The beta testing for the Xbox 360 build of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3 and PC) is coming along nicely. However, some of the fans, especially those residing in Europe, might be wondering as to how they can join the beta testing that will be conducted in their markets on September 7.

There are many ways to join actually and one such easy way is pre-ordering the copy of the game from GAME retail chain. According to their website, once you pre-order the game, the store will send you an email containing the code and instructions on how to use it.

Take note that every pre-order will earn you a unique code. Game.co.uk mentioned that this deal has been made possible because they are the exclusive retail partner of Activision for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in UK and Ireland.

There's an on-going treasure hunt right now among avid Halo 3 fans and it concerns an elusive new weapon called the Excavator. There have been documented sightings in the past about this but Bungie Studios isn't confirming nor denying its existence.

However, an alleged render of the said weapon recently circulated around the Internet and according to several informants, it came from someone close to Bungie and was probably part of the recently concluded beta testing. We're not saying this is already confirmed but the said phase really revealed a lot of hidden information.

  

If you're really that curious, there was this event called the Steaktacular Humpday Challenge over at Bungie.net where Luke Smith was quoted as saying, "The round starts and Joe and I each pick up one of these new weapons. These are awe-inspiring cannons that fit in one hand, a fistful of death and head toward a power-up".

Also, it should be remembered once that Bungie mentioned something about a "boring" weapon. The word boring could also mean "excavating", you know. Like we said, we're not saying this is true. It's just that we believe that there's a lot more to Halo 3 than what has already been announced - and the Excavator could be one of those.

And the hunt for the hidden treasures of Halo 3 continues...

Thanks to Feenix for the heads up!

Buy: [Halo 3]
Buy: [Halo 3 (Legendary Edition)]

 

With the amount of hype Halo 3 has built up, it cannot be helped that gamers are stoked about the game. As a testament to that, the Halo 3 beta testing debuted on the Xbox Live charts at 3 and stayed there for the entire 23 days that it was running. (Not bad for a beta!)

If you're like most of us here at QJ.NET who can't wait for the next update from Bungie (which might be a bit much considering we just covered some news on that), well here's a few new tidbits of info from Bungie.net. First up we have a remake on one of the most popular Halo 2 maps: Zanzibar. This refurbished map called Last Resort, the developers have said that it looks and plays a bit more wide open.

This is because of an expanded walkway near Camp Froman and a significantly larger interior with some new entry points. Veterans of the game watch out, you might just be shocked when some youngblood owns you because of some entrance that wasn't in the original map.

Next up we have Epitaph. Developers have called it an extremely elevated Forerunner structure. Essentially a series of external hallways leading into a multi-level interior with a central theater at the center on the lowest level, it is comparable to most maps in the Halo 3 portfolio.

An interesting note about this map is the fact that Epitaph has had multiple revisions since media were invited to check out the structure. Changes such as the location of weapons and a few structural changes have changed the way the map plays considerably.

Finally we have the brute chopper (pictured at top of the article) and the cosmetic changes to the Spartan Armor. The brute chopper is said to be armed with four linked auto cannons and has a top speed of 75 mph. This vehicle is something we recommend running away from if you see it coming your way.

The Spartan Armor has 2 new additions in the form of C.Q.B. (Close Quarters Battle) and E.V.A. (Extra Vehicular Activity). It's been noted that both of these have no effect on gameplay aside from looking cool as you tear your way through multiplayer.

It's been said before, but this game looks amazing. The additions of the new variants of Spartan Armor and the map changes are really great and should really add some spice to our weekly Halo sessions. More updates on Halo 3 as they get released.

More screenshots at our full article - as always, just look below for the Full Article link.

  

It's been a rough ride, Halo 3's Beta testing made people cry tears of anguish and joy. Many screamed for better graphics, some whined for their missing Beta keys; it's finally coming to an end, after plenty of glitches found and secrets uncovered. All things come to an end, good or bad, and it's almost time to say goodbye.

Frank O' Connor gave his bittersweet words, "A sad and gentle reminder that the Halo 3 Public Beta is coming to an end this weekend... it will come to a close at Midnight, PST on Sunday the 10th of June." Time to say farewell to those you fragged, and give love to people who kept on killing you.

On the good side, the Beta did good for the game's progress. From 'ol Frankie:

The Beta has been a great success for us in terms of the sheer amount of data it allowed us to gather, for matchmaking, networking, general bug-bashing and of course some gameplay elements. As the Beta heads to the great software graveyard in the sky, it's vital to remember that things you got used to during these short few weeks, are almost certain to change.

There is no need to worry though, because changes are most likely for the better. After all, Microsoft is counting on Bungie Studio's Halo 3 to finally earn some bread. With memories Beta testers hold dear, we shall wait for the second coming. For he who believes, pwns.

When you have a video game title as big a behemoth as Halo 3, you need to have an excellent beta testing phase to make sure that all possible issues will be ironed out even before the game is released. Bungie Studios understands this perfectly well, thus, the over 40 million preview games played in just three weeks.

Yup, that's how extensive Bungie and Microsoft want this testing because the title, truth be told, is expected to generate truck loads of Benjamins. Anyway, the image accompanying this article is an example of a "heat map" for Valhalla maps. This graphs show the data samples taken during the testing phase.

 

The red parts of the map represent choke points and hot zones. Bungie refers to maps similar to this to find out where changes to the level's layout, spawn points, or weapon locations need to be made. Think of the red area as blood, meaning a lot of kills have occurred there.

Quite curiously, the heat maps can also be used when balancing weapons. Just like what we said, the said maps also reveal weapon locations and spawn points. With this, Bungie can establish "themes and patterns" of issues with weapons and spawn points.

The Xbox 360 Forums have been buzzing with complaints that after upgrading with the Spring Update and the Halo 3 beta testing, strange things have been happening to their consoles. Freezing at the friend list, issues with the MarketPlace and getting weeded out of Xbox Live are among the major concerns.

Users report that whenever you check your friend list and other related stuff, their consoles seem to have nasty freezes. Some parts of the online store became inaccessible, and running games from discs takes quite some time to load. The HD also was suspect to some slowdown.

"Accessing the HD is slow to respond sometimes too. It looks like the system actually freezes then unfreezes," says ROCKYWWF, an Xbox 360 user.

"I have cleared the cache on my HD, tested my internet connection with the 360 and everything passed. Pulled the HD off and ran the 360 and still the same problems," he adds.

So far Microsoft has not yet engaged this buzz in the Xbox 360 community. Those who are experiencing similar troubles are encouraged to join the discussion and be heard. Thanks to Dave O. for the heads-up!

As the Halo 3 beta testing has started in earnest, fans and sites have been giving their reactions and recommendations on how they feel the final version should look like. There haven't been any big whines and moans thus far, but Advancedmn has a few small bones to pick.

They ran an article discussing what Halo 3 developers need to improve on before the release. They pointed out first and foremost to the visuals. They said that there's nothing wrong with the presentation, but if Microsoft wants this game to be the star of their stage, it should have that jaw-drop factor in it. This may not be evident at the moment, but we never know what tweaks there can be.

Second, they pointed to the Needler as now a very good mid-range weapon, but for some reason the look of the little toy doesn't give a hint at what it can do. The article recommended a change in attitude.

Lastly, the article expressed its ire with the "push-button-to-talk controls. It was recommended that team communication be made less restricted by not having to rely on the inconveniently-placed chat button.

At the end of the day, Bungie and Microsoft are getting what they want from the beta testing. the fans are speaking out. Now the developers have the ball. The rest is up to them in how they can make Halo 3 the gaming event that they want it to be.

 

The highly anticipated Public Beta Test of Halo 3 lit the Mancannon too early as so many gamers simultaneously attempted to download the beta version via RealTime World's Crackdown. Many sites who covered the timely setback speculated that the Beta would be delayed for another 24 hours.

But the issue has already been addressed by the Live team at Microsoft, and they've already pinpointed the problem. An update by Bungie has mentioned that Microsoft is already testing out the final stages of a patch, which is speculated to be available as a patch grabbable only through Crackdown.

Bungie pegged an ETA for the patch release at around three to six hours after the patch tests fine, but that was at around 5:22 a.m. PDT, so we have yet to hear of any update regarding the patch.

As a reminder to those who already have the Halo 3 Beta: the problem doesn't affect you, so this patch wouldn't matter anyhow.

---

UPDATE: No, seriously. Bungie and Microsoft have come up with a solution that appears to fix the problem instantly. But a new problem has risen: seeing as everyone else will be downloading the patch, too, Bungie warns it could take up to four hours just to squeeze the fix through and apply it to Crackdown.

So to make up for all the inconvenience this has and will cause you (for the next few hours or so), Bungie has announced that they will extend the duration of the Halo 3 Beta to June 10 (as opposed to June 6) at 11:59 PDT. If you happened to lose a day's worth of gaming today, Bungie is offering a "kiss and make up" solution with four more days of Beta testing fun.

This week's update on Bungie.net has trusty Frank briefing gamers for the three-week long drive in the Halo 3 Beta testing phase. Now Bungie knows that three-weeks might seem awfully short, but it's more than enough game and beta-testing time to find the kinks in the code and sort them out.

Again, because the Beta test phase may bubble up some exploits or bugs, the final version is going to be different from the Beta version. There's no need to get comfortable with all the subtle features that ships with the game next month, because Frank said, "Don’t get used to anything you see in there. Objects may have shifted while in flight."

But just in case you people want to prime yourselves for the more common matters in the Beta test, Bungie will be pushing out an FAQ for all participants a day before the test phase starts. Things that will be covered include the controls, some new features (that you might want to test), how to get the Beta content and what you will be testing out.

Also be reminded that Bungie already has tested out the mechanics of matchmaking during their internal Microsoft Beta testing, although they've had a limited number of participants to duke it out with. The public beta should change that soon once it comes around this May.

 

The website for Transformers: The Game has already been launched, and in all honesty, it's looking just great. Loading up the site gives you the option to either Enter the Site or Enter Battle (whatever that may be since the Enter Battle section isn't open yet...).

Entering the site allows one to view the game's features, as well as videos and images from the game, and even the developers' blog. The opportunity to join the Beta testing of "Battle for the AllSpark" can also be found here, by clicking on the button found at the bottom of the screen. This particular bit really drew our attention since we have been waiting for a game like this ever since we were kids. No word has been given on when the full version of the web game will be available, but you can keep checking for it via our read link below.

Lastly, Activision also released some new screenshots for the game which shows the new Bumblebee in various stages of kicking Decepticon butt. The graphics are looking as polished as ever and we can't wait to get our hands on the game.