Flying Master Chief

There ’s been an enjoyable rumor floating around the internet that Mr. Steven Spielberg was currently in talks to produce the Halo movie. A movie Microsoft will only say is “on hold”.

Responding to questions we had over the Spielberg rumor (and indeed the future of the movie itself), a Microsoft spokesperson reports:

We’re glad there’s still a lot of enthusiasm in the entertainment industry surrounding the idea of a Halo movie. That said, the Halo feature film remains on hold as we focus on projects like Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach.

Upon further questioning, Microsoft added that they had “nothing further to share with respect to plans regarding a Halo movie”.

That’s a long time holding, since the movie first went “on hold” all the way back in 2006. Somebody’s arms must be getting really tired by now.

BUT, for us Halo fans, “on hold” is better than “cancelled”, right?

Reportedly, Spielberg has been “blown away” by Stuart Beattie’s screenplay and after having lost Transformers, Dreamworks (having recently split from their distribution deal with Paramount) will be looking to gain a replacement “tentpole” action series, and Halo – which has been abandoned by Peter Jackson and Neil Blomkamp – fits the bill perfectly.

Apparently CAA, who list Spielberg as a client, have the director in “active negotiations” to produce the movie. So please, make note of this. He’s rumured to be in talks to produce the movie, not direct it.

Sounds crazy, but then, five years ago how many of you would have picked that Spielberg would produce a Transformers movie?

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.

They seem like set of lovely places to get killed in, and that’s what I’ll be doing when Halo 3: ODST debuts this September.

Halo 3 New Multiplayer Maps Shipping with Halo 3:ODST

Not that playing at Blood Gulch for the millionth time on the original Xbox, wasn’t fun, but here’s a map that recreates the original Legend of Zelda’s magical land of Hyrule.

Impressively created, and enormous, this looks like it would be a great map to play on. And guess what? There’s going to be a publc beta coming out very soon. Keep an eye out on the official thread for more details.

Halo 3 Mythic Map - Sandbox

As of Last week, we Halo 3 fans now have 3 new places to kill each other, with the long-awaited Mythic Map Pack released on Xbox Live Marketplace.

The Xbox Live Marketplace description is exquisite this time around, really evoking the atmosphere of these three new maps for Halo 3. If the text doesn’t sell you, the fact that everyone else will have these and you won’t be able to play with them probably will.

The long-awaited Mythic Map Pack drops into Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Investigate Orbital’s abandoned hallways – before it was evacuated, the Quito Space Tether was heralded as the “Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium.” Witness Assembly, where Scarab hulls loom overhead, being decontaminated in preparation for the city-sized Lekgolo colonies that will breathe life into the massive metal husks. An excavation site surrounded by deadly Forerunner defenses, the mysteries of Sandbox are hidden high above, deep below, and right before your eyes.

The Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack is available for 800 Microsoft points and below is a link to add the Mythic Map Pack to your Download queue.

Add The Mythic Map Pack to your Queue [Xbox Live Marketplace]

And we were expecting only coal in our stocking, but those generous boys at Bungie were nice enough to get us some new screenshots for the upcoming Halo 3’s Mythic Map Pack.

Bungie reminds us that we’re still weeks away from getting our hands on the new Halo 3 maps, courtesy of Halo Wars unfortunately. So to tide you over as the weeks drag on, we’re re-gifting these virtually new pictures to you in our gallery.

Hit the jump for all the screenshots.

Happy holidays!

Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack Details

I know what you’re thinking…I thought the same thing. Why would Bungie go renaming such a cool sounding map like “Purple Reign” to “Assembly”? Marketing…What can we say. But once you get over the name change, the Halo Map Formerly known as Purple Reign, Now the Halo Map known as Assembly was unveiled to those of us unlucky enough to make it to Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) this year.

Those kind folks over at Bungie have given us 8 high resolution screenshots of their new multiplayer map Assembly you can check out after the jump.

The next thing you might ask is when is the thing gonna be available for download? Well, we haven’t been told yet. But when the date is set, you can bet your boots we’ll let you know.

In the meantime, enjoy feasting on these nice screenshots of Assembly instead. (we still like the name Purple Reign better…)

Here at Halos-finest.com, we’ve been having fun playing on Bungie’s new map, Cold Storage. Hopefully you’re finding it as enjoyable as we are.

Well, in the latest round of Cold Storage information overload, Bungie has released this Q&A session with some of the creators of the map.

Head on over to Bungie to catch the interview.

So what’s your thoughts on the map? What should they have done differently? The weapon placements are a little annoying. But the graphics are well done.

On the heels of our scoop on Bungie releasing Cold Storage on 7/7 (today), we’ve found this nifty little video document (vidoc as Bungie puts it) about the exciting news.

Direct links to the video can be found on Bungie’s Site here for the high definition desires in you. For the quick and dirty desires in you, hit the screenshots and youtube movie after the jump.

And if that’s not good enough, here’s a few sneak previews.

By now you’ve all hopefully heard about the new map coming out, Cold Storage, and perhaps even checked out the overhead perspective of the map. Well, Bungie has announced in their Bungie Weekly Updates that next week, they will have a Q&A session with some of the mapmakers to commemorate Cold Storage’s release.

Cold Storage will be available for free beginning on July 7, Bungie Day, on Xbox Live Marketplace.

Additionally, beginning on July 7, there will be a 48 hour long 7 player FFA playlist in Halo 3’s Matchmaking where you can turn the calendar back to 2001 and control l Rockets, Invis and Snipe.

For now, Cold Storage will be implemented in regular rotation in playlists that require the Legendary Maps. To avoid confusion, playlists that previously required the Legendary Maps will now remind players that they need “all Maps” to participate, and since Cold Storage is free, it shouldn’t be a big deal for you to grab the map on July 7 and then return to your regularly scheduled business in SWAT.

And in case that’s not enough good stuff for us, also on 7/7, Microsoft will be dropping the price of the Legendary Map Pack from 800 MS points to 600 Microsoft Points. That price drop does mean that purchases after 7/7 will no longer include the Bungie Pro bonus.

Well, Bungie Day sure will be a good one.

Previously, we reported about last week’s MLG San Diego unveiling of the remake of Halo: Combat Evolved’s popular “Chill Out” map for Halo 3.

Well, Bungie has graced us with two screenshots of “Cold Storage” with MUCH better quality. One’s above, but the full resolution photos are after the jump.

And we have Bungie’s weekly update to thank for them, with promises for more.