Category: HBO

Four new stories this week in the Fan Fiction section – go give ’em a read!(Louis Wu 14:41:57 UTC)

Rob Tracy let us know that the first of three Halo/Grifball-related comics is live now at the Remedy website; this one seems like a set-up strip. (Louis Wu 14:39:49 UTC)

Yesterday evening, Bungie posted the latest in its ‘Breaking In’ series – this one looks at Christian Allen’s road to Bungie. He’s a Design Lead, and came in during the Halo 3 crunch from a different gaming company. Make sure your hacky sack skills are up to par! (Louis Wu 14:38:50 UTC)

Hawty McBloggy highlighted a tiny little clip that should resonate with most of us – how many times have you lost an Oddball game because you ran away with an SMG instead of the ball? This guy had a slightly different problem… but the overall concept’s the same.(Louis Wu 14:38:04 UTC)

Bungie’s updated Halo 3’s Matchmaking on Xbox LIVE – the February update is now online. Information on playlist changes, Double XP weekends, and your next chances at Recon armor are all up. (Double XP this week is Grifball.)(Louis Wu 21:34:42 UTC)

The guys at SmoothMoveFilms took the song that went along with the commercial for Mercenaries 2 last summer, and set it to some Halo action. End result is fun. Thanks, urk.(Louis Wu 21:28:55 UTC)

The Ensemble team has made the Halo Wars Manual available on the Halo Wars website, in PDF format. (It’s in the top newspost at the moment – and since there’s no permanent page to link to, here’s a direct link to the file.) 3.7 mb, 48 pages. Grab a copy! Thanks, L3giticus.(Louis Wu 21:03:05 UTC)

eckosama stopped by with word of a tribute to Mike Miller’s ‘Legend’ vids (search our news if you’ve never seen them) – it’s a Halo PC vid, with some nice moves! Take a look.(Louis Wu 17:22:58 UTC)

The Halo Wars demo is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace (for Gold account holders); release seems to be rolling by region, so if you can’t get it right away, be patient. It’s 1.4 GB in size. You can also download the Call to Battle trailer (though this is available on YouTube (thanks, onebitrocket), or…

G4 TV has a hands-on review of Halo Wars that’s mostly a video playthrough of Campaign Mission 3. Go watch if you want to see Grizzly tanks in action.(Louis Wu 12:34:45 UTC)

The Catfish let us know that 2501 Episode 11, following Squadron E, is now up.(Louis Wu 12:34:23 UTC)

Bryan Newman asked us to let you know about his casting call – his team needs Halo 3 actors, and they know what they DON’T want. Watch the video for details.(Louis Wu 12:34:06 UTC)

I thought this was common knowledge at this point, but apparently it’s not – and it bears repeating in any case: sketchfactor confirmed yesterday that when Halo 3: ODST touches down this fall, every Halo 3 multiplayer map – original shipping maps, Heroic, Legendary, and Mythic packs, Cold Storage, and the three new exclusive maps…

nash–housewares noticed an article at Wired about an increase in the use of hacker techniques in Halo 3 matchmaking. It’s definitely not common… but apparently, some people are turning to approaches like Distributed Denial of Service attacks in order to win Halo 3 matches. (The article suggests that you can lease a ‘zombie’ (a PC…

Bungie’s Blog noted a video entitled ‘MLG Top Ten Series: Episode 3’, showing off 10 clips collected by B Mc Gann and Static Hazard in MLG matchmaking and custom games. I don’t think I’d agree with the order (#4 is WAY more impressive than 3, 2, OR 1), but they’re good gameplay moments. Go watch!…

Jason Pace, Microsoft’s Halo Studio’s Lead Producer, talked to VideoGamer.com about the future of the Halo franchise. What he says will reassure some fans, and scare others. (Narcogen, at Rampancy.net, reacted to an early excerpt with a little bit of fear. I think the discussion of a dancing Grunt game in the full interview might…

urk pointed out that the Weekly update to Bungie Favorites, showcasing the second batch of material from ODST 4th Battalion, is now live. Cheeto666 also discusses a particular map.(Louis Wu 20:45:29 UTC)

If you haven’t completed the Vidmaster Annual Achievement, the Bungie Blog is highlighting a video that can help you whip through it in no time at all. Four decent Halo players usually need 45 minutes to an hour and a half (or more) to finish the level… these guys offer you hints and a glitch…

anthraxgoon told us about X36 Chapter 2 Issue 2 (mindhacking? ew.), and Hawty McBloggy sent word that ODS Steve #12 (You Won’t Like Him When He’s Angry) is up, but she went to sleep and forgot to mention it sooner. Watch those mad grunts!(Louis Wu 18:21:30 UTC)

MLGPro.com has released info about the 2009 Pro Circuit – including locations and dates of the first two events. They’re back in New Jersey in early April, and in Ohio in early June! Get pumped. Thanks, subtheorist.(Louis Wu 17:12:39 UTC)