Seeing "The Avengers" tommorow ! Or "Avengers Assemble" in the UK in full hype train mode !

Guest : Conor Broughton : Halo 4 to buy or not to buy

So, this November another Halo game, and the start of a new Halo Trilogy, comes out- Halo 4.
If some of you don’t know what Halo is, then what have you been doing for the last 10 Years? Halo is one of the definitive science fiction game series of our time, created by Bungie in 2001 and bought by Microsoft to launch with their new Xbox console. Halo: Combat Evolved  was the first game, and arguably the best. It had a brilliant campaign and a New console-to-console gaming experience. This was the beginning of what we call today Xbox Live.
After the unpredicted success of Halo: CE, Halo 2 was released, Heralding a new Multiplayer Experience, which we see as the normal Multiplayer ‘Lobby’ system that everyone uses today. The campaign somewhat lacked, Bungie having to cut several levels out to get Halo 2 out in time. But who are we kidding? It was fucking awesome! You could be an Elite for Christ’s sake!
Another fantastic game by Bungie meant that another surely would come. And that was Halo 3. It was released in 2007, being one of the major games for Microsoft’s new console- the Xbox 360. Halo 3 was fantastic, truly, and even though it had a short campaign, in my opinion it was the best Halo there has ever been. The multiplayer was fantastic as was the new mode- Forge. Fun could be had forever with people making new maps and new custom modes, whilst Bungie’s weekly Double Exp playlists kept the Multiplayer fresh and exciting. Halo 3 was the longest lived Halo (The only Halo coming out in its life span being Halo 3: ODST, which came with a disk holding all the Halo 3 Multiplayer Maps). 2010 ended Halo 3’s reign and brought Halo Reach to the stage. Having a new Campaign with Spartan III’s (Master Chief, the main character of the Halo Trilogy, was a Spartan II) set before Halo Combat Evolved. It brought new things to Multiplayer and made Forge the best it could be. Yet somehow it felt lacking.

And one of the main reasons for that was that Bungie had announced that they would leave Halo, and send it away to 343 Industries- a new division in Microsoft dedicated to Halo. It was sad when Bungie said that Reach was their swansong to Halo, and that after 10 years it would be goodbye, like someone laying there most treasured pet to rest.
So 343 had a lot to live up to- and still do. They released Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary in 2011, which was a remake of Halo CE, but with updated graphics. You could switch between the new and old graphics too, in game. Probably the best thing though was that they brought a new map pack to Reach, in which the Original Halo CE Pistol made it back to the big time. Apart from that and the graphics (along with some new Easter eggs <wow>) there was no difference, and they still made you pay thirty quid for it. Robbing bastards.
So we come to Halo 4. As I said earlier, it is the start of a new trilogy of Halo games. 343 have already released that they will be changing many things, including the Master Chiefs armour, which now looks a lot more bulky and- in my opinion- better. They are also bringing a new enemy to the game, which many reckon will be the Precursors or Forerunners. This is because of a recent novel called Halo: Cryptum, in which much more about the unknown Forerunners where told. This includes that the Forerunners (who made the Halo’s) kill the Precursors, apart from one, which is a prisoner. It is quite possible that it could be an enemy or a main character (more likely the second) whilst the Forerunners will be the enemy. Along with this new hopefully compelling campaign (which looks like its adds a Crysis style movement/ cinematic part) there is a new Multiplayer, and two new modes called Spartan Op’s and Halo Infinity.
The new additions to multiplayer (and the game as a whole) include Graphical and Sound updates, and also returns the Battle Rifle! Also loadouts are being introduced, like Call of Duty, which allows different weapons and attachments, armour abilities and armour colours. One of the said Armour Abilities includes a Forerunner Technology Armour Ability which allows you to look through walls- Pretty awesome unless it’s too powerful.
Halo Infinity links into this, providing a back story to the Multiplayer experience. You take the role of a Spartan IV and are on a high-tech secret UNSC ship, The Infinity. It is thought that inside this High-Tech ship there are Augmented Reality machines, in which the Spartan IV’s train.
And last, but most certainly not least, there is Spartan Op’s. An online four player multiplayer Campaign which will provide different missions to ‘Keep the game fresh and playable’. It will be sort of like Battlefield 3’s Co-Op campaign, but 343 say that they will keep releasing one mission per week for months after the game is released. Ok, even if this game isn’t up to par that it bloody fantastic.

And that is the whole though, really. Will Halo 4 be up to par? Some think it is time for Halo to go out gracefully, while it is loved. As a die-hard Halo fan I would rather see it be put to sleep peacefully than be forced into retirement because people get bored with it.
Lets just say that 343 is in the middle of a trampoline jump. If Halo 4 is successful -and a fan pleaser- then 343 will hit the trampoline just right and get a huge boost for the rest of their games. If it fails, then they’ll fall off and it will be harder to get the rest of their games bought and liked. Let’s all hope that Halo 4 is good, and that 343 don’t suddenly decide to take the ‘COD’ route and release one game per year, because all they want to do is to sponge their customers dry.
We think more of you 343.

By Conor Broughton 

Why a franchise needs to die: My Issues with Halo 4 and Call of Duty 

 

Big-names make money, i understand that.  Super fans will buy practically anything, i understand that. But game developers and publishers need to understand that driving a franchise into the ground will do more harm than good. When Activision gets a successful franchise, they milk it literally to the death. They did it with Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk and they will do it to Call Of Duty. I'm sure at one point or another you've played or seen someone play a tony hawk game. But not anymore. What happened to it ? Skateboarding isnt anyless popular among the youth, tony hawk is still relativley famous. What happened was Activison being greedy parasites and destroyed the reputation of a good brand overnight by releasing a new game every year, with the quality dipping and the ideas getting more desperate with each consecutive outing. The same thing happened with Guitar Hero but was even more of an issue with Activision having to produce over expensive fake instruments with each outing leading to them wasting money every year with an audience that just wouldnt purchase the goods.

Activision is currently doing a repeat perfomance with Call Of Duty, by having two studios work on the games simultaniously so one can be forced out every fall. The games are still of good quality and have a massive following, there are some gamers out there who only buy a FIFA game and COD game every year. These people oblivious to the other excellent games are a bit of a tragedy but even they are feeling the burn of this corporate monopolisation with many fans saying the latest outing Modern Warfare 3 is the last they will buy. Even recent statistical analysts have said that recent MW3 sales dont match those set by the previous title Black Ops at the same time last year. Is this the beginning of the end ?

On the other side of the gaming spectrum we currently have Halo 4 being developed by a new microsoft owned company 343 industries instead of the previous developers Bungie who have moved onto newer greener pastures. 343 was built by Microsoft to be "That Halo company" , the guardians of the franchise and developers of any new games. The Sci-Fi franchise Halo has been described as this generations star wars, an epic science fiction shooter series with an expansive universe and mythology ripe for stories to be told. As Sci-Fi franchises go i have always prefered Bioware's Mass Effect series , mainly for a better universe, more interesting characters and deeper gameplay. But hey, its two different genres and its all up to opinion. Around the time of the original Mass Effects release i could happily say Halo was my favourite game series of all time, but more intelligent shooters like Bioshock and RPGs like Mass Effect stole that crown. And even then the Halo games from Halo 3 have been going  downhill in my opinon with Halo Reach being the last hurrah and second best only to the orignal. I'm still a Halo fan though so why aren't I jumping out of my seat to play as the Master Chief again ?

Firstly, the reputation of 343 as a developer is still to be determined and is currently the equivalent of a fourth Lord Of The Rings written by an previously unknown writer. The next reason is franchise fatigue, pure and simple, I'm willing to wait another 2 years for Halo 4 with it heralding the end of the xbox 360 and ushering in the next generation. My final reason is a bit whiny, I want a completely new, radical change to the Halo universe and the direction of the universe to get me very interesting. One of my recent gripes is the knowledge that I'm fighting the Covenant again, please 343 give me something different !

My belief is that Halo 4 will finalise the idea of Halo as the new cash cow for microsoft eventually bringing in a situation similair to the one described about Activision. But in the end, Halo 4 could be a excellent game, or a terrible one, only time can tell until my belief is solidified.

Just a Heads Up
This week you will be seeing guest posters with their own articles, these people are my friends and will be regular contributors, as long as they have interesting articles of course.
Also this saturday im seeing The Avengers with around 12 of my friends so expect a review by the following monday.

Next Step : What Marvel Movies Should Do Post-Avengers

The Avengers (Or Avengers Assemble in the UK) is probably the biggest entertainment undertaking of a geeky property for years, it has been planned by Marvel for years now and is the culmination of five movies, dozens of obscure references and five ominous post credits-scenes leading to something big. This is that big thing.

Comics for decades now have had hundreds of characters exist in a shared universe were almost everything is connected. Marvel is now attempting this for the first time in the cinema they refer to this as the : Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU . The movie is pretty much a guaranteed success, with an excellent director, cast and marketing campaign to push it forward, most of the characters are big names and the hype going to extreme intensity, this movie will make a killing.

But what will Marvel do next ?

We know that marvel have iron man 3, thor 2 and captain america 2 in the works for 2013 and 2014 releases, it has also been suggested that an Avengers 2&3 will be made, with more stand alone character movies in between them both, but what should they do next ?

Edgar Wright of shawn of the dead and hot fuzz fame is in process of making an Ant-Man movie, with rumours being that it will link to the MCU in some way but this in unconfirmed.

My favourite idea so far though has been a stand-alone S.H.I.E.L.D movie with Nick Fury, Hawkeye and Black widow, this could become a sort of mission impossible spy movie with super villains and concepts like stolen Stark technology and rogue Asgardian artifacts, how cool would that be?

Obviously Marvel have a plan somewhere on the future of this MCU, some fans want magical superheroes like doctor strange to be introduced, but that kind of contrast is unlikely, however this is coming from the people who found a way to make it believable for a norse alien demigod to be hanging around with iron man.

The last thing i will mention is the tv show currently in the making called AKA Jessica Jones which is based around ex-superheroine Jessica Jones as a private investigator in a world of superpowers, this is being made by the director of the first twilight movie Melissa Rosenberg, this TV show is planned to be in the MCU. I dont know about you but that is an exciting idea and a good use of what is available.

Grit, Blood, Sex and Politics - My Witcher 2 review Part One



Version played: Xbox 360 enhanced edition

CD Projekt Red's The Witcher 2 is the game Bioware has been attempting to make for five years now, its combat is tactical but visceral and exciting, its plot is mature and complex, and the decisions you decide as monster hunter Geralt of Rivia actually have consequences that really effect the world. Time and time again Bioware pride themselves on being the greatest storytellers in gaming when really the high points of games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age rarely hit the excellence of The Witcher's minute to minute gameplay.

One word often tossed around with this game is "Mature", of course the game has the gore often found in games, but also full frontal (Female) nudity which is both controversial and rare in this medium. But the maturity of The Witcher 2 comes not from sex or gore, but by the pure grit and believeability of the world you inhabit.

The modern Fantasy genre can often be broken down into two forms : Tolkienesque six volume epic adventures where there is a clear gap between good and evil. where elves, dwarves and others inhabit it and magic is commonplace, but these adventures are often vanilla and predictable, and i lose interest long before the final book.

The other type of modern fantasy is the newly popular "contemporary fantasy" that contains books like "Game of Thrones" and such, this fantasy often eschews the magic and elves and revels in moral greyness, heroes dying every other chapter, with little action intead focusing on political intricacies and gratuitous sex. The Witcher is based on a Polish saga written by Andrej Sapkowski that traces a fine line between the two which embraces the action and worlds of the first type, while living in the moral greyness, realism and politics of the other with a dose of the sexuality too.

Story: You are Geralt of Rivia an alchemically and magically enhanced monster slayer for hire who is framed for regicide and begins to search for the kingslayer and must explore a world of corruption and political intrigue. I'm currently only one third of the way but ive experienced enough of the plot and writing to say that it is a finely crafted yarn, not only for a video game but also the fantasy genre. The voice acting is excellent across the board, but it does suffer from that strange anomaly of some fantasy games where everyone except the main character is british, with Geralt and sorceress/lover Triss merigold having american accents.

Gameplay: The game is usually separated into one of these three actions, combat, dialogue and crafting/alchemy. Firstly, and i can't mention this enough, the combat is hard. Very hard in fact. You need to prepare yourself with potions before battle for bonus that you need to survive and you cant drink them in battle, you must use oils and upgrades on your swords or else you will die frequently, actually pro tip: save often to stop dissapointment later. The autosave system of this game is unforgiving and shouldnt be trusted on its own. The game contains the standard leveling up, skill trees found in RPGs and so far i havent specialised in anything so i cant speak on that subject. The dialogue system of the game is the standard voiced affair found in dragon age or mass effect but is styled more like skyrim. Crafting in this game is a dream : easy to use, but contains depth that you are slowly introduced into.

Part Two will be released when i have completed the game.

Reboot!
After an unsuccesful first attempt at this blog I will be coming back to it and updating it reguarly with reviews, rants and more with me attempting to inform and entertain, while sucker punching formality with common sense.