Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
We've mentioned the idea of setting up a gaming night numerous times on our Fancast and even promised that we'd do something soon. But, sadly, we've haven't lived up to our word and nothing has been organized. So, tonight on a mission to right our wrongs. It's with great pleasure that we here at X3F announce one of our first organized gaming nights that we're calling X3F Live and we're kicking off the festivities with some Halo 3 custom game fun.
If you're available this evening, log onto Xbox Live at 6:30PM eastern (3:30PM pacific) and look for Richard (SenseiRAM), Dustin (SuperDunners) and David (Knuckles Dawson) on Halo 3 and join in on the fragging fun. We're not sure how long everyone will be able to stay online, but we should be able to get in an hour or two of game time and we can 100% guarantee that there will plenty of fun, fanboys and madness ... with free refills to boot! Remember, 6:30PM eastern tonight on Xbox Live for X3F Live Halo 3 fun with your favorite bloggers Richard, Dustin, David and your fellow fanboys too. We can't be certain when the next organized X3F Live event will go down, so take advantage of tonight's possible fluke and play Halo 3 with us. See you online!
Using their internal Microsoft distribution list the crew over at Channel 10 wrangled up some of the Halo 3 dev team's best Halo 3 advice and posted a few tips and tricks on how to be a better gamer. The dev's advice spans the strategy spectrum of "duh, that's obvious" to "hmm, never thought about that" so beginners and l33t gamers alike should learn something from their insider knowledge. Really, we can nearly guarantee that you'll be able to pick up a thing or two to add to your Halo 3 pwnage arsenal. Oh, and we totally agree with Jay that "when driving the warthog in combat situation, NEVER STOP." Truer words have never been spoken.
Surprising precisely no one, Amazon has revealed that the Halo 3 soundtrack is on the way. According to Amazon, the soundtrack will be released on November 20th for the bargain price of $12.99 (if you buy from Amazon). The soundtrack will be a 2 CD set, featuring new takes on the themes present in the game. According to the product description, Marty O'Donnell has employed a full orchestra and chorus for the soundtrack, which goes "above and beyond" previous soundtrack efforts. What, no Hoobastank?
G4's outspoken and somewhat controversial Adam Sessler is standing on his Sessler Soapbox again, this time defending Halo 3 against all the haters. And yes we were just as surprised as you, but it's fact ... there are Halo 3 haters out there. What a crazy world we live in.
Anyhoo, per the video embedded above, Sessler talks about the greatness that is Halo 3, why it is so damn fun and why the haters of the world should pretty much much quit their hating ways and lay off Halo 3 because of its popularity. And to be fair, he even says that it isn't the best game out there or even game of the year caliber (which we whole-heartily dispute), but it's a great gaming experience no matter how you cut it. So, if you know someone or are one who hates on Halo 3 for no particular reason other than your sad, jealous rage then take Adam Sessler's advice and shove your ... well, we'll let you watch the video for yourself. More gravy please!
We've been sent a tip telling us that there's anotherMaster Chief suit up for bids on eBay and it's a semi-famous Spartan suit at that. Currently sitting at a cool $999 is a green custom made Master Chief suit that was worn at one of Halo 3 launch events, met both J Allard and Peter Moore and made it onto numerous television shows including Jimmy Kimmel and G4. One could make an argument that the suit is more famous than the guy who wore it. Heck, that's no argument, it's fact. But before you bid on this spendy Halloween costume you should know that the suit does NOT come with a flock attractive females on each arm. Though, we wish it did.
One of the most entertaining aspects of Halo 3 is all of the statistics culled from each game. Some players out there may have noticed that their stats in game are not appearing correctly on Bungie.net. Lukems has made a post noting that Bungie is aware of the issue and it should be fixed posthaste. Ranks should be updated correctly once some maintenance is complete, though you'll have to play at least one game of Halo 3 for your Bungie.net profile to update. It's good that they're fixing it, because otherwise no one would believe the tale of our awesome shotgun spree. Unless they watched our saved clip, of course (shameless plug, we know).
Sorry guys, we don't think we're going to get tired of ridiculous Halo 3 plasma grenade sticks anytime soon and so we've got another one to share. Embedded above is a video from DaLTiNi featuring some mathematical plasma throwing precision in Guardian. And, as always, it's oh so entertaining. From what we can tell, it looks like DaLTiNi has practiced this little trick previously (getting the perfect angle mastered beforehand) and decided to use it in-game. And well, he pulled it off. Life truly doesn't get any better than plasma tossing in Halo 3.
This Friday, October 12th from 4-6:00PM eastern Fall Out Boy will be on Xbox Live fragging with their compatriots in a little Halo 3 matchmaking. As part of the Game with Fame festivities, Fall Out Boy members Andy Hurley and Joe Trohman (ahh, no Pete Wentz) will be showing off their Halo 3 FPS skills for a few hours. And if you want to get in on the action (and like, who wouldn't?), send a friend request to Gamertags "FallOutBoyAndy" and / or "FallOutBoyJoe" by Friday and maybe you'll get to play with them. Because, you know, that's how this Game with Fame thing works ... or so we think.
Have you ever dreamt about the perfect Halo 3 armor permutation? You know, armor that you may not have unlocked yet, various colors, maybe a spiffy new Hayabusa helmet too? Well, you're Spartan dress-up fantasies are now a reality, because garbageman has the perfect solution, the Halo 3 Player Model Generator.
The model generator uses Bungie.net's armor preview options allowing anyone to preview any set of armor permutations. You can change out armor colors, helmets, shoulder pads and chest plates all with the click of a button. And, as an added bonus, you can search for a player's Gamertag to see what armor permutations they chose. Even cooler yet (yup, it gets better) is that the generator tells you what you must do to unlock the various armor pieces that you decked your Spartan in. It's crazy useful and crazy fun ... now about the website's UI.
Sound the trumpets and alert your neighbors, because today marks another first in Halo 3's long legacy ... the first roll out of a matchmaking update!
Today Bungie announced a few changes to Halo 3's matchmaking that are in effect right now and were changed using all the data they mined from gamers' online habits. Changes include the reduction of shotty-snipers in Team Slayer, when shotty-snipers is vetoed another shotty-snipers will not appear, Big Team Battle now houses 16 player versus, one sided VIP games will now supply a VIP indicator for the defensive team and Lone Wolves will feature more straight-up slayer gametypes. Phew! As you can see, the changes are quite minimal, but we are welcoming them with open arms, because more straight-up slayer in Team Slayer and Lone Wolves makes us happy Halo 3 players.
We may have newly confirmed holiday 360 bundles, but it's now being reported that one more may be on the way. A forum poster on eletrolado.net claims to have already purchased an Xbox 360 bundle that included Halo 3. The bundle reportedly costs 350 euros, approximately US$540 and contains Halo 3 (duh) and a 20GB HDD premium console with HDMI port (no HDMI cable, though). The bundle was supposedly purchased in Mijas, Spain, with the photo above submitted as proof.
We agree with Joystiq that the info seems a little sketchy at this point and the photo is more than suspect. Still, seeing as Halo 3 is basically the best selling thing ever, it would make sense for Microsoft to bundle it with the Xbox 360, at least during the upcoming holiday season. Of course, Microsoft isn't confirming or denying the bundle -- or whether or not it will make it to North America -- at this point.
Spotted for pre-order over on Amazon.com by eagle eyed halo.bungie.org member Onebitrocket is a listing for a yet to be announced hardcover version of the Halo: Uprising comic books. The Marvel comic series, which bridges the story gap between Halo 2 and Halo 3, was initially slated for four separate comic books with staggered release dates throughout the year and into 2008. But never did Marvel mention plans for a collective hardcover version of the comics and at a $16 retail price, you can count us in. Hardcover Halo: Uprising FTW!
The very interesting and somewhat confusing news of Bungie leaving the comforts of Microsoft and going independent has shocked and awed the gaming world, but what exactly does it mean for everyone involved? Well, according to Frankie in an interview with Game Informer not too much will change and he says it will actually benefit both parties in the long run.
In his sit down with Game Informer Frankie talks about the future of the studio, where they're headed, how their operations will work and goes on to give praise to Microsoft saying that they've been extremely supportive of their decision to go independent. Mr. O'Connor also confirms the fact that they'll still be publishing under Microsoft Game Studios and that their future projects will revolve mostly around Microsoft platforms. Yes, it's still a somewhat odd and head cocking arrangement that has been set up that leaves a lot vagueness in the air, but if you're curious to know what we think this is how we see it: In general, Bungie (post Halo 3) wants to create other IPs and the only way for them to feel free to do so is to not be held back by Microsoft's Halo shackles. So, both companies agreed, they gave each other a big hug and continue to be best friends forever while Bungie technically becomes an independent studio. Sounds good to us, how about you?
The introduction of the Forge to Halo 3 has set the stage for some very interesting game types and play variations, but there is one aspect of the level editor that we haven't seen much of yet: film making. Sure, anyone can stack some fusion coils and record some epic Mongoose launches (we did), but making something truly creative takes some effort. Case in point, this video of Super Mario Bros. done Halo style. Add some sound effects, graphics, and the oh-so-recognizable soundtrack, and you've got a decent video. Check it out above.
Now, before you leave, we like to issue a call for more interesting Halo 3 clips. Sure, we like awesome grenade sticks, but we'd really like to see some creative utilizations of Forge. Rube Goldberg machines, dominos, whack-a-Spartan: that's what we want to see. Get crackin' fanboys.
Hey kids! Just a quick reminder that our first Fanswag Weekly giveaway is still underway. For our first giveaway, we're giving away a copy of Halo 3 and some Game Fuel swag to boot. If you haven't already, be sure to submit your entry on the official giveaway post. Remember though, you can only enter once, so stay far, far away if you already have. As for the rest of you: get to it!
