General Motors has just unveiled the new Hummer model concept dubbed as Hummer HX. Everything about it is looking sweet and sleek. Fans of the motor world are even saying that the design was lifted from Halo's Warthog.

Are these observations valid and correct? GM's Director of Exterior Design has something to say about the matter. Head over to the full article to know the full details.

Over here at the QJ offices, we're not sure whether we should be jealous or angry. Jealous because a Bungie dev got to drive the actual warthog made by the folks at WETA. Angry because the said developer managed to scratch the beautiful warthog against a wooden shed.

That's right folks. We've got video today that should be rather exciting, because some Bungie developers got the chance to drive the well-known Warthog we covered earlier in July. According to Bungie Studios' Weekly Update, the devs were in New Zealand to help Peter Jackson on the Halo project, and managed to spend some time at WETA as well, driving their souped up buggy.

Of course, being developers (and not stunt drivers), one of the devs managed to mess up the paint job by hitting a wood shed while taking it out for a spin, but he still counts as one of the most awesome people in the world, if only because he drove a gamer's dream car.

In related news, Bungie Studios is reminding gamers to steer clear of player profiles to avoid spoilers because, as they say, certain people "could LITERALLY have the final frame of the game as a screenshot on their file share." For these and other Bungie updates, feel free to check the readlink below.

The second live action Halo short has been leaked to the vast wilderness of the Internet. If you remember that Warthog we posted about a while back, get ready to see it again in the vid clip uploaded to YouTube by CaptainJebus.

Both video and audio quality is pretty poor, but the action looks sweeter than hell. Yeah, maybe we've all seen similar scenes in a countless number of recent war movies, but for hardcore Halo fans as well as new players looking forward to Halo 3, seeing Spartans trapped by a hail of gunfire is sure to elicit quite a few whoops of joy.

Warthog drop-off happens at around 1:08 into the clip, and you can see it in action for the rest of the clip. Check it out below. Makes you cry out for a full feature-length film, eh?

With the upcoming release of Bungie's Halo 3, we've become pretty well adjusted to getting updates and information about the game and related products, or so we thought.

After frothing in the mouth for a couple of minutes, we still haven't gotten over the shock of finding out that somewhere in Wellington, New Zealand, they have a fully functional Warthog which was modeled from the game.

(Though we doubt that gun works. Yeah, New Zealand's home to tough folk, but they've always been a nonviolent state - unless rugby union and beer are involved.)

Created by the guys in the WETA workshop, this vehicle sports four-wheel steering, off-road capabilities, and a machine gun on the back. The only thing sweeter, would be if it came with Master Chief, but we doubt that would be happening any time soon. Anyway here's the image of the Warthog, in all its glory.

After staring at this image, we couldn't help but ask two questions: is there a chance that this will be mass produced and what kind of mileage would we get on it?

Although Bungie is striving to make co-operative multi-play workable over any scenario - be it offline, networked, or over Live - it appears that the developers are having a bit of an issue with Halo 3 co-op multiplayer over Microsoft's Xbox Live.

 

We all know that the clamor for Halo 3 four player co-op has been alleviated a bit with the confirmation of two-player cooperative play, but even while reduced in half, Bungie has yet to sort out the "online" bit. In the latest issues of EGM, Bungie's Frank O'Connor took a stand on the issue, saying:

We're not dumb. We know that people want it and we're trying to make it happen. I think the biggest problem for us for online co-op is that we have a situation where you can be in a Warthog with five troops, almost a mile away from the other player. That's a significant challenge. And there's lots of design things you could do to prevent that from happening, but they would make it not feel like Halo anymore. If we can make it happen in a way that works well, we will - and if it works badly, we won't.

The mention of additional work on an Xbox 360 premier title set for release on September 25 may have fans "facepalming" in tandem around the world, but Bungie's claims don't appear to affect the release date of the game. According to them, the co-op mode will follow after the game releases via downloadable content - if everything "online" works out on Bungie's end.

Speculations have risen that Bungie may opt for offline multiplayer over split-screen or LAN as a last resort, although this information has yet to be confirmed by the studio as of press time.

One of the trademarks of Bungie's Halo series is the Warthog, so now we present you the M12 Warthog's complete specs from Halo 3.

The Warthog was created to be used as a scout or as a part of a mechanized infantry unit. The LRV (Light Reconnaissance Vehicle) and LAAV (Light Anti-Armor Vehicle) variant can transport three soldiers (this count includes the gunner). The engine is essentially a 12-liter hydrogen-injected ICE. This can propel the Warthog to speeds of up to 125 kph (78 mph).

There are other variants of the vehicle that have been issued, of note are: the M831 TT (which has four side-facing passenger seats instead of a weapon), the M864 A (which uses treads instead of wheels and has an enclosed passenger compartment), and the M914 RV (which has a towing winch and a heavy duty motor to power it).

The effective use of the Warthog stems from its maneuverability and its flexibility. It makes an excellent deployment vehicle (especially in its M831 TT variant) or can be used as a stopgap measure to counter opposing armor (LAAV model) when tank deployment has been deemed impossible. Spartans who wish to maximize the vehicle should learn how to pilot the vehicle properly. This is a necessity when under heavy fire since a crash at that time could potentially kill the pilot and the entire team.

The specifications of the 2 main configurations of the vehicle have been provided below:

Weight:                              3 tons     (3.25 tons)
Length:                              6.1 meters     (20 feet.)
Height:                               3.2 meters     (10.5 feet)
Width:                                3 meters      (9.75 feet)
Power plant:                      12.0 L liquid-cooled hydrogen-injected ICE    
Range:                               790 kilometers     (490 miles)
Main armament:                 M41 12.7mm LAAG     (M12 LRV version)
Main armament:                 M68 25mm Gauss Cannon     (M12G LAAV version)
Unit Replacement Cost:      52000.00 Cr.  

Halo 3 is slated to be released this fall in the U.S. and on December 31 in Japan. While waiting, feel free to post your comments regarding this vehicle. If you like, you can download the 3D rendition of the M3 Warthog LAV from our download site (link provided below).

Download: M3 Warthog LAV 3D Rendition

It seems that someone important over at the designs offices of French car manufacturer, Peugeot, owns an Xbox and is most likely addicted to it. For those who are wishing and hoping to get behind the wheel of a Warthog, brace yourself. You might just get what you're asking for. Peugeot recently came up with a prototype--dubbed as the Hoggar--which is a concept dune buggy. This baby has an eerie resemblance with the said Halo vehicle.

But reality awaits. Since this one is a prototype, it won't be surprising if only a few of these would be produced since most probably hardcore gamers and collectors (with really deep pockets) would purchase this one. From the looks of it, this baby will not see the light of mass production because by just looking at it, it looks really expensive. With that, I guess you do not need to penny-pinch, rob a bank, or engage in other big money-making schemes (ha,ha!).

The details about the car such as its suspension, features, and how it runs was not revealed by the French car maker. I guess all we could do is gaze at the pictures, and be green with envy. Now, see for yourself the resemblance of the Halo Warthog (left pic below) and the Peugeot Hoggar (right pic). Click on the thumbprints for a better look.