Tagged: bungie

Halo 3 Recon to be “Three to Five-hour” Romp, Include Rare Armor

Can’t wait for Halo 3 Recon, the upcoming expansion to the popular shooter? Well, some information on it has surfaced, and the length isn’t something to exactly look forward to.

Bungie is downplaying the length of the game, noting that it’s not a “$60 title” and that it is going to be more like a “three to five-hour expansion pack.”

There’s more! Those who buy the expansion will be able to get the ultra-rare “Recon Armor” which has previously been reserved for Bungie employees and their community-based friends. Now, you can just purchase the expansion when it comes out next year and be proud of the not-so-rare-anymore armor!

Heroic Map Pack Released

The first bit of downloadable content for Halo 3 is now out on Xbox Live Marketplace – the Heroic Map Pack. It features three new multiplayer maps for the game for 800 Microsoft points. Here’s the deal:

Standoff‘s symmetrical valley, with its entrenched bases and fields of boulders is ideal for mid-sized objective and Slayer game types, while Rat’s Nest‘s vast, labyrinthine passages bring something new to the “Halo” multiplayer experience: an indoor vehicle paradise, strongly influenced by the Campaign mode, ideal for big team battles. Finally, Foundry is the ultimate Forge map – players can edit every single object in this voluminous industrial warehouse, place stairways, walls, bridges and tunnels to create an entirely new play space and build almost any kind of map they can think of.

The maps can also be edited and customized by the game’s players. They will also be available for free download in Spring 2008, just prior to the next wave of new Halo 3 multiplayer maps.

Free Halo Song for Guitar Hero 3

To celebrate Thanksgiving, a completely free song for Guitar Hero III was released yesterday, offering Xbox 360 owners the chance to rock out to the MJOLNIR remix of the Halo theme. The song has been written, composed and performed by Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori, with Steve Vai on the guitars.

Bungie and Microsoft Part Ways

Confirming a flurry of rumors last week, Bungie and Microsoft have confirmed that they have split and that the former is now an independently owned studio rather than a Microsoft entity. Bungie was originally founded in 1991 as a Mac-oriented developer and acquired by Microsoft back in 2000 when Halo was first shown to the gaming public.

Microsoft will retain both a minority equity interest in the studio as well as control of the Halo franchise; it also has publishing rights to further Bungie products. However, the studio will retain ownership of any new IPs it creates; it also has the ability to develop non-Halo titles.

Shane Kim, vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, said, “While we are supporting Bungie’s desire to return to its independent roots, we will continue to invest in our ‘Halo’ entertainment property with Bungie and other partners, such as Peter Jackson, on a new interactive series set in the ‘Halo’ universe. We look forward to great success with Bungie as our long-term relationship continues to evolve through ‘Halo’-related titles and new IP created by Bungie.”

Meanwhile, it is not sure what Bungie is up to right now. The company recently stated that it is working on post-launch Halo 3 content and will continue to support the game accordingly. “This exciting evolution of our relationship with Microsoft will enable us to expand both creatively and organizationally in our mission to create world-class games,” said Bungie studio head Harold Ryan. “We will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsoft platforms; we greatly value our mutually prosperous relationship with our publisher, Microsoft Game Studios; and we look forward to continuing that affiliation through ‘Halo’ and beyond.”

Halo 3 Rakes in $300M First-week Sales

In news that shocks no one, Microsoft announced that the recently released blockbuster Halo 3 has raked in more than $300 million in first-week sales worldwide. This makes it one of the biggest entertainment properties in the world and replaces Halo 2’s past record.

The game has since then gone on to become the most played Xbox Live game, having more than 2.7 million gamers logged in during the first week, nearly one-third of the 7 million members of the service. It also racked up more than 3.6 million hours of online gameplay, and even more.

Halo 3 Campaign Beginning

With Halo 3 just weeks away from release, Microsoft has launched its huge marketing campaign for the game. To celebrate the release on September 25, over 10,000 retails across USA will be selling the game at 12.01am and will be hosting launch night events in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Seattle.

Most awesome of all, the first three days of Halo 3’s availability – September 25 through 27 – will see all Xbox Live users upgraded to Gold accounts, letting them duke it out online. This is being sponsored by Best Buy.

In more Halo 3 activities, gamers will be able to play against celebrities and Bungie in online multiplayer matches; Halo 3 content on Xbox Live Marketplace; Play & Win content from Best Buy and even more.

Halo 3 GOLD

Through a short note it was let out that the highly anticipated Halo 3 has gone gold and has been released to manufacturing. Three years in the making at Bungie Studios, the game will hit stores worldwide on September 25.

“This is a huge milestone for us and a big cause for celebration at Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios,” said Harold Ryan, Studio Head at Bungie Studios. “This is the game we’ve always wanted to make and certainly the best game our studio has developed. We can’t wait for gamers to get their hands on it on Sept. 25.”

Halo 3 is already set to smash its predecessor’s success with over one million pre-orders in North America alone. It is expected to shatter the day-one sales records when it is released.