• xbox live marketplace

    Halo Legendary Maps Are Xbox 360's "Deal Of The Week"

    If you've waited this long to grab Halo 3's "Legendary Map Pack," you're probably waiting for a deal. Thankfully, one has come in the form of the Xbox LIVE Marketplace Holiday Deal of the Week.

    Dropping from the already reduced price of 600 Microsoft Points, the trio of maps — Avalanche, Blackout and Ghost Town — can be yours for a mere 400 Microsoft Points. That's if you're a Xbox Live Gold member, which you really should be if you're paying money for multiplayer maps.

    The deal kicks off tomorrow worldwide. Happy mapping!

    Xbox LIVE Marketplace Holiday Deal of the Week [MajorNelson.com]

    2:40 PM on Mon Dec 1 2008
    By Michael McWhertor
    2,754 views, 58 comments

  • halo 3

    Please Don't Install Halo 3 On Your 360's HDD

    While the NXE's ability to let you install 360 games to your HDD is mostly a good thing (no more disc read errors at my house), it's been revealed that there's a few hiccups. You'd think that copying a game to your 360's hard drive would speed things up. Faster load times, that kind of thing. But in some cases it doesn't. Especially when it comes to Halo 3. Tests have already shown the game runs faster on disc than it does on HDD, and today Bungie have come out and confirmed this. Confirmed it, and explained it. More »

    10:30 PM on Wed Nov 19 2008
    By Luke Plunkett
    36,000 views, 121 comments

    Most discussed Len Bias Cocaine Surplus: I installed Fallout 3 only to find out not only are the load times not faster but the game has more »

  • xbox 360

    So, Does Installing A Game To The 360's HDD Really Help Improve Load Times?

    Best feature of the New Xbox Experience isn't avatars, or a new UI, it's the ability to install games to the console's HDD. It was - in our wildest dreams, anyway - meant to cut down on two of the 360's biggest problems: loud DVD drives, and long waits for load times/disc caching. But does it? Eurogamer put a number of games to the loading-time test and found that...results vary. Some games, like The Orange Box, see massive decreases in load times, but others (like Halo 3) weren't much improved. Most depressingly, Mass Effect's famous elevator sequences were as nap-inducing as always. Turns out installing a game to your HDD does little for a game that wasn't coded to take advantage of one in the first place. Hopefully that's something we can expect to be rectified in the shining, glorious, post-NXE future.

    New Xbox Experience: DVD vs. Hard Disk Face-Off [Eurogamer]

    8:20 PM on Tue Nov 11 2008
    By Luke Plunkett
    26,143 views, 144 comments

    Most discussed Fermbiz: The elevators in Mass Effect never the issue for me...It was the stupid texture pop-ins that drove me insane. I more »

  • halo 3

    Halo Wars LE Sweetened By Mythic Map Pack

    Microsoft Game Studios and Ensemble Studios are on course to ship their strategy take on the Halo universe this February, and they're readying one hell of a Limited Collector's Edition for those willing to drop a little extra coin. $79.99 gets you the game, six leader cards, a Spirit of Fire patch, a Halo Wars: Genesis graphic novel, and the Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack, which comes with “Assembly,” “Orbital” and “Sandbox”. One hell of a way to ensure your core audience stays intact in the face of wildly shifting genres, isn't it?

    On the downloadable content side of things, the LE also comes with a bonus in-game "Honor Guard" Wraith, with folks who pre-order from select retailers receiving a code for a special flaming Warthog. It's a very exciting package, but then again so was Fable II when they started out. Think I'll wait and see. More »

    11:20 AM on Thu Nov 6 2008
    By Mike Fahey
    6,899 views, 80 comments

    Most discussed Archaotic: Good limited edition, but too bad the game lacks mouse/keyboard support. There's no point in even trying to play more »

  • halo 3

    Oh Look, More Halo 3 Figures

    Can't tell you just how many Halo 3 figures this is from McFarlane. We've lost count. We can tell you, though, that for the first time in a long time, this is a new figure. Not a repaint, not an old figure with new weapons, it's all new. And it's a UNSC Marine, who comes with a battle rifle, a pistol and a trip mine. Should be out in March 2009, along with the other repaints/reissues in the gallery below.

    9:40 PM on Fri Oct 31 2008
    By Luke Plunkett
    3,110 views, 18 comments

    Most discussed everybest: To a person who doesn't play Halo, pictures 4-7 look like some hardcore futuristic soccer players. more »

  • clips

    Look At The Purdy Halo 3 Lights

    Get out the glow sticks if you've got 'em! Here's a Halo 3 light show show spectacular. While on the long side (seven minutes of this, woah), the underling concept is neat: Use Halo 3 light effects to trippy ends. It could be shorter and better edited, but like we said, the basic idea is there.

    A Halo 3 Light Show [Hawty McBloggy]

    10:00 PM on Thu Oct 30 2008
    By Brian Ashcraft
    2,163 views, 29 comments

    Most discussed Harrison20: Where are they at that is completely black? more »

  • tokyo game show 2008

    Halo 3 Expansion Is A Prequel, Hits Fall 2009

    Finally! Details! On a Bungie Halo title! Courtesy of Microsoft's TGS address, the Halo 3 singleplayer expansion - first revealed in a trailer a few weeks back - now has a name (Halo 3: Recon), a setting and a rough release date. The expansion will serve as a prequel to the events of Halo 3, with the player taking the role of a UNSC recon soldier, who is our "new hero" for a "new campaign". The expansion will be out in "Fall 2009", with screenshots and video expected sometime soon.

    UPDATE - aaaannnddd we have a trailer.

    9:55 PM on Wed Oct 8 2008
    By Luke Plunkett
    17,831 views, 88 comments

    Most discussed Dyson: Halo 3 Recon: Begin Finishing the Fight? more »

  • halo 3

    New Halo Toy Line Features Wee Spartans, Big Hunter

    McFarlane keep on releasing Halo figures, and the kids, the kids keep on buying them. Latest products to roll off the money-printing machine include some more Master Chief/Spartan variants, a range of 2.5" figures that come in three-packs (for hot desktop Red v Blue action) and a deluxe 8" Hunter figure, complete with intricate, wormy neck detailing.
    More »

    4:30 AM on Mon Sep 29 2008
    By Luke Plunkett
    6,029 views, 37 comments

    Most discussed denki: Are these figures 7, 4 or 1 year(s) too late for anyone to care? more »

  • halo 3

    Bungie May Need To Rethink Part Of That Teaser Trailer (Update)

    No doubt the more fanatical amongst you have already dissected every last frame of today's Halo 3 teaser from Bungie. While dissecting, however, did you catch this line? Says, quite clearly, "MADDIE, WHERE ARE YOU?". Now, in all likelihood, this'll have something to do either with somebody/something in the game called Maddie, or at the least some obscure, related facet of the Haloverse. It's just a shame nobody at Bungie was aware of the high-profile 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeline McCann, who was commonly referred to in the media as simply "Maddie", because that's the first thing I thought of when I saw the words. Second thing was "ooo, that might be a little much". An "oops, awful coincidence, that" message from Bungie couldn't hurt. Provided it was an accident, at any rate.

    UPDATE - Bungie have responded to the similarity, calling the reference "an unfortunate and unintended coincidence".

    1:30 AM on Fri Sep 26 2008
    By Luke Plunkett
    11,849 views, 134 comments

    Most discussed I Have No Name: I don't think it was actually an accident, they can't just not notice something like that. more »

  • Keep it clean

    Bungie Secret Game is a "New Halo 3 Campaign Experience"

    Tipster Nick F points out that the Bungie teaser for the new whatever the studio is working on just hit Xbox Live. With it comes this succinct, but a bit more to the point description:

    "High action and deep mystery await players in the new Halo 3 campaign experience. Prepare to Drop!"

    So does that mean an expansion pack and not that Mario-esque Halo platformer I've been dreaming about? Only time will tell.

    Hit up our gallery discussion post if you want to get all nitty gritty with what we know so far.

    9:20 AM on Thu Sep 25 2008
    By Brian Crecente
    19,852 views, 138 comments