Halo 3 update lands on Sept. 23 brings new features to B.net

by Xav de Matos { Sep 19th 2008 at 10:15AM }

The anticipated second title update to the Xbox 360 power-house Halo 3 is scheduled to release on Tuesday, September 23. Bringing fresh achievements to the popular shooter as well as a host of new features to Bungie.net, the second update will also revamp the player rating system within the game as well as kick-start the September playlists which adds new variants of current maps into ranked games as well as retire classic gameplay variants like Rocket Race and Big Team Battle.

Some users will notice changes already made to Bungie.net but the changes will only become fully apparent when the update is released. Before our inbox becomes flooded on Tuesday with tips on broken updates there are a few things to keep in mind. Halo 3 ... pretty popular. According to Bungie's Luke Smith players may experience issues with everything from the playlists to actually obtaining the update -- a listing of possible Zero Hour scenarios can be found in the latest Weekly Update. In the update Smith also revealed one of the newly added achievements will not be available until September 25 also known as Halo 3's first birthday.

After a year of shelf-life and its battle for top seed in the Xbox Live rankings, what is your excitement level for the Halo 3 update?

[Thanks for everyone who sent this in]

Tags: auto-update, bungie, bungie.net, halo-3, halo3, matchmaking

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Andrew @ Sep 19th 2008 10:29AM

No one else noticed that Luke said, The Dawn is About to Break in the last line? Perhaps the rumors of an announcement next week are true?

brian @ Sep 19th 2008 10:48AM

There is most definitely 'one more thing', at the least. Assembly. If not 2 more maps, or the rumored expansion

Bravo6 @ Sep 19th 2008 10:42AM

I really wish that your rankings would 'degrade' over time when you haven't played for a while. Anytime I get on to play now after a long hiatus I get my butt handed to me constantly because I'm rusty. I'd be more apt to play if my ranking would drop down some so I could get a handle on things again.

DBoyFlex @ Sep 19th 2008 11:12AM

Nice

Doug @ Sep 19th 2008 11:32AM

You sir, are a genius, because I suffer the same fate. My limp body is tossed around like a hackeysack whenever I join in matchmaking a skill, gained back when I actually cared.

The thing about Halo, there will always be 45,000 twelve-year-olds, with 5-6 hours of disposable time each day, waiting for you to join the game so they can have fun taking you out.

Neon Jebus @ Sep 19th 2008 11:34AM

You know I've had the same issues from time to time. My fix is to hop into some social matches. Usually a couple of rounds of social Big Team will get me back up to speed as there is usually a big mix of skill levels in there.

I usually have to play a least one slayer match or BTB before heading into SWAT and that is almost everytime I get on.

I for one will miss Ranked BTB but since at least 2 people on your team usually quit anyways perhaps this 6 on 6 squad style will be just fine.

damn gravity @ Sep 19th 2008 11:40AM

totally agree..i've been outta the game since december cuz of a broken 360 drive. now that i'm back on..everyone's frickin good 'n it seems like some higher ranking guys new live accounts

Stjerne @ Sep 19th 2008 11:30AM

Bravo bravo six. Couldnt agree more.

DJcube @ Sep 19th 2008 11:59AM

Even though I still play the game every now and then, this update sounds utterly pointless. It just seems to fiddle with a few things and add some very slight map variations.

Perhaps I've just been spoilt by a certain other developer...

Doug @ Sep 19th 2008 12:09PM

Imagine how Bunige builds up to lunch every day. 9:15... just 3 hours to go... 9:25... a glimpse of a menu at Pizza Hut... 9:35... salad or breadsticks? Let's run a poll...

It seems like every time Bungie does something they talk it up and make you think it's huge.

This TU2 is just tweaked maps that shipped with the game, ranked/social stats on one page, and some minor playlist adjustments (FFA goes from 6 to 8).

TU2 should have been a mention in a podcast, not a 3-4 week build-up.