Halo 3 Co-op: I just peed myself

If this title doesn't have you asking yourself - what the? - then read the article below from Bungie's website. I was going to write a short story, but I figure I can't do as good a job as Bungie did. Two paragraphs in and you'll understand why I first need to buy new pants, and why I can't wait for September 25th.

The Truth About Co-Op in Halo 3
Posted by lukems at 7/31/2007 1:49 PM PDT
It’s time for us to sack up and tell you what’s what regarding online co-op.

So you were probably wondering why we didn't want to commit to two player co-op online over Xbox Live. We certainly got plenty of mail asking, no, demanding that we make it happen. Of course we were working on it, but we were also working on something better. Not two player co-op. Not three-player co-op, but up to four player co-op. Online. On Xbox Live, or sure, System Link if you prefer.

That is correct – up to four player co-op in Campaign mode on Xbox Live or System Link.

We’ve been playing it for quite some time, and bluntly, having some of our greatest ever Halo experiences. We wanted to make sure all our “t”s were crossed and our “i”s dotted before unveiling this important new part of Halo 3’s Campaign mode.

Apart from the horrifying network challenges this new mode presented us, were the various gameplay balance issues it adds to the fray. So we got it all together, polished it, and that’s why we’re revealing it now. As a result, you’re going to want to play co-op as hard as you can stomach it. We’d certainly recommend Legendary, but we’ll be revealing some more ways to make the game more interesting and challenging for multiple players in the very near future.

Acting as a team is a fantastic new twist to the Campaign gameplay – something that works as well on foot, in close confines as it does on the battlefield, with large scale vehicle mayhem. Scared of Jackal snipers? Send out a scout to see what dangers lie ahead. Terrified of an open field? Flank your enemies and swipe their rides. The combinations and scenarios are endless – and you’ll be able to enjoy them time and time again in Saved Films of your co-op exploits.

We mentioned that we’ve been having a blast. We have a lot of stories. Many of them would require that we explain some of the reasons replay will be a big factor, but not quite yet. Soon, we promise.

Like every other aspect of Halo 3, this mode is chosen from a Lobby. Simply select Campaign, choose your network (Xbox Live or System Link) and invite your friends to join you, or they can simply join your session once it’s set up and in a lobby (but they cannot join a game once it’s in-progress). They will pop into your lobby instantly, and when you have all the players you need (anywhere from one to four) you can begin the game from the beginning – or from any of your saved checkpoints.

Split-screen co-op is as ever, limited to two players per screen – but they can if they wish join two other friends online or via System Link.

For fictional reasons, we decided to avoid Halo’s slightly surreal compromise of two identical Master Chiefs and rather, use this opportunity to expand the Halo universe just a little bit. Player one will control the Master Chief, player two will control the Arbiter and players three and four will get the chance to control two brand new Elite characters.

Allow us to introduce them:

PLAYER 3 (Sangheili)

Name: N’tho ‘Sraom
Affiliation: Fleet of Retribution/Special Warfare Group/Special Operations
History: N’tho ‘Sraom is the youngest member of his Special Operations unit and is one of a growing number of human sympathizers amongst the Sangheili youth. He is a fairly typical young male adult Sangheili—he began compulsory military service at the end of adolescence, and remains unmarried with no close, non-familial relationships outside of his martial order. N’tho Sraom refused to stand idly by while the Prophets replaced Sangheili units with Jiralhanae packs, and now bears deep resentment toward those Sangheili politicians who landed his kind in their current predicament.

Although N’tho ‘Sraom’s romanticized nationalism is emblematic of all Sangheili, he has developed a healthy respect for humanity—not for their physical abilities or martial prowess, but for their audacity and resolve.

PLAYER 4 (Sangheili)

Name: Usze ‘Taham
Affiliation: Fleet of Retribution/Special Warfare Group/Fleet Security
History: Although Usze ‘Taham was born into a respected merchant family he was fathered by Toha ‘Sumai—one of the preeminent swordfighters of this age. Usze graduated with honors from the top War College in the Iruiru region of Yermo, Sanghelios (a distinction he shares with Rtas 'Vadum). Shortly after receiving his first post within the Covenant Navy he was offered a place on the Prophets’ Honor Guard but he declined citing “lack of practical experience”. In truth, he had no desire to be part of a largely ceremonial unit, and at the end of his third combat tour, Usze ‘Taham again refused the post—even though his superiors warned him such behavior could be misinterpreted as apostasy.

Since that time Usze has evaded countless punitive actions, at least two assassination attempts, and served with distinction for two additional tours before the Schism. Following the dissolution of the Covenant, he was approached by the Ascetics to become one of their liaisons within the Navy.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Every player will have identical abilities – only their appearance and weapon starts are different (Elites will start with Carbines versus Battle Rifles for example, depending on the mission). So there you have it. Mystery solved. Internet dramas ended. Four player online co-op it is. And a special thanks to the test, engineering, production and design teams who worked incredibly hard to make this feature happen.

Bam!

What HD TV should you buy? This one......

If its time to replace your television then this should be what you buy. Panasonic have released a range of Plasma TV's and monitors that 1920 x 1080 resolution. there are three models in the range 65" (US) 58"(US) are the biggest but i don't recommend these, there pixel density is to low for panels of this size. The 50" (UK/US) is great and would be a good buy if you are seated between 3.5 meters away to 6 meters. there haven't been many plasmas available before with this resolution, pioneer is the only other one and is great but is twice the price of the Panasonic.



For those of you that are closer there is a 42" available and it still has a Full HD resolution of 1920x1080. This is great news because in a 42" size they have managed to squeeze in 2,073,600 pixels. That's a great achievement for Panasonic because there is no other manufacturer doing it right now.

Panasonic TH50PZ700

RR £2800 / $4000

Panasonic TH42PZ700

RR £2100 / $2500

Comic-Con 2007

Comic-Con 2007 is finally here. One of the biggest pop culture events of the year takes over the San Diego Convention Center Thursday, July 26th. The convention will last four days and hits on just about everything including comics, movies and video games. Now in its 38th year, Comic-Con continues to grow exponentially! In fact over 120 thousand people are expected to attend this years festivities.

Let the Games Begin:
The video game industry as started to realize the potential for Comic-Con. Developers have started offering game trailers and show panels. We are expecting to get a look at several PSP and PS3 games. SCEA will demonstrate SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Tactical Strike and The Eye of Judgment. And Foundation 9 Entertainment will be there with Sonic Rivals 2 for PSP.

Foundation 9 Entertainment will also demonstrate Godzilla Unleashed for the Wii, as well as The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night and WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 for the DS.

Microsoft will also show off some of its upcoming games. And as an added bonus, it has teamed up with Warner Brothers to put game, movie and television trailers, celebrity interviews and DC comic themes on Xbox Live Marketplace. The first two themes will be Superman and 300. They'll hit the Marketplace on Thursday. It also looks like Supernatural, Superman Doomsday, The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Babylon 5 will all be hitting the Marketplace as new paid content.

PC Gamer and Maximum PC will be holding hourly Unreal Tournament 3 tournaments, marking the first time that the upcoming Midway game will be playable to the public.

"Red Ring of Death" and other Xbox news

Red Ring of death
Well, it looks like Microsoft is getting closer to acknowledging there is a serious hardware flaw with the Xbox 360. The company announced early this month that it is extending the warranty coverage for 360 owners by one year. That means the warranty is now good for three years. But there is a catch. The warranty only covers hardware failures. That means when you call the Xbox support line you need to stress that you got three flashing red lights. If you don't you wont get your Xbox serviced for free. For those that don't know the problem seems to be surrounding the consoles cooling system. Apparently the consoles are overheating causing the systems to breakdown. Microsoft says any customer who has paid for repairs will get a refund in 10 to 12 weeks. (End of September) Microsoft is not releasing to many details about the refunds, so it look like you'll need to keep track of that and make sure you get your money back.

Damaged Discs
The "Red Ring of Death" isn't the only problem for Microsoft. The company is also getting some flack over the console damaging games. Two people filed a lawsuit against Microsoft earlier this month in California. Christine Moskowitz and Dan Wood claim the Xbox 360 console scratched the game discs, making them unusable. They are asking for $5 Million in damages. It also looks like the two are trying for a class action lawsuit. If they win it could mean a serious blow to Microsoft.

In case your wondering, Microsoft does have a Disc Replacement Program in place. If one of your discs is damaged you can get a new copy. However it only applies to games where Microsoft is the publisher. A list of games available for replacement is below. You will have to print, fill out and send in this program form to get your games replaced. Delivery takes about 2 weeks.

Games available for replacement:
Crackdown™
Fuzion Frenzy 2
Gears Of War®
Halo® 2
Kameo™: Elements of Power™
Ninety Nine Nights™
Perfect Dark Zero™
Project Gotham Racing® 3
Viva Piñata™
Xbox Live® Arcade Unplugged Vol. 1