Author: halo@bungie.org

Wow, this is a little worrying… FyreWulff pointed out a thread on Bungie.net discussing the new Halo 2 maps coming out soon – Jeremiah mentioned that these maps would likely be incorporated in a significant number of playlists – and (at least at this point in the developments) those playlists would no longer be available…

Red vs Blue Episode 92 was released for sponsors last night (thanks, hezekiah) – Sheila gets a new home, Simmons gets a drug habit, and Griff gets overlooked – again. Donut has some of the funniest lines of the episode. If you’re not a sponsor, this will be available early next week from their front…

The Art Institute of Seattle is hosting a Halo 2 tournament on March 24 – register at any Puget Sound Game Crazy store, with a suggested $3 donation at the door (proceeds to go to the Starlight/Starbright Children’s Foundation). QuickTactical is trying to find out if it’s team-based or FFA – we’ll update this post…

Bootstrap Boon (and some other HBO Helljumpers) created a new video – it’s actually a recreation of a scene from Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings, and he’s done a wonderful job of mapping the original audio to Halo footage. 5:44 long, 52 and a half mb in either WMP9 format or QuickTime…

The Bungie Weekly Update is up – droolworthy gameplay description, VERY good news about the Legendary/Limited confusion (see an earlier post), AI and vehicle tidbits, a reminder to archive your Group data because the new website launches next week, and a Crate Gun… wonga. Go read. (Of course, it’s always available in the Weekly Update…

Paul Maestri let us know that Halo Heads 54 was live – my goodness, a new villain! And a dastardly one at that. I KNEW there was something squirrelly about that guy..(Louis Wu 20:51:29 UTC)

Continuing in our commercial vein, today’s One One Se7en looks at another Halo product, and its relationship to Microsoft’s bottom line…(Louis Wu 17:20:45 UTC)

TeamXbox has the official Microsoft press release for Halo 3’s commercial packaging – and some pretty big changes can be found in it. There are still three editions – Standard, Limited, Legendary – but price and contents for the Legendary and Limited Editions are quite different from the older information we got at the end…

MLGPro has put up a new podcast in their Sound Arguments series – Jason and Trunkers take a look at the top team rosters (most changed dramatically at the end of last season), and speculate about what it might all mean for the season. 12:09 long, 11.13 mb. Thanks, 3Suns.(Louis Wu 16:45:38 UTC)

Legend, from HaloBase.de, was the first to mention that the Halo 3 boxes have been finalized, and press shots are circulating today. You can see a summary of them in this article at HaloBase, and you can see all 6 shots, in high-res glory, on this page. Update: Looks like TeamXbox has ’em up, too…

Final Boss, one of the best teams on the Halo pro circuit, participated in a tournament in Austin, and then gave local fans (who hadn’t been playing in the tournament) a chance to see what it’s like to play a top pro team. Results were predictable… but their opponents had a good time nonetheless. Nice!…

Geezer Gamers has an article entitled ‘Joining the Parent Club: Gaming (or not) with a newborn’ – do you have to give up your controller and put down that sniper rifle when your little one comes along? Maybe… maybe not. It definitely changes things, though…(Louis Wu 13:08:41 UTC)

Only four new stories for you in the Fan Fiction section for you this week – should be easy readin’!(Louis Wu 13:04:02 UTC)

There’s a story over at TeamXbox talking about how Shadowrun will feature a party system based on the one developed by Bungie for Xbox Live – according to the UI/Matchmaking designer for the game, Bill Fulton, “we’ve replicated Halo 2’s party system because that’s the best way for friends to play in public matches.” To…

boesman pointed out an article at IGN that suggests that Microsoft is pushing for a September release for Halo 3. They claim “two independent sources” for this information – which puts a new spin on the comments by Shane Kim last week at GDC. At that point, I opined that Kim’s comments suggested that Microsoft…

Spec_Ops_Assault noticed an interview with Brian Jarrard at Game Informer, focused on the Halo 3 beta. Some of the information is intriguing – this one’s worth a read! (Louis Wu 19:21:27 UTC)

Does Gears of War have what it takes to overtake Halo 2 on the competitive gaming circuit? Andy Jones thinks so – I think. (The article contradicts itself a few times as you read, so I’m not 100% sure WHAT he thinks.) Go read it for yourself at Amped eSports.(Louis Wu 18:17:33 UTC)

Interesting. If you live in Germany, you can spend €10 to buy the ‘Halo 3 Pre-order Pack’ – the money will go towards Halo 3, once it’s released, but in the meantime, it’ll buy you access to the Halo 3 beta program. This is for sale at both Amazon.de and Gamestop.de. You have to be…

Jamie98s put together a short little music vid set to Otis Redding’s ‘Dock of the Bay’ – a soldier tires of killing. Interesting interpretation – and, as usual with Jamie’s work, cinematography rocks. Only a bit over 16 mb, in either WMP9 format or QuickTime format.(Louis Wu 13:07:58 UTC)

Simply Greg stopped by to announce Energy Episode Three – audio in this episode is VASTLY improved from earlier episodes. A mining expedition brings back more than they expected…(Louis Wu 12:39:38 UTC)