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Why beta-testing is good
Oops… Chris Butcher sheds light on one potentially annoying behavior in this behind-the-scenes look at the development process. (Personally, I would have thought it would be hilarious… once.)
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123 Xbox reviews Halo
Another one we missed – thanks, No7orious! 123 Xbox put up their Halo review last week – they thought that cutscenes weren’t very good, and that the falling animation (when you fall off a cliff) was ‘dorky’, but loved the rest of the game. Overall rating: 9.8. We’ve added it to our Reviews page (which needs a navigation tool, and soon…).
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MS is okay with online hacks
There’s been forum speculation that Microsoft might try to stomp on the ‘competition’ for MS’s upcoming online services provided by GameSpy Arcade and Xbox Gateway. Seems they’re taking the high road on this one – a recent addition to the Xbox FAQ for the Xbox Retail site asksI’ve heard that utilities have been developed that allow Xbox Systemlink games to be played over the Internet. Is this true? What should I tell my customers?
The answer (in part) reads
It’s amazing and exciting to see the lengths that gamers will go to in order to take their Xbox games online. The GameSpy arcade efforts are a strong indication that people want online console game experiences. Additionally, these efforts showcase the superiority of Xbox because it was built from the ground up to provide people with the next generation of exciting online game play.
It goes on to explain how the MS service will be far more secure and scalable when it comes online. This is a refreshing reaction from a corporation known for their ruthless responses to perceived threats. Thanks to TeamXbox for the heads-up.
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Playing with numbers
You’ve gotta love statistics – even when everyone uses the same numbers, they look different. IGN GameCube (in an ironically-titled article called ‘The Numbers Don’t Lie‘) is reporting that in the week following the release of the GameCube, the GC outsold the Xbox 469,000 to 186,000 units. (Halo, with 97,000 units, was nearly tripled by Luigi’s Mansion, at 257,000 units.) IGN Xbox, on the other hand, points out that the Xbox had a 3-day headstart on sales… and its total sales up to the 24th (the same ending date as cube.ign.com is using) are 556,000 units. This jibes nicely with Rampancy.net’s numbers – they reported last week that CSFB (the same firm IGN got numbers from) published a report showing Microsoft sold 370,000 units in the first 2 days – 370,000 plus 186,000 equals 556,000. (This also suggests that Halo’s total sales in the first 10 days are closer to 275,000 units, since 176,000 sold in the first weekend.) Thanks to No7orious for noticing this discrepancy first.
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Misc Art with spoilers
Jason O’Brien sends in a new image for our Miscellaneous Art collection – minor spoilers exist. Interesting vision, though…
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PoA creator steps forward
The tru7h comes out… Lorraine Reyes-McLees admits to drawing the Pillar of Autumn. Nice job, Lorraine!
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Tru7h and Recon updated
Another day, another dollar… and another 12 shots on Bungie’s Tru7h and Reconciliation website. Dang, what I wouldn’t give for those screenshot tools… Also, Part 4 of the Multiplayer Guide (Power-Ups) and a new batch of Storyboards have come online. The new screens will be added to our Screenshots database in the next hour or so. WARNING: story spoilers present in this batch of screenshots.
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Halo manual, in German, from SE
From what I can understand, the Socket error team has translated the Halo background story (and weapons) out of the Halo Manual into German Go visit their site for details. Thanks to SE|Yogurt_der_weise for the heads-up.
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Another home for a Winamp skin
On October 29, Djoey 154 submitted a Winamp skin to HBO – he’s written back to say that it’s now available on the Winamp site.
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Halo SETI Team 7 day stats posted
Dink!… Dink!… Dink!… The Halo SETI Marines face a humiliating 3-position fall in the Battle of the Teams – they’ve dropped to 57th, their lowest showing since May 5, 2000! OUCH! (It doesn’t help that two team members, Thomas Magle Brodersen and Silicon_Phoenix, have gone AWOL with more than 500 units each… but in fact, the bottom line is simply that the Marines no longer have their heart in this fight.) See who’s still putting in the effort on the 7 day stats page…
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Halo: Combat Evolved comes online
A new Halo site has come on the scene – Halo: Combat Evolved. Some of the info is a bit shaky (the release date for the Xbox is listed as November 8, the dropship in the ‘Vehicles’ section is actually an escape pod from the Pillar of Autumn, and so on), but in general, it’s easy to read. Check it out.
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Cortana site looking for help
This was originally posted on our forum, but response was less than satisfying, apparently. Dan Byrne is looking for volunteers to help with a new Halo site he’s working on, http://www.cortana.co.uk/. If you’re interested, drop him a line, or post a response to his forum thread!
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New wallpaper from PlanetHalo.de
cybio, of PlanetHalo.de, sends in a new desktop image for our Wallpaper collection. It was originally available here. While you’re there, check out their new design!
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More fan fiction comes in
When Scott Edwin woke up again he blinked, remembered, and looked down. Or rather, he tried to look down, but couldn’t, because he was lying on his back.
Find out what happened to poor Scott in Chapter 1 of Aragorn918’s ongoing ‘The Sceptre’, found in our Fan Fiction section. Don’t forget to leave him feedback!
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Gamers.com reviews Halo
Gotta stop that pokin’… This time it turned up a Halo review at Gamers.com. It’s a nicely written rave:Featuring as many shocking and exciting plot twists as Metal Gear Solid 2, Halo sheds the ultra-stealth focus of that title and replaces it with white-knuckle intensity Goldeneye wishes it had.
They don’t list an editorial number rating… but they combined the 34 user-submitted values (averaging 9.1/10) with 6 magazine/site reviews (averaging 9.6/10) to give it an overall 9.3/10 consensus score. We’ve added it to our Reviews page, and added the three new screens to our Screenshots database. Update: On this page, they give it a 10 in-house. Reviews page updated.
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More new screens – from Halomedia
While poking around in German sites I can’t read, I discovered a number of screenshots I’d never seen before at Halomedia – they’re not attributed to anyone, but they’re very high quality – absolutely worth a look. We’ve added them to our Screenshots database. (Don’t miss the obligatory Matrix shot…) Update: Uriel writes to say that the five new screens came from AreaXbox.de – you can see them here.
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New screens from Gamestar.de
A few days ago, the German site GameStar put up a small article covering 4 launch titles for the Xbox. Halo gets the thumbs up (not really a suprise), but the real reason for this mention was a pair of screens they put up – well, one, in particular. We’ve added both to our Screenshots database. Might be worth a look.
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GameSpy Tunnel tips, from Bungie
Bungie’s Achronos put up a few tips concerning GameSpy Tunnel software and playing Halo – if you’re experiencing high lag, read this for suggestions. (FWIW, we played a couple of three-player games (two Xboxes) last night using this software, with only minor glitches. I was WISHING for my opponents to get lagged…)
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German Fanfic, now in English
Two months ago, Uriel submitted our first German fan fiction. He’s now translated it into English – if you don’t read German, go check out Beyond Paradise now, in our Fan Fiction section.
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Good and Evil…
Deimosâ„¢, from Subnova, dropped us a line to point out a new desktop he’d created – snag it from our Wallpaper section.
The latest news about the Halo series of games from Microsoft
