Halo 4 News and Forums
If you've still been loyally checking this site then we commend you, as there hasn't been a new update in a while. We've not deserted you entirely, we've just restructed and moved things around a bit.
The news side of things have moved over to a new gaming site called Gamesta. You'll want to be sure and bookmark the Halo 4 section over on the site to get updates and info about that game as they come out.
Additionally, there is a new Halo 4 forum (click for the link!) for you to join up in. The community is quickly building over there and we're hoping it will grow into the biggest Halo 4 community on the web.
Lastly, if Call of Duty is more your thing, be sure to check out the Black Ops 2 Forum.
Major Halo Reach Title Update Nerfs Armor Lock and Bloom, Buffs Sword and Pistol
Amidst all the news coming out about Halo Anniversary and Halo 4 lately, you may have gotten the impression that Halo Reach had been forgotten about. To prove that's not the case, the game will be getting a massive title update in September.
Among the changes are some nerfs to the armor lock ability, which had really been getting abused lately, as well as an option to disable reticle bloom and some buffs to the sword and pistol. The bug that prevented hard-driveless 360 players from playing co-op campaign and firefight online has also been fixed.
We've got the full list of the changes for you after the break.
Halo 4 Warthog is an Easter Egg in Forza 4
Interested in how the Halo 4 warthog will differ from the Warthogs you used in Halo games so far? If you can't wait until next year to find out, you can find out this October if you pick up a copy of Forza 4.
When playing Forza 4's "Auto Vista" mode, the Halo 4 warthog along with some slick narration about its backstory by Jen Taylor (Cortona) will be an unlockable easter egg.
Master Chief Returns in Halo 4 Trilogy
I guess we didn't quite finish the fight in Halo 3, because Master Chief is back in Halo 4, which was announced today at E3.
Alongside a sweet cinematic trailer (directed by Tron Legacy's Joe Kosinski) we got word that not only is Halo 4 being worked on, but that it will be the first game in a new Halo trilogy, and it will drop in late 2012.
More details after the break...
Halo Anniversary Officially Announced at E3
We told you earlier that a Halo CE Remake was for real, and now we know what it will be called.
Halo Anniversary will be the name of the Halo CE Re-make. It will feature the original Halo campaign, upgraded with the engine and models from the Halo Reach engine. Also, we'll get full Xbox Live support with online multiplayer on the original maps (and Halo Reach style assassinations!), as well as full Xbox Live enabled co-op.
More details will be revealed as we near the game's release this fall.
Halo Reach's Next Map Pack is Defiant
Just when you were starting to master the Noble map pack, Microsoft is back for more of your money with their next map pack release, titled simply "Defiant".
Notice that I said Microsoft there, and not Bungie. That's because this map pack marks a major turning point in the Halo franchise, as this will be the first DLC for Reach not developed by Bungie. Instead, Microsoft has turned the reigns over to developer Certain Affinity, who did some work on Call of Duty: World at War previously.
The map pack will once again include three maps: Condemned, Highlands, and Unearthed.
For more details and screenshots about the maps (and even a video trailer), hit the jump for the full article.
UPDATE: The Defiant Map pack will release on March 15th, 2011
Halo Combat Evolved HD Remake is Real, Releases This Year
All of those rumors about a Halo 1 remake have finally come to fruition. It has come out that a remake of the 2001 version of Halo Combat Evolved is a reality, and it will release this holiday season.
The remake is being handled by Saber Interactive, the team behind Timeshift and Inversion. Even better is that it won't simply be a new paint of coat on the original 2001 game, but rather they will be remaking all of the art assets at full 1080p and even with support for 3D. The game is also expected to feature 4-player online co-op and multiplayer.
The other interesting thing to come out of this news is that it is not being handled by 343 Industries. That means that all that Halo hiring that 343 has been doing lately must indeed be for an all-new, full fledged Halo game and not just for the remake of Halo 1.
Is a Kinect Halo Game on the Way?
Remember all those job postings we told you about last week? Microsoft may have just given away another piece of the puzzle as to what they will be used for.
Microsoft has registered the domain name KinectHalo.com. I'm sure many theories will spawn out of this. Is the Halo 1 remake really on its way, only with the addition of Kinect support? Will the next full featured Halo game work with Kinect? Or maybe this will just be a little Kinect spinoff game with cutesy little cartoon Master Chiefs running around.
Any way you slice it, it seems very likely that we will be seeing some Kinect in our Halo sometime in the near future. Does that make you happy or do you want Kinect kept away from serious franchises like Halo?
343 Industries Hiring More People for Next Halo Game
While they've yet to officially announce the next Halo game after Reach, 343 Industries has once again let the cat out of the bag.
Twelve more job listings have gone up at 343 Industries that require that applicants must be able to "demonstrate that you've played all of the games and thought a lot about the [Halo] franchise".
If you happen to be an experienced software developer or artist looking to move to Washington, go ahead and apply. Otherwise, you can use this posting simply to relish in the fact that there is even more Halo coming our way.
Halo Reach Was the 3rd Best Selling Game of 2010
2010 is over, and as such the NPD has released their figures for best selling games and consoles in 2010.
Halo Reach came in 3rd place on the game sales list. Before you hoot and holler that it should have been #1, keep in mind that Reach was a platform exclusive and did not release until late September. The two games that finished ahead of it (Black Ops and Madden) were both multiplatform games that were able to earn sales from multiple systems, and Madden had a month and a half headstart on Reach to boot. Halo Reach was easily the highest selling exclusive platform game.
The XBox 360 also had its best year to date, selling the most consoles for the last 6 months consecutively. Check out the complete list after the break.
For the complete list