G4 TV - TheFeed - Halo 3

This Reader Unlocked Every Halo Achievement (Even That Halo Wars One)

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

"Significantly less" than 1% of Halo players have managed to unlock every achievement across every Halo game, according to the developers of the recently launched Halo hub Halo Waypoint. One of the biggest stumbling blocks for the Halo devoted is picking up all the Halo Wars achievements -- specifically, the "Generals" multiplayer achievement, requiring a significant time investment.

I was contacted by one excited reader who'd claimed to have mastered all of the Halo achievements, a man by the gamertag of Ghosty Taco. Upon further inspection, however, I realized he didn't have the "Generals" achievement. I tasked him with fixing this and come back to me when the job was done.

He did.

One of you has managed to rack up all 3,950 achievements for the Halo series. He might be slightly insane. You can verify Ghosty Taco's achievements for yourself on his Xbox Live profile.

So, how'd he do it? A tried and true tradition, of course: Exploiting "noobs."

"I got stuck with some noobs," said Ghosty Taco, "with this map that has flood doors and he kept sending units at me while i keep opening the doors and i kept doing it for every noob i meet on that map because it gives me a totaty of 33600 points every match :D"

Bravo, Ghosty Taco. Bravo.

Have something to share? Have a news tip? E-mail me. You can also follow me on Twitter.

Mr Sark's Halo 3 Sarkathlon 4 - Do You Want The Bungie Exclusive Flaming Armor?

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 14:10:00 -0800

UPDATE: Only 4 days left to submit your Sarkathlon 4 run! Details below...

X-Play's Mr Sark has a history of dropping some amazing Halo 3 prizes on the winner of the Sarkathlon, a contest storied in legend and history, appearing only a few times to the chosen few... or whenever new Halo 3 multiplayer maps are available.

Previously, Mr Sark has bestowed the coveted Recon armor on winners, but with the release of Halo 3: ODST, that isn't so special anymore, right? You're absolutely correct. That's why Mr Sark and Bungie are going to be giving the winner of Sarkathlon 4...

Bungie Exclusive Flaming Armor!

To compete, you'll need to acquire a copy of Halo 3: ODST because this content takes place on the map Longshore. Once you have ODST loaded up, you'll need to download the map and gametype for Sarkathlon 4 from Mr Sark's Bungie.net file share. After that, load it up, find all 8 grenades, and cross the finish line faster than anyone else. Simple, right?

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Sarkathlon 4 ends at Sunday, November 8th at Midnight! Save a full replay of your run and put it on your Bungie.net file share. Then, email mrsark@g4tv.com with a link to your replay to enter the contest!

Before you get started, however, hit the break for an extended interview with Mr Sark for a behind-the-scenes look at Sarkathlon 4 and some tips to help you shave valuable seconds off of your time.

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The Biggest Achievement Stumbling Block For Halo Fans: Halo Wars?

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Not many people have earned all the achievements possible from Halo 3, Halo Wars and Halo 3: ODST, as evidenced by the statistics Microsoft dug up while developing Halo Waypoint. "Significantly less" than 1% of players have unlocked all the achievements. Based on readers comments and e-mails I received, the biggest stumbling block for Halo fans is a top-tier achievement tucked away in Halo Wars, the non-Bungie developed real-time-strategy take on the Halo universe.

Specifically, several readers cited the "General" achievement as the most difficult to obtain. The "General" achievement is obtained by acquiring 2,400,000 experience points across multiplayer sessions. According to players, garnering that many points takes a long, long time.

"I am missing one single achievement in Halo Wars...the achievement for obtaining a General Rank over XBL," one reader wrote me over e-mail, echoing the feelings of several others I heard from. "So of all three games I have all but one single achievement. This won't put me into that 1%, but I should come darn close. Honestly I would have this achievement as well if the population for Halo Wars was not so small and the amount of XP needed to gain that rank so high. I am simply not a huge RTS fan, and while I enjoy Halo Wars I am a fangirl because of the FPS parts of the Halo universe. At the moment games of Halo Wars feel more like grinding than fun."

After my story was published, community manager Duncan “Aloysius” Stanley at Robot Entertainment, the studio that spun-off from the now-closed Halo Wars developer Ensemble Studios that assumed post-release Halo Ward duties, released some additional statistics to fans on the Halo Wars message boards. Not surprising, the "General" rank was listed.

"Less than half a of percent of players have the General rank on Xbox Live," said Stanley.

"So little [users] with General, yet so many threads about them...," remarked one user in response.

Some users estimated it could take hundreds of hours to unlock the "General" achievement. At that point, is such an achievement just for the hardcore or simply poorly designed?

Have something to share? Have a news tip? E-mail me. You can also follow me on Twitter.

"Significantly Less" Than 1% Of Halo Players Have Every Possible Achievement

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:32:00 -0700

Halo fans are notoriously hardcore, but even in the Halo community, there are only a hardened few who are willing to attempt the seemingly impossible: unlocking every achievement in each Halo game (that has achievements and includes map packs) so far. That includes Halo 3, Halo Wars and the recently released Halo 3: ODST. According to Halo Waypoint creative director Jason Pace, the number of people who've achieved that feat is less than 1%. Significantly less, actually.

"When we did our high-level analysis…it's less than 1% of players who will come in with everything, it's actually significantly less than 1%," said Pace in a wide-ranging interview about the upcoming Halo hub for Xbox Live, Halo Waypoint, from a few weeks back.

This information was very important to Pace, as Halo Waypoint's meta ranking system is based on the achievements players have and haven't unlocked in the Halo games on Xbox 360. Eventually Halo Waypoint will include challenges not tied to existing achievements, but for the near future, that's the system in place, which makes the less-than-1% scenario a good one.

"There will certainly be some uber-hardcore players with pretty much everything maxed out," he said, "but the vast majority of the Halo audience, even the hardcore fanbase, will find themselves not maxed out in either the career milestones or the rewards."

Pace's analysis actually found Halo players falling into two camps: single-player or multiplayer.

"It's interesting when you take a look at the player profiles and distribution of achievements," he noted. "You would frequently assume that hardcore multiplayer folks wouldn't be the people who generally have the most achievements. That is not always the case. There are a lot of multiplayer folks who doesn't focus on, for example, on getting a lot of the single-player campaign achievements. The average person, the average sort of regular Halo player, should probably come in somewhere in the middle of the milestone range."

What kind of Halo player are you? If you're someone who actually has unlocked every possible achievement across Halo 3, Halo Wars and Halo 3: ODST, get in touch with me.

Have something to share? Have a news tip? E-mail me. You can also follow me on Twitter.

What Exactly Is Halo Waypoint, What The Future Holds And Good News For Silvers

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:00:00 -0700

Next month, Microsoft will launch Halo Waypoint, a hub for all things Halo accessed through the Xbox 360 itself. During a phone interview this week about the project, I asked Jason Pace, creative director behind Halo Waypoint, to summarize why people should care:

"Waypoint is a place where we want Halo fans, when they're sitting at the console and actually interacting with their Xbox, to go and be able to have an experience that transcends each individual game and sort of wraps together everything at the entire Halo experience level," said Pace. "It's a single point of contact where you can go to establish your player identity across all of the different Halo games and feel like you have a single identity in that universe and then also experience all different kinds of content, from fiction to community content to interesting stuff -- like strategy guides -- that some of our partners put up. I would describe it as a central hub for the Halo experience."

But Halo Waypoint is a little more nuanced than that.

Halo Waypoint isn't mean to be a glorified Wikipedia page. As Pace explained the service, it will never replace the wealth of Halo-related information available on the Internet or the statistical data dump that is Bungie.net ("there's already a great thriving community on Bungie.net," he said). Halo Waypoint will be updated seven days a week with new content that's designed for a TV-based console experience. That means producing new video to present the Halo fiction or even collaborating with Bungie to rope together the community screen shots to share with the world.

Just because it's not meant to replace Bungie.net, however, doesn't mean it's not for the hardcore, though Pace expects Halo Waypoint may better appeal to the casual player a little more.

"I think that we will have more to offer the casual player or the player who is not necessarily hardcore multiplayer, although I hope that we're not excluding those folks," he said. "We always want to design experiences that are interesting to our hardcore fans, so I think the kinds of stuff that we're doing, for example the career system, it's really like allowing players -- and hopefully hardcore players, as well -- to establish a overarching Halo identity that transcends individual games and sort of follows them through their entire Halo experience."

Hardcore gamers might not immediately latch onto the career system because it's a meta-achievement system. In other words, there are no additional achievements coming to Halo 3, Halo Wars or Halo 3: ODST through Halo Waypoint, only additional Waypoint-specific achievements derived from achievements already built into those three games. Confused? Here's an example.

"We've got millions folks who love doing things with the Warthog, who love jacking vehicles," said Pace, "so if there's a way to recognize people and say 'hey, this person is just really awesome at doing vehicle things or doing sniper things or particular other kinds of activities, it'd be really great to pin that to your identity and say 'hey, I'm a really high level vehicle specialist and sniping specialist.' And that way, when you start talking to your friends, you can get a sense of their play styles."

Because Waypoint's meta-achievements are derived from pre-existing achievements, hardcore Halo players who have already unlocked all of the achievemetns in the previous games (a tall but possible feat) should have less interest in career because they'll already be top level. The solution to that problem won't come at launch, but Pace hopes to keep those players interested in coming back to Halo Waypoint through daily content refreshes...and some plans he can't talk about yet.

"If you're looking at a massively multiplayer online game, for example, almost everybody who puts in time and effort should be able to reach the level cap in that kind of system," he said. "And once you reach the level cap, there should be further things you can that differentiate yourself to show that you're uber, and that's what we're looking at now. For folks who do make it up to level 40 and figure that a lot of people will eventually get there, what do we do for them that makes it interesting and allows them to further differentiate themselves from other level 40s and from other lower-level players?"

As it stands, Halo Waypoint is a self-contained system. It's not included on the disc for Halo 3, Halo Wars or Halo 3: ODST and there are no plans to patch a menu option for Halo Waypoint into any of the currently available Halo games. You'll access Halo Waypoint through your Games Library, but that doesn't mean it won't become more deeply integrated into the Halo series moving forward.

"We have no commitments yet or any firm plans on how exactly the Waypoint integration is going to work in the future, but, absolutely, the goal is to continue to place Waypoint deeper and deeper into the actual game experience," said Pace. "We consider it [Waypoint] part of the Halo universe and it will become part of the Halo canon, depending on what part of Waypoint you're in. In that way, we view it as a game extension and because we view it as a game extension, we want the experience when you're playing a game when you're in Waypoint to become more seamless over time."

That's actually good news for gamers who might be interested in Halo Waypoint but have little interest in signing up for a subscription fee to become an Xbox Live Gold member. Halo Waypoint will become available for Silver users for a few weeks in November, but once that trial period passes, it becomes (yet another) Gold member exclusive. If Halo Waypoint becomes part of a future Halo title, however, there's hope for Silver members.

"Right now, we view Waypoint for Gold players in the same way that we view some of the premium multiplayer aspects of Gold membership," said Pace. "We look at Waypoint as sort of the premium Live experience. Moving forward, if we make elements of Waypoint integrated deeply into the game itself, then those pieces would likely be available to Silver members, as well."

Halo Waypoint launches November 5th. Xbox Live users who gain entry into the preview, which also adds support for Facebook and Twitter, can access it early.

Have something to share? Have a news tip? E-mail me. You can also follow me on Twitter.

Halo Waypoint Is Actually Part Of Halo's Story…But It's A Secret (For Now)

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:26:00 -0700

I spent a little time this afternoon on the phone with Jason Pace, the talkative creative director on the upcoming Halo Waypoint, a hub for all things Halo being added to Xbox Live as part of the next update. Pace told me about his grand ambitions for Halo Waypoint -- which you'll hear about soon -- but one part of our conversation stuck out. "Waypoint" is not the name of a new initiative for Xbox Live, with Halo Waypoint leading the way for a series of game-specific hubs.

"Waypoint is very much part of the Halo universe," said Pace, carefully choosing his next words, "and so as time goes on, we'll reveal a little bit more of the back story of what Waypoint is and where it fits into the canon."

Pace had to stop talking about what that means just as soon as it came up. Since I know very little about the Halo story outside of what's been revealed in the games, I did ask for some clarity.

"The only think I can tell you is that it's a secret," he said, laughing. "You'll find out more about it in the future, that's what I can say."

I could pretty much visualize him smiling over the phone.

You guys probably know more than me. What's "Waypoint"?

Dear Games Industry, We Need More Games Like Halo 3 ODST

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 15:50:00 -0700

I don't know what your expectations were for Halo 3 ODST, but I wasn't expecting much. Bungie seems to have been playing down the significance of its latest entry in the Halo series, following year-long back-and-forth contradictions about what exactly Halo 3 ODST even is. Such issues didn't inspire much confidence, but it's a new Halo game, right? Of course I'm going to play it.

But while I'm sure to have any number of memorable gaming experiences before this year is up, I'm convinced Halo 3 ODST will stick with me. Halo 3 ODST is important. It's a game worth putting on a pedestal, pointing to the rest of the industry and demanding many more games like this.

This isn't a review and really has little to do with the Halo franchise; it's needed applause for the quality workmanship that went into a year-long product from a AAA studio in an industry increasingly focused on quick, cheap downloadable games or Hollywood-style epics.

The latter trend Bungie itself has perpetuated and no doubt will continue to endorse, but I sincerely hope Halo 3 ODST sells enough to send an encouraging message: risks, even if it's especially calculated and low risk, are a good thing. Is developing a new Halo game a risk? No, of course not, but letting Bungie craft a new Halo game sans its iconic character in a gameplay style that looks like it plays exactly like the pervious Halo installments but is, in fact, subtly very different in narrative and substance, is an important takeaway for Bungie, Microsoft and the industry. Branding it Halo guarantees sales numbers, thus providing an opportunity for significant innovation.

If Halo 3 ODST's numbers are big, it's because of the Halo brand -- but what Bungie did with that opportunity is key. Rather than spitting out a series of deleted scenes with Master Chief, Bungie produced a noir-inspired detective tale with a gameplay style both iterating on past experiences and simultaneously trying something completely different. Best of all, Bungie produced this extension in roughly a year, an unheard of development sprint for a major release these days. But it happened because of realistic expectations and scope, which isn't the gaming norm. Halo 3 ODST may not have been conceived as the game it became, but the lessons from the experience can be applied quite broadly.

There are very few instances these days where developers take advantage of the built-in audience from a successful game to challenge expectations. Bethesda Softworks played with that a little bit during the Operation Anchorage expansion for Fallout 3, which felt like Fallout 3's take on Call of Duty. Again, that happened in an instance where Bethesda was working on a smaller development cycle and building upon the confidence that they could take a categorically safe risk because they can expect gamers to support them, based on Fallout 3.

Small, talented teams with modest expectations and realistic ambitions can do great things. Halo 3 ODST is proof. I'd love more of that, but even Bungie admitted to me at PAX that it's unlikely Bungie will always have a smaller team working on something. Once Halo 3 ODST was finished, that team was bundled into the massive workforce behind the upcoming Halo: Reach. That's disappointing.

Halo or not, we need more games like Halo 3 ODST. Agreed?

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Bungie Veterans Forming Downloadable Games Studio Moonshot Games

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 11:00:00 -0700

Halo developer Bungie Studios has talked about developing downloadable games over the years, but Halo 3 ODST's the closest it's come to creating something small. Perhaps that approach is why Bungie veterans Michel Bastien, Damian Isla and Rob Stokes (alongside Seattle artist Mike McCain) have formed Moonshot Games, a studio strictly focused on "high-quality downloadable games," according to the company.

"The details of Moonshot's first mission will remain top secret until the craft makes moonfall," reads a note on Moonshot's website. "However, all the necessary research, planning, and prototyping are already well underway. Stand by for mission updates."

At Bungie, Bastien was a producer on Halo PC, producer on Halo 2 and lead producer on Halo 3. Isla was the AI and gameplay engineering lead, which had him crafting the enemy AI Halo's so known for. Stokes was a designer and writer on Halo, Halo 2 before becoming design lead for Halo 3.

"The Moonshot team firmly believes that the stars need not be limited to multimillion-dollar projects supported by armies of ground crew," reads the company's announcement release. "There is a place in history for that small, nimble craft, built smartly on a modest budget, and piloted by expert hands."

Sounds very different from Bungie.

Sessler's Soapbox: Does ODST Have the Halo Effect?

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:51:00 -0700

I know you're all busy playing Firefight right now, but it's that time of week to sit down and take a minute to listen to the pearls of wisdom spit by The Sess. Adam sits down to discuss Halo 3: ODST and its strangely muted presence in this year's list of big game releases. Does ODST not need a bit marketing push because it's a part of the Halo franchise that always sells well? Or is there another reason? Find out what Sessler thinks, and tell us your thoughts in the comments section.

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Halo 3: ODST Review

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:10:00 -0700

The G4 offices have been a buzz the past few days with anticipation...anticipation for the release of Halo 3: ODST. To pay homage to this awesome title, we put our best Halo man, Mr Sark, on the review. From his review:

"Is Halo 3: ODST an overpriced expansion or is it Bungie's “Call of Duty Killer,” as many gamers have presumed? It's neither. The excitement surrounding the release of ODST is characteristic of past Halo releases, but the confusion surrounding the package (and what exactly you're getting) is a franchise first. That’s partly due to the game’s evolution during development, and the variety of content in the box. One of the gents at Bungie mentioned to me that ODST was initially a much smaller affair. But as the game progressed, the campaign became more than just a bunch of shootouts in New Mombasa; it became a story that stood on its own. Once the confusion subsides and gamers sit down with a controller, they’ll see that ODST is indisputably one of the year’s finest shooters."

Click here to read the rest of Mr Sark's review, watch the X-Play video review and see the game's score.

Halo 3: ODST Soundtrack Review - Music for Repelling the Covenant

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:00:00 -0700

Much like the game's namesake soldiers, the soundtrack album for "Halo 3: ODST" performed a surprise, precision insertion onto my desk last week. Even though I had exactly zero hands-on time with ODST yet, all of about 0.7 seconds passed before I spun up the CD to hear what Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori had created for the game's audio ammunition. The big question I had was, since ODST is a different take on the Halo-verse, how would this translate into the music? We've even got samples prepared to drop, in this spoiler free review.

There's no spoiler warning needed here because I am not going to list any track names that might give any of the story away, though I will say that there doesn't seem to be much that can be gleaned from them anyway. Since you aren't playing as Master Chief this time, it goes without saying that Halo 3: ODST will be a different yet familiar game play experience, so it should come as no surprise that ODST's music is different yet familiar. Don't worry though, O'Donnell and Salvatori have not gone and created an Auto-Tuned Halo Choir monstrosity. This is most definitely Halo music, just in a different mode.

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To hear more clips and see the rest of my Halo 3: ODST soundtrack review, click the cut below.

There are appropriately percussive, militaristic themes and there are more moody, "film noir" inspired pieces. This is best demonstrated by the inclusion of a lone saxophone in places, which is unique to the overall Halo-sound and I am interested to see how it fits in the game itself. I'm fairly certain I hear extensions of ideas of Halo 3's piano themes within it as well.

The most familiar sonic elements you will hear are in the drums. There is something about O'Donnell's use of percussive tones in his Halo compositions that instantly tells you upon first listen, "This is music from Halo". During a couple of the pieces, the composers get their rock on, with some killer bass lines (listen to track 5 on disc 1 while wearing headphones to appreciate the full effect) and short, but very appropriate deployments of electric guitar.

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As I've stated in previous reviews, what I am most impressed by is when video game music is listenable on its own, away from the game for which it was composed. While some of the more atmospheric and alien themed pieces sound as if they would be better kept tied to the game's visuals, the overwhelming majority of ODST's music is an immensely original and enjoyable listening experience, even after you have set down your controller and shut off your 360.

With the release of Halo 3: ODST, the team at Sumthing Else Music continues their masterful streak of releasing the high quality soundtrack albums which video game music connoisseurs crave. In similar fashion to earlier Halo music releases, the album is set up in suites of musical themes. In all, there are 68 unique pieces of music across the expansive two CD set, creating an ODST symphony if you will. At this point, there has been so much music composed for the five published Halo games that it would not be hard to create a live Halo Symphony performance (hint hint Mr. O'Donnell!). The physical disc is available for pre-order now at Amazon. If you prefer your music in pure digital form, Sumthing Else has made the album available for download from SumthingDigital.com.

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So who is this album for? If you are a Halotaku, you have already pre-ordered it. Same goes for hardcore game music fans. If you are new to Halo or listening to game music in general, this album is a perfect entry point into this particular music space. A special thank you to Greg O'Connor-Read and Sumthing Else Music for hooking G4TV.com up with these four pieces of music from the Halo 3: ODST soundtrack for your enjoyment.

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Halo 3: ODST Vidoc Terra Ingonita Explores New Mombasa

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:41:00 -0700

Continuing the media train towards the next week's launch, Bungie developers preview the details of how the player will explore the moody city of New Mombasa in Halo 3: ODST.

No Master Chief buffs? No problem, hand me the Halo 1 pistol and I'll make due.

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PAX 2009 Panel Video: Bungie's Halo 3: ODST "Prepare to Drop"

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:39:00 -0700

If you're a huge Halo fan but couldn't make it up, over, or down to Seattle last weekend for PAX, do not fret: the good people at Penny Arcade teamed up with the good people at Bungie and allowed us to sneak in our camera crew to record their "Prepare to Drop" panel in its entirety. This was an entertaining discussion of Halo 3: ODST from beginning to end, including bits about the voice actors (a sizeable chunk of the Firefly cast), concept art, when they're willing to talk about Halo: Reach (not anytime soon), and a rousing debate over the merits of the Battle Rifle. Presented for your viewing pleasure:

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What Did Bungie Think Of District 9?

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:23:00 -0700

There might be a Halo movie eventually, but what was supposed to be the Halo movie helmed by Peter Jackson protégé Neill Blomkamp became District 9. While interviewing Bungie community manager Brian Jarrard at Penny Arcade Expo last weekend, Jarrard admitted that while he hadn't personally seen District 9 yet, much of the Bungie staff had.

"I know a lot of the guys [at Bungie] obviously have seen it. I'm in the minority," he said. "Pretty much universally at Bungie people love it. We're really just happy with how it turned out. We've always thought Neill Blomkamp had a lot of talent and it's just awesome that he got this chance. In a lot of ways, I mean, like Joe was saying yesterday, it's kind of cool that it isn't the Halo movie, that he [Blomkamp] got a chance to -- this is Joe's [Staten, creative director] line -- kind of give sci-fi a kick in the nuts and do something totally different."

If the Halo movie had been made, it's likely District 9 wouldn't exist. It's not often science fiction is delivered something that isn't based on an existing franchise. Plus, as Jarrard points out, maybe District 9 was what Blomkamp was destined to make all along.

"Maybe he couldn't have done that with Halo with all the cooks in the kitchen and all the creative sort of shackles that would've gone with that," he said. "Not to say there won't be a movie someday -- who knows? I would like to see one, but I think this actually worked out for the best."

Would you have traded District 9 for a Blomkamp-helmed Halo movie?

G4tv.com's Feedback -- Week of September 7th, 2009

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:07:00 -0700

I've never been so close to a pandemic before than this week at the G4 offices. See, some guy or gal thought it would be a great idea to come to PAX sick as a dog, roll around in some of the bean bag chairs strewn about in the convention center, wipe their nose with a Wii controller jacket and call it a day. Though a few of us (which I have dubbed "The Chosen") have managed to escape with no symptoms of "H1Nerd1," many on the X-Play and G4tv.com staff are down for the count. It's like The friggin' Stand here.

Billy and Morgan are among the casualties, but that didn't stop them from trying to infect Matt Keil and myself during this week's episode of Feedback, wherein between hacking and wheezing, we discussed the following:

Final Fantasy XIII had its Premiere Party this week in Japan, and once again they failed to provide the real public with the new trailer. So we just yakked about the eventual U.S. release and our current feelings toward the franchise.
Patrick interviewed Bungie's Brian Jarrard, who gave a little bit of insight at what the Bungie teams have been working on this year, outside of Halo 3: ODST. That includes Halo: Reach, and something that they're not quite ready to talk about yet.
Ten years ago this week, Sega released the Dreamcast -- which many now consider to be one of the industry's great final stands. Matt and Morgan spent quite a bit of time with Crazy Taxi and Seaman, while I call for the re-release of Chu Chu Rocket.
A reader asks why developers are so keen on including multiplayer modes when it's debateable if the game needs it in the first place. Our response? "Wait and see for BioShock 2."
Muramasa: The Demon Blade is our Game of the Week, and while it looks gorgeous and the combat system is fast and fluid, it still left the panel a little empty. Read Matt's review for some background.
Then Morgan and I develop G4's new mono-syllabic, grunt-based reviewing system. "Meh?" out of "Whee!!!"

M-O-O-N, that spells "Feedback."

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Halo 3: ODST Launch Center Is Live!

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:30:00 -0700

Our Halo 3: ODST Launch Center is now live and you can find 18 awesome videos to watch as you count the days until the game is released on September 22nd!

You'll be able to watch (and re-watch) segments from the X-Play special, an extended discussion of the game's singleplayer campaign between myself and Mr Sark, an extended interview with Bungie senior designer Lars Bakken on Firefight, and tons of direct-feed gameplay footage.

Head on over to G4tv.com/ODST ASAP!

Halo: Reach Will Probably Be Bungie's Biggest Game Yet

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:31:00 -0700

We don't know much about Halo: Reach yet. Microsoft and Bungie showed off a teaser for the possibly final collaboration between the two companies at E3, which chronicles the fall of the planet Reach, a major part of Halo lore. At the Penny Arcade Expo, I had a chance to ask Bungie community manager Brian Jarrard about Halo: Reach.

"Reach is going to be a tough project for us to wrap just because the scope is really big -- it's up there," said Jarrard. "It'll probably be our biggest game ever just in terms of the amount of people working on it and the expectations for it. I mean, it's a big deal for us."

To be honest, I thought it was a small, focused spin-off, ala Halo 3: ODST. It's not. Halo: Reach sounds much bigger than I'd ever imagined, the way Jarrard puts it.

"I know just for at least the next year our hardcore focus is going to be on getting Reach done and awesome and hopefully getting people excited about it," he said.

Halo: Reach will also represent Bungie's next major step forward in engine technology. Whereas Halo 3: ODST was mostly built on Halo 3's base technology, Halo: Reach is a complete reinvention.

"Reach will be a full three-year cycle -- it's got all-new tech, akin to the change from Halo 2 to Halo 3," he said.

Am I the only one who didn't realize how ambitious Halo: Reach actually was? Based on the few new tidbits here from Jarrard, I'm already more excited about what the studio has planned for its possibly final Halo adventure. For more on Halo 3: ODST, what might come after Halo: Reach and plenty more on Halo in general, check out my full interview with Jarrard.

X-Play Fall Specials: Halo 3: ODST Tonight at 6:30 PM!

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:36:00 -0700

There's this little game coming out. I don't know if you guys have heard of it or not, but it's called Halo 3: ODST.

Of course you've heard of it! I was just being silly.

As your best friend and confidant, X-Play is here to cover all the games you care about. This fall, we're taking you to the biggest gaming events and giving you an exclusive, inside look at the most highly anticipated titles hitting store shelves.

We've already taken you to BlizzCon and PAX. Tonight, we're taking you deep inside the world of Halo 3: ODST. Experience the next chapter in the epic series as we present exclusive footage of the campaign and firefight modes, interviews with the Bungie brain trust and more.

So, don't be a square like Mister Chief, be an intergalactic space marine hero like Master Chief and tune in tomorrow as X-Play presents Halo 3: ODST at 6:30 PM ET only here on G4.

P.S. Don't forget to tune in to all the X-Play fall specials including Brutal Legend on October 1st and our coverage of the Tokyo Game Show 2009 October 5th, 6th, and 7th!

Halo 3: ODST PAX 2009 Brian Jarrard Interview

Wed, 9 Sep 2009 15:45:00 -0700

There was always a line to play Halo 3: ODST at the Penny Arcade Expo this year. But I wasn't there to play the latest adventure (and the first one not starring Master Chief) in the Halo universe. Rather, I wanted to speak with Bungie's community manager, Brian Jarrard, about the impending release of ODST, Bungie's presence at PAX 2009, understand the scope and importance of Halo: Reach (much bigger than I thought!), briefly touch on how Halo 4 relates to Halo 3: ODST and discuss reactions Bungie's reactions to the not-quite-a-Halo-movie, District 9.

Here's a little about what Jarrard had to say, looking back at Halo 3: ODST:

"Yeah, it's a first for us, I think we're super happy with the results, it exceeded our internal expectations. We've been pretty candid about having really small initial expectations for the project; we really wanted to be very careful coming out of the gate. We kind of tried to underpromise and we weren't sure where it was going to land, that's why you heard a lot of talk about expansion packs, 3-to-5 hours. Really, that was the initial thought about this game -- it's an expansion. Joe [Staten, creative director] and Paul [Bertone, design director] and the guys' [work] just kinda kept snowballing and the city itself kept growing and growing in size and all these flashback missions started to fall into place and now we're left with something that's pretty much a stand-on-its-own full, robust campaign, not even counting the whole second disc that we've thrown in the box, as well. I think it's a pretty compelling package for our fans."

For much, much more, read my full interview with Jarrard over here.

PAX 2009: Bungie's "Prepare to Drop" Panel

Sat, 5 Sep 2009 19:10:00 -0700

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the “Prepare to Drop” panel at Penny Arcade Expo. Becuase we're only a few weeks away from the release of Halo 3: ODST, I wasn't really expecting much in terms of huge news or big reveals, just a generally informative and entertaining show put on by the Bungie guys. And that's what we got.

The last time I really saw ODST was back at E3, and though it was generally accepted throughout the office that it was going to be a predictably good game, the excitement level was kept relatively contained. One of the big things they were pushing at the panel, and the notable aspect of ODST that I'm really looking forward to, is the film noir, heavily story-driven approach to this Master Chief-less Halo. Bungie's Joseph Staten, in talking about the approach they're taking with the story, joked that they were going to tell the artists to just make Halo 3 backwards and at night in an effort to save money. During the panel they cycled through various pieces of concept art, which really illuminated how they were thinking about ODST from the start -- incorporating the types of characters and story elements you'd find in in a noir mystery, and the "lone gumshoe detective" archetype was perfect for the ODST trooper we're going to be playing as in a few weeks. Marty O'Donnell, long-serving series composer, also played a couple of clips that were also very heavily noir-inspired, while still retaining the feeling of Halo.

The location of New Mombasa was selected because Bungie felt that there were still stories to tell in that city -- highlighted by the fact that they enlisted the help of Fourth Wall Studios (the ARG company behind Halo 2's ilovebees pre-release campaign). Fourth Wall in conjunction with Bungie wrote an entirely separate story within ODST that's referred to as "Sadie's Story," which we're told will give a glimpse into the civilian life of New Mombasa before the ODSTs arrived...and that would eventually tie into the main plot. O'Donnell called it "like producing a radio play," which seems like something very different from the mainline Halo games.

They also showed off concept art of the new Covenant enemy type: the Engineer, who made an appearance in Halo Wars. The Engineer serves as a buff provider for Covenant troops on the ground, so it's priority number one to take them out.

During the Q&A session that followed the main presentation, there was some amusing lines drawn in the sand between the people who support the Halo 3 battle rifle and those who aren't such big fans. Someone did the requisite inquiry about the status of Halo: Reach, but as is tradition, developers rarely speak about their next project while on the promotional tour for their current one. Though when asked about new projects not related at all to Halo, they did remind us that there are multiple teams working at Bungie and there will be new IP that's not Halo -- but they're nowhere close to being able to talk about that.

The last interesting tidbit from the Q&A came when someone asked about DLC plans for Firefight mode. They answered with the "wink, nudge" that there are no "current" plans for DLC, but that's something that could very well change.

We'll be posting the video of the entire panel at some point next week, so you'll be able to watch the whole thing for yourself.