Halo Waypoint & Halo Reach Updates

 

 

Hey All!

 

Hope everyone had a great week. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s happening with Halo and Halo Waypoint, starting with a look at some new Reach details released this week…

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday the specifics about the various Reach SKU retail releases was announced, including full details and pricing for each of the editions (Standard, Limited and Legendary). A complete rundown of each SKU can be found on Halo Waypoint on your console, or on the Web, here: http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/transmissions/article/2010-04-22--Halo-Reach-SKU-Announcement (NOTE: The images in the linked article can be clicked to view larger versions), but here’s a few quick notes on each…

- Game disc housed in recovered ONI ”black box”

- An exclusive Elite armor set for use in Multiplayer modes

- Artifact bag containing Dr. Halsey’s personal journal and other classified documents and effects that unravel long-held secrets from the Halo universe

- Noble Team statue expertly crafted by the artisans at McFarlane Toys. Individually molded, hand-painted, and individually numbered, this statue is a must-have for any serious Halo fan

- UNSC-themed custom packaging

- An exclusive Multiplayer Spartan armor effect

 

·; BUNGIE RELEASED A NEW HALO: REACH BETA ViDOC

Yesterday also saw the release of Bungie’s latest Reach-centric ViDoc, Carnàge Carnivàle, which continues their look at what fans can expect form the Beta and provides some entertaining and informative discussion with various members of the Bungie team.

 

Like the SKU details, you can watch Carnàge Carnivàle by firing up Halo Waypoint on your Xbox, or visit either of the links below…

 

 

 

You'll note that there is a mention of a Beta-related Avatar Award in the ViDoc. You may also be aware that Halo Waypoint had a Title Update go into effect this week. Are the tow related? I can't give details just yet (next week), but this image posted on NeoGaf.com might be of interest is you're curious:

 

 

 

As we ramp up to the Reach Beta it should be noted that Waypoint will be altering its normal content release schedule beginning next Monday (4/26) to focus almost entirely on Beta and I will actually send out a second Waypoint Update Monday afternoon providing some of the larger beats we will be hitting over the coming weeks, but for now, we still have some really cool new content to share with the Halo community over the course of the weekend, beginning with…

 

Produced by Halo Waypoint team members Mr Vociferous and Cocopjojo, this series takes a look at a variety of different approaches to common Halo gameplay scenarios. “Setting the Table,” which premieres today on the Halo Waypoint console experience, focuses on a unique way to have a little fun with one of the Covenant’s largest and most deadly weapons of destruction, the Scarab. I don’t want to give too much away, but have you ever parked a Scorpion tank on a massive four-legged vehicle bent on your demise?

 

DIFFERENT WAY TO PLAY is meant to provide Halo fans with new ways to tackle encounters in-game and way to get the community to view moments within the Halo games in a fashion that may not have occurred to them on previous play-throughs and then share their attempts with others by posting their videos online or submitting them directly to the Halo Waypoint gamertag (HaloWaypoint).

 

Here’s a link to a fan-made video based on a past DWTP episode titled, “Holding the Line”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWNdPoltMrk

 

 

This is it! “The Return” Part 4! The final chapter in Waypoint’s newest motion comic adaptation from Halo Evolutions premieres this Saturday, April 24th and concludes the tale of a lone Elite Shipmaster as he searches for answers following a crisis of faith and the violent betrayal of his people at the hands of the Prophets.

 

“The Return” is Waypoint’s second collaboration with artist/animator ONE and our first with Pyramind who provided the beautiful sound and music that helped bring the whole series to life. Like our previous Evolutions motion comic, "Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian," we plan to combine all four chapters of "The Return" and release it on Waypoint. More details on that to come.

 

While there is nothing to announce at this time, we have extremely excited by the positive response to the Evolutions motion comics and may continue to adapt stories from the anthology at some point in the future.

 

If you want to see more Evolutions motion comics, or just more Halo motion comics in-general, make sure to let us know. Any feedback is good feedback

 

Hope you had a great weekend. As promised, here’s a look at Waypoint’s current schedule for Reach Beta-related content for the coming week as we lead up to the launch of the Halo: Reach public multiplayer beta on May 3rd. There will be additional content and more details later in the week, but for now, let’s take a closer look at the current schedule…

• Reach Beta Rundown (console) - Check out the upcoming beta with this look at much of the awesomeness that awaits you! Get your copy of Halo 3: ODST NOW!

• Inside Gaming Special Report (console): Inside Halo Reach Episode 1 - The Machinima.com crew break down all the details on the Halo: Reach beta.

• Halo: Reach Invasion gameplay video (Web – youtube.com/halowaypoint) – This video created in the Halo: Reach Beta build follows a Spartan during a full match of Invasion on Boneyard.

• Giant Bomb Halo: Reach Beta “Quick Look” (console) - Giant Bomb takes a not-so-quick look at the Halo Reach beta.

• To be Announced.

• Bungie Interview: Waypoint talks with Derek Carroll & Lars Bakken of Bungie about what fans can expect from the Halo: Reach Beta. (console)

• To Be Announced.

• Inside Gaming (Special Report): Inside Halo Reach Episode 2 - Machinima.com’s in-depth coverage of the Halo: Reach beta continues. (console)

• Halo: Reach Screenshots - Check out some impressive screenshots from the upcoming and eagerly-anticipated game! (console)

• Halo: Reach Concept Art - Get a pre-beta peek at the upcoming game by checking out these concept art images from Halo: Reach! (console)

 

Finally, it appears the images included in Friday’s update got lost in translation, so I re-added them below (crosses fingers and knocks on wood).