Halo 4 Preview Part 1 - The Campaign

This is 343 studios first true game in the Halo universe. The anniversary edition of Halo Combat Evolved was handled by the fledgling studio but it would have been hard to mess that game up. In fact 343 could have released the original Halo game on an XBOX 360 disc wiht no improvements to it and it would have still been loved by all halo fans. So here is 343 studios first important foray into the halo universe and there are already two planned sequels to this game. When Halo 3 released in September 2007 it was arguably the most important franchise on any console but that was before a handful of competing games saw break out success, it was before the first Call of Duty Modern Warfare, before Resident Evil 5 came to the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, and before the first Assassin’s creed. It was so long ago that you hadn’t even started pretending you could sing and play the drums in Rock Band. The landscape has changed and Bungie has moved onto its next IP.  The start of this new triology is a pivotal moment for Halo .

 Halo 4 picks up after the events of Halo 3, which may seem like it doesn't need to be said except for the fact that Halo ODST was released after Halo 3, a game the chronologically takes place during the events of Halo 2, Halo Wars released, the Halo Real Time Strategy game which chronologically takes place before all the other games, and Halo Reach has been out for two years and Reach takes place before any of the other shooters in the franchise.  So while it makes sense from the idea that the number 3 follows 4 it’s worth mentioning that a slew of other Halo games have come out none of them have featured the Master Chief as the protagonist.

We last saw the Chief urgently trying to get off of a Halo ring that was set to blow up and destroy the Ark – A repair and command station for all 7 of the Halo rings (if you’re honoring Bungie Studios persistent love of the Number 7 with a drinking game you can take a swig now). The Chief and his pal the Arbiter make it into a ship however the Arbiter makes it back alive while the back end of the ship containing the Master Chief is cut off by the ensuing explosion, that explosion saved all sentient life in the galaxy from the Flood.  Last we knew the Master Chief was in cryo-sleep floating towards a strange forerunner planet and Cortana was keeping an eye out for him.

Between Halo 3 and Halo 4

The end of Halo 3 was also the end of the end of the covenant-human war but that does mean all the fighting between these two groups is done. The truce between the Covenant and Humans has been shaky, the start of the game will certainly have to touch on this issue but the key location for a more in depth back story can be found in the Halo books Grasslands and the Thursday War. Part of these new rumblings of war will likely be part of the reason the UNSC Infinity is crusing around the galazy

What's Known So Far

One of the largest UNSC warships, the UNSC Infinity is captained by Andrew Del Rio whose likely to become a key character in this new trilogy. The ship is crewed by the best of the UNSC fleet and this includes a number of Spartan IVs on board. So far all we know is that this ship is crash landing on Requiem. 

The Master Chief is awake again and it looks like the first thing he'll have to do is fight is way out of the distressed ship Forward Unto Dawn and make his way onto Requim. Cortana is with him but it appears she's going Rampant. Rampancy has been on the horizon for Contana for sometime. In the Halo universe AIs have about a 7 year life span (more love for the perfect number) and Cortana is about 8 years old.  We've seen a number of allusions to Cortanas Rampancy.

It's almost a little surprising that it hasn't happened in the series yet, Bungie even considered having Cortana become engorged with information in Halo CE and becoming Rampant at that early time in the series. Take a look at the video "Origins" to see more of Cortanas Rampacy begin as well as some backstory into the Forerunners. 

The forerunners are central to this new story and the real enemies to fear are no longer the shielded elites but the Prometheans. Not much is know about these Forerunner entities, the Prometheans were a warrior class of forerunner but these menacing creatures don't appear to be truly alive and don't seem to be robotic. What we do know is they're will be plenty of them to fight as the Master Chief learns more about this forerunner planet. 

What To Be Excited For

The New Story

Halo 2 and Halo 3 struggled with the story. Halo 2 opened up a new side of the story by making the Arbiter a key character, in doing so they placed a lot of the story on the covenant. Halo 2 muddled through revealing there are 7 halo rings (no surprise that there are 7 of them) and then came close to unleashing their death ray on the galaxy. After all that everyone was left with a rather dissatisfying cliff hanger. Halo 3 got it right by putting the story back on the shoulders of the humans and Master Chief but then it had a number of odd twists and a strange little love story between Cortana and the Chief. Halo 3 was able to finish off the war and come to a conclusion but both of the games seemed to try and get so much of the Halo Universe in that all of it was a little unpolished. One of the big keys to Halo CE was that all of the game took place on or near a Halo ring. The locations in Halo 2 covered a brief stint in an orbital defense gun around Earth, a city on Earth, a new Halo ring, an orbiting gas mining center, and the covenant capitol ship, all the while bouncing back between the Arbiter and the Master Chief.  Ignoring the head turning pace of locations, which was still a lot of fun at times, both games struggled to tell a well put together story, as often happens the first story in a trilogy stands well alone and the second two try so hard to be as engaging that they drown in their own narrative. Bungie struggled with the campaign in Halo 2 and while they did their best it was hard to pick up the pieces and finish the fight. 

All of those problems are what makes this trilogy and Halo 4 so exciting. Halo is the same engaging shooter with so many of the characters fans love and is set for a new story that has been penned as a trilogy from the start. On top of that they've dug out some deeper parts of the Halo story and started to weave them into the shooter. The one thing that has gone exceptionally well for Halo is the ever mysterious forerunner and discovery of the universe that they inhabited and controlled until the flood overran them, Halo 4 puts that story and the aftermath of that ancient Forerunner- Flood war center stage for the Spartan-117. 

 The Chief is Exposed

The Master Chief has always been an interesting character whit seemingly two sides. He's a fairly well fleshed out character in the books but the side that gets seen in the games isn't that deep. That's understandable for a character that always has a helmet on but that's all about to change (not all of it, he'll probably keep that helmet on). 

 "There's such a rich fiction around Chief that we get in the books and other media, but it hasn't traditionally come through in the game. So how do we take some of that and really pull back the curtain on Chief and his motivations? We want to look under the mask, without being disruptive to the game experience." 
           -Kiki Wolfkill Halo 4 Executive Producer

An Ancient Evil Awakens

We'll be doing a preview to try and cover all of the forerunner information and backstory, there is a lot and it's been almost non-existant in the games so far, but expect to see some of the Didact.   Most everything in the Halo games has been a war over forerunner technology and Halo 4 will be a clash with the forerunners on the largest forerunner structure that's been found, Requiem. 

Things to Look Out For

Linda and Dr. Halsey we're last seen together and Halsey is mentioned in a trailer. Halsey is the most important human knowledge base on forerunner technology and if something goes wrong with Cortana she's probably the only person who can fix it. Linda is the best Spartan II Sniper and while no one is holding their breath to see these characters in the game it would be interesting. 343 gave a nod to Linda with an Easter Egg in Halo anniversary. 

Master Chief vs the Everyone else

One thing that became pretty prominent in Halo is the Chief is teaming up with everyone he meets. He helps the gravemind for a while, he's working with the arbiter in Halo 3, and it's hard to find a level without guilty spark or another monitor tagging along with you. The moment in Halo 3 when the flood want to team up to stop the prophets from starting the great journey was likely the worst alliance ever formed in a video game campaign. Halo CE made you feel like a super soldier that was destroying the covenant and then the flood and then 343 with just you, your rifle, and Cortana. Halo 4 needs to get back to that formula. We're all for having a few marines that throw grenades at our feet on occasion but can we get back to feeling like only the MC can save the world from certain destruction?

 Other

The achievement list has been released

The soundtrack has been released

The game takes place in 2557, Cortana was put into service on November 7th 2549, John -117 was born in 2511 and is about 46 years old.  Not that we suspect any importance to Johns age in this series we just thought it was a fun fact. 

Immerse yourself in more back story of between Halo 3 and 4 

Read on to...

Halo 4 Preview Part 2 -  The UNSC

Splinter Cell Black List First Look

Some Fischer That I Used to Know

Michael Ironside will no longer be the voice of Sam Fisher, which is unfortunate for all those who remember him as the grave voice interrogating victims before silently killing them and leaving them in the shadows. That's not the only place you'll feel a little bit like this isn't the Sam Fischer you used to know.

Ubisofts is bringing back more of the system from Conviction that allowed you to build up your "Mark & Execute Bar" and then bring down an entire group of terrorists in one swift combo. Which is cool to feel like an unstoppable force but it takes away a great deal of the slow patient play that splinter cell did so well. Hopefully a little more of the stealth gameplay is brought back but Ubisoft is making it clear they think action is much more accessible to a mainstream crowd.

The story is picking up from the last game and from the looks of the trailer the President is apparently a key character working with Fischer. The trailer seems spot on in at times, what President hasn't met with a spy in  a well lit parking lot to tell him to do whatever they want to protect America? Just about every game has these nit picky moments in story line but the splinter cell universe looks like it's gotten a little stretched.

Splinter Cell was the ultimate stealth game but has slowly evolved into something of an action third person shooter with stealth elements. I don't remember anyone ever considering a trailer full of explosions the best way to highlight a stealth action game. It looks like it will still be fun but it's not the same game that you remember and it's not the same Sam Fischer that you love.

Assassin's Creed 3 Preview

Dual Wielding Tomahawks? I think I just might

It has been three years since the last numbered Assassin's Creed game. Since then we have had two expansions so to say with AC: Brotherhood and AC: Revelations. Each game added a small new element to the formula but in the end was very much the same as before. Assassin's Creed 3 looks to break the mold and rejuvenate the franchise sending it soaring to all time heights.

Exit Ezio Enter Connor

I may be in the minority here but I always preferred Ezio to Altair. His carefree attitude and witty banter made my time in the animus more enjoyable. However, after 3 games playing as Ezio I will admit that I was growing tired of playing with him. When it was announced that AC: Revelations would be Ezio's final game I was somewhat relieved. I was able to enjoy his swan song even more knowing it would be his last. Ezio's departure marks a big step in the Assassin's Creed franchise. Where do we go from here? Enter Connor Kenway.

Connor Kenway is the new character with which players will have control. He is the son of a British father and Mohawk mother. Early trouble with colonial forces shaped Connor into fighting for justice and against tyranny whenever present. His parentage may be touched upon in the story somehow as a quote of him saying the following has been released, "On this land, I am torn. Part of me wants to fight and repel all outsiders. The other part of me is the outsider." It's always hard introducing a new lead character after so long with the previous. The only concern I have is if Connor will be as engaging and interesting as Ezio. So far all signs point to yes. 

American Revolution: Interacting with George Washington!

The setting for this installment in the American Revolution. I can finally interact with the founding fathers and help shape the making of the United States of America. This can be summed up with only one word, awesome. This is a time period rarely tackled by game developers and it should be really interesting how Ubisoft tackles the challenge. Characters the Connor may run into include Ben Franklin, Paul Revere and of course the one and only George Washington. The Templar ties run deep and Connor will actually take on both Loyalists and Revolutionary forces. How Ubisoft weaves this into the events from history is intriguing. This also marks a different approach for Ubisoft as well as most times the games take place in cities. There are still cities to be explored but Connor will venture out into the surrounding wilderness quite often.

I Love Seasons Too Much...

Assassin's Creed has done a very good job of creating a world that seems alive and bustling. This new installment is taking that further. Along with its usual day/night cycle, AC:3 now has seasonal changes as well as random rain and fog generation. The summer will be as you expect. Green grass warm colors and leaves. The winter will affect game play dramatically. When trying to run in the deep snow Connor will be slowed as well as leave tracks. The setting will reflect the season change as the trees and vegetation has been thinned. These seasonal changes will be marked by which memory you are accessing at the time but the rain/fog generation will be random and you may encounter it in one spot in a play through and not in the next.

Enemies Meet My Tomahawks...Both of Them

The combat for this game is being overhauled dramatically for this game. In the previous games moat fights included holding the block button, waiting for the enemy to attack and then proceeding to counter-attack for the kill. In this game Ubisoft wants to put you on the offensive. Connor should feel dangerous and aggressive, almost like a predator. It is much harder to block and counter. Speed and momentum also play a large role in the combat mechanics. Enemies will react differently if Connor is attacking swiftly and using momentum on his side. Over a thousand animations have been added to this game and very few were carried over from the previous game.

With the new combat also comes new weapons and the ability to dual wield. Often times I would think to myself how cool it would be to have a dagger and sword equipped together in previous games, well Ubisoft is giving me that chance. Connor can equip a large combination of weapons. New to this game are the bow and arrow and tomahawks and trusty old weapons return as well including the dual hidden blades an assassin's best friend.

Animals Beware

The economy system is being updated for the game as well. When I first heard this I thought why change and fix something that isn't broken. To my surprise this system looks better then ever. Connor now has the ability to hunt the animals of the frontier and sell their pelts. The quality for which they are killed affects the amount earned from the resources. This adds a new layer to exploration. Before it was exploring for the sake of exploring. With the ability to hunt there is a method to the madness. Stalking animals could open up a new area you haven't been to just by straying after a deer. It's a very interesting mechanic and could prove to be excellent. A new property system is being implemented as well.

I'm On a Boat

One of the biggest changes in the game is the addition of ship to ship combat. Connor will take control of a ship and proceed to take part in naval combat. This is a huge difference from previous installment and an interesting risk. The tower defense game in AC:Revelations was far from fun and kind of a nuisance. With this however Ubisoft is looking to craft a fun departure from the norm and so far so good. The missions shown have been pretty simple hunt and kill targets. Its the method for which to accomplish this is different. You can fire at a distance with chains to slow the enemy ship down pepper it with cannon fire at mid-range and even shoot fire and smash straight through it. Connor can even board the enemy boat and dispatch foes. This is shaping up to by one of the best new additions in the game.

Prepare to Ram

Is it October Yet?

Ubisoft has made mention of the fact that they would like a yearly release of an Assassin title. This has put fear into many fans that the game could fall into the Call of Duty trap. That being the games become stale and very clone like lacking innovation and steps forward. However Ubisoft has taken great strides to prevent this from happening. The changes being made have Assassin's Creed 3 feeling fresh and injected life into a franchise that was possibly falling into the sequel trap. Assassin's Creed 3 is seeing large innovations that make it feel almost entirely new but at its heart AC:3 is still an Assassin's Creed game. That is a testament to the lengths Ubisoft has gone to make this the best in the series while still delivering a game we are familiar with. Just over a month away from release and October 30th can't come soon enough.