Destiny

I had never planned to post on this topic, but things continue to escalate and the air is full of overblown opinions on both sides, so here we go... Kotaku vs Bungie. Kotaku recently posted an article claiming they had been in contact with an unnamed source who had been, along with over 30 others, fired from Bungie. The report claims a large number of contractors from various departments had been released due to project sensitivity and budgetary restraints, although apparently Bungie told their contractors it was performance related. Bungie responded to this with their own message stating that there had been no layoffs or group firings of any kind. Not to let things end there though, Kotaku has now turned up a second "100% verified" source who confirms a history of poor treatment to contractors at Bungie, and they point out that Bungie's response never addressed their details about Destiny, that it would be an MMO with FPS elements.

OK, so that's the story so far... Here's how i see it. The original Kotaku post reveals one line of possibly leaked information about the new game, while the rest of the article is a story about Bungie mistreating and firing contractors. Bungie's response covers the story of the contractors and ensures that Bungie are dedicated to their staff. Kotaku turn up a second source who can confirm Bungie mistreats contractors, but DOES NOT say anything about the recent firings and/or leaked info. Kotaku's latest story also latches onto the point that Bungie's response didn't address their leaked info at all, but why would they? If i posted right here that the new Bungie game is going to be a racing game featuring characters from Call of Duty and World of Warcraft going head to head, i wouldn't expect Bungie to respond to the claim at all. Kotaku's story seems more focused on the contractors, so it's in Bungie's best interest to respond to that and preserve their reputation, but they have no need to comment on speculation as to what their new game is.

In closing, until Kotaku can provide something more than unnamed sources complaining about work conditions, i'm calling this story 110% bullshit.

[Original Kotaku post HERE]
[Second Kotaku post HERE]

Bouncing Back

With Halo: Reach pretty much done with, it was only a matter of time before info started turning up on exactly what Bungie would take their hand to next. Obviously, i wouldn't have started the post that way if i didn't have such info, so here we go... Bungie filed a number of trademarks back in July last year which might give us an idea where they're going. They registered trademarks on 4 names, specifically, Seven Seraphs, Osiris, New Monarchy and Dead Orbit. It also turns out that a series of web domains were taken out by Bungie Aerospace, which you can see clearly shows the Bungie logo and redirects to bungie.net when clicked. The web domains registered are:

• deadorbit.com
• deadorbit.net
• deadorbit.org
• newmonarchy.org
• sevenseraphs.com
• sevenseraphs.net
• sevenseraphs.org

What does this all mean? No idea, but i thought you'd like to know.

The Banhammer Strikes

Bungie has started to make true it's claims of not letting players cheat on Halo: Reach. Just days ago, Bungie performed a credit reset to 15,000 players, who were apparently using an exploit that allowed them to complete a challenge more than 20 times in one day via network manipulation. The affected players will lose all credits and progress, however will still hold their commendations and will need to redownload any extra DLC armour they had. Reach players be warned, Bungie is shining up its banhammer, and they WILL use it.

Hits and Misses

Everyone loves to have a bit of fun, even game devs. Lately the main source of fun for Xbox players has been Halo: Reach, and Bungie has stepped up to show everyone that it doesn't matter who you are, sometimes bad things just happen... but as long as its happening to someone else, it's always hilarious. Check out the video below for some hilarious fails, and some insane hits by Bungie employee's.

Remembering The Fallen

Halo: Reach is still 3 weeks away, but that's no reason for Microsoft to wait. The Halo: Reach website is now live and you can enter your mark on the Reach remembrance memorial. Check out the site at rememberreach.com, link to your facebook and you can add a point of light to the memorial... If you look at it and CAN'T already tell what it is, don't bother getting Reach.

Mister Chief

When Bungie released a picture of what will be available from the armory come launch day for Halo: Reach, people got a little excited over the included picture of Master Chief. Bungie have since confirmed that the included pictures will be unlockable voices to be used in firefight. HOWEVER, it's also now been said that with enough money spent and ranks earned, Master Chiefs MJOLNIR armour will be unlockable too. So while the chief won't himself be in the game, you can still make Noble 6 looks like him and even sound like him in firefight. Already i can hear the sound of people complaining that it still isn't THE Master Chief. To those people i say, then stop whinging, call him Mister Chief if it makes you feel better, and wait for the next game when 343 Studios undoubtedly brings him back for the purpose of saving mankind... oh, and making Microsoft some extra pocket money.

Rising Spartans

If you've missed it (yes, this post and indeed, half the ones i've just posted are a day or two behind) Bungie have released the next ViDoc for Halo: Reach. Titled 'A Spartan Will Rise' it takes a look at the members of Noble Team, and the epic mission laid out before them.

Reach's Recreations Continue

Three new maps have been revealed for Halo: Reach. The first is Spire and will be an assault map where Spartans will be tasked with storming a tower against the defensive Elites. Fans of Halo 2 will be happy with the rest of this announcement though, as the other two maps are remakes. Reflection is a faithful remake of Halo 2's Ivory Tower, which i'm sure will make for a fun battleground that will allow for some good uses of Reach's new abilities. Meanwhile, Zealot is a slightly upgraded version of Midship. Zealot is pretty faithful to the original, until you discover the third tier, complete with lowered gravity.

Bungie Prepares For War On Cheaters

One of the more inevitable things when it comes to online gaming (apart from high pitched squeals, pointless insults and the occasional meow) is glitches and people generally doing things that weren't meant to be done. Having learnt many valuable lessons from the online community of Halo 2 and 3, Bungie have been hard at work trying to make sure the multiplayer on Halo: Reach is as unbreakable as possible. While they admit many of the people who find ways to cheat the system are just players who are a little too smart and have a little too much time on their hands, they've said that between creating new tools to detect people cheating, and working with the Xbox LIVE team, they're going to be trying their best to find and deal with cheaters to the best of their ability. Exactly how people will be punished and for what is unknown, but i'm sure the banhammer will be in their arsenal somewhere. While not all cheating is necessarily bad (there's always fun to be had while roaming around outside of a map) it's work like this that keeps a game playable online and prevents the use of glitches that make the game unfair (like Gears of War's chainsaw glitch).

Quit Now

Everyone loves a quitter. Quitters are those people who decide of drop out of online games early for any reason, although typically it's because they're losing. It makes the game less enjoyable for everyone else, unbalances teams and most importantly, makes a huge delay mid-game. Well early quitter consider yourself warned. Apparently Bungie have a new set of tools that allow them to monitor peoples stats on Reach so they can spot players who habitually quit early and penalise them. Exactly how you'll be penalised is still unknown but it may actually be possible to remove you from the online population, which i imagine would make it much harder to find a good game.

Super Awesome Elite Spartan Squad GO!!!

Microsoft have announced that they are starting a search for the UK's number one Halo player. The person deemed the number one halo player will then lead a team of 5 celebrities into battle against 6 runners up when Halo: Reach is released. The celebrity team will be made up by the number one halo player (obviously), presenter of 'Gadget Show' Jason Bradbury, Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand, R&B artist Jamelia and two more celebrities who are yet to be named. The celebrity team name? Elite Spartan Squad. So, in short, Microsoft have announced a special competition that the majority of the world won't care about, for a prize that no-one really wants.

Media Much?

Comic-Con has meant heaps of new game videos and news, so click 'Read More' for my list of videos you need to see...