Actually its several weeks of Halo, but who’s counting?

Edge Magazine takes a look Inside Bungie which yeilds this shocking quote:

“We miscalculated, we screwed up, we came down to the wire and we just lost all of that. So Halo 2 is far less than it could and should be in many ways because of that. It kills me to think of it. Even the multiplayer experience for Halo 2 is a pale shadow of what it could and should have been if we had gotten the timing of our schedule right. It’s astounding to me. I f*cking cannot play Halo 2 multiplayer. I cannot do it. And that’s why I know Halo 3 is going to be so much better.”

That sounds like a typical post you might find at Neo GAF or from some blogger, but thats technical lead Chris Butcher. Me personally, I like Halo 2, but if they’ve got a higher goal they can reach with 3, I’m ready for it.

Bungie.net, between weekly updates that reveal nothing more than that they ARE still testing the game, has released fact sheets on the new and improved MA5C Assault Rifle, and the just plain new Mongoose.

The calls have started to come in to those registered for the Halo 3 Beta. Folk who dropped their info at Halo 3.com are getting emails with their invitation information. We all heard about the Crackdown method as well. Players who punch in three hours of Halo 2 multiplayer between Feb 1st and 3rd can also register for an invitation.

But if all else fails, JOIN THE ARMY! While taking a much needed break from dodging roadside bombs in Iraq, soldiers got to cool off by dodging roadside bombs in the new Halo 3 maps.

…Not in the literal sense, but for those who want in on the ‘Halo 3’ Beta, you may be required to buy ‘Crackdown’.  A bad move on Microsoft’s behalf?  No.  A cheap one?  Yes. 

The generic-looking GTA-clone from Microsoft and the developer “Real Time Worlds” (Formerly ”DMA Designs”) and lead designer David Jones is set to hit stores on February 20th.  In the newest issue of Gamepro Magazine an ad is featured for the game which reads “Includes Invitation to Halo 3 Beta” and cites it as a “Limited Time Offer”.  [Read the rest of this entry…]

Halo fans would do well to hop on Xbox Live Marketplace and get the new video documentary on the role of the Brutes in Halo 3. For those of us without access to the 360’s video download service, its also on GameTrailers.

At seven minutes, Bungie staff speak of the shortcomings of Brutes in Halo 2, and the masive overhaul the species will get in the sequel. With the Elites no longer in the Covenant, Brutes will become the dominant enemy in Halo 3’s campaign.

Much of the video is concept art and early animation tests, but we do see about 2 minutes of gameplay an in game graphics. Bungie.net is quick to point out everything is a work in progress and while there are new weapons in the video, they may look and/or function differently in the final game.

I got to hand it to Bungie on this one. As secretive as they continue to be, they are offering more access than many other developers do to the process of forming the game. It doesn’t come close to what fans have been clamoring for, but its more of an inside look than other AAA titles for 2007 like Mario Galaxy or Metal Gear Solid 4.

The Monday Night Football on ESPN commercial for Halo 3 is here. Xbox.com has a streaming version, and Team Xbox now has a 720p version!

Much like the E3 Announcement Trailer from earlier this year, this teaser starts slow… but ends with a much bigger bang. Chief is packing a new defensive manuever as well.

[Read the rest of this entry…]

The above image is a still provided by Bungie this week from the Halo 3 commercial which will air on Monday Night Football on December 4 on ESPN in HD. Afterwards, it will be available on Xbox Live Marketplace and probably be ripped and distributed all over internet.

Halo 3 Beta Registration will begin December 4 as well. Its only going to be open to the US initially, but Bungie is promising to roll out registration at the international level shortly. This public play test will be all Xbox 360 and only multiplayer. As can be expected, all details regarding the single player game are still very closely guarded secrets. When Halo 2 came out, players were shocked to find out they’d spend much of the game as The Arbiter, so we can’t imagine what kind of curveball we’ll be thrown this time.

This past week, several Xbox Live players with Microsoft employees on their friend list found Pimps at Sea being played. This has long been the internal joke for what the “next project” would be when Bungie still hadn’t announced Halo 3, so its fairly obvious that multiplayer testing has start to happen on the regular Xbox Live network.

Finally, the king-daddy of video game inspired web films carries continues with its 5th season. Episode 84 of Red Vs Blue is online now, and Tucker must comes to grips with the fact that he’s now the mother of a tiny alien, while the Red team mourns the loss of Sarge, who they buried alive.

Today marks the 5th anniversary of the release of the manliest console ever released, the Microsoft Xbox. It was so incredibly manly, it launched with a manly giant controller, came in all black (the manliest color), and shooter called Halo. The manliness of this game was diminished upon the release of the sequel 3 years later, when online play revealed the vast majority of players to be terribly immature pre-teens with a penchant for inappropriate language.
Blah Blah Blah started on Apple, Blah Blah Blah Xbox Live, Blah Blah Blah Halo 3. There, now you know the history.

Anyway, here is the important news: Bungie.net has announced a Halo 2 will get 2 new mulitplayer maps in the spring, available exclusively through Xbox Live Marketplace on Xbox 360. Now might be the time to upgrade, kids. I’m going to go out on a limb that they’re both maps that will show up in Halo 3 as well, as the idea of them building new maps 2 and a half years after the game’s release and so soon before the sequel borders on lunacy unless they were going for both.

Additionally, a PUBLIC BETA has been announced for Halo 3 Multiplayer. Why in the world would they do this? The complaints about Halo 2 were mostly fanboy whining. I certainly hope that comments don’t derail weapon balance and its instead used to test features rather than gameplay.

EGM’s 3 week Halo 3 Blowout is nearly over. I still haven’t gotten my subscriber copy. What gives Ziff-Davis Publishing? Mail it NOW.

thanks Max Con!

Update! 1up has posted a large screen gallery of hi res captures from the EGM issue. Halo 3 Mutiplayer screens.

Major League Gaming will finally gets its televised debut as the MLG Pro circuit is broadcast on the USA Cable Network starting November 11. This will be 7 pre-recorded events of the Halo 2 Championship.

For more info see USA Network’s page or MLGpro.com

So far the show looks a lot more tasteful than SpikeTV or even G4 has ever presented Pro gaming. Could MLG be the next World Series of Poker? Is a pro like Walshy the next Tiger Woods?

A press release from Peter Jackson’s Wingnut films confirms what may have been obvious to all after the studio fall out 2 weeks ago.

As was previously confirmed, we deeply regret that both Universal and Fox did not choose to move forward with financing the Halo film under the original terms of the agreement. At this time Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, along with their partner, Microsoft, have mutually agreed to postpone making a feature film based on the Halo video game universe until we can fulfill the promise we made to millions of Halo fans throughout the world that we would settle for no less than bringing a first class film to the big screen. We are fully supportive of Director Neill Blomkamp’s vision of the film. Neill is a tremendously gifted filmmaker and his preliminary work on Halo is truly awe-inspiring. While it will undoubtedly take a little longer for Halo to reach the big screen, we are confident that the final feature film will be well worth the wait.

Ain’t It Cool’s Quint had some nice things to say, being one of the few people who has seen the pre-production work on Halo.

Some sites are touting this as a cancellation but the text of the release still implies the movie is on, just not on for a release any time soon.