in that case, let's finish the fight/conversation on the HALO 3 THREAD

I can't wait for parity to trickle down either. It's especially bad with books :/

If you buy it from the states via eBay or another vendor you will probably get charged the standard $5 plus taxes import fees from Canada Customs as it will be labeled as a consumer good - you could perhaps get a friend in the states to ninja purchase it and send it to you as a "gift" of >$50 value, which case you would probably save around $10, minus postage, depending on which state they're in and how much tax they pay on video games there. Do you know anyone in New Hampshire, perhaps?

I am an impulsive sucker and picked it up today.

apparently future shop is giving away some shit game (fantastic 4 silver surfer) if you buy it there. not worth the $10 or the plastic it's printed on, but i am tempted just because it seems like a headache to figure out how to get my copy.

did you get your xbox back from repair hell yet?

Said freebie game might be worth like $5 of trade-in somewhere so it's, er, kinda cheaper than buying it anywhere else?

No, my 360 is still in Microsoft purgatory. But I can use the room-mate's as his tastes are exceedingly fickle....I believe this week's primary activity for him is re-playing Silent Storm for the nth time.

just because the USD-CAD exchanges at parity right now doesn't mean that all goods are going to suddenly go to parity pricing - the sunk cost of a copy of halo 3 on msft's books is mainly in salaries and overhead for more than a year's worth of service, when the canadian dollar was still worth less, so the margin in 9/07 CAD would actually end up being an effective loss if they all of a sudden they priced at parity.

sad facts of life etc.

also see the Big Mac Index

I'm surprised by how boring (and unbalanced) the front cover of the standard edition is. It looks like it was designed by an intern?

Tombot, I am not sure I understand this. Maybe it's too complicated for me. But as I understand, no part of Bungie or Microsoft was ever using the Canadian dollar during the process of making the game. Since it all would have either been contained within the States, or just in other countries, the Canadian dollar is only now being introduced to the product, at a value equal to the American dollar. If they had to spend shitty last-year Canadian dollars making the game, sure, it would make sense not to sell the game at parity. But they didn't.

anyway, it's irrelevant because i am going to pick it up tonight at stupid inflated canadian prices and grumble loudly but get my free copy of a completely garbage game that i don't want to play at all (which might have trade value).

For there to be complete Purchasing Power Parity there would have to be no transaction costs, since the way it theoretically works is by people being able to buy goods cheaply in one country and sell them for more in another. As you pointed out, even though it is cheaper in the US, by the time you pay shipping and taxes it works out much the same, so this is pretty much as close to parity as you are going to get.

also, I was thinking about this - msft isn't just after making a certain margin on units for halo 3 itself, they have to pay for the loss on the console, the overhead on the free level of live service (silver?) and the overall costs of marketing for xbox 360 and every other game besides.

The big marketing campaign for H3 isn't really for the game at all - it's about selling more consoles, ESPECIALLY since they now have to replace all the RRoD units etc. IF H3 doesn't hit the marks they need it to, in unit sales, in console sales, in Live Gold 'scrips, by the end of October, the whole division winds up dragging Microsoft down for the third year in a row.

First impressions, after finishing the first two missions in co-op, I'm liking it. It's smooth and the graphics are slick (without being super-impressive). I did find myself thinking back to Bioshock and appreciating it a little more - because in comparision, Bioshock seems really inventive actually, where Halo, perhaps partially because it's a 3, feels a lot less unique so far. On the other hand - with all the multiplayer stuff included - it's definitely the kind of game I could see putting much more time into, and the different co-op modes may make it a lot more replayable than Bioshock (for instance, the ability to play the game through with various friends). I've only played the intro muliplayer match so far - but it definitely looks and feels better than what I played of Halo 2 - looking forward to checking out the new maps and game-types.

I have never played Halo except for like ten minutes or so at a party; it just isn't my kind of game, I think. I popped in my roommate's copy of Halo 3 to try it out, and it's pretty much the same deal. Even among other combat/FPS games, I think I prefer Gears of War, Bioshock, Call of Duty. I can't even put my finger on why I don't like it ... the graphics are fucking great in a non-showy way, the presentation in general is solid ... but it just doesn't move me.

So Future Shop (it's sort of the Best Buy of Canada, except now we actually HAVE Best Buy, who apparently owns Future Shop, and feigns competition between the two and it must somehow be an illegal monopoly I swear) had a deal where you bought a $70 copy of basic and got a copy of the shitty Fantastic 4 game. While quantities last. Very clever, because I showed up, they were like "no shitty game left, but have this free hat" which is a baseball cap with "I PWN" embroidered on it in that really played out font whose name I forget... looks like this, if you can see it:

http://www.futureshop.ca/marketing/halo3/images/tshirt.jpg

So I am like "fuck, fine, I will still buy this shitty game here." They get my sale, and didn't evne need to give me the hat.

Anyway, I walk one block towards home, and pass by "Game Buzz"-- a place notorious, at least, to me, for vastly overpricing used "collector" video game goods (I saw Earthbound there in box for I think either 200 or 300 dollars once, and breath of fire 2 with NO box for like 150). They have some ghetto-as-fuck printer paper (you know, with the holes on both sides) up in their window, shouting "HALO 3 VENTE ICI!!!! ÉDITION DE BASE 59,99$!!!!!!"

So I go back to Future Shop, spend 15 minutes in their "returning shit? we hate you wait forever" line, and skip all the way to Game Buzz, get my cheaper copy, and spend the remaining cash on pizza, chocolate and beer.

How they were able to undercut the MSRP by 10 bucks is beyond me-- they seem sketchy enough that they may have sent a dude to buy a box in Vermont or something and come back up and lie through customs to get it in. Either way, I love them a little bit and the store clerk girl was even kinda cuet.

I played through the first mission on "heroic" with a friend online, and it was pretty damn fun. I have NEVER liked a halo game more than "meh, it's alright" but this one seems better than previous ones. Plus I got to be Keith David. Who I mistook for the guy who played the teacher in Storytelling. My friend (over the microphone) and my girlfriend (live) thought my constant "I'm gonna put it in your butt like I did to Selma Blair in that movie" jokes were pretty grebt. But now I have ot tell thme I had the wrong actor. At least I didn't mix him up with Mathew St. Patrick as I have before (he was one half of David & Keith on Six Feet Under) and say "I'm gonna put it in your butt like I did Michael C. Hall on that show."

Man this is the least about-Halo-3 post ever on ILX, including... every other post on ILX.

The graphics are pretty?

just imagine the "I PWN" is on the hat instead of the shirt, and the shirt doesn't exist

lol game buzz!!

i saw phoenix wrights in there for like $100 a week before it got reissued

lol QC i guess.

Still don't want to play this, but really enjoyed watching my housemate cruise along. Love the way some of the story is told during game play instead of in cut scenes. And it's nice to hear some strategy/tactical ideas coming from the enemies in game. Maybe that's been done before, but I've never seen it.

playing the campaign with a bunch of friends over xb live and yelling MST3k-style over the cut scenes: entirely worth the price of admission.

it's not deserving of all of the 10/10s it's getting, but I never really played H1 or H2. So maybe it is. I'd give it like... an 8/10, but boosted by the fact that everyone I know is playing it, so that does make it more fun. Sad, no?

Can we please have a big ILG game of this this weekend? Who has it?

Will, what's your nick again?

you bought pizza, beer and chocolate for $10?

My Xbox Live name is Brilliam

The $10 went towards those things... didn't buy all of them, though. I also split on the pizza/beer with the gf.

melton mowbray (melton mowbray)
trakky (Trayce)
Jimdoo (JimD)
Antexit (new antexit)
Gabbby (old antexit)
vsta01 (Will M.'s work xbox that gets lent to random people!)
Brilliam (Will M.)
Barthelme 1984 (modestmickey)
Stupornaut (natepatrin)
Feud (cutty)
Shinefield (Mordechai Shinefield)
Jeff Levine (Jeff Levine)
Polyphonique (Polyphonic)
BigGlim (Matt D)

That's the ones I found while snooping around a couple of 360-related threads. gonna look for more. and add everyone on that list right now (WHICH YOU CAN DO BY LOGGING IN FROM XBOXLIVE.COM OMG AMAZING)

I just friend requested each person in that list, even the people i've never heard of

antexit if you do this this weekend can i come over please

anyone feel free to add me as a friend and we can have ILX multiplayer!!!

yes slutsky and you can play local splitscreen on a networked game i think. Will, Gabbby's my brother.

antexit is in mtl too???

I bought Halo 3 from Game Buzz on your tip!

haha no way! awesome! i hope you didn't buy any of their other overpriced garbage.

hexenduction (adam)
DEFGWAANK (popshots75`)

oops, i meant to put those in a seperate post... i found those ones on some other thread, i forget

...and since you're in canada and have halo 3, check this out: http://xbox.com/33

Wow! Unfortunately my Live account in under an American address and I can't change it for some reason (also a drag b/c I can't use it to buy XBLA games without buying the fucking cards first).

So who's in for this weekend? Let's talk timezones!

I am supposed to go to some thing on Fri. night and another some-thing on Sat. night and another one on Sun. night possibly, so afternoons are best for me, but that's good if we're playing with Britishes since that's THEIR night. Right? Sat. afternoon is probably best.

I work until fiveish on Saturday, personally. Other thoughts?

my new xbox live name is BLIFIL

this weekend i have work and high on fire show and work and stuff but i demand future halo because playing with (even stranger) strangers is stupid

FRIDAY NIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT

LETS DO IT GUY.

Hey Will, sorry about last night-- my buddy logged us out by accident, and in the ensuing confusion I couldn't figure out how to get back into the game. I'm not sure you actually can mid-game in co-op, as I was trying with Melton too. Cool to know it works so well, though. Next time.

And I'm with Adam that Halo with strangers is stupid. I did play a lot of deathmatches with strangers, secretly in league with my brother. Now that is fun. Everybody apparently for himself and scrambling everywhere, and then all of a sudden a warthog busts out with a guy driving and another on the turret... Wow! Though I bet those allegiances pop up with strangers in games too.

I'm for tonight, I think, Slocki, unless my gf wants to do something. If so I kind of don't have a leg to stand on as I've been playing Halo the last 3 nights running.

Yeah, I had to give up the TV most of last night. Reasons included America's Next Top Model... argh that show stresses me out.

It's all good re: you guys leaving, my friend (Pritzy) disappeared like 5 seconds later into the abyss.

I tore through the entire game on Normal in one evening with the room-mate on his 360; normal is probably far too easy though almost necessary given that his approach to every situation in the game is "run forward and hit the B button alot". Definitely think Heroic is a more interesting challenge, the enemies seem much smarter and you have to approach each area as a puzzle of sorts.

I'm not even trying it on Normal until I beat it on Heroic-- I figure I'll look for the skulls on normal in single-player and just blast the shit out of everybody, but with Heroic I'm playing with a friend exclusively and, the enemy AI really comes out. Little fuckers way smarter this time, especially the grunts.

http://loltheist.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/xbox.jpg

i really hope we can play tonight guy

HOW DO I PICK UP GOLDEN SKULLZ

I am cozeny and I will kick your ass

(I suck really)

I'm sorry I didn't make it online :( I got home way late, and then had to go right back out again... I got in a single round of Pac-Man C.E. before going out, though. I was 20 seconds from beating Challenge Mode 1 before I lost! Argh!

the best part of playing last night, besides the fact that microsoft assigned me the name "RoundedBird" (mocked by random teenagers we were playing with) was when antexit mentioned ILG in passing and our friend said "ILG? ILG? International Ladies of Gaming?!"

I just beat this on Heroic and maybe I shouldn't say anything, but I thought the campaign started strong and ended very weak. I really wanted to like it. :(

Is anyone else finding Live totally fuxxored this weekend?

it's been fine for me, tho a little laggy at times

this game is fun on multiplayer

I need to get a new headset but it seems that not many people on halo use it?!?!??

Dudes I am late to this thread but I will totally play on Live whenever. Screen name is "chachee".

i was wondering who that was!

Sorry I was out of town last weekend and missed the battle. But I'm back and I'd definitely be up for some multiplayer anytime (or maybe next Saturday?). I've been playing the ranked lone wolf stuff and having a lot of fun - even winning a few matches which is surprising to me. It seems like slayer takes the most skill (80% skill, 20% luck), whereas crazy king is almost all about luck (20% skill, 80% luck). Oddball seems to fall somewhere in the middle. I haven't tried any of the team stuff - anybody care to comment a little on what those games are like?

Stats - http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Halo3/Default.aspx?player=jeff+levine

Team Slayer -- this is fun, but I am more of a fan of this kind of game than the free-for-all type.

Team Objective -- sometimes this is good (CTF). Sometimes it sucks (territories). As if I can't just automatically say "no territories PLEASE." Damn you, Halo 3.

Those are the only ones I really mess with.

and mine... http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Halo3/Default.aspx?player=Brilliam (but don't judge my color choices because it cut my off when I was halfway through changing them!)

I haven't fiddled around enough to upload my own screens yet...

People begging for help getting multiplayer achievements is pathetic and annoying - seems to be happening more and more too. Is there a way to just automatically mute everybody as the default?

I'm pretty sure there is, although I'm not at my xbox to remember how. in the meantime, plug in your headphone and set the volume to 0 :)

I think if you're going to design your game to be played co-op it might be a good idea if the final level of said game doesn't involve player 2 sitting in the back of a jeep

whoa, what hpapens if you have 4 players?

they push the jeep

People begging for help getting multiplayer achievements is pathetic and annoying

So OTM. But, it's useful to get them all in one place dicking around, so you can then sweep in and kill them all. Most of the people I've done this to get REALLY PISSED but fuck'em.

If anyone wants to do some group play this weekend I'm down.

I got a triple kill yesterday, and was probably 1 second late on killing the fourth guy (the VIP) for the... what is it called? a quadruple kill? I mean, the rest of the team probably totally assisted, but still... I felt like a god.

legit achievements last night:
sword spree
overkill (quadruple)
killing frenzy

(not in the same game)

(god I'm a dork)

a screenshot from when I jumped in on a guy, fired my fully-charged plasma pistol at him, and then proceeded to seal the deal with a melee punch.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2038/1552871473_ffa3cfe130_b.jpg

overkill, that's the one. damn, i should have had one! sad. :(

oh and re: group play, i could definitely be up for that.

OK I have never really looked around the xbox live site until now. I didn't realize it had all these game overview stats and stuff. Crazy. My nerdery for all to see.

I'm not sure how I feel about this article, but I love this picture a lot:

http://usversusthem.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/halobro.jpg

that article should get its own thread on ILE for maximum fun/nastiness/kneejerk white indie guilt

I actually like the article, even if it is written from a bit of a marketing standpoint (ugh) - the comments are even better, though.

the commenters do a good job of pointing out that the story is not that black nerds exist, but that MSM * advertising have done such an astounding job of ignoring them (sur fuckin prize)

Black Nerds: The Revolution No One Could Have Predicted

WAHT

49 Cent

i for one never predicted that black people would enjoy computer games and sometimes wear glasses

lol I know it is crazy computers are for matthew broderick

a lot of that article seems lazy (50 cent has his own crappy game, tupac wasn't the conventional hyper masculine type, skateboarding = nerd, what?). The neglected black videogamers angle would have been enough.

I dunno the more I think about it I think I agree that the article is actually just dumb.

It's kind of like, did the person who wrote this not know a single black person ever?

TUOMASBLOG

I need more xbox 360 threads, is there anyone who's not lsited above that has yet to add me?

by threads i meant friends

i am addicted to halo 3

no odst love out there?

can't believe they made this w/out matchmaking. WTF @ expecting me to have friends

I think its interesting nobody on this board cares about reach..

I never played a halo until halo 3 and I sold it back within 2 weeks.

i got halo odst, and sold that too. snoozefest and was barely any different to halo 1

loved 1, was hyped for 2, barely got into 3, never bought ODST

no interest in reach

I hate first-person shooters. :/

i have some fond memories of the first one, though not even for the multi-player. i loved the big set-piece battles where you could grab vehicles and fly around, it felt very open.

then i didn't make it longer than half an hour into halo 2, and forget about multi-player. never looked back.

only played halo 1. liked the vehicles. liked the setting. thought the enemies, weapons, story and gameplay were bad. never played any further

i have yet to play a halo game and still haven't heard a beatles song yet.

i am confused by the concept of halos, have never heard of the beatles, and i dont even OWN a tv

My favorite halo is Pretty Hate Machine.

Playing through ODST in co-op with my son. Doesn't seem a hell of a lot different to the original Halo tbh - only £5 though so probably just about worth it.

http://teamcoco.com/video/halo-remote

Conan & Andy record voices for 4