Halo 3 to silence idiots

Xbox Live may have its own set of mute options but Halo 3 will go once step further with a quick way of silencing the kind of idiots that blight the Live service these days. No longer will you have to put up with the torrent of jingoism, stupidity, ignorance and racism that has put many off Halo 2.

Pressing the back button in Halo 3, which Bungie has fittingly dubbed the "A-Hole Button", displays a score list with XBL Gamertags, the right stick can then be used to quickly mute the offending toe-rag.

"Any muted player you have selected in your Xbox Live account overrides Halo 3's new system, but that should actually enhance the choice of maroons you're editing out of your gameplay," said Bungie's Frank O'Connor. "Best of all, it means fewer wasted or frustrating gameplay sessions."

"We're doing our best to come up with lots of smart solutions for stuff like this, but honestly, we can't be parents to some of these poltroons. We're much more concerned with giving you guys the tools you need to silence them."

You can read more on this system and about the latest Cortana recording session over at Bungie.