The above survey has surfaced. People want to know what is the next step in the Halo franchise and we all know it is not going to just fade away. Halo Wars is coming. When, no one knows. After that, what next? Some people want a prequel game. Some people want Marathon to be redone. What we want is fairly inconsequential because we are going to get whatever Bungie wants to give us. Some of the ideas above me sound horrible. Warthog Racer? That was an epic fail for Star Wars. I’d rather stick a plasma grenade up my ass than play a family Halo game. I’d rather stick a plasma grenade up my ass for no reason actually.
I am a huge fan of the Halo novels and have read and own every one. The next book, titled “The Cole Protocol“, will take place after Contact Harvest. For those of you who do not know, The Cole Protocol is a rule for every soldier and pilot in the UNSC. The protocol states that the Covenant can never know the location of Earth at any cost. You are forbidden to execute any slipspace jumps while they are present that could lead to the home world of the human race. You must jump from place to place so that you are never followed. If this means your death, than that’s tough shit. Very excited for this. Will have a release date for you soon as we get it.
Bungie dropped by the recent MLG gaming event to debut the newest Halo 3 map, Cold Storage. It looks pretty damn cool and should make a nice addition to the game’s multiplayer once it finally gets released. Check out some camera footage of the map being played on the big screen.
The voice of Bungie, Frank O’Conner, is no more. Frankie is heading to Microsoft to continue working on the Halo franchise.
Can’t say I really blame him, here. Microsoft is going to want to keep Halo as close to the vest as possible and Frankie has been with the series from the beginning. I wonder if this is a trend we’re going to continue to see occur with more Bungie employees heading over to their former boss?
Still no word on what the next Halo game will be, who will be heading up development, and what we can expect. I’m hoping for either a very early prequel with the ODST Hell Jumpers as the main playable characters before the Spartan II program, or maybe later on in the battles when the Spartan III’s got into the mix. Yes people, there are more Spartans. Read the books.
We just got word from Bungie about the double EXP weekend they are doing in lieu of the Mexican holiday no one understands but has no problem getting hammered for. Here is an excerpt from Bungie:
As of 26 minutes ago, the weekend double EXP playlist has gone live. This weekend’s theme? Well, Cinco De Mayo is coming up and so we here at Bungie’s dark forboding towers thought “Hey, it’s time for a Fiesta!” And what better way to throw a fiesta than with the Fiesta gametype? Fiesta, for those of you not familiar with the throwback to Halo 2, is a game where you spawn with random weapons. Craziness and good times ensue. Enjoy!
As per earlier announcements, Cinco De Mayo requires both the Heroic and Legendary map packs for participation. Rather than the standard Monday morning time, this weekend’s playlist will be available until Tuesday.
Just in case you need a break from GTA IV, here is a nice way to do so.
Halo 3’s second map pack was released to much fanfare. Consisting of three maps and new Forge elements, the Legendary Map Pack has a little bit for everyone. I’ve personally never been a big fan of paying for maps, but I had to make an exception here. Bungie put together three really great maps that fans of the game will definitely want to play.
The first map that came up in the DLC Slayer playlist for me was Ghost Town. The map is a bombed out, battled hardened water treatment facility outside of Sierra 117, the area where you begin the campaign in Halo 3. The map is pretty big with a nice asymmetrical layout. There are a hell of a lot of places to hide in Ghost Town, so expect some campers. There’s also a few decent sniping points and some good perches that I found rather quickly with some well placed grenade jumps. You really want to be on the second floor or higher in Ghost Town. If you’re running around on the ground, you’re going to get killed rather quickly. The map has a Mongoose on one end, which I really don’t understand. The map is fairly cramped on the ground with all of the debris and bombed out parts of buildings, so there’s not too far to go. You can take the Mongoose up the stairs if you really want to, but other than for a few good laughs, it serves little purpose. There is one major flaw on the map: the rocket launcher is right next to the overshield. Whoever gets one will undoubtedly get the other, which puts everyone else at a serious disadvantage. Hopefully Bungie can address the weapon placement to balance the map a little better.
Something I know pleases both Max and Scuba, Team SWAT will be sticking around in the Halo 3 playlists even after this Double Exp weekend is over. Oh, you didn’t know? After so many people were begging for the game type, Bungie decided at the last minute to put Team SWAT out there again this weekend for Double Exp.
If you’re not sure what exactly Team SWAT is, I’ll break it down for you. Everyone has no shields and there is no radar in the game. Your health is set to 300% and you get a battle rifle. The game is all about headshots. It will take a few body shots to drop your opponent if you’re looking to go that route. The games are very faced paced and a ton of it. Team SWAT was a stable playlist back in Halo 2.
So back to the topic at hand. What’s Bungie’s take on all of this?
As for SWAT’s long term future, don’t worry, this isn’t the last you’ll be seeing of it. Halo matchmaking is about to go into its predicted renaissance period, with lots of new maps, gametypes and even more energy and variety than before.
So either it’s going to be a frequent visitor to the Double Exp weekends, or we’re going to see SWAT make it’s return to the regular playlists. I’m hoping for the latter.
Bungie finally gives us all the ins and outs of the third and final map from the upcoming Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack. The map, Blackout, is set on an Arctic Oil Rig/Research Facility. It’s a complete remake of Lockout from Halo 2. Here is all you will ever want to know about the map and all that goes with it. One thing to notice here is how Bungie really tried to detail the background environment. All I can say is, look to the sky when you finally get out there.
The first Halo 3 map pack, the Heroic Map Pack if you’re keeping score, will be free for everyone starting this coming Tuesday. Everyone has been anxiously awaiting these maps to become free.
With the Legendary Map Pack coming April 15th, Bungie is clearing the way for the new premium DLC to become available. The Heroic Map Pack will become a required item to get into matchmaking shortly after they’re free, so you’ll have to download this if you want to keep playing online.
The Legendary Map Pack might be the first set of maps that I’ll buy in a long time. Sidewinder was one of my favorite maps in the original Halo game, so I’m going to have to play it.
Bungie just released a ton of intimate details on their 2nd of 3 new maps for the latest DLC. The map pays homage to Sidewinder, which was from the first Halo game. This map has undergone some great changes and is huge to say the least. Look for it to be a new favorite in Big Team Battles.
The map pack will be available April 15th for 800 MS Points. Not a bad bargain to say the least, but I feel many people may wait the few months until its free. The first pack should be a free download when the new one drops next month.
We're like Spaceballs... we're making Loot Ninja everything. Coming soon we'll have hats, shirts, hoodies, possibly banana hammocks if one Editor has his way...
Check out the shirt prototypes here and the hats here
