Despite everything else that occurred in 2020, the last twelve months were stellar for video games. Be it the surprisingly brilliant Assassin's Creed: Valhalla , the almost offensively pleasant Animal Crossing: New Horizons , or Square finally launching Final Fantasy 7 Remake , a tsunami of brilliant releases swept over us at a time where frankly, we needed them most. The question now then is this: what's next for gaming? 2020 ended on a high note, ushering in the dawn of a new console generation, but what do these odd-looking boxes really mean for gaming’s future? Sitting down with Bloober Team, Sumo Digital, Neon Giant and LKA, these four studios reveal why they find themselves feeling inspired by this shiny new era of gaming hardware, offering a glimpse into the exciting technological advances that we can expect from games in the months and years to come. The first piece of good news is likely an obvious one: what we've seen with the likes of Demon Souls and The … [Read more...] about What will next-gen games deliver in the future?
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Halo 5’s campaign goes back to basics – and it’s all the better for it
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
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