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December 2009

December 2009 Archived News

News December 31 2009

Halo Merch - for cheap
ST is selling a bunch of Halo schwag on eBay - bid over the next week, or save nearly $10 (over the eBay Buy It Now price) with an HBO-only Buy It Now price. Good looking stuff! (Louis Wu 17:24:07 UTC) (permalink)

Hide, Seek, Snap, Round 2
Round 2 of our Hide, Seek, Snap contest is now live - swing by and see if you can reproduce the screenshot! If you're the first to do so, you win a Sgt. Johnson code, courtesy of AfroRyan. Good luck! (Louis Wu 16:29:55 UTC) (permalink)

RvB Holiday Special 2009 - on the web
Burnie Burns announced that the RvB Holiday Special is up on the Rooster Teeth website now - for sponsors, all three parts are available, for non-sponsors, Part 1 is up now, while Part 2 and Part 3 will be live later today. If you missed these on Waypoint, go watch 'em now! (Louis Wu 16:29:32 UTC) (permalink)

IndyStar's Top games of the last decade
IndyStar.com has put up their own list of 'Top games of the last decade' - Halo (the original) made the list. (Louis Wu 16:29:01 UTC) (permalink)

News December 30 2009

GameStooge says Halo 3/Halo best of the series
Naveeda noticed that Game Stooge has their own '50 Greatest Games of the Decade' - Halo 3 came in at #6, Halo at #4, Halo 2 and ODST aren't on the list. Update: De Laal points out that Halo 2 is at #38. (I didn't find it because some of the navigation links are bad - and I didn't notice I was searching the 50-41 list more than once.) (Louis Wu 19:41:33 UTC) (permalink)

Return Teaser
Nabsuh stopped in with a teaser for 'Return', a new film from AVCOM Productions. It's really, really short, but it will whet your appetite! (Happy Birthday, Nabsuh!) (Louis Wu 16:38:06 UTC) (permalink)

ODST: Ghost
Tony 'ubald' Marcotte is back with another render - this one is called 'ODST: Ghost', and it places some ODST models into a photographic background. Works wonderfully! (Louis Wu 16:34:08 UTC) (permalink)

More end-of-year awards
Terminal Gamer picked Halo 3: ODST as their 2009 Xbox 360 Game of the Year; they might not know that the 'O' in 'ODST' stands for 'Orbital', but they know quality when they see it! Newsarama.com liked it, too - It won 'Best Xbox 360 Exclusive Game 2009'. The Bitbag is putting together its Editor's Choice Awards, and ODST made the nominees lists of editors Chad Betteridge (Best FPS Game, Best Multiplayer Game, Best Original Score), Spencer Thompson (Best FPS Game, Best War Game, Best Original Score), and Torrence Davis (Best Story, Best Original Score). Halo Wars also got a Best Strategy Game nomination from Thompson. We'll have to wait and see how this turns out! Update: Bitbag Editor Jon Shaw added his nominations - ODST is up for Best FPS, Best Sound, and Best Multiplayer, while Halo Wars is on the list for Best New IP, Best Strategy, and Best Tech. (Louis Wu 16:31:53 UTC) (permalink)

ODS Steve: Care Package Part 2
Hawty McBloggy let us know that the latest Chronicles of ODS Steve (#54, Care Package Part 2) is live at her site. Go see what starts their engines! (Louis Wu 16:31:11 UTC) (permalink)

NP's most influential video games since Y2K
The Ampersand, a blog at Canada's National Post, looked at the Most Influential Games of the Decade - Halo 2 made the list, with Halo as an Honorable Mention. (Louis Wu 16:29:34 UTC) (permalink)

Man... imagine that in a paintball event
GrimBrother One noticed an article about the Ford Amatoya, a firefighting vehicle that might or might not owe some inspiration to the Halo Warthog. Cool car, either way! (Louis Wu 16:29:14 UTC) (permalink)

Halo HMVs
Cortana4ever is back into making Halo music videos - go check out 'Helena', and a WIP to 'Libera Me From Hell'. (Louis Wu 16:28:24 UTC) (permalink)

You gotta wonder about the fork.
Hedgemony sent early New Year's wishes - yay! (Louis Wu 13:37:54 UTC) (permalink)

Gems from DA
Cool artwork, found over at DeviantART by forumgoers:

• HALO 3: ODST Commission 1 is a piece that Cryptcrawler did as a commission for Bungie - I don't know if it was ever used, but GEEZ it's amazing. (Thanks, Darknesshasfallen.) This is labeled 'Commission 1', and the description states it's one of two - but the other one is not visible in his gallery. There IS, however, a 'Progress' image showing the development of this one.
• The Great Journey is a gorgeous pic from julian399 of a Halo pulse (thanks, Metalingus627).

I love it when stuff like this gets found. Update: PFG has solved the mystery of where Cryptcrawler's commission was used. (Louis Wu 13:37:06 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Marathon
A bunch of hardcore speed runners are planning to run through all 4 Halo games in under 17 hours on New Year's Eve to raise money for Child's Play - swing by their dedicated website for more details! (Thanks, Cody - who found the announcement at High Impact Halo.) (Louis Wu 13:36:31 UTC) (permalink)

Analyzing Halo Legends
0postmortem0 has been trying to get some help publishing some analysis pieces about the Halo Legends episodes; illustrations have been hard to come by, and the full size of the writing has been cumbersome. So he's decided to start smaller. Swing by this post for an abridged version of his Babysitter analysis - see what you think! (Louis Wu 13:36:05 UTC) (permalink)

Gamestop PSA Contest - Winner
Back in September, we mentioned a contest run by Gamestop - winners would have their PSA made by the Rooster Teeth team. DHalo stopped in to point out that a winner has been announced - you can watch the result at Gamestop.com. (Louis Wu 13:35:07 UTC) (permalink)

Tweaking EXP
FyreWulff put together a heavily thought-out treatise of the Experience system, and how it might be tweaked for Reach. It's all speculation/suggestions - but it's good reading! (Louis Wu 13:34:48 UTC) (permalink)

News December 29 2009

How much deer would be left after a Splazer blast?
A couple of Hawty McBloggy readers have been channeling Jeff Foxworthy recently... looks like there's a new list to help you decide whether you're a Redneck Spartan or not. Go see! (Louis Wu 12:14:42 UTC) (permalink)

CVG looks at the decade's games
CVG's been running a series of articles called 'Games of the Decade' - as of now, they're up to 2004. Halo made the 2002 finalists (huh?), and actually won that year. Halo 2 was a finalist for the 2004 list (though it was edged out by World of Warcraft in the end). We'll keep an eye on this list - my guess is we'll be discussing the 2007 list in a few days. (Maybe the 2009 list, too.) (Louis Wu 12:10:23 UTC) (permalink)

Grin + Bear It: Punday Comic #1
Totally forgot to point out Sunday's Grin + Bear It, over at Hawty McBloggy's - awful, awful pun, almost makes me miss Stuntmutt. ...waitaminute... (Louis Wu 12:08:05 UTC) (permalink)

What I've Done.
AssaultGodzilla released a new HMV set to Linkin Park's What I've Done - amazing that all that footage works together. Take a look. (Louis Wu 12:06:17 UTC) (permalink)

2good4u2 - Haloramics II
2good4u2 let us know that he's released his second Halo 3 panorama montage - gorgeous pics, set to great music. Go watch! (Louis Wu 12:05:57 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 3 Online Directors Cut
Whoa. New Deal Studios has completed a director's cut demo commercial based on the visuals originally designed for the 'Believe' campaign. (This was directed by Matthew Gratzner, who designed and directed the original web campaign.) It's spectacular. Go watch it. Update: There's a very cool 'Behind the Scenes' video on New Deal Studios' website. (If the link doesn't work for you, go to the home page, then click on 'Reel' over at the right. From there, you should see 'Behind The Scenes' near the top - the 'Halo 3' link will take you to a video that shows th full 'Believe' commercial, and then two minutes of very cool footage showing the entire set under construction. Thanks, Brooke. (Louis Wu 00:17:16 UTC) (permalink)

News December 28 2009

Unskippable: Halo Wars
The Escapist has lampooned Halo Wars in their most recent Unskippable; it made me laugh. Go watch! Thanks, J23. (Louis Wu 20:01:21 UTC) (permalink)

Hide, Seek, Snap - Second Winner
The second screenshot in our Hide, Seek, Snap contest has been reproduced successfully by DGoldenGoose - congrats, that's two Johnson codes in a couple of days! We should have a new picture up for your hunting pleasure soon. (Louis Wu 15:46:35 UTC) (permalink)

PG'S HNNN
We got word from kilaM0Mjaro that PraetoriaGuard turned 5... and to celebrate, they've kicked off the Halo Nation News Network! Go download the first episode. (The same newspost also contains a link to the latest PG Podcast - PraetoriaGuard content overload! (Louis Wu 14:07:20 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Quilt
Hawty McBloggy has a bunch of pics of a Halo Screenshot quilt that one Halo fan got this Christmas from his devoted wife. Awesome! (Louis Wu 14:05:38 UTC) (permalink)

Cleanin' out the edit box
OboeCrazy had a bunch of leftover clips that she decided to put together into montages - sort of. Fun With Vehicles Mini-Montage is just that - an actual montage of vehicle clips. Sniper Extras 2 is more just a collection of sniper shots (and surrounding gameplay) - no music, no editing, just some great shots. Take a look! Neither is more than 2 minutes. (Louis Wu 14:04:59 UTC) (permalink)

Halo: Gray Team Episode 1
Christian Coppel stopped in to announce Halo: Gray Team Episode 1, a sprite-based Flash animation showing what might have happened after Gray Team lost contact with the rest of the UNSC. A fun tale! (Louis Wu 14:04:36 UTC) (permalink)

Oh Drat, Sell This
Publicola has an article called 'Seattle Games '09: The Top 5 Failures' - it looks at one blogger's disappointments from 2009. ODST is on his list. Ouch! (The rest of the list is a lot of bad-tempered ranting, so take this with a grain of salt.) (Louis Wu 14:04:04 UTC) (permalink)

Working Together so Nobody Dies
Just a reminder - the Red vs Blue Holiday Special is now complete on Halo Waypoint. Swing by to watch the three-part comedy from the Rooster Teeth crew! If you don't have access to Waypoint on LIVE, never fear - it'll be up in the not-too-distant future on RedvsBlue.com. (Louis Wu 14:03:17 UTC) (permalink)

News December 27 2009

Longshore Egg Revealed
Hedgemony noticed a tweet from a Bungie employee last night - and revealed a Longshore easter egg in a few variations. I added a few to his list... not sure if that's it. Personally, I like the Veterans Day one... (Louis Wu 15:51:05 UTC) (permalink)

A proper breaking-in
Blinding got a new tablet for Christmas - what's the first thing he drew? Yup, Halo art. Noice! (Louis Wu 15:45:49 UTC) (permalink)

Cake, delicious cake
What happens when you combine one of the coolest ideas in videogaming with one of the best videogame engines? Pure deliciousness. Check out this Portal gun... in the Halo CE engine. As Neo might say... Whoa. (Thanks, General Vagueness.) (Louis Wu 15:44:15 UTC) (permalink)

New Halo Wars Figures From McFarlane
Looks like McFarlane is making some Halo Wars action figures - fantastic detail! Thanks, rolandk73. (Louis Wu 15:42:46 UTC) (permalink)

Christmas Week Fan Fiction
I totally forgot to post the Fan Fiction queue yesterday (I wasn't ever planning on posting it Christmas Day, but I DID intend to make it live yesterday) - apologies to all the writers waiting patiently. There's quite a collection - 15 pieces, a significant number of which were submitted as part of the HBOFF Holiday Bash. Go read 'em! (Louis Wu 15:41:39 UTC) (permalink)

News December 26 2009

12 Days of Halo Christmas
Very cool - McFarlane Toys created '12 Days of Halo Christmas' - a very nice tribute to a very nice game. Check it out! (Thanks, Halo Waypoint.) (Louis Wu 17:37:24 UTC) (permalink)

Hide, Seek, Snap - First Winner
The first screenshot in our Hide, Seek, Snap contest has been reproduced - congrats to CyberKN for winning the round! There are a couple of clues up for the second shot - we'll add more as time goes on. When this shot is also reproduced, we'll add new shots! There are lots of Johnson Firefight codes to be won - so get hunting! (Louis Wu 17:25:04 UTC) (permalink)

ODST-Themed Christmas Tree
Pyro ran across a very cool ODST-themed Christmas Tree (SI ornaments for the win!) at Halotech - swing by and see some pics! (Louis Wu 17:22:37 UTC) (permalink)

Koku's Top 10 Tracks from the Halo Universe
Toby Dillman was the first to let us know about a Top 10 Tracks from the Halo Universe article at Kokugamer.com - go see if their list corresponds to yours! (Louis Wu 17:21:56 UTC) (permalink)

Big Team Battle Merry Christmas-tage
padraig08 announced a Big Team Battle Merry Christmas-tage he made, using footage from Bungie Pro videos - go celebrate on Snowtrap! (Louis Wu 17:19:01 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Reach Ringtone
Wanna ringtone from the Halo: Reach trailer? Fiery's got you covered. A powerful ring! (Louis Wu 17:18:36 UTC) (permalink)

News December 25 2009

Peace.
Another year has come and (almost) gone - and once again, we'd like to wish you a

to you and yours, from us and ours. Pax. As usual, we have a new Christmas Comic for you, from Stuntmutt... and some cool artwork shamelessly stolen from 343 Industries... and a day of rest. See you all Saturday!

News December 24 2009

SpeedSpark
One last bit of artwork, before the clock turns over to the 25th here - thanks, Hedge. (Louis Wu 23:52:42 UTC) (permalink)

Wired's 15 Most Influential Games of the Decade
Wired's got their 15 Most Influential Games of the Decade - and Halo comes in at #6. Not bad! Thanks, Cardo 8 ATL. (Louis Wu 21:23:20 UTC) (permalink)

Craig Mullins and Halo
Wow - we totally missed this when it first came out a week and a half ago, but the Halo Waypoint team interviewed Craig Mullins - bungie.org has a soft spot in its heart for this amazing artist (we started work on a gallery for his Marathon art a long, long time ago, and we owe him for our logo). Swing by Xbox.com to read the full interview - see how he comes up with the amazing work he does! (Louis Wu 20:13:11 UTC) (permalink)

RvB: Holiday Special Part 1
Red vs Blue has posted the first of their three-part Holiday Special on Halo Waypoint - part 2 will be posted tomorrow, part 3 will be up on Saturday. (Unfortunately, this means only Xbox LIVE Gold members can see these... but I'd guess they'll be up at redvsblue.com at some point, as well.) Thanks to sharpsniper99 for the heads-up! Update: Burnie has reassured the world that these WILL appear on the web in the not-too-distant future. (Louis Wu 17:37:49 UTC) (permalink)

Slay Bells - A Christmas Repost
Two years ago, Vincent let us know about a whole bunch of sprite comics he'd made; inside the huge list of comics there were a few that were Christmas-related. In honor of this holiday season, he's reposted those (in an eminently more readable format) - go check out Slay Bells! (Louis Wu 15:45:55 UTC) (permalink)

Music Experiments
gunluva's been playing around with FL Studio 8 - he recreated a section of 'Bits and Pieces' from the Soundtrack for ODST. Go see how he did! (Louis Wu 15:45:30 UTC) (permalink)

Reach's Lone Wolf, Arranged
Over at Rampancy.net, The Halo-Dragon has released an arrangement of Lone Wolf, the soundtrack from the Reach trailer. Go grab it - it's in PDF and .MUS format, along with a midi example. (Louis Wu 15:44:36 UTC) (permalink)

ODST wins FPS of the Year from Softpedia
Softpedia has picked Halo 3: ODST as their FPS of the Year - nice! (Louis Wu 15:43:46 UTC) (permalink)

Top 15 Events in the Past Decade of Gaming
Yesterday, we mentioned a G4TV article looking at the biggest turning points in gaming in the past 10 years - today, Popular Mechanics has their own list of 15 events. Halo 2 was one of those events. (Louis Wu 15:43:07 UTC) (permalink)

Operation Chastity wishes you a Merry Christmas
Pete Cooper stopped in with glad tidings for the Halo community - and word that the Operation Chastity website has been fleshed out a bit more. Check out the Armoury section (even if he's spelling it wrong!), and the Warthog blog. (Louis Wu 15:39:19 UTC) (permalink)

Haloformers - Monster
AssaultGodzilla is celebrating the season with a crossover vid - he's mashed up Halo and Transformers. Go watch Haloformers - Monster. (Louis Wu 15:38:09 UTC) (permalink)

News December 23 2009

Happy Halo-days, from Hawty McKringle
Hawty McBloggy wants to make your holiday season Halo-rich - she's giving you a chance to win all sorts of cool stuff by taking screenshots. Go read what you need to do, and when - and then get to composing! (Louis Wu 21:37:03 UTC) (permalink)

Chronicles of ODS Steve #53: Care Package
The Chronicles of ODS Steve seems to be the only comic updating regularly these days - #53 (Care Package) is online now. Thanks, Hawty! (Louis Wu 20:33:31 UTC) (permalink)

The Gaming Industry's Turning Points in the 00s
G4TV's TheFeed has a look back at the gaming industry's turning points over the past decade. Is it surprising that Halo gets mentioned a few times? (Nah.) (Louis Wu 17:01:28 UTC) (permalink)

More Wired Halo Goodness
Want a free copy of the Halo Encyclopedia, signed by Frank O'Connor? Wired and DK are giving 5 of them away. All you need to do is comment on this page (and live in the continental US - sorry). You've got until January 1. (Louis Wu 15:20:08 UTC) (permalink)

Wait, what about shipping?
Narc had a series of entertaining emails from Amazon.com about the release of Reach. (No, you won't have any better idea about when it's coming when you're done reading - but you might crack a smile.) (Louis Wu 12:41:42 UTC) (permalink)

Game Up MLG Top 10: No. 22
We missed this on Sunday when it went live, but the latest ESPN/MLG Top 10 is live, with some pretty fun plays. (Sure, there are sniper overkills - what would an ESPN/MLG Top 10 be without sniper overkills? - but you've also got trick jumps, unmanned ghost kills, and grenade mania. Fun! (Louis Wu 12:38:05 UTC) (permalink)

HBO Forum Enhancer scripts v1.0
Arithmomaniac wrote up some enhancement scripts for our forum - swing by to see what they can do, and how they can streamline your forum browsing experience! Thanks, Arithmomaniac! (Louis Wu 12:37:11 UTC) (permalink)

She's a keeper
Schedonnardus did Christmas presents with his girlfriend last night (h4x!), and came away with some amazing homemade Halo goodness. Go see. (Louis Wu 12:35:52 UTC) (permalink)

Tommy92l Christmas Message
Tommy92l sent along a Christmas message for you, wrapped up in a Halo bow. Go listen! (Louis Wu 12:35:21 UTC) (permalink)

Wired Likes Halo
Wired posted their Top 5 Xbox 360 Games as part of their Best of 2009 series - and two Halo products (Halo 3: ODST at #3, Halo Wars at #2) made the list. Not too bad! (Louis Wu 12:34:18 UTC) (permalink)

News December 22 2009

The HAFT Holiday Project
Elnea finished a project which she calls her "Half-Jewish Christmas Song" - the amount of work that went into this is pretty amazing. The entire crew from Halo Action Figure Theater is on display - along with special guests and bonus bizarreness. Watch it and laugh! (Louis Wu 19:23:55 UTC) (permalink)

I wanna know - does it fire?
Drelwic created a LEGO structure based on the Forerunner towers in the Halo games - I think it's fantastic. Go look. (Louis Wu 18:59:49 UTC) (permalink)

The Ghosts of Christmas Future
GrimBrother One put together a poem that's (as he says) non-canon, but heartwarming. In a grisly sort of way. Check it out! (Louis Wu 17:43:03 UTC) (permalink)

Hide, Seek, Snap - Win Johnson Codes
We're kicking off a new contest - this one is due to the generosity of AfroRyan. He got his hands on a bunch of Sgt Johnson codes, and we're going to help him give them away. They're not freebies, though; you have to work for 'em. (Don't worry, it's fun work.) We're going to be posting a series of screenshots, snapped from Halo 3's campaign. (There might be some ODST Campaign shots, as well, but if so, we'll warn you ahead of time.) Your job will be to figure out where the shots were taken - and duplicate them. The first person to do this for each shot will win a Johnson code. The first two shots are up on the contest page. We'll keep an eye on submissions, and if things are moving too slowly, we'll add clues until someone wins. Then we'll swap in new pics. If you need a Johnson code - this is a fun way to get one! Swing by Hide, Seek, Snap to read the rules and check out the first two pics. (Louis Wu 16:44:00 UTC) (permalink)

The Tartarus one is cool. Don't listen to her.
Hawty McBloggy collected a series of pics of 'Not Quite Right Halo Cakes' - on the one hand, I'd have been thrilled to eat ANY of these. On the other... her comments are pretty funny. Check 'em out! (While you're there, check out LEGO Master Chef.) (Louis Wu 16:36:12 UTC) (permalink)

Wait, what?
Hedgemony ran across an interesting fusion of cosplay styles on DeviantART - see what you think. (Louis Wu 16:35:40 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Tattoo in Progress
Cody Ryan Brigan is working on a new Halo tattoo - check out the early (pre-shading) stages! (Louis Wu 16:35:16 UTC) (permalink)

1v1 Map Draft
sloner52 let us know that Forgery Aid is holding a 1v1 map making contest - you've got until January 2 to submit your entry. Take a look! (Louis Wu 16:34:39 UTC) (permalink)

News December 21 2009

Giddyap.
Eddy 071 takes a stab at surrealism. Or something. (I was amused.) (Louis Wu 18:38:52 UTC) (permalink)

Doritos Unlock Xbox - vote and win stuff
Doritos has been running a contest to develop a new Xbox LIVE Arcade game since this summer - and they're down to 8 finalists. They're looking for your votes to see who advances from here. What's in it for you? Well, if you vote on the web, your vote puts you in the running for a daily Xbox 360 Arcade giveaway (33 of them to be given away until December 31). If you vote on Xbox LIVE (and this is why it's news on a Halo site), you're in the running for a daily copy of Halo 3: ODST (again, 33 copies to be given away). Swing by the site for more details - and register to win! (Louis Wu 12:50:07 UTC) (permalink)

Monday Comic Roundup
Just a couple of comics for you this Monday morning - yesterday Hawty McBloggy posted a Christmas-themed Grin + Bear It, and last week, we heard about a comic called 'Mythic Insider' from Tyrant - it's being done by his friend Gazas. (Not sure if it's a one-off, or if that's the beginning of a series...) (Louis Wu 12:49:33 UTC) (permalink)

News December 20 2009

Halo CE Promo
Kibbles pointed out a promo film made for Halo Custom Edition a couple of months ago - it's pretty slick! Just two minutes long, but shows off a number of great maps. Go watch! (Louis Wu 20:44:04 UTC) (permalink)

Keepin' It Clean
Many, many thanks to the Bungie Elves (well, one of 'em, anyway - though who ever heard of an elf with red hair?) for a super-cool addition to the HBO Christmas tree this year. (Click for a larger version of the shot, or here for a close-up.) (Louis Wu 18:57:13 UTC) (permalink)

The Halo Periodic Table - now Interactive!
Hawty McBloggy has word of a very cool version of the Halo Periodic Table she and Halcylon revealed recently; this one is Javascript-based, and interactive, with even more information about every 'element'. It was created by Halcylon and a co-worker. Swing by Halcylon's personal site to see it! (Louis Wu 18:08:07 UTC) (permalink)

It's So Big!
Halo 3 Screenshots has another Top Ten list up this weekend - this one is called 'It's So Big'. It's a series of shots that take advantage of some very cool camera angles... Go check 'em! (Louis Wu 18:05:08 UTC) (permalink)

Happy MC Doodle
Free Weights is back from Officer Candidate School, and to celebrate his return he doodled a Master Chief using a new tablet his wife bought him. It's surprisingly happy-making! (Louis Wu 18:04:19 UTC) (permalink)

300 (again)
AssaultGodzilla whipped up a 300 parody, using everything from E3 2000 footage through clips from as-yet-unseen (in their entirety) Legends episodes. As always, great timing! (Louis Wu 18:03:29 UTC) (permalink)

Hard Justice: S2E12
Meerkat noticed that Jon CJG's Hard Justice, Season 2, Episode 12 has been posted - it's still labeled a comedy, but it's gotten awfully serious. (Really well done this time around, imo.) (Louis Wu 18:02:39 UTC) (permalink)

News December 19 2009

It's about Caboose, right?
Rooster Teeth's Blue Team made Asylum's list of "10 Blue Characters That Are More Interesting Than the Aliens in 'Avatar'" - nicely done! Thanks to Burnie for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 22:10:23 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Legends Fan Art
Spartan31420 whipped up some fanart for Halo Legends; go see what you think! (Louis Wu 20:41:28 UTC) (permalink)

AND DON'T USE EWOKS!
Cinema Blend's William Usher has had it out for the Halo franchise for years; check our news archive for examples of his Halo-bashing going back to early 2006. Nice to know that some things never change... his newest Halo-related article is called 'Top 5 Ways Halo: Reach Could Go Wrong', and it's a pretty funny read. "Bungie, don't do what you did before - but make sure that you DO do SOME of what you did before, only better!" Read it for a laugh. (Louis Wu 20:41:01 UTC) (permalink)

Bungie Waves Goodbye (to 2009)
The final Bungie Weekly Update of 2009 has been posted - and it's got a lot of stuff in it. Some Reach answers (mostly "sorry, more info later!"), some random answers, a high-res version of the current year's Bungie Holiday Card (you can bet we'll be stealing it for HBO's Christmas post this year, cause we're like that), and a 2 hour podcast. Oh, and a Blame Stosh pic that made me smile. Go read! (And listen.) That's the end of Bungie until 2010. (You can, of course, read it in our own Weekly Update Archive.) (Louis Wu 01:54:01 UTC) (permalink)

News December 18 2009

Halo up your Guitar
Might be a little late for a Christmas present, but Blast (Boston's Online Magazine) has an article about a Guitar Hero controller skin someone made using a Halo 3 screenshot - pretty slick! (GelaSkins will customize a lot of things, from your iPhone to a laptop to your gaming accessories - with art of your choosing.) Thanks to bs angel for getting me to take another look! (Louis Wu 19:19:33 UTC) (permalink)

Friday's Video Entertainment
New vids for you culled from Bungie's Comm Chatter:

• Funny Halo 3 Fails and Laughs 9 shows off some... well, fails and laughs. (I'm not sure that all the 'fails' should really be looked at as 'fails' - many of them are 'wins' from the other side.)
• Ten FTW: Best Halo 3 Snipes has 10 snipes for you. Short and sweet.
• Hardass Space Adventures is a machinima ("In space, no one can hear your ringtone") - 500 years and they STILL can't get voicemail right.

Go watch! (Louis Wu 19:12:41 UTC) (permalink)

Guardian's 50 best - a recap
We forgot to get back to the Guardian's '50 Best Games of the Noughties' - but they posted an epilogue today, with the full list on one page. Glad they did, too, because it made me realize I'd missed Halo 2 at #54. All three Halo trilogy titles were in the list - not bad! (Louis Wu 17:40:14 UTC) (permalink)

Master Chief under the tree - again
Bryan Simon's re-released his Halo-themed Christmas song from last year - go watch! (We put up an MP3 last year - you can grab it again if you want.) (Louis Wu 17:39:48 UTC) (permalink)

Friday's Fan Fiction
Nearly forgot to post a Fan Fiction update - the first of the holiday entries is in there. Go read! (Louis Wu 16:59:46 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 3 Mythic Guide Version 2.0 - The Ark
At long last, Daniel 'Tyrant' Morris' Halo 3 Mythic Guide, v2.0, is complete - The Ark, the last (and longest) level he's written up is now online. Two pages of text and 15 movies will help you get through this level playing Solo, Legendary, with All Skulls On - a Herculean task! (Remember, v1.0 is not just an older version of the guide, it's actually got different techniques for finishing the levels - if you're unhappy with any of Tyrant's tricks, you can jump back and see how he did it the FIRST time through, as well.) Get Mythic! Update: due to a naming error, several of the videos were not available this morning - they're all functional now. Sorry! (Louis Wu 13:18:53 UTC) (permalink)

Friday Caption Fun, Round 74
Wait, it's Friday again? It must be time for another round of Caption Fun at Hawty McBloggy's! - entertaining captions for last week's image are up, along with a new pic that will make you feel like dancin'! Go check it out. (Louis Wu 12:08:08 UTC) (permalink)

Another close look at the Reach trailer
GameSpot UK has written up a breakdown of the Halo Reach trailer, drawing attention to those details they think are important. See if they caught anything you missed! (Thanks again to Kibbles for noticing.) (Louis Wu 12:07:33 UTC) (permalink)

What sort of Spartan are YOU?
Kibbles, over at NeoGAF, noticed an apology of sorts at TeamXbox - it seems they thought the 'Spartan III' in the Reach press release was a typo, and took it upon themselves to change it to a 'II' - at which point they were contacted by Microsoft, asking them to change it back. (Microsoft declined FURTHER comment, however.) A thread on the topic has since kicked off on our own forum - there are a lot of opinions about this, and you're welcome to chime in with your own. (Louis Wu 12:06:38 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Wars Title Update 4
FyreWulff pointed out that a new Halo Wars patch goes live today - the 4th Title Update has a bunch of tweaks to gameplay. (He's listed many of them in his first post, and another bunch in this post.) If you play Halo Wars on LIVE, you should read this! (While we're discussing Halo Wars, congratulations are due to the title for winning IGN's Best Strategy Game of the Year - it's the only Halo-related award to be given. ODST was nominated for Best Shooter, Award for Excellence in Sound, and Best Multiplayer Game, and Halo 3 was nominated for Best Aftermarket Support, but these awards all went to other games in the end.) (Louis Wu 12:04:55 UTC) (permalink)

Double EXP: Mythic Brawl
We neglected to mention it yesterday afternoon, but the Double EXP Weekend Playlist this time around is Mythic Brawl - I've GOT to find time to play, I've still got a few multiplayer achievements to earn! You'll need the Mythic disc from Halo 3: ODST to get in this time around; it's required.) (Louis Wu 12:03:30 UTC) (permalink)

News December 17 2009

Lone Wolf Deployed
Did you love the score in the Halo Reach trailer? Bungie has your back - you can now download it from the Reach Project Page at Bungie.net... w00t! (Thanks, urk. And Marty! Thanks, Marty!) Update: for iTunes users, Sorahn whipped up some quick cover art, so that your Coverflow won't be empty. (urk was unhappy with the centering, so there's a centered variant, as well.) (Louis Wu 21:48:58 UTC) (permalink)

These lists are driving me mad
Associated Content has a list of 10 Halo 3 Players that Will Always Drive You Mad - after reading it, I'm amused that 'The Blamer' is on there; usually, folks don't recognize faults in themselves so clearly. (Louis Wu 21:30:50 UTC) (permalink)

Star Fell
FireDragon04 sent word that Star Fell (a Halo 3 Machinima/CGI hybrid film, mentioned more than once in our news) is now online. A synopsis:

"After a tragic event with the UNSC Star Fell fifty years ago, two Spartans are sent to a remote planet to find out what really happened there."

This one weighs in at 15 minutes, and tells a story of intrigue, betrayal, and redemption. (I think.) Go watch! (FireDragon04 also announced it on our forum, if you want to discuss it.) (Louis Wu 19:33:51 UTC) (permalink)

Happy Holidays!
Bagel whipped up a montage with a Christmas theme (well, at least Christmas music) - go watch. Thanks, urk. (Louis Wu 19:31:29 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Evolutions In-Depth Review
David Fuchs let us know that he wrote an in-depth review of Halo Evolutions - if you're wondering if it would make a great Christmas present for someone (or for yourself), and the nearly universal praise in our forum wasn't enough to sway you, this 3000-word review should help. Check it out! (Louis Wu 17:40:34 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 3 Top 10 Kills of the Week - December 16
IGN has posted their latest Top Kills of the Week feature - as always, clips are entertaining, if not totally unique. (Well, #2 was pretty unique.) Don't forget to send in your clips - they're on vacation next week, so entries submitted between now and January 5 are eligible for the next edition. (Louis Wu 16:43:13 UTC) (permalink)

The Man Behind the Music - Extended Edition
On Monday, we mentioned an interview that Channel9's Tina10 did with Marty O'Donnell in his Ivory Tower (the LIVE version of this interview is 4 minutes long); looks like the full (15 and a half minute) version is now up on Channel 9's website. Thanks to Sunburned Goose for the heads-up! (Louis Wu 16:12:25 UTC) (permalink)

A pretty penny
Hawty McBloggy ran across a guy on DeviantART who works copper - and has created a gorgeous rendering of the Master Chief in the material. Go look! (Louis Wu 13:47:20 UTC) (permalink)

403 - Remastered
Back in July 2008, Halo0001 X (now TripleZeroFilms) released 403 Episode 1 - it was about 16 minutes long and told the story of a bunch of friends playing Big Team Battle in Matchmaking. An opportunity to change the soundtrack to something unique and more suitable presented itself - so he decided to upgrade the entire film. Higher-quality audio and video, all across the board. If you missed it the first time, or if you'd like to see it in higher quality, swing by YouTube - It's in 3 parts because of its length. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 (Louis Wu 13:45:56 UTC) (permalink)

Phisto's Eleven
CrazedOne1988 let us know about "Phisto's Eleven", a CTF montage involving the usual suspects. Fun footage, entertaining context - you can't go wrong! Go watch. (The newspost mentions the soundtrack was yanked by YouTube - seems to be back now.) (Louis Wu 13:45:14 UTC) (permalink)

Arm The Flag Radio Show #6
AnTi PRO sent word that Arm The Flag, quiet for quite some time, is back with a new podcast - Episode 6 has some Halo Reach discussion in a roundtable format. Go listen! (Louis Wu 13:44:11 UTC) (permalink)

Ho Ho HoJumper
Bungie's Jason Sussman tweeted a pic of the latest Bungie Christmas card - cool stuff! (I'm not sure Grunts on your lap is a very good idea...) Thanks, Jayshum. (Louis Wu 13:42:56 UTC) (permalink)

Living The MLG Dream
Bryan Simon is back with a new song - he bought a karaoke version of John Fogerty's 'Centerfield', and just had to put Halo lyrics to it. Put him in, Coach - he can be MLG! (Louis Wu 13:42:19 UTC) (permalink)

VGL teaming up with PBS
VideoGamesLive will be broadcasting a special on PBS next year - it will be recorded on February 5th, 2010 in New Orleans, and will air next summer. (You can buy tickets starting tomorrow.) The full press release is available on the VGL website. Looks to be a fun one! (Louis Wu 13:41:34 UTC) (permalink)

Halopen Pencast 16
Firestorm12 sent word that Halopen Pencast 16 (the last of the year) is up now - they're discussing Halo Reach, their own projects, and whales. And stuff. They have a discussion thread in their forum. (Louis Wu 13:40:33 UTC) (permalink)

So, this is, um...
Bungie's experience at Spike's VGAs last week has been documented, with photos and an iPhone-recorded video montage - go read Sketch's writeup, and check out the cool graphics! Congrats once again to Marty for bringing home Bungie's single award this year (for ODST's music). (Louis Wu 02:59:35 UTC) (permalink)

News December 16 2009

Movies, movies, and more movies
The Bungie Comm Chatter is chock-FULL of new vids today:

• The MLG Pro team Status Quo has a montage trailer, edited by passTHEword and Insane. Just 82 seconds long.
• Ready Up Live filmed a Master Chief singing, playing, and dancing to Breaking Benjamin's Blow Me Away. Hawty McBloggy will certainly approve of the codpiece action.
• Roadblock whipped up a montage called '.exe' (editing by passTHEword, intro by Zanster) - also just a couple minutes long.
• Elvish turned out a trick jumping vid called 'Pretty Bunny' - see these jumps from both third and first-person views.

While you're at B.net, be sure to check out the newly-updated Bungie Favorites - they're going on vacation soon, and this will be the last update for a bit! (Okay, that's not really Bungie Favorites - it's Bungie web guys taking a mean shot at Marty. But hey... taking shots at Marty is fun!) (Louis Wu 19:36:57 UTC) (permalink)

HBOFF Holiday Bash
kabu stopped in with word of a holiday celebration over at the HBO Fan Fiction forum - write something cool, submit it for next week's update (word of advance warning: the update will happen on the 26th, not the 25th; HBO traditionally takes the day off), you might get highlighted! Go read the details. (Louis Wu 15:48:27 UTC) (permalink)

2009 Best of Halo Awards - Nominations Open
Hawty McBloggy is back with her 2009 Best of Halo Awards - she's taking nominations in 10 categories from now through next Wednesday, December 23. Go see the categories, think about the Halo stuff you've loved this year, and get to nominating! (Louis Wu 14:46:51 UTC) (permalink)

I think I'd rather play with regular toys.
Ross Mills pointed out a Kotaku article discussing a rip-off product called 'Halo Wars Clay' - the idea is that you get a chunk of 'clay' and it's your job to excavate what's inside. In this case... what's inside is a bunch of World War 2 figures. How this relates to Halo Wars, I have NO idea. (There's a Malaysian flag in there, too.) (Louis Wu 14:45:28 UTC) (permalink)

Halo Memorial Tattoo
A guy at Checkoutmyink.com has uploaded a photo of a tribute tattoo he got for his best friend who died last year - It's his friend's face, inside a broken Spartan helmet. As RedGrimRune said... RIP. (Louis Wu 14:43:59 UTC) (permalink)

Halo on your iPhone. Fer Realz.
Remember when Stuntmutt pointed out a video from N.O.V.A., and suggested it had some Halo-like qualities? He found another one that's even MORE obvious. (Louis Wu 14:42:13 UTC) (permalink)

News December 15 2009

HaloContest's November 09 Montage
Morpheus dropped by with the HaloContest November montage - these are the screenshots and clips up for prizes this month. Check 'em! (Louis Wu 21:51:24 UTC) (permalink)

Tuesday Chatter
If you haven't visited Bungie.net today, here's what's new in their Comm Chatter:

• Anoj from the Top Ten Series will be the next guest on the Running Riot Podcast, recorded live on December 22 (that's next Tuesday). Put it on your calendar!
• Honor Guard's Halolympics is up to Episode 5 - there's a new map variant to play with. Go watch how it's supposed to be run.
• The latest 'Average Joe' feature gives you insight into Lord Spanky, a B.net denizen who loves the environment.

Go explore! (Louis Wu 21:15:07 UTC) (permalink)

The Elements of the Halo Periodic Table
Hawty McBloggy let us know that the full collection of individual elements the Halo Periodic Table she and Halcylon revealed a few days ago is now online - 112 elements, each visible in 256x256 pixel splendor. (On the page they're a little smaller; the downloads are that size.) Amazing work! Update: if you'd like to download all 112 hi-res PNGs in one go, Hawty has given us permission to host the collection; it's only 10 mb. (Louis Wu 13:26:04 UTC) (permalink)

Picking Apart the Pieces
Reach trailer analysis pieces are appearing at large gaming sites - I need to thank the HaloGAF population for keeping up on this stuff. ZZMitch noticed a Rewind installment from IGN (they step through the trailer, stopping at bits they feel are important)... WickedLahari pointed out a Digital Foundry analysis from Eurogamer (they're calling foul, saying that the trailer was rendered offline (in-engine, but offline) in high-res, then downsampled to 720p to eliminate aliasing). There will likely be others. (Louis Wu 13:24:50 UTC) (permalink)

The Nobility of Teamwork
Like a sleeping dragon smelling new treasure, Tied the Leader awakens - XerxdeeJ has written up a call to arms for the faithful, and looked through the Reach trailer for the features that stir the hearts of gunslingers everywhere. (Louis Wu 13:23:39 UTC) (permalink)

Whirlybirds - in X-Plane
Not wasting any time, Mid7night has already modeled the flying craft visible in the Reach trailer in X-Plane; swing by to see it in the air! (Louis Wu 13:23:13 UTC) (permalink)

Top 50 Games of the Noughties: 30-11
We mentioned the Guardian's Top 50 Games of the Noughties piece yesterday - the second installment (30-11) went live today, and Halo: Combat Evolved came in at #14. Slots 10-6 tomorrow - will any other Halo titles make the list? (Louis Wu 13:22:29 UTC) (permalink)

Cortana and Index
GhettoMole whipped up a little digital painting of Cortana, and wanted you all to see it - swing by his DeviantART gallery and take a look at Cortana and Index! (Louis Wu 13:21:56 UTC) (permalink)

The puns - the puns!
G4TV's Joe Paulding let us know about a new batch of Real Life Achievements over at X-Play - the Master Chief makes an appearance. Check 'em out! (Louis Wu 13:21:27 UTC) (permalink)

Marty and Curtis at the VGAs
GameVideos got a minute to talk to Marty O'Donnell and Curtis Creamer backstage at the VGAs last week - not a huge amount of info, but worth watching, it's only 90 seconds! Thanks to NeoGAF's Tashi0106 for noticing. (Louis Wu 13:21:05 UTC) (permalink)

Commercial of the Decade Followup
Last month, we mentioned AdweekMedia's 'Commercial of the Decade' poll to pick the best commercial of the first 10 years of the 21st century, because Halo's Believe ad had made the finalists. We thought we'd follow up - it didn't win. (Still holds a special place in the Halo fan's heart, though!) (Louis Wu 13:19:09 UTC) (permalink)

Halopen PiMttS winners
Firestorm12 let us know that the winners to Halopen's week-long Pen is Mightier than the Sword Contest were announced a few days ago. You can check out ALL the entries in this thread. (Louis Wu 13:18:44 UTC) (permalink)

Tag and Release: Crater
Bungie released their latest 'Tag and Release' feature yesterday - pictures snapped on Crater. Fun shots - go look! (Louis Wu 13:18:14 UTC) (permalink)

News December 14 2009

Do a barrel roll.
urk let us know that One Life Remaining Season 1 Episode 7 is online - oh, the joys of working at a game store... (Louis Wu 17:37:52 UTC) (permalink)

Where's my shotgun?
Hawty McBloggy reminded us that the latest Grin + Bear It went up yesterday - beware of excited coworkers! (Louis Wu 17:36:18 UTC) (permalink)

Derivative Design, Nonsensical Script (in a good way)
The Guardian (in the UK) is putting together their list of the 'Top 50 Games of the Noughties' - and Halo 3 is in the first batch (50-31), at #41. Batch 2 (30-11) will be posted tomorrow. (Louis Wu 16:21:45 UTC) (permalink)

The Man Behind The Music
Channel9's tina10 interviewed Marty O'Donnell for Inside Xbox - you can watch it on Xbox LIVE right now. Marty holds forth on monks, mood changes, and getting it done. (Thanks, advent29.) Update: we've put up a 720p web version (h.264-encoded .mp4, 149mb) if you don't have access to LIVE. (Louis Wu 14:55:27 UTC) (permalink)

Rain
Wow - Arturs Pocapinskis stopped in with word of a piece of ODST art in pencil he created - go take a look! Really nice shading. (Louis Wu 11:41:27 UTC) (permalink)

I'd buy it.
Trunks knows what's coming next. (Louis Wu 11:33:29 UTC) (permalink)

Into the Light
Dhalo noticed that the Bungie.net Reach desktops now show the full Noble Team, not just their silhouettes. Go grab new copies! (Louis Wu 11:32:34 UTC) (permalink)

Looking behind the curtain
FyreWulff looked at some of the new tech on display in the Reach trailer; swing by to see how he believes Bungie's doing the magic they're doing, all without upgrading the 360 hardware. (On the other side of the aisle, Split-Screen believes it's all pretty faked - and owes what good looks it has to Killzone 2.) (Louis Wu 11:31:07 UTC) (permalink)

A Day at the Beach - on HBO, Finally
Way back in 2005, Bungie released the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack - a disc which had a bunch of maps and a never-released-online video called 'A Day At The Beach'. (It's an ODST sidestory, rendered in the Halo 2 engine, and it ties together bits from the actual game by showing you what happened offscreen.) We were asked not to rip a copy and place it online, because it was one of the things that made the Map Pack worth buying - so we didn't. Very few people are playing Halo 2 any more, though, and I'm not even sure you CAN buy that disc at this point. (I take that back: Amazon has a seller with new copies, letting it go for the low, low price of $101.) Someone asked about this in our forum yesterday, and I remembered that I'd rendered versions to post last winter, but never got around to putting them online - so now they're up. You can grab it in WMP9 or QuickTime formats - both are about 70 mb, and come in at 960x540 (the largest I could render it at). If you've never seen this (it HAS been on YouTube, so it's not like we're first), grab a copy and enjoy it! (Louis Wu 11:29:33 UTC) (permalink)

Star Light, Star Bright
We missed this weekend's Top Ten Halo 3 Screenshots collection at Halo 3 Screenshots - the group is called 'Star Light, Star Bright', and has some truly beautiful imagery. Go by and look! (Louis Wu 11:28:33 UTC) (permalink)

Bleak? That doesn't sound like Bungie.
OverHeat, over at NeoGAF, noticed a GameSpot story in which a 'source who has seen Halo: Reach first-hand' described the game as 'very bleak and violent', like a 'Gears of War with Spartans'. Hmm... (Louis Wu 11:26:12 UTC) (permalink)

Say hi to Kurt when you see him
Iron Fist was the first to point out the official Reach press release from Microsoft - in case you weren't sure, your character in Reach is a Spartan III, not a Spartan II (like the Master Chief). The next few months should be interesting, as the Reach backstory begins to be fleshed out! (Louis Wu 11:23:39 UTC) (permalink)

The imagery actually frightens me.
Tim Dadabo (the voice of Guilty Spark) wondered if anyone else noticed that the logo for Google Chrome looks like (in Tim's words) "Guilty Spark did it with a beach ball"? You decide. (Louis Wu 11:19:04 UTC) (permalink)

McFarlane Halo Series 8
In totally Reach-unrelated news, Littlebigman stopped in with a spawn.com announcement of their Series 8 Halo figures - more toys! (These won't be out until Summer 2010, though, so don't go looking for 'em for Christmas.) (Louis Wu 11:17:09 UTC) (permalink)

Alto solo from Deference For Darkness
Josh Ruble let us know about another self-taught Halo 3: ODST Alto Sax solo performed by Alacaboose... go listen! (Louis Wu 11:15:38 UTC) (permalink)

News December 13 2009

The New Number Six
As expected, the Halo Reach trailer had its world premiere on the Spike Video Game Awards last night (Halo 3: ODST came away with 'Best Original Score' - nice job!) - if you missed it, Bungie has put up direct downloads in a plethora of flavors. It's a two and a half minute introduction to Noble Team - go meet 'em! (As you might expect, pretty much every Halo forum on the net is full of discussion - you're welcome to join in.) (Louis Wu 14:49:45 UTC) (permalink)

News December 12 2009

Mandlbaum in: 'Core Tempature' [Part 3]
After a multi-month hiatus, Halo0001 X, of TripleZeroFilms, is back with another episode of Mandlbaum in: "Core Tempature".

Good thing I cleaned out my garage, because I found the next installment in Mandlbaum's greatest adventure ever! Things are looking bleak for Mandlbaum as his enemies continue to mass their power. Evil plans are coming to fruition and new dark alliances are being made. With the clock counting down until earth's eminent destruction, Mandlbaum must race to find a way to storm the fortress walls, much less stop Evile Porfesure from blowing up the earth. Can he do it? Watch and find out!

Yes, it's as bad (so bad it's good) as it sounds. (Louis Wu 16:12:46 UTC) (permalink)

The Package - just for one day
Don't forget - The Package (the full episode this time, not just the second half) is visible at Halo Waypoint, today only; while it MIGHT be available again before February, there are no guarantees. If you've got a Gold account, take 15 minutes and go watch! (Louis Wu 16:11:48 UTC) (permalink)

Tune in!
Geoff Keighley continues to pimp Reach for tonight's VGAs - swing by Bungie.net for a 30-second dose of hype! (Louis Wu 16:11:08 UTC) (permalink)

Child's Play Bungie Tour Details
Yesterday, we mentioned a cool Bungie studio visit that was up for auction at Child's Play - Laird sent us a phone cam photo of the booklet entry, so the rest of you can drool over what you didn't get your hands on. (I don't know what the final price was, but Laird dropped out at $1700.) (Louis Wu 16:10:26 UTC) (permalink)

Wait... Reach? What's Reach?
Bungie's Weekly Update is live - there's some info about the trailer that's dropping tomorrow on Spike's Video Game Awards, there's info on the upcoming changes to the Reach project page, there's some pimping (we already mentioned the deal, but hey, if you follow their link, Bungie gets a bigger cut), there's info on the next podcast, there's some funny stuff from Harrison's mom, and there's a cool pic from Stosh. Go read! (It is, of course, in our Weekly Update Archive, as well.) (Louis Wu 02:12:06 UTC) (permalink)

News December 11 2009

Upping the ante
The hype for the Reach teaser to be shown on Saturday night on the VGAs continues - Destructoid talked to Geoff Keighley, who has lots of good things to say about it:

Clocking in at two minutes and thirty seconds, it's "basically the opening of the game," and will give gamers the first look at the Halo Reach engine running in real-time. You'll meet the game's characters for the first time, complete with dialogue, all backed by an original score by Bungie's musical daddy, Marty O'Donnell.

"It's been a couple of years since we've seen new technology from Bungie," he explains. "As soon as you see Reach, you'll realize that these guys have definitely upped the ante when it comes to visual firepower of the engine."

If you're planning to be out on Saturday night, be sure and TiVo this one! (It'll be online soon enough, but you don't want to be the last one to see it, do you?) Thanks to Kibbles, over at NeoGAF, for the heads-up. (Louis Wu 20:59:16 UTC) (permalink)

N.O.V.A. - take it with you
Stuntmutt stopped in to point out that Pocket Gamer wonders whether the Karl Wardin character from the upcoming iPhone shooter 'N.O.V.A.' looks a lot like the Master Chief...? (From looking at the trailer Stunt linked to, I'd say that the first gun you see has definite Battle Rifle overtones... but the gameplay itself looks more like Unreal.) (Louis Wu 19:59:20 UTC) (permalink)

Reach MP Beta - Date Narrowed Down?
Bungie is notoriously tight-lipped about things like deadlines; after all, they STILL haven't lived down the "We're still waiting for the boxes!" excuse for the delay in Marathon's release in 1994. Sometimes, though, logistics require releasing a LITTLE bit of information - and sharp-eyed fans can turn that into something they can hold on to. Up until this point, all we've known about the release date of the Reach multiplayer Beta is 'Spring 2010' - Bungie has NOT provided any more data than that to the general public. However, one of the prizes they donated to the recent Child's Play Charity Auction was a tour of Bungie Studios - and the description in the auction booklet had some restrictions. The fact that the tour is only valid in April, coupled by the description which informed readers that the winner would be able to play the Beta before their friends and family, suggests that the Beta won't be going live until May. That narrows the 3-month 'Spring' window down to 3 weeks. More if we learn it! (Which of course now we won't, since we've just gone and pissed off Bungie...) Thanks to Laird for the tip-off from the Charity Auction! (Louis Wu 18:36:29 UTC) (permalink)

10 Best Stories in Gaming
CraveOnline has a list of the '10 Best Stories in Gaming' - Halo 2's dual-perspective narrative made the list. Go read the rest! (Louis Wu 15:09:55 UTC) (permalink)

Friday Caption Fun, Round 73
Friday Caption Fun is back at Hawty McBloggy's - great captions from last week's pics, and a truly funky new pic just waiting for your words of wisdom are waiting for you just around the bend. (Louis Wu 13:34:28 UTC) (permalink)

But... urk said 'No Promises!'
Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft's product management director, believes Reach will be the biggest game of 2010. That's big talk about a single-platform product... do you agree? Thanks, Avateur. (Louis Wu 13:31:06 UTC) (permalink)

20 Questions: bs angel
Willy's back with another 20 Questions from CE United - the interview with bs angel is so important, it spans both November and December. Needs moar double entendres. Go read it anyway. (Louis Wu 13:28:39 UTC) (permalink)

Stretching Their Boundaries
There's a fascinating look back at the development of the Halo 3 multiplayer map Construct over at Bungie.net - the designers discussed how it started, what changed over time, and what they'd do differently at this stage. You can read it and think "oh, man, they should have stuck with this idea!" or "why did they scrap that part?" - or you can read it and realize that there are lots and lots and LOTS of factors that go into making a great map - and not all of them will be presented to you in a particular game. Check it out! (Louis Wu 13:27:04 UTC) (permalink)

Friday's Fan Fiction
Twelve new pieces are up this week in the Fan Fiction section - it's alive again! Go read. (Louis Wu 13:25:50 UTC) (permalink)

News December 10 2009

Halo 3 Top 10 Kills of the Week - December 9
IGN's posted their latest Top 10 Kills of the Week feature - remember, you can win free stuff by submitting. Number 8 made me laugh. ANd Number 3 is some awesome golfing. Go watch! (Louis Wu 23:41:44 UTC) (permalink)

Team Fortress 2 meets Halo 3
Team Kootra put together another fun vid that machinima.com released today - Team Fortress 2 meets Halo 3. Those poor Spartans... (Louis Wu 22:10:58 UTC) (permalink)

Reach Project Page Gets Prettier
Bungie's updated the Reach project page, in anticipation of the video to be shown Saturday night on the Spike Video Game Awards. There's not a lot of new material yet (most of what went live today was structure, not content), but the hype is building - go get some! (Louis Wu 22:10:16 UTC) (permalink)

Grifball League Signup Closing Soon!
Major Silva wrote to point out a newspost on Grifball.com - apparently, Winter League signups for Grifball are really low, and they're desperately looking for extra teams. If you're interested in playing, go now - signups close soon! (Either today or tomorrow, depending on which newspost is right.) (Louis Wu 22:04:39 UTC) (permalink)

Prepare to Drop - like Flies
This week's Double EXP Weekend playlist is totally new - 'Prepare to Drop' is an "ODST Inspired" playlist, smgs and magnums for the most part (though the VIP escort games have BRs in 'em). Head over to Bungie.net for full details. Update: ZaneZavin pointed out that this list ran once before - the weekend ODST launched. My bad. (Louis Wu 19:48:16 UTC) (permalink)

Interview with Director of 'The Duel'
Active Anime once again has the first copy of a new interview with Hiroshi Yamazaki, the director of the Halo Legends episode 'The Duel'. Give it a read for insight into the development of the project! (Louis Wu 19:41:46 UTC) (permalink)

Montage-o-mania
Three new montages for you, over at Bungie's Comm Chatter:

• whitesoxrule created a Community Tags montage he calls 'Epic' - screenshots culled from Bungie's enormous Community Files collection.
• Edge whipped up his first Halo 3 montage - 100% MLG. Sniper Heaven.
• Chase built his first Halo 3 montage as well, this one full of MLG footage too. Boom, boom, boom.

Anything that we want to know, from jut a beginner to a pro... (Louis Wu 18:11:58 UTC) (permalink)

Halo's Earth
UNSC Trooper created a map of the Earth, broken out by 26th century politics (as discussed in various Halo sources) - swing by and see what he's found! (Louis Wu 17:13:06 UTC) (permalink)

Hawty's got your back for the Holidays
A couple of very awesome features at Hawty McBloggy's today - make some time. First up is HMB's Offbeat Gaming Gift Guide - Halo Edition, a collection of goodies for the Halo fan on your list, in many price ranges (cheapest item is $1.50, most expensive is $50). All are pretty unique. Go look! Then, when you're all shopped out, swing by the Halo Periodic Table, a massive undertaking put together by Hawty and Halcylon, mapping every single element on the Periodic Table to a Halo equivalent. It's available in a bunch of different sizes, from super-gigantic (good for poring over the pictures) to small-desktop size. Next week, a key with all the symbols and what they stand for will be posted - for the time being, see how many you can guess! (Louis Wu 15:53:27 UTC) (permalink)

Halo-verse Planetary Scale - Updated
Stephen Loftus has revisited an old article he wrote - his 'Halo-verse Planetary Scale' has now been updated to include the Ark, from Halo 3. Swing by to see where it fits, sizewise! (Louis Wu 15:51:06 UTC) (permalink)

Happy Holidays from a fan
Spartan-270 dropped us a note, wanting to wish everyone happy holidays (1024x768, 196k) - nice work! (Louis Wu 15:50:28 UTC) (permalink)

Halo 3 Legendary - Cheap
A fan at Cheap Ass Gamer noticed that the Halo 3 Legendary Edition is selling for $39.99 (with free shipping) at Newegg - if you always wanted one of those helmets, but couldn't afford the full price, this is your chance! (Louis Wu 15:48:59 UTC) (permalink)

Valor
Last night, urk mentioned a short machinima miniseries (it's three parts, but once you've pulled the credits, the actual content is about 5 minutes total for the three segments) called 'Valor' - created by Kootra Productions, it tells a powerful story from the point of view of an ODST. Go watch - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3. (Louis Wu 15:48:10 UTC) (permalink)

News December 9 2009

Top Floor
Clantacular.com's Favorite Files have been updated at Bungie.net - swing by to read about 'Top Floor', one of the newly-highlighted maps, and then by Bungie Favorites to see the rest! (Louis Wu 20:40:48 UTC) (permalink)

ODST/LIVE bundle at Amazon
Here's a nice deal - Amazon (currently selling Halo 3: ODST for $47.49) will offer you a 12-month Xbox LIVE Gold membership for $29.99 when you buy ODST. ODST for under $50 - and a year of LIVE for under $30! How can you go wrong? (Louis Wu 19:53:19 UTC) (permalink)

Wednesday vids and more, courtesy of Bungie
Another day, another couple of videos from Bungie's Comm Chatter:

• Halo 3 Tanks is a heavy armor montage from KatsuKage. Boom.
• Cake Shop is Dope is a Halo 3: ODST music video. Techno + carnage = freaky.And while you're over there, be sure to read about the next Zoxin It Up! LIVE event - it's happening on December 21, and it's a Game-A-Thon to raise money for cancer research. (Louis Wu 19:40:44 UTC) (permalink)
  
  

  Wednesday Comic Roundup
  Couple of new comics for you today: Hawty McBloggy's got the latest ODS Steve (#52, Sconed) - weapons are found where we look for them... and Halo Action Figure Theater #191 (I'm Looking Through You) brings back the Blue Lady. Go read! (Louis Wu 15:56:06 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  HBOFFPotW-1204
  kabu let us know about the latest HBOFF Fan Fic Pick of the Week, compiled by J.D. Ford - swing by and read! (Louis Wu 14:51:04 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  There ain't no justice.
  Time Magazine came out with their Game of the Year list - and the UK's Guardian is unhappy that Halo 3: ODST was ranked above Uncharted 2. Oh, snap! (Louis Wu 14:07:28 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  343434343
  Another Waypoint tweet points to Major Nelson's latest podcast - it's number 343, it was posted on the 343rd day of the year, and all of the guests work for 343 Industries. Go listen! (Louis Wu 13:44:39 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  MGS4's Sound Director now working on Halo
  calmkiller noticed a tweet from 343 Industries - Sotaro Tojima from Kojima Productions (the guy credited with Metal Gear Solid 4's sound direction), has joined the MS Halo team. GrimBrother One found a followup on Kotaku with a bit more detail. (Louis Wu 13:44:03 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  You can call me a Grifty
  Bryan Simon has been away from the Halo scene for a little bit, but the appearance of a Ranked Grifball playlist last weekend brought him back for another song - swing by YouTube for 'Grifty (Grifball 50)', his latest musical offering! (Louis Wu 13:43:36 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  What if Reach were Free?
  GrimBrother One ran across a story on IGN wondering whether Microsoft could make more money releasing Halo Reach for free, and then charging for downloads? Feedback on our forum is mostly negative - but what do you think? (Louis Wu 13:43:07 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Forgotten in the Corner
  Siliconera has a bunch of photos of a 360 Kiosk in Japan (including one during a sad, sad ODST promotion) - I guess those Japanese really don't care about 360s. (Louis Wu 13:42:27 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  News December 8 2009

  
  

  Average Joe: Screecherz
  There's a new Average Joe up at Bungie.net - Screecherz is a Halo fan who wants to get to know you. Go read about him! (Louis Wu 21:31:16 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Tuesday Afternoon at the Movies
  Bunch of new vids for you today, courtesy of Bungie's Comm Chatter:

  • 'Just Drive' is a Goosetage from Olson Media - lots of splatter action
  • 'Paramount' is a Halo 3 montage from Rezilient (editing by MM Mad Max MM) - lots of snipe action (and editing effects)
  • 'The Real Spartans Episode 1 (Redux)' is machinima from Dragon Wolf Productions - lots of mysteries and shooting and stuff
  • 'Top 10 Multi Kills Episode 1' is a new top 10 from SillyGoose - lots of kills

  Go watch - it'll make urk happy. urk had a bad day - make him happy. (Louis Wu 21:29:06 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  In there with Mario, Link, and Sonic
  CNET has posted a video showing off the Top 5 Video Game Characters - Master Chief made their list. Nice! Thanks, Buttskunk. (Louis Wu 15:36:08 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Looking Back - and Forward
  G4TV has posted an article called 'Reaction Time' - four Bungie developers (Joseph Staten, Lars Bakken, Curtis Creamer, and Brian Jarrard) discuss what went right (and wrong) with Halo 3: ODST. It's a great interview, because it give you insight into how BUNGIE sees some of the pros and cons of ODST - what got done, what didn't get done, and the whys of both. (It also contains a tidbit from Joe Staten about an easter egg outlined by Omega a couple of months ago... hmm.) A great read - don't miss it. (Louis Wu 13:40:14 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Seriously Believe
  Heh - Archilen pointed out a new vid called 'Seriously Believe', a tribute to the Believe ad - but for the new Serious Sam HD instead of Halo. Funny stuff! (Louis Wu 13:39:41 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  H3ITWP Montage Deux
  urk pointed out a really nice montage/mashup released by Halo 3 In The Workplace's WhtButterflyLiz - it's 10 minutes long, but it sure doesn't seem it. Great gameplay, great visuals, great timing, nice changeups. Go watch it. (Louis Wu 13:39:14 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  News December 7 2009

  
  

  Up high
  Today's Tag and Release feature on Bungie.net focuses on screenshots snagged on the ODST level 'Windward' - spectacular. Go look. (Louis Wu 18:32:17 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  7 on the 7th - wait, what's today?
  We almost forgot - thanks, urk, for reminding us: the 7 on the 7th playlist is live, and once again it's full of user-created maps. Swing by Bungie.net for a full list - and go play! (Louis Wu 17:34:17 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Vocal Opposition
  The LA Times has an interesting article about video game voice actors, and how they're paid. This has been an issue for years, but as games get more and more elaborate, and overall revenues grow, those providing the voices behind the characters we love want their offscreen words to be heard, too. (Halo, of course, gets a mention.) (Louis Wu 14:41:51 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Halo 3 ODST: Toronto Launch Campaign
  If you live in or near Toronto, you got to play an alternate reality game that provided access to the Halo 3: ODST launch party - I'm not sure why this hasn't hit our radar before now, but late last week, ad agency MacLaren McCann released an overview of the campaign, showing how the clues were distributed and how fans played along. Fun! Update March 2010: URL has been updated because MacLarenMRM reuploaded. (Louis Wu 14:40:18 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  The Reach Hype Continues
  Geoff Keighley, who will be hosting the Video Game Awards on Spike this weekend, was on Major Nelson's podcast yesterday - he talked about the footage we're going to see. Sounds pretty good! Thanks, The BS Police. (Louis Wu 14:38:38 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  We are ODST - I Will Not Bow
  AssaultGodzilla continues creating powerful Halo music videos - his latest is set to Breaking Benjamin's 'I Will Not Bow'. As always, great clip choices and fantastic timing! (Louis Wu 14:37:44 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Arby 'n' the Chief in LA: Episode 3
  kappalocust stopped in with word of Arby 'n' The Chief In LA, Episode 3 ("Lost"). Will Arby and the Chief ever make it to the zoo? Is God fat? These and other questions are addressed. (Louis Wu 14:37:04 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Operation: Winter Storm
  Facility B5D and HaloCharts have banded together to announce Operation: Winter Storm - it's a tournament to raise money for Child's Play. Signups start today - entry fee is $5/player/bracket, and there are some fun prizes. Swing by for full details - and support a good charity! (Louis Wu 14:36:14 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Monday Comic Roundup
  It's Monday, so it's time for a look at the comic offerings around the Halo community. We've got Sunday's Grin + Bear It, over at Hawty McBloggy's - it actually took me a second to get this one. (Yes, I'm slow.) And over at Halo Action Figure Theater, things are getting... weird. (Yes, that's hard to say.) (Louis Wu 14:35:43 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  FireFRIGHT
  I missed this when it came out, but the guys from Apt-T Productions put together an ODST Halloween PSA - oh, the crimes committed for candy! (Louis Wu 14:35:13 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Halo 3 Top 10 Construct Kills
  Hawty McBloggy highlighted a new Top 10 vid - Top 10 Construct Kills has a bunch of good kills, but what this has going for it is a really enthusiastic announcer. He's a lot of fun. Go watch! (Louis Wu 14:34:36 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  News December 6 2009

  
  

  Linear
  This weekend's Top Ten Halo 3 Screenshots collection at Halo3Screenshots.com is called 'Linear' - and as the name suggests, the shots all contain lines. Sound boring? They're not. Go look! (Louis Wu 16:51:07 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Anger, Sadness, and Envy Episode 12: Miscellany
  Rampancy.net has posted Episode 12 of their Anger, Sadness, and Envy podcast - this one has a discussion with Narcogen, Blackstar, Miguel Chavez, and Cody Miller about gameplay in the Halo franchise. (There are other topics, as well - see the info page for a full rundown.) I had trouble getting the streaming version to play, but the download works just fine. (Louis Wu 16:46:09 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Everyone has their own spin on Halo
  Swing by Hawty McBloggy's this morning for some pretty out-there fna interpretations of the Halo universe: there's a mashup of Mario's Yoshi with the Master Chief (Master Yoshi?), and there's a female custom Spartan action figure that gets close to the NSFW territory. Oh, those crazy fans! (Louis Wu 16:42:21 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Mark Ecko Giveaway includes Halo prize packs
  Shopecko.com is hosting a giveaway, starting Monday, December 7, and running through the 18th; among the schwag to be given away are Halo prize packs (including an Ecko Master Chief hoodie signed by Marc Ecko and Frank O'Connor, among others. Swing by to see the full list of goodies! (Louis Wu 16:36:29 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Halopen Contest Deadline: Today
  Firestorm12 sent word that the submission date for the Pen is Mightier than the Sword contest that Halopen's been running has been moved from yesterday (December 5) to today (December 6), to remove the confusion in the original announcement. If you had an entry, but didn't submit it because you thought you'd missed the deadline - drop it off today! (Louis Wu 16:35:11 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  News December 5 2009

  
  

  The Babysitter loose end tied up in Evolutions
  Apparently, everyone who's read the story noticed this, but nobody thought to bring it up on our forum, until zofinda posted yesterday: the Japanese architecture, seen in 'The Babysitter' episode of Halo Legends a few weeks ago and generating quite a bit of scorn from fans, is addressed in the final piece in Halo Evolutions, the short-story collection released a couple of weeks ago. Nice to see stuff tying together! (Louis Wu 18:41:10 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Reach continues Bungie's in-engine cinematic tradition
  It shouldn't be a surprise to long-time Halo fans, but Reach cinematics will be in-engine, just like previous Halo games from Bungie have been. (This tweet was in response to a comment about the Halo Wars cinematics, which are NOT in-engine.) Thanks, John117. (Louis Wu 18:31:58 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Alto solo from Halo ODST track Finale
  Josh Ruble pointed out a video on YouTube - Alacaboose spent some time teaching himself the Alto sax solo from the last track of Halo 3: ODST. Nice job! (Louis Wu 18:30:02 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  The Package - on Waypoint today
  Just a reminder - The Package is available for one day only (today) on Halo Waypoint. If you miss it, your next chance to see it will be when you purchase the Legends DVD in February. Frankie has agreed to stop by and answer questions - so if you have any, swing by the thread! Update: looks like I might be wrong about that 'last chance' thing... (OuterWorldVoice is Frankie) (Louis Wu 17:20:06 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  urk wants his tongue massaged.
  The Bungie Weekly Update is back, after a hiatus brought on by Tryptophan and evil in-laws. (Wait, that might have been something else.) Looks like the studio was busy this week, showing off Reach to selected members of the press (don't expect to see the results of these visits before next month, unfortunately). They've got stuff to sell you, stuff to be snarky about, and cool zombie stuff. Go read! (As always, it's in our Weekly Update Archive, if you've got a problem with B.net.) (Louis Wu 01:31:32 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  News December 4 2009

  
  

  Friday Fan Flicks
  Just a couple of movies for you this afternoon, courtesy of Bungie's Comm Chatter: FuZon released 'Lag', a montage created with Halo PC, and Knights of Bungie put together 'This is Forge', showing off maps on the more unusual end of the spectrum. Go watch! (Louis Wu 18:42:40 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Gamers helping Gamers helping Kids
  8-Bit Brigade is putting on their 4th Annual Holiday Fund Raiser, scraping up cash for Child's Play - $1 buys you a raffle ticket and a shot to win some cool prizes. (Halo Bobbleheads and Warthog toys are in the mix of gamer goodies.) Swing by the site for full details! Thanks, urk. (Louis Wu 18:39:28 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  REEEEAAACHHHHH
  Over at NeoGAF, Kibbles discovered a Halo Reach trailer... with gameplay footage. I lost it at the toothbrush. (Louis Wu 15:03:05 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Review Event Redux
  A couple of weeks ago, we mentioned an Ars Technica article on 'Review Events', put on by game publishers to provide controlled early access for game reviewers. The subject was revisited a couple of days ago by Kotaku, in more depth - again, Halo is part of the equation. Brian Jarrard is quoted as saying that the primary reason to provide access in this way is to "help make sure reviewers experienced the game the way Bungie intended." (I always thought that was a nice side-effect - that the primary reason was security. My bad.) (Louis Wu 14:50:55 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  I love the HALO World
  gunluva noticed yet another Halo-infused 'I Love the Whole World' tribute - this one's at Newgrounds, and uses Halo scenes, along with Flash animations, to create a pretty positive feeling. Go watch! (Louis Wu 13:59:37 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Graffiti in New Mombasa
  John117, from Russia's Halo Universe, has put together a collection of graffiti you can see in New Mombasa as you play through Halo 3: ODST. He's pretty sure he's missing some - so go by and take a look, and if you know where to find scrawls that aren't on his page (he's pretty sure 'FASCISTS' is out there somewhere, for example), send him email! (Louis Wu 13:58:40 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  A Certain Sense of Movement
  Bungie's 'Breaking In' series seems to be evolving. This week's iteration involves Bill O'Brien, an Animation Lead at Bungie - but instead of focusing on how he found his way into his current position, it focuses more on how an idea turns into an in-game asset. (Well... sometimes in-game.) It's fascinating reading - go see! (Louis Wu 13:56:27 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Friday Caption Fun, Round 72
  Hawty McBloggy is back with another round of Friday Caption Fun - and the pic she found for you this week is truly bizarre. Get to work! (Louis Wu 13:56:00 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Sticky Icky Trailer
  Lando Griff1n sent word of a new montage trailer available from Halomontage.com - Sticky Icky features gameplay by AYS, while the trailer itself was edited by Hazmat v2. Great angles! (While you're over there, check out the upgraded Halomontage.com - now with a Community page.) (Louis Wu 13:54:53 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Videogames make the world smell.
  MC_Leprechaun pointed out a list at Den of Geek that references Halo in a unique way. The list is called '10 more things that we can blame videogaming for' - and one of these things is Bryan Singer's addiction to Halo. (Because of this, according to DoG, Brett Ratner directed X-Men 3, explaining "The hidden damage that Xbox 360 has done to our world".) Ouch! (Louis Wu 13:54:07 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  The Co-op Conspiracy
  The Bitbag has a rant called 'The Co-op Conspiracy' - it rails against games that do not have split-screen online capabilities. Halo is held up as a shining example of how to do it right (though some of the discussion of early Halo LAN play is a bit perplexing). (Louis Wu 13:53:28 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Friday's Fan Fiction - and a one-off HBOFFPotM
  Six new pieces have been posted this week in the Fan Fiction section - go read 'em! In other HBOFF news, kabu apologized for recent slacking on the 'Pick of the Week' offerings, and has announced a 'November Fan Fic Pick of the Month' (compiled by eb4642) to make up for it. (Louis Wu 13:52:45 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  News December 3 2009

  
  

  Firefight Solo Guide: Security Zone
  Monochron's got your back again with another Firefight Solo Guide - this time, he's helping out with Security Zone. Give it a read for tips, strategies, and cool pics! (Louis Wu 20:57:24 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Movie Madness
  More videos for you this afternoon:

  • I BR is a song, but one on YouTube - rappin' for the good of MLG (thanks, urk)
  • Gary UK managed a tricky jump on Zanzibar that he's been trying for three years
  • OutCold whipped up a Halo 3 Montage called 'Rise and Shine'
  • Halopen released a Character Trailer for their upcoming satire 'War (or War)' - you can find it on YouTube, Machinicast, or Vimeo, or discuss on it on their forums - thanks, Firestorm12

  Is that enough? (Louis Wu 18:57:50 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Top 10 Halo 3 ODST Mythic Kills: Episode 45
  Anoj is back with a new Top 10 vid - this one is Episode 45, Top 10 Mythic Kills (kills from the three multiplayer maps included with ODST). Thanks, urk. (Louis Wu 18:26:00 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Raise Your Flag
  Hawty McBloggy posted an article this morning about a very cool ODST flag created by Vrogy. Timing's incredible - over at Red vs Blue, MsValentine posted her OWN note yesterday about an ODST flag. (Hers is even for sale - swing by the post to see how to order one.) ODST Banners Everywhere! (Louis Wu 14:31:34 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Water, water, everywhere (or not)
  Jordan117 took a closer look at ODST's Kikowani Station... and wondered where the water was coming from. (Read the post for details on the mystery.) Interesting suggestions in the responses... (Louis Wu 14:28:02 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Achievement Design 101
  Gamasutra has an interesting blog post from Greg McClanahan (an Achievement designer for Kongregate) about Achievement design... and how developers can improve their offerings. Halo is mentioned only once (and incorrectly - he says 'Halo 2' when he means 'Halo 3'), but the concepts are definitely applicable across the board, and you can certainly see examples from Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST in both the good and bad routes. Give it a read! (Louis Wu 14:27:16 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Pro Tips with Tsquared - ODST Firefight Cheats
  Not too long ago, we mentioned a new 'Pro Tips with Tsquared' feature at G4TV, focused on ODST Campaign strategies. He's got another one up now, this one to help you with Firefight. Go watch! (Louis Wu 14:26:18 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Huh... whaddaya know, there are smart people here.
  There have been a couple of interesting threads on our forum recently that set themselves apart with two features: they both introduce questions that focus on the wider gaming world (Halo can certainly play a role, but the ideas are much grander than one game), and they're bringing out some really thought-provoking discussion. Both threads are well-attended; they don't NEED to be front-paged, but I figured there were probably people who read the Halo news, and would be interested in the intellectual discussion, but don't often delve into the forum.

  • Miguel Chavez brought in a video essay comparing videogames to 'tentpole movies' - and wondered whether games can tell stories in a way that's meaningfully different from the way that movies tell stories? (There are some pretty opinionated people in this thread.)
  • psychophan7 spent a bunch of time formatting his ideas on gaming difficulties, and how game designers can reward more people than they currently cater to - I don't agree with his conclusions, but I'm heartened by the discourse that the thread is generating.

  Drop into both of these threads, read some of what's been written - and if you find this stuff interesting, by all means, join in! (Louis Wu 14:25:09 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Game with Fame: Slayer
  The next Halo Game with Fame is coming up on December 16 - members of the band Slayer will be playing Halo 3 with Xbox LIVE fans. Go see how you can join in! (Louis Wu 14:24:43 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  ODST MySpace Layout
  Not sure how many people still use MySpace - but if you do, someone's created a Halo 3: ODST layout just for you. (Louis Wu 14:24:12 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  ODST for cheap for the next few weeks
  Looks like Wal-Mart has decided to reduce Halo 3: ODST's price to $39.99 through Christmas - nice news for folks looking for extra presents! (Louis Wu 14:15:56 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  News December 2 2009

  
  

  Halo 3 Mythic Guide Version 2.0 - Crow's Nest
  Daniel 'The Tyrant' Morris has gotten back to his Mythic Walkthrough v2.0 with a vengeance - Crow's Nest is up now, and The Ark (the final unfinished level) is coming soon. Swing by Crow's Nest for a whole new batch of techniques for getting through the level playing Solo, Legendary, All Skulls On - you might think you're not capable, but Tyrant's videos and text writeup will have you jumping on that final elevator in no time! (Well, okay, maybe SOME time.) Go check it out! (Louis Wu 22:39:39 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Community Spotlight: Clantacular.com
  It's Tuesday - so it's time to update Bungie Favorites. This week's Community Spotlight shines on Clantacular.com - swing by and read about 'em, and then check out their favorite files! (Louis Wu 22:39:15 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Top 10 Big Team Battle Kills Episode 1
  The Top 10 Gaming Group has put up their '10 Best Big Team Battle Kills' - lots of multikills from games with lots of players. Thanks, urk. (Louis Wu 22:36:56 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Halopen Pencast 15
  Firestorm12 sent word that Halopen Pencast 15 is now available (discussion thread is here) - this one's big, thanks to the birthday week celebrations. (Louis Wu 19:15:17 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Expanding a universe
  activeanime.com has an interview with Frank O'Connor discussing the Halo Legends project from 343 Industries. Good read! (Louis Wu 15:21:45 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Crysis Halo Assets
  AngelicLionheart ran across some new Halo-related modelling work at CryMod - check out the Forerunner structure! (Louis Wu 15:21:22 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Wednesday Comic Roundup
  Two classics have new episodes today: TTL Demag0gue had word of Reclaimer 229 (Transference), with some more history of Ferial, and Hawty McBloggy told us about ODS Steve 51 (The Guide), in which the crew gets some unexpected help. Go read! (Louis Wu 15:20:52 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  December MM Update Summary
  FyreWulff once again summarized the latest Matchmaking update, with helpful color coding to let you know what maps are needed for what lists. Check it out! (Louis Wu 15:20:10 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Get your fill faster
  A note went up on Bungie.net last night about some bandwidth upgrades to the Bungie servers - it might have taken a bit longer than expected, but everything's back online now! Go sample the bigger pipes. (Louis Wu 15:19:30 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Reach Trailer Scoring (and philosophy)
  A few fun pics went up via BungieTweets, Bungie's Twitter account - here, here, and here. Check out the discussion in this thread. (Louis Wu 15:17:01 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  News December 1 2009

  
  

  360 Elite, Halo Edition (in CA)
  Starting today, the Xbox 360 Elite Special Edition Halo Bundle (Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, a 360 Elite with a 250 GB hard drive, 2 wireless controllers and a matching black headset for CAD $399) is available in Canada - nice package! (Louis Wu 20:05:38 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Average Joe: Big Black Bear
  There's a new Average Joe interview at Bungie.net - Big Black Bear discusses the Halo community and his place in it. And urk's mom. Go read! (Louis Wu 20:05:01 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Limited-Edition ODST 360 for Sale
  Both Mountain Dew and Best Buy were giving away a few pretty cool Limited Edition ODST consoles this summer - but if you didn't win one of the 60 or so given away, you're out of luck... unless you feel like swinging by eBay. dCon V DID win one of 'em... but needs to sell it. His loss is your gain! You've got just under a week - go look. (Louis Wu 18:35:19 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Tuesday's Movies
  Like we said, Bungie's back in the office - and that means there are a bunch of new videos for you this afternoon:

  • Halo 3: ODST Rap tells the whole story of ODST (full of spoilers) in rap format. Well-done, lyrically.
  • In the Clutch, Episode 1 (Thanksgiving Special) is a new Top 5 Halo 3 Plays series, showing off clutch plays from Matchmaking. Great team saves!
  • Robbie B is on his third Halo 3 montage - this one is edited by TM22. Nice job on both sides (gameplay and editing).
  • The October edition of the MLG/ESPN Top Ten is online - and the gameplay is pretty amazing. (I was pretty amused with the number one clip - the guy gets 10 kills in a row (the last five as a Killtacular)... and his team is STILL down 32-27.)

  Go watch - just keep an eye out while you're there for urk, that man can be dangerous. (Louis Wu 18:28:41 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Trickle-Down Information
  Bungie's providing Reach information to SOMEONE today - you'll get your dose in the near future! Thanks to 2900d4u for noticing. (Louis Wu 17:41:10 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  HaloContest - November Voting Open
  Morpheus stopped in to let people know that voting for Best Film Clip and Screenshot for November has started over at HaloContest - the winners will get a copy of ODST. Be sure to visit and cast your vote! (Louis Wu 17:37:04 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Halo Legends: Japanese Release Date, Cover Art, Preview
  mendicantbias00 let us know that Kotaku has info about the Japanese release date of Halo Legends (February 16 - one week after the US release date), and some cover art (this seems to be new). And thanks also to CaptainTony, who pointed out that there is a trailer and a concept art sketchbook up on Halo Waypoint for 'The Package', the next Legends episode to be shown (Part 1 will be up this Saturday for the standard 24 hours). (Louis Wu 16:01:07 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Wallpaper and Plushies - what more do you need?
  Hawty McBloggy's place is worth visiting this morning - she's got some really nice stuff for you. For folks with an iPhone/iPod Touch, you can snag some very cool Halo Wallpaper, courtesy of Firestream... and for folks jonesing for Halo plushies (okay, okay, that's me, I admit it), a fan has whipped up a really adorable Elite plushie, complete with (soft) energy sword! Go see. (Louis Wu 14:59:06 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Do U Rite Gud?
  A bunch of people noticed a new job description listed on Bungie.net yesterday (they tweeted about it, after all) - Bungie's looking for a writer to help with an upcoming project. The requirements are intriguing... check out the discussion on our forum. (Louis Wu 14:51:54 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  IGN's Halo 3 Top 10 Kills of the Week - Nov 18
  IGN's Top Kills of the week for November 18 never got mentioned here - but you can swing by and watch it. (They've also provided information on submissions, if you missed that the first time around.) (Louis Wu 14:50:28 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  Quixotical, Scene 1
  Firestorm12 let us know that in honor of their 'birthweek' celebration, Halopen has released "the first and only to-be released scene for the canceled Halopen project 'Quixotical'." If you want to know what it was all about, you can read the Halopen forum thread . (Louis Wu 14:41:44 UTC) (permalink)

  
  

  December 2009

  
  
  
  
  

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