Ten years ago, Bungie bestowed onto the gaming population the world of Halo with their cutting-edge first-person shooter, Halo: Combat Evolved. This game changed the face of FPS’s forever and spawned four sequels with Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo: ODST, and Halo: Reach all under Bungie’s care. Now the time has come for Bungie to pass the torch to the new caretakers of the Halo franchise, 343 Industries, but not without first going out with a bang.
“Bungie Day” is quickly approaching (07/07/11 – in honor of their love for the lucky number) and they have announced a bit of what you can expect through the two weeks leading up to this event that also marks Bungie’s 20th Anniversary.
Beginning on June 23rd, and running through the close of Bungie Day on July 7th, we’ll be celebrating the last twenty years the only way we know how – by giving you, the best -blam!- community on the planet, all the parting gifts we can muster.
Here are 7 reasons you should come out and celebrate with us this year:
1. Because Blue Flames aren’t just for Bungie Employees or fans with iPhones. We’ll be turning on Blue Flames and the Bungie Nameplate for every last one of our loyal fans. (Kids, do try this at home.)
2. Because we just built a brand-new and totally free community iPhone app to keep you connected…and entertained!
3. Because we’re going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what Bungie Aerospace is all about.
4. Because a collection featuring some of our rarest and most treasured personal Halo artwork will be up for auction, with all profits going to charity through a partnership between Child’s Play and the Bungie Foundation.
5. Because the Bungie Store is going to be packed with Swag Sacks containing random, but totally kick ass swag, limited run commemorative t-shirts, and amazing commissioned posters from a handful of incredible artists, with all profits also going straight to charity.
6. Because on Bungie Day we’ll be throwing down in a 24-hour Bungie vs. the World No Holds Barred Halo: Reach Marathon where we’ll be making the promise of Steaktacular a certified beefy reality. You steak us. We’ll steak you. Seriously, we’re going to mail any team who beats us by 20 kills or more on Bungie Day a Grade-A cut of steak (gift cards for international players) while supplies last.
7. Because you’ve been just as much a part of this incredible twenty years as we have, and we simply couldn’t bear it if you didn’t show up and help us celebrate our anniversary and help send our Halo baby out with one hell of a bang.
Of course, some of these are kind of vague, but the others are full of gaming goodness! Item number 6 is particularly funny to me. If you are unfamiliar with the Halo games, you can earn a medal while playing online called “Steaktacular” when you beat the opposing team but 20 kills or more. For Bungie to turn this medal into a “reality” by mailing actual steaks to any team that beats a Bungie Employee team by 20 kills or more is down right awesome and hilarious!
You also may have noticed the reference to Bungie’s new iPhone App that is now available for download through iTunes. This app allows you to track your Halo: Reach stats, commendation progress, and daily/weekly challenges right from your iPhone, as well as stay up to date on all the news from Bungie.net!
It’s our first, small step into the mobile world. The first of many. To begin with, Bungie.net Mobile is a native iOS app that lets you check your career Halo: Reach stats, keep tabs on your friends’ online performance, and bestow free stuff upon yourself and seven of your closest allies (roaming charges may apply, call your carrier for details). It’s also an easy way to stay connected to Bungie through our news feed. It really is just a beginning – our first, super cute baby step. We already have adult-type plans to keep updating Bungie.net Mobile with new features and enhancements in the months and years to come.
While there are some slightly better apps that track these stats in a little more detail, this is a very solid app for any Halo: Reach fan out there and I’d highly recommend downloading it.
Because there’s also an “online swag bag” . . .
That’s right. If you own an iPhone and enjoy Halo: Reach go download this app immediately. From this app you can now enable Blue Flames for your Spartan in Halo: Reach as well as enable the Star and Bungie Logo nameplates – things that were up until last night only available to Bungie Employees (or in the case of the Star nameplate, doing something that would get you awarded that nameplate straight from Bungie, like winning a Bungie Allstars competition). That’s right, if you own an iPhone u can haz Blue Flame right now. But fear not non-iOS users, from what I can tell it sounds like Bungie will be turning these items on for all Halo players before too long, it just sounds like iPhone users get this gift a little early.
SenadorKooch Can Haz Blue Flame
As a Halo fan since the release of the original, I have to say Bungie seems to really be going out with a bang as far as relenquishing control of this beloved franchise. Despite some issues we all may have had – or currently have – with Bungie’s Halo franchise (I’m looking at you, Armor Lock!), it looks like Bungie is really showing their appreciation to the fans who have made these games so immensley popular before they move on to their next endeavor!