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The Odd Couple
Mister Froggy writes to let us know that Halo, Articulated #61 is available if you’re into that kind of thing (heh, Sarge speaks the tru7h).(mnemesis 03:20:03 UTC)
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Episode 122: EGM Interview
Download | Shownotes
This week we chat with Dan Hsu, editor in chief at EGM magazine. JVB and I talk with the shoe about what it takes to get into gaming journalism, how he got started, and of course lots of Halo 3. Show’s about an hour.
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Marathon Durandal Hits XBLA This Week
Major Nelson says that Marathon Durandal is one of two games that will hit Xbox Live Arcade this week; specifically, on Wednesday, when XBLA gets its weekly update.
Durandal wll cost 800 points. For more information and screenshots, check the Marathon Durandal page at Xbox.com.
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Halo 3 Announcement Trailer Piano Solo Redux
Spartan182 has sent in a PrintMusic file of the piano solo from the Halo 3 Announcement Trailer. We’ve added it to the Halo Sheet Music section, check it out!
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A Wall of Tex-t
Tex has posted a thorough wrap-up of the activities she experienced over the past week at Comic-Con. She took some very cool pictures and overall has a great summary of everything Halo-related that you could have seen in San Diego last week. And let that be a lesson to you, that no one wants to talk to KP. Ever.(KP 23:10:05 UTC)
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Upcoming Concert @ Crossroads Tuesday, August 28th…19+
So the last concert I posted about never materialized like I was told, but don’t fret because this one is inked. Three really good bands are set to rock it out at Crossroads 8/28/07. Check out Pollstar for the proof;)
Bands:
Evans Blue
Submersed
Framing HanleyKeep a watch out on Crossroad’s site for more information about ticket prices and times.
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Marathon: Durandal release date
DHalo noted on the forum that Marathon: Durandal will become available on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace this Wednesday, August 1st. Wonga! (mnemesis 21:58:25 UTC)
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Halo 3 – coming to everywhere near you!
Today, the folks at Xbox Family (xboxfamily.com) published an intercepted e-mail from Microsoft that includes the various ways that the company will be marketing Halo 3 to the public in the coming months. It looks like come August, you won’t be able to turn your head without seeing something Halo-related!
Mountain Dew – Game Fuel
- The promotions team is partnering with Mountain Dew to create a new Dew drink called Game Fuel inspired by Halo 3
- Game Fuel is a customized, limited-time “Halo 3-themed†Dew beverages that contains 30% more caffeine and a citrus cherry twist
- Game Fuel will come in 20-ounce bottles, two-liter bottles and 12-packs of 12-ounce cans (~40M) and distributed nationwide at ~150K outlets
- Additional support includes TV and online advertising, street teams, and press distribution of the drink
7-11 Program
- Halo 3 will be featured on Slurpees with 3 collectible linticular cups
- Dew will be creating special aluminum bottles of Game Fuel for distribution at 7-11
- Halo 3 will also be included on Doritos packs at 7-11 with a sweepstakes to be a voice actor in Halo Wars
Pontiac
- The team is also working with Pontiac who will be promoting Halo 3 along with their new high
- performance Pontiac G6 launch
- Pontiac will create events just prior to launch
- We will be partnering for a chance to win a Limited Edition Halo 3 G6 car
- Additional support includes TV advertising
Burger King
- We are also partnering with Burger King who will be promoting Halo 3 with Survival Kits sold nationwide for 10 weeks during Sept and Oct
- On King Size upgrades, consumers will receive their food and drink in Halo 3-themed packaging.
- Additional support include sweepstakes, drive thru POP, and other activities
That’s in addition to the other branded materials and products already coming to the market, like the Halo 3 Limited Edition Xbox 360 controllers, the Halo 3 Limited Edition Xbox 360 console, Halo 3 Limited Edition wireless headset and Halo 3 Xbox Live subscription cards. So, as a Halo fan, what do you think? Is this a good thing, seeing the Halo brand spread so far and wide? Or has it become overkill with Master Chief car commercials and happy meals?
More at Xbox Family (Thanks HBO)
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THX Thursday Outing
Anyone up for an impromptu gathering in the Huntsville area this Thursday? We could use it as an opportunity for everyone to reclaim LAN equipment that was taken home by others this weekend. I’m fairly indifferent as to location and activity. Restaurants, bowling alleys, and bars have both worked out well so far. Throw out some suggestions. Traditional time has been 7 PM. Does that still work?
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Incredible Armor
We received word from Adam Grumbo, of mjolnirarmor.com, of a new set of Mjolnir armor he made. There’s a post in his forum with all of the pictures to date, including a dog-kicking incident. Pretty slick.(KP 18:54:40 UTC)
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Free the Beast
Rockslider wrote to tell us of a new feature to his site, a guide to unleashing your inner Grunt. Much of it is quite funny, some is quite strange and a few have a splendid combination of the two.(KP 18:37:06 UTC)
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How to avoid *Spoilers*
Not sure if you want to find out stuff about Halo 3 before the time is right? Bungie elder statesman and audio impresario Marty checks in on the forum with some helpful advice.(mnemesis 16:53:56 UTC)
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Vids
A couple of videos that have come through the inbox this afternoon, listed here for you:- Tomminator and Hellhawk made a commentary reel for the Weekend Boredom video from the Zune contest.
- ClearviewPro mentions that eternalscrappy has made what he claims is a hilarious video entitled “Suck My Spartan.” I think ‘hilarious’ must mean vulgar and mumbly.(mnemesis 03:18:59 UTC)
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Marketing Madness!
The folks at Xbox Family have ‘intercepted’ an email from Microsoft detailing all of the marketing efforts going into the Halo 3 launch this fall. Go see what’s coming up, and learn a little about how companies attempt to build brand awareness. We’re an ecosystem!
Oh, and watch out, in the very first paragraph, under “What is it?” there’s a description of the game that I hadn’t seen yet, that I would potentially classify as a spoiler. Thanks to Velez for noting this on the forum.(mnemesis 02:58:10 UTC)
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Got News?
I’d like to remind anyone who has Halo news for us that if you don’t send it to halo@bungie.org, it ain’t getting posted on the front page. We’re not mind readers, you know (or lwu’s personal email readers, as the case may be).(mnemesis 18:43:35 UTC)
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New RvB series coming soon
Over at Xbox.com, there’s a promo page explaining the next project coming from the Rooster Teeth crew. It’s a commercial series; looks to be available for (probably paid) download from a variety of retail websites, starting on Tuesday. It’s a five-episode special series of Red vs Blue, helping the transfer from Halo 2 to Halo 3. Go read the details! (I think that’s it from me – the connection is gone.)(Louis Wu 18:35:25 UTC)
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The Riot 58
I might have been wrong about Halo coverage being kept up while I’m gone; there don’t seem to have been any updates since I left. Unfortunately, I was correct about my lack of internet access here – I have almost no connection at all, so I won’t be able to post most things. There are still a couple of things I can point out – for example, Sigafoos let us know that The Riot 58 is now up at Second Foundation. This podcast ep is 37 minutes long, 15 mb large, and covers community news, tournaments, and more. Go listen!(Louis Wu 18:31:04 UTC)
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HALO 3 campaign details – Humongous AI battles, Scarab is AI, Map Editor
The press has recently attended preview sessions at Bungie HQ. They’ve gotten to play parts of the campaign and magazines have been given renderings and screenshots to publish. HALO 3 looks mature, spectacular, and deeper than HALO 2. See what I mean:
Scans of Famitsu H3 images from Neogaf.com
Scans of Joypad H3 images at JeuxFrance.com
Summary of Interview with Jamie Griesemer from MSN.ca:
The Scarab conflict is part of The Storm, the fourth mission of the single-player campaign component of “Halo 3,” and just one portion of the mission, has more enemies and allies than the entire first mission of “Halo 1.”
The size really ramps up as you go through.”But in ‘Halo 3,’ The Scarab is an AI (artificial intelligence). He’ll chase you around, he’ll acquire targets. If he can’t find you, he’ll search for you. He’s the biggest character we’ve every done, essentially. And there are dozens of ways to kill him.”
“All equipment in multiplayer shows up in single-player and the AI will use it on you,” said Griesemer.”The main way you’re going to get equipment in the single-player game is by killing guys before they can use their own (on you).”
On the multiplayer front, a nifty feature called The Forge allows the gamer to redesign maps by changing the placement of weapons and vehicles, as well as changing the rules of engagement.
The game becomes more complicated via hidden skulls. Scattered through the game, these change the rules – for example, one skull calls for both players to die and be sent back to their last checkpoint if just one player is killed.
The ultimate task will be to finish every mission on legendary difficulty, with all skulls turned on, in a certain time limit with style.
It’s looking like HALO 3 will not disappoint on the campaign front. We are going to get more vehicles, more enemies, better vehicles and better enemies. We are going to get rich environments and complex engagements that are sure to add dozens, if not hundreds, of hours of replay value to the campaign.
currently playing: Shadowrun
on the back burner: Catan, Guitar Hero II, HALO 2 (PC)
Shadowrun rocks!
The latest news about the Halo series of games from Microsoft
