E3 Aftermath, and Halo 4: Master Chief Rides Again

Another year, another E3 come and gone.  I have to say I'm a bit disappointed with the show this year, I was expecting the Wii U to have a stronger presence.  It would have been awesome if Nintendo came along with a new Mario game (New Super Mario Bros doesn't count!), Zelda game, and Donkey Kong game, and really showed us how the gameplay can be fresh and exciting with the new tablet controller.

Doomed to be a gimmick? Let's hope not.

Also I'm a bit angry with Valve for not making any announcements.  A couple months back, Gabe Newell (the co-founder of Valve) said that Valve would be announcing "all our favorite things" at E3, including a game with a '3' in it.  Those of us who have been waiting for Half-Life 2: Episode 3 (or just Half-Life 3) were pretty much jumping for joy at this point.  A couple weeks after this exciting statement, Newell followed up by saying he was pretty much lying through his teeth: Valve would not be making any announcements at E3.  Even after hearing this, I still held onto some hope, but alas, no announcements.

What surprised me the most at this year's E3 was the trailer and gameplay demo of Halo 4.  It did something I never thought possible: it got me interested in the Halo series again.  After playing the disappointing Halo 3: ODST, I vowed never to buy another Halo game again.  However, the trailer for Halo 4 appeals to my inner sci-fi geek; it looks like the game might actually have a strong story!  I'm very interested in learning about the world the Master Chief is stranded on, which appears to be populated by Forerunner-created AI.  Also I'm wondering why the Elites are an enemy again (make up your mind guys!).


What were your favorite moments of E3 2012?  Is there anything you're especially excited about?

Another year, another E3 come and gone.  I have to say I'm a bit disappointed with the show this year, I was expecting the Wii U to have a stronger presence.  It would have been awesome if Nintendo came along with a new Mario game (New Super Mario Bros doesn't count!), Zelda game, and Donkey Kong game, and really showed us how the gameplay can be fresh and exciting with the new tablet controller.

Doomed to be a gimmick? Let's hope not.

Also I'm a bit angry with Valve for not making any announcements.  A couple months back, Gabe Newell (the co-founder of Valve) said that Valve would be announcing "all our favorite things" at E3, including a game with a '3' in it.  Those of us who have been waiting for Half-Life 2: Episode 3 (or just Half-Life 3) were pretty much jumping for joy at this point.  A couple weeks after this exciting statement, Newell followed up by saying he was pretty much lying through his teeth: Valve would not be making any announcements at E3.  Even after hearing this, I still held onto some hope, but alas, no announcements.

What surprised me the most at this year's E3 was the trailer and gameplay demo of Halo 4.  It did something I never thought possible: it got me interested in the Halo series again.  After playing the disappointing Halo 3: ODST, I vowed never to buy another Halo game again.  However, the trailer for Halo 4 appeals to my inner sci-fi geek; it looks like the game might actually have a strong story!  I'm very interested in learning about the world the Master Chief is stranded on, which appears to be populated by Forerunner-created AI.  Also I'm wondering why the Elites are an enemy again (make up your mind guys!).


What were your favorite moments of E3 2012?  Is there anything you're especially excited about?

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Strange Gaming Moment: Gravemind the Talking Plant

Remember back when you had your first play through of Halo 1?  The suspense as you made your way through the dark and creepy swamp level?  The anticipation of what kind of terrifying enemy would make the Covenant run for their lives?  I admit I was a bit let down upon finding out that the main reason for the suspense was just the zombie-like Flood, but it was still a nice change of pace to have a new enemy to battle.  The Flood were a pain in the ass to fight, mainly because of how resilient they were to most weapons except the shotgun and the rocket launcher.  Even the sheer numbers of the parasitic forms could be a nightmare if your shields were down.

Go ahead, unload that entire assault rifle clip into him, he can take it.

I was content to think of the Flood as a bunch of zombies who were controlled by the parasitic forms, each with individual mindless goals (attack anything that isn't a Flood).  However, with the release of Halo 2, Bungie decided to make the Flood a hive-minded species, controlled by one supreme Flood creature.  The problem is that they chose one of the most laughable ways of doing this.  Meet Gravemind:

It's a little hard to tell from screenshots, but Gravemind is essentially a gigantic talking Venus flytrap.  Kind of difficult taking the story seriously when something so comical is introduced isn't it?  Gravemind's main goal is for the Flood to consume all sentient life in the galaxy, apparently while they all die of laughter from seeing a talking plant pretending to be a badass.

Despite all the negative feedback from Halo fans, Bungie again included Gravemind in Halo 3 as one of the main antagonists.  Thankfully the Master Chief and the Arbiter destroy him once and for all, but it remains to be seen if another Gravemind-like creature will make an appearance in Halo 4.

Remember back when you had your first play through of Halo 1?  The suspense as you made your way through the dark and creepy swamp level?  The anticipation of what kind of terrifying enemy would make the Covenant run for their lives?  I admit I was a bit let down upon finding out that the main reason for the suspense was just the zombie-like Flood, but it was still a nice change of pace to have a new enemy to battle.  The Flood were a pain in the ass to fight, mainly because of how resilient they were to most weapons except the shotgun and the rocket launcher.  Even the sheer numbers of the parasitic forms could be a nightmare if your shields were down.

Go ahead, unload that entire assault rifle clip into him, he can take it.

I was content to think of the Flood as a bunch of zombies who were controlled by the parasitic forms, each with individual mindless goals (attack anything that isn't a Flood).  However, with the release of Halo 2, Bungie decided to make the Flood a hive-minded species, controlled by one supreme Flood creature.  The problem is that they chose one of the most laughable ways of doing this.  Meet Gravemind:

It's a little hard to tell from screenshots, but Gravemind is essentially a gigantic talking Venus flytrap.  Kind of difficult taking the story seriously when something so comical is introduced isn't it?  Gravemind's main goal is for the Flood to consume all sentient life in the galaxy, apparently while they all die of laughter from seeing a talking plant pretending to be a badass.

Despite all the negative feedback from Halo fans, Bungie again included Gravemind in Halo 3 as one of the main antagonists.  Thankfully the Master Chief and the Arbiter destroy him once and for all, but it remains to be seen if another Gravemind-like creature will make an appearance in Halo 4.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad