Update: Halo 4

       Many people are crying out (sometimes literally) for Halo 4 information. But what they don't know, is that there has been quite a bit of Halo 4 info floating around this past month. They just don't know where to look, or what to look for.

       In Halo Waypoint's newest feature, Office of Halo Intelligence, Josh Holmes, creative director of Halo 4 said this:

"Jessica has asked me to contribute to a Halo 4 developer diary as a recurring part of our weekly Bulletin. While we won’t be able to share secrets that would spoil any of the Carefully Planned Reveals™ that we have coming down the pipe, we will give you our impressions of some of the work that is going on behind the scenes here at 343. We’ll also provide our thoughts on anything that we do make public as part of the lead-up to the game’s launch. I realize that isn’t a lot at this stage, and trust me, this is hard for us, too. We are working on so many things that we can’t wait to share with you, but patience is in order. Good things come to those who wait. All will be revealed in due time. And assorted other clichés.…

Right now the team across 343 is shaking off the last remnants of our turkey-induced stupor and whipping ourselves into fighting shape for the year ahead. It’s going to be a huge one. This will be the culmination of a multi-year journey that has already filled several cylindrical space-canisters with delicious blood, sweat and tears. Now we’re entering the crucial final stretch in which we will ready our baby for release into the wild. It’s an exciting time but stressful, too, as we place pressure on ourselves to live up to your expectations. The good news is that the game is already looking great and fun to play. So, as we ready ourselves to give you your first real look at Halo 4 in the months ahead, we can only hope that you, too, will like what you see."

       I highlighted the important parts for those who don't want to read the whole thing. "While we won’t be able to share secrets that would spoil any of the Carefully Planned Reveals™". This could be in reference to the "massive, original marketing campaign" mentioned in the 343 Sparkast 009. "several cylindrical space-canisters". This is actually quite interesting.... The Flood's original form was found in "serveral cylindrical space-canisters" on mysterious automated space ships from outside the Milky Way. Could we be exploring Flood origins more in Halo 4? Or the Reclaimer Trilogy at all? "give you your first real look at Halo 4 in the months ahead". This absolutely screams E3 (June 2012).

       343 Industries also announced on Halo Waypoint that McFarlane Toys, makers of many Halo action figures, will be making action figures for Halo 4. The release of the figures will happen like this:

August 2012

• Master Chief
• Secret Figure 1
• Secret Figure 2
• Secret Figure 3

Boxed Figure: Frozen Master Chief and cryotube

November 2012

• Cortana
• Secret Figure 4
• Secret Figure 5
• Secret Figure 6

Boxed Figure: Secret Boxed Figure 1

       This gives a hint as to when new info/game will come out. I believe we will get substantial new info around August, most likely E3. I'm also 90% sure the game will come out in November. But what really tells us that it will release in November is this. 343 later went on to say, "Halo 4 Series 1 will be launched in August 2012, and will expand around the game launch in fall 2012, continuing into 2013." So there it is! They said "the game launch in fall 2012"! Thats much more definite than "Holiday 2012".

       And finally, there has been a recent leak posted on the Halo Waypoint forums, claiming to be images of a Halo 4 Alpha Build. The thread was swiftly locked, and the links removed. The images looked quite legit, actually. I managed to save the pictures before the thread was locked. You can see them below, and to view in larger size, just click on them.

       So, there you have it. Halo 4 story hints, and a possible release window. I'll keep you posted in the coming months, and expect to see far more in the late Spring/early Summer.

Coming soon: Halo Primordium Review

       After much difficulty getting my copy (the bookstore was out of stock, despite my pre-order...), Halo Primordium arrived yesterday, and I have been reading it avidly since. Expect a review either next week or the week after.

STOP SOPA

       

If SOPA was approved, there would be no more HaloExpert. Therefore I am participating in the blackout until 11:59pm PST Today (Jan 18th).
Here are some SOPA-related websites:
Google Petition against SOPA: https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/
List of Websites that are participating in the blackout: http://sopastrike.com/
What is SOPA?: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act

Prologue, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and part of the 4th chapters of Halo: Primordium online!!!

       Can't wait 5 days for the new Halo book, Primordium to come out? Or maybe you want to check it out before buying it? Well Tor Books and Halo Waypoint have got you covered. Today, Tor released the Prologue and 1st chapter of the book, and Halo Waypoint released the 2nd, 3rd, and part of the 4th. Halo Primordium releases this Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012. So these excerpts should hold you until then.

Prologue and 1st Chapter
2nd, 3rd, and part of 4th chapters

How to play the Halo Theme when your computer starts up

If you love Halo as much as I do, chances are you probably love the Halo theme. I really love this song. I thought it would be cool to play it when my computer starts up, sort of like the main menu of the Halo games. So I spent a few hours looking for a way to do it online. I found the following solution. (PS: only works on PC. I'm not sure how to do it for Mac)

1. If you don't already have the Halo Theme in your computer's library, download it off of iTunes, or go to this site, where you can download it for free in 256 bitrate.
2. After the song is downloaded, right-click it and create a shortcut to the song. Put the shortcut in an easy-to-find folder.
3. Find your "startup folder" this is a hidden folder, and you cannot find it unless you know how. To find your startup folder, open Windows Explorer. In the address bar, you type the following: C:\Documents and Settings\[right here, type your username on your computer]\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
4. Then, hit enter. If this is done correctly, you should now be in your startup folder. Once this is open, open a new window of Windows Explorer, find the Halo Theme shortcut, and drag-and-drop it into your startup folder. If all of the above is done correctly, when you start your computer, a small pop-up version of WM Player should open and begin playing that glorious Gregorian chant.

NOTE: I have not experienced any damage to my computer from this. It may be a little slower upon startup but thats fine for me. I am not responsible for any damage you may cause to your computer, OS, or audio file.

Merry Christmas and Happy Halodays!

Review: Halo 3: ODST

       Halo 3: ODST has mixed opinions in the Halo community. Some praise it for it's story and new look at the Halo Universe. Others despise it due to it's full $60 price tag, and short campaign. I'll be honest. I didn't buy it when it came out. I waited until just a week ago, when Gamestop had it for $12. Here's what I think of it.

       ODST is... well, different. Sometimes I even forgot I was playing Halo. You aren't playing as Master Chief, or even a Spartan at all. You are an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. Known for their toughness and heroicism, ODSTs are better that normal marines, but lower than Spartan-IIs and IIIs. Another difference is the fact that it's an open-world. And then there's VISR. During low-light, you turn this on, and it gives you better vision, it outlines enemies and allies in red or green, and camoflauged enemies show up better. The weapons were different, too. No trusty MA5, or even BR55. The only full-auto is a silenced SMG. I've never been a fan of the SMG. It just feels to crummy. It takes several short controlled bursts to even take out a Grunt. But, you can shoot it while in scope mode. Another new gun is the M6C SOCOM. I really liked this gun. Very effective with the Grunts. One shot, one kill. Barely makes any noise, and you can scope it. There are no power-ups or armor abilities, and no shields either. Instead, you have "stamina" and after that, "health". There are, of course the health-packs from CE and Reach, but they do look a little different.

       The campaign was actually pretty good, but very short. Shorter than Reach, actually. It jumps around from perspective to perspective (sort of like the movie Vantage Point). I really did not like the "Rookie" levels. I just didn't like being alone, and it was all dark and dreary. There were no living Sangheili during the campaign, due to the Great Schisim; only dead bodies lying around. The Covenant presence included Jiralhanae, Mgalekgolo, Kig-Yar, Unngoy, Yanme'e, and Huragok. The only improvement I would've made was make the campaign longer. But, what are you going to do? It was originally to be released as an expansion-pack.

       I'm probably going to get some hate-mail from the following, but here goes. I hated the Firefight. It was in no way customizable, besides Skulls and Difficulty. Half the fun of Firefight is customizing the gameplay, shields, health, speed, enemies, etc. Of course, this was the first iteration of Firefight, but still... it just didn't cut it for me.

       So I guess that brings us to the Halo 3 Mythic disc. It includes every single Halo 3 multiplayer map, plus three new ones, Heretic, Citadel, and Longshore. That alone is well worth the $12 now. I havent played on all of them yet, but so far I really enjoyed this disc.

       If you didnt get ODST when it came out, I dont blame you. But now, at $12, you really have no excuse. Its a good game, even though its quite different, and the Mythic disc tops it all off. The ODST campagin disc gets a 3 out of 5, and the Mythic, a 5 out of 5.

Pre-owned Halo sale at Gamestop!

       Is there a Halo game you havent played yet, but always wanted to? Or maybe you want to go back and fight the Heretics on Threshold? Well head on over to Gamestop this week, because theyre having a sale on all pre-owned Halo games!

Halo: CE Anniversary for $34.99
Halo 2 for $12.99
Halo 3 for $4.99
Halo Wars for $19.99
Halo 3: ODST for $9.99
Halo Reach for $24.99

11th CEA Terminal (Threshold)

I know it's a little late, but this is for those of you who still havent heard of this yet. In the following video, you will see how to watch a secret 11th Terminal from CEA, as well as get 100k CR in Halo Reach.

I'll be back in January!

       Excuse the lack of content these past weeks. I've been very busy with The Holidays and whatnot. So you probably wont see any content for a while, except maybe some small updates (if they arise). But don't worry, I'll be back around the beginning of January 2012. Until then, Happy Halodays from Jon, the Halo Expert.