July 7th saw the release of new Halo 3 goodies on the Marketplace to celebrate Bungie Day. The free content which comprised of a bunch of gamerpics and a theme was available exclusively on Saturday and can now no longer be found on the XBLM. Moreover, Bungie threw in the pack another surprise, that is the Blastacular Map Pack for Halo 2 which has been made available free of charge. Along with all this, Bungie released a new Weekly Update which holds a torrent of Halo 3 info, some of it old and some new.

Saving the best for last, in their latest Weekly Update Bungie uncovered a plethora of details on the recently revealed armour variants and the Brute Chopper. Scrolling down this page, you’ll find three links that will take you to different sites where you can learn more about the “Armor Permutations” and vehicle, plus you can even play around with several 3D images that the good guys at Bungie composed.

Now that we’ve covered the old stuff, let’s move on to more exciting info. First off, Bungie’s very own Frankie talks about the second campaign shot that was released a day prior to Bungie Day. To hardcore fans’ disappointment, the screen apparently doesn’t contain any special shenanigans, as Frankie explains:

However,the scrutineers went wild. What was that explosion reflecting in his visor (hint: it’s not an explosion, it’s something quite ordinary) and was the mountain in the background geometry (yes) and those clouds volumetric (no, although we do have volumetric stuff elsewhere in the game) and could you go all the way to that mountain (yes, but not without some unforeseen High Impact Halo antics)? Was the mountain Kilimanjaro (who’s to say)? And that grass in the lower left looks fake (it’s actually a treeline, in the very far distance).

As for graphics whores complaining that the game’s graphics have been downgraded since we last saw the first campaign shot, Frankie gives a reasonable yet suspicious explanation:

Then there was the complaint that it was different than the model shown at E3. Well it was, but only in that we replaced the “concrete” hammered finish texture with a flatter metal version that the artists here preferred, and was more akin to the previous iterations of the Spartan MJOLNIR metal. Otherwise the model is identical. It’s literally the same geometry.

Frankie also mentions as to why Bungie is keeping everything related to the campaign top-secret and is only revealing new stuff about it morsel by morsel. The reason for the slow flow of new information is Bungie’s marketing and PR strategy whose goal is to ensure that fans of the franchise go crazy whenever a new tidbit is uncovered, thus making them crave the game more than anything. In that department, Bungie’s marketing team deserves an A+.

Next stop is the Halo action figures being created by McFarlane Toys, due in 2008. By the looks of things, the figures are coming along very nicely and even in the current state accurately depict their Halo 3 incarnations. Note that the images below represent very early prototypes of the Brute Chieftain, Jackal, and Warthog, and are subject to change.

Last not least, Bungie has released a new wallpaper showcasing a Red versus Blue encounter. The image, which is in fact a beautifully done painting, reveals more than first meets the eye. If you look closely, notice a new armour variant on Red’s team hiding in the background. No, not that one. The one holding the turret. We presume it’s this variant that Bungie meant by “interesting shenanigans unfolding in the background”.

That’s all for now Halo fans. Expect to hear and see more of Halo 3 at tomorrow’s Microsoft press conference which, if last year’s conference is any indication, will unleash a new teaser or maybe even a full-fledged trailer.

Many thanks to Mags89 EMP and Viper 3773 for submitting this news.