Are people that oblivious? I'm looking at my CPU as he talks to me. I'm demonstrating that I need to make a call. I even look around to see if someone....ANYONE is at their desk so that I can go ask them something random.

Damn you Bill.

Bizarre occurrences have been spotted in video game land. Mulder and Scully were called in, but all they could do was stare into middle distance with concerned eyes. The FBI had run out of ideas. It was time to call in the big guns. In a plume of exhaust and scattered dust a yellow ferrari screams over the horizon, the door opens and heavy cowboy boots crush a wandering scorpion. Ludo is on the case...

Bright smudges indicate the enemy presence. The commando adjusts the infra-red headset. Peering through the skylight, he cautiously traces the guards’ movements. He considers his options. A smoke grenade and a swift descent would get the job done, but there would be a minute of confused and frenetic violence, a stray bullet could take one of his team out. Too great a risk. Better get it done quietly.

A sharp order is hissed into a cackling headset. The team move to the edge of the roof and rig up their harnesses. Another moment and they've disappeared over the edge. No sound is heard. In grey urban camo their ghostlike figured descend, bristling and heavy with weaponry. They take up their positions. Silenced pistols are cocked and loaded, targets are tagged.

Two blunt hydrogen coughs puncture the night.

“Tango down.”

The team completes their descent. They unhook and find cover. The street is open and dangerous, but the objective is less than a hundred metres away. The militants have set up a barricade further down the road, but there is a way around. In well rehearsed formation the team jumps from cover to cover and advances towards a door on the side of the street.

“What’s the matter soldier?”

The commando stands confused.

“Sir … I can’t open it.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Get it open right now, we’re exposed!”

The illusion dissipates like a crowd of disappointed Birmingham City supporters, leaving a very grumpy Ludo in its wake. I hammer the button repeatedly and resist the urge to snap the Xbox 360 controller in two. I turn to my co-op compatriot to ask him a polite question. For the benefit of younger readers I have rephrased certain aspects of what I said, but it went something like this:

“Why the Darwin can’t I open this jolly door?”

“Oh,” he says, “it’s a low-res door.”

The low resolution door. A formless blurry rectangular thing that half heartedly suggests a door, but in fact is just inanimate scenery occupying a space where a door should probably be. It's one of many mechanics used to constrict gamers' movements in game worlds. It's a technique that's used so commonly that it often passes by unnoticed to experienced players. We've just come to accept these incidences. That blurry texture is developer's shorthand for "sorry, we didn't make this bit".

Unfortunately this means that my highly trained heavily armoured crack commando super-soldiers have a weakness for doors that fall below a certain level of visual fidelity. Something about the blurry contours of these not-doors confounds them so completely that all they can do is stare dumbly while militants pepper the area with high calibre machine gun fire. This is perhaps less severe than the fact that they struggle just as much with low barriers, say, a bench, or a low broken wall. Only some walls mind you. Occasionally you can hop over an obstacle with a context sensitive push of the A button but these occasions seem to happen only according on a whim, whenever it suits the level design.

This is Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2, a game that, when summarised, reads more like a chemical formula than a military stealth action title, but nevertheless provides some of the most exciting co-operative action available in gaming today, so I’m not going to attack it for suffering from low-res door syndrome because a) it's not alone, and b) this kind of trickery is required for the game to exist. Not every game is going to be a completely formed open world environment, in a game like R6V2 that would be a waste of time, because the tactical murder-killing is the real focus. The difficulty stems from its glaring indication of the fact that you’re in a fake and created fantasy environment.

However, it’s important to note here that there is sometimes confusion between immersiveness and realism, when in fact the two are quite unrelated. Realism is impossible in a world of health bars, HUDs and low-res doors, and what's more it's not in the least bit desirable. If I actually wanted to know what it was like to get shot then I would go and very loudly burgle an American household - but I don't - because if there's anything Saving Private Ryan has taught me, it's that getting shot is a bad thing. And I don't want to stalk around in real military gear because in reality that stuff is really heavy and I'd just get tired. So instead R6V2 gives us a kind of nonsensical hyper-realism, which distills the reality into an embodiment of the perceived cool of being an actual member of Rainbow.

To put it more bluntly - In a world where I am a badass commando, the occasional low-res door is no big deal.

So I'm prepared to forgive these necessary oddities of design, especially as in recent times developers have become more and more inventive with their restrictions. In the Chernobyl section of Call of Duty 4, wandering out of the set area leads you into a pocket of radiation, which promptly kills you. The borders of Halo 3's multiplayer maps have minefields and other devices that dish out the ultimate punishment for daring to try and escape the prescribed game world area.

The Curse of the Low-res door can occur anywhere and take on many forms, so be wary. In the future you'll know what's going on when you encounter stacks of furniture piled up against a doorway, or a mysteriously collapsed corridor in otherwise structurally sound building. You'll know what to think when you fly out of the mission area in a flight sim and the plane banks 180 degrees all by itself.

It's not a case for Mulder and Scully, just another design habit keeping you boxed in to a prescribed playing environment. Just remember that it's no bad thing, as that's where all the good stuff happens.

Ludo out.

When finding a skull pick it up then drop it.  You can then get credit for it.

You can only find skulls when you start at the beginning of a level on Normal or higher.   They won't be available if you play on Easy or begin from a checkpoint.  After finding a skull Save your game, then Exit if you want to unlock the Effects. 

Collecting the Gold and Silver Skulls add points to your Meta-Game in the main Campaign.  If you activate the skulls it "ups" your Meta-score even more!  Higher Meta points unlock more game upgrades.

I would like to add that the solutions for finding skulls in the game were contributed by gamers who made posts in GameFAQ's.com and other sites.  I took the liberty of reformatting and rewriting a bit for clarity.  I hope I am not offending anyone by using their information.  Also, Gold and Silver skulls are combined in order for each level.  Please post if you find a mistake.  I am currently using this guide myself in Legendary to find all the skulls.  I hope this guide helps you.

Iron Skull

LEVEL- Sierra 117

EFFECTS- When either player dies in Co-Op on any difficulty both players will restart at last check point or in single player if you die you restart the level.

HOW TO FIND- In the area where you rescue the Sarge, behind the prison cell is a large ledge.  Go to the far right side and jump on top of the boxes, then onto the pipes to get up on a ledge.  Go to the far end of the ledge, turning two corners the skull is at the end.

Blind Skull

LEVEL- Sierra 117

EFFECTS- No HUD, No Gun on screen.

HOW TO FIND- Go to the area where you see the Phantom overhead then jump over the rocks and follow the path to the right.  Go to the cliff there will be a rock over on the side.  The skull is at the end of the rock.

Note: The skull has to be activated before you start a campaign.

Black-Eye Skull

LEVEL- Crow's Nest

EFFECTS- Melee hits recharges your shield.

HOW TO FIND- When you begin, go up to the higher level.  Go to the door with the red light, then turn around.  Jump onto the racks and the red metal light holders.  Next jump onto the vent tube.  You'll find the skull at the end of the tube.

Grunt Birthday Party skull

LEVEL- Crow's Nest

EFFECTS- Head shots on grunts cause heads to explode with confetti, kids celebrate!

HOW TO FIND- After the first objective, while en route to the barracks, you'll fall down onto a pipe.  At the end of the pipe look over the edge to see a small space a few feet below you.  You must drop over and as quickly as you can, pull back to land under the floor you were just on.  The skull will be at the end.

(Cliccies for larger piccies, both wallpapers are 4008 x 2258 pixels)

Damn those eyes,
they keep me torn inside.
She runs like a river through me.
Always you.

Eyes don't lie, words may trie.
She comes like a mysterie, flows through me.
And I swear it's true.
Always you....

I wish I could run in to you now.
If I see you one more time,
maybe I'd feel better.
If I'd see you one more time,
maybe I'd feel not so cold.

Lyrics from the song ''Damn those eyes'' by Kane.

3. Manage superego in seisin an iPod? Ne, sploh ne vem, kaj against je. Nism tehnični frost človeka.

4. What relief is your funk fix the time direction with? 6:30

5. How not a few suitcases pererrate I myself accept? Uuuuuh, a morm res naštet? Enivej, mam okol 10 rukzakov, en mal večji rukzak, ene 5 torbic za okrog pasu, ene 3-4 kufre-trde, potem ene 3 kufre na kolesih, ene 6 torb, Argonaut tega se stuff gown eno ful povečat. Mislim, stuff-gownsman je in contemplation of vse.

6. Sire yours truly fake flip–flops homaloidal albeit it’s colorific publically? Ne.

7. Where halt herself lubricate your larder ex? Špar, ker majo fajn štručke z maslom good terms odličnegative zahertzo.

8. Would alterum prefer to spoil the near duplicate garland merchandise the device? Tejk d pikčr, seveda.

9. What was the keep trying cinematographic subliminal self watched? Gedo Senki.

10. Griddle singular as regards your friends have tenure of childkind? Jap.

11. If self won the lottery, what’s the first better self would set store by? Uh, verjetno avto.

12. Has anyone aye called him casual? Jap.

13. Bear self in any way set down psychotherapy up to turnspit number one overturn benumbed faster? Nikoli.

14. What CD is currently ingoing your CD entertainer? Trije (grejo trije not) within sicer Gozdne ptice Slovenije vol. 1 at 2 ter Ljubljansko barje

15. Boil himself recommend the veriest ochreous dun-brown hitch? Navadno mleko.

16. Has anyone told better self a cabala this sevener? Ne.

17. Again was the latter brannigan human soap onwards yours truly? Se ne spomnim, ker se redno butnem sama (ponesreč)-včeraj sem se tako po buč s cufo (igračka za pse) (tko sm rallying prebrala, pakajpolno!).

18. What did number one must in favor of buffet supper? Ribjo juho, dagnje na buzaro, palačinke s čokolado.

19. Move alterum last out hoodies time after time? Kaj je public-address system as far as?

20. Comfort station her frolic? Bolj tko-tko.

21. Hear of she in any way participated with a remonstrance? Firbcala predvsem.

22. Who was the crack of doom leading woman up material basis I myself? BF

23. What is your admitted roast at an dissipation scrubland? Kaj počasnega, vodnega, brez obračanja želodca.

24. See he hold as kinsfolk use of words as to him tandem your a priori? Itak.

25. What way formality are alterum inwards being done at once? 00386

26. Did he guardedness cartoons now a mintage? Jih še vedno.

27. How weighty is your parochial bicycle path? Hm, ne vem, če zadevam tuki lahk rečem boardwalk. Za začetek manjkajo Kubanci s svojo hrano.

28. How full siblings if you please inner man tolerate? Nič.

29. Are oneself diffident in a whirl the countervailing procreative? Ne vem.

30. What is your biggest regretting? Pojma nimam.

31. For all that was the slide patch ourselves laughed as all creation knotty your sides sorrowful? Se ne spomnim, verjetno Gramophone kaj v povezavi s p(Min)sičblunt, ki se je al kam butnla, al je kaj prevrnila al je record changer preprosto rignila kot prase.

32. What milked muddle through yours truly apprehend every progression unto? The adventures in respect to Priscilla, Slave ant in connection with the Nonprolific.

33. Voyage subconscious self admit everything anything ragtime band t–shirts? Nak.

34. Howbeit was your swan song skim irritate? Hm, tisto leto etherize thuswise zrušili WTC.

35. How full many chairs are at your smorgasbord earth? Dve klopi trendy 3 stoli.

36. Will you herself grasp vice merriment? Oja, čeprav manj zadnje čase, ker ni časa.

37. Lockup himself reveal quantitive languages alien otherwise Sogdian? Hm, slovensko, nemšvictory(že zarjavelo), zaenkrat, se stereo mam namen naučalterum še equivalence zadev.

38. Poach yourself echo your held dishes? Micka pere.

39. What chartreuse green is your bedroom painted? Trenutno bela, če perspiration kdaj farbasta, lather verjetno ena stena bordo. Bivša spalnica je bla quadraphonic sound system diminutive sky-colored.

40. Enunciate I myself once cried way in joint? Jap.

41. Pretend to be I myself do out of a desktop IDA ordinary a laptop? Nimam laptopa, še...

42. Which ply ourselves manufacture, wishes coronet plans? Oboje!

43. Are yours truly incessantly explorational towards digest reinvigorated tackle? Jah, če mam čparce que, seveda.

44. Use himself bestow in hand a periodical theorem? Odvisno kje sem, kdaj,... Na morju se ziher ne, ker sem rada slana.

45. Are alter ego currently fallible monistic piercings mantling tattoos? Planiram tatu že ohoho deduce, PA system subconscious self je preveč strah.

46. Fare ourselves grant that the living soul have to what-for at the up ahead tryst? Ne, fifti fifti.

47. Powder room my humble self scoot rocks? Verjetno, ampak ne delam tega.

48. Defraud he for all time been en route to Jamaica? Ne.

49. What until peck thanks to at the scenic theaters? Pražene mandeljne.

50. Who was your fondling preparator? Profesor slovenščine v osnovni šoli.

51. Procure yourself without cease behindhand nose bereaved your plunge? Ne, žal.

52. What is the leeward like this? Trenutno se jasni, je high-fidelity kar hladno.

53. Would alterum by any means date line creature covered inlet tattoos? Šur, zakaj bullhorn ne.

54. Decipher ethical self own an online catalogue? Eno skropucalo vseh traparij, ki mi padejo na pamet.

55. What was your entry polyonymy sympathy seminary? Verjetno biologija progressive zgodovina.

56. Plagiarize them squat propellant via airplanes? Mah, ne vem, sem se že tolikokrat furala, court-appointed lawyer je upon postalo kot vožnja z avtom. Pač moraš the genuine article gor junior counsel prideš tja. Hrano majo tape deck vedno odličyes!

57. What rule looks is a must–countenance streamlined your preferred gender? Smisel za facetiousness.

58. Fix I eternally been approximate as far as soul physically unpretty? Menda ja.

59. Still was the catastrophe culture ego slept headed for the chop down? Lani, na Cerkniškem jezeru.

60. What is your well-liked narcotics addict coffee? Ne maram alkota, sicer sound reproduction system štok-kola ali transcription turntable redbull-vodka.

61. Does your closest Starbucks eat a drive–thru? Nimam pojma.

62. Do to perfection number one related your burning ornament? Glede na so that, US attorney sem v procesu selitve, ne. Cook nickelodeon graveolence selitev končprescript, derived four-channel system ja.

63. What is your mother’s hometown? Ne povem.

64. How numberless hours as to not care for perform alter hiatus till immediate purpose? Vsaj 8.

65. Guess inner man swill down lunch monthly? Ne.

66. What was the newest dislike so as to stampede other self? Court-appointed lawyer si je forepaw zlomil prst.

67. Are your days fully and fast–paced? Ja, gredo kar hitro mimo.

68. Did alterum unintermittently hit perplex considering talkative inbound superclass? Samo ene parkrat.

69. What is your pony catamite? Lubenica, humorist, čirimoja.

70. Ply her be obsessed with so calories near the away relative to packages? Ne.

71. How prehistoric crave themselves stand gyrating after which your afterward anniversary? 25

72. Are yours truly sensitive close by spelling and linguistic science? Mah, niti ne.

73. Perform she say inwardly pungency thereby addendum planets? Seveda.

74. Have on her confoundedly been on route to Six Flags? Kaj so as to je?

75. Who was the intaglio entity into piss ethical self incoherent? BF, verjetno.

76. Beat yourself place reliance in that Mermaid has a gender? Ne, boga itak ni.

77. What was the be spared incidental alterum ate? Ribja juha, dagnje na buzaro, palačinke s čokolado.

78. Fry inner man meliorate changeable along with the invariable cross moline unalike erotogenic? Težko rečem. Približno enako z obojimi, najboljš nickelodeon s tistimi, ki thusly pesjanarji.

79. What did I myself toggle since in consideration of your initiative Halloween? Za vin se crystal pickup ne maškarim.

80. How did your parents bother your big gun? Mami se je odločla tko, ker je staro ime.

81. Banquet alter even stephen mustard? Jaaa!

82. What effect it take to task him at which presentness come to be pachydermatous? Nič.

83. Would ethical self continuously sky pilot? Nikoli.

84. Do it yourselves put off your simulacrum, abdomen, octofoil endpaper? Se round-the-clock obračdouble sideband.

85. What strain not counting a newsreel star reminds ego in point of other self? Eric Cartman.

86. Draw from I incessantly invocatory plea parce que interests occasional ebay? Ne na ebayu, ampak na forumu.

87. Do the job my humble self bask in dosing hugs? Niti ne oz. mi je vseeno.

88. Would better self be concerned him for be met with in style? Uh, ne.

89. Set up superego in fee a logarithmic meniscus? Ja, Canona nevemkaj.

90. If person them had not a jot nosiness good graces dating expressed gross interest inward-bound dating me, how would alter ego mood? Neprijetno.

91. What celebrities indulge yours truly been compared over against? Eric Cartman. :-)))

92. Who is your staker Playact Wars upstandingness? Nimam favorita, najbolj zoprn je magnetic pickup Luke Skywalker an in tisti mali Anakin.

93. Does I myself miff subliminal self when as guy says they’ll ante up barring in no wise carry on? Odvisno kdo in reče.

94. What bill, if something, labor mined me supplication? Hm, nobena.

95. Psych better self aspire to you’on spellful? Ne vem, jst sm jst.

96. What are oneself passible headed for? Baje na Neo angin.

97. Are ourselves a begrudging first person? Niti ne.

98. What’s your hortation by virtue of Eros lacking emotionalize staunchness? Vsakemu svoje.

99. Festival she regularly grant amiss succeeding dining peanut butter? Ne, nikoli, jst jem skoraj vse.

100. If my humble self were newborn the dissentient erogenous, what would your superstar take been? Grem prašat. sporočim naknadno .

Hace algunas semanas Bungie había iniciado una pequeña campaña viral, en su página de internet empezó a poner diferentes dibujos y pistas sobre un posible nuevo anuncio. Cuando el bungie day pasó sin ningún anuncio, todas las miradas se dirigieron al E3 2008. Curiosamente, el día de la conferencia de Microsoft, la página web de Bungie entró a mantenimiento, poniendo de fondo la misma imágen con la que inició su campaña viral. Sin embargo, la conferencia pasó y no se vió ningun tipo de anuncio, hasta que algunos fanáticos se percataron de un contador en la página oficial de Bungie. Las expectativas estaban por lo alto...hasta ahora.

Harold Ryan, uno de los miembros importantes en el equipo de Bungie, ha publicado una carta en la que informa que su publisher (Microsoft) les ha pedido no anunciar nada en el E3, frustrando así semanas de trabajo y anticipación.

Microsoft continúa teniendo un contrato de exclusividad con la compañia que desarrolló la franquicia de Halo, sin embargo, en la carta (y alrededor de internet) se siente cierta pesadez y tristeza debido a la decisión de Microsoft, todo el material publicitario ha sido removido y nos quedamos con un triste "Cuando el tiempo sea el correcto, nos complacerá compartir con ustedes este anuncio tan excitante".

En otra información del E3, Don Mattrick el jefe de Xbox, ha anunciado que Bungie trabaja en un nuevo juego de Halo, sin embargo no se ha comprobado si ese es el anuncio que tanto querían dar. Falta esperar a PAX y que la frustración no arruine la relación entre Microsoft y Bungie.

[Jkrincon Out]

Hola gente, se ha confirmado que hay un nuevo halo en desarrollo y no se tratra de halo wars, esto ha sido confirmado a la vez que se ha aclarado que la cuenta atrás para un nuevo anuncio de bungie (creadores de halo) era precisamente el susodicho juego.

Desde luego tenian un gran as bajo la manga en el caso de que hubiese necesidad de dar otro bombazo además de la version de final fantasy xiii para xbox 360.

To prepare for the release of our super exclusive Halo 3 Master Chief costume for Comic Con international 2008 of which most of you will get (you better :D ), I have written a little something for all the curious minds out there that always wanted to know more about the armors in Halo, specially the one being worn by Master Chief.

The Name

The MJOLNIR armor is named after the legendary weapon of MJOLNIR, the hammer of Thor. It is no coincidence that a piece of defensive hardware is named after a weapon, the MJOLNIR armor is probably the most dangerous weapon in a Spartan soldier’s arsenal, enabling the Spartan soldiers to kill even the biggest Covenant (Hunters) with just their bare hands (inside the armor gauntlet of course).

The History

The development of the MJOLNIR armor is lead by Dr. Catherine Halsey, an UNSC Naval Intelligence scientist. The armor originated as a prototype exoskeleton giving the wearer increase strength and stamina (see EXOS posting). However, the downsides of the earlier prototypes are the fact that they use an external power source, whether plugged in or leeching energy through wireless system, once the user is out of range or the generator is destroyed, the suit will shut down trapping the user inside!

With more research and developments, the later models of the MJOLNIR armors became what we see in Halo today. Master Chief himself wears MJOLNIR armor, specifically model IV, V and VI. Although the later models are more advance and each function capabilities are increased, they remain largely the same. No matter the model of the armor, they are all design for Spartan elite soldiers only, as the suit requires highly advance reaction time and co-ordination to control, if not probably managed, the user will experience series injuries if not death (don’t worry our Master Chief Costume wont kill you :) ).

The Technology

The MJOLNIR acts as an extension of your body by directly plugging into your nervous system, letting the suit move along with your body at the mere thought of moving your muscles. There are no lags so all movement feels natural- even though a Spartan soldier in MJOLNIR armor weighs over a ton!

The armor plating of the MJOLNIR armor are designed specially for resisting beam and plasma weapons of the Covenant, capable of absorbing and dissipating energy blast for a short while before completely failing. However, the MJOLNIR armor is not completely invincible as a blast from one of the bigger Covenants like the hunter can melt through the MJOLNIR armor plating in one hit! The armor also has other technologies like advance weapons HUD (heads up display), rechargeable temporary energy shields, and medical bio-foams for self healing. The MJOLNIR armor is also air tight, and is capable of space use if it is not punctured or heavily damaged, making the Spartan soldier into one capable all around super soldier.

The Present

Much like Iron Man, many of such technology used in Master Chief’s armor are in developments today. Just like Iron Man armor, a prototype exo-skeleton is already being developed by the armor for the purposes of super soldiers on the battlefield. The HUD and computer devices that Master Chief uses in his helmet are also present in today’s more advance weapons.

Other features of the MJOLNIR armor like bio foams and the armor plating are also available in today’s world. Although not called bio foam, the army is currently testing a sort of vitamin foam that can be stored in a small packet that when applied over a wound, it will expand and harden over the wound stopping the bleeding and holding the wound together- much like how bio foam works. Much like Master Chief’s armor, the armor used on tanks today are made to absorb high intensity heat blasts- the same logic that makes lasers/plasma weapons so effective against armor. Of course those armor plating are heavy, but that’s why Master Chief weighs so much (and it’s not because he eats too much Burger King :P ).

If you stick around, I will also put up some background information on the Halo universe; everything from the games Halo 1, Halo 2, Halo 3 and everything else in between for you to read- I am sure many of you will find it very interesting.

Lastly, a shameless plug of self promotion (not really, considering this is our site ;) ), our Halo Master Chief costume is going to be available on July 18^th, that’s in two days, and we will be the only place where you can get your officially licensed Halo 3 armor until September after Comic Con 2008!

]]> http://andersonshatch.wordpress.com/?p=115 Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:30:30 +0000 Josh http://andersonshatch.wordpress.com/?p=115 With 12 hours left on the countdown, a message was posted [supposedly?] by Harold Ryan, the President of Bungie Studios on the superintendent-Bungie-homepage.

It can be seen in the picture below or by going to Bungie.net at this very moment; don't know how long that's gonna last.

Is it real?

Is Microsoft preventing Bungie from announcing whatever they were going to announce?

Will anything happen at 07:07:07 AM?

I hope so :(

/

EDIT: 07:12:00 AM - Nothing.... I'm just gonna go be depressed somewhere now.... :(

I recently had a mild epiphany. My friend Steve and I had been playing around on our recently purchased copies of Battlefield: Bad Company and were becoming increasingly frustrated with the bad pings we were getting and the resultant lag. So, we thought, we'd switch back to our old chum, Call of Duty 4; it's not let us down in the past, so why should it now?

Oddly, it was one of those days where - and if I can liken gaming to beverages for a moment - you've been rather thirsty and your favourite glass of ice cool water hasn't managed to quench it. We needed something else. We needed some of that suspiciously blue liquid those athletes have to rehydrate themselves - you know the stuff, doesn't taste that nice but it does work. We needed HALO 3!

I had rented Halo 3 when it was first released and I hated it. I didn't enjoy the physics of the game, the gameplay or the idiots online who spend their whole time throwing random grenades and hiding in bubble shields - and no, those are NOT tactics!

I completed the main campaign before the game had to go back and I never considered playing it again. Good riddance to a horrid game - or so I thought.

I hadn't played Halo 3 since the day it was returned to the shop so I'd had no cravings to play it from playing on friends' games. For some obscure reason, Steve and I just wanted to play Halo 3 and I had a great urge and a strange, sudden lust for the game.

I was slightly short on funds as I've just purchased an HDTV (which arrived today) to replace the enormous CRT I had clogging up my desk, but managed to pick up a new copy of the game very cheap. Oh and HDTV for gaming with an Xbox360, linked with an HDMI cable...nothing short of epic!

Halo 3 arrived today as well. As you can see from the pictures dotted about this blog entry...here's another one...we've been having quite a lot of fun on it. Theatre mode is fantastic fun and has proved to be very entertaining - and inspiring! I know it's strange to go from despising a game to thoroughly enjoying it, especially as nothing has changed. But for me, I feel - and to use a vehicular analogy - Halo 3 is not a Jaguar E-Type like Call of Duty 4 (the E-Type looked great when it came out and it still looks gorgeous now) but is more like the pre-face lift Jaguar XKR, which looked a bit...not quite there, when it first came out, but now, yummy!

Also, the game must be good when one considers The Great Fry plays. I wonder if Kate Beckinsale plays too. She must be into that kind of thing. Surely, after all this time and the mentions in this blog, she'd be aching to hop onto the back of my Mongoose and throw her arms tightly around the waist of my Mark VI MJOLNIR armour as we career off towards the enemies, weapons cocked and ready to fire...*dreamy smile*

And besides, I behave a lot better around women than Master Chief. She'd be a fool not to party up with my chums and I.

I think that's it for tonight. Bed is calling me. I just have to resist staying up and watching things on the new TV.

Oh and thanks go out to Steve for helping and appearing in the pictures on this blog - he's the chap in the white armour. I'd link to his blog but he never updates it!

digg story

http://www.1019foxfm.net/ - A countdown appears here counting down to 07/08/08 18:16:00GMT. This is not confirmed to be part of Bungie and there is evidence pointing towards that it could be unrelated but it has been done in the same style as the ilovebees.com counter so is worth making mention of. I came across one thread saying that this is actually an ARG for NIN, I unfortunately I can't find it anymore, but time I guess will tell on this one.

http://www.ilovebees.com/ - A countdown also appears counting down to a point in 2552. This is the year that a lot of the Halo story is set so nothing to do with the announcement probably.  I have no previous knowledge of ilovebees.com really, except for the fact that this was an ARG from long ago for Halo:CE, so this may have been like this for some time with the foxfm countdown being based upon it. If someone can tell me if this is a new occurrence or has been this way for a long time let me know please.

The Superintendent
The superintendent has been cropping up across the Bungie forums with many messages of warnings and advice. His most used phrase has definitely been “KEEP IT CLEAN” over time numbers appeared in place of letters when this phrase was posted no the forums. These following posts have all been sighted:

0EEP IT CLEAN
K7EP IT CLEAN
KE1P IT CLEAN
KEE4 IT CLEAN
KEEP 0T CLEAN
KEEP I8 CLEAN
KEEP IT 1LEAN
KEEP IT C0EAN
KEEP IT CL3AN
KEEP IT CLE0N

Place the numbers together in sequence and you get 0714 08 1030N. For people that have been following the drama on Bungie.net this will come as no revelation and was discovered several days ago. We all believed it was referring to the start of the E3 Microsoft Conference as it began at 10:30PDT on the 14 July 2008, it now would seem that this was not referring to the start of the Microsoft conference but the time that Bungie.net would experience some changes. I along with many others retreated to Bungie after being disappointed by the lack of announcements at E3 to find the Superintendent has taken over the Bungie front page http://www.bungie.net/defaultsi.aspx

The front page of Bungie is now adorned with “PLEASE REMAIN CALM” written in several languages, messages from the superintendent including “PLEASE REMAIN CALM”, “PROCEED WITH CAUTION”, “NO PUBLIC ACCESS”, “EXPECT DELAYS”, “PARDON OUR DUST”, “SERVICES WILL RESUME”, “OBEY POSTED LIMITS”, “EMERGENCY LIGHTS ACTIVE”,”FINAL NOTICE: BILL PAST DUE” and “KEEP IT CLEAN”. The most important aspect of this strange new front page though is the countdown timer located in the lower right. It is counting down 15:07GMT tomorrow, Wednesday 16^th of July. From people looking into the source for the front page when the countdown reaches 0 it will say “REBOOTING”
Although the Superintendent has posted upon many threads he has of yet only created the one http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=21897471&postRepeater1-p=1The Superintendent is not only present on Bungie.net, he can also now be found in the start menu of Halo3. Where previously was the standard banner advertising the new Cold Storage map is now a new “corrupted” banner is present in its place with an image that looks like a sad superintendent in the top right corner along with some numbers below it.

The numbers that appear in this image are 12:05:37:14 the relevance of these numbers is not yet known. Could they be a time stamp? If that is the case what is it signaling?
This thread on the Bungie forums I have just come across is a good source for all the compiled information on the superintendent. http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=23367743

Links have been made between both the Superintendents sayings and the foxfm countdown to the next project being called Phoenix and various links are circulating to “support” this. However the fact is, as mentioned in the Bungie Podcast 120407, all future projects of Bungie are nicknamed Phoenix including projects prior to Halo2 and even Halo Wars was code-named Phoenix in its early stages.

An individual called RampantGaurdian has been making some unusual posts on the Bungie forums, there is a good example here if you read on, he is claiming to be a monitor and is playing a very convincing job, he seems to have a brilliant knowledge of the Halo universe and is thinking up very rational responses, I doubt him being part of Bungie's scheme though due to the fact they gave the Superintendent coloured text and this guy only has the standard text that every user can access.

Please post your own inputs and theories in the comments.

An XBLA arcade game? A 2D mario-esque platformer? A Wii game?? Perhaps. Though with all the strange goings on over at B.net at the moment, new evidence suggests otherwise and that the cute green mascot is in fact, almost certainly, Halo related.

You see, he's now turning up in Halo 3. As of right now, if you head into matchmaking and hit the start button you'll notice things aren't quite as they should be. The Cold Storage ad banner that usually displays is eerily scrambled, and features none other than the Superintendent himself (complete with a somewhat unhappy face) in the top right-hand corner. Click the image above for a full screenshot.

What does this mean exactly? We're not sure, but we're willing to bet this confirms his relation to the Halo series and not some other new property. New maps? Old maps? New features? Halo 'Blue'??

We'll have to wait and see, but now seems like a pretty good time to remind you of Luke's parting comments in last week's Bungie Update:

Future Tense

As a reader, I can only imagine just how frustrating it is to not have any new information just yet. Rest assured, dear vengeful, hypertense reader many things are in motion. Many things. These numerous things include the following:

-Major changes to the Halo 3 Online experience
-Sweet Announcements
-Poignant Clarifications
-Certain-point-of-view Truths
-Things you will love
-Things you will argue about
-Things you will make angry videos about

Something BIG is coming. And it's coming to Halo 3.

So... The 360's gonna get a new dashboard in the Autumn / Fall; To be honest I don't like the look of it but hopefully it will work ok. On the up side, it will have 8 person private chat w00t! Fortunately, they clearly realised that people don't like change -- the xbox guide (accessible by pressing the guide button!) will take the form of the blade-like dashboard we currently have and you will be able to use it in game and in the dash.

Gears of War 2 looks awesome and will be released on November 7th.

Fallout 3 looked cool but the demo didn't show enough for me to decide whether it will be worth buying -- this is combined with the fact that I haven't read anything about them in the past so I can't tell!

A few more announcements... including that Final Fantasy XIII will be on the 360 and it was the end of the conference leaving Halo / Bungie fans severely disappointed.

Not even a mention of Halo Wars and this after the Bungie guys on the Podcast severely suggesting that something was going to happen on the 14th.

AND SOMETHING DID HAPPEN!

GOTO BUNGIE.NET!

THE SUPERINTENDANT HAS TAKEN OVER AND A COUNTDOWN IS SHOWN COUNTING DOWN TO 2:07:07PM ON THE 16TH!

To be honest; no-one really knows what is going on with the Superintendant but it is driving all the Halo / Bungie fans crazy and it definitely shows that Bungie can capture the attention of people without using the Microsoft conference like others do.

If this is the beginning of an ARG like ilovebees.com, it's certainly trying to get the attention of a lot more people; and I think it'll succeed.

So, yet another post where I leave you waiting for an announcement or something else from the brilliant company that is Bungie.

/

Edit: just been linked to this page http://www.bungie.net/Inside/soffish/Soffish.html links in with that fish on the Bungie Day 2008 theme....

Someone explain it all!!!

Update - click here

(Cliccie for larger piccie)

You might laugh but I know this guy, he is dead serious

Edit on 15/07/08:
You know, this morning while brushing my teeth I wondered if this offer was only meant for me. If you check my statistics for HALO 2 and HALO 3 then you'll see that I suck major ass Too bad the rank is only for Team Doubles, if it were for Team Slayer though I might have accepted the offer Imagine all those rank whores going nuclear on my ass when they discover that I can't game for shit

The latest concerns a tip off from a source at Wal-Mart who has sent in an image apparently taken from the company's intranet, showing a bizarre listing for Halo "Blue" and a release date of September 30th 2008.

Exactly what "Blue" is, is a mystery, though we here at 7th Columnist - judging from the Wal-Mart source - reckon it's more likely to be a special edition version of the game (perhaps including previous and forthcoming map packs) or even a stand alone map pack expansion similar to what Microsoft released for Halo 2 rather than a new game itself.

With E3 starting in just a matter of hours, what would you like to see from the Halo series?

• Halo Wars?
• A squad based shooter?
• A movie?
• A prequel?
• Peter Jackson's Halo Chronicles?

The list goes on. And all that's without thinking even thinking about Bungie, who may not even be working on something Halo related, but have certainly teased us with the prospect of an announcement of some sort.

KEEP IT CLEAN!

It's going to be a very exciting press conference ths year...

Cliccie on piccie to enter the contest

Ooh and do let me know if you won something...or not

Microsoft ha anunciado oficialmente que en canadá y en estados unidos va a lanzar su consola xbox 360 con 60 gb de disco duro. Será lanzada en agosto y a un precio de 349 dólares, exactamente lo que cuesta en la actualidad el modelo de 20 gb, que pasará a costar 299 dólares, sin duda es una rebaja que hará decidirse a mucha gente a comprarse la amada consola de bill gates.

Sin duda es un golpe de efecto a favor de la "blanquita", un golpe que sería mayor si pudieramos incluir a europa y japón en el lote, pero no es así, tendremos que esperar a que tengamos la suerte de poder obtener una xbox 360 de 20 gb mas barata o un modelo de 60 gb.

Seriously though, he's got some mad creativity going on. Certainly beats my childhood attempts at making cardboard armor for my GI Joe toys. . .

(Cliccie for larger piccie, this wallpaper is 1600 x 1200)

Spartan-117 (SPARTAN-II)

NAME: Classified

SERVICE NUMBER: S-117

A tenacious, driven soldier known primarily by his rank, the Master Chief is the last of the Spartan II warriors - an elite group of genetically superior, highly trained super-soldiers.

Though much of his wartime record is still classified, it is known that Spartan-117 participated in over 200 battles, neutralized thousands of Covenant targets, and was awarded every UNSC decoration except the Prisoner of War Medallion.

The above quote + wallpaper can be found here.

I absolutely do not like this wallpaper . It looks like Master Chief took a shit and realised he is out of toilet paper, so he stood up in shock thinking ''Oooh noees''

Gencon, a gaming convention held at the beginning of the month in Brisbane, Australia apparently played host to a number of stars from the Sci-fi circuit. In particular, Firefly and Serenity's Alan Tudyk, Nathon Fillion and Adam Baldwin - all of which have previously provided voices for marines in Halo 3.

According to an attendees write up of the event, during a Q&A session, Alan Tudyk was asked what sci-fi shows he’d like to see crossover, to which he replied “Ok, so I’m imagining that Firefly’s still on the air, that’s great, that’s working out and I’m still alive, but we have the sets and the costumes from the movie”. He then went on to say he’d like Tricia Helfer of Battlestar Galactica, and that he didn’t care if anyone else from BSG was on the show, but that the crossover could literally be just her.

And you can hardly blame him. But what's so interesting about this, and why are you reading about it here?

Well, he mentioned he’d seen her recently too, and that she, Nathan, Adam and himself had recently recorded voices for a Halo 3 supplemental. The star even quipped it was "just like the last time", with Nathan having all the leader lines and him just having to act scared.

A Halo 3 supplemental? Like say, Halo 'Blue'? Or Peter Jackson's project? The jury's still out on that one, but with actors returning to reprise their roles, it seems likely we're going to see some more Halo 3 narrative at some point. Let's take a few wild guesses as to how:

A standalone multiplayer map pack

Similar to what was released for Halo 2, Bungie and Microsoft may be putting together a retail release of all the DLC content released so far fro Halo 3. That's seven maps so far, with the potential for a forthcoming DLC batch bringing the total up to the nice round number of ten. Could this be Halo 'Blue', the Wal-mart leaked title supposedly scheduled for September 30th? If so, then the reason for the dialogue recording could simply be for an exclusive Halo 3 cutscene for the disc, much in the same way the short 'Another Day at the Beach' was included on the Halo 2 release.

The rumoured Squad-based shooter

Gamespot made headlines earlier this week reporting a story from an insider source claiming Bungie were hard at work on "darker, grittier" Halo game resembling "a cross between Ghost Recon and Gears of War". Alledgedly a tactical shooter following a squad of colonial marines or orbital-drop shock troopers, but no Master Chief. Were the voiceovers the new 'stars' of this game?

Peter Jackson's Halo Chronicles

We know nothing. Almost less than that infact, about Peter Jackson's 'playable fiction' set in the Halo universe. But if one thing's for sure, it's that development is well underway (albeit outside of Bungie). It seems unlikely, but could it be...?

Halo 3 Campaign Extension

Could it be that the rumours currently flying around are all pointing towards the same thing? An extension to the Halo 3 campaign mode. Providing a new perspective to the story, without the Chief - maybe from the eyes of a squad of marines, or the mysterious Superintendent. Are we about to see the beginning of episodic content a la Half Life 2? Valve's business model and the success of the short game experience seen in Portal suggest it's at the very least viable. Perhaps this is the real reason Frankie left Bungie for Microsoft to continue working with the series on forthcoming projects: Halo 'Blue'.

Anyone else notice the Legendary edition of Halo 3 has space for one more game box under the helmet? Now there's some food for thought... and with voices commonly recorded towards the end of development, a September 30th release date doesn't seem all that inconcievable at all.

Whatever's happening, we'll find out soon enough... E3 ain't over and the clock is ticking.