7th Columnist is livid over a change in Halo 3's controls. Not one that affect the game; one that affects machinima.

Instead of just pressing down on the D-pad to create the weapon-lowering, head-bobbing effect used to create the illusion of talking Spartans in movies like Red vs Blue, in Halo 3 you apparently have to:

Hold down left bumper, right bumper, left analogue stick, down on the d-pad and the A button… AT THE SAME TIME… for three seconds!

It’s a ridiculous feat in itself that feels as clumsy as pulling off a ‘fatality’ in Mortal Kombat. Worse yet, the feature can only be used in system link and local play, NOT over Xbox Live where many machinima pieces (This Spartan Life, for example) are filmed due to the ease of using ‘actors’ from anywhere in the world.

That sounds pretty terrible. Might this be part of the reason Red vs Blue isn't transitioning to Halo 3? Why would Bungie make such a change-- is down on the D-Pad performing some other function this time around?

That's what BeyondUnreal forum poster Quaz51 asserts that these screenshots he's taken illustrate.

If true, might this be the source of all the cantankerousness over Halo 3's "not quite next-gen" graphics?

Kotaku says that Halo 3 sold out in at least one store in Japan. Who'd have thunk it?

Chicagoist notes Bungie's hometown roots at the University of Chicago, Jason Jones' continued leadership of Bungie, and Alex Seropian's founding of Wideload.

It's one thing to always see the glass half full, or to always look for the flaw in an otherwise brilliant diamond.

There's also such a thing as being a spoiler; having no other purpose than to be contrary, "alternative", or to actively dislike that which others like for the sake of disagreement itself.

You can be the judge of which category Charles Herold at the New York Times falls into with his review of Halo 3:

It is difficult to say that one likes, but does not love, a Halo game. Halo fans are so worshipful of the series that anything short of drooling admiration is seen as something akin to blasphemy. One is expected to love Halo games the way one is expected to love Harry Potter, "American Idol," Tom Hanks, the Beatles and chocolate (some of which I love, some of which I don't).

Yet, while Halo 3 is a slickly produced, exciting, well-made shooter, I wouldn't class it as one of those creations that rival the importance of bendable straws or casual Fridays. And saying that could well result in a few angry letters.

It doesn't really matter what reviewers say, though. Halo 3 is not just a game: it is a phenomenon fueled by obsessed fans, slick advertising and excessive press coverage (of which I find myself a part).

Perhaps there is the real core of Herold's criticism of Halo 3: it renders the opinion of reviewers irrelevant. For shame!

Want to mess around with Forge maps without having to delete all the default items? Download these modified maps by Chevmeister, with all the default items carefully removed.

According to Microsoft, the Halo franchise's latest installment has shattered one-day entertainment sales records again; Halo 3 did $170 million USD in its first day of sales in the US.

Ah, aspect ratios and high definition televisions. Just as fans bitched and moaned last month about the fact that both Xbox 360 and PC versions of Bioshock locked displays to a single horizontal FOV setting, whether the user had a 4:3 or a 16:9 screen, now Joystiq is on about how splitscreen works in Halo 3, apparently using two 2.7:1 frames stacked on each other instead of two 1.77:1 frames.

What's the issue, exactly? Unused pixels:

We're too far into the HDTV transition for games to be wasting screen space or having other perspective issues. We understand that designers want total control over the gaming experience. But we players want to use every pixel for which we paid.

Check Joystiq for the complete story.

Major Nelson points out an auction to benefit charity that includes some pretty one-of-a-kind items, including an Xbox 360 autographed by Bill Gates, a Zune autographed by J Allard, and a pretty complete collection of Halo games and bonus content.

The Sydney Morning Herald has an article about Bungie AI programmer Damian Isla:

Animal emotions such as surprise, interest or disappointment can be useful parts of an AI creature. "They can have an impact in the game," he says. "Our characters have an incomplete knowledge model - they depend on line of sight. If you sneak up on them from behind they get surprised just like you or I do, because you are violating its expectations about where you are. It pays off in game play, because the character has a huge surprise animation and gives a yelp."

There's a particularly interesting bit on page two about the tug-of-war between AI programmers trying to make smarter opponents, and designers trying to make more fun opponents. A worthwhile read.