Halo 3 Beta: Busted?

A title update for the Halo 3 Beta is helping Bungie to ensure it can quickly make changes to multiplayer modes as needed. One change, according to Bungie.net, is to reduce the number of Team Slayer matches within the Team Skirmish playlist, aimed for CTF and Oddball fans.

Unfortunately, the title update was not without a few hitches. Saved films were invalidated and you can no longer share your pwnage from the Friends and Family Beta. Many users also booted up the Beta to see a blank menu without any text or way to jump into a game. Luckily, Bungie has the answer:

"First, restart your Xbox 360. Second, boot up the Halo 3 beta. Third, while in the Halo 3 boot up sequence press up on the D-pad and hold the A button until you see the Bungie logo. If you've completed this correctly there will be a dialog box confirming maintenance has been done on your system. Four, resume bathing in the Halo 3 Public Beta."

Also, Crackdown owners have yet to be able to jump into the Beta, despite the oh-so-tempting "Download Halo 3 Beta" button. As the Beta goes public more than a half-million Crackdown owners sit waiting and ravaging message boards -- so much so that Majornelson.com, Microsoft's voice of Xbox Live, came crashing down today. The good news is that Microsoft has isolated the issue and Bungie says that Crackdown owners should be able to download a title update between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. PDT that will unlock the Beta.

Until then, keep your eyes peeled for that 500th agility orb.

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