As the May 16th Halo 3 beta service grows closer and closer each day, the official Halo 3 site continues to update with more and more text and visuals to tide us over. Concept art, screenshots, videos, wallpapers, screensavers, story and more can all be found here. Most of it is just what we've already seen offered at higher download resolutions than before, but don't go exploring if you're afraid of spoiling anything for yourself.

Labeled as "Halo 3 Zanzibar" on YouTube, the video seen above shows off what the gameplay, level layout, and interface will look like when we get our three weeks of Halo 3 beta testing soon. It's good to finally see bubble shields in action and not just talked about in video documentaries. And if the quality of the video bugs you more than its annoying music, you can download the 308 MB file here. 

Update: Don't put off watching this video, the YouTube version was already removed so this one might not make it long either. I'm watching the full download video now and they're playing on the Last Resort map, with an extra four minutes of footage you won't see in the clip above. I don't see why they even bothered blacking out their names at the beginning of the match though, you can see everyone's name easily throughout the match. Someone's probably going to be in a lot of trouble.

Bungie has new footage and news for fans awaiting Halo 3 patiently. The multiplayer beta is now set to go live on May 16th and run through June 6th, letting the 'rule of three' people, and those who purchased the specially marked copies of Crackdown in on the action. It's not too late though, if you can still get your hands on a specially marked copy of Crackdown you'll get to join in on the fun too.

You can see the new Bungie video documentary above, it's seven minutes of commentary and footage from the three new maps Valhalla, High Ground, and Snowbound. They stress how much attention they've given to asymmetrical map making, and changing level design angles to make every aspect of multiplayer balanced. The trip mines and bubble shields look great, although everything we see in the video is actually outdated alpha material, and Bungie's got even more secrets we won't be made aware of during beta gameplay. One of the team members summed up traditional Halo gameplay as "weapons, grenades, and melee" and you'll hear the Bungie team talk about how each of those will work into the third game.

It's good to hear a game team so focused on making their game fun for more than just a few hours, or even a few months - it's obvious they're constantly thinking about how this game will hold up years from now. For me, maps are what make or break FPS multiplayer, and I'm already liking what I've seen so far of Halo 3. I won't use the added replay options much, but it's still nice to have them. With the amount of polishing they're doing, and the amount of fan feedback that'll be coming soon, I don't see this game disappointing in any way.

A recent interview with Halo 3's content manager, Frank O'Connor, has various updates on Bungie's progress. Frank works on the Halo script, combat dialogue, story bible, and user interface text, but he's given details on a wide array of topics. First up is the amount of pressure Bungie is under with their Xbox 360 game, and what they're doing to avoid the legendary crunch times of Halo 2's completion. O'Connor believes that their technology is second to none, and that Halo 3 will become one of 360's best looking games throughout its entire lifespan, being directly compared to Gears of War and Resistance: Fall of Man graphics. Currently, the Bungie staff often has to stay overtime and eat dinner at the office while finishing up each day's work, but it's far from their flashbacks of the sleepless schedules from Halo 2.

Next up was the game's art and development progress so far. O'Connor is thankful that "the framework of the game is pretty much set, and the focus is now on implementing the art plan and polishing the gameplay." According to him, the levels in the game have barely changed in 3D design for over a year - I knew they've been way ahead of schedule, but damn, they must really be polishing gameplay if a year has passed and level tweaks are still being added. The example he gave was a short path in one area was changed to a short road through an underground tunnel, which should heighten the excitement of the Covenant ambush at that part of the game.

The last topics discussed were beta testing and downloads. Obviously they learned a lot from Halo 2, and Frank assures us that their networking skills have become far better, guaranteeing smoother online play. As far as beta testing goes, he's expecting it to start some time in spring, and last for a couple of months. Bungie already has plans ready for additional downloadable maps, but they actually are considering giving us other extra content that Frank's not willing to mention yet. He did address the issue of introducing new weapons after its release date, and settled fans' worries, stating that "Introducing a new weapon after the fact would probably be wrong. You’re going to get the complete set on day one . . . We could theoretically add an old favorite, but honestly we have to think of it as a sport and you can’t introduce new rules to a sport.”

Frank also brought up prop modelers, saying that they should be hard at work until summer adding small objects to levels, so a fall or even winter 2007 release date is the earliest we can expect a final product.

If Master Chief was Arnold Schwarzenegger, then Jamie Lee Curtis would be Cortana - yep - I'm talking about True Lies. First up is some truth - Bungie has released even more information about Halo 3 on their site, including new Halo 3 wallpaper downloads, the tentative button controls layout, funny fan art, and hints at what's to come soon. They're saying that the Halo 3 advertising campaign is set to start soon, so we should have more screenshots and videos coming in the next month - they've already announced that beta testing will contain a few surprises, and that they won't try to hinder players from spreading pictures of their experiences.

Now for the lies. According to an 'official' eBay auction run by Bungie (who just signed up for eBay a few weeks ago . . hmm), Halo 4 is on the way as well. And people are actually taking it seriously. Sigh.

Halo 3 news has been flowing from Bungie's monstrous maw for months straight now, but unless you're an avid Halo fan, all you probably know is "it has more brutes, a cool grenade that blocks meteors, and you get a beta invite for it if you high quality crack." If you've been holding off on Halo 3 news in wait for a gathering of all the facts and features, then Bungie has finally granted you your wish with their new FAQ section for their upcoming Xbox 360 game. They go over all the beta details, touch upon gameplay and controller questions, and even talk about online multiplayer features. It's still a little light on the details, but the specifics will start pouring in soon once the beta finally starts. No date has been announced for beta yet, but IGN has hinted at March 15th. Thanks to reader FANK for tipping me of Bungie's new info.

Microsoft just sent out a message announcing that the second of three ways to join the Halo 3 beta testing program is now over. If you were one of the 13,333 gamers chosen for phase two you should have received an email within the last 24 hours notifying you that you were accepted. If you still want to get into the Halo 3 multiplayer public beta, then your last option is purchasing a copy of Crackdown as soon as possible. It comes out in stores in North America on February 20th and will be "specially marked with a Halo 3 sticker before the beta begins." The email said you could pre-order the game from Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, Amazon.com, or GameStop, but IGN has said that getting an invite from Crackdown won't be too difficult, and to expect a surprise on March 15th. The surprise might be that beta invites end on that day though, so I wouldn't wait too long.

Nothing is for sure obviously, but it looks pretty damn convincing. It's not quite as shaky and blurry as we've all come to expect from YouTube videos, but it's not good enough to make out the interface either. The guy who uploaded it says that it's a Halo 3 Alpha test for weapon placeholders, and that he got it from someone named Bip Chizzle, so maybe this 'leaked video' is already outdated. It could just be an unknown mod project, but I think it might actually be the real thing. Maybe Bungie just wanted to further hype it without spending the marketing money for another awesome full CG commercial.

Bungie's still implementing plenty of new features into Halo 3 for us, and the best new feature they're mentioning is the multiplayer "A-hole Button." They've even done the math to arrange a formula that describes how it works to those of you who have never played an online game before: Teenagers + anonymity + microphone = idiot. That's the best math I've seen since my teachers turned Calculus into a . Xbox Live muting tools do exist, but the Bungie's asshole button promises to make it quick and painless. Just pull up the score and every player's tag will show up. Highlight the audible assholes with the right joystick and they're now talking to themselves.

I don't see why people get so upset over online jerks though, the majority of them are usually hilarious to listen to. Except the women. If Bungie made a Tits Button I'd be forever grateful. The second a vag enters a match there's always some drunken divorced dude who's more interested in talking to her instead of playing the damn game. The Tits Button could be an online dating Halo hotline that introduces all sorts of different covecunts to cute brutes bachelors. Teenagers + tits + microphone = $$$. If they charged for the service Microsoft could probably make Xbox Live free.

Hollywood Arts is a non-profit organization that provides arts and educational services for unfortunate teenagers and young adults. Instead of shunning gaming, they've decided to embrace it, and are honoring video game composer Tommy Tallarico at their first annual Dream Awards benefit on February 17, 2007. The dinner and award ceremony will feature the cosplayers and the 36 piece Hollywood Studio Symphony orchestra.

Whether you're a Tallarico fan or not, Hollywood Arts is also holding an auction on eBay selling several items worth bidding on for charity. The most sought after will most likely be an audio cameo in the Halo 3, but a Master Chief statue, and a tour of the Bungie studios sounds good too. They even plan to sell signed video game goods from Guitar Hero 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog artists. The auction also starts on February 17th, and you can bid on the items here. If you're interested in getting tickets for the Dream Awards, you can read more at Hollywood-Arts, or call them at (323) 656-5274.