Recently, we asked you -our loyal X3F readers - to submit questions for our interview with Bungie's own Brian "Sketch" Jarrard. And boy did you come through! After sifting through hundreds then choosing a few questions, we digitally sat down with Jarrard to clarify questions about Halo 3: Recon, discuss the Mythic Map Pack and chat about other Bungie related topics. Let's just say we learned a lot!
In the interview, Jarrard confirmed that Halo 3: Recon will feature at least one new weapon and a brand new soundtrack, also confirming that the blue / red Covenant outline featured in the Recon trailer is "true to the spirit of the actual game." We also discuss what Recon's Forge won't be and why Bungie chose not to go the route that Far Cry 2 did. As if that wasn't enough exclusive info, we discuss Recon matchmaking, Vidmaster achievements, the Mythic Map Pack maps and even pie. We even snuck in some Humpday Challenge smack talk. Make the jump to read the complete interview.
When Bungie released its teaser trailer for the upcoming Halo 3 related whatever it is, the video was quickly picked apart by fans and editors alike. One particular frame in the teaser displayed an image that read, "Maddie, where are you?" While some brushed off the frame as another cryptic Bungie message, others took it as a reference to the highly publicized disappearance of three-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann last year while on vacation with family in Portugal.
As questions regarding the reference poured onto its forums, Bungie quickly responded citing the name as an unfortunate coincidence. "As always, all of the characters in our games are fictional. Any similarities between real life and the characters in our games are purely coincidental," community manager Luke Smith wrote. "That said, this is both an unfortunate and untended coincidence."
After analyzing the recently released Bungie teaser with a fine tooth comb, eagle-eyed tipster LiquidThunder noticed a date in the trailer's "reboot text". The date, about 37 seconds in, is "01/06/09" which instantly makes our overly enthusiastic fanboy brains think, release date! But, as with the teaser itself, we aren't exactly sure what the date means. Let it be known that January 6th, 2009 is in fact a Tuesday and in the States, Tuesday is traditionally the day new releases make their way to store shelves. Keep that in mind and KEEP IT CLEAN.
UPDATE: According to Xbox Live the mystery is a new campaign experience. The trailer download page on Live includes the text, "High action and deep mystery await players in this new Halo 3 campaign experience. Prepare to Drop!" This is getting interesting!
After an unfortunate false-start at E3 2008, Bungie has finally revealed its hidden agenda for world domination. Today at 7:07am PDT, Bungie teased what appears to be a story expansion to Halo 3. Details are scarce but the trailer begins with falling escape pods onto a city landscape that seems ripped right out of Halo 2's infamous E3 in-game demo.
The trailer showcases a giant explosion that levels the clean city into a burning pile of rubble ending with the tag lines, Halo 3. Prepare to Drop.
If you ask us, this screams ODSTs! Not that we're swayed by the itchy typing fingers of hardcore fanboys and girls but we're all excited for whatever this title or expansion could mean for the Halo universe! Expect every morsel of information here on X3F as soon as it becomes available.
Update: We may have jumped the gun on this one as we have not been able to verify or duplicate this Halo 3 pop-up. In other words, it could have easily been faked. So, we'll tag this story with a fat "RUMOR" tag until further notice. Original blog is as follows;
As the Superintendent countdown ticks the seconds until Bungie's early morning surprise, we're pretty confident tomorrow's announcement isn't going to be a new Halo 3 map pack reveal. Instead, we'll be we may be treated to the official unveiling of Bungie's next project.
The in-game Halo 3 screen grab that you see above, surfaced over on the Bungie.net forums (the thread has since been closed) and is supposedly a Halo 3 pop-up notification that has been seen by gamers in certain time zones. The pop-up (similar to the one used to announce the second title update) is promoting the big Superintendent announcement with instructions to "Download the teaser for our next game" at Bungie.net or the XBLM. We're nearly certain this Halo 3 ad wasn't meant to pop-up until tomorrow morning, but someone's mistake is our knowledge gain. Get ready kids, because Bungie is set to unveil their latest project and we only have a few hours to wait!
Here we go again. Bungie.net has just been updated with a nifty little Superintendent splash page with a rotation of random phrases and a little countdown timer in the bottom right corner that's counting down to tomorrow morning. Specifically, Thursday, September 25th at 7:07AM pacific which is also the one year anniversary of Halo 3. And with all the Superintendent talk that has been going on and the mysterious achievements popping up, we're under the impression that we're counting down to the delayed E3 announcement. Or maybe not. One thing we're sure of is that we'll have our browsers refreshing Bungie.net early tomorrow morning. Now get excited!
He's baaaaaack! The Superintendent has once again graced Bungie.net with his plumbing presence warning Halo fanboys to "KEEP IT CLEAN!" You know, because he's the Superintendent and he says so.
If you recall (more info here), Bungie's little green box known as the Superintendent made his presence known during E3 when it became pretty clear he was somehow tied to Bungie's next big project reveal. Sadly, politics happened and Bungie didn't get to announce their project and the Superintendent went into hibernation. But now he's back and with Bungie's Weekly Update hinting that "the night is darkest just before the dawn" and that "dawn is about to break", we have a hunch that the BIG Bungie announcement is coming soon. In the meantime, please, keep it clean.
Posted Aug 8th 2008 11:45AM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
Keen sighted fanboy Skandil just informed us that Bungie's plumber friend, the Superintendent, has not totally disappeared from Bungie.net following the big E3 let down. He's actually still chilling on the homepage. Per the screenshot above (which we needed ninja-like reflexes to capture) you can see that the Superintendent appears on the top left hand corner of Bungie.net where Bungie's logo sits. Though, he only appears randomly and when he wants to. So, does this Superintendent appearance mean anything to us, Halo, Bungie or the secret announcement? Maybe, but probably not. Our Superintendent friend is just chilling ... chilling on the Bungie.net homepage.
Poor Superintendent. You were a mysterious little character, one that promised a new Bungie project and one whose countdown was prematurely ended. Last week, we thought we would finally get a chance to know about you, your plunger and why you were so adamant about cleaning up. We know you aren't gone forever, instead you are just gone for now. We wait patiently for your return and in your memory, we posted a tribute video after the break. Long live Superintendent ... we miss you already.
Posted Jul 16th 2008 3:58PM by Xav de Matos
Filed under: E3
Bungie.net has been updated. No, nothing was announced. That was canceled, but the update has come in the form of a quick-n-dirty Q&A regarding the situation. Responding specifically to internet claims that Bungie was masterminding a plot to trick fans only to later reveal an 'OMG-megaton,' Bungie's Luke Smith posted an update today -- and please, really listen.
"As much as fans wanted to believe otherwise, this is in fact, the truth and not a cruel hoax or prank. E3 is winding down and there are no plans to make a surprise announcement later this week," Smith wrote.
Smith does assure fans that everyone at Bungie is aware of their disappointment and even share in it as "a metric ton" of work was done to create and showcase something special at 7:07am this morning. Smith also does well by the community by answering some of the more controversial questions later last night.
Smith revealed that Bungie learned of the postponement near 7pm and for the sake of tradition timed the release that that time. The splash image was not removed for people who were not online during the situation and went to Bungie the next morning looking for details. Finally, Luke Smith assured fans that former tester Harold Ryan is the current president of Bungie LLC.
With no information released during the Microsoft Press Conference yesterday many assumed Bungie's hints at an announcement were teased to the community with no real purpose. However, as we reported earlier, Bungie.Net has been taken over by the mascot dubbed the Superintendent promising to clean up the server. A counter also appeared on the splash page that expires at roughly 7:07AM PT (10 AM EST) on Wednesday, July 16.
More teases at an announcement have been discovered since then. The image in Halo 3's Bungie Favorites has been updated with a corrupt file that displays a sadder looking Superintendent and the numbers 12:05:37:14 and a group of lights on the world map on Bungie.net seem to be shaped like the Superintendent logo near the district of Mombasa, Kenya -- a city with ties to the Halo universe.
For theories and speculation on the countdown, jump in!
As we patiently await the Microsoft Press Conference a big question looms over the show, will Bungie showcase something new. Gamers and game sites everywhere are speculating on the company's recent activity and have some theories as to what they have in store for Xbox 360 owners.
The most popular theory is that Bungie will announce a new third-person shooter set in the Halo universe where players take on the role of ODSTs (Orbital Drop-Shock Troopers) during a Covenant attack on Earth. Two possible storylines include a game based on the events between Halo 2 and Halo 3, also seen in the Neill Blomkamp short film Halo Landfall, or showcasing the initial attack on Earth. Both theories ultimately end the game with an epic battle reminiscent of the famous Halo 3 diorama. According to a reliable source, GameSpot says a tactical shooter is likely and considering former Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter creative director Christian Allen is the lead of Bungie's next project it makes sense.
Update: To clarify, the Legendary playlists within Halo 3 now require all downloadable content. So to continue playing on Legendary playlists you'll need the free Heroic pack, the Legendary pack (which you'd need to play on that list anyway) and Cold Storage. After Bungie Day the playlists that utilize Cold Storage are playlists that require all downloadable content. Effectively making Cold Storage apart of the Legendary Map Pack after today.
Good morning ladies and gentlemen and a good Bungie Day to you. To help celebrate this, surely soon-to-be National, holiday the Xbox Live Marketplace has been overrun by Bungie related content. Available for download are a free gamer picture set and dashboard theme, both wrapped in Bungie-branded love. Also, if you're interested, 'Cold Storage' -- the new map for Halo 3 that re-envisions Halo's 'Chill Out' -- is online for the low price of free. There are a few limitations to 'Cold Storage,' specifically you must have both previous map packs to add the new map to matchmaking, but so far the map looks hot. Or cold. Whichever works for you.
Don't have the Heroic or Legendary Halo 3 map packs? Heroic is still available for free and as of today the Legendary map pack has been discounted to 600 MS Points. Oh and also, we're offering 10 X3F bonus points (which don't mean anything) to the first person to spot any Superintendent related hints in the map. Happy hunting!
Posted Jul 4th 2008 11:45AM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
We recently stumbled across some very interesting Bungie related news over on the NeoGAF forums that we've A) never heard about and B) feel ashamed for not not having heard about it previously. It's news that (allegedly) pertains to Bungie's next super secret project and the possibility that they've been dropping subtle hints these past few months. Odd and confusing hints that all point to the little janitor-looking "Superintendent" character you see above.
As the story goes, way back in May of this year, this mysterious (and adorable) Superintendent artwork has been making appearances on Bungie posts, has been seen on employees' tshirts, has been spotted on the Bungie.net forums, has appeared on the Bungie webcam and has even been seen in the latest Cold Storage ViDoc with text reading "KEEP CLEAN". What does this all mean? Does this really have to do with Bungie's next secret project? If so, will it be a janitor sim? Will the Superintendent character grace Monday's free Bungie Day gamer picture pack? Why is the Superintendent giving us a thumbs up while holding a plunger? We have no idea, but hopefully next week's celebration of Bungie Day will make things more clear. In the meantime, take the jump to look over the timeline of Bungie's Superintendent shenanigans and see if you can put the puzzle pieces together. You know, Da Vinci Code style.
