Del Toro Gets Chatty About Halo [Halo Movie]

Looks like director Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Blade II) likes him some Halo, and likes the inevitable prospect of a Halo movie:

It would have been beautiful and I must tell that's a... of anything in my life that I look back and wish it could have happened is that project, because it is such a powerful experience. People talk about it and say "it's ALIENS or it's a retread of this or that," I don't think so. I think there are angle to that game that are far more epic and far more complex as a cosmology than that. It's not just about grunts in space. It's much more than that. It's a whole epic.

He's right, and you know he's right because he knows better than anyone how to faithfully adapt a franchise for the big-screen. Look at Hellboy! So faithful. Especially the love-story. And we all know Halo isn't about guns, space and aliens. It's about love, politics and...a complex cosmology.
Quint and Guillermo Del Toro talk ORPHANAGE, HELLBOY II, AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS and HALO!!! [AICN] [Image]

Finish the fight then listen to the music: Halo 3 OST site up

A great game deserves a great soundtrack, and a great soundtrack deserves to have its own chance to shine: enter Halo 3. A website dedicated to the game's soundtrack has been launched, where you can listen to streaming audio from the soundtrack if you don't want to buy the compilation just yet.

Aside from containing the soundtrack to Halo 3, the compilation also has remastered works from the first two Halo games. The whole thing is compiled in two CDs, available in Amazon for US 12.99. Though it won't be released until November 20, you can still enjoy the streaming music from the site.

Follow the link for the Halo 3 soundtrack website.

Bungie releases Halo 3 Halloween Special

Ready for a change? In the good ol' Halloween spirit, Bungie Studios has introduced a new gametype into Halo 3, resulting in a 27-hour zombie gaming run as players try out the area.

The game type itself is called Infection, and it's got zombies galore! What is Infection? Well, here's how the folks at Bungie describes it:

In Infection, most players start off on a Human team, with one or more players starting off as Zombies. The odds are stacked heavily against the Zombies at first, but when a Human is killed by a Zombie (as they inevitably are), they join the Zombie team and turn on their former teammates.

They also note that there are three versions of the game available for people to try:

• Save One Bullet - which is close to classical Infection but with limited ammunition which keeps the Humans from holding off the Zombies forever
• Creeping Death - where the Zombies are a bit slower but shockingly invisible and deadly.
• Creeping Rockets - is a third variant where the Humans are more heavily armed, but the Zombies are tougher too.

In any event, you guys are probably raring to check it out on your Halo 3 matchmakers, right? Feel free to do so! If you want more information on the event, you can check out here;


Q: Infection, what’s that?
Infection is this really great gametype, inspired by a custom game devised by our community in Halo 2, which we added official support for in Halo 3. In Infection, most players start off on a Human team, with one or more players starting off as Zombies. The odds are stacked heavily against the Zombies at first, but when a Human is killed by a Zombie (as they inevitably are), they join the Zombie team and turn on their former teammates.

Q: How long will the Living Dead haunt matchmaking?
Just for Halloween, from 12:01am to 3:00am the next morning, PST. We decided to let it go a bit late into the morning to give people a chance to play when they got home from their Halloween carousing. Infection is a lot of fun when everyone is into it, but we don’t think it would make a good playlist long term, so it’s going to come and go.
And if everyone has a good time, who knows? It may return, as the restless dead are known to do.

Q: Can I get achievements in this playlist?
Yes, it is set up as a Ranked Playlist, and players will have some good opportunities to pick up a few of the harder MP achievements without any of that pesky guilt. Fending off the hungry dead is as righteous a way as any to score an Overkill. It’s also a good chance to fill out your Ranked Medals with some of the Infection medals, like Infection Spree and Hell’s Janitor.



Q: Can I join with my homies or is this a Lone Wolves style hopper? And how many corpses will I play with?
You can join with a max party size of 4, Infection matches can start with eight players and the games have a player limit of 13. You cannot, however, join with Guests (multiple players on one box).



Q: There’s more than one version of Infection in this playlist, what is each version and how does it work?
We’re using two main versions: Save One Bullet, which is close to classical Infection but with limited ammunition which keeps the Humans from holding off the Zombies forever, and Creeping Death, where the Zombies are a bit slower but shockingly invisible and deadly. Creeping Rockets is a third variant where the Humans are more heavily armed, but the Zombies are tougher too.

Q: Do the maps in Living Dead have the same set-ups that I am used to?
The Living Dead playlist will be the first to use Forge variants in Matchmaking. Lars [Bakken] and Dan [Miller] pulled out all the stops and Forged some masterful variants featuring fortified positions and anti-Zombie booby traps to help get people into the Zombie mind (which is to say, wanting to get into a Human’s mind. Directly.)

Q: Man, I love these gametypes is there any way I can get them?
Any time you play one of these variants in Matchmaking, they’re saved in your Recent Games queue (in the Custom Games lobby, go to select the game type—the Recent Games list is at the top.) They may also show up in the Bungie Favorites this week.

Q: Will there be more special hoppers in the future?
You bet.

Don't worry though, the basic premise if you're a human is, of course, to kill everything out there without dying. Good luck!

Breaking: Bungie Split Confirmed

It's official: Microsoft has just announced that Bungie Studios will be embarking "on a path to become an independent company.

According to Bungie, the developer will become an independent company, but will retain a long-term publishing agreement with Microsoft Game Studios for future Halo titles.

Bungie has long been built on creativity, originality and the freedom to pursue ideas. Microsoft agreed, and rather than stifle our imagination, they decided it was in both our best interests to unleash it. We'll continue to make Xbox 360 games, and we'll continue to make amazing games for MGS. In that regard, nothing has changed. All that has changed is that now Bungie Studios is once again, the property of the folks of Bungie Studios. Microsoft is and will continue to be, a brilliant, inventive and creatively collaborative publishing partner. Practically speaking, nothing has changed and you guys won't see much, if any difference, for a while unless you come to work for us, that is - we're hiring at http://www.bungie.net/inside/jobs.aspx

Microsoft goes on to say equally innocuous stuff.

"Our collaboration with Bungie has resulted in 'Halo' becoming an enduring mainstream hit," said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios. "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."


From Kataku

It's official:"Halo 3" Registers Biggest Day in US Entertainment History

Xbox 360 Exclusive “Halo 3” Registers Biggest Day in US Entertainment History with $170 Million in Sales

Microsoft today announced that the Xbox 360 exclusive game “Halo 3” has officially become the biggest entertainment launch in history, garnering an estimated $170 million in sales in the United States alone in the first 24 hours. The Xbox 360 title beat previous records set by blockbuster theatrical releases like “Spider-man 3” and novels such as “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

“Halo 3” is the conclusion to the epic trilogy and picks up where “Halo 2” left off, answering questions around the fates of the beloved protagonist Master Chief and his artificial intelligence sidekick Cortana as they struggle to save humankind from destruction at the hands of the alien coalition known as the Covenant. In addition to the rich storyline, “Halo 3” continues the franchise’s grand tradition of delivering innovative online multiplayer experiences via Xbox LIVE, the world’s largest social network on TV.

“Halo 3 has become a pop-culture phenomenon,” said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios. “Not only is “Halo 3” setting sales records, it’s also redefining entertainment.

Within the first 20 hours alone, we’ve seen more than a million Xbox LIVE members come online to play Halo 3 – that makes September 25 the most active Xbox LIVE gaming day in history.”

Retailers have also expressed their excitement about the launch of “Halo 3.”

Bob McKenzie, Senior Vice President of Merchandising for GameStop Corp commented that, “With consumer demand for Halo 3 and related products, we expect it to be the biggest video game title generator in GameStop's history."

“The initial demand we’ve seen for ‘Halo 3’ has been astounding, and the game is on track to become the number one gaming title of all time. ‘Halo 3’ is a genuine entertainment phenomenon and our customers have responded very enthusiastically to the release,” said Jill Hamburger, vice president of movies and games at Best Buy.

Developed by Bungie Studios, the “Halo” franchise is exclusive to the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and optimized for the Xbox LIVE^® online entertainment network. The more than 7 million Xbox LIVE users will get a continually evolving gaming experience with “Halo 3.” Its online multiplayer and cooperative gameplay for Xbox LIVE Gold users, the much-talked-about Saved Films feature that enables players to capture and save their favorite moments on their hard drives, and Forge, an innovative map editor that enables infinite customization options are just some of the new features to experience.

More than 10,000 retailers hosted Midnight Madness events to celebrate the launch of this third installment in the billion-dollar franchise. In New York, Seattle, Miami and Los Angeles, Microsoft and retail partners hosted marquee launch events that featured contests and appearances by local celebrities and professional athletes who are fanatical about the “Halo” franchise, including Ludacris and Zac Efron and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.

More than 1.7 million copies of “Halo 3” were preordered in the United States before a single store opened its doors at midnight, Sept. 25, making this the fasting pre-selling game in history, surpassing the previous record-setting pre-sales of “Halo 2.” Well beyond just a U.S. phenomenon, the launch of “Halo 3” was a worldwide celebration that released in 37 countries and available in 17 languages.

# # #

Where Will You Be Next Monday Night?

With just under a week to go, you should make your plans to be at one of the 10,000 retail stores in the US (or in your respective country!) to pick up your copy of Halo 3.

As for us, Sara will be in New York City, and the rest of us will be here in Seattle celebrating at Best Buy in Bellevue.

Here are some things you can look forward to, from a media alert posted earlier:

New York
Where: Best Buy, 529 5th Ave, New York, NY, 10017
What: Located in the heart of 5th Ave. and only a few blocks from Times Square, the Best Buy store on the corner of 5th and 44th Ave. will be the first to provide consumers in the U.S. with their copies of "Halo 3.” The event, which will begin early afternoon on Monday and can be seen on televisions nationwide via live broadcasts from both Spike TV and G4, will feature day-long activities. People are encouraged to demonstrate their fanaticism for Halo through costumes, distance traveled, best signs and more. Additionally, fans in line may get to play "Halo 3" prior to launch against on-site celebrities from early Monday afternoon through midnight. Every hour, a new personality will enter the fray with the fans. At midnight, attendees can expect a spectacle unlike any other. A number of Bungie team members and local professional athletes will be on hand to participate in the launch festivities.

Los Angeles
Where: GameStop, 1000 Universal Studios Blvd, Universal City, CA 91608
What: From the entertainment capital of the world, GameStop's flagship store at Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles will host the Halo 3 West Coast launch. The event begins Monday evening and will lead up to the first sale of the game at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, September 25, and will feature a celebrity autograph session, Halo trivia contest and a special appearance by the man of the hour, Master Chief, as well as a number of Bungie team members. Fans in line will also have a chance to be one of the lucky few who can battle it out against a celebrity on "Halo 3" prior to the launch. The event can be seen on televisions nationwide via live broadcasts from both Spike TV and G4.

Seattle
Where: Best Buy, 457 120th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98005
What: Seattle fans are invited to join the celebrations at Bellevue's Best Buy, which will open its doors at 12:01 am on September 25 to sell the highly anticipated and final chapter in the "Halo" trilogy. To commemorate the release of "Halo 3" in the game's hometown, fans will be able to celebrate the occasion with product giveaways. People in line may also get a chance to play against Bungie team members and local professional athletes.

Miami
Where: Circuit City, 8575 Northwest 13th Terrace, Miami, FL 33126
What: Hosted by Circuit City, Miami's Midnight Madness event of choice will feature product giveaways and contests starting at 9 p.m. Monday, Sept. Current Miami Dolphins stars, Chris Chambers and Joey Porter will be on hand signing autographs as well as challenging fans in "Halo 3" inside Circuit City. Additionally, a number of Bungie team members will be on hand to participate in the launch festivities.

Attendees at the regional events will also have an opportunity to receive the following giveaways as part of the festivities:

• Halo Action Clix from WizKids
  • http://www.wizkidsgames.com
• Collectible trading cards from Topps
  • http://www.topps.com
• Halo Ghosts of Onyx by Eric Nylund from Tor
  • http://www.tor-forge.com/haloghostsofonyx
• Frag Fest t-shirts from Mighty Fine
  • http://www.mightyfineinc.com/
• Accessories and hats from Changes
  • http://www.changesonline.com/
• Messenger bags from Enmon Accessories
  • http://www.enmonaccessories.com/
• Console sling bag and hardware organizers from BD&A
  • http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=802719
• Halo Graphic Novels published by Marvel
  • http://www.marvel.com/
• 2008 Halo calendars from Trends International
  • http://www.trendsinternational.com/
• Halo Uprising Comic (issue one) from Marvel
  • http://www.marvel.com/
• Halo soundtracks from Sumthing Else Music
  • http://www.sumthing.com/
• Weapon replicas from Master Replicas
  • http://masterreplicas.com/index.php
• Zune Halo 3 edition
  • http://www.zune.net/en-us/meetzune/halo/default.htm
• Limited-edition figurines from the diorama created for the "Halo 3" ad campaign
• And many other great pieces of merchandise

from Gamerscore Blog

A HERO MUST RISE. BELIEVE.

Landmark "Halo 3" Marketing Campaign Debuts; Ushers in Game's Launch on September 25

Every so often individuals are called upon to rise above themselves and act in a selfless manner - to help, to protect, to defend those in need. We call these people, who rise up in the face of great adversity, heroes. One such individual's story is about to be told worldwide. On Sept. 25, "Halo 3's" epic hero Master Chief will rise once again - he'll face seemingly insurmountable odds with the entire fate of the galaxy riding on his shoulders.

In memory of this hero, and helping build to what promises to be the largest entertainment launch in history on Sept. 25, a series of dramatic and evocative communications elements, created by McCann San Francisco, T.A.G., AKQA, and Microsoft Global Marketing will offer a stirring look at the "Halo" universe and Master Chief.

The first of the films, entitled "Museum," premieres today on http://games.yahoo.com and provides consumers everywhere with a reason to "Believe" in the amazing stories and action within the Halo experience, bringing the epic battles to life in the style of a museum "diorama."

Certain to catch the imagination of audiences around the globe, the ads are unlike any video game advertising ever created, and offer a powerful look at the world of "Halo". Uniquely, the campaign experience does not focus on "Halo 3's" graphics or gameplay, but instead looks at the themes that lie at the heart of the tale that spans the entire "Halo" trilogy: duty, sacrifice, and most importantly, heroism.

Through the eyes of celebrated Hollywood creature designer Stan Winston, known for his landmark work on Aliens and Jurassic Park;, as well as New Deal Studios, model creators for Spiderman 3, 300 and Superman Returns, and acclaimed director Rupert Sanders, people will experience a dramatic and moving look at mankind's struggle against our future enemy, the fierce warrior force known as the Covenant.

The central element that much of the integrated marketing campaign centers on is a painstakingly accurate replication of a key moment from a climactic battle set in the "Halo" universe. At over 1200 square feet, reaching a height over 12 feet above the ground and with each handcrafted human and Covenant figure standing eight to twelve inches high, the diorama was large enough to fill an entire studio.

Filming the Experience

Shooting the campaign took several days as the individual soldier's stories were told, and as the camera spanned the landscape, finally resting on the mountain top where Master Chief appears to have been conquered by the Covenant enemy...or so it would seem. Viewers quickly realize that there is much more of the story that's yet to be told - and the game will tell all.

The story of the diorama and the battle that day has been told through films that will be shown in 27 countries around the world on television, in cinema and on the web. But the Halo 3 experience is much larger than that, with future testimonial films depicting soldiers' third-party accounts of their experience in the battles, and with the hero that is Master Chief.

As part of the integrated campaign, an innovative web experience has been created that enables consumers to interact with and explore every part of the climactic battle in minute detail. Beyond the TV, cinema and print efforts, the site is also supported by an online advertising campaign that starts the conversation with the consumer and a branded channel on YouTube that helps to position Master Chief as the biggest hero in history. All digital components were created by AKQA San Francisco.

Viewers get a sneak peek at "Diorama" on http://games.yahoo.com Friday Sept. 14 at 9 a.m. PST / 12 p.m. EST, as well as a feature on the making of the diorama, entitled, "Ammo". The "Diorama" work will make its TV debut during NFL Football on CBS Sunday Sept. 16. This, and the full series of web films, which honor the heroism of Master Chief, will also be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace and http:www.halo3.com/believe starting September 14.

Halo 3 Single and Multiplayer Gameplay Footage

Halo 3 single and multiplayer gameplay footage in Team Xbox

Multiplayer video 1
Multiplayer video 2
Single player Video

First look at Halo 3 LE and CE video content

http://gameinvasion.comcast.net/gameinvasion/show/#1266429_halo_3/2209632_halo_3_exclusive_gameinvasion_2pass_001