The listing (above) comes from Thursday's Child's Play Charity Auction Dinner in Seattle. Bungie donated not only a crate full of games and studio swag, but also a visit to the studio's "top secret lair" and "access to the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta before it goes live to the public." Winning bidder, and up to seven friends, supply their own travel, Bungie provides the network and food and, of course, the game.

"Valid only between 4/8/2010 and 4/28/2010 - any day within that range is acceptable," says the listing.

April 29, 2010 is a Thursday. Perhaps it could begin then. Most likely, "Spring 2010" now means "May 2010."

You know the drill. I've emailed Bungie. They say anything, it goes here.

Update: A Microsoft spokesperson has replied:

We're excited that there is so much interest and enthusiasm for the "Halo: Reach" multiplayer beta coming this spring. We're not able to confirm any details about the exact timing or content of the beta at this time but we look forward to revealing more details in the future.

Reach MP Beta - Date Narrowed Down? [halo.bungie.org, thanks Kaelen H.]

Voting is now open for Spike's 2009 VGAs, with 28 categories awaiting your input to help determine this year's winners, though according to a Keighley tweet, Halo fans are already winners. The latest installment in the Halo saga, Halo: Reach, will be premiering during the show, giving fans their first look at the game since the rather vague E3 2009 teaser video.

The 2009 Spike VGAs will air live on December 12th at 8PM. I will once again completely forget about them, kicking myself about it the next day.

Those shots appear to have originated from Bungie's own forums, reposted at Bungie.org and finally at NeoGAF, offering a look at what may be Reach's arsenal, locations and maybe even a few unannounced features. It's unclear whether these shots are from the multiplayer beta promised to those who pre-ordered Halo 3: ODST, but since one shot shows a menu screen offering access to a Solo Game and Activities, we're wagering it's a portion of the campaign.

They're certainly not what we'd call quality shots—it's doubtful that Bungie or Microsoft would be pleased about the leak, given their quality—but at least it gives the hardcore Halo fans a taste of what to expect when Halo: Reach ships next year.

Update: Originally, this story credited another source for the images. They can now be viewed sans scribbling at the link below.

Halo Reach Off Screen Images [MLG Forums - thanks, Sl0th and lloyd!]

The two names that stuck out in the thanks list were Bungie and Infinity Ward.

Bungie stuck out because corporate structure has made it such that the company has traditionally only developed for the Xbox 360. Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward makes multi-platform games, so it wasn't such a big deal to see them — more like, oh hey, Infinity Ward!

Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann explains the end credit list in a live chat with fans: "We try to be quite open with our technology and our process. We exchanged technology and ideas with other developers. We wanted to make sure we thanked everyone that helped us out in some way."

Naughty Dog? More like Really Generous And Good Dog.

Naughty Dog explains why they thanked Bungie and Infinity Ward. [Giant Bomb] [Pic]

Fortunately, thanks to the folks at Bungie, we're all that much more knowledgeable about the DIY Power Wheels modder set. All it took was one M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle—better known as the Warthog—fashioned from the guts of a Power Wheels miniature truck—a "very used 2001 G3740 Street Scene Silverado," according to its creator.

That creator, flux83, has done a capable job of turning that Silverado into a teeny-tiny Warthog that looks to seat a maximum of two wee Spartans. You can see it in action in the YouTube clip below or hit up the Modified Power Wheels forums for the blow-by-blow building process and even more embedded YouTube clips.

Hey, it's no WETA Warthog, but it's cool enough for the kids.

Halo Warthog a.k.a. Chupa Thingy [Modified Power Wheels forum via Bungie]

The Halo franchise has sold more than 25 million copies combined so far, with Halo 3: ODST, the recently released standalone game, making up a good 10% of that in just 2 weeks on store shelves. Along with next year's prequel Halo: Reach, Bungie and Microsoft have a whole lot of Halo going on. There's a new comic book series, Blood Line, kicking off in December, the Halo Legends anime, the Halo: Evolution anthology novel, and the trilogy from acclaimed science fiction author Greg Bear, due out next year. And you know Todd McFarlane isn't going to stop milking the franchise anytime soon.

But with all of this Halo merchandising, there's still something missing. Where's Master Chief? Microsoft's Frank O'Connor says that everyone's favorite Spartan can't possibly be gone for long.

As for Master Chief, odds are he will be seen again. "I think that (his) fate, Cortana's fate and the identity of that giant, dark planet at the ending (on the game's hardest skill level) - that's a spoiler - are probably big mysteries that would be irritating if they were just cliffhangers," O'Connor says. "We do have a plan that goes out at least six years," he says. "Eventually, it will become very apparent that there is a plan for the way the canon all ties together and the way the comic books and the novels all tie together."

See? They have a plan, and once it comes to fruition, the world will tremble at their feet...or at least be really happy to see MC and Cortana again.

Video game 'Halo' spins off books, action figures and more [USA Today]

Moonshot Games is keen on taking years of experience working on AAA console titles and applying it to the downloadable games market in order to create something out of this world. Managing director Michel Bastien was the production lead for Halo 2 and 3. Director of technology Damián Isla was Bungie's AI and gameplay engineering lead. Creative director Rob Stokes was a writer, mission designer, and design lead for the Halo franchise. Together they hope to prove that the little guys can be great as well.

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

A team with this sort of pedigree is definitely worth keeping an eye on. Check out Moonshot Games' official website to see how good they are at stretching a metaphor.

This behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the Halo 3: ODST spot offers more than just a peek at how Brute's are made into living, breathing, tiny motor-driven things. There's also a brief live action sequence from the spot left on the cutting room floor, one that Halo fans will probably want to watch frame by frame.

As of the time this post was written, ODST's 24 hour figure for total players was 949,306; the 24-hour total for games played was 5,708,031. Divided out, that's six games per player, on a school night/in the middle of a workweek. And you know there were some out there blowing the curve and staying up all night with this.

For comparison's sake, Halo 3 saw 1,340,550 games yesterday, so, ODST more than quadrupled that. Some have tried to hazard quick guesses on ODST's first day sales; we'll wait for NPD. But if this is any indication, yeah, it's probably gonna do land office business.

Halo 3: ODST Logs Over 900,000 Players in One Day [Joystiq]

It's a new Halo game, and to celebrate, there's a new Halo theme, featuring the sights of O.D.S.T.'s New Mombasa. It's yours free of charge, as long as you are a paying Xbox Live Gold subscriber. Behold the official description:

ODSTs aren't the only ones getting their hands on upgraded gear to prepare for the upcoming Firefight. Available only for a limited time and free of charge for Xbox LIVE Gold Subscribers, this expertly crafted Halo 3: ODST Premium Theme will get your Xbox 360 ready for a combat drop into the city of New Mombasa.

The free O.D.S.T. theme is now available for download, either on your 360 itself, or the lazy way.

That's not news to hardcore fans (it's all over the Halo wikis), but O'Donnell's past as an adman deliver some neat details in this writeup of Bungie's oldest (by age; he is 54) employee. He's worked on the series since Bungie began work on it 10 years ago. And Halo 3: ODST bestowed an achievement in his honor; "Be Like Marty" awards 10 Gamerscore to anyone completing a Firefight round without killing a single enemy.

O'Donnell vows revenge for that.

Most of the young punks here have this unfounded belief that, because of my age, I'm not good at 'Halo.' This of course is not true. ... The truth is, Marty has never actually "been like Marty." At some point in the future, when they least expect it, I will pay them back for this.

I'd take that threat seriously, coming from the man who wrote the marching song for a generation of kids 10 million strong - and grooooowing.

'Halo' Wouldn't be the Same without Evocative Music of Marty O'Donnell [Seattle Post-Intelligencer, thanks Ted]

Master Chief is such an iconic gaming figure that it almost seems wrong to have an FPS with the Halo name on it without him. It's like a Mario game without Mario in it, or a Team Ninja game without breasts. Yet here we are, with a brand-new single-player adventure in the Halo universe with no sign of the big man.

O.D.S.T. began as a little bit of downloadable content that got too big for its own classification, making the leap to full-fledged game. The question is, is it worth its own game, and if so, how are they pulling it off without old MC?

Games Radar
Are you hoping for more Halo 3? Are you looking forward to another adventure in that game's grandly exaggerated yet comfortingly familiar universe? Are you excited to wield the same crazy weapons and vehicles in brand new battles, to encounter the same smart enemies in unexpected new situations and to witness the same epic war from an entirely new perspective? Are more missions and more multiplayer enough? If so, then ODST is the answer. You will definitely not be disappointed. But what if you got carried away by the hype? What if that amazing live-action trailer, or that significant September release date, have you convinced that ODST is the next major milestone in the Halo phenomenon? What if the talk about detective characters, film noir settings and gritty close-quarters combat have you anticipating a bold departure from the Bungie formula? Then yeah, you might be in for a bit of a letdown.

Eurogamer
Halo 3: ODST does present a compelling alternative to the Master Chief, but the smartest thing about the game is that Bungie faces down this intimidating challenge by realising it cannot do so through one man alone. Although you control the Rookie, a seemingly fresh-faced but faceless new tip of the spear in the battle against the Covenant, the developer prefers to tell the story of New Mombasa through a series of playable vignettes, each of which showcases individual acts of very human heroism on the part of a scattered group of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers.

ActionTrip
Halo 3: ODST retains the familiar Halo AI, which we still hold in high regard. Stronger enemies react according to your behaviour and will never rush until they are certain they have the upper hand. Grunts and weaker enemies such as the Jackals lose their nerve in battle if you take out nearby Brutes or other Covenant Chieftains. However, with help of the new VISR (standard addition for all ODSTs) enemy threats are easier to make out. When switched on the VISR allows you to see areas of interest and tell friend from foe. It sounds like it makes things too easy, but thanks to the well-balanced AI the game remains challenging throughout the entire campaign. Also, you'll enjoy the freedom that was given to the main character. Yep, the game is not as linear as Halo 3 or other titles in the series. Now, you can choose where you can go and which opponents to tackle.

VideoGamer
Length aside, the campaign is not without other problems. The story is a largely un-engaging affair. The mysteriously silent Rookie is hard to love, and certainly lacks the heroic appeal of Master Chief. His squad mates are classic cliché-ridden space marines, with personalities that aren't explored to any great detail. The plot makes more sense than previous Halo titles, but is still hugely silly. The ending is barmy, and seems as if it should have had a massive bearing on the Halo universe as a whole, but clearly didn't because it's ramifications never came up in Halo 3.

Worth Playing
Aside from the single-player game (which can also be played through in co-op), Halo 3: ODST also features a co-op multiplayer mode called Firefight. Similar to the Horde Mode in Gears of War 2, Firefight pits four human players against wave after wave of Covenant forces. The waves are randomly generated, though things do get progressively more difficult as you progress due to the skull modifiers. Firefight is a true test of skill, as it doesn't have an ending. Your team simply fights until it is dead. The catch is that you have a shared pool of lives, so one weak link can bring down an entire team. While reviewing the game, we saw some Firefight matches exceed an hour in play time. There's no doubt that this is going to be a popular gameplay mode on Xbox Live.

Kotaku
If you want to judge ODST for its fun without worrying about its price and the contents of its case, then know that its campaign hits the peaks of Halo 3 less often due both to its relative brevity and its uneven, experimental hubworld. The campaign can mostly be a joy. Firefight with a group of players is a blast. The main hero may be a bore, but the fiction is at least as interesting as it was in prior Halo games. Bungie's done good this time. That's a victory, even if that's a departure from a series which has often seen Bungie do great.

So there is life beyond Master Chief?

Rooftop Gameplay [GameTrailers]

There'll be trivia, give-aways, blah blah blah. Wondering how long until retailers find out that most of these things aren't worth the wages it costs them to staff the store throughout the night.

That and the fact a lot of gamers are growing numb to the "novelty". I mean, if Madden and Quantum Solace can get midnight openings, it's a good sign the marketing team needs to think of something new.

Cowan's quick and dirty summary of the project might be accurate, but it downplays the sheer amount of work that Bungie has put into Halo 3: ODST. The idea of some quick and dirty single-player downloadable content blossomed into an undertaking worthy of a full retail release, with new weapons, advanced technology, and a new art direction that makes ODST a completely separate beast from the Halo 3 we know.

Well, Halo 3: ODST creative director Joseph Staten from Bungie and Halo franchise development director Frank O'Connor from 343 Industries will be there, rubbing elbows with the crowd. Bungie and 343 folks will also be hold panels that touch on the creation of ODST and upcoming projects like Halo Legends and Halo Waypoint. Look, if you want to gorge on Halo things you'd best plan for a trip to Seattle.

Halo 3: ODST will also be playable, but wed imagine that the hardcore fans willing to travel may have already scared up a copy by then or secured a place in line at some midnight launch.

Still, if this sounds like your cup of tea, the "Halo Franchise Celebration and Halo 3: ODST Launch Event" happens Monday, Sept. 21 from 6 p.m. - 11 p.m. at the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle. More details at the Facebook event page.

Halo Celebration! [Facebook - Image Credit]

ODST is the dark Halo. Even though it puts players in the boots of a cast of different heroes instead of just one Master Chief, it feels the loneliest.

That's the first impression I got, having played about an hour of the game in Kirkland, Washington last week.

The game's creative director, Joe Staten, told me during my recent studio visit that he and his team were inspired by film noir. They wanted to emulate the rhythms of a detective story. (Read more of what Staten told me about ODST's origins.)

I can relate some of how that noir mood worked in the sections I played if you read on. There will be light spoilers, but I'm a gamer and I know the kinds of things most players don't want ruined by a write-up. I won't mess things up.

ODST is about a squad of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, elite commandos who are sent into the heat of battle by the human UNSC forces. In the four sequences I played in Kirkland, I alternated between segments featuring the faceless, voiceless Rookie and flashback sequences starring other squadmates set during the six hours Rookie was knocked out in his escape pod. All of the ODSTs had landed in the Earth city of New Mombasa, their mission having gone awry by the end of the game's first cutscene. Rookie's segments occurred six hours after the drop. The other characters' missions took place while Rookie was unconscious.

Bungie's designers do the small stuff smartly. Your first playable moment puts you in an interesting situation: In an escape pod dangling dangerously high over a street. I was playing a Bungie preview build that had no aiming setting set for me, so the game had me look around to activate and remove four explosive bolts, blow the hatch and drop to the street. The drop hurts the Rookie and therefore introduces the player to ODST's new health system. Graffiti on the wall sets the mood of a city that's taken its beating: "UNSC = Liars.... We're next!"

The city was dark in Rookie's sections. The score that plays includes piano. I found it necessary to almost constantly keep the ODST's visor activated. It outlines objects and characters of interest in colored lines that indicate threat level. Without it I would not have seen the first packs of enemies walking through New Mombasa's streets. That score and the lack of light encourages you to play gently, to take it slowly.

That mood comes all from the set-up. When I initiated combat, I felt like I was back to Halo 3.

Staten said that the ODSTs were designed to feel less overpowering than Master Chief. "Tension" was a popular word during the development process of this game, he told me. Playing on Heroic difficulty, a notch up from the default, as I was, introduced plenty of tension. But in my first hour with ODST I wasn't feeling any more or less capable in the heat of combat. I did start with low ammo weapons, but the health system, which I thought would make things feel different, swiftly had me playing ODST the same way I played Halo 1-3: Advance... Shoot... Retreat... Recover.. Repeat. Master Chief had regenerating health that would only be depleted a level if he stood in danger for too long. The ODST's vision goes red and his breathing becomes accelerated and audible when he's hurt. During those moments, his health meter can be depleted. I found, however, that backing off when I started to hear him huff and puff kept him alive and in full health. An ODST doesn't act as coolly under fire as Master Chief does, but I felt like I could play them the same.

It wasn't the new health system that made the ODST feel like a more threatened combatant than Master Chief. It was the the vibe of being in night time New Mombasa. The dense darkness applied sensory pressure and a contrast to how the game felt during flashbacks. Rookie was a man fighting alone on the streets of New Mombasa. In the flashbacks there were signs and eventually the presence of fellow fighters punching back at the Covenant.

When I got into the boots of other ODSTs, I felt a dramatic tonal shift. I played a pair of their segments, both activated when Rookie found items in the hub city of New Mombasa that were emanating signals. The first, staring Buck, had me battling through the streets of New Mombasa, climaxing in a city-square skirmish that included snipers, brutes and some even tougher, familiar enemies. During that battle I learned that ODST's pistol, which had seemed like an underwhelming addition to my arsenal, is, when zoomed, a capable and superb tool for sniping distant enemies. The second flashback was set near the New Mombasa zoo and featured no animals, but plenty of classic Halo vehicles. During the flashbacks, the sun was shining and the music was set to a triumphant war-drum pace. I felt like I was meant to skulk in the Rookie segments. I felt like I was meant to charge in the flashbacks.

The second flashback mission concluded with a curious event that finally launched the mystery of what is really happening in the story of ODST.

I was more comfortable in the flashbacks but I was more intrigued with the newness I felt in the Rookie scenes. As I explored the darkened New Mombasa, the city's central computer, the Superintendent, would show me my path to waypoints I set by changing digital signs and billboard screens to arrow-pointers and detour alerts. I found a terminal that began to tell Sadie's Story, the side-narrative to ODST that unfolds in voice-overs an illustrated stills.

When my hour or so with the game concluded, I had just reached the point when ODST opens up. All players will go through the first four sequences I played in the same order, but then four beacons pop up on Rookie's map. He and you can slip through the city and investigate those in any order. Each would launch another heroic, playable flashback.

But that was all I could do.

I liked the change of pace in what I played. I liked the effort to convey a darker, more mysterious vibe and the lurches, in the flashbacks, to more bombastic action. I wasn't left feeling that Rookie and his ODST colleagues are as different to play from Master Chief as I thought or hoped they might be. But I can't judge if more dramatic gameplay changes would have made the game more or less fun.

I got a lot of classic Halo combat in a somewhat different wrapper. And I got a mystery. That's a good start and enough of something different that I wanted to play more.

The live action sneak peek at Halo 3 ODST is after this, courtesy of IGN.

Halo 3: ODST Xbox 360 Trailer - Live-Action Trailer [IGN - thanks, Jesse!]