New Hints to Halo 3 Campaign

Bungie's winks and nudges regarding the Halo 3 single-player campaign continue apace and, while the teasing very nearly drove us to tearing our hair out in frustration over the carrot dangling, now we're nearly done with the multiplayer beta we're willing to accept more teasing from the boys at Bungie.net. So tease away, lads..."We've been playing all the way through the game for weeks now," says jammy Bungie man Frank O'Connor, in the latest Bungie.net update. "Our favourite level at the moment (and it changes week by week) is the challenge presented by the very last level."

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Crackdown may be more than a crack-up

Crackdown with Halo 3 Beta Access: I am addicted

May 25th, 2007 by James in Computers, Game Consoles

When I took my regular look at my local Game store I saw a game called Crackdown the Xbox 360 a couple of months ago and brought it but did not play it for over a month…working hard.
Well when I finally got round to playing Crackdown my first impressions were “what’s all the big deal about” it looked like cartoon graphics and I expected much more than that on my 360.
Well how wrong were my first impressions, the game is amazing and I am now so totally addicted to Crackdown.

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What's Going on with Halo 3 Beta?

Halo 3 Beta Maintenance

Posted on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007

Bungie.net’s Frankie warns that on May 23 between the hours of 10:00 A.M. and 1:00 P.M. PST, Bungie will be doing something to the Halo 3 Beta that will probably not affect you. But just in case it does, here’s what might happen. Read Frankie’s words carefully, so you won’t get bamboozled:Should your game encounter a rare crash, your Xbox 360 will give you an alert screen, explaining that it’s uploading data to Bungie servers. We actually need this data, and we need your cooperation too. Although you probably won’t see that screen, if you do, let it finish uploading the data. It may take some time – upwards of 10-20 seconds and perhaps longer. So we beg your patience. When the process has completed correctly this is the message you’ll see, "File upload complete. Visit http://www.bungie.net/forums/halo3beta for more information (safe to reboot)."Frankie adds that if you experience a crash after 1 P.M., the data upload process to fix things will be much shorter.The logic behind all this is that collecting data on game crashes only helps Bungie iron out all the bugs and problems with the game before they launch it.
Source: http://www.qj.net

Jack Thompson Goes after Halo 3

Jack Thompson goes after Halo 3

Games and Entertainment
By Humphrey Cheung
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 12:11
Recommend article:

Mission Viejo (CA) - Anti-violent gaming activist Jack Thompson is now going after Microsoft’s upcoming alien killing Halo 3. In an open letter to Bill Gates, the Florida lawyer says the “hyperviolent” game should receive a ‘Mature’ ESRB rating and that Microsoft should take “dramatic” steps to only sell the game to those 17-year-old and over.

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The Halo 3 Masterlist

This is a list of all the confirmed elements in the upcoming Halo 3 Release.....

Characters
Master Chief[30][31]
Cortana[30][31]
Gravemind[30]
Commander Miranda Keyes[5]
Sergeant Major A.J. Johnson[30]
Arbiter[30]
Prophet of Truth[30]
Enemies
Covenant
Jackals (Kig-Yar)[30]
Brutes (Jiralhanae)[18]
Grunts (Unggoy)[18]
Drones (Yanme'e)[30]
Prophets[30]
The Flood[30]
Infection Form[30]
Combat Form[30]
Carrier Form[30]

Allies
UNSC Marine Corps
UNSC Marine Infantryman[18]

Ex-Covenant
Elites (Sangheili)[32]
Hunters (Lekgolo)[30]
Grunts (Unggoy)[18]
Human Vehicles
M274 ULATV Mongoose[33]
M12 LRV Warthog[34]
M12G1 LAAV "Gauss" Warthog[34]
M808B Scorpion tank[30]
D77H-TCI Pelican Dropship[30]

Covenant Vehicles
Ghost[30]
Wraith[30][35]
Banshee[30]
Phantom[30]
Capital ship[31]

Locations
Earth, Sol System
Kenya, East African Protectorate
New Mombasa and Old Mombasa
The Forerunner structure
Mt. Kilimanjaro

Miscellaneous
Fusion cores[36]
Multiplayer emblems[37]
Multiplayer call signs[8]
Direction of fire/damage arrows[22]
Man Cannon (gravity lifts)[22]

Human Weapons
MA5C Assault Rifle[38]
M6G Pistol (dual-wieldable)[30][39]
M7 SMG (dual-wieldable)[30]
BR55HB SR Battle Rifle[30]
M90 Shotgun (six shells)[18]
SRS99D Sniper Rifle (redesigned)[30]
M41 Rocket Launcher[40]
Spartan Laser (W/AV M6 Grindell/Galileian Nonlinear Rifle)[41]
UNSC Missile Pod[7] (3rd person)[13]
AIE-486H Heavy Machinegun[7] (stationary and portable, 3rd person)[13]
M9 HE-DP Fragmentation Grenade[20]

Covenant Weapons
Plasma Pistol (dual-wieldable)[30]
Plasma Rifle (dual-wieldable)[20]
Needler (more powerful but not dual-wieldable)[42]
Covenant Carbine[43]
Particle Beam Rifle[20]
Energy Sword (limited battery)[30][44]
Brute Spiker (Type-25 Carbine, dual-wieldable)[45]
Brute Shot[30] (six shots)
Brute Hammer (resembling Fist of Rukt gravity hammer used by Tartarus)[35]
Brute Spike Grenade (Type-2 Antipersonnel Fragmentation Grenade)[46]
Plasma Grenade[47]

Equipment
Bubble Shield (ONI-designed)[17][20]
Tripmine[20]
Portable Reverse-Gravitational Lift (Grav Lift)[22]
Power Drainer[48]

Multiplayer Maps
Snowbound[46]
Valhalla[46]
High Ground[46]
Jub Jub (unofficial name)[27]
Last Resort (Zanzabar Remake)
A new map with many similarities to Gephyrophobia in Halo 1 PC[20]

Multiplayer Game Types[49]
VIP[22]
Slayer
Capture the Flag[20]
One Flag
Multiflag[50]
Territories[20]
Land Grab
King of the Hill[22]
Oddball

"Is Quisnam Protero Damno!" Halo 3 Video Documentary

"I condemn him whom I trample under my feet."

A ViDoc detailing the development of the multiplayer game was released on April 10, 2007. It highlighted the major ways in which the developers have sought to improve upon the Halo 2 multiplayer game which was so successful. All graphics shown were from an alpha build - no decorators were yet in place, many textures were still only placeholders, and the HDR lighting model was not being used. Nevertheless, the graphics were already demonstrably far superior to the game's predecessors, which is unsurprising as this is a next generation installment for the series. Previously unseen gameplay elements included:[20]
A first look at the bubble shield, tripmine, and portable gravity lift.
The first look at using the portable machine gun turrets.
The first mention of saving played games to be later viewed.
At least two new multiplayer maps were shown.
An in depth look at how the man cannons (gravity boosters) have replaced the teleport modules that were found in the previous games. Bungie has stated that in pre-development they thought about how to get a player, and some vehicles,[21] across the map.

"Et tu brute?" Video Documentary

The ViDoc explains that the three classes of Brutes have been differentiated, the same way Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 featured different classes of Elites, Grunts, and Jackals. They are all shown with much heavier armor than the Brutes in Halo 2:[18]
'Standard' infantry Brutes that wear blue armor held together by buckles. Brute Captains, who wear more elaborate helmets and armor. Brute Chieftains, who have the most elaborate helmets and armor. The color scheme of Elites in the prior games seems to have been applied to Brutes (blue is the lowest rank, red is higher, and gold is the highest). To reflect the Brutes' violent nature, more violent animations have been created. Examples shown in the ViDoc include a Brute ripping off the arms of a Marine, a Brute ramming a Marine into a vehicle, and another Brute punching the stomach of a Marine lying on the ground.
The AI has also been updated to incorporate the new idea of a Brute pack. A Chieftain in Halo 3 may order all of its troops to throw grenades at the enemy together, or may decide to focus on attacking one character.[18]
The film also includes some other previously unseen elements, such as dual-wieldable Energy Swords (only used by AI) and the new Spike Grenade.[19] The "Spike Grenades" may stick to any surface except water and release a shaped charge upon explosion. A Brute Chieftain is seen firing a weapon resembling an un-deployed plasma turret from Halo 2. However, the game as shown, is still in a pre-alpha stage, and the graphics and game elements in the ViDoc are currently unconfirmed for final release in the game.