If you’ve been running all over the Internet looking for news on (and spamming all about) the Halo 3 Epsilon game that’s been seen on the profiles of several Microsoft and Bungie GamerTags, well, look no more. Microsoft and Bungie have decided to officially spill the beans on what this Epsilon deal is all about in emails sent to those who participated in the Halo 3 beta. OK, so when they were saying “Epsilon“, I didn’t realize (or want to) that their beta was so far along now to be christened Epsilon. Sure, it’s a cool name and all, but this is still essentially the final version of the Halo 3 multiplayer, according to the email. But the best deal? 4-person co-op on a single campaign level! That alone, should be worth the download. In addition, the Epsilon allows you to play on six maps as well as play and test the Saved Film functionality, which will allow all you people who raped me in the Halo 3 beta to take a screenshot and a video of my humiliation and brag to all your friends. Good show, sports!

Congratulations on being selected to participate in the Halo 3 Epsilon! The Epsilon is now available for download on Marketplace!

First, unlike the Alpha, Beta or Delta, this is a very special test in that not only will you be testing nearly final Halo 3 Matchmaking, you will also be able to:
* Play Multiplayer on six maps: Snowbound, High Ground, Valhalla, Last Resort, Epitaph and our new big map, Sandtrap.
* Play Custom Games and test out full game variant editing.
* Play with the Forge and be able to cooperatively edit and save multiplayer map variants.
* Play up to 4 person co-op on a single Campaign level.
* Play and test the full Saved Film functionality, including screenshots you can view in-game for Campaign, Multiplayer and Forge.

The Truth Behind Halo 3 Epsilon [Kotaku]

So you’ve grappled with the installation problems in Halo 2 Vista and got your ass handed over to you in the Halo 3 beta, and you start to wonder how much more Halo you can get in your life. Well, if you are anything like us (by which I mean me), then you start pulling a Lester Burnham and see Halo-related stuff fall slowly from the sky, as the American Beauty theme tinkles away in the sad recesses of your brain.

First off, if you have the dough and fancy yourself a true Halo-geek, you can ditch that iPod you’re all carrying for the Halo 3 Special Edition Zune. It’s the regular Zune, with the all-you-can-eat music store, the wonderfully envisioned yet woefully executed music sharing options, 3″ of sexy screen-space and oh yeah, did I mention the complete Halo and Halo 2 OSTs, trailers of Halo 2 and Halo 3, “Making of” documentary videos, the first 6 episodes of Red vs. Blue Season 1, tons of Halo-related images and a special, Halo: Zune edition of Red vs. Blue! All this, in a sleek Halo-themed shell, can be yours for a measly $249! Get yours today!

More on the Special Edition Halo Zune 

And if that didn’t fix you, there’s even more information straight from Bungie and IGN on the upcoming Halo: Uprising, a four-part mini-series by Marvel and Halo: Contact Harvest, the next Halo novel, which is being penned by Bungie man/Grunt voice Joseph Staten and will chronicle hard-ass UNSC Sergeant Avery J.Johnson’s first contact with the Covenant forces.

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