Saturday, March 17, 2007

The Mole: Is that a Master Chief helmet you're wearing?


Protect your melon - Yesterday Microsoft announced the prices of its three different Halo 3 offerings.
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There's the Standard Edition Halo 3, which is just the plain old boring game (yawn). It will sell for $59.99. Next up is the Limited Edition set which comes in a metal case and comes with a bonus disk and a fiction and art book. It will sell for $69.99.
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But for uber-nerds like myself, the Legendary Edition is awfully attractive despite its steep $129.99 price tag. It comes in limited quantities and is set in a collectible Spartan helmet case with two bonus disks of supplemental content. The first disk provides exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage and videos, including a high-definition “Making of Halo 3" documentary; numerous high-definition featurettes documenting the creative design processes involved in developing the game; and a look at some early game concepts and their evolution through the game’s development. The disk will also include an audio-visual calibration tool designed by the Halo 3 graphics and audio team to make the most of fans’ high-definition home theaters.
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The second bonus disk will include remastered cinematic material from Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, supplemented with developer commentaries, to provide a refresher course on the Halo story so far, and a featurette documenting a day in the life at Bungie. Exclusive content from the creative minds the artists of “Red vs. Blue” and “This Spartan Life” will also be included. Finally, fans who purchase the Legendary Edition will receive a bunch of original Halo 3 storyboard art from artist Lee Wilson, depicting key moments and pivotal scenes from the cinematic production of Halo.
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Of course all I really want is the helmet. It won't fit my head but I want it anyway.
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Console gamers vs. PC gamers - Also last week Microsoft announced that Xbox Live will be available to Windows Vista users starting May 8 with the release of Halo 2. This will allow PC gamers and console gamers to battle it out online. In June Shadowrun will follow suit and Uno is to come out later this year as well.
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My PC gamer friends have been bragging for years that a console gamer doesn't stand a chance against a PC gamer, I guess we'll soon find out.
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Its about time! - Nintendo recently announced that its web browser for the DS, Opera, will finally be coming to the United States June 4th. A price hasn't been released yet.
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And finally... - The Wii continues to dominate console sales numbers, coming in 1st place for the month of February according to NPD. Nintendo sold 335,000 of its popular console. The PS2 still shows surprising strength coming in second with 295,000 units sold. The Xbox 360 (228,000) and PS3 (127,000) round out the top 4. In handhelds the DS destroyed the PSP, 485,000 to 176,000.
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The top 5 selling games for the month were Crackdown, Wii Play, Diddy Kong Racing, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Guitar Hero 2 (PS2).
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