In 1999, Bungie was probably the best-known Macintosh developer, having debuted titles like Marathon, Myth, and Pathways Into Darkness. At Macworld 1999, Steve Jobs introduced the studio’s next big Mac exclusive: Halo.

Of course, within the year, Bungie was bought out by Microsoft and Halo would become a launch title that, more than any other game, made the original Xbox enticing. Although Jobs had sworn that Apple had “put an initiative in place to get games back to the Mac,” the new console project and Microsoft’s commitment to it seemed a much more stable environment than remaining the lone standard bearer of gaming on the Mac.
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Randy Pitchford Gearbox Founder

Randy Pitchford, the outspoken boss of developer Gearbox, has something to say about Halo developer Bungie. Not just Bungie, he also has something to say about Modern Warfare developer Infinity War.

“I keep waiting to hear what Bungie is going to do that’s not Halo,” Pitchford told game site VideoGamer.com. “Those guys are amazing, right? They walk on water! And the same with Infinity Ward. It’s like, dude I’m totally psyched to get my Call of Duty fix every year, but you guys are amazing! What else have you got? Can you give me something I haven’t seen before?”

Maybe Bungie want to make other games and maybe they’re making them right now, but can’t say anything about them because the developer has its hands with with Halo 3: ODST? Maybe Infinity Ward is following up a smash hit with a back-to-back sequel? Patience, dear Randy, patience!

To Gearbox’s credit, the studio does churn out a wide variety to titles in different genres for various platforms. Not every developer has that kind of freedom or is even willing to take those sorts of risks.

Halo 3 ODST Heretic Map

As promised, Bungie delivered 3 shots of the new Halo 3 multiplayer maps that will be included in the add-on disc shipping with Halo 3: ODST.

If the above image seems familiar, that’s because the new Heretic map revisits Halo 2’s Midship map, allowing players to plasma grenade each other all over the interior of the Pious Inquisitor. From purple reign we move on to the Forerunner Citadel, which features tight spaces where communication is key. Finally we make a stop off at Old Mombasa in the Longshore map, built for large scale battles over control of this strategically important port.
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