GamePro interviews Bungie's Lars Bakken about the Halo 3 Beta.

PALGN has an article up giving their impressions of the Halo 3 Beta, by Alistair Macleod.

If you've been playing in the Beta since the 11th, you'll have to install an update today to keep playing. If you don't, you might get a message that says the H3 Beta is "unavailable or expired".

You should be prompted to download an update. If it doesn't happen, quit Halo 3 and/or restart your 360 until you get the prompt.

Bungie.net has an extensive guide to the Halo 3 Beta; if you're participating, check it out. It covers matchmaking, controls, networking, customization, and a whole range of other topics.

If you're not playing, check it out anyway-- it's a good bet that a lot of this information will still be just as applicable this coming September when the full game is out.

The day before the Halo 3 Multiplayer Public Beta throws open its doors to the masses, Bungie pulled out the heavy guns.

Mark this date on your calendars, folks:

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Because that is the day that Halo 3 will be released.

Thanks for the heads-up to Louis Wu in #hbo.

Here's a quick run-down on some sites with impressions of the Halo 3 Public Beta:

With the Public Beta fast approaching, there's even more Halo-related news spiraling out of Bungie and the community.

The Year We Make Contact

Frankie at Bungie says if you make a cool enough emblem design, it'll be included in Halo 3. Check the post at Bungie.net about the Bnet reader design contest for details.

Ducain wrote to alert me of an update at Certain Affinity's site, and it's good news all around.

First off, they're passing around the news that Frankie at Bungie.net says the map downloading problems have been fixed.

In 2004, before the release of Halo 2, a website separate from Bungie.net, Halo2.com, went live, with information about the units, vehicles, and weapons in the game, laid out as if from the perspective of a Covenant intelligence agency. Similarly, Halo3.com launched late last month, largely from the perspective of UNSC intelligence-gathering, with information on Halo 3.

Kotaku says they've received word of a big Halo 3 media event on May 11, just prior to the start of the public beta on May 16.

Awesome O and Pillar of Awesome just announced that they've put together a Halo trivia quiz.