Halo 3 Xbox 360

Released on 26/09/2007

• Halo 3 Preview

  Mark puts Bungie’s Halo 3 Beta through its paces...

  Having been playing the Halo 3 Beta for a week now, my initial impressions have been confirmed. Halo 3 is, in fact, a lot like Halo 2, offering subtle new additions which add to the experience without intangibly corrupting the Halo formula.

  Somewhat disappointing, however, are the visuals in the Beta, which wear Halo 2’s heritage a little too starkly. The art style is familiar, architecture and Master Chief character models instantly recognisable, and it all appears to be a shinier, HD form of its forebear.

  However, when you get up close you begin to smile at the details; weaponry floats downstream on immaculately rendered shimmering water, freshly fragged foes ragdoll violently in front of you, and Bubble Shields deploy in all their light-refracting glory.

  Forever blowing up bubbles

  Indeed, the Bubble Shield represents Halo 3’s single most iconic change. A giant ammo-absorbing transparent dome, firepower can neither pass into or out of it, meaning you can drop it when you’re taking a pounding and take cover inside – unless of course your foe decides to mosey on in for a bit of up-close melee action.

  It’s not just the Bubble Shield either; there’s a shield-lowering Energy Drainer, Tripmine and a rather nifty Portable Grav Lift too, all useable with the X button. Indeed, the latter two both work as effective offensive weapons when placed in front of an oncoming enemy Warthog – or the vehicle’s new smaller variant, the two-man quadbike-esque Mongoose.

  My first hour saw plenty of attempted reloads turning into hilarious tripmine-induced suicide-betrayal moments.

  With X now taken up by the new functionality, picking up and reloading weapons has shifted to the bumper buttons. It’s an intuitive change which allows for independent reloading of dual-wielded weapons, but it does take some getting used to, and in my first hour saw plenty of attempted reloads turning into hilarious tripmine-induced suicide-betrayal moments.

  Speaking of explosives, grenades have not escaped Bungie’s painstaking refinement process. A new Spike Grenade falls somewhere between the human Frag and the sticky Covenant Plasma; able to wedge in flat surfaces and, indeed, attach to players themselves for instant kills. Frags and Plasmas too have been overhauled, boasting new texture-sensitive properties, so they now bounce differently depending on the surface you use them on.

  Contrasts in the killing fields

  Which probably had a hand in Bungie’s decision to go with three such contrasting maps for the Beta. High Ground, a sandy, crumbling hill-topped Planet Earth fort, owes a lot to Halo 2’s Zanzibar, and feels incredibly different to Snowbound; a fittingly white landscape on a seemingly alien world boasting a perimeter of Covenant gun turrets, and a series of energy shielded underground rooms which necessitate far closer combat than the ostensibly open surface.

  Lastly, Valhalla is an eye-watering ground-up re-edit of the classic Blood Gulch and Coagulation. Set in a now forest-green canyon, its wide-open expanses, rocky outcrops, dual base Man-Cannoning goodness and vehicle quota offer by far the best example of Halo 3’s new gameplay components coming together.

  An increasingly deep paper-scissors-stone that the best players and biggest Halo fans will happily lose hours of their life to.

  Which brings us to Matchmaking. Largely, it’s the same as Halo 2, with ranked and unranked options for solo and team play, but with the option to Veto (that is, vote against) Matchmade selections. Got a level and gametype combo you don’t like? Simply press X, and if a majority (5 or more – the Beta is limited to 8 players per game) agree, the game will select a new match. Be warned though, you’re stuck with whatever comes up next, so use those Vetoes wisely people!

  So much said and yet little mention of weapons. The Assault Rifle returns from Halo 1 as your standard artillery piece, while much of the Halo 2 arsenal (Energy Sword aside) makes an appearance in the Beta, largely the same though slightly rebalanced for power.

  Brute Spiker beats paper

  New additions include the Brute Spiker, a Covenant variation on the SMG, and the much talked-about Spartan Laser, which takes a few seconds to charge, but then instant kills any player it touches. In all, the Beta boasts yet another brilliantly weighted ballistic feast, but with the Bubble Shield thrown into the mix, makes for an increasingly deep paper-scissors-stone that the best players and biggest Halo fans will happily lose hours of their life to.

  Or, more precisely, the next three weeks. Even with Bungie recently extending it by four days, the Halo 3 Beta will still be over all too soon for the Halo series’ legion of adoring followers. The great news though is that we won’t have long to wait when it does; with Halo 3 recently confirmed for September 26th, we’ll all be experiencing the Master Chief’s third outing far sooner than predicted. Summer can’t come and go fast enough.

  Preview by: Mark Scott
  Preview Published: 18.05.07

  Published: 18/05/2007

• Halo 3 Review

  You’re once, twice, three times a hero...

  There’s established rules with BIG sci-fi trilogies.

  The first instalment is a self-enclosed story, setting the standard to universal acclaim. The sequel ups the ante to become a series; conveying deeper history, increasing iconography, and plotting a wider narrative that makes the epic original feel unambitious. A satisfying conclusion, however, is left for the third – which, while familiar, distils the essence, refines it, and wraps it up in style.

  In film, Star Wars, The Matrix and Terminator all adhere to this template with varying success. Metal Gear Solid, meanwhile, has been about our best interactive example. Until now.

  In Halo, gaming has its Star Wars trilogy. The Master Chief its iconic Darth Vader-like figure. The Assault Rifle its Lightsaber. And in Halo 3, Xbox 360 boasts Halo’s triumphant Return of the Jedi.

  Superlative soup

  What Halo does well, Halo 3 does very well indeed. No shooter boasts Halo’s superlative soup of balanced gunplay, artificial intelligence, sci-fi space opera, set pieces, vehicle combat, roving exploration, claustrophobic alien corridors and grandiose interstellar scale. Halo 3 elevates it all with the Xbox 360’s next-gen technology, and the results are spectacular.

  It doesn’t boast Gears of War’s dystopian destroyed beauty, but Halo 3 is colourful, coherent and full of life, and the attention to detail shines. The sombre shadows, evocative faint glows and radiant pulses of Halo 3’s High Dynamic Range lighting are staggering, and compliment Halo 3’s shimmering water, fluid animation and cinematic direction, plus the inspiring orchestral score and snappy dialogue, perfectly; making Halo 3’s isolated battles feel part of a much larger galactic fray.

  The sombre shadows, evocative faint glows and radiant pulses of Halo 3’s High Dynamic Range lighting are staggering.

  Halo 3’s weapons also enrapture. Old firearms return, bringing Halo 3 away from dual wielding and back to Bungie’s balance of firearm, melee and grenades. With the Assault Rifle again the best all-rounder, new turret weapons offering a cumbersome-but-powerful third-person option, and fresh Covenant arms (the Brute Hammer makes us smile every time), Halo 3 features the most diverse, fun FPS weapon set ever.

  The same could be said for Halo 3’s vehicles, with familiar faves meeting new additions like the Brute Chopper and Mongoose – and offsetting both is Equipment, pioneered in May’s Halo 3 Beta; another masterful addition to the Master Chief’s arsenal.

  And to the Arbiter’s. Though his story presence in Halo 3 is smaller, he follows you around the campaign, with a second player in co-op actually playing him. Moreover, in online co-op, players three and four control two additional Elites – all battling Halo 3’s main foe, the Brutes.

  Short but sweet

  Halo 3’s armoured Brutes are more imposing than past Halo Elites, though their lack of recharging energy shields makes them less sophisticated combatants. Yet, offsetting this, the Flood are improved in Halo 3 – while Halo 3’s environments, flying sections, and set pieces are bigger and better than ever. Halo 3, then, is the most epic, engaging and well-balanced in the series.

  It’s just sad that it’s so short. Halo 3 took us 12 hours on singleplayer Heroic, and even less in co-op – though Legendary is still a monumental challenge (we’d recommend Heroic in singleplayer, and Legendary in co-op). Despite the brevity, however, Halo 3’s campaign is never less than stellar throughout, and finishes in the most satisfying way possible – while Achievements and hidden skulls assure replayability.

  The moment you drop a tank on someone’s poor unsuspecting head, you’ll grin like a loon.

  As with its forebears, however, Campaign is really only half the story. Halo 3’s online matchmaking multiplayer is something we’ve already detailed in our Preview, so we won’t dwell, except to say that it’s twelve – mostly new – maps retain the balance and style we’ve come to expect. Guardian, fans will be delighted to hear, looks destined to become the new Lockout.

  It is Forge and Theatre, however, which make Halo 3 such a well-rounded package. The former an eight-player interactive level editor, it lets you disperse any number of insanities onto the fray; adding new weapons, vehicles and things like grav lifts as players battle around you. The moment you drop a tank on somone’s poor unsuspecting head, you’ll grin like a loon.

  Ahead of the pack

  But Halo 3’s Theatre is going to make the real Halo fans positively beam from ear to ear. Letting you replay, speed up, slow down, screenshot and record snippets of your best Halo 3 moments, it’s a montage-makers dream and will help more serious gamers improve by studying their mistakes. Sadly, campaign videos can’t be fast-forwarded or recorded, but you can share your campaign and editable multiplayer files with others, and access it all from Bungie.net – which just shows how far ahead of the pack Halo 3 really is.

  In all, Halo 3 is a shining example of how to complete a trilogy, of a first-person shooter and, indeed, of a videogame. It’s not flawless, and at times feels like an homage to past Halos, but is more polished than its older brothers, and delivers some of the most memorable moments in videogame history.

  GAME's Verdict

  

  • The most polished of all three Halos, with genre-defining first-person gunplay and standard-setting four-player co-op
  • Immense Xbox Live multiplayer
  • Forge and Theatre represent two of the most incredible added-value modes in a game.

  

  • It may be the most polished, but Halo 3 is also the shortest in the Halo series.
  • Brutes simply aren't as sophisticated to fight against as past Halo's Elites.
  • It's a real shame that Theatre mode doesn't quite offer full movie-manipulating freedom across multiplayer AND campaign clips.

  Review by: Mark Scott
  Review Published: 03.10.07

  Published: 03/10/2007

• Halo History

  Halo: The Complete Saga

  Halo: Reach may not be the final Halo title, but it's the last game from Bungie Studios, the visionary developers who created the series. And what better way to celebrate Bungie's big goodbye than by playing the entire saga in story order?

  We've searched our stock high and low to ensure you can do just that - starting with Reach, and continuing in every other Halo game ever made.

  Suit up, soldier, it's gonna be one hell of a ride...
  

   

   

   

   

   

  Halo Reach

  Format: Xbox 360 (2010)
  Genre: First-Person Shooter

  August 2552: Deep into a third decade of brutal interplanetary war against an unrelenting alien collective known as the Covenant. After decades of genocide, they have found humanity's military capital; the planet Reach - Earth's last defence against an all-out assault.

  But Reach is the home of the Spartans - Mjolnir-armoured super soldiers who will do everything in their power to beat back the invading hordes and protect the secrets of the United Nations Space Command.

  You are the sixth and newest member of Reach's finest Spartan unit; classified as 'Hyper Lethal' and armed with cutting edge equipment, the fall of Reach will be your final mission - and the very foundation of our greatest victory.

  Welcome to Noble Team, Spartan. Give 'em hell.
  

  Halo: Combat Evolved

  Format: Xbox (2001) (Playable on Xbox 360), PC (2003)
  Genre: First-Person Shooter

  September 2552: Escaping Reach before the planet's obliteration, UNSC cruiser The Pillar of Autumn FTL jumps into the unknown, and emerges at a ring-shaped planet built by a long-dead race called the Forerunners: Halo.

  Aboard the Autumn is Spartan 117 - codenamed Master Chief - and humanity's most advanced Artificial Intelligence, designated Cortana. Together, the pair will infiltrate Halo, wage a guerrilla war against the Covenant across its surface, and uncover a secret which could turn the tide of war in our favour - or wipe the galaxy of all sentient life.

  Get ready to experience combat: evolved.
  

  Halo 2

  Format: Xbox (2004) (Playable on Xbox 360), PC
  Genre: First-Person Shooter

  October 2552: Reeling from the destruction of Halo, one of the Covenant's three leaders takes a small force and, pursuing intelligence that will lead him to a new Halo ring, unwittingly stumbles upon Earth itself.

  Fresh from his last-gasp victory on Halo, It falls to the Master Chief to lead the defence of humanity's homeworld, before following the Prophet of Regret's cruiser through a slipspace portal opened in-atmosphere over New Mombasa.

  Backed by Cortana and a small UNSC fleet, the Chief will pursue Regret across the new ring world, battle another equally perilous threat and, aided by an unlikely ally, will discover the endgame behind the Covenant's genocidal crusade...
  

  Halo 3: ODST

  Format: Xbox 360 (2009)
  Genre: First-Person Shooter

  October 2552: Regret's unexpected incursions into New Mombasa left not only untold devastation across the African mega-city, but also a small army of Covenant troops behind on its surface, frantically searching for clues to another, greater forerunner artefact.

  Dropped deep into Covenant-occupied territory, a group of the UNSC's second most elite fighting unit, the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, will undertake a mission of the utmost importance.

  Separated from his squad, the Helljumper's newest recruit will dart between alien patrols under cover of darkness to locate his compatriots and safeguard a piece of intelligence which will prove vital to the war effort.

  Prepare to drop, Rookie...
  

  Halo 3

  Format: Xbox 360 (2007)
  Genre: First-Person Shooter

  November 2552: The Forerunner's Halo network is primed for firing; the Covenant have redeployed to Earth in search of Halo's control centre; and alien parasite The Flood has imprisoned Cortana, commandeered the Covenant's floating holy city, and found its way to Earth. This will be the final battle - and for the faltering USNC, things have never looked bleaker.

  But where the Master Chief lives, hope remains. Joined by the former vanguard of the Covenant forces, the Elites, Spartan 117 will carry the hope of humanity into battle in New Mombasa and, subsequently, across the galaxy to the very source of the Halo Rings - where a fateful climax will ensure the sacrifices made by Noble Team were not in vain.

  It's time to finish the fight.
  

  AND DON'T FORGET...

  Halo Wars

  Format: Xbox 360 (2009)
  Genre: Real-Time Strategy

  2531: Decades before the fall of Reach and just six years into the Human-Covenant War, UNSC warship The Spirit of Fire engages alien forces above the surface of planet Harvest.

  Lead by Vice Admiral Preston Cole, the Spirit's marine forces will make a shocking discovery: Harvest conceals a significant Forerunner artefact which had gone undetected during humanity's colonisation of the previously peaceful planet.

  Finding that this relic points the way towards a galactic location of potentially war-ending significance, the Spirit of Fire mobilises its forces in the hope that it isn't already too late...
  
  

• History of Halo

  
  
  
  
  

  What is HALO?

  You're kidding, right? Halo is the brainchild of Bungie Studios. It's one of the biggest videogame series in the world, and arguably the best exclusive on the Xbox. That means you won't find a Halo game on any other home console - it's basically a reason to buy a 360. On top of that, Halo is also a huge multimedia phenomenon that's grown to include comics, figurines and novels - and maybe even a movie in the not-so-far-future.

  The games themselves mostly take the form of First-Person shooters, pitting you as a rock-hard armoured space marine fighting against a fanatical alien race called The Covenant. We say mostly, because occasionally you get to play as a Covenant soldier, instead - while one of the Halo games, Halo Wars, isn't actually a shooter at all; it's a Real-Time Strategy game based on the back-story of Bungie's acclaimed sci-fi universe.

  Before there was HALO...

  
  

  ...There was Marathon. No, not the old name for Snickers, but actually the series that Bungie made for the Macintosh prior to Halo.

  Marathon was a critically-acclaimed first-person shooter which the Halo games openly reference with injokes, iconography and sci-fi subject matter - although Bungie insist that the two game universes are separate. First released in 1994, with sequels Marathon 2: Durandal and Marathon Infinity arriving in '95 and '96 respectively, the Marathon trilogy was one of the era's most advanced FPSs, but being a Mac-only release flew under the radar next to ID's all-conquering DOOM for PC.

  If you want to try Marathon and witness Halo's spiritual heritage, you can download it here.

• History of Halo: HALO 3

  HALO 3 - Xbox 360 (2007)

  
  

  The first Halo had been one of the greatest singleplayer shooters ever, while Halo 2 set a new benchmark for online FPS play, all in the space of one console generation. Bungie's Xbox 360 debut had a lot to live up to, and it also had the twin towers of Gears of War and Call of Duty to contend with. No pressure...

  Story: The biggest letdown in Halo 2 had been the nature of its ending; To recap, Halo 2 finished with the Covenant in a state of civil war, the Halo ring network primed for firing, Cortana stranded on the Covenant's floating holy city High Charity, which had been taken over by a Flood called the Gravemind, and the Master Chief hitching a ride on a Covenant ship back to Earth to finish the fight. Anti climax doesn't even come close.

  Halo 3's plot centred on the Covenant's plot to locate The Ark, an ancient Forerunner control station. The means to finding this was located on, of all places, Earth - which in itself revealed the Forunners to be humanity's ancestors. Battling their way through to the invaded New Mombasa jungle, the Chief and Arbiter eventually found themselves transported to The Ark; at the centre of which was another Halo. Here, they killed the Covenant's leader, defeated the Gravemind, sent Halo into self destruct, and escaped the crumbling planet ring on a frigate.

  Only half of their ship made it through the portal back to Earth, however. And so, while the Arbiter attended the Chief's funeral on Earth, Spartan 117 entered cryogenic sleep adrift in space, telling Cortana to "Wake me when you need me" as the pair unwittingly drifted towards another Forerunner planet...

  Gameplay: A Halo Greatest Hits would be the apt description; Halo 3's campaign was neither as fresh as the first game, nor as flawed as the second, but brought the gameplay full circle back to openly roving levels and bombastic set pieces - like fighting an enormous armoured Scarab, or racing across Halo in a Warthog at the grand finale. It was the shortest of the three Halos, but Halo 3 was also the most well-rounded, proving a fitting finale to the acclaimed FPS trilogy.

  Online, Forge and Theatre modes went above and beyond anything Halo 2 fans had envisaged, letting them make their own maps and record and share footage of their best Halo 3 games with friends. Added to the refined matchmaking mode, all-new maps and ever-growing popularity of Xbox Live, Halo 3 remains one of the leading lights of online console gaming, battling it out with Call of Duty at the top of the most-played charts.

• Bungie lifts the lid on Master Chief

  Bungie has been discussing the creation of its iconic Halo star Master Chief over at Industry Gamers - thanks for the story, Eurogamer - and the developer has explained why the big green giant tends to keep his thoughts to himself.

  "We left out details to increase immersion; the less players knew about the Chief, we believed, the more they would feel like the Chief," explained Bungie lead writer Joseph Staten. "Immersion was the main goal here. Also keeping the Chief a man of few words reinforced what we wanted to be a tough-as-nails soldierly persona."
  
  Staten adds that to give the game a bit of oomph, Bungie wanted players to understand the Chief predicament. "In the first Halo game we absolutely designed experiences around themes of loneliness and abandonment," Staten revealed. "Halo didn't dwell on the loss of the other Spartans (the closest we came was some of the 'combat dialog' from friendly A.I. For example, 'Look, a Spartan! I thought they all died on Reach...'), but we did absolutely want players sometimes to feel the weight of the Chief's heavy responsibilities. Take, for example, the mission where the Chief leaves Cortana to search for his commanding officer, Captain Keyes, only to end up witnessing the recorded deaths of other soldiers who might have lived had the Chief been with them."

  Master Chief was last seen in Halo 3, of course, but if you want to catch up with his Spartan buddies in something a bit newer, check out last year Xbox 360 exclusive, Halo Reach.

• Microsoft unveils Halo Fest

  Ready to feel old? Microsoft best-selling Halo series is 10 years old this year. A decade of Master Chief! To celebrate, the Xbox giant has announced Halo Fest, a three day event celebrating all things Spartan, which will take place during the Penny Arcade Expo, due to hit Seattle this August.

  The event should be a blast, and will see Microsoft swamping attendees with tournaments, panels and all sorts of prizes. The reason why wee excited, though, is that, even if wel be stuck in rainy old England for the event itself, several websites looking at you, Eurogamer - are speculating that Microsoft might use the occasion to announce a new Halo game.

  With Bungie leaving the series it created with last year Halo: Reach, it over to the franchise new custodian 343 Industries. The team has been hiring game developers left, right and centre for quite a while, and Eurogamer seems to think that a tenth birthday party would be the perfect time to reveal what 343 been up to.

  If you're not in Seattle this August, don't worry too much. We'll have all the news for you right here.

• Halo 4 beta invites are a hoax, warns 343 Industries

  Halo 4 beta invites are a hoax, warns 343 Industries

  David Ellis of 343 Industries, the studio which inherited the Halo series from Bungie, has taken to Twitter to warn fans that offers to take part in a beta trial for the upcoming Halo 4 are not to be trusted.

  If you see a page claiming to allow you to sign up for a Halo 4 beta be advised, IT'S A FAKE, he posted, which is pretty conclusive. It seems fans had been lured in by unscrupulous phishing sites which requested personal account details in return for access to the hotly anticipated FPS sequel.

  Halo 4 sees the return of Master Chief, having sat out both Halo ODST and Halo: Reach, and marks the start of a new trilogy for the award-winning series. The game is expected later this year, exclusively for Xbox 360 of course, but Microsoft has yet to announce any further details.

• Heroes Reborn!

  
  

  2012 sees the return of four iconic heroes to our screens - Master Chief in Halo 4, Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, Agent 47 in Hitman: Absolution, and Max Payne in, er, Max Payne 3. But why is this exciting? Read on...

  

  Max Payne

  
  

  In a nutshell: Vengeful cop turned vengeful vigilante.
  Last seen in: Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (2003)
  Returns in: Max Payne 3 (May 18th 2012) on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC

  Why this excites us: The man who really puts the "Homicide" into "Homicide Detective", Max has been missing in action for nearly a decade (unless you count the Mark Wahlberg movie. We don't). The series was famed for its film noir elements and its use of bullet time action, and for Max's own increasing inner darkness.

  When he returns in Max Payne 3 he's still just as miserable; the years have not been good to Max, who's now working private security for a less than scrutable employer in South America. Needless to say, a certain substance soon hits the fan and Max finds himself smack in the middle of criminal wars, teaching them all a lesson in his own brand of angry justice. And we couldn't be happier.

  

  Agent 47

  
  

  In a nutshell: Bald-and-barcoded clone built for assassination
  Last seen in: Hitman: Blood Money (2006)
  Returns in: Hitman: Absolution (TBC 2012) on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC

  Why this excites us: Gaming's best-dressed killer has always been cool, calm and genetically superior, and this year he's back to remind everyone just how this assassin thing is done. He's famed for his increasingly ingenious methods of eliminating his targets, from poisoning punch, to pushing off balconies, to sneaking about in disguise, to plain old shooting, with a real emphasis on tactics, planning and skill.

  Betrayed by the agency who built him, and those he's gone on to trust, Hitman: Absolution sees 47 on the run once more and at the heart of a dark conspiracy, and on a journey that's more personal than professional. The developers are promising big technological advancements to enhance your instincts and abilities - and those around you, too. Just remember, it's not just about killing, but killing outside the box!

  

  Master Chief

  
  

  In a nutshell: Silent Spartan super-soldier. John-117 to his mates.
  Last seen in: Halo 3 (2007)
  Returns in: Halo 4 (6th November 2012) on Xbox 360

  Why this excites us: The UNSC may not like him, but we sure do. It didn't matter that he didn't really get a personality until Halo 3, this intergalactic badass has been doing his job and saving the Earth from alien conquests (with no showboating or stopping for, ahem, conquests of his own) since the launch of the Xbox. The responses to Halo: ODST and Halo: Reach showed that it was really the Chief that we wanted to see, and Cortana's cry of "I need you! Wake up John! Chief!" in the Halo 4 trailer echoed the sentiment of Halo gamers the world over.

  Halo 4 promises to delve further into who Chief is and what makes him tick, as well as his relationship with Cortana. Getting to know the Chief a little better can only further our relationship with him, especially as his new armour seems to only further his relationship with badassery. November can't come soon enough.

  

  Lara Croft

  
  

  In a nutshell: Posh British adventuress with enormous... skills
  Last seen in: Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008)
  Returns in: Tomb Raider (TBC 2012) on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC

  Why this excites us: Lara Croft is one of THE icons of modern gaming. She arrived in time to launch the original PlayStation and drew mainstream press to gaming like none before her. Since 1996 she's raided many a tomb, fought tigers, sharks and dinosaurs, and survived more than one reboot - as well as more than one subpar movie. But now she's back, younger than ever in a Batman Begins-style reboot (minus, we hope, the gravelly voice).

  In this year's new Tomb Raider Lara is 21, fresh out of "the academy" and shipwrecked on an island. This game promises not only a back-to-basics setting but more challenging gameplay than recent outings, with the stress on exploration to survive over exploration for kicks. A reboot like this is a little risky - and we'll miss Keeley Hawes' voice acting - but Lara has certainly proved she can endure pretty much anything.
  

• New features revealed for Halo 4's Forge

  The Forge, the suite of map-making, game-tweaking multiplayer features that debuted in Halo 3, will return in Halo 4 with a host of new toys to play with.

  While development of Halo 4 has passed to 343 Industries, The Forge will now be handled by Certain Affinity, a US studio with a prestigious history with the Halo series, as well as multiplayer FPS games in general. Founded by ex-Bungie staff, Certain Affinity worked on multiplayer maps for the series as far back as Halo 2, and has also contributed to such online classics as Call of Duty and Left 4 Dead.

  Tweets from the company this week confirmed their involvement, while gaming site Polygon reported from the Rooster Teeth online gaming expo where a Forge presentation took place. New features include the Player Trait Zone, which allows the community to tinker with the running speed, jump height and damage thresholds for players.

  Gravity can also be altered in specific points on the maps, while a general overhaul to the editing functions means you'll be able to combine, duplicate and move objects far more easily. It's all great news for those who take their Halo matches super-seriously, and should keep the hardcore playing for months.

  Halo 4 charges into battle on November 6th. It's an Xbox 360 exclusive, of course.

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