Released on 22/09/2009

• Halo 3: ODST Review

  "Fast, accurate diagnosis..."

  Popular as it was, back in the day fans felt a bit duped by Halo 2. See, all of the trailers and hype for 2004's biggest Xbox game suggested the campaign would be full of bombastic future-city FPS combat; duking it out with Covenant amidst a frenzy of plasma bolts, sticky grenades and skyscrapers; commandeering human and alien vehicles like some kinda hi-tech John Rambo.

  As we all know now, it wasn't. The first few levels were like that, and they were Made Of Win. But all too soon the Master Chief's urban Earth outing detoured to another Halo ring, and things went downhill from there.

  In that respect, Halo 3: ODST's free-roaming New Mombasa scenario feels like a fulfilment of a long-held promise. But is it too little, too late?

  Six in the city

  In a certain sense, yes; it's too late for the Master Chief. And that's because here you get to play not as the Mjolnir-armoured Spartan, but as an ordinary grunt with extra-special training. The titular Orbital Drop Shock Troopers aint got the Chief's strength, speed, resilience or agility, so they won't be hijacking ghosts or walking through entire volleys of shrapnel, but they're still more than a match for the invading aliens - if you use them right.

  In ODST, the Chief's recharging energy shield has been replaced by Killzone / CoD style stamina, seeing the screen turn redder the more damage you take. If it turns too red, you'll start losing health, and you'll need to find a medikit. The upshot (sorry) is that you need to move with more care than in previous Halos, playing to preserve your life, striving to always put cover between you and the enemy, and planning your assaults more tactically, as opposed to going guns-blazing. Don't get me wrong, it still plays like Halo - just a more methodical version. After 6 years as the Master Chief (and Arbiter), that's actually rather refreshing.

  So too is the breakdown of gameplay styles, which is inherently tied to the story. Without giving too much away, you start off as The Rookie - the newest member of the ODSTs, and wake up in night time New Mombasa six hours after your outer space drop-in went horribly wrong.

  Controlling The Rookie, ODST plays like a free-roaming game with Halo shooting combat. On the plus side it's the most immersive world Bungie has ever created, and there's huge satisfaction to be had as you set about ambushing Covie patrols, unlocking weapons caches and finding the side-story filled audio files dotted around the sizable city. The catch is that because all of this sandboxy stuff is relatively leisurely, it lacks the set-piece focused, fast-paced intensity that's become synonymous with Halo. In that respect, ODST takes some getting used to.

  We are ODST

  Persevere though and you'll start to find clues, highlighted by waypoints on the map screen, which trigger Flashback sequences. These tell the story of the last six hours, seeing you play as the other ODST squad members whilst the rookie was unconscious.

  The great news is that these Flashbacks are typical Halo. No - better! The combo of debris-strewn, multi-tiered urban level design and the panicked feeling you get from being a vulnerable human in the midst of a firefight actually elevates the experience.

  Not only that, but Bungie has done an astounding job of mixing in Halo's varied gameplay dynamics. As The Rookie's ODST teammates you'll get to drive UNSC vehicles, take out wraiths with rockets, jump on turrets, provide sniper cover, fly banshees, and experience the pinnacle in videogame siege warfare as you dart about entrenched positions, salvaging ammo, hurling grenades like wedding confetti, sniping the heads clean off Brutes and legging it when your stamina hits critical. Without trying to overhype it, I'd honestly say that Halo 3: ODST boasts the best, most balanced Halo campaign since the acclaimed Xbox original.

  The best while it lasts, anyway. At roughly 6 hours in length (in my case, playing solo on Heroic difficulty), ODST is not as long as many full priced releases, including its immediate predecessor. But then you have to bear in mind that this is a game which was first intended to be a piece of download content, and then grew outside of its own scope. Consider that, and criticising Bungie seems a little harsh - especially when they were working on Halo: Reach at the same time. Could Microsoft have slapped a lower RRP on it? Sure - but for my money, it's so good that it's still worth it. Besides, Call of Duty 4 wasn't a whole lot longer.

  Essential experience

  ODST also has a mode Modern Warfare didn't; Firefight. The big joy of Halo's campaign has always lain in using the superbly balanced arsenal to outwit and annihilate the A.I. within spectacularly designed levels, and Firefight gives the option to enjoy that gameplay with no end, online, and alongside three friends. It gets increasingly harder too as more skulls become activated, modifying the game dynamics, and with more characters and levels unlocked as you go through the campaign, there's a direct incentive to get your Firefight team together once the main story is over. When you do, you'll be hooked.

  Of course, being hooked on Halo is nothing new, but neither the familiarity nor the short campaign can make the ODST experience any less essential.

  So get ready to drop; we promise you won't be disappointed.

  

  Halo:
  + Future-city warfare proves the best Halo combat since the original.
  + The film noir ambience is incredibly evocative.
  + Get a four-man team together and Firefight will entertain for hours.

  Falio:
  - Undeniably short campaign - you will be left wanting more.
  - The free-roaming Rookie sections might put off fans of more traditional FPS action.
  - There's gonna be an awful long wait for Halo: Reach...

• Halo: Reach reveals the birth of a Spartan this week

  With that beta waiting to kick off on May 3rd - make sure you have your copy of Halo 3: ODST ready if you want to access it - Microsoft's kicking the marketing for Halo: Reach into overdrive this week with the premier of a live-action advertising short called, "Birth of a Spartan".

  According to Eurogamer, the teaser, which is directed by Smart People director Noam Murro, will take viewers through Carter 259's bio-augmentation, transforming him from a normal human to a fully-fledged Spartan warrior.

  A 60-second version of the advert will be shown on Sky Sports this Tuesday evening, apparently, at the full-time whistle of the Champions League game between Lyon and Bayern Munich. Viewers in the US will be checking it out during ABC's "V" sci-fi drama on Tuesday as well. If you miss it, however, you'll be able to catch it at welcometonobleteam.com from 5am GMT on Wednesday.

  Exciting times for Halo fans, then. Now if they'd just bring on that beta, and release the final game.

  Halo: Reach will be available for the Xbox 360 later this year.

• Microsoft didn't originally like the name Halo

  Microsoft didn't originally like the name Halo

  Just because it went on to become one of the greatest console success stories of all time, you shouldn't think that everything about Halo's creation went according to plan. In a retrospective of the 2001 classic in Edge magazine, Bungie has revealed that Microsoft hated the name "Halo", and Bungie, in turn, wasn't particularly thrilled about the subtitle "Combat Evolved".

  "At the time, Microsoft marketing thought Halo was not a good name for a videogame brand," designer Jaime Griesemer told the magazine - thanks, CVG. "It wasn't descriptive like all the military games we were competing with. We told them Halo was the name. The compromise was they could add a subtitle. Everyone at Bungie hated it."

  Griesemer admits that the years have been kind, however. "But it turned out to be a very sticky label and has now entered the gaming lexicon to the point where articles that have nothing to do with Halo get titles like 'Skateboarding Evolved'. So I guess in hindsight it was a good compromise."

  Bungie's final Halo game, Halo: Reach, will be hitting shelves on 14th September for the Xbox 360. Presumably Bungie's okay with that title.

• Bungie details Halo: Reach dog-fighting

  Bungie details Halo: Reach dog-fighting

  One of the biggest surprises of E3 was the revelation that Halo: Reach would feature dog-fighting in outer space, and now Bungie's been offering a few more details.

  Speaking to Eurogamer, the developer revealed that the dog-fighting content will be playable in four player co-op, but will appear in a single mission only, titled The Long Night of Solace.

  "It takes place about midway through the campaign," explained executive producer Joseph Tung. "At this point in the campaign the Covenant are invading Reach in full force. The situation's getting pretty dire, but the second in command of Noble team has figured out a way to bring the battle to the Covenant."

  Speaking of the flight section itself, Tung admitted that, "We looked at lots of other flight games that were out there. We didn't want to make a flight simulator for Reach, we wanted to make a very accessible, easy-to-use and fun-to-play space mission."

  The game's controllable Saber aircraft boasts lasers and targeting missiles, and you'll have to keep a sharp eye on your shields during fights. We can't wait to have a go.

  Halo: Reach will be available for the Xbox 360 on 14th September.

• Master Chief is in Halo: Reach - kind of

  It's time to take off that black suit you've been wearing and turn that frown upside down. Bungie has revealed that everybody's favourite Spartan, Master Chief, will be making an appearance in Halo: Reach after all. Well, sort of.

  According to Eurogamer, who scored an interview with Bungie's Brian Jarrard at this year's Gamescom, Master Chief will be making his way into the Halo prequel as an unlockable voice, which can be applied to your character in the game's popular co-op multiplayer death-fest, Firefight.

  You'll also be able to unlock Buck from Halo 3: ODST, Sergeant Johnson, and the sexy AI Cortana.

  Bungie's recorded so much additional dialogue for the game, that Jarrard reckons, "you'll hear Chief talk more in Reach's Firefight than you ever did in the Halo trilogy".

  "He was a man of few words," continued Jarrard. "It's our throwback to fans, and technically they can say, 'Yes, Master Chief is in Reach after all.'"

  It's not that we exactly needed convincing to get excited about this one, of course. Halo: Reach will be Bungie's final game in the series, and will be an Xbox 360 exclusive when it touches down on 14th September. We'll be camped outside the shops in our Master Chief pyjamas. They're warm, and very stylish.

• Halo: Reach contains maps from Halo 2

  September 14th can't come soon enough. That's the date that Halo: Reach, Bungie's final Halo game, hits the Xbox 360 around the world, and the great news about this title just keeps on coming.

  The latest we've heard - well, IGN got the scoop actually - is that Bungie has remade two classic Halo 2 multiplayer maps for the latest game. If you were a fan of Ivory Tower or Midship, good news: they're back again in the form of Reflection and Zealot.

  Reflection remains pretty faithful to Ivory Tower by the looks of it, although the distances have been tweaked slightly to take into account the Spartan's new jetpack and sprinting abilities. Also, it's been given a coat of new textures to bring it up to date with the HD era.

  Zealot sounds a lot more elaborate, however, reinterpreting Midship as a two-base multi-level epic, the top deck of which is in outer space. This one sounds totally mind-bending, and we can't get to wait our hands on it.

  Stay tuned for more news on this huge release as we get it.

• 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: ODST

  HALO 3: ODST - Xbox 360 (2009)

  
  

  Formerly a spin-off of Halo 3, this entry Bungie's interstellar saga grew over the last two years of development into a fully-fledged game in its own right. ODST sees players control of one of the titular Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, fighting the covenant on Earth in the time period between Halo 2 and Halo 3, while also presenting an all-new co-op mode as part of the package.

  Story: You are The Rookie, the newest recruit to humanity's second most elite force after the Spartans; the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. Dropped into a ruined and Covenant-inhabited New Mombassa, you'll explore the city, discover the fates of your fellow ODSTs via flashback sequences, and battle the Covenant on humanity's homeworld.

  Gameplay: Unlike the seven-foot tall super-armoured Spartans, ODSTs are just ordinary men with high level training and a few powerful gadgets that give them the edge over bog-standard UNSC soldiers. The Rookie and his fellow troopers boast silenced weapons, a visor that outlines targets and objects of interest, and must count on cunning, stealth, surprise attacks and health packs, rather than the high-jumping prowess and recharging shield afforded to the Master Chief.

  ODST is a more free-roaming game, set in the ruins of New Mombasa, and plays out like a mystery story with a distinctly film noir atmosphere. In addition, Firefight mode lets four players join together to take on waves of Covenant in a mode similar to Gears 2's Horde, or CoD's Nazi Zombies. And with three additional Halo 3 multiplayer maps in the package too, ODST was justifiably one of the biggest Xbox 360 games of 2009.

  Feature by: Mark "Drop Shock" Scott.
  Published: 18.09.2009

• 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.

• Bungie at work on an MMO

  It's official: that big game that Halo creator Bungie is now working on for Activision - the game the developer signed a ten-year multiplatform deal to make - is an MMO after all. It's been the stuff of rumour for months, but it was confirmed at this year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

  In a session discussing the online aspects of the team's last game, the brilliant Xbox 360 exclusive FPS Halo: Reach, Bungie's networking guy David Aldridge also said that while the next title is indeed "a massively multiplayer action game", it's not World of Warcraft in space, as many websites had suggested. (Thanks for the tip-off IGN and Eurogamer.)

  Beyond that, little is yet known about the game, but we know that the technology that powers the game is meant to be new, that it won't be another Xbox 360 exclusive, and that it's a grandiose vision that builds on a universe players will want to spend time in.

  If it's not space, then what could it be? We're excited, anyway - and when we get any more news on this tantalising project, you'll be the first to know about it.

• 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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