Development on perhaps the most-anticipated game of 2007 seems to be running smoothly.

After announcing two months ago that multiplayer testing of Halo 3 was under way in the Bungie Studios' offices, the developer has revealed that the game's single-player campaign is getting its fair share of action. The announcement came late last Friday, just before the stretched-out Independence Day weekend began in the United States.

"Multiplayer, single player, you name it, folks are playing it," said Bungie's Frankie O'Connor. "The lab formerly known as the multiplayer lab is now also the single player lab."

O'Connor used the company's weekly update posted on Bungie.net to say that it is running through the single-player game as "a gameplay test, not a graphics one."

Since the graphics are unfinished, he shifted the focus to gameplay and praised the increased power of the Xbox 360 to churn out more advanced artificial intelligence among Halo 3's enemies. "That counts for your human allies," he wrote, "but it's more noticeable at this early stage in the behavior of your opponents."

O'Connor described a heated encounter he experienced in the game, which he said showed off Halo 3's improved AI.

"At this point, they're testing out the new AI and encounters as much as anything else. ... Today, I swear I saw some Grunts do a classic pincer-movement to trap me in a narrow canyon," he wrote. "I was battling um, something bigger than a Grunt, and suddenly, I'm being peppered by a second group of jerks, mostly Grunts, who'd been sent in around my flanks to take me out. Grunts are still grunts though, and once I showed some serious opposition, a couple of them panicked and fled, but they nearly had me and it was quite a shock."

O'Connor's "um, something bigger than a Grunt" may be a likely indicator that some new enemies will be thrown into the intergalactic mix.

He also officially revealed several more tidbits relating to the Halo franchise, from a new Halo 3 multiplayer mode and revamped weapons to Halo 2 matchmaking playlists and the release of the Halo comic book.

--Since multiplayer testing began two months ago, a new "utterly terrifying" Halo 3 game mode has been developed. "I have never, ever heard so much frightened screaming during a play test of anything. And plenty of laughing too," O'Connor said, without offering any further details.

--The seven-minute mini-documentary that profiled the development of the Halo 3 E3 2006 trailer was released a month ago on Bungie's Web site, but it will just now be coming to Xbox Live Marketplace. The documentary will be available for download sometime this week or next week, O'Connor said.

--Many of the classic Halo weapons, such as the Covenant sniper rifle, are getting a graphical makeover for Halo 3. "I wanted to go back and make everything better," said Bungie weapons designer Tom Doyle. "The Covenant sniper is one of my favorite weapons--it just feels so powerful. I wanted to emphasize that in the new version, so we're adding some detail that will really show off the building energy in the weapon."

--The upcoming Halo graphic novel is hot off the presses. "[Bungie artist] Lorraine [McLees] literally just arrived back from Marvel's printer with the very first copy," O'Connor said. Halo: The Graphic Novel will be unveiled at the July 20-23 San Diego Comic Con and it will go on sale this month, O'Connor said.

--A revamped form of matchmaking playlists will be hitting Halo 2, and Bungie is looking for community contributions--because the playlists will be designed by Halo 2 players. "[T]hese fan created playlists will be temporary and their lifespan will be determined by popularity ... If people like your list, we'll keep it up for longer and if they hate it, we'll yank it," O'Connor said. Still, don't expect the new playlists anytime soon. "This thing is a long way out and playlists take a long time to test," he said, "so don't hold your breath." ...

If Wii watchers were happy when Sports Illustrated for Kids came out with a November 6 release date for the system, they'd likely be elated to read a new CNN/Money report from Chris Morris that suggests the console could arrive as soon as late September.

In his article, Morris points out that the Xbox 360 went on sale 69 days after manufacturing of the system began. He then cites a June 21 analyst report from American Technology Research's P.J. McNealy indicating that the Wii has already entered manufacturing. McNealy is quoted in the article as saying that October is "a reasonable timeframe" for the release. Morris also cites other, unnamed industry insiders as expecting a September or October launch for the system.

As for the official Nintendo line on this article, a representative hadn't returned GameSpot's request for comment as of press time. However, earlier today the company did respond to the Sports Illustrated for Kids article, saying in part, "We remain committed to launch the remarkable Wii console in the fourth quarter of 2006."

That would rule out a September launch, but not October. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has previously said the console would hit shelves in the US before Thanksgiving. ...

New Gamecube Commercial Game Release:



Race to the finish line as you live all the fun and excitement of the Walt Disney Pictures presentation of a Pixar Animation Studios film, "Cars." Play as all your favorite characters as you help Lightning McQueen capture the coveted Piston Cup Championship. The game is a story-based racing adventure game that relives all of the key moments of the movie. It features more than 10 playable characters from the film and an open world environment with more than 50 races.

More info --> http://www.yesasia.com/?/info.php?pro...9&lsaid=219793 ...

New GBA Commercial Game Release:



Race to the finish line as you live all the fun and excitement of the Walt Disney Pictures presentation of a Pixar Animation Studios film, "Cars." Play as all your favorite characters as you help Lightning McQueen capture the coveted Piston Cup Championship. The game is a story-based racing adventure game that relives all of the key moments of the movie. It features more than 10 playable characters from the film and an open world environment with more than 50 races.

More info/buy here --> http://www.yesasia.com/?/info.php?pro...0&lsaid=219793 ...

Dirty, dirty, dirty. However, enough about our out-of-work hours lifestyle, because we'd like to draw your attention to new screenshots from PS3's MotorStorm, which are spitting in our eye this afternoon in a spewing-out-grit-and-gravel kind of way.

MotorStorm's an off-road racer, just in case you were unaware, and you'll be able to park your backside on dirt bikes, ATVs, rally cars, monster trucks and other petrol-powered beasts besides and burn it up hell-for-leather in the wilderness.

Screens HERE ...

With Nintendo still keeping schtum regarding Wii's price and launch date - and with an official announcement not expected until September - speculation is, unsurprisingly, running rife on the 'net.

Now, those pesky analysts have stepped in to fan the flames further. It seems that P. J. McNealy of American Technology Research has suggested Wii may actually launch before the generally expected November release, hitting shelves around October or even late September.

In his analyst's note from June 21, McNealy stated that Nintendo already appears to be manufacturing final retail units of its Wii console, noting that "October is a reasonable time-frame [for the console's launch]". Indeed, this seems to be generally accepted amongst those in the know, with website CNN Money referencing similar expectations for a September/October launch from undisclosed industry 'insiders'.

Such a launch would give Nintendo a significant advantage over Sony - both in terms of the number of retail units the company would have amassed come release-day and by beating the PS3 to shelves by almost a month. Obviously, there's no official word from Nintendo yet but, with that announcement expected in September, we don't have too long left to wait. ...

The executive overseeing the new PlayStation 3 digital distribution project has said he believes it will benefit not only Sony and other publishers, but will also open up new opportunities for developers.

Speaking to Gamasutra, John Hight - director of external production at SCEA Santa Monica - said: "Certainly being able to sell globally on-line makes it easier to reach international and remote markets. On the business side, it also lowers our cost of sales and eliminates inventory risk. It should help curtail used game sales and piracy."

"This new form of distribution will lower the barriers of entry for new developers," he continued.

"We can try out new ideas in a low risk, quick feedback environment."

Hight confirmed that Sony is firmly committed to developing games for digital distribution within its own first-party studios - unlike Microsoft, which has focused mainly on looking to third parties to supply games for Xbox Live Arcade. According to Hight, Sony will "fund development for first party games, and we are open to self-funded games."

So what type of games is Sony looking for? "We're looking for fresh, new ideas that fully exploit the power of PlayStation 3," Hight said.

"Our first party projects are all unique to PS3. Some of our games, by virtue of their design and hardware demands, simply couldn't work on Xbox 360."

As previously announced, Sony's E-Distribution Initiative is designed to offer an alternative means of bringing games to consumers, and will be managed by SCE Worldwide Studios.

Hight said that developers interested in taking part in the project should create a high concept or, preferrably, a working prototype of their game, and register on Sony's developer website. ...

Sony Computer Entertainment has announced that SCEE president David Reeves and SCEA boss Kaz Hirai have been made executive vice presidents of the company's corporate executive group.

According to a statement posted on Sony's corporate website, partially translated by GameSpot, "both Kazuo Hirai and David Reeves will be deeply involved in corporate strategy for the SCE Group from now on, in addition to handling business in North America and Europe."

Reeves joined Sony Computer Entertainment in 1995, and took over from Chris Deering as president in 2004. Hirai has also been with the company for just over a decade now, and became SCEA president in 2003. ...

Microsoft could be planning to releasing a portable multimedia device designed to rival Apple's iPod as early as Christmas 2006, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

Rumours that the Redmond giant is working on a handheld machine have been circulating for some months now, with 'Xbox 360 Uncloaked' author Dean Takahashi adding fuel to the fire in spite of Microsoft's refusal to comment on speculation.

The report from Bloomberg suggests that Microsoft is planning to release a portable music and video player - making no mention of videogame functionality - with the intention of challenging Apple's massive 77 per cent market share of US digital music player market.

According to the report, Apple commands 72 per cent of music downloads with its iTunes music store; Microsoft's MSN music store accounts for just 3 per cent.

It's this huge hold on the digital music and video sector that MS wants to challenge, the report suggests - apparently the company has been negotiating content for a new digital download service from companies including EMI, Universal Music Group, Fox, CBS and NBC.

Sources claim the new device - allegedly created under the guidance and supervision of Xbox evangelist J Allard with entertainment and devices president Robbie Bach - will allow consumers to download music using Wi-Fi technology. It's said to offer better picture quality than Apple's iPod.

It's still unclear whether or not there will be any game-related functionality for the device, or if it is simply designed to compete with Microsoft's biggest rival in the digital music and video sector.

Given the alleged involvement of J. Allard and Robbie Bach, a handheld that also plays games would certainly seem possible. But, once again, speculation is likely to continue until Microsoft decides to disclose its plans. ...