Added: 07.11.2014 8:01 | 1 views | 0 comments

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. Halo 2: Anniversary. Halo 3. Halo 4. There's a lot of Halo in Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and I'm not just talking about the four lengthy campaigns, Forge mode, and all that online multiplayer. When you play The Master Chief Collection, you get a strong sense of a larger, cohesive whole. Sure, these games are direct sequels to each other, but there's more here than just continuity of story and evolution of mechanics. As you hop from game to game, playing as Master Chief in his many incarnations, a timeline coalesces not just of the games themselves, but their place in video game history, their place in popular culture, and their place in your life.

My memories of playing Halo are inextricable from the time in my life in which each game came out, and playing through The Master Chief Collection has often felt like a stroll through an impeccably ordered photo album. All four campaigns are arranged neatly with all missions unlocked, free for you to pick and choose right from the start. The multiplayer is similarly arranged, but alas, that portion of the digital copy of the game I was provided with for review purposes was only patched in recently. Until I can put significant time into online play and mess around with Forge (also recently added), the full review will have to wait. This review in progress will focus only on the four campaigns and how they are presented in The Master Chief Collection.

Let's start with . This, along with some Locke-voiced terminal videos accessible throughout the Halo 2: Anniversary campaign, show a forward-looking side to this nostalgic collection. The Master Chief Collection is aiming to not merely take you on a walk down memory lane, but to get you excited for where the Halo journey is going.

Next week I'll be chiming back in with my full review of The Master Chief Collection, once I've played a whole bunch of multiplayer and messed around a bit with Forge (including the new forge-able Halo 2 levels). Be sure to check out the video review and gameplay clips for a look at these games in action, and let me know how you think it's shaping up in the comments below.

Added: 07.11.2014 3:54 | 10 views | 0 comments


Look up. Good. Look down. Good. Look left. Made ya look. They say that no original work goes without borrowing from some material released prior to it and while that’s hardly a guilty plea in the court of creativity, Halo has largely failed to accelerate outside of the Jesus metaphor that started the franchise in . In fact, you could even make the argument that any video game that kills the player and subsequently brings him or her back to life to face the challenge once more enters an area that can’t escape this religious parallel, instead reinforcing it literally by definition. That’s OK. Reading the Old Testament and New Testament in high school meant discovering the Jesus metaphor in nearly everything and it hasn’t exactly weakened the faith of those that would pursue the cleansing blast of a Halo array every once in a while. All of the games collected in rather predictably push that comparison as far as it can go without asking players to swear allegiance to an apostle in multiplayer. There is so much Halo here. In that, I can only say that this near-complete collection of Master Chief volumes proves exhaustive. [gallery=881] Halo: The Master Chief Collection combines Halo: Combat Evolved’s recent ", including multiplayer to Xbox One. Microsoft’s new-generation console sharpens graphics, textures, and alters the sound design slightly in all of these games, though the improved frame rate will have some consumers swearing by the Collection before the year is over. For GameRevolution’s review, I decided to play through Halo 2, try a little Halo 3, and then set to work in multiplayer. Admittedly, I was not looking forward to this endeavor as I’ve played a ton of Halo, perhaps Halo 2 more than the rest, and first-person shooter campaigns clog the holiday season. I could literally choke on the content here so setting about this process with a mission helped. I was surprised at how easy it was to slip back into Halo 2’s narrative replete with graphical improvements. Flipping between old and new visuals and sound proved an interesting experiment from level to level. Let there be no mistake, this package serves as a product and while the user interface and menus certainly work in its favor, things do feel a little hollow when compared to memories you may hold close to your opposable thumbs. With the series seen as an originator in the console shooter space, it can feel difficult to escape Halo’s influence such that I’d caution readers before buying. Collection satisfies in a few very specific ways, while disappointing in others. For one, improved frame rates in every title drastically improve gameplay. Like... absurdly so. I've actually pushed back against gamers who hold technical details above gameplay, but I get what they're about in this example. From the first steps onto a foreign and at times hauntingly beautiful space array to floaty fighting on the outside of a United Nations Space Command flotilla, The Master Chief Collection offers Halo gameplay at its most responsive, crisp, and finely-tuned peak. Skyboxes in nearly every multiplayer map with this Anniversary treatment look gorgeous. A single multiplayer match on Halo 4’s Haven map sealed the deal for me. I doubt anyone will want to go back to their Xbox 360 or original Xbox after trying these games on . I progressed further and further into Halo 2 and discovered that this package also benefits from fresh pre-rendered cutscenes which make every mission feel new and narratively exciting. Still, there is an incredible sense of fatigue to be found somewhere in your tenth hour, particularly since the title wastes no time in alerting you to the fact that you’ll find more than forty hours of gameplay within. Most of that fatigue comes from the knowledge that we’ve been here before, we’ve done it all before. Quitting the game doesn’t offer the same explosive satisfaction as destroying a Halo array and giving the covenant the middle finger, so stop reading here and consider for yourself if you need more Halo in your life. Fans should also know that flipping between games in a custom multiplayer lobby inevitably leads to confusion as the control scheme changes extremely often. Use options to bend the game to your will. Ultimately, I think The Master Chief Collection represents an inherently valuable package for consumers new to the Xbox platform. If all you did was buy someone an Xbox One console and a copy of this, you’d have them covered for the next year should they really take to multiplayer or definitively clearing each campaign on the hardest difficulty with and without friends. Even after you’ve beaten every game on Legendary difficulty, The Master Chief Collection offers mission playlists that challenge you with strictly Banshee-focused missions or just those combat encounters that throw the book at John-117. The number of options for Halo entertainment continue to stack up as you delve deeper in the main menu. [gallery=883] That doesn’t start and stop with gameplay either as original video content is delivered via the new Halo Channel and unlocked as you play and discover terminals or other collectables in-game. Halo has become as much a lifestyle for people as any other popular gaming brand, so fans can quite deliberately ask 343 Industries to preach to the choir even if the likes of remain notably absent. It sounds stupid, but this collection feels more and more like Old and New Testaments as you progress deeper into the lore and understanding of both Spartan 117 and your multiplayer avatar as a character. Anyone thumping the good book will tell you about the commandments, the deadly sins, the miracles Jesus performs and even retread his death and resurrection, but don’t be that person with Halo: The Master Chief Collection. As compelling as this journey has been, it feels grossly overwhelming when paired with footage of a thousand screaming fans outside a midnight launch or another episodic installment of Covenant skull-crushing. In fact, I wish Hollywood and Microsoft would just do the dirty deed and get it over with, whether Master Chief gets the direct-to-DVD treatment or not. Recently, before a movie screening at my local theater, an advertisement featuring 343 Industries boss Frank O’Connor took to explaining the Halo Nightfall video content that comes with The Master Chief Collection as a "bridge" between the game world and the cinematic world. I have to call Brute-shit on this. Halo has proven itself as an endearing, deeply emotive, and highly cinematic world all its own. Truly, the series does not need a film adaptation to drive this point home and The Master Chief Collection provides all the fodder you’ll need for that argument. Download code provided by publisher. Exclusive to Xbox One.

Added: 05.11.2014 18:41 | 1 views | 0 comments


Black Sea uses Version 3 of the Combat Mission game engine

Added: 05.11.2014 0:00 | 6 views | 0 comments

Added: 04.11.2014 2:12 | 1 views | 0 comments


Dragon Age 3 Inquisition gameplay walkthrough shows epic combat from Pax Australia 2014 on PS4, Xbox One, PC, 360, PS3. Stay tuned to Open World Games for more DA3 Inquisition let's play, combat, boss battles, and so much more!

Added: 04.11.2014 1:12 | 0 views | 0 comments


Take a look at 30 minutes of all new gameplay from Dragon Age: Inquisition showing off combat, exploration, the map, and inventory.

Added: 03.11.2014 14:11 | 5 views | 0 comments


Drew Leachman writes: Lets just get it out of the way. Yes, Lords of the Fallen plays similarly to the Souls series. The control scheme is almost identical, upon death, players lose their acquired experience points and must return to where they died to retrieve them. Combat is heavily based on timing, stamina management, and what weapons and armor are equipped. Theres no denying the fact that it is in the same vein as the From Software series, but Im not judging the game on how different it is from Dark Souls. Im going to be talking about what it does and what I like about that.

Added: 03.11.2014 13:11 | 6 views | 0 comments


An introduction to the on-going "Combat Virtuality" series examining combat in video gaming, exploring the history of violence in games and examining which titles do it right and which get it horribly, horribly wrong.