Microsoft revealed today that people who pro-order Halo 3: ODST at participating retailers will receive an exclusive code to unlock UNSC hero Sgt. Johnson as a playable character in the multiplayer mode known as Firefight. Halo 3: ODST is to be released on September 22nd at £39.99.
Three maps included on a Halo 3 multiplayer disc that ships with Halo 3: ODST this September, have been teased by developer Bungie with screens. Heretic, Longshore and Citadel are their names; a Covenant structure, an industrial dockyard and a Forerunner stronghold respectively. Bungie also give short, sweet descriptions.
Robot Entertainment now handles Ensemble Studios' Halo Wars, and they're happy to announce more game balance revisions are incoming, soon-ish. I'm sure your grateful to know it'll be "much easier" to play System Link matches now as well. The 'Strategic Options' DLC was released in May, and added three new game modes.
Microsoft announced today that a new DLC add-on for Halo Wars will be released on 21st July called Historic Battles. It contains four new maps and four new achievements for 800 MS points.
We see you Microsoft, did you think another patent could slip by the Internets? Speculation is catching momentum that this '343' actually refers to a Halo character. Specifically '343 Guilty Spark', which has led some to believe that this '343 Industries' is the name given to Microsoft's new internal Halo development team. Microsoft: "nothing" to say.
Halo Waypoint is to be the new central destination for Halo fans on Xbox Live, where everything from your 'Halo career' to debuting anime will be kept. Waypoint will "aggregate everything" Halo related, but even then it's "a lot more ambitious than that" and it'll continue to "evolve in features and functionality" overtime. Anime shorts this fall.
That whole noise about Peter Jackson and Halo getting together for something special is completely over now, so said the director man himself at Comic-Con. Everything was fine except for the bickering between Fox and Universal, that's what canned the project. It wasn't because of the budget "or anything else". Gears of War "fantastic as well."
Microsoft has announced that Peter Jackson and Halo are still on but they're busy elsewhere for the moment, despite the director's 'not happening' comment earlier. The corporate giant is "deeply committed" to expanding the Halo name as you might expect, and they "greatly value" their relationship with Jackson. Both companies agreed to hold off.
Microsoft and Bungie aren't super best friends anymore, but they're still chums enough that team Bungie are making Halo 3: ODST this year and Halo: Reach for next. Rumours have been circulating that Randy Pitchford and his Gearbox studio will be taking up the banner for a possible Halo 4. "Haha!" was Pitchford's response to 'curveball' questioning.
Microsoft's newly formed internal Halo developer 343 Industries has twittered, through their official Halo Waypoint account, that Gearbox is not hiding a Halo project. Recently studio boss Randy Pitchford of Gearbox was elusive when asked if they're up to something in the Master Chief universe, but it seems he was just teasing us. What a rascal.
Creative director Shinji Aramaki has revealed that there'd be no Halo Legends anime if his wife hadn't been such a fan of Halo 3; "best game on the 360" she said. Aramaki-san admitted he "got addicted" to its "very intricate world." With it being a game it was much easier to immerse in than an epic movie, and it has "just enough humor in it, too."
According to sources in tinsel town, Mr Jaws/E.T./Indiana Jones himself has cast his eye on getting Stuart Beattie's 'HALO THE FALL OF REACH' script made. The movie veteran is "blown away" by the project apparently, and given his interest in the videogames industry lately... it looks like we could get to finally see a Halo flick. Woohoo?
In a some-what controversial move, Microsoft has confirmed it will be shutting down the Halo 2 servers upon the release of upcoming title Halo 3: ODST. According to the software giant, Halo 2 is a major factor contributing to certain changes not being made, for example the 100 friends limit cap. Original Xbox titles have this cap hardcoded into them, and so they're unable to make the changes.
A French retailer 'accidentally' sold Halo 3: ODST a whole month early, Microsoft naturally threw a massive wobbler over the incident and is clamping down hard and fast. The corporate giant will also "take action against" Xbox Live users who they believe are playing illegitimately "procured copies" of Bungie's latest. Has "nothing further" to say.
Microsoft in collaboration with director Rupert Sanders, responsible for Halo short 'Believe', has produced a live-action sequence for Halo 3: ODST showing gritty warfare. The piece shows a soldier going through training, dropping through orbit and facing off against covenant on a war-torn battlefield. It'll be available on Xbox Live tomorrow.
Alex Cutting, Halo 3: ODST producer at Microsoft Game Studios, has affirmed to fans that they won't be slapping in Natal as some "gimmicky feature" just to take advantage. If there's "an opportunity to do it" then they will "definitely investigate" how it could work. Cutting reiterates they'll make games "we want to play," they don't want something that's "not fun."
The super network of Halo goes live November 5th when Microsoft flicks the 'on 'switch for Halo Waypoint, said to be the premier destination for fans of the Bungie creation. It will be run by Microsoft and will contain all statistical data and rankings for Halo games, as well as provide exclusive new media, like anime shorts, podcasts, videos etc. Semper fi!
It seems that the mega bundling of Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST and multiplayer beta access to Halo: Reach with an Xbox 360 Elite, is only going on sale from the PAL region. This comes after a special hardware bundle for Activision's Modern Warfare 2 was announced, and another recent bundle for Forza Motorsport 3 - each packing a 250GB Xbox 360.
With Ensemble's fall went with it the Halo MMO project, which may have been called 'Halo Universe' according to contracted movie concept artist Dylan Cole's website. The two artworks show "a city in the Halo Universe" he writes, noting it was for a scrapped project. Well at least we have a name for it, possibly, and two very pretty Halo arts.
Bethesda production director Ashley Cheng has said it's Microsoft and Bungie's own fault for fans and critics bemoaning the price of Halo 3: ODST; flak entirely their own doing. Giving it a title change and saying it's no longer a standalone expansion but a full game with a full price caused the problem, and because of all this "waffling" the price is a major issue.