If you're looking for information about a hot new gun that will be shootable in the almost-here Halo: Reach, you might want to flip to one of the many other stories we've written about the game. If you want super esoteric insight into the high-functioning AI design of the series -- that is to say, the enemies' actual programmed intelligence, and not the game's fictional AI constructs -- we suggest checking out AI Game Dev's 42-point analysis on Bungie's tricks and innovations for making those pesky Elites so darn pesky.
Of course, these tips will really only benefit you if you happen to be a game designer or programmer, though we suppose you could hypothetically use the information to impress your friends while playing Reach next week. "Look at the way Bungie implemented those perceptual information objects," you might say to your awestruck cohorts. "Man, that really must have cut down on some memory fragmentation and recycling problems."
Halo: Reach isn't even out in stores, but IGN has already found a way to exploit part of the game for the sake of easy Achievements. In this video, its outlines a surefire method for farming up a good amount of the game's cheevos by tweaking the customized Firefight system to be really hard and then giving yourself invincibility. Which means "you can basically shoot around in circles, and get massive amounts of points." Seems like fun ... we guess?
If nothing else, this shows off just how customizable the multiplayer system in Reach actually is. Bungie has made it so that the priority is coming up with fun gametypes with your friends, not just tweaking for as many points towards Achievement as possible. Not that we don't appreciate sweet, sweet cheevos, but that's not the only reason we're Firefighting against the Covenant, right? Right?
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The fine folks at UK online retailer ShopTo.net give us our first in-depth look at the innards of incredibly large Halo: Reach Legendary Edition, nearly breaking it in the process. More »
If you're planning to pick up Halo: Reach next week, you may also be preparing for the inevitable question, "Would you like the strategy guide with that?" If so, you'd better be prepared to say "no" up to six times. BradyGames has revealed six different covers -- one for each of the Spartans in Noble Team -- for its $35 hardcover limited edition Halo: Reach strategy guide.
For those of you who were planning to purchase the guide, prepare to be surprised. The covers will be hidden behind the guide's dust jacket, so you won't know which Spartan you got until you unwrap the book. We've been thinking about it for a while, and we're really hoping we get Donnie. Er, Kat. We meant Kat.
Most Halo fans are intimately familiar with the work of Marty O'Donnell, longtime composer for the series, but you may not be aware of the level of work that goes into each and every sound in Halo: Reach. In a new video put together by SoundWorks Collection, O'Donnell and two of Reach's sound designers, C. Paul Johnson and Jay Weinland, discuss the effort behind the soundscape of the game (containing over 60,000 audio assets). Watch the video after the break to see just how deep the sound design is, even for something as simple as a grenade explosion.
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One man is taking the impending launch of Halo: Reach very, very seriously, building a high tech, Halo-themed hovel full of cheaply acquired home theater equipment and shelves stuffed with female repellent. This is the "UNSC Man Cave." More »
Here's the thing: we refuse to watch this video. Sorry, guys, but Halo: Reach is a little less than a week away and we want to go into it fresh. Still, not everyone has the same desire to remain pure, so for those of you chomping at the bit for more Reach stuff, head on past the break for a video walkthrough of "Tip of the Spear." If you need us, we'll have our fingers firmly planted in our ears, shouting "la-la-la-la-la-la-we-can't-hear-you!"
Soul-stirring music? Check! Gigantic battles and fancy special effects? Check check! That's right, folks -- it's another Halo: Reach live-action short. This time, the original "Deliver Hope" video is extended to over two minutes of apocalyptic action.
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Late last month we got our first look at the Halo: Reach Deliver Hope live action flick, packed with a minute or so of explosions and flying Spartans. Today we get a look at the extended mix. More »
Next week's release of Halo: Reach carries with it some dire consequences for one New York City Best Buy store -- the Times Square location will be taken over by thousands of rabid Halo fans, patiently waiting for their copy of Reach at 12:01am Tuesday on the dot. Additionally, the store's theater will feature a "surprise musical performance" and a chance to meet the creators of Reach.
Seattle will also be holding a major launch event. The Experience Music Project / Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame will host folks from both Bungie and 343 Industries, as well as a chance to compete in tournaments and win "coveted Halo prizes." Will you finally get that real-life plasma sword? We certainly hope not. That's dangerous!
As expected, US game retailers (from GameStop to Walmart) will be holding midnight launch events across the country, though we suggest you check with your local retail outlet before lining up next Monday night. A week's worth of Xbox Live-based activities -- named "Invasion Week" -- are also planned, which you can find detailed after the break.
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Halo: Reach is only a week away, and Microsoft is counting down the days with previews, themes, and other downloadable goodies, leading up to the Halo: Reach Invasion Week on Xbox Live. More »
Setting the price at $150, Bungie claims to give you the most complete Halo: Reach experience possible in the game's Legendary Edition, shipping next week. Adding to the sculpture and other various material goodies included in the package, Bungie recently revealed another piece of content: "two full hours of exclusive, behind-the-scenes campaign commentary covering unrevealed aspects of Halo: Reach's production." Creative director Marcus Lehto and crew commentate an entire campaign playthrough -- "judiciously edited to excise the downtime" -- and show off Reach "from concept to cutting room floor."
Additionally, Bungie pointed out in its weekly update that it won't be punishing folks for playing Reach early (legitimate copies, at least) -- but there will be a credit reset at launch. This means that those of you lucky enough to secure an early retail disc shouldn't get too attached to that sweet helmet or those shiny shoulder pads -- they'll disappear come September 14. Bungie also warns early players that the multiplayer is still in a "test" state, meaning various issues may pop up (matchmaking, credit acquisition, and the daily challenge are all said to be "running at less than optimal levels"). Even so, if you've gotten an early copy, you can enjoy the single-player campaign for the next week.
Bungie revealed an interesting tidbit about the creation of Noble, the protagonist Spartan squad engulfed in the conflict on the titular planet in Halo: Reach. There were initially more members of the team, though two were eventually cut in favor of the five in the final Noble team we know today (excluding Noble Six, the player character in Halo: Reach).
"Back in the early days, we talked a lot about The Magnificent Seven and The Seven Samurai," Luke Wilson, story and cinematics lead, said. "And yes, originally, there were seven Spartans. Here's a little bit of trivia for you guys: Rosetta and Tom, yes, were two of the Spartans we had to cut, unfortunately."
Wilson described Rosetta as being "sassy," while Tom was "a cowboy." If you need us, we'll be pouring one out for the first casualties in the Fall of Reach.
A feast of XBLA games may be headed to Xbox Live Marketplace soon, but that's not all there is. First up, there are a lot of festivities planned for the launch of Halo: Reach. Microsoft is dubbing September 14-20 "Invasion Week," and plenty of Halo goodies will be available "including new gear, exciting content, spectacular prizes and a chance to play with the creators of the game." Microsoft will also be offering opening up Xbox Live Gold features to Silver members from September 17-20. Finally, "all fans that jump online" can download a free "Invasion" theme. It's a bit unclear exactly what's meant by "jump online," whether it be players that play Halo: Reach or simply anyone that signs into Live. We've contacted Microsoft for clarification.
New Deals of the Week are headed down the pipeline as well, with Resident Evil 5 "avatar outfits and game add-ons" receiving as yet unspecified discounts next week. The week of September 13, several puzzle games will get the DoTW treatment. Bust-a-Move Live, Puzzle Chronicles and Tower Bloxx Deluxe are all being knocked from 800 MSP ($10) to 400 MSP ($5), while Gyromancer will drop from 1200 MSP ($15) to 800 MSP ($10).
If you still have money to spend after all that, some new Rock Band 3 Avatar items are now on Marketplace, as are two new Games on Demand, Bully: Scholarship Edition and Cabela's African Safari.
When developers release multiplayer videos from their upcoming games, they often feature god-like players who tear down fields of enemies without taking a single hit. The two GamesRadar demos for Halo: Reach posted below, however, feature all the intensity and stifled swears of a real multiplayer match.
.html Earlier this week, Stephen Totilo spent a day with Halo: Reach's singleplayer and brought back loads of impressions and details. But no video. That was for Gametrailers, which made the game's campaign the centerpiece of its latest episode. More »
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Reader Sean was strolling down the street in his native Toronto when he spotted this monolithic hulk, which is one of the more unique game advertisements we've ever seen. More »
SCENETwo pals catch the new Halo: Reach ad "Deliver Hope" on CBS, NBC, FOX, MTV, Spike TV, Comedy Central, SyFy, ESPN, F/X, TNT, TBS, Discovery Channel, G4 or another network. One is a gamer; the other clearly not ...
NOT(surprised) Wow! Was that an ad for a video game...? GAMER(confidently) Uh-huh. The new Halo. NOT The graphics look incredible! Man, these games really are starting to look real. GAMER(angrily) That wasn't the game. It was a live-action short by the guy who directed that Smart People movie -- and a buncha other like famous people who helped out. NOT Oh. That sounds expensive.
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Forget the civilian bickering, the standing around in the dark, Halo: Reach's game-setting live-action videos have suddenly gotten very real, very explodey. More »
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Our very own Stephen Totilo just spent half a day with the retail version of Halo: Reach in New York City. I spent some time with Bungie last week at GamesCom. We have answers, do you have questions? More »
If you were one of the ne'er-do-wells who thought downloading a leaked copy of Halo: Reach and then playing it online was a really, really great idea, you might have received a stern email from Microsoft like the one recently dug up by MaxConsole. The document informs these red-handed pirates that "your Xbox LIVE account privileges have been permanently suspended due to illegitimate prerelease title play."
Xbox Live Director of Policy and Executioner Stephen Toulouse commented on the bans on Twitter, explaining "as with all unauthorized play on Xbox LIVE, anyone playing any unauthorized title runs the risk of account permaban and console." In short, you do the crime, you pay the time. Wait, is "forever and ever" an actual measurement of time?
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Several readers of our Halo Reach preview yesterday were wondering about the voice of the lead character in Halo Reach. Some clarification: More »
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The Halo universe is famous for explosions and the colour purple. But pregnant British women? Never seen one of them in a Halo game before. More »
In Halo: Reach you're Noble Six, the new guy -- the sixth man in an elite team of Spartans. So what's it like playing Halo alongside five other AI-controlled super soldiers? The truth is you aren't always flanked by a full team of the illest killers humanity has ever engineered. That would just be unfair.
Instead, Reach often pairs you with just one of your new pals at a time. Such is the case in "Nightfall" and "Tip of the Spear," the fourth and fifth missions of the campaign, respectively, which showcase what executive producer Joe Tung calls the game's "breadth of experience." Realizing this phrase only vaguely suggests what might make Reach special, Tung offers a more precise comparison of the two missions: "They're different in tone."
Your objective in Reach, as in any Halo game, remains largely the same throughout: eliminate hostiles "by any means necessary" -- words barked in a trite line of dialogue during Tip of the Spear that rather neatly sum up what this game is all about. Of course, your means are never quite the same.
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Microsoft let me play a finished copy of Halo Reach on one of their Xbox 360s today. They even let me save my progress to my Gamertag.* I can talk about two missions, but I don't want to spoil things. More »
