Geoff Keighley from GameTrailers TV twitters the world premier of Halo Reach will air during the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards. Gamers will get a first look at the title December 12 at 8PM on Spike TV. In other VGA news, Spike has opened the voting for 28 different gaming categories, so get those votes in to see who will become 2009’s biggest winner. We see Modern Warfare 2 sweeping everything.

When Spike gives out their VGAs on December 12th they’ll debut some video footage of Bungie’s next and FINAL Halo game, Halo: Reach.

Click on the above image for a tweet from Geoff Keighley and the offical announcement.

Twenemo hatte ja bereits vor einiger Zeit den Halo Anime angesprochen. Nun kann man auf Youtube die erste Folge komplett schauen. Das sollte man auch schnellstens tun, bevor die erste Episode wieder offline ist. Macht einen tollen Eindruck und ist sogar relativ brutal (das hatte das Halo Universum bisher nie nötig):

Recon has always been the big, exclusive thing in Halo. In the beginning so few people had it, it was hard to get, and everyone wanted it. I was never terribly interested in it. I’m still not really, but the completionist in me really wants to get it. I got all of the Halo 3 vidmasters quickly and I was really looking forward to getting the ODST vidmasters. Endure was okay, and Deja vu was a whole bunch of fun, so I went to try out classic.

Not cool.

Not. cool. at. all.

It seems like classic relies heavily on being able to drive, which in halo, I’m rubbish at. I cannot drive in halo. So it looks like I won’t be sporting recon – probably ever. It’s not a huge deal, I don’t really care so much about recon myself, but I wish I were a better driver, so that I at least had a chance.

oh well.

AshMan says…

Amazingly somehow supposed screenshots of the upcoming Halo: Reach game has been leaked onto the internet. These blurry screenshots appear to be showing off the arsenal which will be available in the Halo game as well as locations and currently unannounced features.

Apparently these screenshots have originated from Bungies own forum, but since reportedly have been taken down. It is still unknown if these screenshots are from the BETA which is set to be released to fans who preordered Halo 3: ODST, but from what we can see Microsoft and Bungie have another awesome Halo game.

The quality of the screens isn’t top notch but surely is good enough to wet the appetites of Halo fans across the globe. You can find below the reported screenshots.

Halo:Reach leaked screenshot

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The Babysitter is the first of the seven short anime movies that will be contained in Halo Legends. Taking place after Halo Wars but before Halo: Combat Evolved, it tells the story of a group of ODSTs that are sent on an assassination mission and are commanded by a Spartan known as Cal-141. Studio 4˚C is the team behind this one who have done both The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight so they’ve had experience with this kind of thing.

An anime version of Halo will probably only appeal to fans of the game or people who really like anime so you should already know if it is for you or not. Of course it’s free to watch via Halo Waypoint for the entire of the 7^th of November so if you still have time while reading this you might as well give it a watch.

Due to it being very short there isn’t time for much character development but fortunately the focus is on a small group of people. The squad of ODST’s show resentment towards the accompanying Spartan, in particular O’Brian. O’Brian is the squads’ sniper and would normally handle assassinations but Cal is taking the shot this time. If it wasn’t for Cal though the ODST’s really wouldn’t stand much of a chance.

The main reason you’re going to watch this though is to see Halo from a different viewpoint. Seeing a Spartan in its entire animated glory kick ass while jumping about is great. This is helped by the animation which is very smooth as you would expect and fight scenes look top notch because of this. It shares similarities with a particular scene in Halo Wars involving a few Spartans in a fight.

The enemies from the games return to be defeated but it isn’t all about the combat here. The action scenes are good but its tries to balance this out amongst the story and character in the short amount of time it has.

Halo fans will appreciate the use of music which is taken straight from the games. It all fits in with the style and helps link the anime and the games together. As well as the use of music there are multiple references to the series. I won’t give them away but one involves one of the games characters acting as a side character here.

The Babysitter is a very enjoyable anime. It fits in well with the Halo universe and has been animated very well. Fans of the game will no doubt love it due to the music, references and seeing the universe from a different perspective.

Hey Guys!

I know that most of you really enjoyed the Halo novels, so I thought I would just mention that the first (Halo Cartoon) became available for download today. It is free now, but one imagines, it may be pay-for-view tomorrow.

The first cartoon is called The Babysitter. I haven’t watched it yet, so I cannot provide impressions. Here is the official story outline from the Halo Waypoint site:

When an all-or-nothing opportunity to strike at the heart of Covenant leadership arises, only a Spartan is up to the task…unless the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers have their way. Watch this episode of Halo Legends for insight into the elite Marine force starring in the new Halo 3: ODST.

Share your thoughts. I personally really enjoyed the novels, though I thought the graphic novels weren’t all that hot.

…is being revised.

New released date: Hopefully this Saturday. Monday at the latest.

If you hadn’t already notice by the tags, somebody decided to leak pictures of the upcoming Xbox 360 exclusive, Halo Reach. All screens come from the GamingByGrace.com forum.

Note: Kombo contacted Microsoft for comment and received the well expected response:

“Microsoft does not comment on rumor and speculation.”

LOL, go figure!

Earlier today, some screenshots for Halo Reach were released. That said, nobody seems to be speculating on what’s in the screenshots, so i’m going to offer up my opinion.

It is very important to realise that Halo Reach is far from finished – the game isn’t due for release until next year at least. It’s also important to realise that these screenshots were, of course, leaked, and as such is content that is Bungie & Microsoft didn’t want us to see yet. We don’t even know if these screenshots are legitimate or not. That said, lets get on with things:

Here we’re in first person holding a Rocket Launcher – you can see that the crosshair for the Rocket Launcher is different than usual. Whether the Rocket Launcher functions differently to how it did in Halo 3 is unknown. Also take note of the person standing in front of us – it’s a Spartan. You can also see a symbol next to the Motion Tracker and some text next to it, but it’s too blurry to make it out.

Here we get a full view of the Heads Up Display. As you can see, the shield + health system in the first Halo game seems to be making a return. The general look of the HUD looks similar to the HUD of ODST. In fact, i’m pretty sure that the compass above the shield bar is identical to the compass that was in ODST, but it could just be a placeholder.

Again, there are some symbols next to the motion tracker – more than there were in the previous screenshot, but again, it’s too blurry to make anything out. Additionally in this screenshot you can see a Banshee, a Needler, and some kind of town/city that looks like it’s on fire.

Another view of the HUD. Most prominently you can see a new weapon that looks very similar to the Battle Rifle that was in Halo 2 & 3. However, it looks like it’s had a bit of a redesign. The base of the weapon looks like a Submachine Gun, but with an Ammo Counter and a Scope attached to it. It also looks like this “Battle Rifle” has a smaller clip size than the one that we’re accustomed to in Halo 3. Also take note of the crosshair design, it looks much bigger than the crosshair for the Battle Rifle in Halo 3.

In the distance you can see what I assume are Marines (But they could be Spartans). You can also see some kind of huge gun emplacement on the left of the screen. An anti-air weapon maybe?

Here we’ve got what looks like a redesigned Spartan Laser. You’ve got some Banshees flying around in the distance, and there’s also some kind of screen on the Laser. To be honest, we have no idea if this is even a Spartan Laser. It could be something else for all we know.

Here we’ve got what could be the most bizzare looking weapon i’ve seen so far in the Halo series. The gun that the player is holding here looks like a cross between the Needler and the Carbine. It’ll be interesting to see how this works. You can also see a Warthog, with what looks like an ODST in the drivers seat. It also looks like the chain gun on the Warthog has either been removed or replaced by something else.

Next up is the Pause Menu, which looks largely unchanged from the menu in Halo 3. Unfortunately there text is quite blurry so it’s hard to make things out again. Underneath the pause menu you can see where the player has paused. You can quite clearly see the Assault Rifle in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. It has a 32 round magazine, so presumably it’s the same Assault Rifle that we saw in Halo 3. The crosshair for it looks bigger though.

Finally we’ve got a glimpse at what the Main Menu might look like. It just looks like a piece of artwork with some options laid over the top. What’s in the artwork intrigues me though. The structure to the left of the screen looks similar to the Portal to The Ark that was in Halo 3. The structure to the right also interests me. It’s either a strange building, or smoke from a pretty large explosion.

So they’re all of the screenshots of the game that were leaked. Like I said earlier, we don’t know if these are legitimate yet. If the screenshots are legitimate, then the game still has a lot of development to go through. Feel free to speculate, but also remember: It’s not done yet.

There are a few pictures circulating around the interweb claiming to be images of Bungie’s Halo: Reach.

Tom Morello is apparently the gamertag of the individual who leaked the photos.

Even with these blurry images it appears the grphics will definitely be better then Halo 3 and ODST.  Being better then ODST is nothing special really!  Man, it was sad to hear the sex voice of  Tricia Helfer coming out of that butt ugly Dare character.

The Reach beta has yet to be announced.  So we won’t see anything offical anytime soon.  Bungie has confirmed or denied that these images are from Halo: Reach.

Props to wwM0nkey for posting these.

Courtesy of Neo Gaf. Could these be leaked screenshots of Halo: Reach.

Please don’t ask me why they say Tom Morello.

Recent job listings on Microsoft’s careers page all seem to point toward development of a Halo title (thanks to the guys at OXM for the link).

All of the roles, which include AI Director, Graphics Software Development Engineer, Multiplayer Game Design, Environment Artists and Software Development Lead are all based at American Microsoft developer 343 Industries and are filed under ‘the descriptor ‘Halo Job’.

Further speculation surrounds the fact that creative director at 343 Industries Frank O’ Conner is an ex-Bungie employee. Microsft devised 343 Industries as an internal division that would continue work on the Halo series after Bungie broke away and became an independent studio and, as Bungie has recently expressed great interest in breaking away from the Halo series to pursue new IP and interests, all of the above sounds entirely plausible.

No official confirmation has surfaced from Microsoft but I’ll be sure to cover it right here on the blog as soon as it does.

A little while ago, I got ODST thanks to  my awesome gaming BFF and it is pretty cool. I like playing as an ODST, and I certainly like seeing a different side of the UNSC. The game is darker, scarier, more intense, and even a little harder. The Campaign is a bit too short for my liking. Total Campaign playtime on normal was about 3 1/2 hours for one full run through. I’ve had quite a bit of fun though going back to get all the audio logs, the ‘naughty, naughty’ achievement and it’s counterpart, ‘Good Samaritan’ for deciding whether killing things that are new and different is good, or bad.

Firefight is also an amazing experience, and was definitely something different to add to the general halo experience.  Firefight seems like it can just go on for as long as you can last without losing all your lives, and therefore, the game. My first match of firefight, on lost platoon with 3 players lasted 3 hours! We actually ended up just screwing around in the end and losing all our lives, because we just didn’t want to keep going for fear that it would go on FOOOOREEEVVVEERRR!!!

I think one thing I noticed about ODST, isn’t actually about ODST itself. When I am playing ODST and switch back to playing Halo 3, It’s terribly hard to get used to being a Spartan again. I jump off buildings expecting to lose my shields, wonder where I’m gonna get a health pack, and forget how awesome my Battle Rifle is.

Overall, I really enjoy playing ODST and see myself going back to play it again and again in the future, because while it is halo, it’s completely different, with the same enjoyability. Awesome Game!