Freshly picked Halo 3 details and screenshots

Here's something we haven't seen for a while, fresh, juicy, and satisfying Halo 3 news and screenshots ... oh joy! The guys at IGN secretly made their way over to Bungie Studios to learn more, see more, and get a feel for what we'll be playing in September. Among the things they got to experience were the three recently announced multiplayer maps Epitaph, Last Resort and Shrine, which was shown in video form. Epitaph sounds claustrophobic, intense, and should allow for great close quarters combat with a dash of vertigo. Last Resort is Zanzibar on crack (the good kind of crack) coming back bigger, more wide open, and wearing a prettier dress. We love you Zanz ... erm, Last Resort! And then there is Shrine which is being called the desert map that is big, really big. It involves a lot of vehicle combat and should make for some intense Brute Chopper battles. Overall, those maps sound and look Splenda sweet.

Also, IGN got to see a glimpse of the new armor permutations that will supposedly be unlocked during campaign for use in multiplayer. Though, details are still very vague. Most intriguing is that the saved film option will allow for sharing more than films. Not only will you be able to save and upload video, but Bungie will allow players to upload and share custom settings or gametypes so others can download and try out your latest custom gametype. If taking screenshots is more your thing, Bungie has you covered by allowing you to take shots and upload them to Bungie.net for all to view.

Need more Halo 3 goodness? Well, IGN posted a bunch of new Halo 3 renders, screenshots, and aerial views of the new maps. We recommend the graphical comparison of Zanzibar and Last Resort, this shot, this, this and this. Yeah, it's like we died and went to Halo 3 media heaven! Give everything a look over and tell us what you think.