails everywhere Vehicles Mongoose - the ATV that was cut from Halo 2; seats two, but no weapons; designed for recon New Feature "Man Cannon" - what it sounds like; launches you into the air (think: jump pads from Unreal, Quake Arena) Controls Bumpers are used to reload the right and left weapons independently X-button has a "secret" function Misc. Secondary weapon is now visible when not in use (slung over shoulder) Collector's Edition "Legendary Edition" - box is a replica of Master Chief's helmet, includes 4-disc set: Disc one: game Disc two: documentaries and developer commentary Disc three: spin-off material (Red vs. Blue, Spark of Life, etc.) Disc four: all cut scenes from Halo 1-3 in HD Bonus: sneak peek of Halo movie will be included on one of the discs (maybe) [Thanks to Galls & everyone else that sent this in!]
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]
EGM dry humps Halo 3 before Nov. 14th issue
Consider this teaser a preliminary dry humping, because next month, we'll get to see venerable video game mag Electronic Gaming Monthly "f***ing Halo 3!" Those are their words, folks. We're not sure what form this issue will take, but we imagine centerfolds of Cortana, with her accompanying likes and dislikes (likes: holographic projectors, dislikes: Gravemind's grabby tentacles), wrapped up neatly in an opaque brown sleeve, and tucked away on the tallest shelf of your local convenient store. The December issue -- in which Bungie "breaks their silence" -- oughta hit newstands November 14th, which means we should hear all about the naughty goings-on well before then ...... on second thought, I'm not sure we read that right.
X06 announcements crammed into a single post
Microsoft's X06 event started off in a thunderous explosion of news, with pieces of informative debris raining down upon the unshielded denizens of the internet since yesterday. If you're feeling clueless or overwhelmed, allow us to subject you to a helpful hail of bullet points: Peter Jackson reveals a new partnership with Microsoft Game Studios. The king of the rings and his newly established Wingnut Interactive studio will work on an original property for the Xbox 360, as well as an unnamed Halo title. One can only hope that the crappy-game-based-on-a-movie and the crappy-movie-based-on-a-game curses cancel each other out when it comes time to play Peter Jackson's Halo: The Game of the Movie of the Game. A new RTS, Halo Wars, is unveiled. Set in a time before the first Halo, the real-time strategy game is being developed exclusively for the Xbox 360 by Ensemble Studios. Many confused pundits take the opportunity to point out that the Xbox 360 does not have a keyboard or a mouse. Grand Theft Auto IV will have two "epic" downloadable episodes exclusively on Xbox 360. Rockstar and Take-Two promise that the new episodes will provide "hours" of new gameplay and will be available "just months" after the game's October 2007 release. The vague wording of the announcement fails to rule out the possibility that the PS3 could receive different downloadable episodes of its own. The next Splinter Cell game is console-exclusive to the Xbox 360 -- meaning handhelds and the PC are still fair game. Fewer people are upset by this than those who realize Splinter Cell: Double Agent isn't available on anything yet. Bioshock is exclusive to Xbox 360 and Windows when it releases "next Spring". The wording of the press release says nothing of the game should it release during any other season following Spring. Of course, nobody likes waiting ... Project Gotham Racing 4 is coming. And the surprise hit gamers with all the force of a linen sheet flapping in the wind. Rare is working on a new Banjo-Kazooie game. Presumably, players are still keen on collecting all the coins, apples, music notes, beans, feathers, diamonds, pearls, potions, rings, blocks, wrenches and / or yams mysteriously floating around the finely rendered landscape. Marvel Universe Online is announced for the Xbox 360 and Windows Vista. It's being developed by the folks behind City of Heroes -- perhaps you remember Marvel suing them for creating tools that allowed people to venture online as, err, Marvel characters. Doom and Sensible World of Soccer join the Xbox Live Arcade lineup. The classic first-person shooter was already available yesterday for 800 points ($10). The Amiga footie title has not been given a release date yet, though the press release insists on using the word "soon." The Xbox 360 HD-DVD costs $199.99 in North America and €199.99/£129.99 in the UK, France and Germany. It arrives in mid-November and will include the Xbox 360's Universal Media Remote and the HD-DVD version of Peter Jackson's King Kong. And with that, the circle is complete. Congrats, scavenger hunter, you've found the secret c o d e good for one free copy of B A N K S H O T B I L L I A R D S 2: PRF4Q W798V G7JX9 2RX2W VT94G (Contest ran on 12/30/2006. The code has been redeemed.)
Black Xbox 360 rumors abound
When the rumor mill gets a'turnin' you're bound to have a few false-starts, and it seems the new black Xbox 360 meme is no exception. The snazzy "black Xbox" seen above might look quite black and Xboxy, but we're sorry to report that it's just a developer box, plenty of which have been out since before launch for testing out pre-release games. Also, if when Microsoft does actually build a black version, we're kind of hoping they stick with that chrome drive tray from the regular 360, and maybe go with a truer black instead of this piddling smoke color. We're definitely not writing off the rumor entirely, according to some "leaked info" from Microsoft's planned X06 announcements this week, they'll be announcing Xbox 360 Black for the holidays, along with 1080p Halo3 and other fanboy pleasers. We also got a tip from somebody who claims to have a friend at GAME that says the black Xbox 360 will be a premium only color, and might even come with an integrated or bundled HD DVD drive and possibly a larger HDD. We suppose we'll know soon enough -- X06 is over tomorrow -- but that doesn't mean we can't stay busy drumming up the hype and unrealistic expectations until then.[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]Read - Black Xbox at Microsoft eventRead - X06 info leaked
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.
What'll Bungie do after Halo?
Xbox boardroom biographer and industry observer Dean Takahashi wonders what's next for Bungie. They're currently holed up in their fancy new headquarters working (tirelessly we imagine) on the third installment of Microsoft's Xbox-selling secret weapon, Halo 3. But what else are they working on in their Dr. Pepper and Dorito encrusted fortress? Takahashi's inside sources tell him they're working on not one, but maybe two other projects. Just like Xbox's J Allard disappeared suddenly from the limelight, only to turn up working on another not-so-secret project, Bungie's general manager, Pete Parsons, is mysteriously no longer their general manager. Takahashi intimates that Parsons is now leading a secret second team at Bungie while other Bungie all-stars, like "Jason Jones, the project lead on the Halo games, and Chris Butcher, the top programmer," are working on yet another project "beyond the Halo universe."If Halo 3 is to be the final installment of a Halo trilogy, is Microsoft going to sit back and let their most lucrative franchise go out in style or continue to milk it for all it's worth? With a Halo movie in the works, what about the inevitable tie-in game? After all, a Bungie with business sense would make Halo 4 and 5 and ... we'd also take LEGO Halo. Seriously.[Via Xboxic]
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?
MS to announce new Bungie game at X06?
Dean Takahashi, the San Jose Mercury News scribe who wrote The Xbox 360: Uncloaked, blogs about Halo 3 happenings and a new Bungie game that will supposedly be announced at Microsoft's X06 event in Barcelona later this month:Halo 3, meanwhile, is well underway and just went through a script rewrite. The game is slated for 2007 still. Spong.com recently went out on a limb and talked about how Halo 3 will be the last game in the Halo series and that Microsoft is likely to announce a new non-Halo Bungie game at the X06 event in late September in Barcelona, Spain. Spong says various tidbits suggest that Halo 3 brings the story to its close. That makes sense since others have told me that Jason Jones is "not a sequel kind of guy" before. I wrote in my latest book that Jones toyed with other games such as a "castle siege" game and another game that involved Minotaurs, a subject of an early Bungie game, but both were canceled. Jones wound up returning to help finish Halo 2 while it was in midstream. If the title ends up being Minotaur Castle Siege, Dean should win some sort of award. Keeping in mind this thing is supposed to be non-Halo related, what kind of game would you like to see from the gods at Bungie? X06 kicks off on September 25 by the way.[Via Xboxic]
Halo 3: Blinded by the light
Ok, it's not quite like tracking Dark Side of the Moon with the Wizard of Oz, but some guy added the Manfred Mann's Earth Band version of "Blinded by the Light" to the Halo 3 trailer. Why, I don't know. The "revved up like a douche" line still doesn't make any sense.
Bungie: Halo 3 "feels" more like Halo
In Bungie's latest weekly update of the Halo 3 development process, we learn that the Halo 3 single player will feel very much like the original Halo. Bungie's Frankie had this to say of the campaign mode: I have been playing through Campaign mode purely for kicks. Exploring, in fact. There's lots of the feel of the original Halo, where you'll find yourself in a huge (dangerous) and intrinsically fascinating environment and just want to go tool around and check things out. At this stage in development, the encounters are very carefully placed. Sometimes that means you're in frantic firefights (on a significantly bigger scale than in Halo 2, although all I will confirm numerically is at least one more Grunt.) but there's also time for exploratory reflection and the, "Oooh, maybe I can climb up there and check that thing out," sort of play. If that sounds like a Grand Theft Auto style in the Halo universe to you, then Frankie dismisses that claim very quickly: Don't get me wrong. It's not GTA -- it's still Halo, but there's a bigger feeling scope to some of these levels that has me reminiscing about the original game. And yet, conversely, I'm super excited about the new stuff. Seems like this thing is getting very fleshed out. We wonder how long until Bungie gives us a taste via a demo on Xbox Live. Wouldn't Nov. 17 just be the perfect date for that?
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 gets a director and another year
Please take a moment to sample the video above. Now, let that sink in. What you have just witnessed is the work of the newly chosen director of (drumroll please) Halo. That's right ladies and germs, the mystery has been put to rest. It's not Guillermo. It's not Peter Jackson himself. It's a relatively unknown South African (did you hear that Ludwig?) director by the name of Neill Blomkamp. Though Blomkamp's resume consists mostly of short films and commercials, his work has garnered him many awards (including 3 Clios and a Visual Effects Society Award). Also, the Halo movie has been pushed back to 2008, ending any speculation that it would launch day and date with Halo 3. Choosing a little known director whose work has been primarily in commercials and short films is an interesting choice. Then again, Jackson himself started out making campy horror films (so did Sam Raimi of Spider-Man fame) so, who's to say? Do you think he's up to the job?[Via Joystiq]
Get your own plasma rifle! [update 1]
Typically, Halo makes gamers think of things like guns, explosions, Marines, or "overrated." For eBay user wansitler, Halo's only meaning is "Arts and Crafts." This guy went to the trouble of precisely replicating a lifesize...um...replica of a Covenant plasma rifle from Halo. Actually, it's made of wood so, you know, it won't shoot searing hot plasma or anything. Still, if you'd like to own this interesting conversation piece/girlfriend repellent, it can be yours for the bargain price of US $175 -- or less if you go in for the whole "auction" thing.Any takers? Maybe these guys will buy it just so they can destroy it.[Via HBO]Update 1: Oops. Looks like someone already snatched up this wondrous piece of woodwork. Congratulations, pyrometheous. Now just convince your better half to let you mount it on the wall.
First Halo 360 faceplate coming in October
According to Bungie.net, the first official Halo faceplate will be available for purchase in October. No word on price or a specific date in October, but the plate looks pretty damn good -- at least better than the Gears of War faceplate some of us got at E3.With this kind of thing, we're just a sucker for the clean and simplistic look. There's no doubt this will pretty much be a must have for hardcore Halo fans.
A Bungie with business sense would make Halo 4 and 5 and...
Recently there have been some rumblings that Bungie won't make another Halo game after Halo 3 which appear to be centered around a statement that Marty O'Donnell made in an interview with the BBC. In this interview, Marty says, "We all want Halo to be the great ending to an epic trilogy. We look at what Peter Jackson did with the Lord of the Rings films - which each film bettering the previous one and that is what we are aiming for." Does that mean we won't be seeing another Halo game in the future? To people who understand that making video games is a business, the rumors (which are already half-disproved) that Bungie would end the Halo franchise anytime soon are ridiculous. The first two Halo games combined have sold 14.3 million units. That puts the Halo franchise within the top 30 best-selling game franchises of all time. Without Halo, Microsoft might as well not have bothered with the Xbox; Halo and Halo 2 sold more units than the next six best selling games on the Xbox combined (if you're wondering, these games are Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Fable, GTA: Double Pack, Project Gotham Racing, and Need for Speed: Underground 2). With a Halo movie on the way, and the facts that Halo 2 sold more units than the first and is still the #1 game played on Xbox Live under Bungie's belt, it wouldn't be wrong to say that the Halo franchise is increasing in popularity. The bottom line is that Bungie and Microsoft would have to be stupid to end their most lucrative franchise ever after #3. We don't claim to have any insider information, we don't dispute Marty's statement and we don't deny the possibility that Bungie will create new franchises, but based on pure business logic we'd expect to see at least another two games based on the Halo universe. From a business perspective, for Bungie to dump the Halo franchise after 3 would be sheer stupidity. [Source for sales figures, Image from 1001 Fonts]
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?
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Bungie: "We get a lot of death threats in this job"
Bungie's Frank O'Connor recently sat down with MTV to talk secrets, or rather, the art of keeping secrets. As Halo 3's content manager, O'Connor is constantly being prodded for information. Whether it's the guy working the Starbucks register or his wife, O'Connor fields questions like the pro he is: "What's a 'Halo?'"But not all Bungie employees are as adept at keeping secrets as O'Connor. One of the game's "biggest ticket items" was divulged to a "very, very, very attractive woman" during a recent interview. The Bungie rep was apparently "confused by her attractiveness" -- lucky for him, she agreed to remove the detail from her article. But it's not just sultry reporters that the Bungie staff must remain wary of. The team has also dealt with imposters posing as press and frequent death threats. But here again, O'Connor displays his cool: "The first couple of times you see it you're like, 'Wow!' The next few times you see it you're like, 'Whatever.'"
