Indian website Gameguru is claiming that they have insider sources within' developer Rare who confirmed that they're working on a 360 exclusive Perfect Dark Zero 2 that's set to be announced late next year. Supposedly, the PDZ sequel will be much darker (aren't all games going the darker route now a days?), based on morality and feature fully interactive environments (which every next-gen game claims). We refuse to say anything bad about seeing a twisted, darker Joanna Dark in a 360 sequel, so here's to hoping this rumor turns out to be true. Rather sad though is the fact that we'll have to wait another year to confirm or deny this PDZ 2 rumor ... oh lucky us.
Sound the trumpets and alert your neighbors, because today marks another first in Halo 3's long legacy ... the first roll out of a matchmaking update!
Today Bungie announced a few changes to Halo 3's matchmaking that are in effect right now and were changed using all the data they mined from gamers' online habits. Changes include the reduction of shotty-snipers in Team Slayer, when shotty-snipers is vetoed another shotty-snipers will not appear, Big Team Battle now houses 16 player versus, one sided VIP games will now supply a VIP indicator for the defensive team and Lone Wolves will feature more straight-up slayer gametypes. Phew! As you can see, the changes are quite minimal, but we are welcoming them with open arms, because more straight-up slayer in Team Slayer and Lone Wolves makes us happy Halo 3 players.
Microsoft Corp. today announced a plan for Bungie Studios, the developers of the Halo franchise, to embark on a path to become an independent company. Microsoft will retain an equity interest in Bungie at the same time continuing its long standing publishing agreement between Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie for the Microsoft owned Halo intellectual property as well as other future properties developed by Bungie.
The critically acclaimed Xbox 360® exclusive Halo® 3 achieved $300 million in global sales in its first week. Released on Tuesday, Sept. 25, Halo 3 is the fastest-selling video game ever and already one of the most successful entertainment properties in history.
“Our collaboration with Bungie has resulted in Halo becoming an enduring mainstream hit,” said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios. “While we are supporting Bungie’s desire to return to its independent roots, we will continue to invest in our Halo entertainment property with Bungie and other partners, such as Peter Jackson, on a new interactive series set in the Halo universe. We look forward to great success with Bungie as our long-term relationship continues to evolve through Halo-related titles and new IP created by Bungie.”
"This exciting evolution of our relationship with Microsoft will enable us to expand both creatively and organizationally in our mission to create world-class games," said Harold Ryan, studio head for Bungie. "We will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsoft’s platforms; we greatly value our mutually prosperous relationship with our publisher, Microsoft Game Studios, and we look forward to continuing that affiliation through ‘Halo’ and beyond."
Bungie Studios will remain in its current location in Kirkland, Wash.
It seems a very Crazy Rumor has been spreading all over the internet. What is the Rumor? Bungie is leaving Microsoft Game Studios. Microsoft is staying very tight lipped about this rumor. I don’t know the logistics of the Bungie/Microsoft contract but this could be just an internet rumor which has snowballed into MEGATON news.
The response from a Bungie source? "Talk to your Edelman rep."
The response from Edelman, Microsoft's PR firm? "There's been no such announcement. We continue to celebrate the tremendous success of the global phenomenon that is Halo 3."
This won't be that big because Bungie already said that Halo 3 was the final game in the series. So there isn't going to be a new Halo game, so bungie can go I suppose, but It's just a rumor.
Sometime in October/November - Fall Dashboard Update expected, X07 still happening?
First week of October (1-6)
Games - NBA 2008, NBA 2K8, PGR4, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, Crash of the Titans
DVDs/Movies - Fantastic Four: Rise Of the Silver Surfer, 1408;Feel the noise, The Heartbreak kid, The Seeker, etc...
Music - Bruce Springsteen, Annie Lennox, Matchbox 20, Trey Songz...
Second week of October (7-13)
Games - Half Life 2: The Orange Box, FIFA 08, Sega Rally Revo, Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal
DVDs/Movies - 28 Weeks Later, Surf's up; Elizabeth: The Golden Age , We Own the night, Tyler Perry's Why did I get married, etc...
Music - Josh Groban, Leann Rimes, Kid rock, Eric Clapton, J.Lo, etc...
Third week of October (14-20)
Games - Beautiful Katamari, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, Avatar: The Last Airbender -- The Burning Earth, Smash court Tennis 3, Thrilleville: Off the rails
DVDs/Movies - Transformers, Planet Terror, ; 30 days of night, The Comebacks, Gone Baby Gone, The Rendition,Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour, etc...
Music - Angie Stone, AC/DC, Neil Young, Jimmy eat world, etc...
Games - Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, The Simpsons Games, Virtua Fighter 5, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock,Viva Pinata: Party Animals, Time Shift, Cars Mater-National
It's official Orange Box fans, yesterday Valve announced that the Orange Box is 100% complete and has gone gold in time for its October 9th release.
As a result of the game's gold status, it means that your Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2 and Portal fun will not be delayed and that you're one step closer to getting in on all the fun it has to offer. It also means that your personal journey of obtaining all 99 achievements is knocking at the door, so clear your calendar because the Orange Box is going to require hours and hours of achievement attention. Rejoice! The Orange Box is near!
Call of Duty 4 Guru “Fourzerotwo” posted on his blog that the level cap for the COD 4 beta will be increasing on September 28th(10 am PST) to Rank 25. This will give you about two days since the beta ends on September 30th(11:59 PM PST). What will people do? Rank up in COD 4 Beta? Or start ranking up in Halo 3?
