Although Bungie, the creators of Halo, have moved on to greener cross-platform pastures, Master Chief is too damn tough to let a little thing like a change of developers stop him. Halo 4 marks the first chapter of a new trilogy named the “Reclaimer Trilogy,” which will be helmed by former Bungie employees so the series is in good hands. Rather than enjoying his time off after kinda saving the galaxy, Master Chief is immediately thrust back into action as he and his now unstable AI BFF, Cortana, find themselves in an artificial habitable shield world built around a sun (also known to sci-fi geeks everywhere as a Dyson’s Sphere). There will be a shift in the tone of the gameplay too, and there will be more of an open feel to the levels as there was in the original Halo, rather than the more directed feel of the later Halo games that pushed you into the action.
Halo 4 is an upcoming video game and the eighth installment in the Halo franchise being developed for the Xbox 360.[1][2] Halo 4 is intended to be the first of a new trilogy of Halo series games, named the "Reclaimer Trilogy".[3] Whereas the previous Halo games were developed by Bungie,[4] Halo 4 will be developed by 343 Industries. The game continues some time after the ending of Halo 3, and marks the return of the Master Chief as the main protagonist. Cortana will also appear in the game.[5] The game is set for a worldwide release on November 6, 2012.[6]
Halo 4 marks the return of John-117 - the "Master Chief" - as a playable protagonist for the first time since 2007's Halo 3, as 2009's Halo 3: ODST and 2010's Halo: Reach focused on new characters and playing styles.[7][3] Having been lost in space in the finale of Halo 3, John-117 and Cortana, adrift aboard the wreckage of the UNSC frigate Forward Unto Dawn, find themselves near a mysterious Forerunner planet, which was first seen at the end of Halo 3 once players beat the game on the highest difficulty setting.[8][9] A key plot point will involve changes to Cortana and how her exposure to Halo and her operation beyond her natural lifespan may have contributed to her becoming "rampant."[10] Developers revealed in fall 2011 that the game will involve a "shield world," a hollow artificial Dyson sphere type megastructure, possibly being set inside it.[11]
The story of Halo 4 will be focused less on the Halo series' traditional straightforward first person shooter genre, instead relying more on mystery, exploration and discovery. Developers described the game as being grand in scope and scale. Forerunner elements will be featured extensively in the game's environment. Developers also suggested that the game will reveal how humanity and the UNSC have adapted to the galaxy after the end of their war with the Covenant, particularly how they have co-opted Forerunner technology.[9]
Unlike the original trilogy, the story has been designed to be part of a three-game arc from the beginning. In addition, developer 343 Industries is aiming for a more complete connectivity between all of their future media than before,[9] and the Forerunner Saga novel Halo: Primordium, the post-war novel Halo: Glasslands, and the terminals in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, will "definitely" have "resonant connections" to Halo 4's story.[9] Little information has been released regarding the storyline trilogy, but developers have intended that Halo 5 will be a much darker title before the conflict is resolved in Halo 6.[11]
Development
Halo 4 was officially announced on June 4, 2011, at E3 2011. Its development was revealed at the same time as Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.[12] Microsoft's UK entertainment director Stephen McGill saw the November 2011 release of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary as a way to introduce a new generation of fans to Halo before the release of Halo 4.[13]
The game's creative team, which comprises nearly 200 people who have been developing the game since at least 2009, is led by creative director Josh Holmes.[9] The game will continue the Halo series' tradition of inspiring wonder in the player while providing engaging, visceral gameplay. The game will utilize much of the "sandbox" that has been featured across all six prior Halo games and other media, in addition to introducing new characters, weapons, vehicles, and other elements.[9] The game's "sandbox" and overall style are meant to be more evocative of Halo: Combat Evolved than of later installments.[8]
Master Chief's character will also be explored and developed in more depth than in the prior games, and the relationship between John and Cortana will be heavily featured and greatly expanded. The new design of the Master Chief's armor has undergone a number of iterations, and it has been confirmed that the design from the announcement trailer is not the final version.[9] Developer Frank O'Connor said December 2 that both Master Chief and Cortana will undergo "radical" changes in appearance for the new game, some of them attributed to better graphics and others to story elements.[10]
The art director for Halo 4 is Kenneth Scott. He described the visual style of Halo 4 as being more ingrained in the expanded universe fiction, and more "mature" than before. With the game's increased focus on the Forerunners, the artists have invested heavily on the look and feel of Forerunner technology. It has also been stated that there will be more diversity to Forerunner structures, including fully active Forerunner technology as opposed to the mostly inert and abandoned structures seen in the earlier games.[9]
Sotaro Tojima, best known for his work on Konami's Castlevania: Circle of the Moon and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, serves as Halo 4's audio director.[9] The team has performed many live audio recording sessions, several of which occurred in Tasmania, Australia. Some of these recording sessions have taken place in generally inhospitable environments, such as underwater, in fire, and in ice, through the use of specially designed microphones;[9] other recording sessions have utilized "home made" explosives.[14] Tojima intends for the game's audio to be clearly grounded in the Halo universe, though to also have a more realistic quality than in past titles.[9]
On April 11, 2012, it was announced that British record producer and score composer; Neil Davidge would be the lead composer for the soundtrack of Halo 4.[15] Neil intends to add "a touch of romance" to the score[16] as well as adding more electronic sounds whilst still keeping it grounded in the "Halo" universe.[17] He intends to keep the feel that Martin O'Donnell originally created 10 years ago but will not use any of the previous themes composed for previous games, opting instead to create a whole new set for the new trilogy.[18]
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Etichete: 343 Industries, Cortana, Dyson sphere, Forerunner, Halo 4, Halo franchise, John-117, Master Chief, megastructure, UNSC, Xbox 360
Assassin’s Creed III
Assassin’s Creed III
Assassin’s Creed III (November 2012; TBA; Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft)
The November release date here is a guess, but it fits, as every other game in the series has been released in November. Ubisoft hasn’t let anything slip about Assassin’s Creed 3, and technically it is not even confirmed yet. But it kind of is. Ubisoft developers have confirmed that the series will have something of a conclusion this year — or at least the current present-day story with Desmond looking to thwart a Templar plot will be resolved. It kind of has to, since the event is supposed to take place in 2012. Ubisoft could always delay, but that doesn’t seem likely, nor is it in keeping with what we’ve already heard. The game will introduce a new historical assassin, feature an all new time period, and put Desmond in a more active role. The real question isn’t when Assassin’s Creed III will be out, but when it will be set.
Assassin's Creed III is an upcoming game being developed by Ubisoft set for release on October 31, 2012. It will feature a new setting (Colonial United States of America), as well as a new protagonist a half Native American, half British man named Connor (his Native American name being Ratonhaketon) Kenway. The game will feature 30 years of Connor's life from 1753 to 1783 and feature the cities of Boston and New York, as well as a wilderness area known as the Frontier in which 1/3 of missions will take place. Ubisoft has stated that the game will be bigger than its previous installments; the Frontier alone being 1.5 times bigger than Rome from Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. As of February 15, 2012, Ubisoft had worked on the title for three years. It will also be 20% longer than Assassin's Creed II.
The game will also feature some real historical figures like Nicolo Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci in the Ezio games; George Washington and Benjamin Franklin will be featured in the new Assassin's Creed III. There will also be new weapons such as, the tomahawk/axe and the bow and arrow.
Assassin's Creed III will feature new weather simulations such as snow, fog and rain depending on the seasons, weather will also determine how the templars and soldiers will move around.
Corey May, who has been writer for Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, is the writer for this game. Alex Hutchinson is the lead designer for the game.[7]
Gameplay has been completely revamped. New combat animations, and styles have replaced the old ones. Free running has been changed to allow Connor to climb trees, swing along branches, etc. Connor will now be able to hunt animals for skins in the wilderness while at the same time Connor himself might find that he is being hunted by other animals.
Assassin's Creed is an award winning historical fiction action-adventure open world stealth video game series that as of 2012 consists of five main games and a number of supporting materials. The games have appeared on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, iOS, HP webOS,[1] Android, Nokia Symbian and Windows Phone platforms, with a PlayStation Vita on the way, and will be coming to the Wii U. The main games in the franchise were developed by Ubisoft Montreal, with the handheld titles developed by Gameloft and Gryptonite Studios, with additional development by Ubisoft Montreal. All games in the franchise are published by Ubisoft.
Gameplay
While the game is presented through the protagonist Desmond Miles, the bulk of the game is played as Desmond experiences the memories of either Altaïr, Ezio, or Connor through the Animus. This provides a means of a diegetic interface for the player, showing Altaïr or Ezio's health, equipment, goals, and other features as part of the Animus interface. The Animus is based on the player, as Desmond, controlling the assassin to maintain the synchronization between Desmond and his ancestor's memories. Performing actions that go against the Assassin's way or dying breaks the synchronization, effectively requiring the player to restart at a previous checkpoint. Furthermore, the player cannot explore outside of areas that the assassin has not experienced yet. There are also abnormalities within the Animus from previous users of the device.
While playing as the Assassin characters, the games are generally presented as third-person in an open world, focusing on stealth and parkour. The games use a mission structure to follow the main story, generally assigning the player to complete an assassination of public figureheads or a covert mission. Alternatively, several side missions are available, such as mapping out the expansive cities from a high perch followed by performing a "leap of faith" into a haystack below, collecting treasures hidden across the cities, exploring ruins for relics, building a brotherhood of assassins to perform other tasks, or funding the rebuilding of a city through purchasing and upgrading of shops and other features. At times, the player is in direct control of Desmond, who by nature of the Animus use has learned Assassin techniques through the bleeding effect, as well as their genetic ability of Eagle Vision, which separates friend, foe and assassination targets by illuminating people in different colors. Through the Animus interface, the player can go back to retry any past mission already completed; for example, in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the player achieves better synchronization results by performing the mission in a specific manner such as by only killing the mission's target.
The games use the concept of "active" versus "passive" moves, with "active" moves, such as running, climbing the sides of buildings, or jumping between rooftops, more likely to alert the attention of nearby guards. When the guards become alerted, the player must either fight them or break their line of sight and locate a hiding place, such as a haystack or a well, and wait until the guards' alert is reduced. The combat system allows for a number of unique weapons, armor, and moves, including the use of a hidden blade set in a band on the Assassin's arm, and which also can be used to quietly assassinate targets.
