My Halo News.com

The latest news about the Halo series of games from Microsoft

  • Halo 3 Is Something Awful

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    narcogen

    Something Awful reviews Halo 3, and for once, it’s a real review (sort of) and not just an excuse to crack some poop jokes. Except, there are a few poop jokes.

    Generally the review falls into the “single player is crap but multiplayer is good” except they also hated multiplayer. What do you expect? It’s Something Awful.

    They do manage to slip in a couple of the PC-centric prejudices that seem to characterize many of the reviews, such as:

    The weapons feel like toys and don’t have the responsiveness or feedback of a game like Half-Life 2.

    I don’t know what kind of forced feedback controller they’re using on their PCs, but I really fail to see how the words responsiveness and feedback apply to weapons in Half-Life 2 (also a very good game) any more than Halo 3.

  • Recovered Independence To Reinvigorate Bungie

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    narcogen

    1Up interviews Bungie’s Brian “SketchFactor” Jarrard about the Bungie-Microsoft split. So far everyone who has spoken to the press is still on the same page; that this was a mutually beneficial deal, quickly and amicably agreed upon. Despite 1Up trying to press and find some conflict, no one will admit to any, even theoretical:

    1UP: What if Microsoft had simply said “no, sorry, we’re keeping Bungie internal, that’s that?” Part of this deal seems to be covering Microsoft’s end — if they pushed you guys too hard, people would just leave, anyway.

    Jarrard: It’s hard to say what could or would have happened. Who knows. But it’s definitely true that this newfound relationship with Microsoft will help to reinvigorate and energize many of our elder team members.

    So, independence is like Viagra for videogames development. And what does “elder team members” mean. Composer Marty “The Elder” O’Donnell? Bungie founder Jason Jones?

    Thanks for the heads-up on the article to DominoEffect.

  • Send in stuff for this week’s show: Callins and tales from the foxhole!

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    foomojive

    The wave of new content continues, and it’s all thanks to you guys. It’s time to work together to make another great show happen!

    Hello, is Amanda there? Amanda Huginkis?

    We’re looking for voicemails this episode… but not these kind. 🙂 Call in with anything Halo-related that’s on your mind. If you’re drawing a blank, you can call in a custom game, forge variant, tale from the foxhole, multiplayer tip, single player tip, story comment on sierra 117, MLG update, Halo song, Halo joke, stuff like that. Just keep it under 3 minutes. What’s the number? 206-888-HALO.

    Dude, I deflected a rocket with the hammer and it hit a guy flying out of the man cannon!

    Got a cool story from Halo pwnage? Let us know! This was one of our favorite segments and we’re THRILLED to bring it back. Tell us about your coolest sticks, last minute wins, crazy flag caps, most impossible triple kills, etc. Be sure to leave us your gamertag so we can give you credit. And if you have a screen cap or film it on your file share, let us know so people can check it out. Talk about interactive podcasting!

    Deadline is Tuesday night

    at about 6:00pm EST. The earlier you get your comment in, the more likely it will be on the show. DO IT NOW! Just click the big green button and get typin’.

  • Potential Spoilers

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    halo@bungie.org
    in

  • Ultimate Forge-tacular Giveaway

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    halo@bungie.org
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    David Leggett let us know that Halo 3 Planet is giving away a bunch of goodies for folks who come up with the best maps/custom gametypes in Forge. Go read the giveaway page for full details; you’ve got until mid-November to work. Get going! (Louis Wu 18:55:48 UTC)

  • The Riot 68

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Sigafoos let us know that The Riot 68 is up – they’ve got an interview with trigger119 (of GamingTV and MLG), they’ve got information about Gaming4Others, a group that runs tournaments for charity, and they’ve got their standard community news/tourney info. 37 minutes, 15 mb. Go listen! (Louis Wu 18:51:43 UTC)

  • Rooster Teeth guys talk about Halo 3

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    halo@bungie.org
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    GameDaily interviewed three of the Rooster Teeth guys about the dialogue they’ve added to Halo 3 – great stuff. Thanks, Joystiq (that article also points out a podcast at Xbox 360 Fanboy with RT’s Geoff Ramsey, who talks about a lot of stuff, including Halo 3).(Louis Wu 18:11:30 UTC)

  • Halo 3 Killers

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    halo@bungie.org
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    UGO posted an article looking at a series of upcoming games, and rating them as “Halo 3 Killers”. Top contenders seem to be Call of Duty 4 (threat rating: 75%) and The Orange Box (Valve’s massive 5-game release – threat rating: 90%).(Louis Wu 18:07:19 UTC)

  • Brutish!

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Getty Ritter put together a cute little cutscene in Flash – I wonder if Marty had problems like this? (Warning: language.) Thanks, Empress Cortana.(Louis Wu 18:05:07 UTC)

  • Halo = free alcohol and porn

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    halo@bungie.org
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    The New York Times looks at churches around the country that are using Halo as a ‘recruiting’ technique for teenagers (setting up lans, for example) – and how some in the community feel this is inappropriate. An interesting read. (Louis Wu 18:03:10 UTC)

  • Blomkamp’s piece, all together

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    halo@bungie.org
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    EvanVolm wrote to point out that he’d combined all three Neil Blomkamp Halo shorts into a single piece, which is available on YouTube. I suppose if you haven’t seen them all, this isn’t a bad way to take them in. (Another option is FrAnK SiXeR’s Halo Tribute, which is higher-resolution than the YouTube flick; it contains the two Combat shorts (not the E3 one), and also contains a bunch of Halo 3 footage (including most of the final cutscene, so clearly this one’s as spoiler-rich as they come).) (Louis Wu 17:58:40 UTC)

  • Splitsville

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Alekat pointed out that yesterday’s Red vs Blue comic (no registration needed to view) is a great take on the Bungie/MS situation – go laugh.(Louis Wu 17:52:26 UTC)

  • Even when you’re killed, it feels fair.

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Ryan Pearson wrote a piece about how well the Halo 3 matchmaking system works; how it’s still fun for beginners, right from the start. If you’ve been tentative about jumping into Live… read this.(Louis Wu 17:49:47 UTC)

  • On the internet, nobody knows you’re a cinematics director.

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Heh – there’s a blog post from someone who recently joined Animation Mentor, an online animation school – he was amazed to find out that one of his fellow students was none other than CJ Cowan, Halo 3’s Cinematic Director. It’s a fun read – check it out. Thanks, elite89.(Louis Wu 17:41:46 UTC)

  • Marty talks to Major Nelson

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    halo@bungie.org
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    Major Nelson’s latest podcast is up right now, currently only in .wma format, but eventually on iTunes; it’s a monster of a show (2 hours long), with an interview with Marty O’Donnell. I haven’t had time to listen to it yet (been a busy morning), but I’d guess it’s absolutely worth hearing. Go grab it. More news coming later… but the busy morning isn’t over yet. (Louis Wu 14:58:08 UTC)

  • Section 3: Desert Troopers, Part 3

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    halo@bungie.org
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    V10L3N7 JAY stopped by to point out Issue 5 of Section 3, his comic-from-screenshots story that’s been unfolding for the last week or so, is now available. Action galore!(Louis Wu 14:56:35 UTC)

  • Podtacular 129: Sierra 117

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    foomojive
    129.jpg

    Download | Shownotes

    The Podtacular podcast is back with a huge blowout episode! Shiny new audio work, interviews with Bungie at the Halo 3 launch event, and talk about strategies, graphics, sound, and the story for Sierra 117. All wrapped up with more outtakes at the end. This week our guest is drive_c, the writer of “the night before Halo 3” that appeared on the front page of Podtacular recently. This show’s a little hefty at 1:15, but I hope you agree it’s worth the time.

    You’ll notice this show is being released on Sunday. We’re going to do the best we can to let you depend on that day as the release day for all future episodes of Podtacular. Occasionally life will happen, but that’s the goal. What are you waiting for? Start listening!

  • Bungie Breakaway News Continues

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    narcogen

    More updates on Bungie’s amazing flight into freedom:

    FiringSquad interviewed Frankie, but all they give you is a summary. It does say that Harold Ryan is now President of Bungie. He mentions a skunk works for new projects. Wonder if that’s where Jason Jones is spending his time, given that his only credit in Halo 3 was under “special thanks”.

    Max Brenn at eFluxMedia speculates that Microsoft’s delays in approving projects contributed to the desire to breakup.

  • PlayMyth Shuts Down

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    narcogen

    Those of us steeped in Halo 3 and Bungie Breakaway news might be forgiven momentarily for forgetting that online communities for Bungie’s Mac and PC RTS games, Myth, are still hanging in there a decade after the game was released.

    Unfortunately one of them, PlayMyth, has now shut down. Server administrator Blades, apparently posting as elusivemind, says he no longer has the time or energy to keep up with it.

    Those looking for their online Myth multiplayer fix can still visit Mariusnet, and if you need Myth related files, including updates to Myth 2, visit Project Magma.

    Thanks Gholsbane at MBO.

  • RT: These things happen…

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    Rooster Teeth News
    As you’ve no doubt already read about 30 times, Bungie announced yesterday that they are now independent of Microsoft, a move that is being assured as mutually benefitial to both paries. But what does this mean for young Master Chief? Today’s comic wants…