Halo 3 Watch - Newly reported multiplayer and campaign mode features

Now that BioShock has landed, the next big thing on 360 shooter fans radar is Halo 3. And there are some juicy details that have seeped out lately that make it seem like an instant classic, particularly for multiplayer. Let's take a look:

• Sandcrawlers. You remember the Jawa vehicles from Star Wars? You get to drive similar rigs called Elephants on at least one of the larger maps. These moving bases can make Capture the Flag a little more interesting.
• On-the-fly map editor mode. No, you can't actually edit maps in Forge, as it's called, but you can change object placements as you and your buddies cooperatively add and remove spawn points, weapons and such. You float around as a Monitor (think Guilty Spark), and each player has a budget so you can't make unlimited changes. And if you want to try it out, you can morph into a Spartan to jump right in. Forge will even track kills and such, if a really battle breaks out during editing. And you know it will.
• Web-based download queuing. Navigating thousands of map variants and in-game films via your 360 would probably destroy Xbox Live Marketplace, which is why Bungie is integrating this feature with Bungie.net. By default, Xbox Live Gold subscribers get 6 fileshare slots and 25MB of storage space. If need more space or you're on Silver and want storage (perhaps to share LAN game resources, or as a mule account when you overfill your first one), you can subscribe to Bungie Pro for $9.38 a year and get 24 slots and 250MB. You can queue up to 8 downloads that you want from the Web site and they'll start downloading to your 360 the next time you sign in. Screenshots can be downloaded directly on the Web for use as wallpaper.

As previously reported, you'll be able to enjoy campaign mode online with up to 4 cooperative players, and coop mode is the only way to play as the Arbiter this time around (if you want to). Also, campaign mode play is scored (similar to multiplayer) and delivers medals for certain accomplishments And hidden skulls you find in the game can change enemy stats and other behavior, sort of like unlockable cheat codes...