Fly -- don't run -- to your Xbox 360 and cram that Halo 3: ODST disc into the drive, because it's time to play some Halo: Reach. Bungie has just informed us that the beta, which runs until May 19, is now live. Have you watched Aisha Tyler's informative introduction yet? You don't want to waste time fiddling with the controls on your first day.
Let us know how the download process goes and what you think of the game once you're set -- assuming it all goes smoothly. You're not preparing another outrageous letter, are you?
Some quick words of warning from Bungie: "The download process may be subject to extended wait times. Server load is expected to be extremely high, especially during the first few hours and days of Beta availability. Please bear with us and stay tuned to Bungie.net for news and information."
Aisha Tyler provided us with countless chuckles and guffaws during her stint as the host of Talk Soup -- now she's providing us with sage-like advice on how to succeed in the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta, which Bungie says will drop "late morning PDT." Check out the video above to watch Tyler give a rundown of the series' new maps, game types and weapons. She'll even demonstrate the proper way to handle said weapons using comically oversized props.
Heads up: Throughout the course of the video, Tyler uses about 22 variations of the phrase "kick your ass," so you should file this one under "NSFW."
#clips
Today's episode of Celebrity Video Game Awkwardness stars Aisha Tyler, who does not, under any circumstances, want to hear you crying after she "smokes your ass". More »
Well, we knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, right? First things first: Yes, Halo: Reach is apparently running at a full 720p according to Digital Foundry's review of the beta thus far (so many Ps!). And, like Halo 3 before it, the Reach beta achieves a near constant 30 frames-per-second of highly frenetic gameplay, albeit dropping a few every now and then during, um ... explosive situations (let us once again remind you that the game is still in beta).
In fact, aside from the occasional screen tear and a bit of a "ghosting" issue ("frame bending" -- two or more images being blurred together -- can sometimes result in objects on screen not appearing solid, as seen in this image), DF is quite impressed with the beta's visual presentation, not to mention the gameplay. The three pages on the beta go into far more detail than we've dropped into this post, and, well, we've got a lot more Reach to play, so we'd encourage you to read more right here.
Filed under: Podcasts
The Joystiq staff, among many other lucky gamers, was fortunate enough to get early access to the Halo: Reach beta this week. Rather than waste all this fun on ourselves, we've decided to check in with you, our loyal listeners. Grab this special Xbox 360 Fancast episode to see what we think of the Halo: Reach beta so far. Will it suck away your soul, or will you stick with Bad Company 2? Give it a listen and here what we've got to say.
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3).
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[RSS MP3] Add the Xbox 360 Fanboy Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.
Hosts: Richard Mitchell (SenseiRAM, @senseiram), Alexander Sliwinski (Sli Xander, @xandersliwinski), Xav de Matos (Snypz, @xav) and Dave Hinkle (KnifefightYaDad, @davehinkle)
Music: Intro/Outro: "Electromooq" by Uma Floresta. Break: "Subliminal Message" by Happy Birthday.
#halo
Microsoft sent Halo: Reach beta codes to the last dozen still playing Halo 2 more than two weeks after multiplayer support was shut off for the original Xbox. Maybe it's a hint to finally disconnect and play something else? More »
#clips
Team Kotaku is taking part in the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta as of today, so we thought we'd capture a little footage to show you how we're doing and just how much Crecente loves to use that jet pack. More »
#haloreach
I spent a bit of time playing around on Halo Reach last night. I love the jetpack, though cloaking, running and invulnerability are pretty cool too. More »
#art
Halo Reach, like Halo 3 before it, has an in-game screenshot tool. Play the game. Watch an interactive playback of what you did. Move the cameras. Snap your shots. In just one day, gamers have taken some amazing pictures. More »
#clips
The Halo Reach Beta is upon us, at least the 3,733 of us I saw enjoying early access to the Xbox 360 beta/promotion/multiplayer-tease that gets wider release next week. I shot video of how it begins. Warning: kinda shaky. More »
The Halo Reach clippers, guaranteed to take you from Brute to Spartan[TM]
Paired to go along with the beginning of the early access "friends and family" beta for Halo: Reach came the above tool, some seemingly military-grade Oster hair clippers, bundled in a heavy duty Pelican case that probably cost more than the clippers themselves. Inscribed with the WelcomeToNobleTeam.com URL - haven't you seen the short yet? - and delivered at the oh-so-welcome hour of 7am, the package contained another treat: a copy of Halo 3: ODST.
Of course, that ODST disc won't gain you access to the beta until May 3rd, but luckily this morning's announcement of a partnership between Halo Reach developer Bungie and Activision - solidifying the dev's departure from Microsoft, Halo, and platform-exclusivity - will give you plenty to think about over the next four days. Check out the entire kit in the gallery below while we figure out the best way to give it to a reader.
Listen, we love atmosphere. Don't get us wrong, if someone was making a list of websites that liked moody, atmospheric advertising, Joystiq would be right there at the top. With a bullet. We watched that Gears of War "Mad World" ad and thought "Hmm, not enough atmosphere and pensive reflection."
That said, the two-minute-and-thirty second version of the live action Halo: Reach short "Birth of a Spartan" is just ... well, it's too much. For future reference: If by the halfway mark we're shouting at the screen, "Just hit Powder with the muscle juice already and let's get to shooting fools!" you know you've overdone it.
#bungie
Imagine my surprise when a FedEx man left a package from Bungie, marked to be delivered first thing this morning, the day their ten-year publishing agreement with Activision was unveiled. More »
#clips
Did you find the first Halo: Reach live action spot a little shorter than expected? Would you prefer two extra minutes worth of the making of a Spartan III soldier? Well, here you go. More »
#clips
In the ongoing tradition of beautifully filmed, high-class live action Halo commercials comes "Birth of a Spartan," Microsoft and Bungie's promotional short for the Halo: Reach beta. That's right. We're doing beta commercials now. More »
Alright folks -- it's time for another live-action Halo short, this one for the upcoming Reach beta. We told you about it yesterday, now a short version of the short is making its way through the pipes of the internet, winding up on YouTube in advance of a higher-quality version due later this evening.
We've embedded the clip -- "Birth of a Spartan" -- after the break. The not-so-short (i.e. full) version of the, er, short will hit Thursday morning, April 29. Consider your appetite for more officially whetted.
The Halo: Reach marketing machine is working overtime this week, as Halo Waypoint will release new content everyday until the Beta launches on May 3. If that isn't a big enough tease for you, the schedule of content the team at Waypoint sent to us still has a few "To be announced" placeholders. It's bad enough Halo fans need to wait, but waiting for the content provided to help diminish the wait for theBeta is just cruel, guys. Here's the Halo Waypoint schedule of content for the days leading to the Halo: Reach Beta.
In a recent Reach ViDoc, an Avatar award is briefly mentioned by designer Luke Smith as the only thing beta testers will start with when they begin their testing duties on May 3. Halo Waypoint will also see a title update sometime before the beta launches. While it's unconfirmed if the two are related, Team Waypoint recently tweeted more "details" would be released regarding an image of a "Halo: Reach Beta Tester" Avatar hoodie recently uncovered by NeoGAF; it's looking likely that this is the gear you could be getting for playing the Halo: Reach beta. The content schedule for Halo Waypoint can be found after the break.
#halo
What is it with live-action trailers these days? Ghost Recon: Future Soldier has one, Alan Wake has one, Assassin's Creed II had some, and now Halo: Reach, following in the footsteps of its predecessor Halo 3: ODST, has one too. More »
#clips
Today was video day for Bungie and the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta, which begins in a week. The studio dropped 13 minutes of raw footage showing several of the available modes. More »
The live-action marketing for Halo 3 was top notch, from the stellar Believe campaign to Neill Blomkamp's preview of what could have been in Landfall. So, we're understandably excited for Halo: Reach to get the same treatment in "Birth of a Spartan," a new live-action short directed by Noam Murro, the man behind the underrated 2008 romantic comedy Smart People. Yes, you're right, it sounds like a perfect fit.
Detailing the procedure that takes Carter 259 from zero to Spartan hero, the short will be available online, on US and UK TV, in movie theaters ... well, it's going to be hard not to see it. Let's just put it that way.
Look for a 60-second version to premiere April 27 in the US during V (at 10 p.m. EST) and on the UK's Sky Sports 2 at the full time whistle of the semi-final between Lyon and Bayern Munichand, which kicks off at 7:45 BST. It'll be on the trailer's official site that night and a two-minute-thirty-second version will appear on Xbox Live for Gold members the next day. Like we said: Hard to avoid.
Note: This footage is best viewed in high-definition. Click 'HD' to enable it.
In one week, Halo fanatics will finally get their hands on Halo: Reach when the multiplayer beta included with the purchase of Halo 3: ODST is activated. You've already read our impressions but now you get to see some of the action, as hours of Halo: Reach Pre-Beta footage was carefully edited down to show you the essentials.
From new armor customization options, control changes, comparisons to Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST and full gameplay matches in high-definition, we're hoping to answer as many of your questions as we can before you get your own quality time with Reach on May 3.
