Halo3Beta posts (Subscribe to this feed)
Halo 3 beta: Did it kill the hype?
by Dustin Burg 
{ Jun 25th 2007 at 11:15AM }
Over the weekend, David at MyArcadePlanet tossed around the idea that the Halo 3 beta actually hurt the game and killed off much of its hype. He feels that the beta was both a fun and entertaining experience, but his hands on time with the game released much of the built up Halo 3 excitement within' him. His personal stash of Halo 3 hype is gone.And we can agree with David to some extent, because Bungie is treating the Halo 3 release differently than its we're tight lipped, no one can touch our game, Halo 2 launch. So, we're sure some fans' hypometer may be running lower since they got hands on time and know what to expect, even if it was only a little taste of what's to come. But on the other side of the coin is that the beta has actually increased the hype in other fans' eyes, because they loved their time playing the beta and want to see, learn, and play more. But we can all agree that the Halo 3 beta has had some effect on those who played it, good or bad.
But what about you. Did playing the beta increase or decrease your excitement (and overall hype) for Halo 3?
Bungie's Halo 3 beta breakdown
by Richard Mitchell { Jun 14th 2007 at 12:30PM }
Not satisfied with gigantic numbers and statistics? Bungie has posted a brief article detailing the team's thoughts on the Halo 3 beta. We must share one more number first, though. Remember those twelve million hours that were logged into the beta? According to Bungie, 816 years worth of that time was spent in-game. Yowza. Back to the task at hand, the Bungie team is pleased with the information gleaned from the beta. Network bugs in particular were weeded out very effectively. However, those of you hoping for any drastic weapon changes may be disappointed, as the team will leave the weapons mostly the same. There will be minor tweaks, of course, but don't expect anything drastic. Finally, the team is definitely aware of the many map escaping exploits (particularly Banshee ... in ... Space) and plans to seal the maps a little tighter for the retail release. Still, Bungie knows that fans are dedicated to finding ways around such measures, and has no illusions that they won't. Hit the "read" link for the full article.
Update: Clarified Bungie's claim of 816 hours worth of play time.
Halo 3 Beta statistics released
by David Dreger { Jun 13th 2007 at 11:15AM }
Now that the Halo 3 beta has been over with for over 72 hours, some statistics for those number crunchers out there to feast upon. First off, with 820,000 unique gamertags playing online, that's a lot of copies of Crackdown, probably well over 750,000 after you deduct the initial beta registrants, 13,333 "Rule of 3" winners, and Friends and Family testers. Those gamers also logged twelve million hours of play time in the three weeks, with 350 terabytes of data being transfered across live, from downloading the beta, as well as possibly bandwidth for games, and file share movies. Either way, that's pretty impressive.Master Chief's face? Kinda sorta ...
by Dustin Burg { Jun 12th 2007 at 10:45AM }
From day one Halo fans have been wondering what's hiding under that Spartan helmet and what our hero really looks like. And thanks to the Halo 3 beta and some nice camera work, fans were able to position the Mongoose camera inside the helmet of another player. The result, a look at a fully modeled face behind the visor featuring some pale skin and glowing eyes. True, it isn't the best look behind the helmet and one could make the argument that it's just a generic multiplayer model and not our Master Chief. But we can't help but take this one step further and fantasize about the possibility that Master Chief will be taking his helmet off this September seeing that Bungie went through the work to model faces. Speaking of which, would you be down with seeing the person behind the helmet or do you think Master Chief's badass appeal comes from his semi-hidden look?
[Via Game Stooge]
Hey Bungie, include open chat in Halo 3!
by Dustin Burg { Jun 11th 2007 at 1:15PM }
But wait, you aren't sold on the whole open chat idea? Well, after the break we've posted a few reasons why open chat just makes sense and why it will make Halo 3 a better game. Trust us, push to talk is so 1977.
Today's saddest video: Breakin' up with Crackdown
by Kevin Kelly { Jun 11th 2007 at 12:01AM }
It's a sad day for Crackdown discs everywhere as the Halo 3 beta expires ... will there be a mass exodus to the used bins at game stores, and tons of listings appearing on eBay?
If this video leaves you with a single lesson, it's that you should treat everything as if it might become anthropomorphized with a keen sense of revenge.
Now, if we could just get that creepy image of the dressed-up Crackdown case out of our heads, we'd be ok.
Last day to play the Halo 3 beta
by Dustin Burg { Jun 10th 2007 at 2:05PM }
Halo 3 Collector's Edition: lacking in mysterious extra discs [update]
by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jun 8th 2007 at 1:07PM }
Update: Presenting the Halo 3 Collector's Edition sans the mysterious "Game Disc Two." We still don't care how many discs the game is on, but you'll want to learn more in our look at Bungie's Weekly Update.
[Original post follows]
Oh no. Or rather, oh noes. Representing the average person, compared to the Standard Edition's luckless vagrant or the Legendary Edition's overweight sultan, the Collector's Edition of Halo 3 can now be seen sporting two game discs and a bonus disc. What does that mean, exactly? Well, it depends on who you ask.
Just one logical assumption (see update below) would be that the first disc contains the single-player campaign, whilst the second functions as an entry into the game's multiplayer arena. Not an outrageous conclusion to make, but certainly not a very entertaining one. Perhaps we'd be better off seeing this as a message about the inadequate capacity of DVD, a frightening glimpse into a world where switching weapons also requires us to exert physical effort and switch discs. Discs, as in plural!
This is a dark day for us immobile couch denizens, with no ray of hope in sight. Could somebody hold us?
Gallery: Halo 3 box art
Video: Halo 3 beta: Needler ... in ... space!
by David Dreger { Jun 7th 2007 at 7:30AM }
A couple weeks back we showed you video footage of the Banshee "... in ... space!" This time involves the Needler, which as you may have noticed since the release of the beta, has gotten a significant boost of power as it is not dual wieldable as found in Halo 2. Whenever in High Grounds on Snowbound, nabbing a few needling kills always adds a slightly more satisfactory experience to you killing spree. So, where does the extraterrestrial extension come into play here? You'll just have to watch and see. In spite of the source, it's still pretty catchy in this context. Enjoy!
Live Top Ten: Betacular
by David Dreger { Jun 6th 2007 at 8:30AM }
This week's Live Top Ten shows a trend that will continue on through to the 10th. The Halo 3 Beta is being played a lot, by way of Top five Halo 3 beta weapons
by Dustin Burg { Jun 4th 2007 at 12:30PM }
Game Daily whipped together a list of what they think the top five Halo 3 beta weapons are in their current state. Making the list at number five is the slightly less powerful Rocket Launcher with the Chaingun, Brute Spiker and Shotgun all making an appearance. And what's Game Daily's favorite Halo 3 beta weapon that they feel has the most pwnability? Old trusty herself, the sniper rifle. Though, we can't help but notice that a few of our favorite weapons are absent from their list including the beefed up Needler, the punishing Spartan Laser and the good-in-any-situation Carbine. So, we can't help but disagree.Now we ask you, fellow fanboys, what are your top five Halo 3 beta weapons? Missile Pod need not apply.
Watch Master Chief suck at Halo 3
by Richard Mitchell { Jun 4th 2007 at 9:30AM }
What better way to start off your Monday (here in the Western Hemisphere anyway) than with a hilarious YouTube video? No better way, that's what! The fact that it presents a startlingly accurate portrait of Halo on Xbox Live is just a bonus. We present to you Master Chief Sucks at Halo. If any of you have ever played a significant amount of Halo online, then many parts of this video are likely to strike a familiar chord. Without spoiling anything, we suggest you go ahead and watch. (Warning: NSFW. lololololololllololollolol.)
[Via Joystiq. Thanks, Jayman007]
Today's chiefiest video: Master Chief Sucks at Halo
by Kevin Kelly { Jun 3rd 2007 at 7:00PM }
With all of the Halo 3 news that's been appearing on Joystiq, and every gaming related site across the globe, we thought we'd offer up a moment of levity in the form of this video.
Now, first things first, the language in this video is definitely NSFW, for home, for younger ears, or your grandma, just so you know. However, it's probably the best representation of the type of behavior and communication you run into while playing both Halo 2 and the Halo 3 beta.
it's also pretty funny, lolololololololol.
[Thanks, DawgOnU]
Halo 3 beta T-shirt Giveaway: It's Over!
by Richard Mitchell { May 31st 2007 at 12:00PM }
They say all good things must come to an end, and that remains true for us here at Xbox 360 Fanboy. The fantabulous Halo 3 beta T-shirt giveaway has come to an end. Before we bid a fond farewell to our week-long giveaway, we must announce the final winner, who will no doubt accept his or her T-shirt with quiet dignity and grace. The winner of our final shirt, of Large size and brown hue, is ... Gorkinlot, who "likey the free." We all do buddy, we all do. Congratulations, Gorkinlot, we'll be contacting you shortly.
We'd like to thank everyone who participated in the giveaway. We'd also like to let you know that we have many more giveaways planned for the coming weeks and months. Stay tuned to X3F and you could be a winner too.
Bungie says Halo 3 graphics will improve
by Richard Mitchell { May 30th 2007 at 6:30PM }
Ever since the first Halo 3 ViDoc surfaced, fanboys everywhere have been complaining that Halo 3's graphics may not be up to snuff. Speaking to Next-Gen, Bungie's Frank O'Connor offers some hope for ailing fans. First, he does note that multiplayer will always be geared towards performance before graphical wizardry. After all, what's the point of beautiful multiplayer if the framerate is unplayable? Still, O'Connor says that there will be "a few nifty graphical improvements in multiplayer," though he notes that he expects the real graphical polish will best be displayed by the single-player campaign.
Are you at all bothered by Halo 3's graphics so far, or are you too busy enjoying yourself?
