That's how long a look 1Up actually got at Halo 3's campaign mode. They described the area they were in as an outdoor war zone on Earth. They mentioned Covenant air craft that disregarded them, and a new Ghost apparently specialized for use by Brutes. Oh, and the Gauss Hog returns.

Other than that... not much, but what did you expect?

[image:42911 left hspace=5 vspace=5 border=0] A selection of the screenshots of Halo 3 multiplayer that have been featured in gaming magazines and embargo-breaking European websites for the past week or so are now up at Bungie.net in pretty high resolutions. Inside the main Halo 3 image gallery, Rampancy now has a Halo 3 Multiplayer screenshot gallery for them. Enjoy!

Eurogamer is doing a retrospective on the top twelve exclusive franchises for the first Xbox console. Halo 1 and 2 unsurprisingly clock in at #1.

Ars Technica notes that recent decreases in the costs of parts and manufacturing may mean Microsoft no longer has to subsidize the sales of their Xbox 360 console with profits from software: they may be making as much as $75 on each console sold, according to iSuppli.

Meanwhile, it is estimated that Sony will lose about $240 on each PlayStation 3.

No Xbox 360 price drops have been spotted just yet, but Microsoft would seem well-positioned to offer one if they so choose.

One of the oft-discussed topics among those following the upcoming Halo Wars RTS game by Ensemble for the Xbox 360 console is whether or not a workable interface for a strategy game can be created for a console. Many commenters have offered that RTS games just belong on PCs to be played with mice and keyboards, mirroring the comments of many PC gamers before the release of console FPS games like GoldenEye and Halo.

What are they to say now? Now that the Command & Conquer series is also coming to the Xbox 360?

1Up's latest Halo feature is a retrospective on the Halo series. The teaser on their three weeks of Halo 3 microsite mentions the "Halo/Marathon universe" but there's nary a mention of Marathon there, and as we all know, the two universes are separate anyway. Right?

Of course, they've also got coverage of yesterday's revelations about the public beta, new Halo 2 maps, and the Halo 3 CG TV ad.

[image:42829 left hspace=5 vspace=5 border=0] Bungie commemorates the fifth anniversary of the release of Halo with an announcement that touches on both Halo 3 and Halo 2.

First, there will be a Halo 3 television commercial airing during Monday Night Football on December 4th.

Secondly, in the spring of 2007 there will be more Halo 2 maps available. They won't be free, and you'll need a 360 with the hard drive (required for Halo 2 backwards compatibility anyway).

Thirdly, next spring will also see the launch of some kind of Halo 3 Public Beta. Fans will get a chance to play Halo 3 multiplayer on Xbox Live before the game is actually released.

Last but not least, a new screenshot from an actual campaign level, recently reproduced in Newsweek magazine. We've added it to the Halo 3 gallery.

UPDATE: Microsoft has an official press release on the announcements as well; a copy has been posted at Team Xbox.

Five years ago today, Halo shipped to eager Bungie fans and the unsuspecting masses of Xbox early adopters around the world. To commemorate this (and whet your appetite for whatever big news is to come later) Frankie has put up an Anniversary Panel of game journalists and fansite editors (including HBO's own Louis Wu) to ask them about what they're looking forward to in Halo 3 and what their favorite things about Halo and Halo 2 are.

The newest installment of 1Up's Three Weeks of Halo 3 looks at player complaints about Halo 2's online play and how those are being addressed in Halo 3, including weapon spawns, dual-wielding, player icons and more.

In particular, Ferrex mentions how the weapon spawn system in Halo 1 was made, and how in Halo 3, it'll be a revolution, not an evolution, since "weapon spawns have been rebuilt from the ground up."

Can't wait.