As you may have heard, bungie will now start to hose weekend tournaments in special hoppers. They have also announced that you will need the new maps to participate. There are several benefits in participating in the hoppers. First of all, you will earn double exp. Second, if you win in a specific catagory, you will be awarded recon armor. This armor is only given out to a few people. The catagories may include, most sticks, most killing sprees, and so forth. Also note, that they are watching these hoppers carefully, and cheating will result in punishment.

In todays Bungie Weekly Update, Bungie reveal the three maps that will be in the next map pack. These are Cottonball, Purple Reign and OK Corral. Here are some quotes about each map:

Cottonball
"I’ll talk about the biggest one first. And it’s HUGE. For the purposes of this, we’ll codename it Cottonball. I guess a game of Big Team Snipers would be possible, but anything else would be comical without vehicles. This is very much a large scale objective game map – designed first and foremost with CTF and Assault in mind. The map is almost, but not-quite-perfectly symmetrical. Some natural geology prevents each base from being a simple mirror image of the other. I say natural, but the map is set on a Halo, so, natural’s not exactly correct.

The map leads to the kind of long, drawn out megabattles that hearken back to the days of the original Halo and the crucial to and fro of an epic LAN party. Its inclusion of a surprising vehicle or two may make it even more interesting than it already sounds.

I’ve played this a lot (although less, by necessity than the other two) and I have found a couple of very compelling and addictive rhythms. The map is large enough so that even when a team makes off with your flag, there’s still a lot of ground you can use to catch up. The other is that each side has some wonderful shortcuts – natural and mechanical – that may not make great flag escape routes, but might let a mobile pursuer cut off escapees.

And I know I am in the minority on this – but I sometimes have trouble knowing precisely where I am headed on a more confusing map – I would call out Epitaph as an example –often I will burst through a door thinking I am headed to say, the Active Camo power up, only to find I am not where I thought I was. For some reason, massive and labyrinthine as it is, this new map never confuses me. I always know which way is up – and that fact has saved my bacon and our flag, several times."

Purple Reign
"The next one, we’ve already codenamed Purple Reign, may be the last one to get a graphical addition – as one of our artists had an inspired and simple idea at the last second. Technically it’s content complete, but hey, it wouldn’t hurt to add something small and fascinating.

The map, as we’ve mentioned before, is perfectly symmetrical, slightly too big to be small and slightly too small to be medium. It has some excellent line of sight and well thought-out verticality problems and opportunities. Bridges make short work of long open sections and a central hub is sure to be fought over. Perhaps one of the most interesting features is the use of one-way glass. Iridescent material can disguise your location while you spy on approaching bad guys.

The map is too confined for genuine cat and mouse activity at those chokepoints and a warren of claustrophobic lower areas makes high ground and control essential. Luckily there are several ways to get up top, from careful jumps to spiraling ramps. Luke and I have played a huge number of one on one matches here – often in SWAT to keep the duration sensible, but it’s a map that really encourages showdowns and it’s a remarkably fun place to trade BR fire and hurl elegant, predictive Plasma nades for hundreds of yards.

Although it’s built for Slayer, the objective games work beautifully too. If frenetically – lots of dropped flags and frantic attempts to reset while ‘nades assplode all around you."

OK Corral
"The third and final map, that we’ve nicknamed OK Corral, is a medium-to-large, asymmetrical map that I LOVE playing Slayer on. It’s just big enough to support vehicles, but in a Mongoose, it’s effectively a confined deathtrap. Vehicles are only to be used in emergencies. This map scales pretty well though – in a one-on-one match, there are obvious places to fight close to the center of the map – but the more players there are, the more they tend to sprawl into the outer reaches of the maps, complete with collapsed buildings, wreckage-strewn structures and lots of rebar.

Sniping spots are numerous, but that’s not really what the level is about. What it is about is mastering routes from one end to the other, and knowing high from low. There is nothing scarier than seeing a red dot appear on your radar and not knowing whether that person is above you, or around the next corner. Some interesting use of floor geometry means you might be able to spot someone on high, but not quite have the angle for a shot."

They say it is Content Complete, and all that needs doing now is beta testing and tweaks. Hopefully, we'll see this on XBLA very soon.

Ensemble Studios has put up their monthly Halo Wars Update and in it they talk about a Halo Wars timeline that they recently added to their site, new desktop wallpaper, and more. If you're a fan of the Halo storyline, it's probably worth giving the update and timeline a quick read-through.

There has been lots of specualtion about new maps for Halo 3, but it has recentley become official. People reckon that 3 new maps are going to be released sometime this Spring. The three maps expected are OK Corral, Purple Reign and Moonbase Alpha. Not much is known about the maps, but this is what I could find out:

OK CORRAL
-Mentioned in the Bungie Weekly Update
-Rumoured to be Tombstone Remake

PURPLE REIGN
-Mentioned In Bungie Weekly Update
-Symmetrical and fairly purple
-Could be a Midship/Gemini remake?

MOONBASE ALPHA
-Mentioned in several weekly updates
-Quite big, partly indoors

It will probably cost around 800 Microsoft points like the Heroic Map Pack did. It might not even bea map pack. In time, we will know for sure what will happen.

Bungie have announced in their latest weekly update that they have begun work on new maps for the Xbox 360's fastest selling title, Halo 3.

"Work is progressing on new maps for future downloadable content, with the design and art teams vigorously engaged in the process. More entertainingly however, the ad-hoc test team of Bungie staff is enjoying these new maps greatly. My favorites are what I have already nicknamed Jodrell Bank and Moonbase Alpha.

I “invented” a game type on Jodrell Bank which is actually just Team Slayer with Swords and Snipers. Thanks to some unique geographical features of that map, it works great. Moonbase Alpha, on the other hand is best suited to objective games, like CTF and Assault, but it has some natural deadlocks that make Slayer interesting and Infection terrifying.

Which reminds me of one more downloadable map. The scariest map of all time. Dark, frightening and surprisingly enormous. One of the scariest things that has ever happened to me (and this in a lifetime fraught with terror) was racing away from a marauding gang of zombies in Infection atop a Mongoose, only to have one leap out of the darkness ahead and unseat me with a throaty scream. I call that level John Carpenter’s Prince of Dorkness. It’s not as catchy as Jub Jub, but it’s every bit as accurate."

Xbox 360-exclusive Halo 3 made $170 million on its first day on sale in the US alone, and also broke Australian sales records according to figures released down under. Now Bungie has one more reason to celebrate, as week-one sales have clocked in at a rather reasonable $300 million worldwide.

Halo 3, which is the fastest-selling game ever, is being billed by Microsoft as "one of the most successful entertainment properties in history." The company released a statement saying that initial figures from retailers are also showing the Halo effect having an influence on console purchasing--Xbox 360 sales have more than doubled since the game's release.

Unsurprisingly, the game is also faring well on Xbox Live, with more than 2.7 million gamers having had a go online--over a third of the 7 million total registered Live users. Forty million hours of online games, which adds up to 4,500 years, have been played in the first week across the globe, with almost 30 million achievements unlocked.

Xbox 360 Exclusive “Halo 3” Registers Biggest Day in US Entertainment History with $170 Million in Sales

Microsoft today announced that the Xbox 360 exclusive game “Halo 3” has officially become the biggest entertainment launch in history, garnering an estimated $170 million in sales in the United States alone in the first 24 hours. The Xbox 360 title beat previous records set by blockbuster theatrical releases like “Spider-man 3” and novels such as “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

Find the full story here!

Reports are being spread about numerous people opening their sealed packaging to find a scratched and ruined disc. It is believed to only be an issue for the Halo 3 Limited and Essential Edition discs being scratched due to casing issues. Apart from driving people mad when the game fails to play properly it's also going to hit quite a few wallets.

For those of you effected, Microsoft has agreed to replace any damaged discs free of charge. For further details, make sure to check out the official site to see how you can go about doing that.

A recent post has revealed that exclusive content will be made available to Xbox Live Gold members.

All you have to do is click on the the Unite to Fight ad in Xbox LIVE to get access to this content:

1. Halo 3 Theme – Available starting tonight at midnight


2. Halo 3 Gamerpic – Available starting tonight at midnight


3. “Inside Bungie: Halo 3 – The Story” video: Interviews with the Bungie team. Available on Thursday, Sept 27


4. “Inside Bungie: Halo 3 – New Features” video: Interviews with the Bungie team about the new Halo 3 game features. Available on Friday, Sept 28

Those of you who are a bit extreme in your Halo fanaticism should prepare to be sorely disappointed.

US, September 23, 2007 - Sad news. The Halo 3 Legendary Edition helmet, a replica of the head of Master Chief, won't fit on a cat as originally expected. This is indeed a tragic day for fans of dressing their cat or small dogs as their favorite videogame characters ...

Read the source here

Details of what you can expect of IGN tomorrow when they're free to talk and publish their review, as well as a few more goodies that they've been holding back.

... Halo 3 is coming next Tuesday. But is it going to be worth the scrilla? We can't tell you just yet. In fact, we and the rest of the videogame journalists who have played through Halo 3, are under embargo. We can't talk about the experience, offer opinions, or post a review just yet. So when can you expect IGN's final word on Halo 3? Sunday, September 23 at noon PDT.

At 12:01pm on Sunday you can come to IGN and check out our in-depth review of Halo 3. You'll also be able to check out more than 250 new screenshots, loads of new videos, and more. You won't be able to finish the fight until Tuesday. But at least you can watch us get in a few good punches this weekend.

For further reading, click here.

The Halo Portal team has been bolstered with three new site editors! Haranabi, Incidnia and Tiki Penguin. So as well as welcoming them on board, feel free to send any questions or suggestions over to them (click the links!) and they'll get right on it.

Shane, pyroguy56011 and Fifth Column are still part of the team. Can't get rid of them ;-).

You can find information on Halo 3 Launch Details from here. It goes into detail so for further information, click the link and read beyond the below quote:

Forsaking the Midwest for the four furthest corners of the U.S. map, Bungie and Microsoft have released more tantalizing details about their upcoming Halo 3 launch events scheduled for Monday night.

The Halo 3 "Midnight Madness" sell-a-thon starts at midnight Sept. 25, when more than 10,000 retail stores nationwide are set to fling wide their doors to throngs of men in homemade Master Chief helmets clutching Cortana dolls.

Here’s what’s planned for the Halo launch in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami and Seattle (sorry, chewy center of the country - no Chicago).

The EGM magazine isn't released until August 11[sup]th[/sup], however we have managed to get our hands on not one, not two but 30 scans from the game (courtesy of GameTrailers), which will allow you to read the article yourself, and decide for yourself if the new additions to the game are worth the fact that there will be no more On-line Co-op Mode.

Halo 3 is considered Microsoft's prized game, that is said to boost the sales of the console expenentially. However, it seems that GamerSquad have gotten news that Halo 3 WONT be playable online.

Multiplayer will still be an option via LAN and Split-Screen, however when it comes to playing the game over XBOX Live, it seems that Bungie are struggling to get the game running "niggle-free" over the Live service.

"We're not dumb," explained Bungie's Frank O'Connor. "We know that people want it and we're trying to make it happen. I think the biggest problem for us for online co-op is that we have a situation where you can be in a Warthog with five troops, almost a mile away from the other player. That's a significant challenge. And there's lots of design things you could do to prevent that from happening, but they would make it not feel like Halo anymore. If we can make it happen in a way that works well, we will - and if it works badly, we won't."

The news was revealed in the latest version of the EGM magazine, which also gave details on new weapons (Flare, Brute shotgun, Gravity Hammer) and transport (Hornets & Elephants).

If you want to learn more about the details you will however have to wait till August 11^th when the EGM magazine goes on sale.

New screens for Halo 3 beta, showing some of the new weapons and levels that are in the game. There seems to be a lot more heavy artillery in the game's arsenal of weapons. Also, the Mongoose is looking pretty nice, which can seat two people, shown in another screen at Gamespot.

Link to full article at with the picture releases can be found at GameGrep.com

In a news article released today, Bungie made the announcement that the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta fans have been waiting for finally has a solid release date; on May 16 at 12:00 A.M. PDT, the Beta will open up to those who have completed the steps necessary to access it. Three weeks later, on June 6, the Beta will be locked up and fans will have to wait until the game's release this fall to play it again.

Bungie also released a new Video Documentary that goes into detail on a few aspects of the Halo 3 multiplayer.

Check out the full news story here.

Bungie surprised quite a few gamers with today's Weekly Update, in which they announced all Xbox Live rankings will be reset during a new Halo 2 auto-update scheduled to be released sometime next week.

Aside from re-setting all rankings to level one, the update will prepare for the addition of two new maps on April 17 and make it even easier for Bungie to spot cheaters. For more information, check out the full Weekly Update, which also talks about Halo 3 cinematics and the new and improved Halo 3 fusion cores.

Earlier today Bungie Studios made the announcement that two new Halo 2 multiplayer maps will become available to Xbox and Xbox 360 gamers on April 17, despite earlier announcements that the maps would be for 360 gamers only.

The two maps, called Tombstone and Desolation, are remakes of popular maps from Halo 1. Tombstone is a remake of fan-favorite Hang 'Em High, while Desolation is a small, symmetrical map that should prove to be popular among competitive gamers.

The maps will be released on April 17 at the price of $4. The Halo 3 multiplayer beta should also be released around this time, but no official announcement has been made about that yet.

In the past month, the First Annual PC Gaming Awards have taken place on Neoseeker, taking the choices of members of the site (registration is free) and awarding the games mention in categories based on genre, aspects of games and an overall list of favourites.

Unfortunately, while Halo for the PC did not manage to win any awards, it managed a Runner Up position right behind Half-Life 2 for the Best Action/Adventure game in the contest, quite a feat, considering how many games there are out there in the genre.

Mishtram, who ran the competition this year, plans to bring it back next year due to the success it had with the Neoseeker membership. We hope you'll join us next year in choosing the best games to grace us in 2007!

[Leave a Comment]

Gamers who successfully completed Microsoft's "Rule of Three" program and were among the first 13,333 to correctly register on halo3.com would have received an e-mail from Xbox Flash last night notifying them of their acceptance into the Beta.

The e-mail reads as follows:

Congratulations [Gamertag],

You were one of the first 13,333 gamers to meet the "Rule of Three" program eligibility requirements. As a result, you have been selected to participate in the Halo® 3 beta.

In order to participate, you must have access to:

* An Xbox 360™ Pro console or Xbox 360 Core console with hard drive
* A valid Xbox Live® Gold subscription

Keep an eye on your inbox, we will be sending more information about this opportunity soon.

If you did not receive an e-mail and did not make it through phase one of the Beta, the only way you will be able to play the Beta is buy purchasing a specially marked box of Crackdown for the 360 when it comes out on February 20.

Anyone who correctly signed up to participate in the Halo 3 multiplayer beta via the Halo 3 website should have received an e-mail today from "Xbox Flash." The e-mail stated that those who had been chosen to participate in the beta would receive an additional e-mail notification within the next two days.

If you were not accepted to participate in the beta through this method, don't worry; you can still join the group of beta testers by the two methods listed in the news posting below.

Today, Microsoft has announced two new ways that eager fans can participate in the Halo 3 Beta this Spring.

The first way is by playing Halo 2 online. This is what Microsoft had to say on it:

"Beginning Thursday, February 1, at 12:01 a.m. EST, all gamers need to do is participate in at least three hours of "Halo 2" multiplayer sessions, via Xbox Live, before February 3, at 11:59 p.m. EST and then be among the first 13,333 to register at Halo3.com. The 'Rule of Three' program is currently planned for gamers in the 50 United States (includes District of Columbia) age 17 years and older who have access to an Xbox 360 Pro console or an Xbox 360 Core console with hard drive, a valid Xbox Live Gold subscription and the 'Halo 2' game. Gamers around the world are encouraged to visit Halo3.com in the coming weeks for more information on the 'Rule of Three' program in their region."


The second and easier (yet more expensive) way is by purchasing Crackdown for the 360 when it releases in the United States on February 20th. When the beta becomes open to the public, those who own Crackdown along with Xbox Live and a hard drive can simply download the beta and start playing. Be sure to reserve your copy, as this will certainly provide a massive boost to Crackdown's sales. It will certainly be interesting to see how many people purchase the game just to play the beta compared to how many people bought Halo 2!


Digg this article!

The new Halo 3 trailer premiered last night during ESPN's Monday Night Football, and we have a direct-feed available for download! The trailer is 60 seconds long, and contains hints as to some of the new things we can expect in the last game of the trilogy. So instead of reading a paragraph of what the trailer contains, why don't you download it yourself?

12/04/06 Update: A lot of people have been having a hard time getting the site used to sign up for the Halo 3 Beta to work as different errors have occurred. Thankfully, halo.bungie.org have a link that seems to be working for everyone, regardless of their browser. As of right now though, this is only for those who live in the US or Canada. Please go here to sign up for the Halo 3 Beta. Also, just because you sign up does not mean you will be selected for the testing, so try and not get your hopes up!


Registration for the Halo 3 Beta starts tomorrow, so for those of you who want to brag to all your friends that you get to play Halo 3 months before they do, be sure to go to Halo3.com as soon as you can to sign up! If you miss out on a chance to register, you need not to worry. Microsoft has said there will be more opportunities in the future to sign up.

Also, the brand new 60-second trailer premieres tomorrow during ESPN's Monday Night Football, which will also be available on the Xbox Live Marketplace soon afterwards.

Some of you might also be pleased to know that Bungie is already testing Halo 3 on public servers. Those who have Xbox Live may come across players playing a game called "Pimps At Sea (Alpha)", which loyal readers of bungie.net will know to be a joke, but it is also the code name being used for Halo 3 right now.

More information on Halo 3 and the beta testing soon!

November 15th was Halo's fifth anniversary, and along with it came some exciting news that will be sure to hype up fans everywhere.

First off, a Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta has been announced for Spring 2007. While no one knows how gamers can participate in the testing yet, Bungie is going to use feedback from gamers to improve upon Halo 3 for it's more than likely Fall release.

Second, also coming in Spring 2007 are new multiplayer maps for Halo 2 that will be exclusive to the Xbox 360.

Last, on December 4th during ESPN Monday Night Football, a 60-second trailer for Halo 3 will premiere, which will also be available to download on the Xbox Live Marketplace along with a new video documentary on the creation of Halo 3, with new music to go along with it!


Stay tuned for more news on Halo 3!

The new December '06 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly has just been released, along with 17 pages of any and all information on Halo 3, and we have full details right here!

Since there is so much information to be read, I have split it into sections for easier reading and understanding:


Weapons

Players can now see what exact weapons everyone is packing, as a person's 2nd weapon can now be seen on their back (think Gears of War). So if someone is using a Shotgun but is also carrying a Rocket Launcher, you'll know. Now maybe people will not be so quick to rush others they think are only carrying a Needler and then realizing their fatal mistake when a rocket is suddenly an inch from their face.

The following is a list of the weapons we know to be in Halo 3:

Assault Rifle - Yes, the Assault Rifle is back and improved! Replacing the submachine gun as the default spawn weapon in multiplayer, the Assault Rifle is now more accurate (although it carries less ammo), making it better to use at a wider range than before. Up close and personal though, the Shotgun will still win unless you know how to work those feet!

Battle Rifle - The BR returns, and works the same as it did before, providing better accuracy (but slower firing rate) at long-range than the Assault Rifle.

Energy Sword - For those of you who fail at side-stepping anyone who tries to strike you down with this, Bungie is looking at ways to balance the weapon, although it is still a "power weapon".

Grenades - At this point, players can now only carry two grenades of each type (Frag, Plasma, and the new Spike Grenades (scroll down)). The capacity has been lowered because it encourages players to move about the map more as you constantly have to resupply them.

Needler - Unlike in Halo 2, in Halo 3 you are not able to dual-wield the Needler. Bungie is making it more effective and "usable".

Pistol - The Pistol makes a return, but in regards to whether it's the Pistol from Halo 1 or it's sequel is not known yet, although Bungie does acknowledge hardcore fans prefer the original.

Spartan Laser - A shoulder-mounted laser cannon, this antivehicle weapon is strong enough to go through multiple enemies at once or take down those pesky Warthogs in just one blast. It is so powerful that it takes two seconds of charging before it is fired, leaving you open to any attacks. Bungie may tweak the gun though so players will focus on it's usage for vehicles, and not members of the opposing team.

Spike Grenade - A new type of grenade from the Brutes, these grenades look similar to spiked clubs, and whereas Plasma Grenades can only stick to people, these grenades can stick to anything. When these explode, they launch out spikes in a conical explosion, making them more effective for dealing damage at greater distances but less effective when it comes to affecting wider areas. You can stand right to the side of an explosion and not be hurt, although it can kill you if someone simply sticks to the wall or door shield (scroll down) in front of you. A common tactic for these will be when one wants to slow-down pursuers. You can stick a grenade into the wall as you turn a corner or go through a doorway.

Spiker - The Brute's version of the submachine gun, this dual-wieldable gun fires sharp metal bolts with more power but slower firing rate than its human equivalent. What makes it unique though is the giant pair of blades located under it's double barrels. Spiker melee attacks will do more damage than a normal strike with your other guns.

Submachine Gun - While it could change before release, as of now the Submachine Gun fires faster than it did before.




Multiplayer Features

Boundaries - In the previous games, players were bounded in levels by giant walls or cliffs. With the power of the 360, the developers wanted to show off what they could do with the graphics and draw-distance, so instead of huge obstructions, the only things keeping you from running away from the battlefield are turrets. A system similar to Tribes (but more lethal), if you go too far past the turrets away from the battlefield, you will get an alarm warning you to return as quickly as possible. Failing to do so results in your horrible death, as the turrets do not hesitate to pump you full of bullets. Being able to look out in the distance though does make the levels seem larger, showcasing epic worlds that capture the true essence of Halo.

Door Shields - Door Shields are basically force fields one can go through. The catch is attacks can't, as weapon fire and grenades cannot penetrate the shields, only your armor can. Two enemies can stand on opposing sides all day firing at each other, but no one can be hurt unless one of them pokes their body through the force field. You could inch yourself just a little bit to the other side, throw a grenade, and back up to avoid taking damage, although your opponent could just rush through the shield towards you to avoid taking any damage also, forcing you into a less than comfortable close-quarters battle. Better hope they don't have an energy sword! Door shields can also make for other interesting scenarios. Think about game types like Capture The Flag or Oddball, where one player becomes the main target. The player carrying the flag/skull will be running from door shield to door shield, whereas the other players will be chasing along or trying to flank them. Spike grenades will probably come into play as they are the only weapon that could hurt someone on the opposite side of a shield, and smart teams will try their best to trap the carrier between door shields, leaving them helpless from escape.


Man-Cannons - Yes, man-cannons. While many people thought it was just a poor translation from a Swedish magazine, this is what Bungie actually calls them...as of now at least. EGM quoted Bungie as saying "We call them man-cannons because it makes us giggle", so it is very possible the name will be changed by release. :P We reported before that players can launch themselves out of the cannons, being able to shoot (and be shot by) other players. These cannons take the place of the boring teleporters of before, sending players near the middle of the map, and can also be used to launch more than just the player. Remember fusion cores (exploding barrels)? You can also launch those out of the cannons to land on an unsuspecting foe (or ally), although the chances of this happening are very small. You can also launch vehicles out of the cannons too, although they will not shoot as far as your body. The weight and size of the vehicle also matters, as a Mongoose will launch much farther than a Warthog for example.


Match Customization - The customization options in Halo 3 far surpass what it's predecessor could offer. Hosts can now alter more options than ever before to make what they consider the perfect game. Before, you could edit game types and what weapons everyone will use, along with the look of your Spartan. Now you can change a lot more: Player speed, jumping ability (Gravity), shield strength, vitality, power-ups (or power-downs), spawning weapons, motion sensor traits, and appearance (EGM notes it is possible to make all of the players look like they're on fire). Depending on the game type, you will have even more options to fiddle around with. If you want, you could have the winning team's speed cut in half or have them on fire to track them down easier. In games like Capture The Flag and Oddball, the player with the flag/skull could be made incredibly fast, but so weak one shot could bring them down, or you could make them incredibly slow but incredibly strong. The possibilities are endless.

Something I personally am interested in is moon jumps. Battles with the gravity as low as possible will definitely be interesting with everyone jumping large distances and floating in the air.

Players can also edit the power-ups, and even fill a power-up with everything possible. When a person picks one up, you could have them get an overshield, invisibility, super speed, superhuman leaping, extra damage, and make them look like they are on fire. If you rather be mean and sneaky, you can also create power-downs, like decreasing someone's speed instead of boosting their shields.

EGM brings up the good point of why people would want to play a "normal" game again, especially after experiencing super-speed and moon jumps. Bungie replies "In our ranked Xbox Live playlists, a player will seldom find games which are so fundamentally different from our core game. Getting too used to a different speed or higher damage or even no motion sensor could handicap a competitive player."

Also, if you are having trouble finding other players for your amazingly fun and creative game type, you can advertise it. Halo 3's Xbox Live interface has been revamped to include a hopper for such a purpose. It is basically matchmaking for custom games. If you are interested in playing an off-the-wall game, you can search for it in the hopper, and if no one else has made it, you can create and then advertise it yourself. You will also be able to search and play Unranked games made by Bungie themselves, or you can seek ranked games for opponents of a similar skill level.

If you are making a game type that no one else in the lobby cares for, they can veto it. This helps players play more varied games if they wish, and will also help Bungie keep track of what people do and don't like. It helps them decide if they should remove something from the hopper or not if a lot of people dislike it.

Ranking - Bungie is revamping the Ranking to fix two problems that occur with the current system. The first problem is players that derive sick pleasure from starting new accounts to demolish innocent beginners, and the 2nd problem is the cheap bastards who continuously use up free trials instead of just setting up a single account and staying with it. Bungie wants players to create a character and stick with it throughout their entire online career, so besides the fact that unlockable achievements will be lost when a new account is started, Bungie also wants to tie the ranking system into the game's fiction. One of the developers at Bungie explains:

"You're recruited into the Spartan program, so you start out as a recruit, and over your number of games, regardless of whether they're ranked or social or custom games, you earn experience points and go up in rank." You gain experience in two different ways. One is based off of winning games and getting lots of kills, and the other is by simply playing the game a lot. Bungie continues "So we have two paths you have to go down. One is about winning, and the other is just about playing a lot and having fun. People who don't spend a lot of time in ranked matchmaking can still go very high in the experience rating."

Players will also receive sub-ranks within each rank based on their performance, such as Sergeant and Master Sergeant. "We're talking about ways to use all these things in combination to avoid the scenario where every time a new playlist is rolled out, everybody's automatically treated as level one again. If you just get in a new hopper and you're skill level one, but your experience level is high, people are going to know you're a badass, that you've played a ton."

The postmatch lobby now displays more stats than ever before, like each player's kill/death spread, what particular weapons you were killed by, and the top three medal winners. Speaking of lobbies, you will also be able to view all of your recently played game types and play them again, or save them for later if you wish.


The Mysterious X Button - We mentioned before about how firing and reloading your guns are now actions performed by the corresponding Left and Right Triggers/Bumpers, leaving the X button available for who knows what. While we still do not exactly know what it is used for, after a match between EGM and Bungie, one of the developers asked the other "How many times did you hit X during that?" to which he responded "Tons - I wish it was active in this [version]." Speculation leads to belief that it is either a dash button (they were planning it for Halo 2, remember?) or a temporary shield boost. If either of these are true, I am interested to see how it will work when players have already modified everyone's speed or shield strength. It better be awesome with all this secrecy around it!

Service Numbers - These are one letter, two number ID's that appear over your teammate's heads, helping you identify your buddies easier as opposed to trying to make out the crazy ass symbol they created. It makes it much easier to give orders or warn others of their impending doom.


Miscellaneous

These are just bits of info on Halo 3 that I did not bother to crunch into the above paragraphs.

Damage Indicator - Your screen will flash in the enemy's direction when taking damage.

Matches still consist of 16 players max. Bungie feels that Halo does not work well with too many people. Also, still no bots.

Motion-tracking radar and voice-proximity work the same.

Besides the Mongoose, there might be another new vehicle in the works. EGM is calling it the "Brute Ghost" because it looks like a bulkier version of the Ghost we're used to, but Brutes are the ones using it instead of your normal Elites. It was shown during the 20-second movie clip of the single player campaign that was shown to EGM.

For those of you worried that the movies you can now record of your multiplayer and single player experiences will take up a ton of hard drive space need not to worry. The clips are game-engine reconstructions of collision, ballistics, and movement data instead of actual recordings of game footage, therefore only taking up a tiny bit of space.



Well, that is it all for now! For those of you wanting the pretty screens or specific details on the new multiplayer maps, pick up the December issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly now!

By Vito Raliffe

Start a Forum thread on this news story

PLATFORMS

Halo 3 [XBOX360]

The December issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly has the first details on Halo 3, which you can read in this article. The issue itself will have a 17-page cover story on the game, so be sure to check it out for screens and even more in-depth information. Also, over the next few weeks, TONS of new information on Halo 3 is going to be released, so keep checking back for all of the up-to-date information.


First off, Halo 3 will have more than just one special edition. Along with the normal "Collector's Edition", the most hardcore of fans can also pick up the "Legendary Edition", which not only includes four bonus DVD's of content, but will also come with a replica Spartan helmet. I recommend reserving that edition as early as possible.

Second, we now know of three new weapons and an upgraded one. Two of them come from the Brutes, which are the Spike Rifle and Spike Grenades. The Spike Grenades will actually stick to walls and explode into sharp projectiles. Sounds painful huh? Also, the other weapon, which is a new Spartan laser, is said to be difficult to control, but can also disable vehicles in just one hit. We are also supposed to have the perfect starting weapon, which all we know now is that it is a new version of the Assault Rifle. AWESOME! Something else that is not exactly related to weapons but it still of note, is that there will be cannons to shoot players across the map, and you will be able to shoot at them and vice-versa while flying over their heads.

Third, Halo 3 is supposed to have The Mongoose, which is a two-seater ATV that was supposed to be included in the previous games. It is built for speed and doesn't have any weapons attatched to it though.

Fourth, three new multiplayer maps have been confirmed, which are High Ground, Snowbound, and Valhalla. Valhalla is said to be "the new Blood Gulch", although it is a completely new map and not just another Coagulation.

Fifth, seeing as how reloading weapons has now been assigned to both bumpers (Left for the left weapon and right for the right weapon), the X button is supposed to play a major role, as in changing the way you play Halo. In what way? Hopefully we will know soon.

Last but definitely not least, we can now record and save movies of our single and multiplayer games. So now when you claim to have taken on 10 players at once with just a Needler and surviving, you can prove it.


Lots of new Halo 3 information soon!

Yesterday, movie studios Universal and 20th Century Fox dropped out of production for the developing Halo movie. Ken Karmins, who is Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson's representative, told Variety this:

""What happened was this: Universal, on behalf of both studios, asked for a meeting with the filmmakers just prior to the due date of a significant payment. Basically, they said that in order to move forward with the film, the filmmakers had to significantly reduce their deals. They waited until the last minute to have this conversation. Peter and Fran, after speaking with their producing partners and with Microsoft and Bungie, respectfully declined."

But not to worry, as pre-production is still continuing, and as of right now Microsoft is in talks with other studios to distribute the film.

More on the Halo movie soon.

Halo is arguably the most popular Sci-Fi shooter of all time, currently bringing in a larger target audience than most other games in similar genres. It also appears that Halo has begun to inspire just more than people, however, as the upcoming Lost Planet game, due for release in January, credits the game as the drive behind all the work on that project.

"I really wanted to do something as cool as Halo," he explained. "I'm a big Halo fan, but it's not well known in Japan. It's very interesting, but very American." It was apparently this stance that Inafune took to the publisher when seeking the greenlight for the title. "When we described the idea, we couldn't get approval. But, when we showed them what we were working on, we got approval," Inafune revealed, explaining that Capcom were initially concerned by Halo's lack of success in Japan.

[Source]

Bruce Shelly, from Dallas, Texas, an employee of Ensemble, currently working on Halo Wars, recently updated his blog to include a bit about Halo Wars within it, discussing such things as RTS creation and how fast the team is building which is currently working on the project.

Halo Wars has been proceeding for months under the code name Phoenix. We have been working with the Bungie team closely to be sure that the vision for Halo Wars syncs up with their games and story. Our goal is to develop a full RTS game specifically for the X-360. We think X-360 gamers are ready for the RTS experience and the MGS leadership believes a quality RTS can expand the platform community. Our team specifically sees this as a cool challenge to take advantage of the technology, do something different, and open up a new genre to the platform.


The Halo Wars team is the fastest growing at ES right now. Much of The WarChiefs team is rolling over to it and many of our new employees are also joining. The team is being led by veteran ES producer Chris Rippy and Lead Programmer Angelo Laudon. Both have been with ES from the start, nearly 12 years ago. Angelo was Lead Programmer on Age I and Age II. The Art Lead is Mathew Goldman, an industry veteran with many titles to his credit from years at Bioware. Lead Designer is Graeme Devine, another industry veteran with 20+ years experience. We think the project is in great hands.


This game has a long way to go before being published and we won’t be getting into too many specifics about it for a while. But it is being played every day now and we are feeling very good about where it is and where it is going. You can check on it at our Halo Wars community site.

[Source]

With so little news coming in for Halo 3, it makes sense that fans are starting to get a little tense with the lack of information on one of their favourite games. Lo' and behold, the website operators are following. Officially sick and tired of waiting for information, GamePro has gone ahead and made a four page article on their version of Halo 3, from the game design to a master wishlist for the game.

The Plot

Singleplayer and Multiplayer Design Briefs

Arsenal Evolved: The Guns of Halo 3

The Master Halo 3 Wishlist

Check out the "Design Doc" as created by GamePro, it's definitely worth the read.

[Source]

By Mishtram

Start a Forum thread on this news story

PLATFORMS

Halo 3 [XBOX360]

If you own a Verizon Mobile Phone and are a fan of Halo, a treat has come out for you. Verizon Wireless has started up a Halo network accessible from your cell phone, where you can download statistics, check out graphics, and download ringtones, all based on the famous Sci-Fi shooter.

You will also be able to set up your phone to get news sent directly to your phone, and tell you what's going on in the Halo world. Along with that, codes from gameplay can be used to get into an exclusive vault area, where you can find more Halo stuff to use on your phone.

While the Mobile Portal is free, you do have to pay with "credits" to buy what you want for content, and the download to get the required application on your computer itself. Prices range from one credit ($2.49), two credits ($5.99) and five credits ($9.49).

[Source]

If you are interested in the new Halo game coming out, Halo wars, this is definitely something you will want to check out! XboxWay International has put up a session by XCN, where they interview Phil Spencer and Dave Luehmann, and get some answers to a few frequently asked questions.

Within, they discuss how the two companies are working together on this game, engine use, and a little bit on game mechanics, but it looks like they've got no set release date for us, or even an estimate. A bit from the article below:

XCN: Will you be able to play as the Covenant in Halo Wars?

Dave Luehmann: I don't think we've made any promises on that...

XCN: Is Halo Wars a straight RTS or is it doing something different?

Phil Spencer: I think the term RTS will stick but when you play it I think you'll see that it is very difficult. Ensemble started by working out how the strategy game could fit into the console environment, not from the point of view of working out how they could make a Halo RTS game. Halo actually started as an RTS on Mac, but this is a completely new endeavour.

[Source]

Microsoft's Xbox corporate VP Peter Moore announces at the X06 conference in Barcelona that his company has partnered with Academy Award-winning director Peter Jackson and screenwriter Fran Walsh for two new Xbox 360 projects. One will be a new entry in Bungie Studios' Halo franchise, while the other will be an entirely new series. The new Halo title(s) will be co-developed by Bungie and Wingnut Interactive, a subdivision of Jackson's own film company, Wingnut Films.

"It's a form of entertainment that's not a game and it's not a film. It's a filmic game experience," Jackson told an enthusiastic crowd. "I think we're on a threshold of a new way to tell stories. With that in mind we discussed a way to do it, and with that in mind we decided that the first title should be something that will allow us to not have to devise a whole new world but to allow us to tell the story.

"Given the fact we are making a little movie called Halo at the moment, and we're in partnership with the nice guys at Bungie, we decided the Halo universe is the best place for us to start," said Jackson. "It's not Halo 3 or four. It's not the film. But it is based on that amazing world."

Today at the end of the X06 conference, a trailer premiered for Halo Wars. Halo Wars is a real-time strategy game being developed by Ensemble Studios exclusively for the 360. RTS fans may recognize Ensemble Studios as being the creators of the critically-acclaimed Age of Empires.

The game will take place before the events of the original Halo, as players lead the crew of the UNSC’s “Spirit of Fire” against their first encounters with the Covenant.

The trailer clocks in 1:32 (one minute and thirty-two seconds) and is entirely pre-rendered.

We here at Neoseeker have a direct-feed of the trailer, so what are you waiting for?





Stay tuned for more details, but until then, check out their Official site!


Update: Our direct-feed of the video is working now! Also, the trailer is now available for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace. It is 89 MB.

An Xbox.com announcement posted on August 9th revealed that Neill Blomkamp has signed on to direct the upcoming Halo movie. Blomkamp is a highly-acclaimed director of both commercials and short films, but he has yet to direct a full-length film.

Peter Jackson, the movie's executive producer, had this to say on the subject:

As a gaming fan, I'm excited to bring Halo's premise, action, and settings to the screen with all the specificity and reality today's technology can provide. Fran and I are intrigued by the unique challenges this project offers, and we're delighted to be working again with our friends at Universal, and with our new ones at Fox and Microsoft. With Neill on board, I'm even more excited by the potential of this project.

The Halo movie is currently scheduled for release in the Summer of 2008.

HD Quality Version (around 56mb) for broadband connections (WMV Format) About 2:25 long. Dial-up/Narrowband users should check out the LQ Version coming in at only 5.6mb

Download Here On Files.Neoseeker.com

Low Quality Version (around 5.6mb) for bandwidth limited connections (WMV Format) About 2:25 long. Broadband users should check out the HD Version (coming soon)

Download Here On Files.Neoseeker.com

In an interview, Shane Kim, Head of Microsoft Game Studios, pretty much confirmed that the next Halo game will be present at E3 when he said this:

"You mean the mythical Halo 3? I mean, it's silly to deny its existence when the chairman of MS (Bill Gates) announced it, but I have nothing to announce now, but expect there to be a significant announcement at E3."

Source

Also, Peter Moore also said something interesting regarding the presence of Halo 3 at E3 and its release date: Moore stated the following:

Expect to see the first footage from the next instalment of Halo at E3, which might shift some focus away from the competition. The game won't hit stores until 2007, however.

Sources 1 | Source 2

In the latest Halo 2 Vista development, Bungie have sat down and talked to Jo Clowes and Matt Gradwohl, part of the Halo 2 Vista development team. They talk briefly about the reasons why Halo 2 went Vista-only (more power, HD visuals etc) and a brief mention of the level editor (details soon).

And in other news, Bungie has finally decided on a release date for the Vol 2 soundtrack, it'll make it's apperance on April 25th, head over to bungie.net for the latest information on that.

---

Related links:
Inside Halo 2 Vista | Halo 2 Soundtrack, Vol. 2 Release Date

---

Will there ever be a Halo 2 PC?

Well according to Joystig and a recently pulled article on the BBC news website, Halo 2 might make it's debut on Windows Vista later this year.

Update: It seems earlier reports have been confirmed. The BBC has republished the article that was removed earlier and it confirms Halo 2 will be available on the PC.

Sadly, it requires an upgrade to Windows Vista to be able to play the game; The Vista version will offer single and multi-player, extra maps and software tools to create new levels.

Article

Recently a romour was released about a Halo-related character will be secretly hidden in Team Ninjas upcoming game for the XBOX 360, Dead or Alive 4.

"You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the explanation for a Halo character in the DOA universe, even if it’s a bit tongue in cheek."

Bungie have said that the two companies have worked together to bring Halo into the DOA world, and will be a sight to see for both Halo and DOA fans:

I have created a few free Halo screensavers, which are now available for download. These have been made using Quartz Composer, which is one of the applications included in the Apple Developer Tools package.

These screen savers are for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger only, and I do not plan to make them available for Windows.

Click here to check them out and download them.

Created by Edwin Davis

This might be the closest thing to Halo 2 PC gamers without a Xbox will come. Built from scratch and it brings you all the goods from Halo 2, including 2 new weapons! So if you own the PC version you should download it, now.

Full story

Slowly but surely, Microsoft seems to be making headway on an upcoming Halo movie.

Microsoft "has quietly put the finishing touches on a million-dollar deal" with Alex Garland, screenwriter of 28 Days Later.

For the past three months, rumors have been circulating the net that Ridley Scott is set to be working alongside Garland as the director of the film, but Microsoft hasn't released any information confirming or denying this at the moment.

The Halo 2 Icon set consists of 38 128x128 high-res Icons of various characters, weapons and vehicles from the game. There are even some vehicles (such as the warthog variations) which I included, that are not on the final game. I Created these Icons using Adobe Photoshop and Iconographer. The pictures I used to make these icons mainly came from the Halo 2 human manual, but I also used a few from elsewhere.

Download them from here

Created by Edwin Davis
http://www.eddav.dyndns.org

Halo and Master Chief have been nominated for the "Walk
of Game" award at the San Francisco Metreon venue. To help Halo and the Cheif to have a star in there honour, you need to register and vote.

At the moment, there both way ahead of the competition so to keep it that way, stop by and vote.