Halo 3: ODST event with real-life working Warthog!

August 6, 2009 5:42PM PDT

By Lozzica

The wait is almost over for Halo fans eagerly awaiting the releae of Halo 3: ODST, due to hit store shelves on September 22. Here at GameSpot AU headquarters we take our Halo very seriously, so when Microsoft told us they'd flown out a real life working Warthog from New Zealand for a special Halo...

Built by New Zealand special effects studio WETA (the team behind the Lord of the Rings movies), the Warthog was in good working order; after a few joy rides Koz even donned a Master Chief suit for the offical Halo experience.

We also got our hands on Halo 3: ODST for a brief demo--stay tuned next week for our impressions of the game and our chat with Bungie producer Curtis Creamer, who was on site to lend a helping hand. Meanwhile, check out our photo gallery from the event below!

Real life working Warthog! Looks a little barren without the big Chief in it...

Getting up close and personal with the Warthog and the specially-built crash site on Cockatoo Island.

A little more info about building the massive beast at New Zealand's WETA workshop.

Koz getting strapped into the Master Chief costume before his Warthog ride.

The transformation is complete!

GameSpot AU video editor, Ed Tran, sharing a laugh with Master Chief Koz.

Driving a Warthog is no walk in the park; there are four driving modes, including 'crab mode' (driving
sideways).

Master Chief Koz gets ready to kick some Covenant butt.

Sadly, the Warthog's gun turret is not real, so we couldn't practice our targeting skills on the day.

GameSpot AU staffer Laura gets up close and personal with the Chief...

The Warthog is deadly for all classes: children, nannies, brutes, hunters, elites and grunts. Yeah!

Master Chief and the Arbiter share a tense moment in this delicate (and expensive) Halo figurine.

24 comments

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mini_specs

I'm sure I'm not the only one who noticed this, but Koz is too short to be the Chief! What is he, 5'4"?

T_C_W

imagine..drivindown the freeway in your ultra cool warthog, stereo pumping out the halo music(you noe the music in halo whenever about to get into battle) then some punk cuts you off, so you slam the brakes and blast him away with the turrent... yes right oh where do i buy one of these???

aussie_gamer13

I still think Koz has something wrong with him.

FeltNormal

lolz nice car but umm WHAT THE HELL INS WRONG WITH THE TURRENT!!!!

aaronobst

haha.... neat, very neat

farmboy872

Kos, you lucky son of a ****.

CipherZilla

Cool photos; seems like it was a right blast.

mkordahi

guys, i went and checked the warthog out too and did an awesome Photosynth of it. Check it out http://delicategeniusblog.com/?p=841

Ground_Zero

i should stop being lazy and go there and check it out

jaredrichards3

and meanwhile..... children are starving in this world

Petercairns

sweet guys..lookin good koz..!!!

Liponade

omg, i can just imagine my mates faces if i rocked up in a warthog lol!

Echo-417

This is so sweet! I've always been waiting for something like this to happen! It's cool though, cause one of my friends is going to this event! (Won it in an email) He's lucky: he gets to try out the demo of Halo 3: ODST!!!!!!!

kozanecki

@ jlongo7 I interviewed the guy from WETA studios who built it, so stay tuned to Crosshairs to find out how it was built.

greasemonkey42

that's pretty awesome. My brain was telling me that the hog looks computer generated, even thought i know it's not. Rad.

supertrooper77

strap a M197 on the turret and it'll look even better!

Sagacious_Tien

Me wantee!

ebag

yer...it would be hard to stop people nicking it while you were at the mall though lol

jlongo7

how did they even build that

Scarshi

Just imagine taking that Warthog for a cruise through the city. Imagine the looks and camera/phones snapping shots as you drive by :) ... Especially when parking in crab mode when you get to the mall LOL!

takaetun

Shortest. Master Chief. Ever.

sheepradish

Wow Koz became a master chief.

mjc moderator moderator

I think I need one of those guns mounted on my car. Road rage incidences solved.

Lozzica moderator moderatorstaff

Built by New Zealand special effects studio WETA (the team behind the Lord of the Rings movies), the Warthog was in good working order; after a few joy rides Koz even donned a Master Chief suit for the offical Halo experience.

Real life working Warthog! Looks a little barren without the big Chief in it...

Getting up close and personal with the Warthog and the specially-built crash site on Cockatoo Island.

A little more info about building the massive beast at New Zealand's WETA workshop.

Koz getting strapped into the Master Chief costume before his Warthog ride.

The transformation is complete!

GameSpot AU video editor, Ed Tran, sharing a laugh with Master Chief Koz.

Driving a Warthog is no walk in the park; there are four driving modes, including 'crab mode' (driving sideways).

Master Chief Koz gets ready to kick some Covenant butt.

Sadly, the Warthog's gun turret is not real, so we couldn't practice our targeting skills on the day.

GameSpot AU staffer Laura gets up close and personal with the Chief...

The Warthog is deadly for all classes: children, nannies, brutes, hunters, elites and grunts. Yeah!

Master Chief and the Arbiter share a tense moment in this delicate (and expensive) Halo figurine.

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