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Brutes playable in Halo 3? Source: The blogs of two Belgian Xbox Ambassadors, PlatoniX (English translation) and YLA G.



The official story: Microsoft rep: "Microsoft does not comment on rumors or speculation."

What we heard: One of the big surprises in 2004's blockbuster Halo 2 was the ability to play as a member of an alien race. Gamers suited up as the Arbiter--one of the Covenant's Elites bestowed with a special title--in the single-player campaign, and could skin themselves as Elites in the multiplayer portion.

Now word is spreading that another alien race will be playable in the upcoming Halo 3, due for release sometime next year. The race in question is the Brutes (the character on the right in the image), the gorilla-like berserkers who became the bodyguards of the Prophets.

According to a post on a few blogs out of Europe, a new Halo 3 video will be headed to Xbox Live Marketplace on December 20 showing Brutes as playable characters. The alleged seven-minute video will also feature two-and-a-half minutes of gameplay, which would make it the first time the public has gotten a look at the game in action.

These blogs belong to members of Belgium's Xbox Elite Team, a group of Xbox 360 gamers that are regional ambassadors for the system. Xbox Ambassadors are sanctioned by Microsoft, but aren't actually employed by the company. Typically, Ambassadors are active community members willing to go the extra mile to help out others.

Both PlatoniX and YLA G, the owners of the two blogs, are listed as Xbox Ambassadors on Xbox.com, but this doesn't exactly mean they are directly tied to Microsoft or have any insider information. The two also don't cite their source for the Halo 3 details.

There are no doubt going to be some surprises in Halo 3, but Bungie managed to keep playing as the Arbiter secret until the game actually came out. Why would they choose to spill the beans early this time around?

Bogus or not bogus?: Based on the fact that no source is named, we have to say bogus now, but we won't really find out until next week.

Posted by TimSpot, Dec 14, 2006 2:01 pm PT

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Crackdown to include Halo 3 Beta keys

Advertisement for upcoming supercop game claims some copies will include admission to Halo 3's beta program; Spartans already doing battle in Iraq.

By Tim Surette, GameSpot
Posted Jan 2, 2007 1:19 pm PT

Gamers aren't quite sure exactly when they will be able to get their hands on a copy of Halo 3 as its release date is simply "2007." The release date got narrowed slightly in November, when Bungie revealed that it would be launching a beta program for the Xbox 360 game this spring. To qualify, gamers were pointed to the Halo 3 Web site, where they were asked to enter information, cross their fingers, and wait for an e-mail confirmation of acceptance into the beta test.

Microsoft and Bungie have said that there would be multiple ways to enter the program, and now it appears that just about anyone can get one of the highly coveted seats in the test... provided they're willing to purchase a separate game.

Over the holiday break, the online arm of gaming magazine GamePro drummed up some interest in the February issue of the print publication by pointing out a tidbit from an ad that appears in said issue. In a two-page spread (scan available at TeamXbox.com) promoting the near-future police shooter Crackdown, the phrase "Includes invitation to Halo 3 multiplayer beta" appears in the lower-left corner. The beta keys will apparently be offered for a limited time and will appear in "specially marked boxes."

When asked for confirmation by Microsoft, a rep would only tell GameSpot that "There will be details in the coming days, stay tuned." Microsoft Game Studios is publishing both Crackdown and Halo 3.

As for Bungie, in last week's Weekly Update, the company acknowledged that information on how to enter the beta was "floating around the interwebs" and that Microsoft would have new details this week.

While quiet on most fronts, Bungie did talk about a small pre-beta program it is planning. The developer hopes to offer up "thousands" of spots to "experienced and active players" of Halo 2 as well as "people who spread Bungie love." Bungie will provide more details on its Web site in the future.

Bungie supports the troops.

Of course those that absolutely have to play the Halo 3 beta have one other method of virtually donning Spartan armor right now--enlist in the US Armed Forces. Bungie apparently surprised troops stationed in Iraq with a three-day Halo 3 gaming session just before the new year, says GameSpot member "Cowboy082288." The forum poster has uploaded videos and pictures of the event (with some footage of gameplay) on a MySpace account.

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Bungie: "We screwed up" on Halo 2

Iconic studio's staffers admit to British magazine that 2004 shooter wasn't all it could have been, promise vast improvements in Halo 3.

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot
Posted Jan 23, 2007 12:00 pm PT

When it went on sale in November 2004, Halo 2 was a runaway hit. The subject of nearly unprecedented interest, the sequel to the Xbox shooter would eventually sell upwards of 6.5 million copies worldwide. To this day, it remains one of the most played games on Xbox Live, and a PC version is due later this year.

However, unlike the first Halo, Halo 2 was the subject of a significant backlash. Though its introduction of online multiplayer was hailed by critics, many critiqued its short single-player campaign. One subject of particular ire was the game's lackluster ending, which featured a not-so climactic duel with a Brute chief before an abrupt final cinematic that all but screamed "sequel."

As it turns out, many staffers at Halo 2 developer Bungie agree with the criticisms leveled at the game. Writer and Bungie.net weekly update author Frank O’Connor admitted Halo 2's finale was lackluster. "We drove off [a cliff] Thelma & Louise style," he told the British game magazine Edge. "The trick is to avoid...writing by committee."

Bungie engineer Chris Butcher was blunter in his assessment. "We had about four to five weeks to polish Halo at the end...[but] we had none of that for Halo 2," he told the magazine. "We miscalculated, we screwed up, we came down to the wire and we just lost all of that. So Halo 2 is far less than it could and should be in many ways because of that. It kills me to think of it."

Butcher was even critical of Halo 2's multiplayer element. "Even the multiplayer experience for Halo 2 is a pale shadow of what it could and should have been if we had gotten the timing of our schedule right," he said "I ****ing cannot play Halo 2 multiplayer. I cannot do it."

Luckily, according to all those Edge interviewed, Bungie is taking much more care with the final installment in the Halo trilogy. "I know Halo 3 is going to be so much better," said Butcher, referring to the less-pressured production schedule for the game, which is due out sometime later this year.

Design lead Jaime Griesemer concurred, citing a new development structure which allows for more flexibility and faster implementation of ideas. “We now have a system for when I want to come in and do something crazy, for making it all work," he told the magazine. "Now I feel like we’ve got this incredible framework and we can just go nuts and do anything we want to with this really solid foundation."

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