Halo: Reach Campaign Trailer DebutsPosted by Mitch on July 29th, 2010

Your resident Halo fanboy is back, this time with the campaign trailer for Bungie Studio’s upcoming Halo swan song, Halo: Reach. You can debate whether this game is actually the most anticipated title of 2010 (please don’t), but there’s no denying that the excitement for Reach is building to a fevered pitch. With Firefight 2.0, Forge World and a swath of player customization options, it looks like Bungie’s last Halo game will be very fine indeed. Check out the trailer below:

Very nice in my opinion, if a little reminiscent of Modern Warfare 2 in some parts. Like all of Bungie’s trailers, this stuff is all in engine, and damn if it doesn’t look sublime. What do you guys think? Any more excited, or are you like me, veritably bursting at the seams with apprehension?

Bungie Introduces Forge World for Halo: ReachPosted by Eddy on July 22nd, 2010

If you listened to the totally sweet new podcast, then you’ll know that we geeked out for awhile about mods and how awesome the gaming community is at creating cool new content for our most beloved games. While this mostly happens on PC, one of the primary examples of this done well on a console is the variety of custom content produced by Halo 3′s avid Forge community. Even years later, they are still pumping out cool new game types that are totally worth playing.

Which is why Bungie has kicked it up a notch for Halo: Reach with the introduction of Forge World. There’s not really a whole lot I can say about this other than implore you to watch. Because seriously, wow… I am so excited about the possibilities that the team at Bungie is creating for this. The fact that they are even shipping some maps built in Forge World to show what all it can do is sure to inspire.

Who else just got even more excited for Halo: Reach because of this video?

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?Posted by Eddy on July 22nd, 2010

Well, you’ve listened to us yap about what we’re playing on the podcast, so it’s time for you all to jump in with it, too.

Fortunately for me, we seem to be in a very brief gaming drought, while we wait for the fall releases to start dropping on us. I suppose this begins in September with Halo: Reach, so that gives me a good couple of months to catch up with some of the games on my backlog. These include Alpha Protocol, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Starcraft II (when it comes out), Dragon Age: Awakening, and even more Red Dead Redemption.

However, in the immediate future I will be playing both Alien Swarm and Alan Wake, two games that are polar opposites in terms of budget, scale and style, but both equally as engaging, I’m sure. While I haven’t officially started Alan Wake just yet, I watched my brother play about a quarter of the game a couple of weekends ago and I was mesmerized. In addition, Alien Swarm has commanded the last couple of nights, and I still can’t get over just how fun this free game is.

So what about you guys? What are you playing? Go!

Firefight Returns for Halo ReachPosted by Mitch on June 16th, 2010

While last year’s Halo 3: ODST divided a lot of people with its price point and the short length of the campaign, I think that we can mostly agree that Firefight, the four-person co-op survival mode, was pretty freaking awesome. Players would band together against ever increasing waves of Covenant troops, competing for points but using teamwork to stay alive. Since Firefight was so well received, fans have been hoping and wondering if Firefight was going to make a reappearance in Halo: Reach, Bungie’s final (?) foray into the Halo-verse. Well, wonder no more, Spartans! Firefight is back and better than ever. Check out the trailer:

Just watching that trailer makes me salivate a little bit, because the thought of Firefight with Reach’s refined mechanics is a delicious one indeed. Better yet, the mode will feature matchmaking this time around, which was a point of contention when it was excluded from ODST. What do you guys think? Who here got even more excited for Reach, and who’s had their opinions changed?

Microsoft E3 2010 Press Conference HighlightsPosted by Eddy on June 14th, 2010

The Microsoft E3 2010 press extravaganza has come and gone. Naturally, we’ve got lots of great news, videos and demos to talk about.

Here are the highlights, after the jump!

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Defend the House is Back With Halo: Reach BetabustersPosted by Mitch on May 4th, 2010

Well, we did warn you about the incoming slew of Reach related posts, but I think we can be forgiven for putting up the newest video by Defend the House, the dedicated group behind Halo 3 Mythbusters and Modern Warfare 2 Mythbusters. This time around they’ve turned their sights on the Halo Reach Beta, exposing a few things about the gameplay in the Beta that you might not have known about. Have a watch.

Pretty neat, don’t you think? Did you guys find out anything useful that you can apply to your gameplay? What do you think of the Beta so far? And where are my friend requests?

Today’s WTF: Bungie Joins Forces With Activision?Posted by Mitch on April 29th, 2010

If there ever was a sign of the coming apocalypse, I’m sure it would be notoriously evil publisher Activison-Blizzard snapping up Bungie Studios, creators of such renowned franchise as Halo, Marathon and Myth. Well, “snapping up” is technically incorrect, as Bungie has entered into a ten-year publishing agreement with Activision but are retaining their autonomy.

This is different from Infinity Ward’s situation, as they were a wholly owned subsidiary, so conspiracy theorists can lay that one to rest. The fact of the matter is that Bungie is an extremely strong studio, whereas Infinity Ward was a struggling start-up when they were taken over by Activision. Besides, Bungie retains control over any Intellectual Properties they develop under this agreement. While pressure from the publisher can lead to complications, chances are Bungie will invest all their man-power into this new game after they finish development of Halo: Reach.

After Bungie parted ways with Microsoft in 2007, they were contractually obligated to ship one more Halo game before pursuing other interests. This is a big coup for Activision, who just recently lost a lot of talented staff from Call of Duty development house Infinity Ward, and may stand to lose a lot more than that.

What do you guys think of this development? Eager to see what Bungie produces after Reach? Are you PS3 owners excited at the prospect of having Bungie develop for your console? Will the average consumer even notice a difference?

Source: Gamasutra

Everybody’s Played Halo: Reach But UsPosted by Eddy on April 21st, 2010

I seriously can’t tell you guys how much I’m anxiously awaiting the beta for Halo: Reach, hitting on May 3rd. When that glorious day rolls around, I’ll be a zombie, doing nothing but thinking, eating, and sleeping in a way that is pleasing to the Master Chief. I would consider it no great secret that something about Halo multiplayer hits a special sweet spot for my competitive gaming tastes, and I can’t wait to jump back into it. Honestly, it’s almost like Christmas for me.

Complete fanboy antics aside, an embargo finally lifted on the preview that lots of major gaming sites got to experience with the game. As a result, everybody and their mom that got to play Halo: Reach is finally able to write about it, shedding some light on the details about the game’s multiplayer and how it is going to feel in our nerdy clammy hands.

I think the most interesting write-up I read about the beta would be from Kotaku, who gave a great run down of some of the multiplayer features. The things I’ve read both excite and concern me. Right now, the pros are: class-based weapon and equipment load-outs, fall damage, no dual wielding. Cons: jetpacks for everyone that chooses the loadout and the new armor lock ability, which seems to combine trip mines, EMPs, and bubble shields into one.

Anyway, if you’re even mildly interested in the Reach beta, I’d highly recommend checking out some of the previews of the multiplayer that are dropping all over the net. So, how do you guys feel about Halo: Reach? Excited or meh? Go!

Source- Kotaku

GamerSushi Asks: More Likely?Posted by Eddy on March 26th, 2010

So it seems that everybody’s favorite features here are the ones where we all get to share a little more about our gaming preferences. Personally, I’m a big fan of the discussions that happen in these threads, and it’s one of my favorite parts about writing and participating here- seeing what you dudes think and being able to bounce stuff back and forth.

As such, we’ve come up with a new questionnaire of sorts: More Likely. Here, I ask all of us to put on our best fortune telling caps, and divine the future like some kind of Gamestradamus. We will make our predictions and only time will tell who the real winners are in this game. The way this works is simple: just answer which of these things you think is more likely. Feel free to go into as little or as much detail as to the reasons for your answer.

So without further ceremony, allow me to get the ball rolling…
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Halo Reach’s Matchmaking System Puts You in Your PlacePosted by Mitch on March 22nd, 2010

When you think of Halo, I bet the first though that comes to mind is the multiplayer. While the Halo games have always had a good campaign mode (personal interpretation, here), it’s the online chaos that have drawn people to the games, and Bungie’s up-coming Halo: Reach looks to improve on what has come before. In a recent sit-down with Shacknews, Bungie Studios gave an in-depth look at the ranking system for the sci-fi FPS.

A lot of changes have been made under the hood for Reach, and the plan is to make it more accessible than Halo 3′s system was. While the friend’s list in Halo 3 was obtuse at best, Reach’s new friends interface, called Active Roster, is being made to fix some of the problems inherit with the previous model. It’s omnipresent throughout all of Reach’s menus, and it provides you with real-time updates on all of your friends and what they’re currently doing in Reach. Part of the overhaul is the “queue” option, where you can wait to join your friends automatically once they leave their current game, instead of having to do the complicated rigmarole of repeated invites and lobby joining.
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