We can think of nothing more enjoyable than the sheer awesomeness of Halo 3 and everyone's favorite Spartan, Master Chief. Then again, we can also think of nothing better than our childhood memories of transforming and playing with our old-school Transformers toys. And now we can have both.
Friendly eBay seller digitalworld40 skillfully crafted a custom transforming toy that blends our obsessive love of everything Master Chief with our nostalgic addiction of Transformers into one toy. Meet the Master Chief Transformer! This custom toy is an APC 117 Transformer who is artfully decorated to look like Master Chief when "maximized". Do we love it? Yes. Do we want it? Yes. Can we have it? Eh, probably not. The $200 price tag would force us to eat nothing but Macaroni & Cheese for the entire month of February. Then again, Mac & Cheese isn't all that bad ...
Last night's newly posted Bungie Weekly Update features talk of mis-communication and the new McFarlane figures, but most importantly they answered a bunch of Halo 3 community questions. How nice of them.
In their "FAQ ATTACK!", team Bungie took on the community's hardest hitting questions including the gems "Which is Bungie's favorite – Badgers or Raccoons?" and "Why won't you guys accept my Friend Requests?!" Not only are those answered, but the auto-update is discussed, Standoff Easter Eggs get clarification, matchmaking hopper changes are pondered and we get confirmation there there will be water in the upcoming Halo 3 maps. We're not worthy! Get your second January dose of Bungie Weekly Update goodness after the jump, before you get a case of the shakes and black out.
He teased us with some Arbiter pics earlier this month, but today Todd McFarlane is showing off the entire Halo 3 Series 2 line of action figures that are due out in June. And be double warned Halo fanboys, Series 2 is just as hot as Series 1.
Uploaded to the gallery below is the final sculpts of the entire Halo 3 Series 2 line of action figures from McFarlane that will release later this June. Featuring 18 points of articulation and beautiful paint jobs are Series 2 figures including Master Chief sporting a shotgun and spartan laser (yum!), the Arbiter, a Drone, an ODST soldier, a Brute Stalker and a handful of other Spartans. The Spartans pictured include a CQB in red, Scout in tan and an exclusive EVA in white that'll be available at specialty retailers. McFarlane also lists six other color variant figures (complete list after the break) as part of Series 2, but they're limited to select stores. Now it's time to prepare by clearing off the bookshelf to make room for all this action figure goodness. Who needs books when you have Halo 3 figures.
We're fans of the Master Chief Sucks series of videos, in which a Master Chief action figure (appropriately enough) sucks at playing games in the Halo series. With three videos in that series, it's time for Master Chief to return in a brand new series, Arby 'n' the Chief. While the other videos did a great job of showcasing the often infantile mindset of Xbox Live Halo players, this one introduces a character that says what most of us are already thinking. That character is, as you may have guessed, the Arbiter. He is Felix to the Chief's Oscar, the Rocky to his Mugsy, the sane person to his jabbering idiot. It's an old concept to be sure, but when applied to an aspect of gaming culture that is understood (and reviled) by so many rational gamers, it's hilarious (and somewhat relieving). So, if you're tired of all the jerks on Live, particularly the ones that litter the lobbies of Halo 3, check it out. If you happen to be one of those jerks, you might want to skip it.
Today, Microsoft, Bungie and the US Army announced their plans to recruit the best Halo 3 gamers with the launch of the first ever Halo 3 Championship Tournament this April, exclusively on Xbox Live. This is the same tournament that slipped out of the PR team's lips a bit early last month, but now it's official and ready to go.
Registration for the online tournament will open up sometime in March with the actual competition going down in April with winners walking away with prizes and instant gaming fame. And to prepare for April's Halo 3 Championship Tournament they'll be holding monthly Combat Training Exercises to build excitement. The first event being Sniper School which is now open for registration, followed by Heavy Weapons on February 9th and Vehicles on March 1st. You'll have to register for each Combat Training Exercise when the time comes, so watch for those.
Finally, the US Army will be sponsoring a Destination Experience site on Xbox Live that will serve up videos, tips and expert Halo 3 advice. Get in on the action by registering for Sniper School right now, join all the other events through March, learn to pwn like a pro and come April you'll have a chance to prove yourself in the online tournament. We expect that you'll do just fine.
Update: Oops, we sort of mis-read the prize payouts. Each day you play you get an entry into the giveaway, but no daily prizes will be awarded. Instead, there will only be one drawing that will award 1,251 winners. Our odds and excitement just decreased.
In an effort to give back to the Halo 3 community and recruit soldiers promote Army awareness, the US Army and Microsoft have partnered to give out all kinds of goods in their latest Halo 3 Sniper School Play & Win giveaway (which looks to be open to US residents only). Starting right now, you can make your way to Xbox.com and register your gamertag to prepare for the week long Sniper School fun which kicks off on January 19th and runs through 25th. Every day you play Halo 3 matchmaking, you'll be entered into the drawing where they'll be giving away one limited edition Halo 3 Giclee Print print as well as 1,250 800 Microsoft point redemption codes totaling over 8,750 exactly 1,251 individual winners. But remember, you have to register first and play Halo 3 daily from the 19th through the 25th to win.
While you're waiting for the Play & Win party to begin, may be entice you with a free Sniper School theme and gamer picture set download? Yeah, we thought so.
Of all the things we figured people would do with the Halo 3 Forge tool, spectacular suicide failed to make the list. We're not sure why, especially considering the mass devotion to blowing up warthogs in the first Halo. However, it seems that the goal now is not only to create dramatic and difficult self-termination scenarios, but to outdo the others before it. Case in point, a video found on Break.com showcasing a very elaborate plasma grenade suicide. You may recall the rather complicated Rube Goldberg kick-the-bucket setup we posted last week, but this one endeavors to take things a little further, even incorporating a mongoose. Check it out after the break.
Late last night, the Xbox 360 marketing team released new sales numbers and factoids prior to the official NPD being released and things are peaches and cream. Peaches and cream with extra sugar.
Microsoft revealed that to date, the Xbox 360 has sold a solid 17.7 million consoles worldwide and it's rumored that December's numbers will eclipse November's sales reaching the 1 million unit mark. But that isn't all. Microsoft also gloated that Mass Effect has now sold 1.6 million copies since its November 20th release and Master Chief's Halo 3 has moved an astonishing 8.1 million copies since September. 8.1 million copies! That means nearly half of ALL Xbox 360 owners have purchased Halo 3. Simply amazing. Now we'll go back to patiently waiting for December's NPD to release. Until then, we'll be eating some peaches and cream in the break room. Holler if you need us.
A New York man by the name of Joshua R. Stetar was arrested Friday for stalking two young girls, a 15-year-old and her sister, he met while playing an unspecified title in the Halo franchise. Stetar, 20 years old, had discovered the girl's address by searching online and had been sending flowers and other packages -- which her parents returned -- to her home since they first met online in 2006. Stetar had apparently driven 40 hours straight from his home in Saratoga Springs, New York to the girl's home in Spokane, Washington, where he drove by her house and sent her threatening text messages. According to the Associated Press, the girl's parents were outside the home at the time and saw Stetar driving past. They wrote down Stetar's license plate number and called the police, who later tracked down Stetar at a hotel and arrested him. He has since posted the $10,000 bond and was released on Saturday.
A disturbing story to be sure. Let this be a reminder to the parents out there to utilize the 360's parental controls and keep an eye on what their kids are playing.
[Via Gaming Today. Thanks YGZ Kentucky and Foolio]
Read - Detailed report from KHQ
Read - AP report via KOMO
Earning the uber l33t Halo 3 Recon Armor from the filthy clutches of Bungie is no easy feat. You must make some sort of community contribution or find a new and adventurous way of killing yourself in-game. Simply put, Recon Armor is cool, but nearly impossible to obtain and that's exactly why Belakor over at the 405th Forums created his own.
Made out of l33t plastic, l33t paint and lots of l33t love is the life-size and fully wearable Halo 3 Recon helmet you see above. And for those who haven't the slightest idea to what Recon armor looks like, take a look at this and compare it to the helmet above. Nearly identical, no? It's a work of art and if Belakor doesn't get some in-game Recon Armor to match his real-life Recon armor then we'll have to rough up the folks over at Bungie. It's only right.
News about series one of the Halo 3 McFarlane action figures is so old hat and so 2007. What is newsworthy in 2008 is details about series two and good old Toddy came through for us.
Over at Spawn.com and posted in our handy gallery below is the first look at the Arbiter figure that'll be a part of the second series of Halo 3 action figures releasing in June. Note the craftsmanship, eighteen points of articulation and the Arbiter's piercing eyes ... we're in action figure love. Remember too that the second series will also include another Master Chief, a Drone, a few Spartans and a Brute Stalker as well. So keep your eyes open for "first look" photos of those over at Spawn.com in the next few months. We're saving up already.
We guess having the privilege of owning a set of Halo 3 Recon Armor puts a giant "please hack my Xbox Live account" target on your back. A target that nobody would be proud to wear.
If you recall, Halo 3 gamer Skyllus vBi earned some shweet Recon Armor for his suicidal sniping abilities back in October which instantly brought fame, chicks and money into his life. But owning the l33t Recon Armor has also brought lots of jealousy and envy. Just this week Skyllus' Xbox Live account was hijacked through what seems to be "pre-texting" methods by an unknown gamer who singled him out simply because of his Recon status. Skyllus is, in effect, locked out of his Xbox Live account. So far, he has reached out to Bungie and has gone through the proper 1-800-4-MYXBOX channels, but has yet to be successful in regaining access to his account since the hijacker changed all his information. An investigation is pending, discussions over at Bungie.net and TeamXbox are taking place and Skyllus is updating everyone on the status over at Team vBi. Hopefully, Microsoft will fix this mess and Skyllus will again regain control of his account and Recon Armor. And maybe Xbox Live CS will quit being duped by pre-texting antics. Shame on them.
Artistically suiciding in Halo 3 is hard work. So hard, that when we need to pull a suicide maneuver we either jump off the map or simply toss a grenade at our feet. But that isn't how Evlmidget25 rolls. He's too darn creative, too artistic and has too much time on his hands for a typical run of the mill suicide. And by the Epic Suicide evidence above, we think you'll agree that not only is watching plasma grenades hop through a map mildly entertaining, but the perfect timing of it all is awe inspiring. Yeah ... we'll perform wondrous Halo 3 suicides one day. It'll be one of our new years resolutions.
We asked for it and in typical Bungie fashion, they delivered. As part of this week's Bungie Weekly Update, Frankie conveniently outlined all the changes that have been made to Halo 3's matchmaking including the different weapon changes in each map. Go ahead, analyze all the changes after the break and be sure to take note that Bungie doesn't like the Mauler or non-Bubble Shield Equipment. You see, the Mauler has been either removed, replaced or reduced in each map and has an increased spawn time while the Flare and Radar Jammer have been removed entirely. We ask why all the Mauler hate Bungie? Are you admitting weapon balance defeat and giving up on the love it or hate it "can opener"? For shame! For shame!
Without any official announcement over on Bungie.net (those lazy Bungie.net'ers), we discovered that two new playlists have been added to Halo 3's matchmaking hopper. The playlist changes are the same ones that Bungie previously revealed a few weeks back and include the addition of both ranked Team Hardcore and Team Control. Hardcore is a 4v4 playlist that features default use of the Battle Rifle and a motion tracker doesn't pickup any of the enemy's movements (but will show where your teammates are). It's truly hardcore stealth stuff. Control is also a 4v4 playlist that features nothing but control based gametypes including Territories, King of the Hill, etc. We haven't played this playlist at all, but we're sure the Territories lovers of the world (are there any out there?) will enjoy it. That's it guys, two brand new playlist additions to switch up your Halo 3 gaming. Have fun!
We also should note that lately, Bungie has been screwing with enhancing each playlist. They've been making changes including the removal of certain gametypes and addition of new custom maps to the deletion of weapons on certain maps (why no Mauler madness on Guardian?) We can't locate concrete facts on all the playlist, gametype or map changes, so if you have the info please share. Now back to Team Hardcore ...
He teased us with some 
News about series one of the Halo 3 McFarlane action figures is so old hat and so 2007. What is newsworthy in 2008 is details about series two and good old Toddy came through for us.
We guess having the privilege of owning a set of Halo 3 Recon Armor puts a giant "please hack my Xbox Live account" target on your back. A target that nobody would be proud to wear.
