Archive for February, 2007
February Halo Wars Update
February 28th, 2007
Mike Smith pointed out a new update over at the Halo Wars forum - very little real information, but they DO seem to have a playable version, because a bunch of Microsoft bigwigs came by to play. There's also an enigmatic image at the bottom of the post; I thought it was a 'magic picture' (with a 3d shape that appears if you look at it right), but I couldn't find anything inside. Give it a read, and play with the pic!(Louis Wu 23:49:40 UTC)
Warner buys Halo music publishing rights
February 28th, 2007
Over at Music4Games, you can read about a new licensing agreement between Microsoft and Warner/Chappell Music (the publishing arm of Warner Music Group) - Warner will now "claim, administer, and license music compositions owned and controlled by Microsoft, including [...] Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2." The agreement covers the upcoming Halo 3, as well. Go read the full article for more details! Thanks, Greg.(Louis Wu 20:42:55 UTC)
An automated vasectomy clinic?
February 28th, 2007
Weebl's Stuff was lucky enough to rate a tour of Bungie Studios recently - it's not clear how many NDAs they violated documenting what they saw, so read it while you can! Thanks, Hypersoldier.(Louis Wu 18:16:35 UTC)
Listening to the Lightbulb and the Chief
February 28th, 2007
Game Informer Online has released a podcast with Tim Dadabo (343 Guilty Spark) and Steve Downes (Master Chief) - an interesting interview about how the whole voice-acting thing works. It's a fascinating half-hour discussion with two guys who are pretty close to the development process (though both of them deny knowing any inside info). Go listen! Thanks, Spec_Ops_Assault.(Louis Wu 15:28:33 UTC)
You Can’t Beat It.
February 28th, 2007
Today's One One Se7en looks at a potentially under-considered hazard of the upcoming Halo 3 Laser Command toy set... though anyone with small boys (or, for that matter, anyone who WAS a small boy or KNEW a small boy) could have predicted this.(Louis Wu 15:26:35 UTC)
Bungie Swagse
February 28th, 2007
A few days ago, we mentioned that Kornman won one of the three Hollywood Arts Halo auctions. In an odd turn of events, the top bidder in one of the other two, the Swag Pack, dropped out, and Kornman was the second highest bidder there - so he picked THAT one up, too. He was able to get Hollywood Arts to take pictures before shipping the package out - you can read about it, and see all the goodies, on this page. Congrats, Kornman... and here's hoping you've still got enough left over for rent this month!(Louis Wu 15:20:34 UTC)
Bad News Beta
February 28th, 2007
Sane Intolerant pointed out Bad News Beta, an episode of his Halo Toy Box strip. Oddness...(Louis Wu 15:12:34 UTC)
Master Replicas Gets in the Game
February 28th, 2007
Okay, so we already knew about Gentle Giant, WizKids Games, and Kotobukiya getting into the Halo Action Figure market (just as Joyride gets out) - looks like a fourth company is in, too. Corgi International, makers of Master Replicas, will be releasing Halo-related "gifts and collectibles" in the coming year. (They'll also be distributing the Kotobukiya figures.) Thanks, ODSTAdrianFii.(Louis Wu 15:00:53 UTC)
Knowing your spouse
February 28th, 2007
Dry Ice has a pretty nice wife - check out the goodies he got for his last birthday, totally unprompted. If you find someone like that... don't let her go.(Louis Wu 14:54:44 UTC)
Free Subscribtion to Games for Windows Magazine
February 28th, 2007
"We've teamed up with Ziff-Davis, the publishers behind Games for Windows: TOM, to give away 25,000 free 1-year subscriptions (to US readers only ... sorry!). How free? You won't need to provide your credit card information; your subscription won't be automatically renewed at the end of the year; and you will need to "opt-in" to renew your subscription before receiving any bill for the magazine. Free."
Appears to be hitch free. No credit card info. Not automatically renewed at end of the 12 months. I think it's legit.
New Poll in the Forums!
February 27th, 2007
We just put a highly invasive and nosy poll in the Forums - asking if you bought your Xbox console just for Halo, or for some other reason. Which would be stupid, obviously. Anyway, go rock the vote in the polls HERE!
New Poll in the Forums!
February 27th, 2007
We just put a highly invasive and nosy poll in the Forums - asking if you bought your Xbox console just for Halo, or for some other reason. Which would be stupid, obviously. Anyway, go rock the vote in the polls HERE!
Send in stuff for episode 103: Halo 3 show!
February 27th, 2007A storm is brewing on the horizon. Thunder rolls and the air smells of wet asphault and dust. It's deathly calm and an eerie silence blankets the gaming landscape. Halo 3 is coming. It's the calm before the storm.
The latest with Halo 3
We haven't done a Halo 3 show in a little while. Because the beta hasn't come out and our friends at Bungie are as tight-lipped as ever, there's nothing earth-shattering to talk about. So here's your assignment: Head over to the ever-vigilant halo.bungie.org and look through some recent weekly updates and tell us what you think. What do you think of recent graphic advances in Halo 3 such as water effects? How about the recent Halo 3 branding poster on Bungie.net? Do you think we'll see Halo-style matchmaking in other 360 games soon? What do you think of the Spartan Laser, Assault Rifle, and Mongoose that have been profiled on Bungie.net? What do you think of the recent leaked videos that show the Halo 1 pistol being fired with the same animation along with some other weapons? We'll be talking about all these and much more.
Deadline is Thursday Night
at about 5:30pm EST. The earlier you get your tip in, the more likely it is to be read on the show, so send it in now by clicking submit news and tips on the right side of the page. Oh, and episode 102 should be out tonight or tomorrow.
Stats db maintenance
February 27th, 2007
Halo 2 stats are offline for quick maintenance
Stats db maintenance
February 27th, 2007
Halo 2 stats are offline for quick maintenance
Tied the Leader makes us work
February 27th, 2007
It's Tuesday, which usually means a Tied the Leader update - but we've heard nothing from our gunslinging friends, so I visited all by my lonesome, and found some tasty stuff. There's a 22 Questions interview with Michael 'Fluffaluffer' Karlsson, the leader of Planet Halo, there's an interesting piece called 'Century Milestone', which looks at the Gunslingers as a unit (One from Many), and there's a Community Profile of the Gamerchix ("two X chromosomes and an internet connection"). What are you waiting for? Go read!(Louis Wu 19:39:13 UTC)
Halo Heads – Live Again
February 27th, 2007
In the last 6 months, we've chronicled the release of 50 episodes of the Halo Heads comic on these pages... but a couple of weeks ago, fans started noticing that the site was unreachable. An unfortunate disaster had occurred, and the original blogspot website was gone - but never fear, a replacement has been created! We're now hosting the strip, at haloheads.bungie.org - go see if you missed any! (The blog posts are gone, unfortunately, along with any comments - but look on the bright side; the strips are housed in a spiffy new standards-compliant design!)(Louis Wu 18:55:55 UTC)
What… it couldn’t have gone $400 higher?
February 27th, 2007
That Halo 3 Voice Cameo auction ended yesterday... the winning bidder paid a whopping $7,300 to be immortalized, vocally, in Halo 3. Now THAT'S fanaticism! Thanks, Kornman.(Louis Wu 17:42:09 UTC)
Halopen Opens The Process
February 27th, 2007
xbryboyremix pointed out a collection of useful pages for machinima makers, part of a new section of the Halopen Films website. The Process has opened with 'How to Film', a page showing three common ways to get Xbox content into your computer, and 'Guidelines', a tutorial that can help you make better machinima. Go give 'em a read!(Louis Wu 17:31:45 UTC)
Ms Da Man
February 27th, 2007
One of the more impressive Halo 1 tricksters, over the years, has been Ms Man - and now all of his work has been collected in one section of High Impact Halo, thanks to Dantheman87. A friendly wave to Ducain, for the heads-up.(Louis Wu 17:20:40 UTC)
