My Halo News.com

The latest news about the Halo series of games from Microsoft

  • Xbox 360 Messenger Kit Release Date: 9/7/07

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    Oculus

    msgrkit

    I’m excited about this peripheral. It should aid in setting up games and speed up communication between people that may be trying to get into games with one another. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to send a quick message on the 360 but decided not to because of the effort required. I’m hoping more THX’ers purchase this accessory as well.

    It will cost $29.99 and comes with the chat pad attachment and a headset. Little known fact: Gamespot reports that you will also be able to connect your old original Xboxen headsets to the chatpad, so bust out that old Halo 2 in-ear set if you like.

    How it works: You will be able to type messages faster through the standard “send message” Xbox Live blade, however an additional button on the chat pad will pop up a quick chat interface over whatever current game your playing. It is yet to be determined whether or not you will be able to hit the quick chat button and send a standard Xbox Live message to one of your friends. If you don’t have the accessory it is most likely that you will be able to receive chat messages if your MSN account is synced, however you will have to reply through the standard blade. I would recommend everyone go and get an MSN Messenger account and sync it to your Xbox Live account. This is an easy process and there’s plenty of tutorials online.

    This is a huge improvement to the 360’s current messaging and communication functionality. For only 30 bucks, I’d say it’s well worth it.

    Here’s the official info from Xbox.com:
    “Chatting with friends and family on Xbox LIVE® and Windows-based PCs is easy using the Xbox 360 Messenger Kit. This device easily connects to any Xbox 360 controller and provides easy to use chat capabilities while maintaining gameplay functionality in one easy-to-hold device. The Messenger Kit includes a Chatpad and Xbox 360 Headset.”

    XBL GT: Mikeulus

  • Campaign Footage

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    halo@bungie.org
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    There’s a small clip of actual gameplay from Halo 3’s campaign, shakeycam’d off a monitor and recorded during hte Leipzig Games Convention, at IGN (first movie on the page). (Sort of has that start-of-Delta-Halo feel to it… but prettier.) It’s actually linked from this hands-on article, which also contains the “Top 5 Leipzig GC Halo 3 Moments”. Give it a read! Thanks, Spenser.(Louis Wu 18:44:59 UTC)

  • Opus Machinima

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Andras Ostrom has sent along a new, and MASSIVE, piece of Halo machinima; it’s 30 minutes long, and weighs in at about 200 mb, depending on format. It’s called ‘Opus Machinima’, and it pokes fun at… well, the entire genre. It’s really nicely filmed, has great voice acting, and contains quite a few funny moments – if you’ve got the bandwidth, it’s worth the download. You can grab it in either QuickTime or WMP9 formats; we can, again, spread this out over multiple servers if the bandwidth gets tight. Update: The film has its own website – take a look.(Louis Wu 16:01:34 UTC)

  • Retardant.

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Bungie’s new weapon choices might cause some trouble during gameplay – check today’s One One Se7en.(Louis Wu 15:16:53 UTC)

  • Forging New Paths

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    halo@bungie.org
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    The Age’s Screen Play blog has a great discussion about Forge – info collected during the Sydney playtest, but embargoed until today. The more I read about this tool, the more drool collects on my keyboard…(Louis Wu 15:11:19 UTC)

  • Halo 3 Audio – Finished?

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Over at Rampancy.net, Narcogen noticed a note from Marty on the Marty Army group page that suggests that Halo 3 Audio might be nearly done. I guess that’s good, because the game has to get to replicators soon…(Louis Wu 13:29:38 UTC)

  • Where’s Graham Cracker Chief when you need him?

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Flipa15 posted his Mallow Chief (170k) creation (thanks, Narc) to the denizens of IRC; in his words, ‘a bit stale, but still delicious.'(Louis Wu 13:16:40 UTC)

  • Gamestop Halo 3 Ad

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Over the last few days, we’ve received a number of reports of a commercial put together by Gamestop, saying goodbye to Halo 2 on the way to Halo 3 – but the very first time I saw it was at LiveVideo.com last Friday, when I received a Google News Alert mentioning it. I can’t remember what distracted me from posting it then – but it’s up now. Go watch. Pretty fun.(Louis Wu 13:12:44 UTC)

  • Halo 3 at IMAX – Tons of Web Content

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    halo@bungie.org
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    There are a number of writeups of the IMAX showing of Halo 3 last night in Seattle – you can find them around the web at places like Gamerscoreblog and CyberRoach – but there’s also quite a bit of info in our own forum. x1zero started a thread while waiting in line last night – but the real meat is in threads like CougRon’s, or THASF’s, both of which contain lots of content about what was there. Sounds like it was a blast!(Louis Wu 12:10:17 UTC)

  • It’s all about immersion.

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Gamespy has put up a nice preview of the upcoming ActionClix Halo figures – they caught up with WizKids at GenCon last week. Thanks, Black Six.(Louis Wu 12:00:33 UTC)

  • Oops.

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Saw this on Digg – a French TV channel is sponsoring a contest involving photoshopping Halo 3 content into your own pictures. The winner gets to play Halo 3 live against a famous personality. Sounds cool, right? The problem is… there’s zero moderation. This has led to a whole bunch of totally inappropriate images being posted – if you follow the Digg link (it goes to a French language website, but Google does a pretty good job of translating it), be aware that the content they’ve highlighted is REALLY not safe for work (or school). That said – the whole situation is pretty amusing… unless you’re a PR flak for Microsoft.(Louis Wu 11:54:28 UTC)

  • Did you know games have laws?

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    halo@bungie.org
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    ClassyDude put up a podcast which had Laird and RvB community member Dark54555 discussing the new Microsoft Game Content Rules, and how they affect Halo machinima. You can find it on this page – you’re looking for Episode 2 (it’s down near the bottom).(Louis Wu 11:48:41 UTC)

  • Halo 2 Tourney near Nashville

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    halo@bungie.org
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    bluerunner wrote to let us know about a Halo 2 tournament that will be happening in Hendersonville, TN (near Nashville) on September 21 and 22. Grand prize is a Legendary Edition of Halo 3, all proceeds go to charity. They’re shooting for 32 4-player teams. More details can be found on their web page.(Louis Wu 11:37:59 UTC)

  • Requiem For An Xbox

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    narcogen
    IMG_2621.JPG

    Earlier this week I experienced something that, up until now, I thought only other people had to go through.

    Xbox hardware failure.

    I plugged it in, and instead of the familiar sights and sounds of console startup, I got a loud pop and a puff of smoke.

    Is it the Red Ring of Death, people ask? Am I going to get a new unit under Microsoft’s new three year warranty?

    Nope, I say. Because I’m not talking about my Xbox 360. It still works fine.

    I’m talking about my original launch Xbox, which gave me nearly six years of mostly faithful service, from December of 2001 until now. Sure, the past three years or so there were periodic disk errors. Sometimes it refused to “recognize” a game disc in the tray. When it was Halo or Halo 2, it was comical; how could the console not recognize those?

    Click “read more” from the front page for the entire text.

    read more

  • RT: Melon-noma

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    Rooster Teeth News
    I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to check out the Stranglehold demo yet, but if you have, you’ve no doubt noticed that John Woo has it in for a certain type of produce. I don’t know what said produce ever did to him, but it must have been pretty fucking…

  • Inside the Bioshock Limited Edition

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    Midnight

    In case anyone is debating purchase of the Bioshock limited edition I thought I might show you exactly what you get. The box is big: about 5” x 6” x 6”. Inside you’ll find the DVD case marked limited edition, game manual, game, an audio EP with three tracks, a behind the scenes DVD, …and a Big Daddy (Bouncer) figurine that will pwn your face off! It is heavy! Must be made of lead pewter. Detail on it is pretty good, and there are a few (but not enough) splatters of blood. The EP is interesting, but nothing really special. I thought it might be audio tracks from pre 1960 that you hear inside the game, but the songs are remixes. The third track is pretty cool. All tracks are kind of new age / techno. I won’t watch the behind the scenes DVD until I finish the game, so I’m reserving comments on that one. For the figurine alone, the extra $10 over the regular edition MSRP is a no brainer for me. More pics after the break.

    THX Birthday LAN V – October 6th. Our first HALO 3 LAN event. Register now. ›

  • Extra Content Preview at GI

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Game Invasion has a bunch of clips from the extra content DVD included with the Limited and Legendary Editions – if you want to see what you’d be getting by buying something above the standard edition… check this out. Thanks, Sir Topham Hat. (Louis Wu 22:38:11 UTC)

  • kill.switch

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Jamie98s has put up a lot of machinima over the years. We’ve got a new one for you – it’s a monster. It’s called “kill.switch”, and it reproduces the plotline (and gets all of its audio from) the Namco Bandai game of the same name. It works very well in the Halo engine, actually. Jamie’s description:

    A war-crazed maniac captures Bishop, a supersoldier. He implants a neurolink in his head that gives control of his body to a third party. Archer (the war-crazed maniac) aims to create wars in every country he can, then sell the supersoldier technology to each country to make billions of dollars. But when an old friend hacks into the neurolink things dont go as planned for Archer.

    This video is 26 minutes long. You can grab it in WMP9 format (168 mb) or QuickTime format (161 mb) – if you have trouble with the download, let us know and I’ll spread the load over more servers. Update: trigger119 has mirrored the WMP9, and self-encoded a QuickTime version using H.264, over at GamingTV. Grab ’em there if you have trouble with our links. (Louis Wu 22:30:21 UTC)

  • Posthuman Teaser

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    halo@bungie.org
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    nubpwner91 wrote to point out a teaser for >H (or Posthuman, if you’d prefer). It’s short (a minute long), and pretty small (just over 5 mb in WMP9 or QuickTime formats). Give it a look – it’s promising!(Louis Wu 22:09:23 UTC)

  • Iris ARG now complete

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    CapnKrunk


    According to discussion over at Unfiction forums, it appears that the Iris ARG has now run its course. With all five of the “servers” having been unlocked (Server 05 just unlocked last week on 8/16) apparently the mystery and story of this ARG has been fully revealed for all those who were following it.

    Quote:
    The growing anticipation of the September 25 release was deftly nurtured by a unique viral marketing campaign, dubbed “Iris,” which engaged gamers in a high-tech scavenger hunt that aimed to broaden the audience for the Xbox 360 title along the way.

    More than 50 people from 20 Microsoft teams contributed time, coding expertise, and industry contacts to bring the online campaign to fruition.

    The project launched in June and wrapped up August 16, unfolding as a virtual treasure hunt in five episodes. A mysterious voice guided thousands of participants as they uncovered clues and puzzles at various server locations. Each location revealed previously untold details about the Halo game trilogy, which tracks Master Chief’s epic battle to save Earth from conquering aliens.

    Fortunately, several Podtacular members were able to get in on the action and score some exclusive Halo 3 goodies, including Klutch27, Unr3alChi3f, ClownX, Kiaffex, Face Head, QualityJeverage, iNoob, t3hreaper, ClownX, crashMMVII and, thanks to these guys, yours truly.

    For those who didn’t manage to get so lucky, your time and efforts were definitely appreciated. And even though this looks like Iris has now all come to a close, don’t be surprised if other exclusive events or promotions start to pop up from Microsoft around the Halo 3 launch.