Years ago, I remember sitting in the comfort of my East Coast home, with a not-so-comfortable N64 controller in hand, repeatedly playing GoldenEye 007’s third mission, Runway. It was the shortest mission in the game, and while I would sometimes roam around in the tank waiting for wave after wave (Firefight, anyone?) of fly-swatting guards to slowly kneel down and take aim, other times I’d look to beat the level as quickly as I possibly could. I’d cut every corner, grab the ignition key from the front of the table, and make a beeline run to the single-engine propeller plane at the end of the asphalt. My (not-so-well-executed) pursuit of the 0:22 world record for the mission was one of my first attempts at speed running, and I loved the intricacies and particulars of how players shaved off a second here and there. Reading tips, tricks, and top times from the world’s quickest runners (and then trying to get those times myself) gave me a real respect for the art that is speed running.

Just this past week, we watched Andrew “goatrope” Halabourda take some time off of his Halo: Combat Evolved Legendary world record speedrun, and set a new 1:38:57 world record. We’d like to congratulate Andrew on his new time, and also thank him for sharing the stream with the world. goatrope’s commentary is insightful, brilliant, and funny, and the gameplay is full of countless tricks, triple grenade jumps, backpack reloads, and much, much more. To see the latest Halo speedrun world record, check out the video below – you won’t be disappointed.

Below, you’ll find the top 200 players in the Proving Ground Playlist as of 5.5.14. To participate, head into Proving Ground and start playing! You can track your CSR (Competitive Skill Rank) for the playlist by visiting your Halo 4 Service Record. To learn more about CSR, head here. Only CSR 50 players will have a progress bar next to their ranking, which will allow for direct comparison between other CSR 50 players. We are currently in Season 1 of the Proving Ground Top 200, which ends on 5.12.14. Check back next week to see if you made it into the Top 200!

Rank	MVP	CSR
1	Bi0h
2	FlawlessNSP
3	ElBurgerWeiner
4	DHGBR0 821543
5	Twissted Mindss
6	Infinite sweat
7	Skiperior
8	MISS SKIP
9	ZeuCifer
10	Sour Onion
11	GooN iZz BacK
12	Gamble007
13	xXBOXx L1VE
14	Alanimaul
15	Dirtying
16	Smoke Yadig
17	Honest Paradox
18	I Shoota I
19	WhyIsMyButtSore
20	SUDD0TH 2

Andrew “goatrope” Halabourda has beaten his own Halo: Combat Evolved speedrun world record! On May 2, Andrew finished the game on Legendary in one hour and thirty-eight minutes, a few minutes faster than the previous record he set. He’s calculated in every move he makes – he uses carefully timed grenade jumps to bypass certain areas and his knowledge of the game is astounding. Even more impressive: he’s able to hold conversations with people in the chatroom. Talk about talent!

Congratulations to Andrew and his new world record!

Halo is an ever-expanding universe that inspires us each and every day, and your creations tell us that we’re not alone. This particular series, Fan Art Focus, showcases the amazing artwork created by talented members of our community. Enjoy these lovingly-crafted homages, and if you have work that you’d like to submit for possible future inclusion, send it along with your Gamertag to community[at]HaloWaypoint.com.

Chief

Author: Almighty Cutie

As loyal readers know, the weekly Halo Bulletin has typically released late on Wednesday evening, around the same time that the sun can be seen setting over Lake Washington. Recently, I’ve been working with the community team (which includes many talented, fancy individuals who fix all of my typos and create pretty graphics) to get the Bulletin out to all you earlier for several reasons. One is that although the third floor multiplayer lab provides a beautiful view of the neighboring snow-capped mountains during the sunsets, we like to, when possible, leave work while the sun is still up. More importantly, though, is the fact that we like to get you each week’s update as early as possible, especially because we know many of you live to the right of us, and are reading from the Midwest, East Coast, or even – gasp – the UK, where Bulletins were typically published in the wee hours of the morning. Moving forward, we’re looking forward to bringing you each Bulletin at a most reasonable time. We hope this will be helpful as we begin to discuss future adventures, as we’d like for the Bulletin to disrupt the fewest sleep schedules possible.

One of the added benefits of pushing out the weekly update earlier was the ability to occasionally join the 343 indoor soccer team in their battles at the local sports-dome-complex-facility. Week after week, I’d receive emails about the team, and I’d always have to explain that Wednesday was Bulletin day, and that I wouldn’t be able to make it. Last week, though, we got the Halo Bulletin out early in the afternoon, while the sun was still high in the sky, and I made my way over to the game and prepared to defend the 343 goal with honor, integrity, and 343 spirit. The good news is that after 40 minutes of play, the team had done just that, while also scoring quite a few goals of our own, and we went home with a win. The bad news is that I had my elbow stepped on in the process, and also took home an injury along with the win. As such, I sit here now typing away with only my left hand, and my right arm in a rather uncomfortable sling. It is difficult and time consuming, as is eating lunch and brushing my teeth, but the hardest thing is not being able to playtest future Halo experiences that are being built within the studio walls. That part sucks.

I’ve got a full month before I can pick up a controller again, but was it worth it? Yes. The 343 team was victorious, and that’s really all that matters. AXIOS!

This week, we’ve got a few cool things to talk about, including Spartan Lasers, tournaments, and more.