Thursday, August 16, 2007

Halo 3 Collectible Missile Case

Yet another interesting collectible piece... the Halo 3 Missile Case Set. When closed, this case looks like the ammunition container for the spanker missiles used in the Halo universe. The case opens up and reveals an area where you can hold all of your prized Xbox software and
hardware.

It is an exclusive buy from Gamestop for $19.99 and ships September 18, 2007.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Halo 3 on way to biggest blockbuster this year

It's no secret that Microsoft has really stepped it's marketing for Halo 3. In addition to Halo 3 themed Mountain Dews, big names such as Comast, Pontiac, and Burger King have also been vying for a piece of the Master Chief.
Chris DeCesare of Microsoft has stated that the target for Halo 3 is 155 million for the opening day. This would top the current opening weekend of the move Spiderman 3 - the most profitable summer title of the year. When asked to compare Halo 3 against it's predecessor, Chris has this to say:

When we opened to USD 125 million [last time], that really caught a lot of people's attention. It showed that videogames were no longer that thing that kids play in their basement... we're confident we can do better.

The launch of Halo 3 really does feel more like a movie opening rather than a video game. This shows the growing awareness and respect for the gaming business throughout the entertainment industry.

New Crispy Halo 3 Visuals!

Gametrailers.com just introduced some new Halo 3 screenshots. Check it out

Monday, August 13, 2007

New Halo 3 Flamethrower and Fire Grenade

IGN has posted a new weapon that can be wielded by the Master Chief. The flamethrower! After 7 years, Bungie has decided to throw this weapon back into the growing array of lethals objects. The flamethrower while probably awkward to use against Brutes will probably prove invaluable for keeping the Flood at bay.
The chief holds the flamer like the detached turret gun. Here's the bad ass pic:

Another incendiary device is the fire grenade. More commonly known as the flash grenade, it allows you to set up a wall of fire around yourself and an opponent. daze opponents(and yourself) for a limited amount of time. This opens up new strategic options, especially when working in 4 player co-op.

Both weapons can be seen as really good defensive weapons both against the Flood and the Baby Kongs.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Here comes the marketing campaign(s)

In addition to the Microsoft Zunes with H3 skin, the marketing engine for halo 3 is going to kick into high gear in August. Expect this:

  • Halo slurpees at 7-11.
  • Halo 3 Dorito chips.
  • Pontiac G6 themed Halo 3(or is it the other way around? hmm..).
  • Burger King meals with Master Chief on the side
XboX360 Fanboy

EA sees Halo 3 as weakness

I just thought this article was pretty interesting. Seems like the games to beat in the Fall are Grand Theft Auto and Halo 3.
24/7 Wall

ZOMG! Halo 3 pwnage come in fours!

And there you have it. The nail in the coffin. Halo 3 is fast becoming a game that is fully justified to be the flagship game of the next gen Xbox console system.

The news came to us on Tuesday when Bungie announced that they had indeed successfully implemented not two player online co-op but four! That's right - four! Halo fans can now form a team of four with people from all over the world (or through System Link for a higher intensity trash-talking experience).

Since there is only one Master Chief, you will not be playing with some cheap MC clones but with none other than the Arbiter by your side as well as two new Covenant allies. They even have their own backstories. Personally, I would have loved to have one of my allies be of the human variety. A pumped up Sgt. Johnson maybe? Then again, I don't think any human can really stand up with Master Chief and the rest of the gang...


N'tho 'Sraom (Elite pictured in purple?) is portrayed as the brash, headstrong young'un with an admiration for humans and a deep grudging resentment towards his former Jiralhanae sentries.

Usze ‘Taham seems to command a little bit more respect within his Sangheili brethren. He is shown as someone who has defied the will of his elders and have seen persecution because of it.

Both of these Elite champions gives us a deeper view towards Covenant/Elite culture. This gives Halo 3 an amazing opportunity to hit people with something deeper... if you know what I mean.

Now, a concern that I had and Bungie quickly dismissed was: If we now have a small army at our disposal, wouldn't even the Legendary setting seem like a breeze? Bungie has hinted that there are ways to make even a four player co-op game challenging although they would not say what they were. Stay tuned for more on that.

Bungie

Monday, July 30, 2007

Halo 3 Controls

In adding to the Halo hype, new Halo 3 modded controllers hit Gamepro today. This might be a bit too much Bungie:
Gamepro

Friday, July 27, 2007

More details on Forge

MSN Entertainment quotes this:

On the multiplayer front, a nifty feature called The Forge allows the gamer to redesign maps by changing the placement of weapons and vehicles, as well as changing the rules of engagement.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Halo 3 Map Editor?

One of my friends at work mentioned that I should pick up Marathon and play with that for awhile until H3 comes out. So, I am downloading these files and I come across a little file called Forge. After doing a bit of research, I figured out that Forge and Anvil were map editors for the Marathon series. This is one of the reasons why Marathon still has a huge following.
I immediately thought about an article I recently read at www.1up.com Here's the juicy bit halfway through the page:

We caught a brief glimpse of a menu option called "Forge," but Bungie wouldn't comment on what that is. But keep an eye out for EGMs September issue (on sale August 7th), where they reveal this feature -- plus a whole lot more exclusive details on single-player, multiplayer, and co-op.
If this rumor indeed happens to be true, it will add a brand new dimension to online and co-op play. Till next time.

In-Depth Trailer Analysis

All you Halo 3 fanboys and girls out there who could not get enough of H3 after E3....an in depth scene-by-scene analysis of the Halo3 Trailer put out by E3:

Joystiq.com

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Mystery email

Following the Halo 3 viral marketing campaign, check out the following message:

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Halo 3 In E3

For those of you who caught the E3 show yesterday, there were pockets of H3 goodness in there for everybody to enjoy. That is, if you could bear the terrible presentation. I heard the mic cut off a couple of times when the good game developer folks were demoing their products. Let me also say Peter Moore sucks at delivering a presentation. The crowd was completely dead. he sucked it up so much that the presenter's applause drowned out the entire crowd. It really made me feel sorry for Microsoft. Ah well...
I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Halo 3 and of course they saved the best for last. The good people at WETA got to present their piece. I have admired their work ever since i was a kid and I still am a fan but this latest video left me really scratching my head. Their latest promotion video was very StarcraftII'esque. It didn't leave the user with a message. On the other hand, the graphics were sweet. I mean if they really qualify as graphics at this level. Neill Blomkampp is a master when it comes to his work. I am looking forward to what you guys think about this video. you can view it here.
Next up was the introduction of the Halo'ed XBox 360. When Peter Moore shuffled over to the stage and stuck his head underneath the table for a good 5-10 seconds, I couldn't help but smirk. I am sorry I had to. This expression was followed by me holding my breath as he held a swampy green 360 for the world to see. He was one palming that thing as if it was a sandwich. We all know how heavy that thing was....sigh. Can you imagine if he had dropped that baby.
The h360 was nothing extraordinary. Nothing indicated that it was different architecturally different than the vanilla variety. meh. Pass. I am inclined to say that not even hardcore gamers would want this piece of crap. I can see a place for the white or the black XBox 360 fitting in with the rest of the decor in a house. Why would anyone want to get this. As soon as the novelty of 'ooh ooh I have a Halo 3 Edition XBox 360' wears off, you're stuck with an absolute eyesore.

I shook my head and was about to go to bed when Peter Moore did the most awkward version of Steve Jobs oh and there's one more thing... and wanted us to "Finish the Fight".
Again, the presentation on TV just looked awful. They would shift back and forth from the screen that was showing awfully new and raw in-game footage of H3. Why would you want to do that?!! Really annoying. Plus, I think some clueless inji't chose at that very moment, to commandeer the mic and repeatedly keep asking, "Hey, are yoouu guuyyyss enjoying this?" What the bloody hell!?!? Then, out o
f nowhere, the great folks over at G4 decided to cut to a commercial. Brilliant!!
After the video got cut, I switched off the TV and ran to my computer and watched the video there. I should've just done that to begin with. It's beautiful everyone. Don't let the naysayers tell you any different. Got it right here:

Halo 3 Campaign Footage

So, all in all, XBox360 at E3 sucked, Halo 3 Campaign Footage rocks! Would like to know what you think out there. Check out these nice Halo 3 pics too.


Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Society of Ancients

A bit of Bungie viral marketing:
http://www.societyoftheancients.com

Monday, July 9, 2007

New Levels(kinda), interesting battle armor

Last week Bungie released some pretty nifty level screenshots for the Halo audience to drool over. While the majority of the users on the forums do like them, I am a bit skeptical about these new MP maps. I'll show you what I mean:
This first one is called 'Last Resort'. Looks familar? Yep, you guessed. They might as well have named it Zanzibar 2. To be fair, not a lot of the innards of this level are really known and Bungie promises more open spaces and an assortment of walkways in and out of the interior structures this time. Incidentally, look at those gates in the lower left hand of the picture. It doesn't look like I can fling the flag across the gates so easily this time in a CTF game.

Next one up is a level called 'Epitaph'. Ooo... look at it all glow. The level is supposed to be some sort of Forerunner technology. It looks really neat but also very similar to the 'Longest' in Halo: CE. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Oh yeah, the new E.V.A and C.Q.B suits are now here. Bungie has got a lot of sexy poses up on it's site but you're not going to hear any complaints from me about the new Spartan suits. It seems like you have to unlock these new suits though. I definitely see these suits being worth the effort.
Interesting note here about the E.V.A suit. I am wondering how these new body armor suits fit into the story. Doesn't this suit strike you as a bit...well... feminine? And it's no coincidence that the suit's acronym is Eva. According to Bungie E.V.A stands for 'Extra Vehicular Activity'. Does that sound like a bunch of bull to anyone but me? Hmmm...
We'll know on Sept. 29th.

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Brute Chopper, Spartan Variants

In honor of Bungie day, or more in line with their "slow-burn" marketing campaign, news of a fantastic Brute chopper and some spartan variants lie open before us. I am wondering if these variants are simply superficial or if the suits have their own inherent strengths and weaknesses.
Don't forget to check out the Quicktime movies while getting your Bungie dose for the weekend.

http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=lovebungie

Friday, July 6, 2007

ZOMG! Halo3 Action figures

Check these awesome HALO 3 action figures out. A project of Todd MacFarlane of Spawn fame is involved with this.

Bungie's Weekly Easter Egg

Power-Ups in the MasterChief-Beta

IMO, takes a bit getting used to really recognize the benefit of this. On the other hand, if a player were to get really good at handling these power-ups, I can see them being prized in a team setting. In the long-run, this feature adds a lot of value to this franchise.
I had a bit of trouble getting used to the "power-up" weapons and the X button mechanism for all about three seconds. Impressive as it looks, the Bubble Shield only gives you a short breather for long-range combat - completely useless for melee action. The Shield Drainer is a really nice way to deplete your enemy's shields if you want to even out the odds a bit. Throw it down and even if you get blown up, you set your buddy up the hill a really nice position to frag 2 or 3 reds at the same time.
My favorite power-up of all though is the trip mine. I cannot express how much joy I felt when I would wait for a warthog with three baddies in it to come hurtling toward me, offering myself as a sacrifice for the good of the team and throwing down that trip mine. KABOOM! Oh so satisfying! Be careful with this though, timing is everything with this power-up. Another great application of the trip mine is when playing CTF or bombs. Just rig it up in the flag/detonation area, alert your teammates about the active bomb(very important) and watch an impatient kid just totally wipe!
Here's hoping for more Bungie!

Halo3 to jumpstart XBox 360 sales

With talks about the PS3 cutting it's price to a competitive level and Wii building up sales and it's reputation, the market lead that the 360 box had built up is starting to crack a bit. So, once again all hope rests on the shoulders of a man with emerald-clad armor and legendary sized boots.
No pressure Bungie...
Microsoft sweats about sales