Just a quick note to everyone who is following our coverage of the Microsoft’s spiral marketing of HALO 3 – a.k.a. Iris. You haven’t missed much in the last couple of days besides a lot of speculation. However, with all of the revelations we were given this week, how can we complain? A wealth of information was given to us as we unlocked one “server”.

We’ve got four more to go. There has GOT to be some juicy stuff waiting for us to discover.

So what is it? Have WE been given the clues to unlock the next secret and are overlooking them?

Or do we need Microsoft to make the next move?

I think we need Microsoft to make the next move. Perhaps they’ll release ANOTHER clue in a newspaper advertisement this week. Circuit City again? Best Buy? Oh my. Don’t tell me I’m actually going to look through a K-Mart advertisement this weekend.

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currently playing: Shadowrun
on the back burner: Catan, Guitar Hero II, HALO 2 (PC)
Shadowrun rocks!

In part due to information collected during the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta, players can expect the release version of Halo 3’s multiplayer game to be a better experience than Halo 2, says Tyson “Ferrex” Green, Bungie’s multiplayer design lead. Toronto-based radio station 680 News has a text article on their website (thanks Louis Wu for the heads-up) with Green about the upcoming game.

Random fact from the article: Ferrex has now spent seven years at Bungie.

Bioshock is the next generation first person shooter from 2k Games coming this August. Set in an underwater bathysphere in 1960 BioShock promises to present the gamer with decisions he’s never faced in a video game before. A complete description of BioShock is outside the scope of this article, but on the BioShock website 2k Games promises “No encounter ever plays out the same way twice. No two gamers will ever play BioShock the same way.”

Merely one feature that separates BioShock from the FPS background noise is the use of genetic enhancements. The same thing that contributed to the demise of the citizens of Rapture plays a key role in your journey to liberate or condemn the failed social experiment and its inhabitants. Plasmids and tonics are the two types of genetic enhancements available in BioShock (at least the two types we know about so far). It appears you can find them in vending machines scattered throughout Rapture, much like cigarettes in the 80s. Genetically enhancing yourself is done Mr. Brownstone style by injecting the dose of glowing goodness into your arm from a syringe. Yummy! What are plasmids powered by? Eve, of course, the fictional derivative of Adam (a substance collected from dead bodies by the creepy little sisters you’ve seen in the trailers).

2k Games has released a ton of information (including videos) on many of the plasmids available in BioShock. Click “read more” for pics, vids, and descriptions of the plasmids we know about so far.

Electrobolt:

Fire a bolt of electricity to stun that pesky security drone or cause an unfortunate baddie to convulse while you introduce them to penetrating head trauma from your pistol, tommy gun, or shotgun. Electricity is an equal opportunity killer, and multiple baddies standing in water (and there’s plenty of water in Bioshock) will all feel the pain.

Telekinesis:

Pick an object up with your mind. Then hold it in front of you as a shield or fling it at somebody, like a monkey with poop? Somebody throwing a nasty explosive at you? “Catch” it in midair and hurl it back at them. Works well with dead bodies and especially explosives!

Incinerate:

I’m all about having a good time. You know, take my pants off…start a fire in someone’s kitchen. That’s what incinerate is all about (except the pants removal). Setting baddies on fire is not a new, but definitely a seldom used tactic in FPS games. Setting teddy bears on fire and then using telekinesis to hurl them at baddies (once again, like a monkey with poop)? That’s innovative!

Winter Blast:

This one is used to freeze the baddies and then break them into 1000 pieces (ala Terminator 2) with a firearm or melee attack. Unfortunately, it appears it’s gonna take more than one winter blast attack to break apart a Big Daddy.

Security Bullseye

2k Games describes this plasmid as “tagging your enemies with photoelectric insects” that immediately turn security cameras and turrets against the unwitting target. One of the plasmids requiring a little more strategy, this should be an interesting addition to the plasmid repertoire.

Insect Swarm

I figured out where all the bees went! They’re in Rapture! Pretty standard really: simply will hundreds of angry bees (I can only hope they’re Africanized) to fly out of your forearms and attack your foes. Was honey really worth it?

Cyclone Trap

Launch a little bity weather disturbance ala the Tazmanian Devil and watch the baddies fly up and through the air and hopefully away from you! Not as much is known about this one as the rest, but it appears an interesting addition.

The above list is nowhere near complete and some other rumored plasmids include

Speedboost – obvious
Teleportation – obvious
Enrage – Enrage an enemy?
Trick the Big Daddy into Thinking You’re a Little Sister – No sleek title for this one yet.
Chameleon – make yourself invisible
Sneak – Enhance your ability to sneak and damage baddies
Sentient Ammo – Turns your ammo into living creatures that seek out enemies
Iron Gut – Eat metal objects to regain health.

Irrational_Alexx, a BioShock developer who posts on the Cult of Rapture (official BioShock fansite) forum, says that plasmid abilities are one of the most frequently modified portions of the game. He says that many different plasmid abilities were created and they kept only the ones that turned out to be truly fun. What plasmids do you think will be most useful? What new ones would you like to see?

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Download | Shownotes

This show is all about the new Halo Alternate Reality game known as IRIS. We explain what an alternate reality game is, the story so far on this one, and how to participate. Joining us this week to unravel the mystery is CapnKrunk, who as you can see has been following the progress pretty closely. Show’s about an hour. Enjoy!

Download | Shownotes

This show is all about the new Halo Alternate Reality game known as IRIS. We explain what an alternate reality game is, the story so far on this one, and how to participate. Joining us this week to unravel the mystery is CapnKrunk, who as you can see has been following the progress pretty closely. Show’s about an hour. Enjoy!