Halo
Latest
Halo 3 trailer blows up XBLM
All hail Master Chief. As you probably already know, the trailer for a little game called Halo 3 is now available for download on XBLM. The pic above is from the MS keynote. I hear the Marketplace is slammed, but you can check it out here as well. Does this first glimpse meet your high Halo expectations?
Gizmondo Halo "project" used cam-mouselook
Back before "Fast" Stefan Eriksson was crashing cars and lying to police, he ran a little portable gaming company called Gizmondo. Their scam? Defraud investors by promising them a way into the very attractive, and lucrative, gaming market. One of their most effective tools was to promise a Gizmondo-exclusive portable Halo title. Gizmondo did have an arrangement with Microsoft Game Studios to produce some titles, including the popular MechAssault series, but Halo was definitely not a part of that arrangement. A former-Gizmondo employee told GameSetWatch that the title had only "a storyline and basic game structure at the very earliest stage of concept" and that it was all done "with a wink and a nudge to extract more cash out of the investors." Isn't that sweet?It isn't all bad though: the engineers at Gizmondo managed to get code running -- using one of id's open-source game engines -- enabling the Gizmondo's rear-mounted camera to control the "mouselook", allowing for a uniquely precise handheld FPS control scheme. Who knows what could have come of the Gizmondo if the execs weren't busy lining their pockets?[Via /.]
Halo-ish Hasbro Oozinator comes up big
I'll admit that I had to think for a minute before figuring out how to relate Hasbro's hilarious Oozinator Super-Soaker gun to the Xbox 360. Finally, I decided the bizarrely suggestive goo-shooting weapon, which is available at Toys R Us until some exec somewhere gets a clue, looks enough like the plasma rifle in Halo to interest Bungie fanatics, especially if you painted it purple. Alright, so it's a stretch. But it would surely make for an explosive addition to the Halo 3 armoury on the Chief's next mission (or emission). Click here, here and here (in that order) for the full jiz...er...gist. Major pumping required.
Bungie's Master Chief bottle opener
How does a battle-hardened Spartan soldier kick back and relax after fragging Covenant all day? With a crisp, cool, refreshing New Mombasa Ale. And how does s/he open it? No, not with their teeth, but with their authentic Bungie.net Spartan keychain! Sure, it looks like a regular keychain with a Spartan helmet on it, but our in-house beer-ologist (me) has confirmed the dimensions are indeed correct for maximum beer-opening functionality. Other Bungie Store updates include a Halo cup (to pour your beer in), and a Spartan Messenger Bag (to carry your plasma grenades in...and also beer). *Kids, please replace all references to beer with root beer. Thanks! [Thanks, hooters; store update via Bungie.net]
I Love Bees redux? Halo 3 hints? Or just spam?
The timing and subject of an email I received (and posted above) are so coincidental with this season of game fever that I could not but immediately wonder whether I had been targeted for the beginning of some Halo 3 launch campaign. Alas, my Portuguese is lacking. Perhaps a reader can help bunk or debunk this strange missive that arrived in my inbox with the following envelope info? From: APACAME [mailto:convite@apacame.com.br] Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 10:16 PM To: Convite Subject: XVI Congresso Brasileiro de Apicultura - CBA - 02/05 - 8 My hunch is that it's just mis-directed email. The website that it leads to looks too legit. But you never know in this age of ARGs.
E3: No PS3 price, no Rev date or price, says CNN
CNN recently opined on Sony and Nintendo's strategies for E3. According to the prediction, Sony won't be revealing the launch price for the PlayStation 3. Instead, that announcement will be saved for a future date PR opportunity. And while Nintendo will come clean with the official name of the Revolution, don't expect the company to be talking price tags either, or for that matter, a launch date.With little chance of one-upping the competition, Microsoft will use the event to hype Windows Vista gaming. As for the Xbox 360, well, CNN declares we'll "see the first footage from the next installment of Halo..."
Crossword lets Bungie fanboys strut their stuff
Are you a giant nerd obsessed with all things Bungie? Has your only outlet thus far been internet chat rooms and mature-themed Master Chief fan-fiction? Well, fellow fanboy GameJunkieJim has created what can only be called "The World's Hardest Bungie-themed Crossword Puzzle EvAr!"Seriously, I think I got six right ... if I'm lucky. Try 38 Across: "Conceived in Transit leads to ______"; or 15 down: "Mr. Green, if you please." I'll get you started: 54 across is DOA. I know, I'm pathetic.[Via Gamerscore]
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, Half-Life alums take Giant Bite
Giant Bite Games, the talent-rich game studio founded by some of the minds behind Halo and Half-Life, opened its doors today in the great state of Washington. They also accomplished an important first step for any new company, their first press release:Giant Bite’s executive team has shipped over thirty games with over twenty million units sold. With titles to their credit dating back to 1982, Giant Bite has a tremendous depth of experience from which to draw. Hamilton Chu was Lead Producer at Bungie during the making of Halo and Halo 2. Michael Evans worked on Halo and Halo 2 as Multiplayer Lead and Lead Engineer. Andy Glaister was the Director of Development for the Microsoft Game Studios and led the engineering team of Windows Graphics and Gaming. Steve Theodore worked on Half Life and Counter-Strike, and most recently was the Technical Art Manager at Zipper Interactive; he also writes the monthly art column for Game Developer magazine. “We’re proud of our work at Bungie, Microsoft and Zipper” says Michael Evans, “It was amazing to work with such fantastic teams on games that turned out so successfully. And now, we’re excited to build something of our own.”“Giant Bite will keep the traditions of world class production values and cohesive game play. We see a great opportunity to build the sort of company that we always wanted to work for” adds Andy Glaister.Let's go down the list.Cute company name: check. World class resumes: check. Fun workplace: I'm guessing they have ergonomic chairs.Awesome next-gen games: They damn well better be. Joystiq's Vladimir Cole will be interviewing Hamilton Chu tomorrow in GBG's Seattle digs. Will Hamilton reveal exclusive information about Giant Bite's first project? You'll just have to check this space repeatedly (while shopping our advertisers) to find out. Until then we'll be forced to speculate wildly. Obviously, with this many big names under one roof, expectations are going to be somewhere between Bungie and brutal. Do you think Giant Bite will deliver a game that matches the impact of Halo and Half-Life, or does the curse of insane success mean these giants have bitten off more than they can chew?
The Bungie XBLA game that never was
I love the Bungie Weekly Update. How else would we know the staff spends their weekends snowboarding in Tahoe and playing Halo against the Tampa Bay Bucaneers? Besides thrilling us with the details of their geek-hero lives, the guys also let us know what they're not doing, namely working on an Xbox Live Arcade Game."Anyway, that's enough downer. More rumorbusting! A long-legged, long-lived rumor is that we're hard at work on an Xbox Live title. We're so not. Lord knows we play too much Live Arcade, but our entire team (with the exception of a couple of Vista guys) is cranking away on our next project. That doesn't mean we'll never do a Live Arcade title, or that somebody else might not convert one of our old titles (Myth and Oni belong to Take 2) but we personally are not making a Live arcade title at this time."They do however hint about an exciting non-game project and treat us to a "napkin design" for Warthog Moon Patrol. How long before somebody with no respect for the Bungie legal department makes it a reality?
How to increase the profanity on Xbox Live
It begins: "I'm your host Brad and I'm a jerk. I've always been interested in baiting people. Some even call me the master baitor. I wish."Brad uses soundboards of luminaries like Dr. Phil and Mr. Fred Rogers to bait other players on Xbox Live. Suffice it to say, their reactions are very NSFW! The moral conundrum is, is Brad a jerk for baiting them and ruining the experience of others? It seems pretty obvious that the individuals he's recorded needed little encouragement before devolving into quivering piles of pubescent, cussing, vitriol. With 73 recordings available, and over 200 in the can, it's tough to know where to start. Lucky for you, Brad suggested a handful of classics: 1, 2, 3, 4.Some of us might hesitate before subjecting ourselves to even more profanity in Xbox Live and, for those, we highly encourage you not to listen. Also don't listen if you're at work, children are around, plan on having children at some point, respect all living things, and/or cherish your innocence. Everyone else, enjoy! See also:Vulgarity, Halo 2, and you[Thanks, Brad]
Peter Jackson visits Bungie, talks shop
Peter Jackson recently visited with Bungie, ostensibly to talk about the upcoming Halo movie he's producing, but surely also to jam a couple rounds on Halo 3 (even though nothing's been announced yadayadayada). Here's what Bungie's Frankie had to say about the visit: "...a week or two ago, our new building was graced by the presence of one Mr. Peter Jackson, director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong, Heavenly Creatures, Meet the Feebles and more. In short, a genius. You may or not know that he is also signed up as executive producer on the forthcoming Halo movie. Mr. Jackson was not only nice enough to come visit, but also to pose for a photo with the entire Bungie crew... So to summarize, a famous director came to a building and got mobbed by rabid fanboys, many of whom are in their twenties and thirties."I have a feeling PJ might have been geeking out a little bit as well. I imagine a mutual appreciation society.[Via 360Monster]
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]
