Ok, well, no spoilers here, but rather, out there.

Just this week, I've come close to stumbling upon spoilers for Halo 3 a few times now, and from some unlikely sources at that. Not just gaming sites and forums, but sites like YouTube, MySpace, etc are no shelter from spoilers, it seems. It only takes one person to post or leave a comment that can ruin what's most likely a long-awaited experience for gamers around the world.

Other recent news also makes me think about how this affects other forms of entertainment, including books like the Harry Potter series, and films, like the just-revealed plot details of the fourth Indiana Jones film. It seems like there used to be a day when spoilers didn't exist, but that was only because the world was a different place back then--the days when we didn't have a global network which can spread information in an instant.

Imagine someone being able to give away the ending of The Empire Strikes Back way back in 1980, and how people would have been so pissed to have it ruined. And frankly, that probably did happen, but when news could only travel so far so fast in those days, it wouldn't have had nearly the same widespread effect that it would today.

Thanks to my involvement with Podtacular, I was sent an invite from Bungie to check out the Halo 3 beta, but FOUR DAYS EARLY! This, of course, is because of the Friends & Family program, where Bungie has chosen selected members of the Halo gaming community to get a sneak peek before the thousands of others get to have at it.

My first impressions
All I can say it "FUN, FUN, FUN!"

Out of the three maps, I'm liking High Ground the best so far. Valhalla seems way too big for only eight people, and Snowbound, while it's got some fun spots, has too much open ground IMO.

All the gadgets are pretty cool. So far, I've seen the Power Drainer, Bubble Shield and Portable Grav Lift, and the Bubble Shield is by far the most useful of the those.

The weapons are great too. The AR is back and looks like a great all-purpose starter weapon, new spike grenades are damn deadly, and even weapons like the Carbine and Plasma Rifle seem to be stronger now. On the other hand, rockets don't lock on anymore, the Spartan Laser takes a lot of timing and the Spikers have been all but useless, and the new turrets remind me too much of Lost Planet, meaning that they're really unwieldy and make you a big target when you're in open ground or in really close quarters.

Overall, I'm really liking this early preview. Frankly, my interest in Halo had faded a while ago, but this has really brought me back into the fold. I was willing to wait calmly for the next six months or so until the game releases, but not anymore. I WANT HALO 3 NOW!

If you'd like to hear some first impressions, be sure to check out the Episode 113: Halo 3 beta impressionslatest episode of Podtacular, Episode 113: Halo 3 beta impressions.

Today, I wrote this letter to Xbox Support as an attempt to call some attention to the somewhat lacking quality control that has been exercised with the Xbox 360, not only in the original manufacturing process, but in the refurbishing and replacement program that's part of the product's warranty.

Hello,

I'm writing because of my recent experience with my console and having to send it in due to a hardware failure. I don't necessarily expect that you'll be able to answer or address everything here, but I do hope you can at least forward this to someone that can.

The fact that my Xbox 360 simply "died" (three red lights) beyond any attempts to restore or revive it is a separate (and probably larger) concern, but my real frustration came when I recently received my replacement unit.

My original service call (#XXXXXXXXXX) required that I send in my Xbox 360 for repair/replacement, as it was still covered by the one-year warranty through April. The product failure aside, I was pleased with the response and service and fairly confident that my product would be repaired or replaced quickly and completely. It was explained to me that I would most likely receive a replacement console, and that it would be a refurbished unit, which undergo a full certification process to ensure quality.

However, when I recieved my replacement unit, after setting it up and turning it on, the console froze while starting up. After checking all my connections and powering it up again, I then received the same three red lights indicator. So, apparently, my replacement unit also had a similar hardware failure? Right out of the box? How can this be?

So, now I've made a second call (#XXXXXXXXXX) and am awaiting a prepaid box to send in my replacement unit. And this time, given the circumstance, I'm very disappointed with my experience. I can't think of any other industry or market where shipping a customer a replacement unit that does not work is acceptable. With this, I can't, in good faith, assume that refurbished Xbox consoles are actually tested or examined at all.

After some searching online and reading others' experiences, specifically Chris Szarek ( http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2006/05/the_unluckiest_.html) and Matt Casamassima ( http://blogs.ign.com/Matt-IGN/2007/01/19/44024/ ), I have to wonder how widespread this problem is, considering that a number of people are also receiving refurbished units, only to have them fail as well.

My understanding is that many of the Xbox 360 consoles in early production runs are suffering from these failures, and since Microsoft shown its commitment to satisfying customers by extending the warranty to a full year, why not send new units to those customers? What possible good comes from sending paying customers less-than-new equivalents? I've seen people I know have to either go through this process and/or have to buy a new console altogether--something I am certainly not willing or able to do.

I suppose it'd be silly to expect Xbox Support to change its policy (no matter how much sense it might make), but I'm sure there are other ways of taking action against this, whether it's addressing it through the press, the Better Business Bureau or even through class-action litigation. Surely, Xbox and Microsoft must know that helping customers protect and enjoy their $400 investment (or more, considering peripherals and software) is in their best interest and more importantly, something worth getting right the first time.

That said, I DO NOT expect to receive a replacement unit that will have the same problem. That would simply indicate to me that there is something fundamentally wrong with the Xbox 360 design or manufacturing process.

I DO expect to receive a fully working (if not entirely new) console, to ensure that I am getting a product that works and is worth the money I have already spent. I understand the Xbox 360 is a sophisticated piece of equipment and there are many variables that could cause the console to fail, but I'm not looking to get something for nothing. I simply want what I paid for, and what Microsoft has promised to provide me under warranty.

On a side matter, I also have to question why I was asked to pack and cover the cost of shipping to the Xbox repair center, when others have clearly been sent prepaid boxes for the same reason. I had assumed that this was a practice that Xbox Support no longer allows, but when I called about sending in my replacement unit, I was told I would receive a prepaid box within 3-5 days. So why did I need to pay in the first place? It was a minimal cost (approx. $10USD), but it seemed unnecessary, especially now that I am being sent a prepaid box.

From my perspective, the Xbox team has done a wonderful job of keeping in touch with its customers and has built a foundation of trust and confidence with the gaming community about its products and software. However, it's matters like this that can damage a company's reputation and instill doubt in it's service and quality procedures. I've been a loyal Xbox customer for years now and would hate to abandon the Xbox product line because of this.

Please respond at your earliest convenience and thank you for any help you can provide,

Robert Cortez

It took a lot of work, and a couple of missteps, but the new Podtacular.com is now live!

Hosted by Foo Mo Jive, Podtacular started in July 2005 as an unofficial podcast discussing all things Halo 2, including game tips and strategies, interviews, custom gametypes and the Xbox Live community.

Having originally built the site on the e107 publishing platform, there were problems from the start, with everything from the templates and structure to the constantly-changing core (which is still in development). This caused a couple of nasty problems to show up in the course of developing the site, so I had to back out and look for an alternative. I just couldn't risk building what I hope to be a great community site on a faulty foundation. I didn't want it to fall apart at any given moment.

So I moved everything over to the CivicSpace platform, which runs on the Drupal "engine." As it turns out, CivicSpace is built almost entirely around the idea of a community site. So it's well equipped and well-developed for web standards and an organized site structure. And then there are all of the plugins, also called "modules," that extend the CMS even further. The level of configuration within it all is staggering and at first, a little intimidating, but for standard users, I think it'll be a comfortable fit.

So if you're into Halo 2, Xbox games or just online gaming in general, check it out. I'm even scheduled to appear on the next podcast sometime soon!

I owe a bit of thanks to the guys at Podtacular, the new Halo 2 podcast, for mentioning this site on their last show. I listed them as one of my favorite podcasts, along with several others, and since then, they've blown up big time. It's cool to see something start brand new and catch everyone's attention, only to take off like wildfire. I'm sure those guys are on a hell of a ride right now.

When they announced a new Podtacular clan, I joined up immediately and did what I could in the first few matches. That was a week ago. Since then, they've had to create two more clans just to accomodate all the requests they're getting. In that time, the show also flew up the charts at Podcast Alley and iTunes Music Store and they've even been noticed by Major Nelson, GamerTag Radio and Bungie themselves. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

And being a nice guy, I offered any help I could provide as a designer and come to find out that the host Foo Mo Jive is a designer himself. Not to encroach, I gladly stepped back and let them handle their business, but it's kind of cool when you have something in common with other Halo gamers (besides Halo itself).

What's even better is their ability to buck the status quo, with their follow up to all the attention being their longest show yet, well over an hour long. Of course, that drew criticism from listeners who were trying to download via dial-up (c'mon guys, DSL is on the cheap these days!), so they followed that up with a straight rip on the low-bandwidth users, Episode 4.5. Renegades, they are...

If you're looking for a fun, informal podcast dedicated to Halo 2 that discusses everything from tips and strategy to news and community, check them out.