Halo 4 Xbox 360

Released on 06/11/2012

• Halo 4 in secret development for two years already

  The explosion of warm fuzzy nerdlove that is the San Diego Comic Con is now winding down for another year, but games had a higher profile than usual thanks to discussion panels for some of this year's biggest upcoming releases.

  Chief among these (oh ho!) was Halo, which is preparing for all kinds of anniversary shenanigans as well as the launch of an all-new trilogy of games with returning hero Master Chief, the only man who can make bright green space armour look good.

  Although Halo 4 was only announced officially at E3 in June, 343 Industries has been working on the project since 2009. The pressure to keep the game secret was often unbearable, Franchise Development Director Frank O'Connor told the assembled fans.

  e know wee going to be under a different spotlight and microscope because wee a new developer as far as the fans are concerned, and that a lot of pressure. But the simplest thing to do is just be confident in the work you are doing and confident in the strengths and talents of the people that work with you and know that they are going to execute on something amazing./p>

  Also revealed at the Con were two new Halo novels. Halo: Grasslands will span the gap between Halo 3 and Halo 4, while Halo: Cryptum (by popular SF novelist Greg Bear) will dip into the distant past to explore the Precursors and the origin of the Halo program.

• Xbox fails if Halo flops says Microsoft

  Microsoft has admitted that the performance of its key hardcore game titles, particularly Halo, is their best way of telling how the Xbox 360 console is evolving.

  In an interview with Official Xbox Magazine, Microsoft Game Studios head Phil Spencer said quot;I think it's important that our AAA first party titles do help craft and shape how the platform evolves.

  "If we lose our way with Halo, we lose our way with Xbox, because Halo and the importance of games like Call of Duty and other shooters, that state of the art needs to continue to move forward, and our team at 343 need to move forward with that. That's always going to be one of our success criteria."

  The team at 343 Industries inherited the Halo mantle when creator Bungie moved on to develop a top secret new project for Activision. The Washington-based studio now has two Master Chief related projects in the pipeline. Their HD remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved comes out in November to celebrate the series' 10th birthday. Halo 4 will follow in 2012.
  

• Bungie teases Project Tiger

  What, exactly, has Bungie been up to ever since it bequeathed the Halo series to 343 Industries? Lounging around, munching Haribo and watching repeats of Morse? Hanging around shopping centres and drinking Red Bull and cider? Nope, the legendary studio has been hard at work on a mysterious new game for Activision, and details are finally starting to drip out of the news spout. Most notably, that the game is codenamed Tiger.

  ne reason that Tiger is so intriguing to so many people in the studio is that it's reaching players in a way that we haven't beforesays Bungie co-founder Jason Jones, when the question of their post-Halo work comes up near the end of the studio's 20th anniversary documentary, O Brave New World.

  We even get painfully brief glimpses at what the game might look like. What do we see? Deserts, windmills and some people doing motion capture. What does it all mean? Bungie ain't saying.

  What they do say is that the game will be a ame changerin the same way that the original Halo was, way back in 2001, and that they've created a world where razy s***can happen.

  Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary lands on November 15th, the same day Master Chief blows out ten candles on his birthday cake.

• Forza Motorsport 4 to feature Halo's Warthog

  Forza Motorsport 4 is to offer a special treat for Halo fans with the inclusion of the sci-fi shooter series' iconic Warthog.

  The gun-mounted all-terrain vehicle will be among the model on display in the new Xbox 360 racer's Autovista mode, which gives players a virtual tour of some of the world's most stylish cars.

  It means Halo lovers will be able to walk around and interact with the Warthog as though it were right in front of them, learning more about its specifications and features.

  To sweeten the deal further, the Warthog featured in the game will be a new model from the upcoming Halo 4, while the experience will be narrated by Cortana, Master Chief's popular AI companion from the classic games.

  Forza Motorsport 4 will launch in the UK next month and will feature hundreds of meticulously detailed cars from more than 80 manufacturers.

  It will also feature support for Kinect, increasing the immersion offered by Autovista mode even further and making it seem like players truly are interacting with vehicles such as the Warthog.

  Published: 02/09/2011

• Halo 4 creative director quits to go indie

  Ryan Payton, lead designer on Halo 4 and a veteran of Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid 4 team, has walked away from his job at Microsoft-owned 343 Industries.

  In an interview with Kotaku, he reassured fans that he wasn't leaving because the game was going badly, just that it wasn't the game he wanted to make. "I had a great run at Microsoft," Payton said "I don't regret one day of it. But after a few years, there came a point where I wasn't creatively excited about the project any more."

  Payton relocated back to the US from Japan when his mother became ill with cancer, and he was recently diagnosed with depression. "I think time is the most valuable thing we have," said Payton, "and I've decided that I'm not going to waste one more day working on something that doesn't speak to my values."

  He has now set up his own indie studio, Camoflaj, and aims to create "a game that one billion people play at once...something that hits them harder than a great book or film."

  Halo 4 continues under the guidance of franchise director Frank O'Connor, and will drop into action late in 2012. For those hungry for a taste of Master Chief before then, may we direct you towards Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, which remakes the original Xbox game in glorious HD, adding Kinect commands and co-op play to the mix. Look out for that on November 15th.

• Halo 4 won't be a next-gen Xbox launch title

  Halo 4 won't be a next-gen Xbox launch title

  343 Studios boss Frank O'Connor took to the internet this weekend to stamp out rumours that the upcoming Halo 4 would be used to launch the next generation of Xbox hardware, rather than the established Xbox 360.

  Posting on the Neogaf forums, he reaffirmed that, contrary to fan speculation, "Halo 4 will be on Xbox 360 and use a modified core of the Halo engine(s)."

  343 Studios is working on Halo 4 with a late 2012 release date in mind. Those eager for some Master Chief action before then will find their appetite satisfied by Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary, an HD remake of the original 2001 hit. The new edition also features online co-op play, a spread of classic multiplayer maps and optional Kinect voice support.

  Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is out this week for Xbox 360.
  

• New Year Revolutions: The games of 2012 that we want to play now

  New Year Revolutions: The games of 2012 that we want to play now

  Towards the end of last year, we saw veritable avalanche of amazing games roll over us, leaving us swamped but happy with top-notch titles such as Modern Warfare 3, Batman: Arkham City, Skyrim, Super Mario Land 3D, Assassin's Creed Revelations, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Saints Row The Third and, oh, you get the idea.

  Surely that's more than enough new games to leave even the greediest gamer feeling stuffed and satisfied? Well, yes, but don't pretend you can't hear that little voice whispering in the back of your mind. What's next? it says.

  Here's the answer: our guide to the big games of 2012 that we can't wait to play.

  GTA V (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

  The genre-busting open-world crime caper makes its long-awaited return, with an all-new tale set in the pseudo-L.A. of Los Santos. Details are limited to one cryptic trailer, but where Rockstar is concerned it's safe to set expectations high.
  

  Mass Effect 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

  Bioware brings its grand space opera to a cataclysmic finale, as the world-devouring Reapers declare open war on Earth. The game adds optional multiplayer modes, as well as Kinect voice features for Xbox 360.
  

  Halo 4 (Xbox 360)

  Who seriously thought that Halo 3 would be the last we saw of Master Chief? He's back for the start of a brand new trilogy, which will find the Spartan super soldier confronting his own destiny as well as an ancient evil poised to destroy the universe. No pressure then.
  

  Bioshock Infinite (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

  Swapping the bottom of the ocean for the top of the world, this continuation of the smartest sci-fi shooter in recent memory casts you as a Pinkerton agent in 1912, trying to escape a dystopian city in the clouds. Expect gorgeous views and gruelling terror in equal measure.
  

  Borderlands 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

  Return to Pandora for another round of co-operative role-playing mayhem. The game promises more dynamic quests which will alter the path of the story, as well as smarter enemies and more independent non-player characters. Bring it.
  

  Hitman: Absolution (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

  It's been five years since Agent 47 last graced our joypads in Blood Money, and his latest adventure will take full advantage of the updates in technology since. Expect to be able to set up more elaborate assassinations, as well some form of multiplayer.
  

  Max Payne 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

  Rockstar's other big game for 2012 finds the dual-wielding anti-hero cop disgraced and working as a bodyguard in Brazil. Of course, it all kicks off when the family he's guarding are targeted by gangsters, and slow-motion shooty-diving is the only way to settle the score.
  

  The Last Guardian (PS3)

  The latest game from Ico and Shadow of the Colossus creator Fumito Ueda follows a young boy attempting to escape from a grim castle with some help from his friend, a giant griffin-creature called Trico. Action, puzzles and beautiful loveliness ensue.
  

  Tomb Raider (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

  After drifting out of the spotlight, the first lady of gaming returns with this series reboot which follows a more vulnerable teenage Lara Croft, as she grows into the confident adventurer we all know and love.
  

  PlayStation Vita

  Sony's incredibly powerful handheld drops in February, bringing next-gen muscle to the portable gaming market. With 3G and Wifi-enabled models available - and boasting exclusive Uncharted, Wipeout and Call of Duty games - it's the console to watch in 2012.
  
  

• 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.

• The Rise of Multiplayer Gaming

  It's hard to image there was ever a time when we couldn't assume our grimmest war-face, fire up our consoles and do battle with a global army of enemy combatants from the comfort of our armchairs. We're certainly come a long way from sitting hunched over our Commodores, battling as much for keyboard space with our siblings as we were on-screen! But where did it all start?

  Things really started to evolve in the 90s though when LAN parties were the in-thing for the hardcore gaming hobbyist. If the prospect of the violently seductive Doom wasn't enough to keep you up into the early hours by itself, there was no better way to bring the competitive minds of a whole generation of gamers together than by syncing up a few PCs and spending hours, even days, doing battle in the flesh.

  

  The blossoming Korean e-sports scene took the concept even further, and now commands a staggering national audience for televised championships. Blizzard's outstanding StarCraft series rules the roost in this domain, and not even the awesome sequel released in 2010 has put a dent in players' enthusiasm for the best-selling original. The competitive scene for StarCraft II is still buzzing in the West, and it's never too late to get stuck into a game that'll be around for years to come and still has two explosive expansions in the works.

  

  Then there's World of Warcraft, the game that really did change everything. Released in 2004, it arrived just at the right time as the mass uptake of increasingly fast broadband connections became the norm, unleashing a greedy clamour for the world of Azeroth - one so extreme that it saw Blizzard pull the game from store shelves at one point, their servers unable to keep up with the snowballing demand. It now enjoys a seven-figure subscriber count, and with three award-winning expansions under it's belt, there's more content for you to get stuck into than you'll know what to do with!

  

  While consoles such as the sadly-undersold Dreamcast teased gently around the potential for global gameplay, it was arguably Microsoft who broke new ground for console gaming with the launch of the Xbox LIVE service, putting a whole new world of gaming at player's feet - and long before PCs became a breeze to hook up for the living-room lounger!

  So while PC gaming might have dominated the early days of competitive multiplayer, it was titles like Halo 2 that brought the idea of mass gaming to the forefront of game design. While the single-player components of the Halo games continue to blow us away, the passion for Halo 2 was so extreme that players left their Xbox 360s running for days at a time to prevent the eventual switch-off of multiplayer support for all original Xbox games in April 2010.

  

  These days it's show-stopping blockbuster titles like Call of Duty that continue to change the way gaming is viewed and played online by the console crowd. For many, it's the only game they need to buy each year, and new services like Call of Duty Elite are doing even more to add greater depth to the experience, allowing gamers to track, log and show off their finest moments on the battlefield.

  

  No-one can guess what the next evolution in multiplayer might be, but we're already seeing some extraordinary innovation in the likes of Nintendo's StreetPass, allowing gamers-on-the-go to make new friends without ever saying hello, and the awesome potential of the augmented reality features in the upcoming PlayStation Vita. One thing's clear, multiplayer is here to stay and the future can only bring us even closer together.

• Bungie sets date for official Halo handover

  March 31st. Mark the date in your diary, as that's when legendary developer Bungie finally cuts the cord and officially hands over the Halo baby to its new mummy, 323 Industries.

  343 has already taken over development on the new Halo titles, including last year's Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary remake and the upcoming Halo 4, but the behind-the-scenes systems powering all those multiplayer matches and stats were Bungie's. That changes at the end of March, and from that date Bungie will have nothing more to do with the franchise it created way back in 2002.

  "Bungie will no longer be able to update game stats and player service records, to host new user generated content, or to operate the Bungie Pro service. All currently supported, Bungie-developed Halo titles will be impacted by this change," the Bungie website explains. "Any replacement functionality, and all future Halo support, will be provided by Microsoft and 343 Industries via Halo Waypoint at http://halo.xbox.com."

  "Thanks for making the Halo-era version of Bungie.net more successful than we could have possibly imagined," the post concluded. "You complete us."

  No, no, we're fine. We've just got something in our eye.

  Halo 4 is set for release later this year on Xbox 360, of course. Bungie's next project is a mysterious new multi-console game, set to be published by Activision.

• Halo's co-creator says Master Chief is in safe hands

  Alex Seropian, co-founder of Bungie and one of the people who helped turn Halo into the Xbox's premiere title, has said he thinks the series is in safe hands now the baton has been passed to 343 Industries.

  The Washington-based studio cut its teeth on last year's Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary remake, and takes the reins full-time this winter with the long awaited Halo 4. Although admitting he was nervous to see what a new studio would do with the franchise he helped create, Seropian insisted he was confident the game would live up to fan's expectations.

  "They are certainly treating it with a lot of care and respect," he told GameSpot. "And applying the resources you'd like to see applied to a franchise like that. I'm hopeful that it will continue to bring the high production value and cool experiences it's known for."

  "I would be pretty surprised if they wiffed it," he added. "Maybe it will bring a fresh perspective, and that's so hard because there's so many fans that are used to a particular thing that bringing something new is often... it's hard to bring something new to a franchise that's so established. I'm looking forward to it."

  Halo 4 sees the return of iconic hero Master Chief, who sat out both Halo ODST and Halo Reach. It marks the first entry in a new series, ambitiously set over ten years of in-game action, called The Reclaimer Trilogy.

  Halo 4 will be exclusive to Xbox 360, duh, and launches this "holiday season". Which is American for Christmas.

• Halo 4 is "beyond anything that Master Chief has faced before" - 343 Industries

  Microsoft has lifted the lid on the hotly anticipated Halo 4 for the first time, with a behind the scenes video explaining the design approach that in-house studio 343 Industries is taking now that it has inherited the series fully from creator Bungie.

  Key to this is a renewed focus on the character of Master Chief, who up until now has seen most of his backstory fleshed out in comic books and spin-off novels. "We wanted to put it squarely in the game this time," says Frank O'Connor, Franchise Development Director. "We're delving into Master Chief's humanity and what makes him tick as a character," adds Creative Director Josh Holmes.

  Much is said about striking a balance between the things fans will expect, and the need to develop the series in new ways. The classic battle rifle returns, along with other favourite weapons and vehicles, all given a new graphical makeover. Master Chief's armour has been redesigned. "We're working within the constraints of what makes Halo, Halo," Neill Harrison, Art Manager, "But trying to make every aspect of it bigger and better."

  We get to see tantalising glimpses of the game in action, along with motion capture sessions for the character animation. Another driving force behind the game is the desire to make the most of the Spartans, with all the mass, strength and power that entails. You should feel like a superhero, apparently.

  And, of course, there's multiplayer. The game will use all new maps, not taken from the campaign, and we get to see a little bit from two of them. Wraparound is a tall vertical structure, while Warhouse takes place in a sprawling battle mech construction area. You'll be playing as Spartan IV warriors online, the latest breed of Spartan, and 343 has even come up with a narrative reason why red and blue Spartans are fighting each other.

  Halo 4 is exclusive to Xbox 360 and will be out this Christmas.

• Halo 4 multiplayer to introduce perks system

  Halo 4 is set to mix up the acclaimed shooter franchise's multiplayer system with the introduction of a raft of perks and customisation options.

  Showing off the forthcoming Xbox 360 blockbuster at Microsoft's Xbox Showcase, developer 343 Industries revealed that the game will allow players to personalise every element of their Spartan warrior's appearance, which will have an impact on gameplay.

  The introduction of a perks system, which will see gamers evolving their online characters and capabilities as they progress, is reminiscent of similar features in the popular Call of Duty and Battlefield games.

  However, franchise development director Frank O'Connor reassured long-time fans that the core Halo identity will not be compromised by the new additions, only developed.

  Halo 4 is due out later this year and is the first brand new Halo game to be developed by 343 Industries, following the departure of series creator Bungie.

  The game will continue the story of iconic hero Master Chief and is designed as the launching point for an all-new Halo trilogy.

  Published: 06/03/2012

• Bringing Master Chief back for Halo 4 is "huge", says Microsoft

  The last time we saw Master Chief, the green armoured Spartan hero, was at the end of Halo 3 as he drifted off into space with his AI companion, Cortana. That was almost five years ago �a long time for an iconic character to vanish from a blockbuster series.

  "Bringing Master Chief back is huge," admits Xbox global marketing director Steve Beinner, talking this week to games industry trade magazine MCV. "Honestly, there's not many franchises that have done what Halo has. There's not many that have broken through and sold that much."

  He name checks Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty as worthy peers, but notes that they spread their appeal across multiple consoles. "If you look at platform exclusives," he boasts, "nothing is bigger than Halo."

  That's not to say that decision to defrost the Chief was made purely for commercial reasons. Halo 4 producer Kiki Wolfkill, quoted in the same article, explains that Master Chief's presence will give the fourth game "a strong focal point".

  "Halo has missed Master Chief a little bit," she admits, "and that's not to take anything away from the games that were off the main line. But we've built so much equity in Chief and really such a strong icon in Chief, that I do think people missed a little bit not being able to see what he was doing next."

  Thankfully, he'll be back in our loving arms this Christmas when Halo 4 hits Xbox 360.
  

• Halo 5 and 6 storylines 'already being planned out'

  As gamers wait eagerly for the 2012 release of Halo 4, 343 Industries has revealed that plenty of story material has already been planned out for future instalments in the iconic sci-fi series.

  Josh Holmes, creative director for the development team behind the new Xbox 360 game, said there is a "definite story arc" planned for Halo 4, 5 and 6, which will eventually form the second Halo trilogy, reports CVG.

  Halo 4 is a direct continuation of the storyline from Halo 3 and will mark the return of supersoldier Master Chief as the main hero, with the new story currently a matter of utmost secrecy.

  However, Mr Holmes noted that Halo 4's plot has been written with attention paid to the established story canon of the previous instalments, as well as the expanded fictional universe provided by the many spin-off novels and comics.

  Moreover, he revealed that the team has made sure that this tie-in fiction has included material that links directly to Halo 4 and beyond.

  Fans will be able to delve into all of Halo 4's secrets this Christmas, with the title being 343 Industries' first all-new Halo game since taking over stewardship of the series from creator Bungie.

  Published: 13/03/2012

• The Games We're Excited About!

  
  

  There are lots and lots of great games heading your way in the next few months, and here at gamestation HQ we're as excited as you lot are to give them a go.

  So, we went round the digital team with a prodding stick to find out just what games the team here are really itching to play...

  

  Ali - Queen of the Internet

  I am looking forward to LEGO Batman 2. My brother and I worked our way through the original LEGO Batman with a considered method of "shoot everything in the room first, think about the situation later" and it was amazing. It's also the only game where if you die you can still enjoy seeing Robin explode which I did on many occasions as Player 2. I can't wait to see what LEGO Batman 2 has in store!

  
  

  

  Louis - Merchandising Meddler

  Definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, Max Payne 3.

  After playing through 1 and 2 - which gripped me to the very end - I cannot honestly wait for 3.

  Max Payne's method of storytelling is awesome. The comic book cut scenes are stylish and effective, and are not afraid to poke fun at other, outrageous works of fiction (as well as itself). The noir style and twists and turns throughout provide a flourish of love which even the most dedicated of storytellers fail to keep up with. The ingredients are simple, but it's a recipe which works.

  The gameplay might not necessarily be innovative, but it will be intuitive. It might not change the way we think about games, but I know it's going to be a game through and through; fun, accessible and welcoming to noobs and veterans alike. Max Payne 3 is going to rock. Add online multiplayer to the mix, and I can safely say that I'm looking forward to blasting my way into June!

  (My second choice would be Aliens: Colonial Marines, but that's almost too far away to get excited about yet!)

  Kate - Affiliate Assassin

  Bioshock Infinite - Because of the amazing animation and design of the game. Oh, and Limbo 2 - if/when it comes!

  

  Jamie - Builder of Digital Dreamscapes

  I am looking forward to...

  Grand Theft Auto V: Obviously no one really knows exactly when this game is coming out but I cant wait! Seriously excited about a new GTA! Although I hope it is all of San Andreas and not just Los Santos.

  Madden 13: I always get Madden, and it was pretty much the game that made me buy my first proper games console (the SEGA Mega Drive). I'm particularly looking forward to this year's one as I'm hoping they have taken more of the good stuff out of NCAA12... and also because I can't wait for Madden on the PS Vita.

  Retro City Rampage: This is an indie game that just looks AMAZING! Kind of like a funny GTA but all totally 80s styled. It's gonna be on Xbox LIVE and PSN and I like the fact it looks like you might be able to get this digitally to play on your PS Vita too; it seems like the kind of game you could just lose hours in messing about!

  

  Carl - Design Doodler

  Halo 4. Why? Because it's the best freaking game there is! I'm a massive Halo fan and I'm really looking forward to the next instalment. And really looking forward to seeing Master Chief again. And now we know the release date i know what week to book off work!

  
  

  Aaron - Social Butterfly

  I almost squealed for joy when Luigi's Mansion 2 was announced (Okay, I actually did squeal...). The original Luigi's Mansion was the first game I got on launch day with my Gamecube. It was ALL about Luigi, sucking up ghosts with his Poltergust 3000. The sequel has me itching to play, it will have multiple mansions, a new Poltergust, new ghosts, new story AND it will all be in beautiful 3D. The Nintendo savvy amongst us will know that Nintendo originally planned to release Luigi's Mansion in 3D on the Gamecube but decided the 3D panel was ahead of its time!

  Who ya gonna call? Ghostb-- No, no wait, let's just get the Green hat-wearing Italian plumber from the Mushroom Kingdom instead. No danger of crossing the streams.

  

  Damien - Good Word Writing Man

  I'm actually really looking forward to Lollipop Chainsaw. I'm a big Buffy fan, so the concept of a blonde cheerleader fighting supernatural beasties is one that very much appeals to me. It just looks like it's gonna be oodles of OTT fun. Plus, y'know, the boyfriend's head just kicking around. What's not to like?

  As a stark contrast, I'm also a bit excited by Spec Ops: The Line. I don't usually get on with shooters, but having seen the trailer with the bodies-on-poles imagery, plus the obvious Heart of Darkness influence and the sense of "killing people may actually affect you", I really want to try this one out. I mean, who isn't at least intrigued by what appears to be an anti-war third-person shooter?

  

  James - Captain Category

  Diablo III.

   

   

  Because I've been waiting twelve years for it!

  
  

  So there we have it. These are the games we want to play - what about you? What forthcoming titles have got you so pant-wettingly excited to pre-order and play?

• Halo 4 release date revealed

  The heavily anticipated sequel Halo 4 will see its worldwide release on 6th November, Microsoft revealed this week.

  Halo 4 promises the beginning of the new "Reclaimer Trilogy", but for fans it's more important for the return of iconic hero Master Chief and his AI companion Cortana. Halo 4 will also feature a multiplayer mode with a new perks system introduced.

  Halo 4 will be the first Halo game developed by 343 Industries, who took over the franchise from Bungie, and the November release date puts it in prime contention to top Christmas shopping lists for Xbox 360 gamers the world over.
  

  Published: 20/04/2012

• 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.
  

• Halo developer's next game confirmed for 2013

  Bungie, the studio responsible for the massively successful Halo franchise, will return to consoles in 2013, it has been revealed.

  Little is known about the game, other than it is currently code named Destiny, and has been described as "World of Warcraft in space". What we do know is that Bungie is contracted to deliver the game next year, and it will be the start of a new "action shooter" series of at least four games. The confirmation comes as Bungie's contract with new publisher Activision was released as part of a court case.

  Clearly, the revelation caught Bungie by surprise. "So, yeah. While we�e not ready to show you what we�e been working on, we can reconfirm that we are hard at work on our new universe. We can� wait for you to see it," read a post from staff member DeeJ on their official website under the heading "Well, that just happened..."

  "See you starside in 2013," they added, with a cheeky strikethrough on the word "starside".

  While we may have to wait a while for Bungie's next, the series they launched is still going strong. Master Chief has been handed over to Microsoft's 343 Industries with Bungie's blessing, and Halo 4 arrives on Xbox 360 on November 6th this year.
• New weapons, 50 bonus missions - tasty Halo 4 details revealed!

  More information on what we can expect from the upcoming Halo 4 has slipped into the wild, thanks to Microsoft's ExpertZone website, which helps retailers answer customer questions.

  Presented as a quiz to test retailers "deployment readiness" for the hotly anticipated sequel, the site reveals that there will be ten new weapons and two new vehicles in the game, alongside "many of your favourites from the past". Two of these weapons were demonstrated at E3 earlier in the month - the Forerunner Light Rifle and the Scattershot close range shotgun. The site also mentions the new bad guys - the Prometheans - and talks of an "ancient evil" that will become Master Chief's "greatest enemy".

  For multiplayer, it confirms there will be ten maps to start with, and suggests deeper community features, with "improved support to create, organise and track groups".

  The site offers details on Spartan Ops, the game's ambitious DLC programme which will offer "seasons" of bonus content, with five new missions every week for a total of ten weeks per season. That's fifty extra missions, totalling an additional 12 hours of gameplay for single player and co-op, and, even better, Season 1 of this bonus bonanza will be free to everyone buying the game new. "It's like getting two campaigns with one game!" gushes the website, and with good reason.

  Halo 4 lands on Xbox 360 on November 6th this year.
  

• Halo 4 - Preview

  
  

  

  It's been 11 years since the Halo first-person shooter series exploded on the original Xbox console with sternum-shuddering impact. With its dark and deadly galaxy, apocalyptic alien technology, and utterly awesome multiplayer battles, it's become the most revered and successful franchise in Microsoft's gaming history - especially for online play. No surprises then that this is one of the most anticipated games of the year.

  Halo 4, despite the title, is actually the eighth instalment in the series. It's also intended as the beginning of a brand new trilogy of games from the Halo universe, and the first to be developed by Microsoft's talented new studio 343 Industries, with original developer Bungie having gone their own way. Not that that should worry ardent Halo gamers unduly; this still looks the business, with plenty of surprises and great gameplay in store.

  

  Wake Up John, We Need You...

  Story-wise, it's certainly more plot-driven than anything that has come before. Marking the return of iconic super soldier Master Chief, Halo 4 revolves around a 'holy' planet, called Requiem, which was constructed by the ancient Forerunner race some 100,000 years ago, who designed it to protect themselves against parasitic Flood life forms and the unleashing of the Halo weapon. It appears their idea worked, because as your ship of human military forces land onto its hostile surface, you're confronted by hordes of 100,000-year-old alien 'Promethean' soldiers that you thought were extinct. They only have one thing on their minds, too - toasting you alive!

  The hands-on-time at E3 showcased a new level from its episodic co-operative campaign, simply known as The Cauldron, where up to four human soldiers (Spartans) take on familiar alien enemies known as The Covenant. You're drop-shipped onto the planet, which exists inside a silver sphere and is given its light by an artificial sun. In turn, this delivers the game a beautiful sunburst new look, as enemies glow bright orange beneath glossy black armour. But don't be fooled by their pretty looks - these creatures kill...

  

  Combat Evolved - Again!

  Despite many gamers being concerned that Halo 4 would feature scripted sequences and its glorious free-form combat suffer - as was implied by its E3 presentation - the game, thankfully, appears to offer a similar level of freedom as its predecessors. You can attack in almost any way you see fit, impulsively employing different tactics as you work out how best to deal with the Covenant threat, who likewise, respond intelligently to your own attacks.

  When we played it, our grenades bounced harmlessly wide and our bullets ricocheted off enemy shields. Clearly we needed to devise new ways of thwarting our intelligent, high-tech adversaries, who also possess the ability to dematerialise and appear in different places. This isn't about your chasing your aggressors, but predicting where they'll turn up next. And then also working out how to defeat the scary four-legged panther-like creatures that they seemed keen to unleash on you.

  The demo hinted at plenty of other exciting things, including new weapons and armour abilities, such as X-ray vision. But ultimately, despite having a new developer behind it, this still feels and plays like the classic Halo we know and love, as well as also promising something excitingly new. Simply put, Halo 4 is shaping up to surpass even the series' finest outings. And that should be enough to grab anyone's attention.

  Published: 03/07/2012

• 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.

• Limited edition Halo 4 Xbox 360 console dated and detailed

  The release of Halo 4 later this year will be commemorated with a limited edition Xbox 360 console, Microsoft has confirmed.

  Priced at �69.99, the console comes with a translucent Halo-themed outer casing. In keeping with the new colour scheme, the power light glows blue rather than green. The console also comes with a 320Gb hard drive, a wired headset and two Halo 4 controllers, which share the slick design and blue light of the console itself. Press reports suggest the console will also feature Halo system noises - much as the Star Wars Xbox console beeped and blurped like R2-D2 - but Microsoft has yet to confirm this detail.

  Also included in the price is a copy of Halo 4, naturally, along with a code to download avatar props and in-game content. For those who don't want to fork out for a completely new console, Microsoft will also be launching a limited edition Halo 4 wireless controller, which boasts a silver UNSC design that is different to the ones packed in with the console.

  The limited edition console will be available alongside Halo 4 when it is released on November 6th.

• Halo 4 Specializations revealed and explained

  
  

  As one of the first truly successful console multiplayer shooters, Halo has always enjoyed a dedicated player base. Those fans will be rewarded in the upcoming Halo 4 with eight online specialisms that will tweak the skillset of high ranking players.

  You'll need to hit level 50 before a specialism can be chosen, and once you've made your decision you'll need to rank up if you want to change class again.

  Wetwork offers fast and quiet movement for those who want to play stealthily. Pioneers use a Fast Track armour mod to gain more XP and level up faster. Engineers have Drop Recon armour mod that will tip you off about the timing and location of supply drops. Tracker's favour long distance targets, and can return ordnance drops in exchange for better kit.

  Rogue offers steady aiming, while Stalker comes equipped with Nemesis armour that marks every enemy who has attacked or killed you on your map. Pathfinder is the one for those who prefer heavy weaponry - your turret will cool down faster and you'll be able to move quicker when carrying a detached turret weapon. Finally, the Wheelman armour mod automatically makes any vehicle you ride in tougher.

  Of the eight specialisms, only Wetwork and Pioneer will be available out of the box for all players. To get access to the others at launch, you need to pick up the Limited Edition or pre-order the game from Gamestation.
  

• Halo 4 Achievements revealed

  The list of Achievements for Halo 4 has been officially released, over two months before the game drops. The big surprise is that there are no Achievements for traditional competitive multiplayer, only for completing the game's campaign missions - both solo and with friends - and the standalone Spartan Ops missions.

  "Our primary goal when creating Halo 4's achievements was to reward milestones and increase replay value while balancing both difficulty and the breadth of game modes," said community manager Jessica Shea, posting the list on the official Halo Waypoint website. "Our secondary goal was to live up to Halo tradition with weird ass names for some of them (hello, The Dongblainer!). While you will only be able to speculate on the exact nature of some of these achievements, here's a peek at their very basic in-game descriptions."

  The list reveals that there are eight levels in the story campaign, and each has a level-specific Achievement to earn. In the opening stage, for example, finding Master Chief's records will earn you a quick 20G. There are also smaller Achievements for customising your Spartan ID and for creating and sharing maps, screenshots and film clips.

  Halo 4 marks the start of an all-new Halo trilogy, with Master Chief returning to the front line after sitting out Halo ODST and Halo Reach. It's out for Xbox 360 on November 6th, but you've already got that marked on your calendar, haven't you?

  Published: 23/08/2012

• Grifball Mode Coming To Halo 4

  
  

  One of Halo 4's many multiplayer modes will be based on the fan-favourite mod Grifball, developer 343 Industries announced at the PAX Prime game expo.

  The mode is basically rugby with a Halo twist. Players can grab the ball and throw it like a grenade. Other players can catch it, and the aim is to get it through the other team's goal. Obvious, really. Spicing things up is the inclusion of hammers and swords, which should make tackles more interesting. The hammer kills players instantly, but sends the ball flying through the air. Get up close for a sword kill, and you can automatically grab the ball yourself.

  343 also revealed that the ability to throw and catch will be implemented in the popular Oddball mode, while venerable old favourite Capture the Flag is also getting tweaked. Flag carriers will no longer be as defenceless as in past games. They'll now carry the flag in one hand and a "flagnum" pistol in the other, and will even be able to use the flag itself as a melee weapon.

  These are just some of the treats lined up in Halo 4, alongside Spartan Ops, a series of downloadable co-op missions that will served up five at a time, every week, for ten weeks after launch.
  

• Halo 4's Prometheans revealed

  When Master Chief returns to the fray later this year, he'll be embarking on an all-new trilogy of games that promise to dig deeper into the mythology of the Halo universe than ever before. Now 343 Industries, the developer which has taken over the sage with Bungie's blessing, has revealed details of how that history will manifest itself.

  That would be the Prometheans, a strange reanimated robot race that once served the Forerunners, the ancient civilization that built the Halo rings thousands of years before mankind arrived on the scene. In a feature in the latest issue of US games mag Game Informer, the beans are comprehensively spilled on what's in store, so spoiler-phobes should look away now.

  Marking the first entirely new character class added to the Halo series in a decade, the Prometheans sound like they'll give Master Chief a run for his money. Promethean Knights, for example, come in a variety of forms. Knight Lancers are skilled snipers, and use their special vision to locate enemies. Knight Commanders carry incineration cannons and deploy auto-sentry turrets. Worst of the bunch is the Knight Battlewagon, a hulking battle frame with heavy shielding and the powerful Scattershot weapon for up-close damage.

  The Knights are backed up by Crawlers, smaller and faster Prometheans that strike in organised packs. The Crawler Snipe tackles long range attacks while the Alpha Crawler directs his forces against you and uses suppression techniques. Finally, there are Watchers. These support-level foes can summon Crawlers and will not only protect Knights but can resurrect them after death.

  And as if that doesn't sound tricky enough, the feature teases that while the game will find you battling Covenant and Promethean forces at different times, at some point the two will combine their efforts and unleash a whole new kind of hell on Master Chief.

  Halo 4 hits Xbox 360 on November 6th. Are you ready?

  Published: 10/09/2012

• There's life in the old girl yet: Halo boss on the future of Xbox

  Frank O'Connor, the man who oversees the Halo franchise for Microsoft, has explained how the team at 343 Studios have been able to squeeze even more performance out of the existing game engine for the upcoming Halo 4.

  The secret, he told Eurogamer, is keeping the bits that give that unique Halo feel, while upgrading and improving the way it handles speed and graphics. It also helps that Microsoft was apparently in no rush to get Master Chief back in action. "A significant amount of time has passed between Halo 3 and this, even Halo: Reach and this game," O'Connor said. "We also had a luxury that some teams don't get, which is we had some time to prototype, pull the engine apart and look at what made it tick and see where we could make improvements, because we weren't on this grind to build the very next sequel."

  As for the Xbox 360 itself, even though rumours persist about a new console announcement in the near future, O'Connor doesn't see the existing machine dropping off the radar any time soon.

  "The console is seven years old but we keep finding new tricks and new abilities to wring performance out of it," he said. "There's still life in the old girl yet. This is already one of the longest generations we've had. And just in terms of being an element of your home entertainment, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 are essential. You have to keep it under your TV. I cannot get rid of my Xbox. The machine has so much utility it ends up being a hub for all these experiences and can still put out triple-A quality entertainment experiences as games. I love that. I get so much value out of that box in my house that I literally can't understand any reason why I would want to take it out from under my TV even if it gets replaced by better hardware in the future."

  O'Connor is in the UK to present Halo 4 at the Eurogamer Expo in London. The game launches in just over a month, on November 6th.

  Published: 27/09/2012

• The Games We're Excited About!

  
  

  There are lots and lots of great games heading your way in the next few months, and here at GAME HQ we're as excited as you lot are to give them a go.

  So, we went round the digital team with a prodding stick to find out just what games the team here are really itching to play...

  

  Ali - Queen of the Internet

  I am looking forward to LEGO Batman 2. My brother and I worked our way through the original LEGO Batman with a considered method of "shoot everything in the room first, think about the situation later" and it was amazing. It's also the only game where if you die you can still enjoy seeing Robin explode which I did on many occasions as Player 2. I can't wait to see what LEGO Batman 2 has in store!

  
  

  

  Louis - Merchandising Meddler

  Definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, Max Payne 3.

  After playing through 1 and 2 - which gripped me to the very end - I cannot honestly wait for 3.

  Max Payne's method of storytelling is awesome. The comic book cut scenes are stylish and effective, and are not afraid to poke fun at other, outrageous works of fiction (as well as itself). The noir style and twists and turns throughout provide a flourish of love which even the most dedicated of storytellers fail to keep up with. The ingredients are simple, but it's a recipe which works.

  The gameplay might not necessarily be innovative, but it will be intuitive. It might not change the way we think about games, but I know it's going to be a game through and through; fun, accessible and welcoming to noobs and veterans alike. Max Payne 3 is going to rock. Add online multiplayer to the mix, and I can safely say that I'm looking forward to blasting my way into June!

  (My second choice would be Aliens: Colonial Marines, but that's almost too far away to get excited about yet!)

  Kate - Affiliate Assassin

  Bioshock Infinite - Because of the amazing animation and design of the game. Oh, and Limbo 2 - if/when it comes!

  

  Jamie - Builder of Digital Dreamscapes

  I am looking forward to...

  Grand Theft Auto V: Obviously no one really knows exactly when this game is coming out but I cant wait! Seriously excited about a new GTA! Although I hope it is all of San Andreas and not just Los Santos.

  Madden 13: I always get Madden, and it was pretty much the game that made me buy my first proper games console (the SEGA Mega Drive). I'm particularly looking forward to this year's one as I'm hoping they have taken more of the good stuff out of NCAA12.

  Retro City Rampage: This is an indie game that just looks AMAZING! Kind of like a funny GTA but all totally 80s styled. It's gonna be on Xbox LIVE and PSN and I like the fact it looks like you might be able to get this digitally to play on your PS Vita too; it seems like the kind of game you could just lose hours in messing about!

  

  Carl - Design Doodler

  Halo 4. Why? Because it's the best freaking game there is! I'm a massive Halo fan and I'm really looking forward to the next instalment. And really looking forward to seeing Master Chief again. And now we know the release date I know what week to book off work!

  
  

  Aaron - Social Butterfly

  I almost squealed for joy when Luigi's Mansion 2 was announced (Okay, I actually did squeal...). The original Luigi's Mansion was the first game I got on launch day with my Gamecube. It was ALL about Luigi, sucking up ghosts with his Poltergust 3000. The sequel has me itching to play, it will have multiple mansions, a new Poltergust, new ghosts, new story AND it will all be in beautiful 3D. The Nintendo savvy amongst us will know that Nintendo originally planned to release Luigi's Mansion in 3D on the Gamecube but decided the 3D panel was ahead of its time!

  Who ya gonna call? Ghostb-- No, no wait, let's just get the Green hat-wearing Italian plumber from the Mushroom Kingdom instead. No danger of crossing the streams.

  

  Damien - Good Word Writing Man

  I'm actually really looking forward to Lollipop Chainsaw. I'm a big Buffy fan, so the concept of a blonde cheerleader fighting supernatural beasties is one that very much appeals to me. It just looks like it's gonna be oodles of OTT fun. Plus, y'know, the boyfriend's head just kicking around. What's not to like?

  As a stark contrast, I'm also a bit excited by Spec Ops: The Line. I don't usually get on with shooters, but having seen the trailer with the bodies-on-poles imagery, plus the obvious Heart of Darkness influence and the sense of "killing people may actually affect you", I really want to try this one out. I mean, who isn't at least intrigued by what appears to be an anti-war third-person shooter?

  

  James - Captain Category

  Diablo III.

   

   

  Because I've been waiting twelve years for it!

  
  

  So there we have it. These are the games we want to play - what about you? What forthcoming titles have got you so pant-wettingly excited to pre-order and play?

  Published: 17/04/2012

• The Rise of Multiplayer Gaming

  
  

  It's hard to image there was ever a time when we couldn't assume our grimmest war-face, fire up our consoles and do battle with a global army of enemy combatants from the comfort of our armchairs. We're certainly come a long way from sitting hunched over our Commodores, battling as much for keyboard space with our siblings as we were on-screen! But where did it all start?

  Things really started to evolve in the 90s though when LAN parties were the in-thing for the hardcore gaming hobbyist. If the prospect of the violently seductive Doom wasn't enough to keep you up into the early hours by itself, there was no better way to bring the competitive minds of a whole generation of gamers together than by syncing up a few PCs and spending hours, even days, doing battle in the flesh.

  

  The blossoming Korean e-sports scene took the concept even further, and now commands a staggering national audience for televised championships. Blizzard's outstanding StarCraft series rules the roost in this domain, and not even the awesome sequel released in 2010 has put a dent in players' enthusiasm for the best-selling original. The competitive scene for StarCraft II is still buzzing in the West, and it's never too late to get stuck into a game that'll be around for years to come and still has two explosive expansions in the works.

  

  Then there's World of Warcraft, the game that really did change everything. Released in 2004, it arrived just at the right time as the mass uptake of increasingly fast broadband connections became the norm, unleashing a greedy clamour for the world of Azeroth - one so extreme that it saw Blizzard pull the game from store shelves at one point, their servers unable to keep up with the snowballing demand. It now enjoys a seven-figure subscriber count, and with three award-winning expansions under it's belt, there's more content for you to get stuck into than you'll know what to do with!

  

  While consoles such as the sadly-undersold Dreamcast teased gently around the potential for global gameplay, it was arguably Microsoft who broke new ground for console gaming with the launch of the Xbox LIVE service, putting a whole new world of gaming at player's feet - and long before PCs became a breeze to hook up for the living-room lounger!

  So while PC gaming might have dominated the early days of competitive multiplayer, it was titles like Halo 2 that brought the idea of mass gaming to the forefront of game design. While the single-player components of the Halo games continue to blow us away, the passion for Halo 2 was so extreme that players left their Xbox 360s running for days at a time to prevent the eventual switch-off of multiplayer support for all original Xbox games in April 2010.

  

  These days it's show-stopping blockbuster titles like Call of Duty that continue to change the way gaming is viewed and played online by the console crowd. For many, it's the only game they need to buy each year, and services like Call of Duty Elite are doing even more to add greater depth to the experience, allowing gamers to track, log and show off their finest moments on the battlefield.

  

  No-one can guess what the next evolution in multiplayer might be, but we're already seeing some extraordinary innovation in the likes of Nintendo's StreetPass, allowing gamers-on-the-go to make new friends without ever saying hello, and the awesome potential of the augmented reality features in the upcoming PlayStation Vita. One thing's clear, multiplayer is here to stay and the future can only bring us even closer together.

  Published: 25/01/2012

• New Year Revolutions: The games of 2012 that we want to play now

  
  

  New Year Revolutions: The games of 2012 that we want to play now

  Towards the end of last year, we saw veritable avalanche of amazing games roll over us, leaving us swamped but happy with top-notch titles such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Batman: Arkham City, Skyrim, Super Mario Land 3D, Assassin's Creed Revelations, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Saints Row The Third and, oh, you get the idea.

  Surely that's more than enough new games to leave even the greediest gamer feeling stuffed and satisfied? Well, yes, but don't pretend you can't hear that little voice whispering in the back of your mind. What's next? it says.

  Here's the answer: our guide to the big games of 2012 that we can't wait to play.

  

  GTA V

  The genre-busting open-world crime caper makes its long-awaited return, with an all-new tale set in the pseudo-L.A. of Los Santos. Details are limited to one cryptic trailer, but where Rockstar is concerned it's safe to set expectations high.

  
  

  

  Mass Effect 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

  Bioware brings its grand space opera to a cataclysmic finale, as the world-devouring Reapers declare open war on Earth. The game adds optional multiplayer modes, as well as Kinect voice features for Xbox 360.

  
  

  

  Halo 4 (Xbox 360)

  Who seriously thought that Halo 3 would be the last we saw of Master Chief? He's back for the start of a brand new trilogy, which will find the Spartan super soldier confronting his own destiny as well as an ancient evil poised to destroy the universe. No pressure then.

  
  

  

  Bioshock Infinite (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

  Swapping the bottom of the ocean for the top of the world, this continuation of the smartest sci-fi shooter in recent memory casts you as a Pinkerton agent in 1912, trying to escape a dystopian city in the clouds. Expect gorgeous views and gruelling terror in equal measure.

  
  

  

  Borderlands 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

  Return to Pandora for another round of co-operative role-playing mayhem. The game promises more dynamic quests which will alter the path of the story, as well as smarter enemies and more independent non-player characters. Bring it.

  
  

  

  Hitman: Absolution (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

  It's been five years since Agent 47 last graced our joypads in Blood Money, and his latest adventure will take full advantage of the updates in technology since. Expect to be able to set up more elaborate assassinations, as well some form of multiplayer.

  
  

  

  Max Payne 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

  Rockstar's other big game for 2012 finds the dual-wielding anti-hero cop disgraced and working as a bodyguard in Brazil. Of course, it all kicks off when the family he's guarding are targeted by gangsters, and slow-motion shooty-diving is the only way to settle the score.

  
  

  

  Tomb Raider (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

  After drifting out of the spotlight, the first lady of gaming returns with this series reboot which follows a more vulnerable teenage Lara Croft, as she grows into the confident adventurer we all know and love.

  
  

  

  PlayStation Vita

  Sony's incredibly powerful handheld drops in February, bringing next-gen muscle to the portable gaming market. With 3G and Wifi-enabled models available - and boasting exclusive Uncharted, Wipeout and Call of Duty games - it's the console to watch in 2012.

  Published: 19/01/2012

• Halo: Forward Unto Dawn web series launches

  Fans who literally can't wait any longer for fresh Halo 4 goodness have reason to be cheerful today. Forward Unto Dawn, the live action web series that leads into the plot of Halo 4, has gone live over on the official Halo Waypoint website.

  It tells the story of a group of young recruits at the UNSC training facility, all of whom are struggling to live up to their senior officer parents. There's a bull-headed jock, a love interest and our hero, Lasky, whose hot-headed ways suggest that at least one DVD copy of Top Gun has somehow survived the Covenant assault on Earth.

  This first episode isn't particularly action packed, serving more as an introduction to the characters, but there is a real working Warthog vehicle to coo over, and the promise of Master Chief himself putting in an appearance in the future. The video runs twenty minutes, and is the first of five. Splice them all together and you'll have that Halo movie you're still dreaming of.

  It also marks the official start of the countdown to Halo 4's launch. The four remaining weekly instalments will take us right up to November 6th, when Halo 4 finally hits the shops.

  Published: 05/10/2012

• Master Chief will be keeping his helmet on for Halo 4

  343 Industries, the Microsoft studio which has inherited the Halo series from creator Bungie, has revealed it won't be making iconic hero Master Chief remove his helmet any time soon. Despite being the figurehead of the most popular Xbox franchise, the legendary Spartan soldier has never shown his face - and probably never will.

  He's come close a few times though. In the very first game, Halo: Combat Evolved, the camera pans away coyly as Master Chief removes his helmet. In Fall of Reach, the spin-off prequel novel, we learn that he's almost albino white, with pale blue eyes and reddish hair.

  "It's funny we don't then show his face," Halo franchise boss Frank O'Connor explained to Eurogamer when quizzed about a possible reveal for Master Chief's mug in Halo 4. "But that's a device to keep the player invested in the character and keep the player from constantly being reminded that they're not a hero or that they have to be a boy or they have to be a girl, or whatever that is."

  While they won't show his face, it sounds like there's a chance that 343 might kill Master Chief, with O'Connor saying the long-term future of the character is "a conversation I can't get into". He goes on to suggest that previous games were "scared" to take Halo's story into difficult areas, but that with Microsoft's blessing, the developers have been freed up to tell stories "that are not comfortable and that are meaningful and that are permanent".

  What can it all mean? We'll find out on November 6th when Halo 4 strides into action for Xbox 360.

  Published: 08/10/2012

• New Halo 4 trailer produced by Fight Club director David Fincher

  Microsoft clearly isn't pinching the pennies when it comes to promoting the return of Master Chief in Halo 4 next month. It's hired critically acclaimed Hollywood director David Fincher, best known for Fight Club and most recently Oscar-nominated for the Facebook flick The Social Network, to produce a live action and CGI hybrid trailer for the game.

  Fincher will oversee the production, handing directorial duties over to Tim Miller, a special effects man with experience on the X-Men series amongst others. The pair have prior form together, as Miller created the remarkable opening credits for Fincher's remake of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo last year.

  The trailer goes by the title Scanned, and was filmed in Prague. It sheds light on Master Chief's history and reveals more about the Forerunners, the ancient aliens whose technology drives the Halo franchise. The two-minute film is set to debut on US television on October 18th during Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

  "Halo is one of the most iconic sci-fi universes, with a depth that allows for amazingly cinematic and emotionally riveting stories," Miller has said. "The chance to tell a story that explores never-before-seen facets of Master Chief's journey is an honour. Our goal is to deliver a blockbuster, Hollywood-quality trailer that raises the bar for the award-winning legacy of live-action 'Halo' storytelling and gets fans stoked for the return of Master Chief."

  Halo 4 is released worldwide on November 6th, exclusively for Xbox 360.

  Published: 11/10/2012

• Halo 4 - Preview

  
  

  

  The last time a numbered entry in the Halo series was released, the whole world stopped. Well, certain parts of it did, anyway - New York's Times Square was taken over for a Microsoft-funded celebration, and in London Pharrel Williams headed up a party at BFI's IMAX cinema. When a new Halo launches, it's a big event.

  The launch of Halo 4 this November is likely to be similar, although it's going to be a very different proposition. Bungie, the developer that created the series and made every mainline entry since 2001, has left Halo behind, leaving the Master Chief in the hands of the newly formed studio 343 Industries. Will this be a very different Halo, then?

  Well, perhaps not - but that's not exactly a bad thing. 343's formed of veterans who are as in love with Halo's well-established formula as the millions of players on Xbox LIVE who've danced the Spartan's merry dance for countless hours. This is Halo as you likely know it - there's the same spongy movement and the same collection of weapons, both muscular and bizarre.

  

  Wake Me... When You Need Me

  It's the same, then, but it's oh-so-slightly different. The return of the hero Master Chief (ODST and Reach, the two games that preceded Halo 4, moved the spotlight to other, less iconic characters) is a momentous occasion in itself, and 343's seen fit to celebrate the moment with the finest looking Halo game yet. Indeed, it's probably the best looking game on the Xbox 360 to date, and given how the console's days are slowly ticking down it may be the best to ever grace it.

  The opening level - a homage of sorts to the beginning of the very first Halo game, if you can remember that far back - sees the Chief rudely awaken from the hyper-sleep he entered at the end of Halo 3, working his way through the destroyed innards of the hulking spaceship Forward Unto Dawn.

  Cool blue light rushes through the steel halls, occasionally lit by the most spectacular of explosions. Halo 4 feels more cinematic than its predecessors, and there's the creeping influence of Call of Duty in some of the first-person moments where control's wrestled away from you in a dimly interactive cut-scene.

  Starting The Fight All Over Again

  That's not to say that the free-form combat that's defined Halo - and that's made it such an incredible success - isn't there. It returns for Halo 4, and it returns in some style. The Covenant, Master Chief's arch-rivals with which an uneasy truce was made in the last game proper, make a mysterious return, but it's the introduction of some new enemies that really steals the show.

  

  Prometheans are a new part of Halo's make-up, and they promise to be the trickiest, most challenging foes yet. They come in various shapes and sizes: there are Crawlers, small canine units that are easily disposed of. More troublesome are the Knights, the Promethean's answer to the Covenant Elites who possess the rather irritating ability to teleport across the stage. Knights are often flanked by Watchers, airborne units that can generate shields for their allies, and it's advisable to dispose of the Watchers first before clearing out the rest of the battlefield.

  Returning To The Ring

  It all makes for combat that's got a very different pace to earlier Halo games, and it results in a very different experience. Also helping distinguish Halo 4 is the new weaponry lent by the Prometheans - it's typically inventive, setting Halo further apart from more terrestrial shooters such as Call of Duty. Why spend your time online with a mere AK-47 when there's the option of using a plasma-spitting Promethean rifle?

  Five years on from Halo 3's release, though, and it's going to have its work cut out to oust the likes of Modern Warfare and Black Ops from the hearts and minds of the shooter faithful. Halo 4 looks like it's got what it takes to do just that - and come November 6, it looks like the world will stop once more for the Master Chief.

  Published: 12/10/2012

• Halo 4 War Games Pass Detailed and Priced

  As you'd expect for such an eagerly anticipated shooter with a long and illustrious multiplayer history, the upcoming Halo 4 will be beefed up well into 2013 with additional maps for online play.

  Three expansions are planned, bringing a total of nine new maps to the game. December will bring the Crimson Map Pack, containing maps called Wreckage, Harvest, and Shatter. The winter doldrums will be blasted away in February thanks to the Majestic Map Pack, which will add Landfall, Monolith, and Skyline to the roster. Finally the Castle Map Pack will hit way off in April 2013, with the Daybreak, Outcast, and Perdition maps.

  Signing up for the War Games Pass not only guarantees immediate access to these maps as soon as they launch, but at 2000 MS Points you'll save 15% on the individual price tags. You'll also get Scanner and Strider helmets for multiplayer customisation, and an exclusive Falcon emblem.

  Alternatively, you could pick up the limited edition Halo 4 Xbox 360 console bundle - that comes with the War Games Pass as standard.

  Halo 4 is out for Xbox 360 in just a few weeks, on November 6th.

  Published: 25/10/2012

• Halo 4 is the most expensive Microsoft game ever

  It's not unusual for major game releases to have hefty budgets, but it seems that Halo 4 might be about to break a few records in that area.

  Interviewed by Polygon, Microsoft Studios boss Phil Spencer described Halo as a "three billion dollar" brand. More than that, when asked if that made Halo 4 the most expensive title the publisher has produced, Spencer replied: "Absolutely. Nothing's even close."

  Halo 3 reportedly cost $60 million back in 2007, and that was one of the priciest games ever made. If Halo 4 has topped that figure, it'll be up there with the average Hollywood blockbuster in terms of budget. Not that Microsoft will be that worried about making a profit - Halo 3 comfortably made $300 million, and anticipation for Halo 4 is even higher.

  Halo 4 marks the debut of developer 343 Studios on the main Halo franchise - it also developed the Halo Anniversary Edition - and expectations are high. Thankfully, the early word from the gaming press is that it lives up to the hype.

  Halo 4 is out exclusively for Xbox 360 on November 6th.

  Published: 26/10/2012

• Halo 4 is "more emotional" says Cortana voice actor

  Jen Taylor, the actor who voices Cortana in the Halo games, has revealed that for Halo 4 the game's production methods differed from before - and that the story will benefit as a result. Speaking to NBC News in the US, she explained that for the first time her dialogue with Steve Downes, the voice of Master Chief, were recorded with both actors together in the studio, rather than separately.

  "It feels more authentic to work off of somebody," Taylor said, "Even the happy-go-lucky scenes and the wry scenes are more fun. Steve and I get along incredibly well. So it made it more emotional, more intense. Everything is more heightened because you are experiencing the journey with someone else."

  Halo 4's story also gave Taylor the chance to do some new things with Cortana, though it seems we'll have to play the game to find out exactly what she's referring to. "I was given very different work to do this time," she said. "The character is going through some big changes. She has quite a different journey in this game from what she's ever had."

  Intriguing, no? Halo 4 brings Master Chief back to the franchise for the first time in five years, after he ended Halo 3 by going into cryosleep and drifting off into space. Will his big comeback be worth the wait? We'll find out on November 6th when Halo 4 launches exclusively for Xbox 360.

  Published: 30/10/2012

• Halo 4 will tackle sexism in gaming, says 343 Industries

  Microsoft studio 343 Industries is taking a stand against sexist abuse in multiplayer gaming, with two of its senior female staff speaking out about the problem ahead of Halo 4's launch.

  "There are always going to be jerks out there," said the fantastically named Kiki Wolfkill, executive producer of the Halo 4, in an interview with Gamespot Australia. "If you give them a way to express that side of their personality without being seen, you're going to see this type of behaviour manifest itself."

  "I'd like to think most of our Xbox LIVE players don't support this kind of behaviour," added studio head Bonnie Ross. "Most people look at a franchise like Halo, and automatically assume it's run by a guy. People are surprised to learn that it's a woman who's running the Halo 4 show."

  "With Halo 4, we were very deliberate in thinking about who should be female and who should be male in the game," added Ross, "and if we came off stereotypical, we went back to question what we were doing and why."

  Halo 4 hits on November 6th, exclusively for Xbox 360.

  Published: 31/10/2012

• Review Roundup: Halo 4

  The long awaited return of Master Chief to the Xbox 360 is now less than a week away, and the first reviews are starting to come in. The good news is that the critical response has been overwhelmingly positive, with plenty of praise for the way 343 Studios has picked up the reins from series creator, Bungie.

  "Halo 4 is a masterstroke everyone can and should celebrate," reckons IGN, handing out a stonking 9.8/10 score. "Halo has been rebuilt," continues the review. "It has been redefined. And it has been reinvigorated. The Xbox's original king has returned to his rightful place on the throne."

  A full five stars have been awarded by Joystiq, with a review that highlights increased difficulty and greater variety as evidence that 343 has done more than just follow in Bungie's footsteps. "The game strives for more than competence, giving it a forceful march and a decadent show of strength," says the review. "Our doubt and questioning of Halo's continued existence has, in some small way, helped deliver one of the best games in the series and one of the finest shooters in years."

  Even the more serious end of the gaming press has come away impressed, with US website Polygon dishing out a 9.5 score and commenting on how the game uses new enemies, locations and gameplay ideas to bring back the element of surprise. "Halo 4 is most like the original Halo, where the novelty and wonder of exploring something really alien and different is a key factor," says the review. "That sense of awe, of discovery, has been light since the first game, and I didn't realize how much I missed it until I played Halo 4."

  Halo 4 is out on November 6th exclusively for Xbox 360.

  Published: 01/11/2012

• Festive Gaming Getaways

  
  

  Five games ideal for escaping the Christmas madness

  

  As you'll no doubt be aware if you've walked down the high street recently, Christmas is coming. The season of hearty cheer, peace and goodwill to all. Except it never really works out like that, does it? Christmas can also be a hellish scrum of last-minute present shopping, fraught family get-togethers and children driven to insanity by toxic levels of sugar and chocolate.

  But don't fret! As gamers we have the perfect escape route at our fingertips. Fire up your console or computer, wedge a chair under the door handle and lose yourself in a game immersive enough to blot out the Yuletide yahoos outside. Thankfully, this season's blockbuster crop offers plenty of games with the sort of long term gameplay and enduring appeal needed to keep you sane until January kicks the door in. Here's our pick of the top five festive gaming getaways.

  

  Assassin's Creed III

  Formats: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii U
  Out: Now (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360), November 24th (PC), November 30th (Wii U)

  It's hard to believe the Assassin's Creed series has only been around for five years but it's quickly grown into a gaming giant, in gameplay as well as sales. This year's trilogy-capping epic promises to the be the biggest yet, an open-world romp through the American War of Independence that also brings to a close the modern day story of history-hopping hero Desmond Miles and his battle to escape the clutches of the Templars. With a vibrant rural community to build and upgrade, not to mention the prospect of commanding your own frigate in naval battles, this is a game with far more to do than just hiding in haystacks and stabbing people. And once you polish off the single-player story, there's the fantastic multiplayer modes - now so large they demand their own disc. Whether you want to roam the forests or battle online, this is a game that will keep you busy well into 2013.

  

  Football Manager 2013

  Formats: PC, Mac
  Out: Now

  Sports Interactive's evergreen soccer simulation has long been the gaming getaway of choice for footy fans everywhere. With its deep, intricate systems and canny knack for capturing the highs and lows, ebbs and flows of the beautiful game, it not only offers months of brilliant gameplay but also creates a compelling alternate reality where your sofa-bound frustration at real-world performance can be transformed into a vindicating "this is how you should do it!" sandbox, as you kick out the manager whose decisions cause you so much anguish and see if you can do a better job. This year's edition is even more detailed, but also comes with the much-praised Classic Mode, stripping the game down to the absolute basics and letting you power through a season in a few days. Perfect for some special alone-time while you wait for that turkey to digest.

  

  Halo 4

  Format: Xbox 360
  Out: November 6th

  We haven't been starved of Halo games, what with Halo: Reach in 2010 and the remastered Halo: Anniversary Edition last year, but the encroaching dark winter nights just haven't been the same without Master Chief, last seen drifting off into deep space at the end of Halo 3 in 2007. Well, he's back, and bigger and better than ever. Halo 4 marks the start of a new story arc - the Reclaimer Trilogy - and it offers multiple ways to spend those awkward hours between opening presents and trudging to bed full of pudding and sweets. A robust single-player campaign is also playable in four-player co-op, and the new Spartan Ops offers even more co-operative goodness, offering regular downloadable spin-off missions in a TV box-set style. And, of course, there's the multiplayer - one of the most rewarding and balanced online games around, now perfected and polished to keep pace with modern multiplayer expectations. This won't just keep you playing over Christmas, it'll keep you playing until Halo 5.

  

  ZombiU

  Format: Wii U
  Out: November 30th

  There's something grimly ironic about the fact that Nintendo's latest console is launching with a gruelling survival horror game alongside the expected cheery and colourful fare. After so many years of the Wii being the default family gaming system, fiendish souls looking to clear the lounge will certainly appreciate the ominous tone and brutal violence that ZombiU offers. Set in London after an undead apocalypse, the game uses the Wii U's tablet controller as a handheld inventory and survival kit, your only lifeline against the shambling, flesh-eating horde. The sight of brain-chomping British bobbies outside Buckingham Palace will scare grandparents away nice and quickly, but gory-minded youngsters may prove harder to shake off. The game's unforgiving difficulty - which includes permanent character death and the need to return to the scene of your demise and battle your zombified body to retrieve your backpack - should send them scurrying for something less taxing, leaving you free to endure the end of the world in blissful peace and quiet.

  

  Call of Duty: Black Ops II

  Formats: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Wii U
  Out: November 13th (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC), November 30th (Wii U)

  November is Call of Duty month in the gaming calendar, and this year's offering isn't short of new ideas. The single-player campaign is split between flashback missions set in the 1980s, and stages set in the technologically advanced combat zones of 2025. In these futuristic sections, you'll undertake Strike Force missions which will impact the direction of the story. The horrific co-operative Zombies mode now has its own campaign and supports eight players rather than four. It's in multiplayer where COD has earned its stripes, however, and Black Ops II promises to shake up the enormously popular formula more than any previous game in the series. In come multi-team matches, pitting three or four forces against each other rather than the traditional two-sided battles. Combat classes have been made more fluid, allowing you to pick and choose the abilities and loadouts that suit your play style, while the scoring system has been tweaked to encourage more teamwork and objective-based success, rather than lone wolf soldiers and constant headshots. It's shaping up to be the pinnacle of an already enormously successful series, and if you're planning on sneaking away for a few hours of digital carnage on Christmas Day, you certainly won't be alone.

  Published: 02/11/2012

• Play Halo 4 and earn free Microsoft Points

  As if you needed any more reason to dive into Halo 4 this week, Microsoft has unveiled a scheme which rewards players with free Microsoft Points.

  Those wishing to take advantage of the offer must first enrol in the Xbox LIVE Rewards scheme. Once your Xbox LIVE account in signed up, just start playing Halo 4's multiplayer modes. Spend 35 hours online in the game and you'll get 100 MS Points. 70 hours earns you 300 points, while a whopping 140 hours will grant you 600 points. The offer runs to the end of November, and if you were planning to spend hours online anyway, you might as well get paid for it!

  You can also earn bonus points whenever you buy Halo themed content from the Xbox Marketplace. Spending 1500 MS Points on Halo goodies will earn you a 100 point refund, while spending 3000 MS Points will get you 200 points. Spend over 3000 points and clock up over 35 hours in the multiplayer and you'll get a generous 800 point rebate.

  Halo 4 is out now, exclusive to Xbox 360. If you haven't picked up your copy yet, what are you waiting for?

  Published: 07/11/2012

• Halo 4 - Review

  
  

  

  After a four-year hiatus, Microsoft's flagship series returns to our screens with Halo 4, the first entry to a new Halo trilogy, this time developed by newcomers 343 Industries. Despite Halo 3's thin claim to have 'finished the fight', Master Chief, our super-soldiering, world-savioring, helmet-wearing protagonist is once again called out of his stasis sleep to battle an alien threat, this time in the form of the Prometheans, a race of arcane insectoids and robot dogs.

  Master Chief - or John as he's known to his mum - may not have gained any weight while in cryogenic sleep, but he has undergone a number of changes that long-time fans of the series will immediately perceive. For one, he's a little heavier on his feet, 343 having added significant weight to his movement. You'll still be leaping over enemies' heads in long, arcing jumps, but this hero has never felt more like a marine when racing at full pelt into the battle's throng.

  Cortana Controversy

  At the start of the game Master Chief crash lands on the planet Requiem, a beautiful world of lush, green swamps, bronzed mountains and futuristic looking underground lava pits. As soon as he's gained his composure he's joined by a friendly ship, filled with marines also crash-landing on the planet who, over the course of the 8-hour campaign, go on to fight alongside him. While you're tasked with protecting these soldiers, saving these comrades isn't your only task.

  

  Cortana, Master Chief's ever-present AI companion is also dying - succumbing to a form of computer disease known as Rampancy, which effects all AIs after seven years of service. It's this task that proves the strongest motivation to continue the fight as you race through the world in search of a way to save Cortana, the human voice that has guided your footsteps for all these years.

  343 has played it safe by basing many of its new levels on familiar stages from past games, and the routine tasks can be somewhat tiresome - especially when you're tasked with destroying three generators for the fourth time in a row. But the diversity of environments makes up for the lack of invention in the mission tasks, pulling you along when the story fails to.

  Playing To Spec

  Indeed, Halo 4 is a beautiful game, perhaps the best looking on Xbox 360, 343 Industries squeezing every last drop of potential from the system's aging silicon. But it's in the hands that the game dazzles, even if its basic systems are familiar from previous games, gently tweaked and adjusted, but never fully overhauled. As ever you have just two weapons to choose from at any one time. Come across a new sidearm and you'll need to discard one of your current pieces. This forces tactical decisions as you choose what to take and what to leave behind. A huge array of weapons makes these choices particularly difficult, the Prometheans' new, exciting weapons joining the cast of familiar battle rifles, shotguns, Needlers and rocket launchers to provide a range of tactical options.

  Outside of the main campaign - which can be played with up to three other friends - 343 has created a number of Spartan Ops missions, 15 minute-long co-op tasks for four players to complete together. These expand the story of the Halo universe and, while there are only five of these included at launch, each week new missions will be made available for players to download for free.

  

  Friends In High Places

  Once the single-player content has been exhausted it falls to Halo's famous multiplayer battles to provide longevity. A smaller number of game types is made up for by a greater flexibility in your load-outs (your choice of guns, perks and armour options). A somewhat awkward leveling system awards you with currency with which to purchase new guns and load-out options - and this imbalances the game in the early stages (as those who have played for the longest generally have the best gear). But at the upper end of the spectrum everything is finely-balanced, as Microsoft hopes Halo 4 can become a serious e-Sports title.

  Halo 4 is a familiar game. It has next to no invention in its pixels, merely improvements and upgrades to existing ideas. But as these ideas have been proven time and time again, what remains is a robust, enjoyable playpen for shooting aliens, one built upon solid foundations, and proving that 343 has the chops to carry Master Chief forward into the future.

  GAME's Verdict

  The Good:

  • Focused, balanced multiplayer
  • Sumptuous visuals
  • Master Chief's improved 'feel'

  The Bad:

  • Level editor can be difficult to get into
  • Story takes a while to gather momentum
  • Dearth of secrets

  Published: 08/11/2012

• New free-for-all multiplayer playlist added to Halo 4

  You might have thought that Halo 4 was a fairly generous package, what with its blockbuster solo or co-op campaign, varied competitive modes, Forge map editor and ongoing Spartan Ops side missions. Well, developer 343 Studios clearly feels it hasn't been generous enough, as it's adding some new modes to the multiplayer suite.

  Nestled under the umbrella of a Free-For-All Throwback playlist, the new modes offer solo versions of Oddball and King of the Hill matches. Designed for team play, these modes have been tweaked to test the skills of players who think they can win by themselves.

  The maps used for Throwback are Haven, Abandon, Adrift, Complex and Solace. Each match will last for 12 minutes, with room for eight players. You'll need to score 100 points to win Oddball and 50 to claim victory in King of the Hill.

  Jessica Shea, overseer of the Halo Waypoint service, threw down the gauntlet on the official blog. "If you've been dominating these modes with teammates," she said, "see how the game changes when it's every Spartan for themselves."

  Halo 4 is out now for Xbox 360.
  

  Published: 23/11/2012

• Bungie's Destiny revealed

  Bungie, the developer which created the Halo series, has been hard at work on a top secret new project ever since handing Master Chief it over to 343 Industries for Halo 4. All that's been known is that the new game will introduce a rich new universe, it will be published by Activision and, unlike the Xbox exclusive Halo games, will be multi-platform.

  More details have now emerged, thanks to a carelessly distributed document from an advertising agency, prompting Bungie to 'fess up.

  Destiny is the title of the game, and it takes place in the "Last City on Earth" 700 years into the future. The solar system is apparently littered with remants of humanity's golden age, which rather suggests our best days are behind us. Into this grim scenario comes a gigantic alien ship called The Traveller from "the edge of the universe" which lays claim to Earth. Players will take the role of "knights" defending our planet. There's no word on what genre the game will fall into but it has been designed to be a "social experience".

  "Destiny is designed for your inner seven year old," says a quote from Bungie co-founder Jason Jones. "We want to make it feel like a mythic adventure." Comparisons are made to Star Wars, and that's confirmed by the first screenshot that Bungie released off the back of the leak. It shows a snowy wasteland with armoured soldiers wearing fearsome helmets and rough brown cloaks.

  "Go ahead. Take a peek," read the tongue-in-cheek post on Bungie's website after the info escaped into the wild. "It's alright. We weren't quite ready, but we will be soon, and we can't wait to finally show you what we've really been up to. Stick around, we haven't even started yet."

  Destiny, if that is indeed what the game ends up being called, is a long way off. Halo 4, of course, is out right now for Xbox 360.
  

  Published: 29/11/2012

• The Best of 2012: Xbox 360

  
  

  And so another year gallops to a close, thundering through the ribbon into January on a wave of good cheer and over-eating. And what a cracker of a year it's been for gaming, with all the major platforms delivering some absolutely stonking exclusives along with some truly spectacular blockbusters spread across all formats, like warm butter on the crumpet you're hopefully eating right now to ward off the December chills.

  

  For Xbox 360 owners, it's been the year in which Master Chief finally returned to the gaming stage. Absent for five years - an eternity in games terms - his triumphant return in Halo 4 not only kickstarted the new Reclaimer Trilogy, but also introduced new developer 343 Studios to the series. 343 immediately put its stamp on Bungie's universe, crafting a game with sumptuous visuals and a distinctly personal spin on storytelling, as Chief battles not just to save the galaxy, but his AI companion Cortana, whose code is deteriorating. Add in an exhaustive suite of multiplayer modes, a full co-op campaign, and the ongoing Spartan Ops bonus missions and you've got one of the best games of the series, and of this year.

  

  Halo wasn't the only Microsoft legend getting a makeover in 2012. Forza Horizon took the imposing racing simulation and gave it a funky mainstream twist, combining developer Turn 10's impeccable vehicle physics with an open world underground racing vibe. Everything from drift racing to hardcore rallying is covered as you roar around a virtual Colorado racing festival, looking for events and opportunities to show off your talent behind the wheel.

  

  The wonderful land of Albion also showed off a new perspective in Fable: The Journey. This Kinect-fuelled spin-off from the superb RPG series puts you right into the action as a young boy, separated from his tribe and forced to travel across this magical land alone as dark forces gather against him. Using precision motion control, you steer your wagon, fire off spells and even look after your loyal horse. It's an unusual game, offering an experience far removed from the other Fable titles, yet it's also one of the best Kinect games. Immersive and packed with genuine challenge, it's a good sign that motion gaming doesn't have to just mean simple mini-games for little kids.

  

  Definitely not suitable for little kids was The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Previously a well-deserved smash hit on the PC, the game crossed over to consoles exclusively for Xbox 360. This was no mere half-hearted port either. Czech developer CD Projekt went out of its way to recreate the game specifically for a console audience, adding four hours of fresh questing content, as well as new cinematics. The result was one of the best role-playing games, not just of 2012, but of all time. A thorny, challenging adventure set in a bawdy, complex world torn apart by racism, political strife and class war.

  

  On the digital frontline, the Xbox continued to thrill. World conquering epic Minecraft came to consoles just for the 360, allowing a whole new audience to experience the genius of Mojang's communal block bashing and building. No surprise that it quickly became one of the most popular online games, challenging even the heavyweight shooters. Indie hit Fez got critics hot under the collar too with its mind-bending puzzle platforming action, and knockabout motocross romp Trials Evolution offered gamers the chance to punish their ragdoll rider in the year's biggest highs and most hilarious fails.

  

  Xbox owners weren't left out when it came to multi-format releases either. The brilliant Borderlands 2, with its lunatic mix of co-op action and loot-swapping mayhem, is what your Xbox LIVE Friends List was invented for, while the online action of hits such as FIFA 13 and Need for Speed: Most Wanted made the most of Microsoft's ever-evolving digital community. Even the biggest game of the year had something extra special for Xbox players, as Activision announced that all the DLC maps for Call of Duty: Black Ops II will be exclusive to Xbox 360 for a limited time.

  And that's just this year. Where will Xbox be in another twelve months? Will there be a new console to save up for? How long will we have to wait for Halo 5? And what will developers do next with the controller-free Kinect? One thing's for sure, it's going to be an amazing ride finding out.

  Published: 13/12/2012

• Google reveals the top ten most searched games of 2012

  
  

  It's not the most sexy chart in the world, but Google's ranking of which games attracted the most searches in 2012 is an interesting illustration of which games captured the world's imagination.

  Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is inevitably among the top ten, as are fellow blockbuster behemoths Assassin's Creed 3 and Halo 4. Developer Gearbox will be pleased to see that its fledgling franchise has also officially earned a seat at the big boy table - Borderlands 2 is right up there with the juggernaut brands.

  The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim makes the list, despite coming out in 2011, while GTA V also warrants a spot even though it won't be out until next Spring. And while grown up players may not have noticed, the presence of Skylanders in the top searches only goes to show just how insanely popular Activision's toy-based action series is with kids.

  It's Electronic Arts that has most reason to celebrate however. Not only is FIFA the only sports game to make the grade, but it manages to take two spots on the list - one for FIFA 12 and one for this year's follow-up, FIFA 13.

  As charts go, it's a pretty good indication of where gaming is as 2013 dawns. Certainly, these are all fantastic titles that deserve the attention. But are they the games that were driving your fingers to search engines this year?
  

  Published: 19/12/2012

• 343 Studios already promising to make Halo 5 even better

  Halo 4 only came out just before Christmas, to the delight of fans and critics everywhere, but Frank O'Connor, the Microsoft man in charge of the franchise, is already talking up the next game in the series - and promising that it will be even better.

  "Halo 4 is the best and fastest-selling Halo game in the series," he posted on Halo Waypoint. "It won critical acclaim. It won awards, from Best Graphics at the VGAs to Game of the Year at the Inside Gaming Awards. We altered the engine. We expanded the universe. We innovated in storytelling, technology, and even marketing. It wasn't flawless by any stretch of the imagination, but by most objective criteria, it was a resounding success. So we know we have a lot to do. And we know we have a lot to learn. But we also know that we now have the capacity, the teamwork, the technology and the experience to do much better next time."

  In talking about 343 Studios, the developer which inherited Master Chief from his creators at Bungie, O'Connor even let slip the strongest hint yet that Halo will be appearing on the next Xbox, describing the Halo development team as "a collection of talent and souls that can do something genuinely amazing on this and next-generation hardware".

  Halo 4 is out now for Xbox 360.

  Published: 10/01/2013

• Halo 4, Uncharted among the picks for Writers Guild of America award

  They may not have the highest profile in the games industry, but the annual awards handed out by the Writers Guild of America still carries a lot of weight. That's because the WGA is union that represents scriptwriters across all media, including movies and television.

  That comes with its own restrictions though. To be nominated, a writer must be a WGA member which counts out a lot of videogame scripters who have only ever worked in games. Similarly, the publisher must officially put their game forward for an award, meaning many games aren't even considered.

  The 2013 line up for the Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing award is still pretty good time capsule of where big blockbuster gaming is getting words right though. Halo 4 and Assassin's Creed III are both up for the prize, as is the PlayStation Vita exclusive spin-off Assassin's Creed Liberation. The PS Vita gets another nod in the shape of Uncharted: Golden Abyss, which continued the spritely storytelling of the main series in fine style.

  Also up for the award are 007 Legends, for which GoldenEye screenwriter Bruce Feirstein combined multiple Bond movie storylines into one game, and Disney Epic Mickey 2, which had a story helmed by comics scribe Marv Wolfman.

  The WGA ceremony takes place on February 17th.
  

  Published: 17/01/2013

• SONY's Journey dominates DICE Awards

  Journey, the stunning ambient explore-em-up from designer Jenova Chen, swept the board at the annual DICE Awards. Voted for by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, the awards are the closest thing the games industry has to the Oscars, although the ceremony inevitably involves less dance numbers.

  Already a favourite with critics and a top selling game on SONY's PlayStation Network, Journey took home eight awards, including the big three: Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction and Outstanding Innovation in Gaming.

  No other game came close to Journey's haul, but several games came away with multiple awards. The brutally brilliant XCOM: Enemy Unknown took home prizes for best strategy/simulation game as well as Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering. Microsoft's Halo 4 also took home two gongs, for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering and Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity.

  Topping off a 2012 that was stuffed with superb titles across all genres, the exuberant Borderlands 2 was crowned Action Game of the Year, while Need for Speed: Most Wanted took the prize for best racing game and Mass Effect 3 was dubbed best role-playing game. Skylanders Giants beat Lego Batman 2 and Nintendo Land for Family Game of the Year, while PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale provided an upset in the fighting game category, as SONY's character crossover mash-up beat such genre mainstays as Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Street Fighter X Tekken.

  Telltale Games' gruelling episodic adventure series The Walking Dead, based on the hit comic, also won big. It was awarded Adventure Game of the Year, and also took home honours for story and voice acting.

  Published: 08/02/2013

• Video game board games on the way

  Board game company USAopoly has reached out across the digital divide and will be bringing some of our fave video game properties to the world of dice and plastic pieces.

  Among the upcoming titles are Trivial Pursuit: World of Warcraft, Monopoly: Skylanders and Risk: Plants vs Zombies. The most promising of the bunch would seem to be a "Galaxy at War Edition." of Risk: Mass Effect. For old school retroheads, there'll also be Yahtzee: Pac-Man and Jenga Space Invaders.

  This isn't the first time USAopoly has dipped into the digital realm for variations on beloved games. You can already get Risk: Halo and Risk: Starcraft, not to mention Monopoly: Sonic the Hedgehog. The new games will be launched in America later this year before hopefully making their way around the world.

  What do you think? Would you switch off your console to play Mass Effect around the kitchen table?

  Published: 12/02/2013

• Halo movie could still happen, says director

  Hollywood has been trying to make a Halo movie for the best part of a decade, but the most recent effort - with Peter Jackson producing and District 9 director Neil Blomkamp at the helm - fell apart in 2007.

  At the time, Blomkamp ruled out a return to the project if it got off the ground. "I worked on it for five months... I put a lot of sort of sweat and blood into Halo," he told Slashfilm. "Creatively, it’s very compelling. I love it. But, when you work that long on something and you have it bottom out and collapse...I love the world of Halo. I don’t think I would go back there."

  It seems the passage of years may have changed his mind, however. "I still really love the world and the universe and the mythology of Halo," Blomkamp has told IGN. "If I was given control, I would really like to do that film."

  He's clearly not kidding about his love for the franchise. As well as directing live action promotional films for Halo 3 back in 2007, his new movie - the Matt Damon-starring sci-fi adventure Elysium - takes place on a giant space ring that looks very familiar.

  Will a Halo movie ever get in front of cameras? Microsoft certainly wants it to happen, and the project is not without high profile supporters. Steven Spielberg, no less, has expressed interest in helping to make it a reality.

  For now, we've always got the games. Halo 4, was released last year for Xbox 360, recently received its third and final multiplayer DLC update in the shape of the Castle Map Pack. It's really very good.

  Published: 11/04/2013

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