The upcoming Electronic Gaming Monthly unleashes a heap of leaked Halo 3 information.

The August issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) magazine contains a trove of Halo 3 tidbits that have been unearthed and distributed throughout the internet.

Four new vehicles were discovered: the Elephant, Hornet, Prowler and Transportation Warthog. The Elephant is a floating base that is only available on the Sandtrap map thus far. Although the base is drivable by players, it will contain spawn spots, vehicle drops and key items like flags.

To combat the previously solo air vehicle, the Covenant Banshee, Bungie has created the Hornet. Flown by one pilot and holding two wingmen, this flying UNSC craft will oppose the Banshee with an unannounced arsenal.

Alongside the fresh Brute Chopper comes the Brute Prowler, a variant on the traditional Warthog that carries some type of turret and three passengers. Keeping with the Warthog theme, a redesigned version meant for transportation seats additional SPARTANS but lacks any firepower.

A couple of rumored weapons, the Mauler and Gravity Hammer, were confirmed. A competitor to the Shotgun, the Brute Mauler is a weaker, yet dual-wieldable close-range weapon. For those who remember the Brute boss Tartarus from Halo 2 will recognize his Gravity Hammer, a massive melee tool that can lunge like the energy sword and repel vehicles and grenades out of its owner's path. Flares will be added as a new grenade type, allowing players to blind opponents upon deployment.

Equipment includes the new Personal Shield, Regenerator and Invincibility. The Jackals have held them for years and now gamers can carry stationary shields to hide behind and shoot through. In contrast to the already announced shield-sucking Power Drainer, the Regenerator revives the shield of anyone within its radius potentially to the point of overshielding. In the single player campaign, Brute Chieftains will have an Invincibilty item that renders them impervious to damage for a short period of time. Whether this reaches into multiplayer is unknown.

Lastly, EGM spotted a menu item titled "Forge," which was the name of Marathon's map editor. Although not a complete designer (textures and level geometry can not be changed), Forge will allow for the placement of weapons, vehicles, spawns and objectives on any of the existing maps. Respawn timers for spawn points, weapons and ammo can be tampered with at ones will.

Halo 3 goes gold

Phil Elliott 11:51 (BST) 30/08/2007

Microsoft's much-anticipated FPS enters manufacturing

One of the most-hyped games to date, Halo 3, is now officially finished, and the gold master has been released to manufacturing.

Microsoft, publisher of the Bungie title, has announced that the final chapter in the trilogy will now be in production ahead of its release on September 25 in the US and Australia, September 26 in Europe and September 27 in Japan.

The game recently broke the 1 million pre-order figure in the US, is expected to take more money on its first day of sale than most major box office releases, and has spawned its own version of the Xbox 360 console.

Head of Bungie Studios Harold Ryan is optimistic about the fruits of his team's labour: "This is a huge milestone for us and a big cause for celebration."

"This is the game we've always wanted to make and certainly the best game the studio has developed."