More news from Tokyo Game Show: Microsoft announced the recently teased new Halo 3 expansion, now titled Halo 3: Recon.  The game’s campaign will be a prequel to the story of Halo 3 and will not feature the Master Chief.  Instead, you play as an ODST grunt (well, slightly better than the cannon-fodder “allies” that got in the way in Halo 3, but not quite a Spartan either) and will apparently “require you to employ more elements of stealth and cunning than ever before.” Read on for full details.

Official game description from Xbox.com:

• All-new campaign content: The Halo 3: Recon campaign is an intriguing side story that takes place during the terrifying events leading up to the Master Chief’s return to New Mombasa in Halo 3. Experience the fate of Earth from the brand-new perspective of a special forces ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper), adding a unique outlook and new gameplay elements to the events that unfold in the trilogy’s finale. While the feel of this new chapter greatly resembles that of previous Halo experiences, Halo 3: Recon will require you to employ more elements of stealth and cunning than ever before.
• Prepare to drop: Known for their courage, valor and, at times, insanity, ODSTs are among the fiercest UNSC soldiers, priding themselves on being the first unit deployed into hostile situations. While not as large or supernaturally gifted as their Spartan comrades, these “Hell Jumpers” more than compensate with their ferocious attitudes and unwavering nerve.
• Expanded multiplayer collection: No Halo experience would be complete without groundbreaking multiplayer content, and Halo 3: Recon gives fans more of what they love. With exclusive new maps and expanded Forge options, Xbox LIVE® Gold members will find more multiplayer content than ever before with Halo 3: Recon.
• Ever-growing community options: Enjoy all the great Halo 3 technological innovations, including Saved Films, screenshots, Campaign Scoring, and four-player co-op. All of the new multiplayer maps fully support the Forge editor, offering endless gameplay customization possibilities.

I was never a big fan of the overhyped monster that is the Halo franchise, but I am oddly pretty interested in seeing how Recon plays. Let’s just hope it doesn’t get overhyped by the time it releases next year and ends up on my list of games to hate on principle. My magic 8-ball says “Fat chance”.

If you’re a big fan of playing with dolls– ahem, sorry, “action figures”– then you’d probably love to litter your workspace with these Halo 3 figures from Todd McFarlane’s workshop. Some of the more interesting toys from the upcoming series 3, due out in September, are shown below, including the famous Hayabusa armor. The series 1 and 2 figures are available now, but they might be a little hard to find.

A sniper rifle wielding Master Chief. Damn campers!

A human victim of the Flood.

For more information on where to buy these figures, check out this page on the McFarlane Toys website.

Major Nelson posted the LIVE activity for the week of January 14^th, and guess what took the top spot? Well, I guess I already gave it away. Infinity Ward’s awesome military shooter finally de-throned Master Chief and his rascally gang of Spartans.

While we don’t have the specific numbers, I’m sure it was a close race with a near photo finish. The list goes as such:

1 Call of Duty 4
2 Halo 3
3 Guitar Hero III
4 Gears of War
5 Rock Band
6 Madden NFL 08
7 Assassin’s Creed
8 Mass Effect
9 FIFA 08
10 Forza Motorsport 2

Now the real test is seeing if Call of Duty can remain King.

Halo 3’s crashes have resulted in a class action lawsuit against Microsoft and Bungie Studios.

Coming just after the trouble with the disc-scratching Legendary editions of the game, the lawsuit is based in the allegation that Halo “does not function with the 360,“ and actually harms the console by causing it to “crash, freeze, or lock-up during play.”

Randy Nunez is looking for a huge $5 million in damages, which is a small wedge of cash when considered in relation to the hundreds of millions the game made.

The lawsuit, available here, claims that the developers “deceived” many by suggesting the game would work with the 360, which apparently it doesn’t – despite being designed solely for the console.

Chief best leave this fight to his lawyers.

Halo 3 is still the topic of controversy weeks after its release, and this time it has nothing to do with the Bungie and Microsoft split.

According to the numbers published on rottentomatoes.com, Octobers ticket sales are at one of the lowest points in recent box office history. What does that mean? Well, according to a short list of film executives and researchers, it means that the general movie going audience is staying home playing Halo 3 instead of spending $24.50 for popcorn, soda, and a glimpse at Mr. Woodcock, Ben’s half hearted attempt at finding true love, or Dwayne’s game plan.

Mike Hickey, analyst at Janco Partners, a Denver based research firm states “The audience on this game is the 18-to-34 demographic, similar to what you’d see in cinemas,” he goes on to state that “this could last for several weeks.”

This is an absolutely ridiculous assumption, as every gamer knows Ben Stiller hasn’t made a decent movie in years, and the Rock — sorry, “Dwayne Johnson” is better off sticking to action movies, as long as they aren’t video game related (see DOOM). On a positive note though, maybe this will finally convince a studio to get the wheels rolling on a Halo movie.

Source: Advertising Age, Rotten Tomatoes

Ok, so we came across this little bit of heaven while browsing reddit.com and just had to share the find with our readers. Granted, not everyone here at ripten was completely in love with Bungie’s latest Halo release in terms of the campaign mode, but the multiplayer aspect of Halo 3 can hardly be called a disappointment.

That said, below are a few highlights from an “open letter to Bungie” we discovered which was posted anonymously on craigslist.org. In it the writer discusses their dislike for the latest release in the Halo series as well as some ideas and suggestions for Bungie in the future.

“It is evident that you are now in bed with Microsoft by the fact that you released a game like “Halo 3” with seemingly no regard for the consumers that have padded your pockets.” Not sure about everyone else, but when we are in bed with someone we don’t usually break up with them, unless the sex was bad, and even then it’s usually after they have gone home.

“If you are going to justify the $60.00 … at least give us further customization options. For instance, wouldn’t it be fun to make the “Master Chief” run around shooting people in his underwear? That, personally, would crack me up.” We are definitely not licensed psychiatrists, but a few of us did stay at the local Holiday Inn express last night and we think this guy has a thing for the Chief. If they are willing to dish out $60 for undie mode, imagine what they would be willing to pay for some all out nudity.

“Furthermore, I believe Lara Croft is empowering to younger female gamers. There. I said it.” Good, get it out … get it all out.

“What would you think about a sexy three way between Master Chief, Lara Croft and Space Pac Man? Haha! That would be wild! No, no…not for the game. It is just funny to think about. Don’t you think?” Right about now we are wondering how many drawings this kid has done in his sketch pad of the afore mentioned threesome.

“I think “Terms of Endearment” the video game could be AWESOME!” If Bungie takes this game concept on they will need to push one of the others aside and personally we really want to see the “Three Men and a Baby” videogame first.

“(I was pretty mad back then when I got that game and no angels were in it. I ain’t no bible nut but I guess you could consider me “spiritual”)” Because we all know that there is nothing worse than buying a game expecting to get Michael Landon only to be let down completely.

If the quotes we pulled weren’t enough, we went ahead and included the entire work of art as well. The complete letter as it appears on craigslist.org is posted below … enjoy it, we sure did.

- – – – – – – – – – – – – – -

October 9, 2007
Bungie Studios
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052

To Whom It May Concern:

It is evident that you are now in bed with Microsoft by the fact that you released a game like “Halo 3” with seemingly no regard for the consumers that have padded your pockets.

I would, however, like to congratulate you on the marketing campaign which, by all accounts, was the most skillful and creative development to come out of the entire “Halo 3” debacle.

Overrated does not begin to describe it. “Next Gen”, indeed. It would appear that you consciously did not deliver on what you promised because you knew the game would sell record amounts of copies no matter what you did. RING RING! Hear that? That’s Bungie phoning it in.

The graphics were no better than “Halo 2”. The campaign play is boring and repetitive. If you are going to justify the $60.00 price tag on the multi-player aspects alone, then at least give us further customization options. For instance, wouldn’t it be fun to make the “Master Chief” run around shooting people in his underwear? That, personally, would crack me up.

Additionally, I was saddened to see that you did not include one of the Halo franchise’s most beloved characters – Lara Croft. Hey – I’m no kind of freaky perv but let’s face facts – SHE IS HAWT! I can’t help but think that Lara Croft was the reason “Halo 1” and “Halo 2” sold so many copies in the first place and then you go and ruin it all by NOT EVEN MAKING MENTION OF HER IN “HALO 3”?

Furthermore, I believe Lara Croft is empowering to younger female gamers. There. I said it.

If I had been designing this game, instead of a bunch of hollow promises (thanks marketing!) I would include the Master Chief in his underwear function (mentioned above and still hilarious) and Lara Croft and maybe a multi-player way for them to get intimate, if you know what I mean.

Let’s face it. You got a lot of younger players out there who buy your game even with the “M” for “MATURE” rating. I don’t need to teach you guys a biology class on teen sex but the fact of the matter is there are way to many pregnant teens out there and I think a little interactive education between Master Chief and Lara Croft could be very beneficial to our nation’s youth.

I’m not talking anything “X” rated here. Master Chief could stay in his underwear (ha, ha) and Lara in her short shorts. The key here is EDUCATION. Will you take that key and unlock the vault of learning? Or will you continue to make disappointments like “Halo 3”?

One of my favorite parts of “Halo 2” was the boss battle with “Space Pac-Man”. You kind of left it at a cliff-hanger inferring that Space Pac-Man would return in “Halo 3”. Once again, my gaming experience was stained with disappointment. While I love the voice work of MASTER ACTOR KEITH DAVID (John Carpenter’s “The Thing”.) it would have been so much better to hear his sultry baritone coming out of Space Pac Man’s mouth and not that Archie character or whatever he was called.

What would you think about a sexy three way between Master Chief, Lara Croft and Space Pac Man? Haha! That would be wild! No, no…not for the game. It is just funny to think about. Don’t you think?

The point I’m trying to make here is that you could have gone a lot of different directions or, at the very least, fulfilled some of the hype you got everyone worked up about. However, I suppose you did what you needed to. Namely, sell 18 gazillion copies without any thought put into satisfying consumer expectation.

I’m no game designer. I leave that to guys at NASA. But I’ve been knocking around a few ideas that I will share with you. Maybe you can use some of these next time BEFORE you release another steaming pile of poo like “Halo 3”.

1. Okay – now – you guys are all nerds so I’m sure you’ve heard of “Star Trek”, right? All those great characters and the kids just LOVE Mr. McCoy and Chewbacca. Now – stick with me here – what IF you took the crew of the USS Enterprise and turned them all – get ready – INTO BABIES. And then – instead of a space SHIP – they are in a space CRIB! (On a side note – you guys really set something off in me with the Space Pac Man. Now – I like to just think of EVERYTHING in space. Like “Space Pope”.)

I’m not quite sure of what the actual game play would be like. That’s for you eggheads to workout. But the concept – Star Trek Babies – is pure gold.

2. The problem with video games based on movies is that they’re never any good. Am I right? So – why not make MORE games based on Oscar winning motion pictures. Brace yourself because I think “Terms of Endearment” the video game could be AWESOME! You can choose to play the Timothy Hutton character – hold on – that was “Ordinary People”. Well who cares? They are both great movies and I can tell you right HERE and NOW that none of your competitors will have even thought about this. What would YOU rather do? Control some Dig-Dug in a dirt thing or help Deborah Winger deal with her impending demise? I think the choice is quite clear.

3. With the success of “The Sims” the argument that people like to do the exact same things they do in real live except on a computer is now academic. Yes…academic. So, pretty much, you guys might try that angle.

In conclusion, I will give you kudos to buying off most of the drooling, sycophantic game reviewers. However, you haven’t fooled EVERYONE.

Have a margarita down at the local Chevy’s in Redmond on me, guys. You got my $60.00 so you can certainly afford it. Maybe you can get a little drunk and think about the good old days when you made that ONE good game – the original “Halo”. (On a side note – I was pretty mad back then when I got that game and no angels were in it. I ain’t no bible nut but I guess you could consider me “spiritual”)

I will not be buying any more of your products if this is the quality I can expect from your future endeavors.

Regards,

NAME REMOVED FOR PRIVACY REASONS
I did however mail this to Bungie
Source: Craigslist.org

Halo 3’s multiplayer mode, along with Microsoft’s entire strategy for domination in the console wars, can be summed up in two beautiful words: Endless replayability.

This is a desert island game–assuming you had an HDTV and Internet connection on the island, and didn’t use team chat to send out an SOS. It’s a game that you could easily spend weeks, months, and years perfecting without getting bored. The online matchmaking system ramps up the challenge so smoothly that after you learn the ropes “powning noobs” you’ll be experiencing a much greater difficulty playing against Halo experts.

And there’s no shortage of competition either. By hyping this game as the “biggest entertainment launch in history”, Microsoft brought nearly 3 million Halo 3 players into the fold in the first week. The result is that at any given time you can find between 250,000 to 750,000 people playing Halo multiplayer all over the world, and all of them want to kick your ass.

Halo 3 multiplayer options include slayer (deathmatch), team slayer, oddball, king of the hill, crazy king, capture the flag, and melee weapons only. Variations such as shotty snipers, where every player starts with a super-long range and super-close range weapon, require players to use the maps in different ways. And then there’s vehicles, like the new Mongoose which is useful for little more than making a getaway with the flag, or the Ghost, which is very deadly until it’s stuck with a couple of plasma grenades.

These “standard” multiplayer options are staggering, but it’s the custom games built using the Forge map editor that really gives this mode marathon legs. Bungie will feature some of the best level designs, so don’t be surprised if variations on racing, baseball, and VIP end up becoming popular hits.

Matchmaking uses two different types of scoring–an experience level, which goes up and up at seemingly random times, and a skill level which can go down if you’re not performing well. You are awarded medals and rankings for your experience and skill level, so everyone will be able to tell if you’re an easy target or a seasoned slayer. Plus if you’re really hardcore, you can review videos of every match played online.

It’s easy to buy Halo 3 and completely ignore the single player campaign, just because the multiplayer is so damn good. This makes multiplayer only games like Shadowrun look pathetic in comparison, and Team Fortress 2 and Call of Duty 4 will be hard pressed to match Halo 3’s brand of longevity. Halo 3’s closest comparison might actually be World of Warcraft–a massively multiplayer, mainstream experience that can entertain for years.

It could use more maps (but hey, that’s what downloadable content was made for), and some Xbox Live players need to come pre-muted, but those are literally my only complaints for this landmark achievement of an online console game.

Multiplayer – Reviewed by Andrew Podolsky.

Campaign – Reviewed by Rob Way. (click here to read)

Overall – Rob Way & Andrew Podolsky fight it out…results below.

Halo’s storyline finally comes full circle, and not the good kind of circle I used to draw in math class with a compass — the bad kind of circle I used to draw on the asphalt when I was five!

If Bungie’s mission was to make us feel like pigeons, preordering the game, waiting three months, and ultimately paying $60 for a game that doesn’t deliver anything that remotely resembles a decent story, then CONGRATULATIONS!

If I didn’t preorder it, wait three months, and drop $60, I would throw the Halo 3 game disk into my bathroom sink and set it on fire, then use it to line Pirate’s (my cat) cat box.

If you think I’m being harsh, lets take a trip down memory lane. There I was sitting at my computer watching the first CGI trailer for Halo 3 (you know, the one with the two kids staring at the stars asking philosophical questions) then BAM, in comes Master Chief caught up in some massive battle putting on his helmet. The first thing that crossed my mind was “are we finally going to learn about Master Chief’s past?” The answer: Of course not! I mean, why would I ever think that?

And the actual storyline (I use that word loosely) is a much bigger letdown than being denied a glimpse under the Chief’s helmet. For starters, how about the fact that they cut the entire “Arbiter” storyline right out of the game? Heck, why not — it’s not like he had a role in Halo 2 or a big part in Halo 3 — he’s just your right hand man for the entire game!

Let’s not forget about Cortana. In fact, you couldn’t even if you wanted to since she pops up on your screen every 15 to 30 minutes slowing your gameplay down. Her random babble annoyed me and didn’t have a direct connection to the story at all. Oh, and does anyone remember Gravemind from Halo 2? Well, you might as well forget him, because he’s not in Halo 3 — unless you count his one-sided dialogue, which like Cortana, slows down your gameplay.

As far as weapons go, there are few new additions, and what was added wasn’t very impressive or useful for that matter. I found myself using the Assault Rifle throughout the majority of the game, that is until I ran into a tank, then I would either use the rocket launcher or run into it with a Ghost, firing repeatedly until it exploded.

There are some new vehicles as well, like the Chopper (the brute version of an ATV) which closely resembles a 1980’s Big Wheel, and the Hornet (the human version of the Banshee) which looks a lot like the Turtle Glider from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles .

One new feature they added, which I thought was awesome, was the ability to destroy the Scarabs, the giant spider like tanks featured in cut scenes from past iterations of the game. Of course that lost its luster once I realized all you had to do to destroy it was stand underneath its leg joints and fire away.

Graphics are what you would expect from a next gen Halo game, as it features bright shiny colors throughout. In terms of sound, though, it didn’t take long before the same Halo theme beat me into submission. Although with new renditions of the theme added, there were moments where I expected a Brown Coat or Reavers to jump out (yea a Firefly references — I’m a nerd).

Overall, I was not impressed with Bungie and Microsoft’s agenda to make more money by milking a franchise for all its worth (did you get your Halo themed Xbox 360?), and I can assure you this won’t be the last time we all see Master Chief.

Campaign – Reviewed by Rob Way.

Multiplayer – Reviewed by Andrew Podolsky. (click here to read)

Overall – Rob Way & Andrew Podolsky fight it out…results below.

It’s official. Bungie is now a privately held independent company, meaning they are no longer owned by Microsoft. Although Bungie is not owned by Microsoft anymore, Microsoft still owns a minority equity interest in Bungie.

As part of the transaction, both companies will still have a development and publishing relationship focused on the continuing success of the “Halo” franchise.

“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 Harold Ryan, studio head for Bungie. “We will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsoft’s 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.”

Bungie was founded in 1991 and came to success with the first two “Myth” games, but “Halo” became global success for them when they worked with Microsoft.

“Working with Microsoft was great for us, it allowed us to grow as a team and make the ambitious, blockbuster games we all wanted to work on. And they will continue to be a great partner. But Bungie is like a shark. We have to keep moving to survive. We have to continually test ourselves, or we might as well be dolphins. Or manatees,” said Jason Jones, Bungie founder and partner.

It’s uncertain now if Bungie will develop games for other gaming consoles, but this can change in the near future.

Halo 3 sales figures have been announced and Microsoft states that it has made $300 million dollars worldwide and sales of the Xbox 360 console have doubled. The Halo phenomenon has hit its online play as well, with Xbox Live totaling close to a million users playing.

“Halo is truly a cultural phenomenon, and the launch of Halo 3 is an important milestone for Xbox 360 and for videogames as entertainment and as an art form,” said Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft. “Halo 3 embodies our vision for the future of entertainment, where some of the world’s greatest creative minds will deliver a new generation of interactive storytelling.”

Rumors have also been flying around that Bungie, the creator of the Halo series is leaving Microsoft. According to blogger “8bitjoystick” over at Seattlepi.com, he received an e-mail from a friend who knows an employee of Bungie stating the following:

“So heres my big secret. You should google Bungie + Microsoft + separation this week. You know that big ol BILLION dollar franchise Bungie has created for Microsoft, to show their appreciate Microsoft is letting Bungie leave. Of course Microsoft gets to keep all rights to the Halo franchise, but as today Bungie no longer part of Microsoft. Ask anyone who works there to search the global address book, they’re no longer in there. Microsoft was supposed to release the press release today but if they wait till the 10/6 the impact wont effect the quarterly results. However today is the actual official date and the day the NDAs expire, however you still didn’t hear this from me.”

“Apparently MS just wants Bungie to make Halo for the rest of their natural days, and Bungie doesn’t like how MS is constantly trying to “handle” everything they do; the way they market their games, the way they interact with their fans (basically the fact that they do appreciate their fans), and how stingie they are with the profits (comparable to the rest of the industry). So as of today they are their own independent entity. They’ll probably make Halo 4 for Microsoft, however hey are also free to create new intellectual properties for whatever system they want. (Even though they prefer the xbox platform)”

It’s hard to understand why Bungie would want to leave Microsoft after one of the most successful game launches so far in this decade.

Ripten will keep you posted on any further information.

Winning bidder “directsalesprice” is definitely going to be winning the office Halloween costume contest this year. His winning bid of 21,149.00 on Ebay for a one of a kind Master Chief custom featured on Spike TV, G4 TV, and in a Dell commercial, may not make him famous but it will definitely get him looks. More pictures after the jump.

If the breathtaking new “Finish The Fight” artwork doesn’t satisfy your craving for the chief, then take a look behind the scenes of what we here at ripten have in store for our readers in the coming weeks.

After you sort through the Halo art from Bungie you will find the comic style artwork of artists Jonathan Lo and Kristoffer who are brining to life a battle between Metriod’s Samus Aran and Halo’s Master Chief. All of this is a part of our exclusive “King Of The Game” series which will be hitting the site in the next few weeks.

Image Source: IGN.com

We have all seen top ten lists when it comes to video game characters, but have you ever wondered what would happen if they actually had to go head to head to earn the title of the baddest character to ever call a console home? Well we here at ripten.com did, and that is why we decided to hire a group of talented illustrators to work on our “King Of The Game” series which pits 32 of the most well known video game characters against each other in a single round elimination tournament. Each battle takes place in a different NFL football stadium and features John Madden as the play by play announcer teamed up with a different celebrity color commentator each week.

With the magnitude of the Samus versus Master Chief match up we thought it would be cool to give our readers two different perspectives to the battle. The above art is that of Jonathan Lo and the art to the left is that of Kristoffer. We first gave our readers a glimpse of his work yesterday. Enjoy the art and remember we really do want to hear your thoughts on who you think should win. Final art for the battles will be hitting the site in the next 2 weeks so check back often!

Can Marcus Fenix roadie run his way through a bullet blazing, one liner laden, no holds barred battle with the one and only Duke Nukem? Will Metal Gear’s main man Snake slither his way to victory against the Splinter Cells triclops, Sam Fisher? Metriod’s Samus Aran, or the combat evolved Master Chief? The king of cold: Sub Zero or the queen of hot: Lara Croft?

We here at ripten have been working for over two months, researching, arguing, and eating lots of junk food, all in the name of bringing you an accurate account of each characters quest for video game immortality. The results are in and over the coming weeks, you will lay witness to five rounds of sword swinging, scope sniping, chainsaw buzzing intense action.

Below you will find division one of the first round match ups, division two will be up tomorrow. We would love to hear your comments on how you think things should go down and who you would like to see win it all.

DIVSION ONE

Update: June 4th, 2007

Hello everyone,

Division One has changed slightly based on the feedback we received from readers. Lara Croft will now be facing off against “Pitfall Harry” and Ryu of Ninja Gaiden fame will be swinging his sword against Mr. Joe Shinobi.

We thank you for the feedback! To see the division two matchups click here. Check back tomorrow for matchups to start posting to the site in comic book page format featuring the artwork of various artists!

Thanks,
Mad Gamer

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