Filed under: News, Halo 3

Holy moly macadamia nut! A bunch of Halo 3 leakage has hit the internet tonight, confirming a bunch of rumors that we've all been hearing over the past few months. On The Final Fight forums Dj243 posted a few very low quality scans of an upcoming issue of GamePro magazine which details some yet to be announced Halo 3 goodies including new maps, equipment items, weapons and vehicles. Are you excited yet? Huh, are you? Well, there's no use in torturing you as we've posted all the new info and (very low quality) magazine scans after the break. Hurry and click already, unannounced Halo 3 details await ...
[Via Halo Anyone?]
All the Halo 3 information and photos listed below come from an upcoming issue of GamePro magazine thanks to The Final Fight forums. So, let's get to it.
Vehicles:
Brute Chopper
The Brute Chopper is an evil looking machine that packs two cannons and its spinning blade will destroy anything in its path.

Wraith
Big and bulky, the Wraith looks to be quite similar to how it appeared in Halo 2, except it will feature a player operated second turret.

Weapons:
Energy Sword
The Energy Sword has undergone two significant changes to help with balancing issues. Bungie has added a weapon switching delay when equipping the Sword and it will also run on a battery. Effectively eliminating sword whoring.

Magnum
Our semi-likable friend the Magnum has undergone some changes. It now holds eight rounds to a clip, still doesn't include a scope, shoots slower, but each shot will bring on more damage. An upgrade to its Halo 2 counterpart.

Equipment:
Radar Jammer
When deployed, this equipment item send everyone's radar into a flurry and flashes disco lights to disorient and confuse your opponents. Sounds fun!

Multiplayer Maps:
Shrine
"A UNSC battle cruiser looms menacingly over Shrine's sprawling sand dunes. Shrine is the largest map ever to appear in a Halo game, so Bungie put a key emphasis on vehicle-on-vehicle combat. Shrine has few ties to older Halo 2 maps, but its massive size recalls Relic."


Epitaph
"Epitaph is an arcane Forerunner cathedral-like structure that towers above the surrounding wasteland. The central killing floor is crisscrossed with elevated walkways, exterior hallways, and lifts. It's a spiritual successor to Halo 2 maps like Colossus, Gemini, and Midship."



Mystery Map
"Bungie sneakily sent us two mysterious concept paintings labeled only as 'Work in Progress Map.' We see the icey motif and pray for a new Lockout, but only Bungie knows the truth."

Last Resort
"Zanzibar, one of Halo 2's most beloved maps, has been rebuilt and rechristened Last Resort for Halo 3. This industrial site is almost twice as big, with a less cluttered internal layout and more paths into the flag room."
Create a Spartan
Aha! The rumors were true! Halo 3 will include Spartan (and Elite?) customization that'll allow you to change the look of your armor. Just take a look at the pics below. That's how we'll be rolling in Halo 3.

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Filed under: News, Peripherals

Sure, you could probably find Wii component cables for less than a tenner, but we know there are a lot of you out there who refuse to chance your gaming setup with third-party accessories from Hong Kong. If you've been holding out for a bargain on Nintendo's official product, now is the time to sneak your mom/wife's credit card out of her purse!
Amazon has the first-party cables on sale for $15.00, half their regular cost. Tack on another item, and you might also be eligible for the online shop's Free Super Saver Shipping (orders over $25). Act now! This deal ends today!
[Via CAG]

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Filed under: News, Xbox Live Marketplace

You smell that? Yes sir, it's the smell of free content available on the Marketplace including a TV episode, a theme, and a few gamer pictures. First up, MTV was kind enough to offer the season two premiere of Rob and Big for free, so go give that a watch. Next is Ocean's 13 who is dishing out the goods with a lackluster theme and a set of gamer pictures, again all for free. So, navigate the Marketplace like a true sailor and find your free content, because it's your birth right! That is, only if you live in the United States.

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Posted May 17th 2007 11:15AM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: Halo 3, Fan stuff

 

Oh no! The Halo 3 beta has been out for a few days now (but not for all of us) and the hacker/modder/explorers among the community have been hard at work trying to break the game. Well, not really break the game, but exploiting the beta's weaknesses. As you can see in the video above, players have found ways to climb huge structures, get on top of the maps, do some crazy jumping, and overall reminds us of how exploited Halo 2 online is. Here's to hoping Bungie can find the balance between multiplayer map exploration and players using unfair map exploits.

Source: Out of map experiences in Halo 3 beta - Xbox 360 Fanboy

UPDATE: Halo 3 / Crackdown FIXED!

Posted by SketchFactor at 5/16/2007 5:22 AM PDT

UPDATE : 5/16/07  7:05 PM

Halo 3 Beta Downloads via Crackdown are fixed!

It's been a long day for a lot of people but we're happy to announce that effective immediately, a title update for Crackdown is available on Xbox Live that will fix the issue that previously prevented you from downloading the beta. The Microsoft team just deployed this fix and when you launch Crackdown you should receive a prompt to download the update.
Please note that it could take up to four hours for your console to receive this update based on various factors. However, the good news is that we're in the clear and Halo 3 gameplay is just over the horizon.
We realize this has been a pain for many and an inconvenience at the very least. Given the circumstances, we've decided to extend the duration of the Halo 3 Beta from June 6th to June 10th at 11:59 PM PDT.  So, you lost almost a full day of play today but to make up for it we're tacking on four more days (and a weekend at that).
We apologize for the delay and hardships this issue has caused and hope that it quickly becomes a distant memory clouded by good times playing Halo 3 with your friends.
Thank you all for your patience and understanding. We'll see you online!
Note : A rare bug has been discovered that sometimes results in improper text display in the game UI. Basically, you won't see any text at all. If you encounter this issue, you can fix it yourself by doing the following:

1. Restart your Xbox 360
2. Boot up the Halo 3 Beta
3. While the Halo 3 Beta is loading, immediately press up on the D-Pad and hold the A button until you see the Bungie logo. If you perform this correctly a dialog box will appear confirming maintenance has been done to your system.
4. Resume the Halo 3 Beta!

Source: Bungie.net : Inside Bungie : News

Filed under: News, Halo 3

More details have surfaced for those of you who are interested in that oh so limited edition Halo 3 Zune. According to new information on Xbox.com, the Halo 3 Zune will go on sale June 15th and be available exclusively from Gamestop stores. The Zune will also come preloaded with a plethora of content including the entire Halo soundtrack collection, over 120 Halo images, a bunch of Halo 3 videos, six episodes of Red vs Blue, and an exclusive Red vs Blue episode only available on the Zune. So, if you're already sold on a purchase, you may want to plop down a few bucks on a preorder. You know, that is if you're willing to choose the Zune over a trendy iPod purchase.

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Ubisoft recently announced that they're redoing Jordan Mechner's original Prince of Persia game and releasing it on Live Arcade with updated visuals and puzzles. I can't tell you how much I loved playing the Apple II and PC versions of this game when I was growing up. It was one of the first platformers that combined exploration, combat, and puzzle solving seamlessly, as well as having some great story hooks that actually affected gameplay in a significant manner. (I'm purposely not going into details here in case you decide to play the Live Arcade version later this summer, but you can look it up if you care. For what it's worth, a similar story hook was built into the story for the first Prince of Persia game on the Xbox - great stuff!)

Below are a couple of updated screen shots, with thanks to Team Xbox.

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Time is running out to be included in the Halo 3 multiplayer Beta (May 16th – June 6th). Get in on the action by purchasing a copy of Crackdown™ today. For a limited time, receive free 2-day shipping on Crackdown when purchased through GameStop.*
* Available through May 24th

Music and gaming come full circle with the new Halo 3 Zune. This special edition digital media player comes pre-loaded with music, artwork, trailers and videos encompassing the complete Halo trilogy. Fans will find plenty of familiar Halo content, as well as some never before released goodies. Plus, the device itself features custom Halo graphics and comes in special edition Halo 3 packaging. Only available at GameStop. Pre-order it now

As you may already know, that little game called Halo 3 will be available as a beta in 5 days now. Part of the gaming press should get to play it starting today, but it doesn't seem like we will have the chance to be selected, so we will have to live with this nice trailer!

 

Ubisoft releases a new video of Haze, their jungle FPS with a pinch of Starship Troopers for the military cynism. Unfortunately, it only showcases real life footage and CGI. We want gameplay, Ubi !

 

Sega also announced the released during Q1 2008 of Condemned 2: Bloodshot, on both Xbox 360 and PS3. No screenshots yet, but at least we get this character image of Ethan Thomas slightly less presentable than at the beginning of the previous game.

Now that you have had a few hours to play with the new dashboard update, some folks have asked some questions about the new Messenger integration. Let me see if I can help clear a couple of things up:
Q: I don’t want to automatically sign in to Live Messenger on my console…how do I turn it off?
A: Sign in to Xbox LIVE, go to the Xbox LIVE blade, then select your gamercard and press A. Go down to ‘Auto Sign-in’ and press A. You can set your preference for Xbox Live and Windows Live Messenger separately here.
Q: The email address assigned to my Xbox LIVE account is different to the email address I use on my PC for Windows LIVE messenger. Is there a way for me to still access my messenger account?
A: Not at this time. We are working on the ability to allow users to change the email address they originally used when signing up for Xbox Live. The feature will be available in an upcoming release.
Post any other questions you may have and I will try to track down answers. Also, I am in meetings all day, so I will only be able to check in a few times today to see how things are going.

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Crackdown Street Racing

Reset Gangs: In place of the current option to reset the city’s crime (unlocked by defeating all 21 bosses), the gangs can now be completely reset in the main campaign.

Easier Orb Hunting: Imagine how great it would be if when searching for the last remaining hidden agility orbs the audio range on each of them got wider as fewer remained; well imagine no longer. Audio ”ping” range is now gradually increased when searching for the last 50 percent of hidden orbs, and 20 percent of agility orbs.

Ground Strike: Available to a four star strength agent only, it is now possible to slam downwards while airborne by holding the attack button. The resulting strike is deadly to anything it hits, with an additional shockwave stunning nearby enemies.

Improved firing over low walls: Agents can now fire downwards at a greater angle while taking partial cover behind a low wall.

Targeting enhancements: Improved target lock prioritization of enemies behind vehicles as well as live enemies over corpses.

Those damn fire hydrants!: The fire hydrants were near indestructible but were also hard to spot. Now, though still best avoided, they can be smashed over for a far less unreasonable penalty.

Stunt Ring Visibility: Stunt Rings are now much easier to locate.

No “Lefty Flip” on vehicle control: Removal of the lefty flip on vehicle control so that left-handed players can aim with the left stick, but still steer with the right stick.

Persisting Charges & Mines: Limpet Charges (and the new Proximity Mines) will persist at all times within the game world and not just when within a certain range of the player.

Distant Explosions: No matter where the explosion(s), players will be able to see them provided they have a line of sight… it’s always a clear day in Pacific City!

Ramp Truck Issues: Some vehicles didn’t seem to get on well with the ramp truck, but we never intended this to be a SUV-only toy. Now none of them can get enough of it!

Camera Enhancements: Better camera for performing vehicle stunts or driving on near vertical surfaces (particularly with Top Level Agency SUV or new Peacekeeper Buggy). Also vertigo-inducing tweaks for those long leaps of faith.

Player to player precision shots: We’ve dropped the PvP lock-on but now another agent can be hit with a head or leg shot using normal targeting.

“Free-For-All Pack” Downloadable Content (Free) :

Keys to the City: The ultimate Cheat Mode! Enter this mirror of the main Campaign for a clean-slate game that can be fully exploited and customized for a single play session. (Note: Achievements and leaderboards will be disabled in this mode)

• Build a pile of 100 explosive drums at the top of the Agency Tower – then let it rip!
• Spawn a ramp truck anywhere, and it’ll stay there
• Create an agency vehicle or one of the new Peacekeeper vehicles any time, any place
• Players can set character skills however they want them, or just activate the accelerated skill leveling feature (“Crackdown” demo anyone?)
• Check out “Super Agent Agility” to jump ridiculous distances, swim faster than a torpedo and sprint faster than a speeding bullet (almost)
• Try the “Super Agent Strength” to toss a truck with deadly accuracy further than ever dreamt. Boot enemies into the stratosphere!
• Get the most out of the exciting selection of new weaponry by activating infinite ammo. Max out the selection at each supply point too!
• Do all of this without skipping a beat of the action – the pop-up cheat menu is always available during play without pausing the game

Vehicle Impounding: The Agency Garage has been given an overhaul; this was partly to accommodate the brand new Peacekeeper Vehicles, but also to allow Agents to impound their favorites so that they’re always available…in their preferred color.

• Impounding is simple: commandeer the vehicle and return it to the garage
• Vehicles that aren’t yet impounded are displayed as feint images, so players can see at a glance what’s missing from their collection
• The “Confiscator” achievement awaits those who simply had to catch ‘em all

Co-op Trophy sequences: A trophy emblazoned with my gamertag that is displayed for me and my opponent every time I win at the existing game types!? Yes please!

Psychotic Mission Trials

§ A record is now kept of Time Trials completed at “Psychotic” difficulty

§ Scoring the maximum 21/21 isn’t just the ultimate challenge that every true Agent of Justice should have the stones to take on, but it’s also the only way to unlock the highly coveted “Psych Out” Achievement

Name: Forza Motorsport 2 Demo
Price: Free
Availability: Available to Gold members in all Xbox Live regions.
Dash Details: Download the demo to Forza Motorsport 2, the sequel to Microsoft Game Studios' award-winning, fully-customizable driving simulator Forza Motorsport. Buckle up for authentic simulation physics, bone-jarring damage, and photo-realistic graphics, as well as licensed tuning and customization options.Loaded with over 300 of the world’s hottest cars for you to collect, personalize, and race, Forza Motorsport 2 gives you the complete racing experience.
Size: 691 MB (approx.)

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The arcade classic is back! Double Dragon is coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade tomorrow.

From the press release we just sent out:

“Double Dragon,” from Empire Interactive Ltd., is a genuine re-creation of the classic coin-op arcade game. For the first time ever, fans of the franchise can play “Double Dragon” online with a friend over Xbox LIVE. The game features enhanced art, a new soundtrack and a host of extras. “Double Dragon” will be available worldwide for 400 Microsoft^® Points and is rated E10+.

Game Features

· Two-player co-op multiplayer locally or over Xbox LIVE

· Special extras such as a look at the original Japanese and U.S. “Double Dragon” sales fliers

· Gameplay with either the original graphics or with new high-definition graphics

· All new music

· Hints and tips for newcomers

· Three leaderboards

· Customizable button configurations

· Ability to earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points

More information is available at http://www.xbox.com/games/livearcade.

Six more titles have been announced, coming later this year. From the same press release announcing Double Dragon:

· “Mad Tracks.” This 3-D racing party game from Load Inc. and D3Publisher recalls all the fun of playing with toy cars from childhood. Up to four players can race micro cars in a variety of gameplay modes in familiar settings such as a living room, a restaurant and a toy store.

· “Rush’n Attack.” Also known as “Green Beret,” from Konami Digital Entertainment Inc., this is a faithful next-generation update of this classic coin-op arcade title where the player assumes the role of a special forces agent sent behind enemy lines to infiltrate an enemy military complex and free captured prisoners of war.

· “Soltrio Solitaire.” From Silver Creek Entertainment, this is a collection of 18 different solitaire games, offering co-op and competitive two-player solitaire game modes.

· “Spyglass Board Games.” From Strange Flavour Ltd. and Freeverse, this offers classic versions of the world’s most beloved board games, including chess, checkers, mancala and reversi, as well as the ability to enjoy video chat with friends via the Xbox LIVE Vision camera.

· “Street Trace:NYC.” This is a hover board racing and arena battle game from Gaia Industries Inc. set against the urban wasteland of future New York City. Make your mark on the leaderboards in intense eight-player action over Xbox LIVE, or battle at home through split-screen or single-player tournaments.

· “Undertow.” This is a fast-paced action shooter from Chair Entertainment Group that thrusts players underwater as they battle for control of the oceans, and features a robust single player/co-op campaign and up to 16-player multiplayer action over Xbox LIVE.

Like all Xbox LIVE Arcade games, the above titles will have a free demo that will allow gamers to try out a game before deciding to buy. More details will be available closer to each title’s launch later this year.

Nope…this is not the spring update yet, but rather two videos that show you some of the features of the update that is coming this week.

Name: Xbox 360 Spring Update Video part 1
Price: Free
Availability: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Learn about Xbox 360's exciting new features from the people who made it happen.
Name: Xbox 360 Spring Update Video part 2
Price: Free
Availability: All Xbox Live regions
Dash Details: Learn about Xbox 360's exciting new features from the people who made it happen.

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 Filed under: Arcade, Culture, Retro, Adventure, Video, Casual

Joystiq

 

It's about time Luigi got some love. It's all been focused on his more media-prevalent brother lately. Find out about the dark secrets that led these two plumbers down separate paths in this E! True Hollywood Story expose.
This video is definitely a few minutes longer than the normal fare we serve up, so grab your morning coffee, put your phone on hold, and take a short break. Again, are you listening G4? This could turn into an entire series of vignettes on video game characters.

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