Halo 3 Trilogy

Our multiplayer design teams are hard at work on a couple of things. One of them is a fun, seasonal addition to the matchmaking playlist which should keep you entertained for about 27 hours around Halloween. No specifics yet, but suffice it to say that if you want to spend your witchy holiday playing Halo 3, we’ll give you some spooktacular reasons to do so.

The other thing keeping the designers busy, and the artists and audio guys for that matter, is downloadable content. The maps themselves are being prepared in a logical order, designed to fill gaps in our matchmaking selection and add new, interesting environments to our multiplayer arsenal. The more finished the maps are, the faster they’re likely to make it to marketplace. We’ll have more news on the specific plans for timing and availability soon, and we promise to let you guys get a look at the maps and hear more about what they have to offer.

We’ve been testing the new maps pretty regularly and I loved all except one, which for the purposes of this article, I shall refer to as, “Purple Reign.” I sometimes have an initially adverse reaction to symmetrical or semi-symmetrical map designs because I am not terribly smart and I sometimes have difficulty become oriented within those types of space. Invariably, I get used to it and learn to love them. This was just such a case, but when a new slew of architecture was added in the distance recently, it was enough for me to recognize which way was “up,” so to speak. Now I love it.

So the good news is that as far as I am concerned, all of the projected DLC maps are sweet.  Two of them in particular will cause a Three Mile Island scale pant-fill-disaster in the Halo community. I can’t say why, but some of you will figure it out correctly and be able to say I told you so later.

Luke and I have been playing a lot of SWAT on the new maps because it’s an easy way to check out a map with only a couple of players. At least two of the projected DLC maps however, are simply far too large for even the hair-trigger nature of SWAT to speed ‘em up. Both of them support lots of vehicles, but one of them, John Carpenter’s Prince of Dorkness, doesn’t need vehicles per se. It’s tough to explain. When you finally see it, you’ll understand.  

Source:  Bungie.net

HaloGameworld.com

I’ve had a lot of mails from skilled Halo players saying things like, “Hey, I am stuck at level 41 skill level and I am not going up, so your skill system must be broken.” Actually, what you’re seeing is that it works. What the system is telling you, is that relative to the other players currently playing Halo 3, you are a level 41. You should not be going up in skill level until you become appreciably and significantly better.

If you suddenly developed a whole new level of headshot ability, for example you’d find that your skill level would rise commensurately. It is not, like your rank, supposed to climb inexorably based on experience, but rather to judge and determine your relative skill and match you with players of like skill. My experience is that games are closer, tighter and more fairly balanced than ever before. The spikes happen at the low end, as you mix it up with folks who haven’t played enough to determine a steady skill level. As you get better, progress will slow and eventually halt as the system determines your overall ability and uses that to find matches.

It’s important to note that it is an increasingly accurate estimate, designed to become more accurate over the long term. So don’t worry about dips in your performance, or unexpected sprees, those dips and spikes are not given much precedence by the system.

In theory, it is trying to put you in the most competitive matches. It is not some goal or trophy – it’s a tool.

You may think that Halo 3 is a great game or you may not. Either way, you’ve got to recognise the hype surrounding the game as being something powerfully attractive to young kids. Especially hell-bound young kids.

You wouldn’t be the only ones to notice either and a recent New York Times article has picked up the story of a Colorado Community Church which is using the game to try and attract newcomers to the Christian faith.

“Witness the basement on a recent Sunday at the Colorado Community Church in the Englewood area of Denver, where Tim Foster, 12, and Chris Graham, 14, sat in front of three TVs, locked in violent virtual combat as they navigated on-screen characters through lethal gun bursts. Tim explained the game’s allure: “It’s just fun blowing people up.”

Once they come for the games, Gregg Barbour, the youth minister of the church said, they will stay for his Christian message. “We want to make it hard for teenagers to go to hell,” Mr. Barbour wrote in a letter to parents at the church.” Said the original article.

I have to confess, as somebody who spent countless summers at ‘Christian Camp’ and attended Sunday School every single week, i’m a little miffed that these kids get to play Halo 3 between their psalms. The most we ever got was word games based around the Book of Proverbs.

HaloGameWorld.com

1. Halo 3 (Xbox 360) — 3.3 million

2. Wii Play w/ remote (Wii) — 282,000

3. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo DS) — 224,000

4. Madden NFL 08 (PlayStation 2) — 205,000

5. Skate (Xbox 360) — 175,000

6. Madden NFL 08 (Xbox 360) — 173,000

7. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii) — 167,000

8. BioShock (Xbox 360) — 150,000

9. Brain Age 2 (Nintendo DS) — 141,000

10. Heavenly Sword (PlayStation 3) — 139,000

There are those of you doing things you shouldn’t be in Halo 3. Some of you have gotten a little too famous for your own good. This ain’t a church and there is no redemption or salvation once you have been judged. Apologies are now officially too late to save you.

The storm approaches.

Love, Bungie

And now for the Nice Folks (which means almost everyone).

Most of the time, Bungie.net readers only hear from Frankie, myself or Sketch. Occasionally one of the web devs pops in and we’ll talk to folks from the studio on the site, we gathered a bunch of quotes, quips, memories and thanks from members of the Bungie team and put them together for your perusal and hopefully, enjoyment. We’re eternally grateful for your support. Now, on to the letters.

“Thanks to my family and friends for all of your support during this wild ride.

Thanks to everyone at the ETC for helping me realize my dream of making games, but most of all to Randy Pausch. Randy, you’ve done some amazing things and inspired more people than you’ll ever know. I’m honored to know you, and I’ll miss you when you’re gone. Thank you. (If you haven’t heard Randy’s ‘Last Lecture’, search for ‘Randy Pausch’ on Google Video. It’s worth it.)

Finally, thanks to all of the fans. Your passion never ceases to inspire me.”

-David Allen, Associate Producer

“I just want to thank all of the Bungie fans that support our games so fanatically. I was a Bungie fan long before working here, but now I actually get to MAKE the games too. HELLZ JEAH!”

-Lars Bakken, Multiplayer Designer

“Your 100 word message goes here, but with more words.”

-Christopher Barrett (aka Barry), Art Lead

“I hope you enjoy the game. Turn up the sound and don’t skip the credits!”

-Matthew Burns, Producer

“So long, Master Chief, we’ll miss you. It’s been a fun journey – now get some rest.

Thanks to everyone who has played, created and explored the heck out of this trilogy. I remember back in 1999 after finishing up the Myth World Cup, looking in from the outside and thinking ‘How can Bungie possibly make a community for Halo that’s as great as the one that grew up around Myth?’ But I needn’t have worried; the people are what makes the community, and we’re lucky to have such a group of talented and inventive fans. Hope you guys like what comes next.”

-Chris Butcher, Engineering Lead

 “My sincerest apologies to the spouses or girlfriends of my buddies Witch King69, Wickedwassup, Copman6971, InegoMontoya98, Yaters, Secord 20, and the rest of the usual suspects. I’m sorry we made the game so darn good. “

-Dave Candland, Interface Design

“After working our asses off for so long, you’d think we’d resent Halo 3 (and each other). But I just want to say that this period in the process… this “launch window”… reminds me why we do this. To see you: THE FANS with such joy on your faces and glee in your voices as you play this game you truly love. Few artists experience what you are giving us right now. Thanks for making it all worthwhile. ”

-C.J. Cowan, Cinematics Director

“It wasn’t easy making an entire level look like the inside of my large intestine but I think I pulled it off nicely. I just wish people would stop calling it the goatse level.”

On the day we locked all Halo 3 content I seem to recall having phoned several prominent game developers, chuckling and then hanging up on them. Looking back it seems so juvenile an act, and I’d like to take this opportunity to publicly apologize to them in advance for the next time I crank-call them.

I remember the first time our regular “3pm coffee clique” ran into the Google gang at our local Starbucks. You could feel a palpable tension in the air as the stink eyes were cast. I don’t think they like us much but I’d like to change that.

There was this one incident involving one of the mission designers, an empty pizza box, and a voluntary bowel movement into said pizza box. After that everything gets blurry.”

-Vic DeLeon, Campaign Environment Artist

“Thank you to all you fans out there who have shown so much appreciation for Halo 3. It’s really great to see such passion exhibited by others for something you worked so hard on. It is my opinion that the fans of Bungie’s games are the most passionate video-game fans there are. Thank you!”

-Dave Dunn, Environment Artist Lead

“Ship it.

Spending over a decade in awe of Bungie and everything she does has taught me two things; Bungie makes the best games, and Bungie has the best fans. To HBO, Rampancy, IBO, RvB, and the dozens of smaller sites who give us their unyielding support: thank you, none of this would be worth it without you.”

-Max Dyckhoff, AI Engineer

“Working on Halo 3 has been an amazing experience.  Working with all the talented people at Bungie has been phenomenal, and the response from the fans has been overwhelming.  To me, this game is a monument to the talent, passion, and dedication that we have at Bungie.  World domination, here we come. “

-Bob Glessner, Tools Engineer

Top 10 things heard during the development of Bungie.net:

• “Tom, could you look at your screen and tell me what you see?”
• “It’s going to be glorious.”
•  Actual Bug Title: “Layout is seriously Screwed”
•  Chris: “Check this out!” Colm: “huh…”
•  “I thought we were going to make the site look better.”
• “Stosh, check your gamma.”
•  “This is the page that will make everything perfectly clear.
• “No one will use screen shots, cut it.”
•  “We’re going to rule the internets.”
• “Zach, I need more hard drives.”

-Chris Gossett, Bungie.net Lead Web Developer

“Last December, Bungie worked with the USO to hold a Fanfest in REDACTED  .  We loaded up 36 Devkits, 36 flatscreen TVs, several crates of controllers, power supplies, and cables, and five Bungie volunteers and shipped them across the world to REDACTED  .  And then we held a massive LAN party right in the middle of the REDACTED  .  Being chosen to represent Bungie and bring Halo 3 (and a reminder of home) to some of our biggest fans, the deployed servicemen and women of the US Military, was a great honor and one of the high-points of my career.  It was a small amount of thanks, considering the amazing sacrifices they choose to make on our behalf, but they were so humble and appreciative, it was worth every bit of risk and expense.  (Plus, we got to ride in REDACTED  !)

So, I want to thank all the members of the US Armed Services, and I hope they enjoy playing the final game as much as we enjoyed the opportunity to play with them last year.”

-Jaime Griesemer, Sandbox Design Lead

As a complete noob to both Halo and Bungie, and coming from many years of small team development, stepping into the Halo development world was a bit intimidating. The dedication of the fans, and the sheer volume of their passion for Halo was something I’d never experienced on any game I’d worked on before. The passion of the fans and how everywhere we turned there was another Halo story being told in print, TV, burger shops, and suburban dive bars was simply astounding. Thanks to Bungie and the Fans for making a game like this possible, there’s really nothing like it anywhere else!

-John Gronquist, Effects Artist

“To all you good people out there grenade-jumping, head-shotting, Warthog-driving, shotgun-camping, flag-capping, corpse-hugging, controller-tossing, and folks generally enjoying the fruits of our blood, sweat, and tears: Remember to always recycle. Future generations will love you for it. And so will Bungie. Forever.”

-Justin Hayward, Environment Artist
 

“One of my best memories of working on Halo 3 came half way through the mission creation of the ‘Tsavo Highway’.  For a long time, I was working away on the environment art of the level itself and was enjoying how it was coming together in terms of game play and aesthetics.  However, something was lacking and I couldn’t really put a finger on it.  One day, I loaded up the level and was checking out my own geometry when I noticed that our sky artist had added in his sky asset.  Looking at the new, huge cool-looking vistas really made me feel I was playing a Halo level for the first time during the creation of this environment.”

-Samuel Jones, Campaign Environment Artist 

“Writing the terminals was as maddening as it was fulfilling. There wasn’t enough room and not enough time to pour into it—there never is—with everything else that was going on. We still had to keep in mind that there were people who were going to be looking at these things on a tiny CRT. They should be able to read these things too—and that means a very limited number of words per page. Even with HD resolution there is only so much damage we are willing to do to your eyes—meaning none. And so our mantra became ‘brevity is the soul of wit.”

-Robt McLees, Writer

“Memories: Months spent in the early story committee, hashing out the broad strokes of the Halo 3 arc. Coming near to blows over the exact timing of the Gravemind’s introduction. Hatching the secret terminal plan. Sitting in on way more dialogue recording sessions than I needed to. Jumping from AI to UI (aren’t they close to the same thing???) in the final days of development. Trying to plan a wedding and crunch at the same time! Pride to have worked on one for the books. (And I still hear the environment artists’ “BOOooo—ooOOP!” ringing in my head …)”

-Damian Isla, Campaign Engineer / Additional Writing – Terminals
“Around 2:15am the day we launched the Halo 3 Beta via Crackdown and Jamie and I realizing something was wrong [it was supposed to release at 2am PST]. Talk about an ‘oh crap’ moment. To this day we still laugh and ask each other ‘did you remember to test the download button?’ since so many forum posters thought the ball had totally been dropped.”

-Domenic Koeplin, Test Lead
“Memories: Happy yelling in multiplayer. Big Battle Coagulation. Crazy Time. Playing campaign co-op with Creamer. Bugging Marty about music. Working with Dunn, Pinard and Jones  on the last part of the game. 4 player co-op in Korean! Late night Top Gun on the big screen on the last days of production. Coffee with Bertone, Jaime, Sois and Luke Smith. Carpool with Abe and Greg. Subway with Lee. Frisbee fun in the park! Tree City!”

-Dan Miller, Mission Designer

“Before I forget, I have to say thanks to my wife and kids who dealt with my extended absence and supported me all along.  It was a tough decision moving from film to games, but I haven’t regretted the decision since.  I’m extremely proud of what we accomplished, and even happier to hear from the fans how much they like what we’ve done.  But most importantly, I can finally justify to my family how many hours I spent playing video games while growing up.  Thanks Mom, Dad, and Mitch for your support through the years; I finally ‘made it back to town’.”

-Kurt Nellis, Cinematic Designer

“To Patti- Thank you for not divorcing me after yet another Halo crunch.
To Isaac- Thank you for remembering who Daddy is and congratulations on surviving a Halo crunch.
To my parents- Thank you for whatever you did to become the person I am today.
To Bungie- Thank you for not killing me for all that caching stuff.
To the Fans, young and old- Thank you for ignoring the M rating and making Halo 3 the biggest thing evar.“

-Mat Noguchi, Lead Production Engineer (Ship-it developer)

“I’m proudest of the million little things (and a few bigger things) that almost didn’t happen but did because of me.  Bertone rules for fighting for the Metagame.  Hao/Chris rule for providing such a splendorous home for my precomputed lightprobes.  Aaron/Marcus rule for guiding me through making the loading screen Real.  CJ rules for taking my Cortana effect and making it sing 3 minutes before curtain up.  DaveCan rules for making the HUD dance.  Our fans rule for making our pedantic obsessions relevant.  My wife rules for holding me together.  Be real, be easy, find happy.”

-Adrian Perez, Campaign Engineer
“Big thanks to Grant Kirkhope and Rare for loaning us the perfect sound to go with the Grunt Birthday Party effect; it never gets old.  If you haven’t played Viva Piñata yet please do so immediately. It’s awesome. Go on, we’ll wait. 

Sorry to Evil Avatar for dropping an S-bomb live on your radio show. I get excited when I talk about Halo.

Finally, thanks to all my coworkers, friends, family, and especially Sherry for putting up with 7 months of the ‘Crunchstache’. I promise I will never do it again unless I get hired as Burt Reynolds’ stunt double.”

 -Steve Scott, Pyrotechnician

“I would like to thank the fans that I got to  meet the night of the release.  Being there and seeing their excitement and the dedication to stand in line on a cold night waiting for something that I had the privilege to work on made my dream come true.”

-Jason Sussman, Artist
“I’m glad to say the Halo we’ve always wanted to make is finally here.  It has been a blast to see the game evolve from Blam to Halo3.  And I attribute all the success to the fans out there, I want a give a hearty THANK YOU to everyone, from the folks that were with us from the beginning to new converts.  Enjoy, and we’ll see your ass online!”

-Shiek Wang (Tom Foolery Expert)

“One time we ordered pizza for the whole office and I was the only one not on crunch. Mat Noguchi told me that I should get all veggie pizza or he would break my legs. So I ordered 18 extra large tofu, pineapple and broccolini pizzas with wholewheat crust and white garlic sauce instead of tomato. Mat was happy but Harold yelled something about bacon and Sparta and kicked me down the stairs. I was only in a cast for a month but the team said that my hilarious fall was the only thing that got them through crunch.”

Source:  Bungie.net

HaloGameWorld.com

Chris Gossett, also known as RunningTurtle ’round these parts sent a note out this morning confirming that as of October 12, 1,000,000 users have registered here at Bungie.net. That’s an insane amount of Hot Pockets! Kidding aside, thanks for registering here at Bungie.net, we appreciate it and the web guys have made the site with you, the Community, in mind.

Halo3Trio.com

Remember way, way back before Halo 3 came out when we chatted with Marty O’Donnell and Jay Weinland about just a bit of Halo 3’s audio? We released an MP3 of a door opening on Crow’s Nest and Marty gently walked readers through how he incorporated music into Halo 3.

One of the key components in implementing audio in Halo 3 comes from Waves Audio Ltd, a software company specializing in audio plug-ins. Bungie Audio Lead Jay Weinland remarked on the partnership with Waves saying, “These plug-ins, specifically the L360 Limited/Maximizer and the Q10 Equalizer allowed us to process our overall mix in real-time without digital clipping (the L360) and create authentic sounding occlusion/obstruction and radio filters (the Q10).”

To anyone who isn’t an audiophile that can sound a little bit confusing, here’s Jay’s translation:

“The Waves plug-ins process our audio in real time as the game engine generates the audio calls.  This is a major shift as typically to use Waves in development before we would use the plug-ins offline (such as in Pro Tools) and then put the processed assets into the game.  As an example in our game it is possible to have the same dialog play over the radio or not over the radio depending on how close the actor (such as a marine) is to the Master Chief (the player).  If the Marine is standing next to the Chief, the line of dialog would just play un-processed, but if the Marine is in the next room it be processed on the fly and play as if it is coming over the radio.  Another great example is when audio (such as an explosion) is played within your line of sight vs. behind a door or wall.”

We’ve put together a short video showing before and after examples of several sections of gameplay demonstrating how Waves impacts our audio and presentation.   Download it here.

Being an editor at a video game site certainly does have its advantages. We get to travel all over the world to visit studios, collect the free games that are sent our way, and interact with our readers, who are some of the most knowledgeable gamers out there (and there are definitely times when they know more than us). While all of those things are well and good, the best part of our jobs is the ability to check out games before just about anyone else in the world. Not surprisingly, just about every editor that attended last week’s Halo 3 event in San Francisco was excited beyond belief to finally get a chance to play the most anticipated Xbox 360 game of all time (well, except for Brent, that is).

After playing the game all weekend, I’m finally beginning to feel comfortable with the controls and the gameplay. Ultimately, the toughest thing to get used to is the new stable of weapons. While many of them appeared in the previous games, it feels as though they’ve been tweaked and fine-tuned a bit this time out. Then there are the new ones, each of which adds a new twist to the action, for better or for worse. With that in mind, we decided that a nice little feature detailing each of the Beta’s 19 weapons and 4 gadgets was in order. Let’s kick things off with the new ones, shall we?

NEW TOYS!

Missile Pod
Wait a minute, we could have sworn that Halo 3 is supposed to be a first-person shooter! If that’s the case, why do you go into a third-person view when using this massive weapon? Wielding the missile pod will make you move pretty slow, but it more than makes up for this by firing projectiles that track your targets. Best of all, you can hold a lot more ammo than the standard rocket launcher!

 

 

Spiker
This nasty little number is basically a pistol that rapidly shoots spikes into your foe, turning them into a Spartan pin-cushion. Dual-wielding them only increases the fun, as you can easily take down an enemy without even expending a full clip. The fact that the gun has a curved blade on the bottom makes us think that this will be some sort of Brute weapon in the single-player game.

 

 Spartan Laser
While it definitely takes a while to get used to, this may very well offer the most satisfying kills in the game. Essentially a shoulder-fired laser cannon, this bad boy take a few moments to heat up, then unleashes a searing blast of energy clear across the map, frying anything in its path. Amazingly, you can get multiple kills with just one blast (think Indiana Jones killing four enemies with one bullet in “The Last Crusade”).

 Turret Gun
Alright, we know that the Halo series has always featured mounted weapons, but this marks the first time that you can actually rip them off their moorings and carry them around. Like the Missile Pod, you’ll enter a third-person view and walk slowly when using this weapon, but its high rate of fire might make up for these shortcomings.

 Spike Grenade
Looking like a WWII-era potato masher, this grenade doesn’t look all that impressive at first. However, once you toss one for the first time, you’ll wish that you could hold more than two at a time. Thanks to its ability to stick to any surface (including the faces of your enemies), you can use this grenade as a booby trap of sorts. Once it explodes, anything in its blast radius is showered with deadly spikes.

 After playing the game all weekend, I’m finally beginning to feel comfortable with the controls and the gameplay. Ultimately, the toughest thing to get used to is the new stable of weapons. While many of them appeared in the previous games, it feels as though they’ve been tweaked and fine-tuned a bit this time out. Then there are the new ones, each of which adds a new twist to the action, for better or for worse. With that in mind, we decided that a nice little feature detailing each of the Beta’s 19 weapons and 4 gadgets was in order. Let’s kick things off with the new ones, shall we?

SOME OLD FAVORITES

Sniper Rifle
While some of the old weapons in the game got next-gen makeovers, Bungie obviously knew better than to mess with a classic. The Sniper Rifle is just as deadly as ever, as you’ll still have two levels of zoom and the ability to peel a sucker’s cap back with a single, well-placed shot. Although the new infrared screen is cool in theory, we wouldn’t mind if it was a little more useful.

 Assault Rifle
The classic rifle has returned from the grave, and it’s now the default weapon for the majority of the game modes in the Beta. Starting with this gun means that you’ll probably see a lot more grenades being used right off the bat, something that suits us just fine. Plus, there’s something satisfying about taking out an enemy with the default weapon, isn’t there?

 Plasma Pistol
Once Halo 2 players learned that the secret to success was using this weapon to knock down an enemy’s shield before finishing them off with standard bullets, the game got old fast. Thankfully, Bungie decided to lessen the amount of tracking, meaning you won’t get hit every time it’s fired at you. Coolest of all, firing a charged shot at a vehicle will instantly kill its engine!

  

Needler
This may very well be the weapon that’s changed the most since the last game in the series. The Needler was once woefully underpowered, despite the fact that its projectiles can track enemies and it could be dual-wielded. While you can’t hold two at once anymore, the Needler does a lot more damage than ever before…almost too much. We’ll be interested to see if Bungie tones it down a little bit.

 Battle Rifle
Thanks to the ability to zoom in a bit, the Battle Rifle is more useful than the Assault Rifle, although it’s hindered a bit by the fact that you can only fire it in short bursts. Basically, if you were a fan of the weapon in Halo 2, you’ll be just as comfortable with the one in the Beta. If not, well, you’re SOL.

 Beam Rifle
The Covenant version of the Sniper Rifle really hasn’t changed at all. It’ll still overheat if you fire it too quickly, and it still allows you to zoom in on your foes from afar. Ummmm…yeah, that’s all there really is to say about this one.

Plasma Rifle
This workhorse still fires plasma blasts at an insane rate, although it still overheats if you fire for too long. Partner it up with a standard projectile weapon (Spiker, anyone?) to do some serious damage. One thing we’re not totally sold on is the cosmetic change, which features a flap that sticks out from the side of the barrel.

 Frag Grenade
Thanks to the fact that you’ll be starting out with the Assault Rifle (rather than running off to find a weapon to dual-wield with your SMG), there’s a good chance that you’ll be using these grenades a lot. You begin with two of them, but it won’t be long before you’ve picked up a few more, as Bungie has liberally spread them around the map.

SMG
The default weapon in Halo 2’s multiplayer action, the SMG really hasn’t changed that much over the last three years. It’s still pretty weak on its own, and you probably won’t need to pick it up unless you’re out of ammo or need a support weapon while dual-wielding.
Shotgun
Mmmmmm, just as delicious as ever. You still won’t want to take on anybody from afar with this bad boy, but it’s the perfect weapon when you’re exploring the underground corridors of Snowbound. As far as I can tell, it really hasn’t changed at all over its previous iteration. That’s to say that blasting someone in the face with it is just as satisfying as ever!

 Carbine
Like the Beam Rifle, this is basically the Covenant version of a human weapon: the Battle Rifle. If you’re not good with that, don’t grab this, and vice versa. If you’re the master of the head shot, however, it’s a nice backup weapon. It seems like it’s about the same as the one we used in Halo 2.

 Rocket Launcher
Given that there’s only one of these on the standard maps, it’s a bit tough to figure out if there have been any major changes made. The rockets themselves appear to move a bit slower than in previous games, but we don’t really know if the vehicle-tracking has been tweaked at all. Still, playing a Rockets-only game on Snowbound was one of the best times I’ve had in the Beta.

 Brute Shot
Some people have been complaining about the surprising weakness of the Brute Shot’s projectiles, but I’m pretty happy with my experiences with it. This may be due to the fact that the blast radius isn’t as wide as some people would like, but I’ve found that hitting a foe in the chest with a few well-placed shots works juuuuust fine.

Plasma Grenade
As was the case in the previous Halo games, these puppies are a perfect way to “stick it to the man.” You can still toss them onto an enemy for an extremely satisfying kill, although we haven’t seen them in use as much as we were expecting. Of course, this might be due to the fact that everyone’s too busy playing around with the Spike Grenades.

 GO GO GADGETS!

 

Bubble Shield
This is the gadget that everyone was talking about after the Halo 3 trailer premiered during the Super Bowl, and it’s just as awesome as you might expect. Simply toss it on the ground with the X button (as is the case with all the gadgets) to bring up a domed shield around you. Once you’re inside, bullets and grenades from outside will harmlessly bounce away. Be warned though: enemies can walk right through the shield and attack you.

 Portable Grav Lift
You might not think that you have much use for this tool, but you’d probably be wrong. For instance, in the CTF game on High Ground, you’ve got to make your way up to open a gate from the inside. While you can try to storm the wall, it’s a lot easier to just launch yourself up using the Grav Lift. Another fun little trick is to drop one in the path of an oncoming vehicle, then stand still as it launches safely overhead.

Trip Mine
This bad boy is most effective against vehicles, as any Warthog or Mongoose that runs over it will quickly be turned into flaming wreckage. If you’re walking around a map and hear a loud beeping, watch your step, as there’s a mine in close proximity. Here’s a mean little tip: toss one of the guys right in front of a parked vehicle, then watch as your clueless enemy gets in and steps on the gas…

Power Drainer
Tossing one of these orbs into a room will instantly create a blue, sparking energy field that will quickly drain an enemy’s shield, leaving them vulnerable to your bullets. We can’t wait to see how this is used in some of the objective-based gametypes, as we can’t image anyone willingly running through one to grab a flag or attack a VIP. Plus, the sound that it gives off is downright scary!

WEAPONS IN ACTION!

During this match, we manage to use such weapons as the missle pod, the turret gun, the plasma pistol, the assault rifle and much more!

After playing the game all weekend, I’m finally beginning to feel comfortable with the controls and the gameplay. Ultimately, the toughest thing to get used to is the new stable of weapons. While many of them appeared in the previous games, it feels as though they’ve been tweaked and fine-tuned a bit this time out. Then there are the new ones, each of which adds a new twist to the action, for better or for worse. With that in mind, we decided that a nice little feature detailing each of the Beta’s 19 weapons and 4 gadgets was in order. Let’s kick things off with the new ones, shall we?

GO GO GADGETS!

Bubble Shield
This is the gadget that everyone was talking about after the Halo 3 trailer premiered during the Super Bowl, and it’s just as awesome as you might expect. Simply toss it on the ground with the X button (as is the case with all the gadgets) to bring up a domed shield around you. Once you’re inside, bullets and grenades from outside will harmlessly bounce away. Be warned though: enemies can walk right through the shield and attack you.

Bubble Shield

Portable Grav Lift
You might not think that you have much use for this tool, but you’d probably be wrong. For instance, in the CTF game on High Ground, you’ve got to make your way up to open a gate from the inside. While you can try to storm the wall, it’s a lot easier to just launch yourself up using the Grav Lift. Another fun little trick is to drop one in the path of an oncoming vehicle, then stand still as it launches safely overhead.

Trip Mine
This bad boy is most effective against vehicles, as any Warthog or Mongoose that runs over it will quickly be turned into flaming wreckage. If you’re walking around a map and hear a loud beeping, watch your step, as there’s a mine in close proximity. Here’s a mean little tip: toss one of the guys right in front of a parked vehicle, then watch as your clueless enemy gets in and steps on the gas…

Power Drainer
Tossing one of these orbs into a room will instantly create a blue, sparking energy field that will quickly drain an enemy’s shield, leaving them vulnerable to your bullets. We can’t wait to see how this is used in some of the objective-based gametypes, as we can’t image anyone willingly running through one to grab a flag or attack a VIP. Plus, the sound that it gives off is downright scary!

WEAPONS IN ACTION!

During this match, we manage to use such weapons as the missle pod, the turret gun, the plasma pistol, the assault rifle and much more!

1280×720 | 640×360In this match we blast away with the shotgun, the plasma rifle, the needler and the SMG just to name a few.

1280×720 | 640×360In this match of territories check out the bubble shield as well as the turret gun, Jesse the Body from Predator style!

1280×720 | 640×360Well, we hope you enjoyed our look at the weapons you’ll be playing with when you download the Beta tomorrow morning. We’ll see you on Xbox Live!

Halo3Trio.com

Bungie and Microsoft forge new long-term relationship.

KIRKLAND, Wash. — Oct. 5, 2007 — Bungie and Microsoft Corp. today announced a plan for Bungie Studios, the developers of Microsoft’s “Halo” franchise, to become a privately held independent company, Bungie, LLC, in which Microsoft will hold a minority equity interest. As part of this transaction, Bungie and Microsoft have forged a deep and long-term development and publishing relationship focused on the continued success of the “Halo” franchise. It is also the intent of both parties to expand their partnership to include new IP created and owned by Bungie.

Bungie’s critically acclaimed Xbox 360^® exclusive “Halo 3” achieved $300 million in global sales in its first week. Released on Tuesday, Sept. 25, “Halo 3” is the fastest-selling video game ever and already one of the most successful entertainment properties in history.

“This exciting evolution of our relationship with Microsoft will enable us to expand both creatively and organizationally in our mission to create world-class games,” said Harold Ryan, studio head for Bungie. “We will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsoft’s platforms; we greatly value our mutually prosperous relationship with our publisher, Microsoft Game Studios, and we look forward to continuing that affiliation through ‘Halo’ and beyond.”

“Working with Microsoft was great for us, it allowed us to grow as a team and make the ambitious, blockbuster games we all wanted to work on.  And they will continue to be a great partner.  But Bungie is like a shark.  We have to keep moving to survive.  We have to continually test ourselves, or we might as well be dolphins.  Or manatees,” said Jason Jones, Bungie founder and partner.

Bungie’s management retained the services of Don Leeds, senior managing director of B-Hive Global, LLC, to spearhead the structuring of the deal and negotiate on their behalf. Bungie will remain in Kirkland, Washington, and is always looking to hire excellent talent.

About Bungie

Bungie was founded in 1991 with two goals: to develop games that combine brilliant technology, beautiful art, intelligent stories and deep gameplay, and to sell enough of those games to achieve its real goal of total world domination. Over the past 10 years it has produced games such as the “Marathon” trilogy and the first two “Myth” games, hailed as classics by critics and gamers around the world. Bungie’s “Halo” franchise is an international award-winning action title that has grown into a global entertainment phenomenon, selling more than 18 million units worldwide, logging billions of hours of multiplayer action on Xbox LIVE^®, and spawning action figures, books, graphic novels, soundtracks, apparel and more. The critically acclaimed “Halo 3”, released on Tuesday, Sept. 25^th 2007, is the fastest-selling video game ever, achieving $300 million in global sales its first week,  making it one of the most successful entertainment properties in history. More information on Bungie can be found at http://www.bungie.net.

Halo3Trio.com

Unlockable: Special Ending

If you beat the game on Legendary mode, you will get a special, extended ending. Keep in mind that you only have to beat the final stage on Legendary mode, and not necessarily the rest of the game, in order to unlock this ending.

Submitted by Hilary Goldstein

Unlockable: Spartan Armor Permutations

Unlock the following Spartan armor permutations by fulfilling the requirement listed…

• EOD (Body) - Complete Tsavo Highway (on Legendary)
• EOD (Head) - Complete the campaign mode (on Legendary)
• EOD (Shoulders) - Complete The Ark (on Legendary)
• EVA (Body) - Complete Tsavo Highway (on Normal, Heroic, or Legendary)
• EVA (Head) - Complete the campaign mode (on Normal)
• EVA (Shoulders) - Complete The Ark (on Normal, Heroic, or Legendary)
• Mark V (Head) - Get the UNSC Spartan Achievement
• ODST (Head) - Get the Spartan Graduate Achievement
• Rogue (Head) - Get the Spartan Officer Achievement
• Scout (Body) - Get the Too Close to the Sun Achievement
• Scout (Head) - Get the Used Car Salesman Achievement
• Scout (Shoulders) - Get the We’re in for Some Chop Achievement
• Security (Head) - Get 1,000 Gamerscore Points
• Security (Shoulders) - Get 750 Gamerscore Points

Submitted by DVOTA

Unlockable: Elite Armor Permutations

Unlock the following Elite armor permutations by fulfilling the requirement listed…

• Ascetic (Body) - Get the Up Close and Personal Achievement
• Ascetic (Head) - Get the Steppin’ Razor Achievement
• Ascetic (Shoulders) - Get the Overkill Achievement
• Commando (Body) - Get the Triple Kill Achievement
• Commando (Head) - Get the Overkill Achievement
• Commando (Shoulders) - Get the Killing Frenzy Achivement
• Flight (Body) - Complete Tsavo Highway (on Heroic or Legendary)
• Flight (Head) - Complete the campaign mode (on Legendary or Heroic)
• Flight (Shoulders) - Complete The Ark (on Heroic or Legendary)

Submitted by DVOTA

Unlockable: Gold Skull Locations

Black Eye (Located: Crow’s Nest)

When activated, you will have to battle enemies with melee tactics to regain shield energy.

Catch (Located: The Storm)

When activated, enemies will throw more grenades.

Famine (Located: The Ark)

When activated, dropped weapons will hold less ammunition.

Fog (Located: Floodgate)

When activated, the motion tracker disappears.

Iron (Located: Sierra 117)

When activated, you will be sent back to the beginning of the stage you’re on when you die instead of to the last checkpoint.

Mythic (Located: Halo)

When activated, all enemies will have twice as much health.

Thunderstorm (Located: The Covenant)

When activated, enemies will be of a higher rank.

Tilt (Located: Cortana)

When activated, enemies will become more resilient to your attacks.

Tough Luck (Located: Tsavo Highway)

When activated, enemies are skilled at getting away from projectiles such as grenades.

Submitted by DVOTA

Unlockable: Silver Skull Locations

Blind (Located: Sierra 117)

The arms of the player and the motion tracker disappear.

Cowbell (Located: The Ark)

Your explosives increase in strength.

Grunt Birthday Party (Located: Crow’s Nest)

If you manage to get a headshot on a Grunt, the Grunt will explode.

I Would Have Been Your Daddy (Located: The Covenant)

Unlocks new dialogue for the campaign.

Submitted by DVOTA

Unlockable: Hayabusa Armor

Collecting the three pieces of the Hayabusa Armor are collected by acquiring a certain amount of Skulls in the game. To get the Chest piece, collect six Skulls. To get the Shoulders piece, collect nine Skulls. To get the Helmet piece, collect all thirteen Skulls.

 

Unlockable: Katana

To unlock the Katana, which is a non-usable item that is essentially the fourth piece of Hayabusa Armor, get all thirteen Skulls in the game, and achieve a gamerscore of 1,000 (complete all achievements).

Hint: Skull Collecting

While collecting skulls, keep in mind that you have to start the stage from the beginning (not from a checkpoint), but once you acquire the skull you’re seeking, you can save and quit at any time without finishing the stage. This will allow you to collect skulls without having to worry about finishing the stage successfully.

Submitted by Hilary Goldstein

Hint: Terminal Locations

You will unlock a secret achievement by finding all seven terminals listed below…

Terminals: The Ark

Go left through a door once in the very first building of the stage. The terminal is located beyond a curving passage.

A terminal is located right near the device that activates the bridge on this stage.

There’s a secret room in the third building which holds the third and final terminal on The Ark. After you come across and kill a group of sleeping Covenant enemies, head down the nearby corridor. You’ll reach a door that is locked if you do. To the left of the locked door is an open door. Head through the door, and then turn around to find the terminal.

Terminals: The Covenant

Head to the stage’s first tower and stand on the elevator. Face the control panel, and then turn left. Jump over the obstacle, and find the terminal you seek.

Head to the stage’s second tower and walk towards the entrance. When you come across a locked door, turn around to find the second of three terminals here.

Head to the stage’s third tower and stand on the elevator. Face the control panel, and then turn right. Jump over the obstacle, and find the third and final terminal on the stage.

Terminals: Halo

Traverse the first cave, and then head right until you come across a building. Walk along the passageway towards the building. Once inside, run left to find the terminal.

Submitted by jgatsby82

Scarab Mangling

Having trouble with a Scarab? Or maybe you don’t want to get on board (and abandon your bright, shiny Scorpion). Try this strategy instead: on the back of every Scarab, there is a circular glowing spot you can shoot to do damage (it is similar to the glowing spot on the back of Wraiths).

Locate the spot on the Scarab’s rear armor that is below its rotating anti-air “ass” (or abdomen) turret. A few shots from Hornet missiles or Scorpion tank shells and the armor will fall off and reveal the critical system you normally need to board to wreck. Don’t forget that shooting the Scarab’s legs will stop it from turning.

Submitted by David Clayman

Plasma Burnout

If you don’t have an Energy Drainer item, the plasma pistol’s charged shot can be used to stop vehicles (but doesn’t stop vehicle mounted weapons). Pack a plasma pistol when there are vehicles around; it’s the next best thing to a rocket launcher.

Submitted by ArcaneDreams

Hint: Custom Power-up Usage

The custom power-up you can add in the Forge will greatly make or break your game (depending on how many you put in your map and how fast they respawn). Since you can only adjust the custom power-up just before a match, be sure to jot down what effects you are looking for in a custom game.

Custom power-ups can only be used in Custom Games. Press BLUE to edit the match options in a Custom Game. Go into Weapons and Vehicles, then locate the Custom Power-up Traits. Have fun!

Easter Egg: Funny Conversation

On the second level of the campaign, when you’re escorting characters to their ships, you can head the wrong away from where you’re supposed to go to complete your mission. If you do, you’ll run into two characters (separated by a door) having a humorous conversation.

Submitted by Clay Daveman

Easter Egg: Cavemen

On the Sierra 117 mission, the Pelicans will crash. After that, you should clear the area like you normall would. As the area narrows as you proceed, there are some rocks on your left that you can jump on. Continue along a ledge thereafter. Once it heads down, you’ll pass a large boulder on your left. After you do, turn around and take a look where the wall and the boulder intersect. You’ll see a family of primitive cavemen-like people!

Submitted by Retronix

Easter Egg: Spartan 117

When you beat the game, you will be shown a memorial for the men and women that died in-game. Spartan 117 is one of those considered KIA, but if you wait for the credits to end at the end of the game, you will see that Spartan 117 is very much alive (this only applies if the game is finished on any difficulty but Easy).

Submitted by Dark Spartan

Easter Egg: Elephant Flipper

In the Forge, edit the Sandtrap map and create a Scorpion. You can use the tank to lift and flip the Elephant (the large Sandcrawler vehicle). Once the Elephant is upside down (or undrivable), approach it to flip the vehicle and get a humorous message.

Submitted by MarkRyan-IGN

Submit your own Halo 3 cheat at

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