Halo Reach: 15,000 Cheaters Rage

Bungie has banned a whopping 15,000 Halo: Reach cheaters – and promised more is to come.

Some sneaky Reach players (not you, we hope) had found a way to earn cheap in-game credits via an exploit.

It's all to do with something called "network manipulation and other easily detectable workarounds that fall well outside of standard gameplay".

The developer's answer? Wipe their credits out and ban them from obtaining credits for one day.

"Specifically, we targeted an exploit that allowed players to complete a Challenge 20+ times via intentional network manipulation (i.e., disconnects)," Bungie said.

"Spot checks have revealed the tell-tale signature of this behaviour on every denier so far, so don't be fooled by the protests of innocence. We aren't.

"We are in the process of applying credit resets to approximately 15,000 users who we have identified as the most egregious Challenge Reset abusers.

"A one day credit earning ban has also been applied, mostly to ensure that recipients receive an in-game notification of the action taken.

"As with any such measure, we have taken the time to carefully select our criteria to eliminate false positives.

"A more comprehensive pass will be occurring in the coming week as our automated Banhammer mechanisms grow accurate enough to satisfy our high bar for burden of proof. If you are thinking about getting an easy 50k credits by using this exploit, I would strongly advise you to reconsider."

You have been warned.

Halo: Reach generated $200 million in its first 24 hours on sale, and is the biggest Microsoft published game ever. It's also pretty good.

Halo 3 Killer Sentenced

In his sentencing, as transcribed by GamePolitics, Lorain County judge James Burge intimated that he believes -- "as a human being ... and not a jurist" -- that gaming can elicit similar physiological responses and addictions as some drugs. He further decried the creation of a delusional environment. The quote that's currently making the rounds is, "I firmly believe that [Petric] had no idea at the time he hatched this plot that if he killed his parents, they would be dead forever." In other words: Petric didn't realize there are no respawns in real life, according to Judge Burge.

Of course, attributing Halo 3 as a causation of these crimes is probably reaching, especially when most of the other 6.4 million who bought the game seem to be of sound mind. I'm no psychologist, but to me it seems this is about the wrong mind and the right catalyst inciting the most heinous of actions -- whether it be Master Chief, Niko Bellic, The Beatles, or a German Shepherd.


Judge James Burge sentenced the boy to 23 years to cries of mercy from the boy's surviving father, who stated that Daniel "still does not understand why he did something so terrible."

Daniel's sentence is actually a lot lighter than it could have been, as the prosecution was pushing for the maximum sentence of life without parole. The defense's argument was that Daniel was so young and so addicted to the game that he could not be held accountable. Petric, only 17 years old, was even younger when he committed the crime, and the judge's lenience is likely tied to his belief that young Daniel was addicted to the point of delusion.

Teenager Kills Parents Because of Halo 3

Daniel Petric shot his parents -- killing his mother -- because they wouldn't allow him to play the video game Halo 3, prosecutors told a judge at the boy's murder trial Monday.

The trial, on charges of murder and attempted murder, opened Monday for Petric, 17, of Brighton Township. He is being tried without a jury before Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge.

Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty because of Petric's age. In their opening state ments, prosecutors outlined this version of events surrounding the shooting:

In September 2007, Daniel, then 16, had sneaked out of his bedroom window to purchase the game at a store against his father's orders. When he returned home, his parents caught him with the game and took it from him. His father, Mark, a minister at New Life Assembly of God in Wellington, put the game in a lockbox in a closet where he also kept a 9mm handgun, according to prosecutors.

About a month later, on Oct. 20, 2007, Daniel used his father's key to open the lockbox and remove the gun and the game. The boy shot his parents, killing his mother and gravely wounding his father. As his father lay wounded, Daniel tried to place the gun in his father's hand.

Daniel fled after his sister and her husband arrived at the house, taking the Halo 3 game with him.

Also on Monday, a tearful Mark Petric testified that his son came up behind him as he sat on the couch and said, "Would you guys close your eyes? I have a surprise for you."

Petric, 45, said he "expected a pleasant surprise" and closed his eyes. Then his head went numb. As the blood poured from a bullet wound in his head, he realized his wife, Susan Petric, 43, was lying dead on a nearby loveseat, shot in the head, arms and chest.

Petric said his son shoved the gun into his hand saying, "Hey Dad, here's your gun. Take it."

Mark Petric broke down on the witness stand as he said he believes he survived the shooting only because his daughter and husband arrived at the house to watch an Indians game. He heard his son telling them they couldn't come inside.

"You guys shouldn't come in," Mark Petric recalled his son saying. "Mom and Dad had a big argument."

The couple, Heidi and Andrew Archer, testified they heard a moan - possibly their names being groaned - from inside the house, pushed their way in and found the elder Petric wounded and his wife dead. The elder Petric, through his shattered jaw, managed to say his son had shot him, while Daniel tried to blame his father.

Heidi Archer called 9-1-1 and then realized that Daniel had picked up the handgun that had been lying on the couch. Her husband took the gun from the boy, who gave it up without resistance.

The boy ran out of the house and fled in the family van. He was caught by Wellington police a short time later, the Halo 3 game still on the front seat.

Daniel showed little emotion throughout the trial except when his mother's autopsy photos were flashed on a large screen. He bowed his head and stared at his hands for about 20 minutes while the photos were discussed.

Petric was allowed to visit his son in jail over the past year. He said his son has apologized. "Dad, I'm so sorry for what I did to Mom, to you and to the family," Daniel said, according to his father. "I'm so glad you are alive."

"You're my son," Petric responded. "You're my boy."

He said his wife and their son had a very close relationship.

"He was always her little boy," Petric told the judge.

Heidi Archer said the family has forgiven her brother and want him to come home because the family cannot heal until they are all together.

Daniel's lawyer, James Kersey, gave a short opening statement. He said his client had been under great stress at the time of the shooting because of a snowboarding accident that resulted in a severe staph infection. It left Daniel with such severe spinal damage that the slightest injury could leave him paralyzed.

Daniel was homebound for a year with nothing to do but watch television and play video games, Kersey said. It was during that time that he became fascinated with the Halo series and would play them for hours at friends' houses. His father forbade the games, saying that were too violent and sexually explicit.

Question to readers:

Should he get the death penalty for this?

Did he think his mom would re-spawn?