Playing Halo 5's campaign, you get the feeling developer 343 is being pulled in two opposing directions: one direction heads towards the tried and trusted Halo gameplay perfected by Bungie before Microsoft took over development duties after the release of Halo: Reach, the other direction heads towards a need to grow the Halo franchise while establishing new characters. Where does Halo 5's meaty, crisp and fun campaign end up? Further along the gameplay road than the story road. Let's start with the story. In the build up to the release of Halo 5, Microsoft's marketing has zeroed in on an apparent conflict between Master Chief, the series star, and a new Spartan, the ex-ONI agent Jameson Locke. Is Master Chief, who goes AWOL alongside a few of his Spartan friends (Fred, Linda and Kelly), really a traitor? Locke, leader of Fireteam Osiris (Buck, voiced by the suitably wise-cracking Nathan Fillion, Tanaka and Vale) is dispatched to hunt Master Chief down under orders issued by a … [Read more...] about Halo 5’s campaign goes back to basics – and it’s all the better for it
A series unfortunate events
Mortal Kombat Trailer Is The Most-Watched Red-Band Promo Of All Time
The recent red-band trailer for the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie has broken records. The promo was viewed more than 166 million times in its first week, making it the most-watched red-band trailer of all time. As reported by Deadline , within four days, the Mortal Kombat trailer had overtaken the Logan and Deadpool 2 redband trailers, the previous record holders. In addition, the trailer trended in 52 YouTube markets and 28 Twitter markets. Mortal Kombat will be released in theaters and hit HBO Max on April 16, where it will stay for a month before moving to regular on demand platforms. The movie is directed by Simon McQuoid and stars Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, Josh Lawson as Kano, Sisi Stringer as Mileena, Max Huang as Kung Lao, Lewis Tan as Cole Young, and Chin Han as Shang Tsung. Check out GameSpot's Mortal Kombat trailer breakdown here. This is the third Mortal Kombat movie. The first was released in 1995 and was directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, who would go on to make the … [Read more...] about Mortal Kombat Trailer Is The Most-Watched Red-Band Promo Of All Time
Shiny Gigantamax Pikachu Is Appearing In Pokemon Sword And Shield For A Limited Time
A new Max Raid event is now live in Pokemon Sword and Shield . As part of the Pokemon series' 25th anniversary festivities, Gigantamax Pikachu is appearing in Max Raid battles again until February 28, and you'll have a chance to encounter a Shiny Gigantamax Pikachu in five-star Raids. As was the case with the recent Cramorant Max Raid event, the overarching goal of this particular event is to defeat more than 1 million Pikachu. If players can hit that goal, The Pokemon Company will give away 100 Armorite Ore and 100 Dynite Ore, which are used as currency for certain items and services in the Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra areas. The Gigantamax Pikachu Max Raid event runs until 3:59 PM PT / 6:59 PM ET on February 28. Before you can participate, you'll first need to refresh your Max Raid dens. You can do so either by connecting your game online or by going into the Mystery Gift menu and selecting Get the Wild Area News. Time to team up and work together with your fellow … [Read more...] about Shiny Gigantamax Pikachu Is Appearing In Pokemon Sword And Shield For A Limited Time
On the hunt for Halo 5’s spark
During the Enemy Lines level from Halo 5's campaign, which takes place around halfway through the game, Spartan Locke leads Fireteam Osiris into a huge goldfish bowl of an arena set on Sanghelios, homeworld of the Elites. Arbiter has formed a new alliance called the Swords of Sanghelios, and Osiris lends Master Chief's alien mate a hand in putting down the Covenant. It's all kicking off. Muscle memory honed by years of similar setups in previous Halo games takes over, the "golden triangle" of shoot, grenade, melee is still as satisfying - and potent - as ever. 343 Industries' Halo has, shock horror, dared to turn that triangle into a square with the addition of new abilities such as sprint, and aim down sights, and a ground pound, and an air boost, but the famous Halo combat loop stands strong, like one of the statues of ancient aliens we see on Sanghelios, a testament to the purity that is Halo gameplay. Shoot, grenade, melee. Shoot, grenade, melee. 30 seconds of fun, calm down, … [Read more...] about On the hunt for Halo 5’s spark