Every year we, the insatiable gamers, are blessed with an assortment of high-quality titles, which we gobble down with the utmost haste. Whether it be one of the greatest games ever conceived or something a bit more modest, we tend to forget the predicaments the main characters go through whilst we're being entertained. Shooting enemies is fun - undoubtedly so - but what about the guy who shoots a loved one? What about the guy who was just going about his everyday life when his town explodes? How about the guy who can't remember his own name? These are the videogame characters we feel most sorry for.

The list of game characters has grown exponentially over the years, and with them the issues that develop in such a memorable way. Some of these problems are a bit more serious than others, but hey, they're still problems right?

9: Solid Snake

The issue: Snake is a clone; he ages rapidly, has to fight multiple metal monstrosities and extraterrestrial soldiers, and has to prevent multiple nuclear strikes across all the games. Also, pretty much everyone close to him dies. Savvy.

Snake is an old bastard, or at least he was, by the time Metal Gear Solid 4 rolled around. Even so, his decrepit arse still had to take down a gaggle of enemies with crazy powers, and a series of metal beasts that could cause the apocalypse; not a small feat by any means. The worst of his conditions, though, is definitely his rapid aging process, being a clone and all. How would you like to live less than half your life and be thrust into a rather impossible scenario multiple times? Not so cool. Also, he fought - well, technically, his father fought - a guy who could control bees. ...bees.

8: Link

The issue: How would you enjoy waking up after defeating the toughest nemesis you ever faced, with all your power and items taken from you? Now, how would you enjoy it if it happened every single time? Also, and arguably worse, Link's vocabulary consists of only "HIIYAAA" and "WAAA" and "UGHH". He's a think-tank, clearly.

Link is a legend in the videogame character kingdom, and so are the design philosophies behind The Legend of Zelda, but those scenarios are going to take a backseat here. You see, at the outset of every game, Link is pretty much a different person who in no way resembles the skillful, item-ridden hero from his last adventure. He can also only communicate via several emotional screams, which explains why Zelda always gets lost some way or another (would you want to be around someone like that?). While there might be some kind of odd lore, and occassional connections to games past here and there, it's never truly apparent in any game. Which - naturally - leads me to believe that he's (a) insane, (b) a robot, or (c) maybe both. With this information we can only conclude that Link is tethered to the Matrix as some evil genius's puppet. I don't think he knows Kung Fu, though.

7: Tidus

The issue: Besides his strange taste in random clothing, Tidus has a problem with being tangible, and another with killing his father to metal music. He also likes Blitzball.

The protagonist from Final Fantasy X with the feathered hair gets a lot of flak for his somewhat... eccentric attitude - laughing scene, anyone? - and his random elbow pad. Tidus goes through quite a bit emotionally as the game continues on, but much to his surprise - and ours - he finds out that he doesn't even exist. That's right; by the time the game ends, Tidus basically just up-and-vanishes from Yuna's arms. Before that, though, Tidus participates in the killing of his father to save the land. I truly have no idea how this works, but when you break it down it sounds pretty bleak; Tidus killed his father to save a land that he can't be a part of because he just discovered he doesn't exist.

...blame Blitzball.

6: Boy from Shadow of the Colossus

The issue: In an effort to bring a girl that means something to him back from the dead, this boy must fight sixteen colossi. And slay every one.

It might not sound too depressing at first, but once you finish killing all sixteen colossi, something very bad happens to that boy. Instead of being rewarded with the chance to restore life to the girl, the boy ends up being turned into a giant demon. After the short stint of demonry subsides, the boy then turns into a baby, and the girl then awakens. So, after all that trouble, the kid has absolutely zero idea of what happened.

That, my friends, is what I call 'the shaft'.

5: Master Chief

The issue: Born and bred to fight, the Master Chief had no childhood and no life besides constant intergalactic warring.

Halo's Master Chief really is quite a depressing character. Whilst the games don't exactly dive deep into his background, the man had no life, no friends, no family; nothing. The only thing left to him was the drive to keep fighting for humanity. Every single day is just another step toward killing more aliens and regenerating more shields. I think the only friend the guy has is Cortana, and she's basically just the Internet. It does make you wonder, though; what does he do to kill time, besides sleeping in space?

4: Dominic Santiago

The issue: For a man whose whole world revolved around finding his wife and kids after his planet exploded, putting the gun to his own wife didn't seem to make him the happiest person.

Gears of War is all about the planet Sera, and how it became scorched due to the Locust emerging to annihilate the humans. After the initial attack, Dom lost his kids and his wife, but had never given up on trying to locate them. Upon entering the Locust Hollow in the second game, Dom finds his wife tortured and destroyed; a husk of her former self. Dom couldn't let her suffer any longer and was forced to shoot her, right in the ole' cranium. Could you imagine yourself dedicating your life to finding someone, actually finally managing to find them, and then having to kill them? To augment that feeling, you can then wake up every morning after that, to a world that's fully destroyed and trying to kill you. Awesome.

3: Castlevania's Dracula

The issue: Every single game, he comes back with greater power, badass traps, horrific monsters, and a thirst for vengeance. But he always ends up getting his arse whipped. Literally.

Castlevania is synonymous with Dracula at this point. Like the description points out, he comes back in almost every iteration more powerful than before. Yet, even if he came back with sixty thousand demons and a Godzilla-sized Death at his side, he'd end up losing to some schmuck that gets all up inside his castle. Having your soul literally ripped apart and being forced to sit there for years before you can manifest enough power in a feeble attempt to come back must suck.

2: Gordon Freeman

The issue: A scientist who really enjoys his work, Gordon somehow managed to turn a rather harmless experiment into a full blown alien invasion. ...good job, Gordon.

Half-Life is famous for having one of the best lead-in moments to a game ever, and it still holds up today. Gordon, being the wonderfully nice scientist he is, was going about his business as usual until he decided to push a cart into a part of the experiment he was helping with. Cue bolts of electricity, alien portals and dead people. Now Gordon is solely responsible for finding out how to fix the problem, which he still hasn't been able to do. Bet you wish you could rewind time a bit, don'tcha, Gordon?

1: Vic Viper

The issue: When an alien invasion comes, there's only one option.

You'd think that, after the first time the galaxy routed the enemy in the Gradius universe, they would prepare some kind of defense force in case it ever happened again. I guess that's too logical, though, because those lethargic asses always send out the Vic Viper whenever there's trouble. What happens if the pilots all got sick and no one could use this spacecraft? I guess it's game over forever? Sorry Vic, those guys are jerks.

Labels: 2011, Andrew Whipple III, Castlevania, Final Fantasy XII, Gears of War, Gradius, Half-Life, Halo, Metal Gear Online, shadow of the colossus, The Legend of Zelda

Halo is a legendary series. An important game. A trusted name. And, undoubtedly, a consistent cash source. Its legacy will continue on regardless of what you might think, and that's why we're getting Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition this autumn. It's an important release, not only because it symbolises the tenth year of Halo's creation, but because it also presents questions about future re-releases in the same vein. Isn't it time that these remake games offered more of what we loved in the original, instead of 'balancing' our vintage gameplay?

Halo: Combat Evolved was the seminal title that started it all. You've heard this line a myriad of times, but it doesn't change the facts. Halo is an important game because of what it brought to the console market; first-person shooters were never as solid, didn't run nearly run as smoothly, and definitely didn't have the addictive gameplay or - most importantly - multiplayer functionality that the original Halo did. The closest title I can think of is GoldenEye 007, released during the Nintendo 64 era, but let's be honest: that game doesn't come anywhere close to what Halo has become.

Saying all that, it's been ten years since Halo: Combat Evolved pleasantly surprised the console world, and now - surprising us again - is a re-release, or a 're-imagining', of the original game. Set to release on the 15th of November, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is the complete original Halo game with new, additional high-definition visuals and other unique features. Just some of these features include the ability to swap old graphics with the new on-the-fly, online co-op, and remastered versions of old maps available for multiplayer (as if that wasn't already guaranteed).


Forgive my satire, but this 'new' Halo game is a bastard child. It's another short-lived, uninspired way to cash in the Halo name for something that really doesn't have to be remade at this very moment. Unfortunately, this game has no place in the library of titles out there and will do nothing but augment the apprehension we'll all feel when more of these 'remakes' hit store shelves. Regardless, the first game was pretty grand; yes, it had its flaws such as awful level design later on, but it was a solid title that left quite a bit to build on. A remake sounds great on paper, but in reality it's nothing more than a retail, super-expensive expansion pack for Reach.

The best part about this game is that 343 Industries are remaining true to the original campaign and leaving it relatively unscathed and unmodified. The pistol is still going to be an insanely powerful side-arm, vehicles won't explode and the Energy Sword - or any other crazy-ass weapon, for that matter - simply won't be useable or might not even exist. Yes, I'll admit, The Library is a horrible part of the original's campaign, which I'm sure many would like to see changed in this re-release, but that brings me right onto my next question: should a remake change the original source due to its infamy? My answer is a resounding "no".

If your game is getting the remake treatment, it's almost certainly because someone upstairs believes that there's a fanbase for it, one that will snatch up your remade product and make you some nice, easy money in the process. But these fans want to see the game they loved, the one tucked away in their memory alongside a big serving of nostalgia, not some abomination that's been tweaked to make the game play 'better'. It may sound contradictory, but the game actually plays 'better' when it's true to the original source and, whilst I hate to say it, The Library is something that defined the original Halo. It wasn't good level design, and it wasn't fun to play through, but it served as an integral part of the game that has become nothing short of a legend. I wouldn't be opposed to having the option to play through a modified or uncut version of a game (like the way some movies present you with a similar option), but the original basis for the remake must still be present.

This is something 343 understands, but still ignores.



Announcing the fourth, fifth and sixth Halo iterations at once at this year's E3, 343 decided it was a good idea to throw some canon into the anniversary game, as a prelude to the release of Halo 4 next year. That means we'll get to access terminals akin to the ones found in Halo 3 for Halo 4... in the original game. It's as stupid as it sounds. Certain changes are needed, I agree, like the implementation of Xbox Live to make co-op play possible over the internet. Modifications like that are fine as they aren't making any tangible changes to the core gameplay. Adding terminals that cater for future Halo games is, however. And that's worthless.

Speaking of modification and change, the multiplayer in this game is already laughable. One could make the argument that the game is simply devoid of multiplayer altogether. You'd think, would you not, that if you're making a stand-alone remake of the original Halo, you'd have to throw the multiplayer in there as well right? Apparently not, because the Combat Evolved play-style is not coming to consoles this November. Instead, seven maps from the original Halo are going to be ported to Reach.

I just can't understand why a company would attempt to remake a classic game, but orchestrate such alien devices on one of its most beloved assets. People want to play online multiplayer Combat Evolved-style: they want to use the pistol to destroy you repeatedly, but it's just not going to happen. It's akin to putting cover-based shooter Gears of War up for a remake in a few years, but deciding to make its online component Blitzball. Who the hell wants to play Blitzball?

Halo Anniversary is a remake, and I remind you that the original game is already available to download from Xbox Live. Come November, you're essentially spending upwards of forty dollars on merely a graphical update and seven new, old maps for Reach. Whilst the terminal thing can easily be overlooked, the absence of Combat Evolved's original multiplayer component cannot be. This is unacceptable, especially since future remakes of other games will likely follow in this game's footsteps. Never should there be a game of this calibre being remade with a key, core component omitted. If HD remakes like Sly Cooper and God of War can get it all right, Halo should have no problems rivalling them.

Labels: 2011, 343 Industries, Andrew Whipple III, Bungie, Feature, Halo, Halo Anniversary, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition, Microsoft, Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox 360

2001 - the year console shooters changed forever thanks to a little game called Halo: Combat Evolved.
2004 - the year online gaming on consoles exploded with Halo 2's stunning multiplayer.
2007 - the year Bungie redefined the word epic, and delivered the complete Halo package with Halo 3.
2009 - the year Bungie created one of the most addicting co-op experiences ever in Halo 3: ODST.

Now, it's 2010. Halo: Reach is the end of an era; a send-off for one of the most respected FPS developers in the industry as Bungie end their association with the Halo franchise and go off to work on something new for Activision. It's fitting, then, that that Halo: Reach is the Halo fan's dream game - an epic campaign, tonnes of multiplayer content and the same fun gameplay.

Now, whilst the multiplayer is what will keep people playing, the campaign is what Bungie have been pushing. The incredible amount of money spent by Microsoft on marketing this game with some truly stunning live action shorts has all been focused on one tagline: Remember Reach. Just the thought of fighting a battle that is destined to be lost against the Covenant in all their glory is probably enough to get a die hard Halo fan wet around the trousers, but what surprised me is how well the story was told. Last year's ODST was an interesting diversion which suffered because the one dude that everyone associates Halo with wasn't there: Master Chief. Heck, Cortana wasn't there either and it wasn't even set on a Halo. Whilst all those things ring true in Reach (although a few cameos are excellent fan service), the story is strong enough to keep even the casual fan engaged.

You take control of Noble 6 (who, for the first time, is your own customizable character rather than the set appearance of Master Chief or an ODST), the new member of the elite Spartan squad known as Noble team, as they are drafted in to help protect the human planet of Reach. Now, everyone knows how the story ends - the adverts told us as much - but the way in which you get to the end is full of some really cool plot points as well as some likeable characters and great fan service. Bungie have created a fantastic universe full of rich lore, and all their experience of telling stories within said universe comes to the fore in Reach. The Spartans are likeable, you get to know them far more than you got to know Master Chief over the course of the games (although admittedly none of them are nearly as badass), and like I said, the cameos from characters in prior games are handled well without being thrust into your face as if to say 'HEY! REMEMBER THIS GUY?!' The campaign's tone is spot on and is in great contrast to previous games in the series which were all about Master Chief kicking arse and saving the universe. Reach is solemn and depressing: just when Noble team think they've achieved a great victory, something happens that makes them think all hope is gone.

Whilst the story is very well done, I did have a few problems with the pacing of the campaign. Reach starts very slowly, and it took me a good two or three missions before I was really back into my stride and the missions became more interesting. The first few missions held your hand as you moved through fighting off dropship after dropship of Covenant with no real variety. From then on, though, the campaign really picked up and, whilst I don't think it quite reaches the epic scale of Halo 3, it gets pretty damn close. There are intense gun fights, large scale battles, vehicle segments, a space sequence, an anti-gravity fight scene and plenty else. Reach's core gameplay is spiced up a bit with new weapons and vehicles as you'd expect, but the stand out new gameplay mechanic is the armour abilities, including jetpacks, sprint, shields and more. These are available in all modes and really add a new level of strategy to the game.

However, the campaign does feel unbalanced, the first few missions drag on, the next five or so are brilliant and then it crawls towards the ending with a tedious final mission. Don't get me wrong, I think this is a very strong campaign and it took me over eight hours to complete on Heroic difficulty which is a pretty lengthy shooter, when you think that Modern Warfare 2 took me less than 6 hours on Veteran, and some people even less than that. Of course, with the usual four-player co-op (which finally supports matchmaking!) as well as the scoring and skull powerups, there's plenty of incentive to go through the campaign multiple times.

As well as the campaign, there is plenty else to sink your teeth into. The excellent Firefight mode from ODST returns and is just as addictive as ever. In my opinion it's definitely the best spin on the standard survival mode in any shooter, beating Left 4 Dead 2's Survival mode and Gears of War 2's Horde. The maps are well designed and all the armour abilities, weapons and even some vehicles cross over from the campaign as well. The big change in this mode from ODST is that you can now play as the Covenant. Whilst we eagerly await Beast Mode in Gears of War 3, Bungie has provided its own spin on this cool idea by allowing players to step into the shoes (do aliens wear shoes?) of the Covenant. Firefight is also expanded by the same awesome customisation options that you find in the multiplayer, allowing you to tweak the behaviour of your enemies and that sort of thing. Thankfully, Firefight now supports matchmaking as well, so if your friends aren't around you can jump in with some strangers. Sure, they might be pricks, but at least you can play some co-op, right? Overall, Firefight is far more interesting and feature rich than ODST's version of it.

Multiplayer has always been a massive part of Halo, and Reach delivers competitive online goodness in spades. There are tonnes of game types, plenty of maps and the ranking system has been given a much needed overhaul, putting it more in-line with Call of Duty. Of the new modes, Invasion is definitely the stand out. Unlike many of the game types, one team actually plays as Elites in Invasion, and they come with their own set of special moves. The Elites' objective is to assault a giant industrial complex, fight their way to the rear, steal a data core and take it to a waiting Phantom for removal from the area. The Spartans have a time limit in which to stop the Elites from advancing to each stage of the map. The Elites basically have to complete objectives to push the Spartans back and eventually capture the data core. Each time the Elites advance, more weapons and vehicles become available and the classes upgrade. It's really, really good.

The multiplayer can be taken even further with the Forge mode, which allows you to edit maps or create entirely new ones using Forge World, a huge open environment in which the only limit to your map-making creativity is your imagination. Like Halo 3, players are also able to create their own game types to play with friends, which can then be uploaded to their File Share space for others to download.

File Sharing also extends to the familiar Theater mode, which records all your recent exploits in all modes of Reach and allows you to edit clips and photos to show to your friends. These can also be uploaded to Bungie's website to show off to an even wider community.

Visually, this is by far the best Halo game yet. The game looks sharp and detailed, especially the character models, and some of the vistas are stunning. The epic scale of the war is also felt through some fantastic action sequences. This visual splendour has a downside though, in that the framerate can dip quite noticeably during cut scenes and also during gameplay. On the plus side, the cut scenes are real-time, meaning that your custom Noble 6 will look just as you want him to in all modes of the game. After the dated looking Halo 3 and the embarrassingly ugly ODST, it's good to see Reach update its graphics to stay competitive with the behemoths of Gears of War and Call of Duty.

As always, Martin O'Donnell's music score is brilliant. There are some familiar tracks which will send a shiver down your spine, but the new tracks do a great job of setting the tone. The voice acting is also impressive - in fact, it's arguably the best in the series.

Like I said at the start, Halo: Reach is the dream game for any Halo fan. It has everything you probably loved from prior games in the series, but it doesn't ever tread outside its comfort zone which in the end keeps it away from the legendary status that other games in the series have achieved. This is a great send-off for Bungie as developers of the Halo franchise, but when Microsoft takes over the series it might need to put its creative hat on; for all its brilliance, the Spartans are looking rusty.

9/10 [?]

Labels: 360, Bungie, Halo, Halo Reach, Microsoft, Review, Tom Acres, Xbox 360

The two worlds of gaming and anime are set to collide today, as “Halo Legends,” a new anime project backed by some of the top names in the industry, is presented at San Diego's Comic-Con event. The project is a series of short films that will incorporate many aspects of the Halo universe, including various settings and backgrounds that Halo fans will recognize.

Halo Legends, which is being produced by Microsoft’s 343 Industries, represents a merging of two mediums that Halo development director Frank O’Connor commented is “a very rare opportunity for Microsoft.” Investing their talent will be studios that brought classic anime such as “The Animatrix” and “Cowboy Bebop” to home entertainment. Shinji Aramaki, the director responsible for the highly popular “Appleseed,” will be providing creative direction for Halo Legends.

“Halo and its characters are a very natural fit for anime,” said Aramaki. “As a fan of the Halo universe, it is an honour to work with Microsoft and my very talented peers from other studios to create this collection.”

Halo Legends will also help kick-start Microsoft’s new Xbox Live feature, “Halo Waypoint,” a hub for Halo news and exclusive content. Players will be able to watch limited time episode previews of Halo Legends through Waypoint this fall.

Although this will be the first time that the Halo franchise appears in anime, it’s been beyond its original video game medium before. The shooter series has also inspired action figures, Marvel comics and New York Times best-selling novels.

The televised debut of Halo Legends will be broadcasted at 12:30 AM ET/PT tonight on “GameTrailers TV with Geoff Keighley” on Spike TV.

Jacob

Labels: Anime, Halo, Jacob, Microsoft

Originally I was going to post Lord of the Rings: Conquest as my most anticipated game of the year but seems as though it's already released in America and will be relaed here in just three days, it didn't seem worth it. So, here's my numbr one game to look forward to this year.

Labels: Halo, Halo Wars, Hype Train

Earlier this year Microsoft annouced that Ensemble Studios -creator of Age of Empires- would be being shut down after the company had finished development of Halo Wars. Recent screenshots and concept art however, show that Ensemble had been working on a new MMO for Microsoft. Judging by these shots and other rumours, this MMO was to be based on the Halo universe.There has been evidence that Ensemble was working on an MMO since 2006, when it began hiring for an MMO project, no information was released however, linking this MMO to Halo.

Sci-fi MMOs rarely work well, you only have to look at the infamous reputation of Star Wars: Galaxies, the recently annouced to shut down, Tabula Rasa and the general unpopularity of both of these games to see this.

Perhaps the abandoning of a Halo MMO is a good thing, perhaps we gamers have dodged an MMO bullet?

Lewis

Labels: Halo, MMORPG, Writer's note

If you’ve been on Bungie’s website recently, you’ll know about H3: Recon or at least seen the link. Bungie have admitted that this is the game that was pulled at the last minute at E3 this year but aren’t giving much else away. One bit of released information is a cryptic trailer showing the devastated New Mombasa from Halo 2 after the battle involving the Master Chief.

Recon has not been treated as a sequel to Halo 3 by Bungie, rather an expansion. The main protagonist is an ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper) soldier, “Madison” who is deployed in New Mombasa as the Covenant take over the city.

As the character has neither the durability nor power of the Master Chief, the player will have to be more tactical in their playing style than in previous Halo games and could possibly lead to a minor stealth system being put in use.

Obviously, Halo 3: Recon will be a Xbox 360 exclusive and is due for release in Autumn of 2009. The link to the trailer is here

Lewis

Labels: 360, Halo, Xbox