Archive for April, 2007
halo3.com – live and full of stuff
April 30th, 2007
serpx noticed that halo3.com now has quite a bit of new content (updated about a week ago) - including tidbits like the fact that the M6D is returning (though we know nothing about its specs), some story details that have not elsewhere been confirmed before (to avoid spoilers, I'll not specify them, but you can read them yourself if you'd like), and more. Go check it out! (I'm sad for Gearbox that in the Games section, the only title left out is Halo PC...) The Media section contains a nice centralized location for videos, screenshots, concept art (I see one or two as-yet unpublished ones there, too), and the like - go browse!(Louis Wu 21:24:35 UTC)
Three Xbox Live Arcade Titles Coming Out May 2nd.
April 30th, 2007Xbox Live Arcade fans are in for a nice treat. Three arcade titles are coming out, each giving gamers something nice for their gaming pleasure.
Legendary board game “Catan†arrives on Xbox LIVE Arcade
Brush up on your plans for expansion and hone your trading strategies because “Catan†is coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 this Wednesday, May 2 at 0900 GMT (2:00 a.m. Pacific).
“Catan†from Big Huge Games is the Xbox LIVE Arcade edition of the legendary multiplayer board game Settlers of Catan. With over 10 million units sold, Settlers of Catan is one of the most popular board games to hail from Europe, and has been translated into twenty-five languages from the original German.
“Catan†for Xbox LIVE Arcade puts players in the role of colonists on a newly discovered island, where they vie for control of valuable territory and resources through strategy and trading. The game can be learned in just minutes, but will challenge players of all skill levels, even the experts!
Klaus Teuber, creator of the original Settlers of Catan board game, had this to say about the collaboration with Big Huge Games: "I had no doubts that Brian Reynolds would do a great job, and the first version of the game exceeded my highest expectations. The AI is so clever that I even lost several games in a row! Hands down, this game for the Xbox LIVE Arcade is an amazing achievement."
“Catan†will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated E for Everyone.
Game Features
* Learn As You Play tutorial, making the game instantly accessible even to players who have never played “Settlers of Catan†before
* All New 3D "Living World" Board
* Play against any combination of 13 historical personalities such as Alexander, Cleopatra and Tokugawa, which provide a range of play styles and difficulty levels that will test players’ wits and strategy
* Fans of the board game will enjoy the inclusion of popular house rules like Friendly Robber and Friendly Resources
* Multiplayer gameplay over Xbox LIVE for up to 4 players
* The ability to taunt opponents with engaging animations and use emotes to compliment (or belittle!) the opposition over Xbox LIVE
* Voice Chat enabled
* Earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points
Arthropods Attack! “Centipede†and “Millipede†Invade Xbox LIVE Arcade
Two of Atari’s best loved coin-op classics, “Centipede†and “Millipede,†will be available for download on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 beginning Wednesday, May 2 at 0900 GMT (2:00 a.m. Pacific).
The classic version of “Centipede†challenges gamers to defend their villages against an onslaught of centipedes, spiders, army ants and more. Xbox LIVE Arcade gamers will also have access to an “Evolved†version which features pre-rendered, high definition graphics, special effects like motion blur, trails and particle-based explosions that make this classic as enjoyable today as it was in the arcade decades ago.
In “Millipede,†the primary challenge is to obliterate chains of arthropods that creep down from the top of the screen. Scattered mushrooms are the gamers’ main tool to shoot, destroy and redirect the menacing millipedes. “Millipede†also offers up Xbox LIVE Arcade gamers an “Evolved†version of this coin-op classic.
“Centipede†and “Millipede†will be available worldwide as a joint download for 400 Microsoft Points and are rated E for Everyone.
Game Features
· Two games in one! Enjoy both classic and evolved versions of both “Centipede†and “Millipedeâ€
· Dolby Digital surround sound
* Earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points
Three Xbox Live Arcade Titles Coming Out May 2nd
April 30th, 2007Xbox Live Arcade fans are in for a nice treat. Three arcade titles are coming out, each giving gamers something nice for their gaming pleasure.
Legendary board game “Catan†arrives on Xbox LIVE Arcade
Brush up on your plans for expansion and hone your trading strategies because “Catan†is coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 this Wednesday, May 2 at 0900 GMT (2:00 a.m. Pacific).
“Catan†from Big Huge Games is the Xbox LIVE Arcade edition of the legendary multiplayer board game Settlers of Catan. With over 10 million units sold, Settlers of Catan is one of the most popular board games to hail from Europe, and has been translated into twenty-five languages from the original German.
“Catan†for Xbox LIVE Arcade puts players in the role of colonists on a newly discovered island, where they vie for control of valuable territory and resources through strategy and trading. The game can be learned in just minutes, but will challenge players of all skill levels, even the experts!
Klaus Teuber, creator of the original Settlers of Catan board game, had this to say about the collaboration with Big Huge Games: "I had no doubts that Brian Reynolds would do a great job, and the first version of the game exceeded my highest expectations. The AI is so clever that I even lost several games in a row! Hands down, this game for the Xbox LIVE Arcade is an amazing achievement."
“Catan†will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated E for Everyone.
Game Features
* Learn As You Play tutorial, making the game instantly accessible even to players who have never played “Settlers of Catan†before
* All New 3D "Living World" Board
* Play against any combination of 13 historical personalities such as Alexander, Cleopatra and Tokugawa, which provide a range of play styles and difficulty levels that will test players’ wits and strategy
* Fans of the board game will enjoy the inclusion of popular house rules like Friendly Robber and Friendly Resources
* Multiplayer gameplay over Xbox LIVE for up to 4 players
* The ability to taunt opponents with engaging animations and use emotes to compliment (or belittle!) the opposition over Xbox LIVE
* Voice Chat enabled
* Earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points
Arthropods Attack! “Centipede†and “Millipede†Invade Xbox LIVE Arcade
Two of Atari’s best loved coin-op classics, “Centipede†and “Millipede,†will be available for download on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 beginning Wednesday, May 2 at 0900 GMT (2:00 a.m. Pacific).
The classic version of “Centipede†challenges gamers to defend their villages against an onslaught of centipedes, spiders, army ants and more. Xbox LIVE Arcade gamers will also have access to an “Evolved†version which features pre-rendered, high definition graphics, special effects like motion blur, trails and particle-based explosions that make this classic as enjoyable today as it was in the arcade decades ago.
In “Millipede,†the primary challenge is to obliterate chains of arthropods that creep down from the top of the screen. Scattered mushrooms are the gamers’ main tool to shoot, destroy and redirect the menacing millipedes. “Millipede†also offers up Xbox LIVE Arcade gamers an “Evolved†version of this coin-op classic.
“Centipede†and “Millipede†will be available worldwide as a joint download for 400 Microsoft Points and are rated E for Everyone.
Game Features
· Two games in one! Enjoy both classic and evolved versions of both “Centipede†and “Millipedeâ€
· Dolby Digital surround sound
* Earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points
Lens Flair.
April 30th, 2007
Today's One One Se7en shows off Stuntmutt's punache (pronounce that any way you like) while looking at the new artwork released by Bungie last Friday. (Which reminds me - Friday's strip is now visible; don't blame mnemesis, blame his tools.) And that does it for a little bit; again, I promise, I'll get through email soon. Hopefully, there's enough content here to keep you entertained for a little while.(Louis Wu 18:22:02 UTC)
It’ll put hair on your chest, too.
April 30th, 2007
Martin Duffy stopped by our forum to point out a public reading he'd had recently - it wasn't Halo-related, but he attributes some of his success in fiction writing in general to Halo, and to the HBO fanfic community specifically - good on ya, guys! (And congrats, Martin.)
(Louis Wu 18:17:36 UTC)
Evolution of Gaming
April 30th, 2007
macegac noticed an article at Playstation Universe, looking at series and how they've evolved, graphically, over the years. Halo, interestingly enough, had TWO series - the only game with that honor.
(Louis Wu 18:15:12 UTC)
Wongissima.
April 30th, 2007
Self Induced seemed to have some free time yesterday - he shows clearly that my vocabulary could use a bit more variation. Point taken. (Gah.)(Louis Wu 18:12:56 UTC)
District and Uplift Tours
April 30th, 2007
darthbob noticed that Microsoft Game Studios has posted 'Map Tours' of District and Uplift, the two new maps coming out with Halo 2 Vista; they're available in Flash format by navigating through the new H2V interface at MGS. (Look under the Media tab.)(Louis Wu 18:11:16 UTC)
Press X to deploy moose
April 30th, 2007
Rockslider continues his 'Spotlight with Suzie' series - this time, Suzie looks at new Halo 3 gizmos. She's a funny lady.
(Louis Wu 18:08:38 UTC)
The Wrong Crowd
April 30th, 2007
CougRon pointed out that Red vs Blue Episode 96 was released for sponsors late Friday night (it'll almost certainly be available for everyone else by today sometime). There's definitely some funky stuff going on in RvBLand... and my goodness, aren't we thrown a few curveballs. Go watch (unless you're not a sponsor, in which case, wait a bit, and THEN go watch).(Louis Wu 18:07:11 UTC)
The Ultimate Showdown… Halo style
April 30th, 2007
jarrell88 took the net-famous The Ultimate Showdown music, and built a Halo vid. Nice work!(Louis Wu 18:06:43 UTC)
Halo 3: Elysium
April 30th, 2007
Black Asgard's been working on a Halo fan fiction - you can find it on his blog.
(Louis Wu 18:05:35 UTC)
Graphical Evolution of Halo
April 30th, 2007
Gravemind spent some time breaking down the Graphical Evolution of Halo - upshot is 'Don't Panic!' Good advice.(Louis Wu 18:04:31 UTC)
Catching up – forum news, starting in slipspace
April 30th, 2007
Okay, on the assumptions that 1) KP and the crowd covering news this past week did a pretty good job keeping up with the halo at bungie.org address and 2) that everyone read my note last week and remembered NOT to send news to the lwu at bungie.org address and 3) that forum-based news had been covered pretty well through last Friday, I spent a little time digging through the last three days on the forum. Don't worry - I still plan to read through all that email; I just haven't gotten to it yet. (Real work is screaming at me, too.) So - here comes a series of quick pointers to forum posts that might contain information of interest to a wider audience. (I'm going to put them in their own news posts, to make things easier to find later.) First up - Nabsuh posted a new Slipspace animation a couple of days ago - looks great, and it's not too big!(Louis Wu 18:00:50 UTC)
THX H2 tonight?
April 29th, 2007Looking for some HALO 2 action over XBOX Live tonight. Anyone else going to be there?
Let's get some good 4v's happening.
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rapzilla blog | Shadowrun | HALO 2 Vista | cooked Gamers
Gorgeous Halo Artwork accompanies Halo Music
April 29th, 2007
Okay, so here's the deal. I'm home from a week in pretty remote rainforests - but there's no time to actually catch up on Halo news. (This would be a good time to pass along a HUGE thank you to the b.orgers who covered the Halo community this past week - they made it possible to relax, a wonderful thing.) Before I vanish for the day, however, there IS one bit of news I'd like to post. You might remember news of a band called The Unchosen, whose 'Mjolnir Song' was heavily inspired by Halo - in fact, they've entered the song in the 'Top of the Ox' competition, and you can vote for it if you like. Well, this week, we got mail from Paul Davies, containing three new (gorgeous) pieces of Halo artwork, all three of which were commissioned by the band for a track they're working on right now; it's not clear whether it's this same song or a new one, but you can thank them either way for the fantastic new artwork Paul created for them. Check out Chief, Chief/Cortana, and Halo Inlay. Wonga!(Louis Wu 17:37:53 UTC)
RT: Now Showing
April 29th, 2007
Hey Everyone -
Come join us tonight for a Red vs. Blue screening at the original Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in downtown Austin. We don't exactly know what we'll be showing, so we made this non-specific yet stunning poster to promote the event.
If you've...
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Taking it to the Middle East in modern times.
April 29th, 2007The Call of Duty series is fast forwarding from WWII to modern times. CoD4 will put you in battle with terrorists in the Middle East. Check out the video for more details. Other than the details, very little is known about the title.
Infinity Ward is making the game. They've setup a teaser site at http://www.charlieoscardelta.com.
The hi-def version of that trailer can be found here at gametrailers.com. The trailer we revealed during Saturday's NFL draft.
What are your thoughts on this? Why switch from a WWII setting? Why go to the Middle East where, well, we are still losing a lot of American lives?
"Politics aside, it'd be a hell of a lot more fun to play as an insurgent." - Slashdot user.
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Bioshock 360 Dashboard Theme Up Close
April 29th, 2007If you want to see what the new Bioshock 360 Dashboard theme looks like instead of having to buy it first, here's some screencaps:
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Oc's Blog, Feeds: Blog Feed / Oc's Picks
RT: Saturday Shmatterday
April 28th, 2007
Today's comic is posted below, but more importantly, it's Dan's Birthday. Go over and make fun of him for being old.
my celeb pass
