If you’ve been thinking about getting a 360 or need to replace your recently dead unit there’s a new bundle coming that just might be perfect. Amazon just added a listing for a 2010 Spring bundle that includes Forza 3, Halo 3: ODST and a 120GB Elite 360 for just $299.99. The deal should be available this coming Tuesday, March 9th from Amazon.
Really, this is about the best deal I’ve seen. The kit includes two great games and even nets you beta participation for Halo: Reach through ODST. Really, it’s like three games for the price of a console. This bundle also launches the same day as the Final Fantasy XIII bundle that runs $399. That one includes two controllers, the game, and a 250GB hard drive.
Either way, you get a really solid bundle at an incredible price. Can’t really ask for much more than that.
Ever since Microsoft announced Project Natal there has been speculation about which blockbuster titles would see motion controlled support. What’s more blockbuster than Halo? Nothing. But thankfully, Bungie confirmed it won’t be making Reach with Natal capabilities.
The confirmation came after a leaked screenshot showed a targeting reticule off to the side of the screen.
“Halo: Reach is NOT a Natal title and is being developed expressly with the traditional Xbox 360 controller in mind.”
Just to assuage any doubt, Bungie included the bug report for the anomaly along with it’s denial of Natal support. The full post was a “mythbusters” post, resolving other rumors like HUD and crosshair customization. You can find all those goodies at the Bungie website.
As with the last several Halo titles, Reach already has some “leaked footage.” It gets the quotes because really, it could be fake. It could be viral marketing. It could even be leaked footage, but whatever the case, this thing is questionable.
The video opens on the boot screen, which features this message:
Welcome to the Halo: Reach Public Beta, the experience you are about to enjoy is an early sample of a few multiplayer and single-player levels from Halo: Reach, launching exclusively on Xbox 360 later this year. Until then, drive [sic] into Activities or Campaign and have a blast.
The text is pretty sloppy, which makes me lean toward the fake side of the boat. The video also leaks a new mode called “Murder Mode” that supposedly allows you to kill enemies without being seen. I could have sworn that was the bludgeon to the back of the head move. Also, why would it be called “Murder Mode?” Why not call it a “Murder Skill,” unless it allows you to become invisible for an extended period of time, which really isn’t so different from the Arbiter’s cloak skill in Halo 3.
Good to its word, Bungie showed off the last game will make under the Halo franchise at the VGAs last night, a game we all know as Halo: Reach. The trailer was a mashup of pre-battle scenes. A warthog driving across some open terrain. A bunch of Spartans back at barracks. A bunch more Spartans at their barracks. A bunch of Spartans leaving their barracks.
Sounds kinda boring, doesn’t it? Well that’s because it is. I embedded the video below so you can see just how boring for yourself. Granted, this all about setting up the conflict that started Halo, so there’s a lot of dialogue. It’s strange, though, that Bungie is investing so much in establishing stock characters in a short trailer. You have the chick trying to prove herself in command. The psycho sharpening a knife with a skull painted on his visor. The dutiful lieutenant reporting for duty. I’m not sure what about this was supposed to excite me, and there was virtually nothing to make me say, “yeah, this will be the biggest game of 2010,” other than the word Halo in the title.
Fans of the Halo series now have another date to look forward to. Spike TV’s Geoff Keighley tweeted today that the premiere of Halo: Reach will be at the Video Game Awards on Spike this December the 12th. It will be the first look anyone gets at the game, probably with an exclusive trailer.
I’m pretty excited about the game. I was always a bit more interested in the story behind Halo than I was the storyline proper. I think it’s the Flood. Just not an interesting enough villain for me, but hey, zombie plagues are in, right?
I have to say, though, announcing games on television is just so five years ago. C’mon Microsoft, we live in the age of the internet. More people will doubtless watch the trailer there than on Spike. Why not do something cool like offer double experience for all Halo games and stream the trailer over live as it’s broadcast?
I forgot to mention this very large and intrusive piece of information from the USA Today article comparing Halo to Star Wars. According to Frank O’Connor, the former Bungie guy who now heads up 343 Industries, the Halo division at Microsoft, the adventures of Master Chief have been planned six years into the future.
“Eventually, it will become very apparent that there is a plan for the way the canon all ties together and the way the comic books and the novels all tie together,” O’Connor said. I’m kinda curious what that means. Is there some nefarious plan lurking behind a story line that could have been really epic if it weren’t so poorly handled? Have I overlooked some love connection between Master Chief and the Gravemind? Tell me your secrets, Frankie!
At the very least we can all rest assured that Microsoft can still spot the gigantic glowing cash cow sitting right in front of it. The very minute you get tired of the latest Halo there’s sure to be another, even if it is a glorified expansion, flying off shelves at $60 a pop.
There’s an odd little article on USA Today this week that suggests Halo is trying to mimic Star Wars in its spin-offs and merchandising. If you want to see some numbers for the franchise it’s a good read, but the article is missing a crucial link: how comic books + action figures + books + sequels + movies = Star Wars.
To be fair, I understand the correlation. Few story worlds have captured public imagination quite like Halo has, but there have been enough of those things lately to realize that Star Wars was no unique phenomenon. Bear with me people. If you take a look at what I’ll call popular story worlds today, they have all been marketed in similar fashion across various media. Harry Potter has spinoff books, figures, video games, children’s toys, and on and on. Lord of the Rings has a similar brand identity. Twilight has completely changed the town in which the story takes place, taking it from a small town to a major tourist location.
What we might be able to say more accurately is that Star Wars is the first of these popular-story-worlds-turned-moneymaking-machines that has survived into the modern age. Comic book heroes took their sweet time getting here, and Lord of the Rings was so long in the making, the movies that is, that many thought it would never happen. But George Lucas did a great job turning Star Wars into more than just a great movie trilogy.
As long as people can find a way to monetize a story, we’ll be hearing this argument. Is it the next Harry Potter? The next Twilight? The next Lord of the Rings? It’s not any of those things, just the next enchanting narrative that got exploited for mass consumption.
As Halo nears the end of its Bungie-led storyline, it looks like the team behind the series is looking toward their own futures. Three of those guys decided to jump ship prior to the release of Halo: Reach and form their own studio, Moonshot Games.
The company is brand new – they haven’t even tweeted yet! – so all they’ve got is an impressive resume and a reasonable mission statement. “Led by a small team of experienced industry veterans, Moonshot is pledged to the exploration and development of high-quality downloadable games.” Lofty ideals indeed. Whatever the firm’s first project, I think it’s safe to guess it won’t involve space marines, alien zealots, or ancient-ring-like-planet-destroying-weapons. Yeah, none of those.
Halo 3: ODST has been the topic of some hot conversation, mostly with regard to price. There are droves of people who think the game is merely an expansion and doesn’t warrant the $60 price tag it carries. Others, like Bethesda’s Ashley Cheng, think Microsoft simply mismanaged the ODST marketing campaign and you should just suck it up.
On his blog, Bethesda production director Ashley Cheng said confusion around the title’s name and place in the franchise is the only thing that makes people wonder if the game is worth $60.
Give me a break. First off, most games – especially first person shooters – are anywhere from 5-10 hours. Tops. What makes Halo different from others? You can’t just ping Halo ODST for it. I bet if Microsoft hadn’t screwed up the marketing messaging, there would less talk about pricing.
I’m inclined to agree, though I’m also inclined to say not enough people care about this to make a difference. The game is going to sell and sell fast. Sure people will bitch, but that’s bound to happen any time you have millions of people rushing to purchase a product. You’ll never have one hundred percent of your consumer population believe the product is worth the price.
It’s hard not to think of Halo 3:ODST as the expansion it was first billed as. Sure they’ve added a load of features, and there’s even a mini-game now. But the game is really just an extension of a story that’s already been finished, a tale with an ending. Bungie’s committed to the title – in fact, they’re not even willing to talk about Halo:Reach.
Bungie’s community leader Brian Jarrard spoke at PAX this year regarding both releases. “Obviously right now what we’re excited about is the impending launch of ODST, so we don’t want to totally start talking about next year’s model before this one’s even off the assembly line.” Alright, so he doesn’t sound that committed to the current title, does he?
I don’t blame the guy. I realize Halo:Reach has the same problem I mentioned above – a story that’s already done – but it’s far enough removed from what I consider a trilogy’s timeline that it’s also entirely different.
If you’ve been thinking about getting a 360 or need to replace your recently dead unit there’s a new bundle coming that just might be perfect. Amazon just added a listing for a 2010 Spring bundle that includes Forza 3, Halo 3: ODST and a 120GB Elite 360 for just $299.99. The deal should be available this coming Tuesday, March 9th from Amazon. 
