halo

In this week's action-packed episode, we engage in a little live Halo: Reach multiplayer  action, finding out in the process that none of us is particularly good at this sort of thing.

Then, Joey attempts to pilot a remote control helicopter around the confines of our broom-closet-size studio. Hilarity ensues, as does some small amount of danger.

After showing off some new minilaptops from Toshiba and Sony, Scott tells us about the FanVision handheld device being hawked by NFL teams (including his beloved Jets). Finally, we hold our heads in collective disbelief over the upcoming "Galileo was Wrong" pseudoscience conference, being held later this fall. Yes, that's a real thing, not some sort of Onion-like prank.

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There's probably no better way to determine who's a hard-core Xbox player and who's not than this: do they play Halo?

On November 15, 2001, the then relatively low-profile video game development studio Bungie, which at the time was owned by Microsoft, released what would become one of the most significant game titles ever--Halo: Combat Evolved.

No one knew it at the time, but this storyline, spelled out in the game's manual--for Microsoft's original Xbox, not the Xbox 360--ushered in what is now nine years and the six titles of what is easily one of … Read more

We're not huge fans of "collector's edition" game boxes, truth be told. More often than not, the extras included just seem silly. It's to our great surprise, then, that we unwrapped the monolithic box of the $80 Halo: Reach Collector's Edition, the deluxe version of the imminent Xbox 360 prequel, and found items inside that were actually both beautifully produced and fun to explore.

You won't find action figures or extra DVDs here--statues and helmets are reserved for the $150 Halo: Reach Legendary Edition. Instead, you'll get the core of what's … Read more

Looking more like a nuclear football than a video game, a packed-to-the-gills press kit for the upcoming Xbox 360 game Halo: Reach showed up in this morning's mail.

Different than the regular ($59), limited ($79), or legendary ($149) versions that will be available starting September 14, this kit consists of a metal briefcase that opens to revel a series of Halo-related items.

Inside, we found a United Nations Space Command folder with press information, a softcover art book titled "Halo Overture", a Halo: Reach Xbox 360 controller, and a tie-in novel, "Halo: The Fall of Reach.&… Read more

Those who have downloaded the recently leaked Halo: Reach and plan to play it on Xbox Live should beware: Microsoft will act swiftly to remove you from the online gaming service.

According to Stephen Toulouse, Microsoft's director of Policy Enforcement for Xbox Live, Microsoft will permanently ban anyone who plays the leaked game on Xbox Live.

"As with all unauthorized play on Xbox Live, anyone playing any unauthorized title runs the risk of account 'permaban,'" Toulouse posted on his Twitter feed. "Remember, legit store-bought copies run no risk of ban. Keyword: unauthorized. We have ways of … Read more

The folks behind the sure-to-be-a-hit Halo: Reach have a new viral-marketing tool: a giant robotic arm that users can control remotely to create an online monument to a squad of fallen soldiers featured in the upcoming game.

The arm, a Kuka KR 140, is purportedly stashed in some secret warehouse in San Francisco with an LED light on the end of its articulated joints (for all we can tell, it could be a virtual construct, though even that's still a cool idea). When users log in to the site RememberReach.com via Facebook, they can select a "point … Read more

According to reports, the latest game in the Halo series, which isn't due for release until next month, has already been downloaded early--and from all places, Microsoft's own Xbox Live Marketplace.

Joystiq reports that members of the game-modifying enthusiast site Game-Tuts.com were able to circumvent Microsoft's download key system to download fully licensed copies of the game to their Xbox 360 hard drive. Microsoft had made the full game available to reviewers as a download earlier in the week, though had put in a security measure that would only allow it to be accessed with an … Read more

In 2008, the Loaded crew took a road trip to interview Janis Wolak at the University of New Hampshire's Crimes against Children Research Center. Wolak, a UNH professor, co-authored a study about "Internet predators," which showed that they do not fit the stereotype of thuggish basement-dweller using force, abduction, or deception to lure young teens into sexual relationships.

On the contrary, research shows that Internet sex offenders coax teens into relationships slowly, gaining their trust over time. Once the relationships become obviously inappropriate, teens feel that they have been complicit and are therefore less likely to report … Read more

Microsoft appears to be staffing up for the next installment in the Halo franchise.

The company has posted more than a dozen Halo-related jobs to its careers Web site this month, most of them in the past few days.

"Do you love Halo? Do you want to be part of the creation of a new game in the Halo universe? Are you a programmer with an interest in animation and cinematics?" reads one of the listings, which seeks out a software development engineer who specializes in animation. "We are gathering an incredible team to help drive the … Read more