October 1st, 2007 BennyB
Sick and tired of spitting out generic first person shooters, it looks as if Bungie might be leaving the Microsoft camp. This comes as no surprise after the colossal disappointment that is Halo 3. One can assume that Bungie is tired of working with low end hardware and they want to kick it up a notch to utilize PS3′s tech. Imagine what Halo 3 would’ve been like had it even been able to run beyond 640p at a decent framerate.
Full story:
A friend of mine who has someone close that works at Bungie has just been dying to tell me a secret about their future. Since the NDA officially expire today the sent me and email with the details. I have full faith in this contact.
The email is as follows :
“So heres my big secret. You should google Bungie + Microsoft + separation this week.
You know that big ol BILLION dollar franchise Bungie has created for Microsoft, to show their appreciate Microsoft is letting Bungie leave. Of course Microsoft gets to keep all rights to the Halo franchise, but as today Bungie no longer part of Microsoft. Ask anyone who works there to search the global address book, they’re no longer in there. Microsoft was supposed to release the press release today but if they wait till the 10/6 the impact wont effect the quarterly results. However today is the actual official date and the day the NDAs expire, however you still didn’t hear this from me.”
“Apparently MS just wants Bungie to make Halo for the rest of their natural days, and Bungie doesn’t like how MS is constantly trying to “handle” everything they do; the way they market their games, the way they interact with their fans (basically the fact that they do appreciate their fans), and how stingie they are with the profits (comparable to the rest of the industry). So as of today they are their own independent entity. They’ll probably make Halo 4 for Microsoft, however hey are also free to create new intellectual properties for whatever system they want. (Even though they prefer the xbox platform)”
“What a way to say thank you.”
Source
Posted in Halo 2.5, Industry News, Other Systems | 49 Comments »
September 28th, 2007 Hans
Source
BLOG – This is perhaps the schwag bag to end all schwag bags…
Game journo Dean Takahashi with The San Jose Mercury News showed off his big $800-plus bag of Halo 3 propaganda sent to him by Microsoft.
He’s sending back the free stuff, which he called “nothing less than a bribe to try to get me to be favorably inclined to accepting the idea that Halo 3 is ‘the entertainment event of the year.’â€
Included in the huge personalized duffel bag of goodies are Xbox 360 controllers, a Halo 3 Xbox Live headset, a displayable Master Chief helmet and a $480 Halo 3 limited edition Xbox 360, not to mention a first aid kit and some UNSC-issued food.
Check it all out on the Dean & Nooch on Gaming video podcast (and how Halo 3 made Takahashi barf).
Hot off the heels of massive disappointment spreading far and wide amongst the horde of Halo fans regarding the quality of Bungie’s latest effort has apparently worried Microsoft to the point of intentionally bribing the media to stifle negative discussion of their premier title, Halo 3.
Reviews of the flagship title have been overwhelmingly positive which is in stark contrast to the critical feedback received by the majority of Halo’s fanbase. Dan Hsu, the head hancho of 1up, has opted to give the title a perfect score of a 10/10. This is unsurprising, as Mr. Hsu has been notorious for controlling the damage that has been associated with Halo 3′s last-generation graphics, describing them as having a ‘subtle beauty’. If by ‘subtle’ he means nonexistent, we’d be inclined to agree. Perhaps Dan Hsu is looking to secure a position as a prominent game designer within Microsoft studios like previous 1up editors Luke Smith and Che Chou? Moreover, Eurogamer, a publication that has a long history of scoring lower than most media outlets, has decided to give Halo 3 a perfect score as well. One can only wonder why these inflated scores exist, despite a title that boasts graphics that marginally look improved over its predecessor, framerate hiccups, 640p resolution, and gameplay that lasts only 5 hours to complete? I guess giving the media nearly a thousand dollars in products certainly can’t hurt.
You can fool the media, but you cannot fool the fans.
Posted in Halo 2.5, Other Systems | 46 Comments »
September 27th, 2007 m0dus
For those noticing the obscene amounts of jaggies in Halo 2.5, it’s because it’s not running at an HD resolution.
Instead it’s being rendered at an SD resolution of 640p and then scaled to 720p introducing further aliasing.
Here’s the low down:
one exemple of halo3 edge (i tested several edge with the same result) on my 1080p TV with 1:1 mapping (Samsung “just scan” mode)
http://upsilandre.free.fr/images/Halo3nativereso.jpg
it’s the same result that Perfect dark (ratio 16/27 for 1080 display or 8/9 ratio for 720 display)
i tested approximately sixty X360 games (and lot of PS3 games too ), all are 720p except two 1080p (VT3 and NBA street), two 600p (PGR3 and Tomb Raider) and Two 640p (Perfect Dark and Halo3)
EDIT: the context of the preceding Halo3 edge photo
http://upsilandre.free.fr/images/Halo3nativeresocontext.jpg
it’s an edge of the sniper rifle
It looks like Halo 2.5 really is the graphical peak of 360′s power whilst PS3 continues to pump out jaw-dropping graphics in the shape of Heavenly Sword, Lair, Killzone 2, MGS4, GT5P, Uncharted, Ratchet & Clank etc.
Source
Posted in Halo 2.5, Other Systems | 35 Comments »
September 25th, 2007 BennyB
Believe.
Ahh yes “believe”… the new $10 million dollar marketing slogan for Halo 2.5 stolen shamelessly from a video game message board. They want us to believe Halo 2.5 has a good single player story, they want us to believe that the multiplayer doesn’t pale in comparison to even the most generic of PC shooters, they want us to believe the graphics look like Halo 2 in HD because of ‘the scope’ and they want us to believe the much hyped ‘Forge’ is a sufficient replacement for a map editor.
Here is what you should believe:
What Halo 2 started with mediocrity, Halo 2.5 finishes. The story is a mess, full of plot holes and feels extremely cheesy. Even the game’s laggy 4 player co-op doesn’t help keep the single player campaign from being mediocre at best. All I can say is thank god the single player portion is very short as I’m not sure how much more sloppy writing I could endure.
Halo 2.5′s multiplayer is a letdown as well. It’s Halo 2 with a pseudo map editor. No dedicated servers, still pay to play online and only 16 players per match. Bungie should look at Resistance and Warhawk, both of which have dedicated servers, 40 players online, free to play online and are PS3 exclusive, to see how a multiplayer experience should be.
In conclusion, what was supposed to be the game of the year is looking to be yet another dud on the 360 in the same vein as Perfect Dark Zero, perhaps a bit worse. I would wait for a price drop or even avoid this title altogether. If you are looking to satisfy your FPS lust look no further than Haze and Unreal Tournament 3. With Haze’s superior 4 player co-op and UT3′s free online multiplayer and thousands of maps (thanks to Blu-ray and a real map editor) you can’t go wrong on PS3 for your online shooter fix.
SDF Score: 2.5/10
Posted in Halo 2.5, Other Systems, Reviews | 107 Comments »
September 24th, 2007 BennyB
This weeks edition of Monday Mail is a letter from a very frustrated, former Microsoft fan about his encounter with the dreaded, but much expected Red Ring of Death…
Jessie writes:
Note: this is being typed as it happens, so i appologize for any typos (feel free to edit this well enough to put it on the site)
To start, I got the RRoD (imagine that), sent it in for repair and was impressed by how fast they sent out a refurb (took about 2 weeks), but here is where it gets bad, I get my tracking number and punch it in on UPS’ web site to find that my Xbox 360 is being shipped to Los Reyes, Mexico, over 1500 mile from where I live, in Iowa. So i call them and they are “having trouble with their system”, I’m then put on hold for 5 minutes, the guy gets back on the line to ask me my address, phone number and email address, he tells me again he is having trouble with his system and i am put back on hold for another 5 minutes. When i am finally taken off hold he asked me if i requested that my console be sent to mexico, of course, i tell him “no, i asked that my console be sent to <my address> Tipton, IA, in the United States”, he asks me for my tracking number, i give it to him and again, i’m put on hold. when i finally get off he tells me my system is in transit to Los Reyes, Mexico. I told him “I understand that, but that isn’t where i live, i live in Iowa, in the united states” he asks “why is it being shipped to Los Reyes then?” i inform him that thats the reason i’m calling, because i want to know the answer to that question, and AGAIN, i’m put on hold so he can talk to his supervisor, I’m taken off hold so he can again tell me he needs to talk to his supervisor, and once again, put on hold, i’m let off hold and they tell me that i’ll be getting console by the end of next week. needless to say, this was aggravating, on top of everything i will miss out entirely on the Call Of Duty 4 beta and i will be unable to play Halo 3 on the 25th.
MS is bullshit
Sorry to hear about your troubles Jessie. Hopefully you’ll be able to get your 360 repaired with a chance to get a refund on all the games and accessories you bought for the faulty console. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise that you don’t get to play Halo 2.5 on the 25th… stay tuned for our continuing Halo 2.5 coverage leading up to the world’s first unbiased review of the game.
Posted in Halo 2.5, Other Systems, Playstation 3, SDF Mailbag | 28 Comments »
September 23rd, 2007 m0dus
The web is alight with Halo 2.5 reviews as the embargo for MS’ premier franchise is lifted.
This is MS’ attempt to prevent being 3rd place yet again in this generation’s console race. Everything hinges on a game which has had a limitless development and marketing budget.
Ars Technica were lucky enough to get a review copy from MS and they gave the game a respectable (albeit inflated score) of 7/10.
A brief summary:
* Small arenas – total lack of scope
* Halo 2 HD graphics
* Short campaign
Better luck next time MS.
Be sure to check back for The SDF’s forthcoming review of Halo 2.5.
Source
Posted in Halo 2.5, Other Systems | 49 Comments »
