Bungie Studios unveiled the newest Halo installment today at the Tokyo Game Show. Dubbed Halo 3: Recon, this installment is a prologue to Halo 3 and will describe the events that led up to it from the perspective of an unnamed Orbital Shock Trooper.
That’s right: no Master Chief.
Details are still relatively sketchy but what is known is that this is to be a hybrid stealth – shooter.
I have to tell you, some of my favorite gaming moments have been playing Thief, Crysis, and other stealth FPS games. The sheer joy that is the well planned ambush or cunningly disguised booby-trap greatly appeals to my sense of bedlam and wanton destruction. That, and just being a sneaky git.
According to Microsoft, the game is expected in early 2009.
•All-new campaign content: The Halo 3: Recon campaign is an intriguing side story that takes place during the terrifying events leading up to the Master Chief’s return to New Mombasa in Halo 3. Experience the fate of Earth from the brand-new perspective of a special forces ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper), adding a unique outlook and new gameplay elements to the events that unfold in the trilogy’s finale. While the feel of this new chapter greatly resembles that of previous Halo experiences, Halo 3: Recon will require you to employ more elements of stealth and cunning than ever before.
•Prepare to drop: Known for their courage, valor and, at times, insanity, ODSTs are among the fiercest UNSC soldiers, priding themselves on being the first unit deployed into hostile situations. While not as large or supernaturally gifted as their Spartan comrades, these “Hell Jumpers” more than compensate with their ferocious attitudes and unwavering nerve.
•Expanded multiplayer collection:No Halo experience would be complete without groundbreaking multiplayer content, and Halo 3: Recon gives fans more of what they love. With exclusive new maps and expanded Forge options, Xbox LIVE® Gold members will find more multiplayer content than ever before with Halo 3: Recon.
•Ever-growing community options: Enjoy all the great Halo 3 technological innovations, including Saved Films, screenshots, Campaign Scoring, and four-player co-op. All of the new multiplayer maps fully support the Forge editor, offering endless gameplay customization possibilities.
There has been a lot of indie gems that have been flooding the market, games that are just as good as their mainstream counterparts but without the 400 person PR department. This is the first of many games that I’ll be writing about that talk about games that deserve your hard drive space.
In the world of gaming, indie games are just starting to build some street cred. Games like Braid and Geometry Wars have crept onto the scene and made a big hit, but before they broke big PoxNora was, and is, the little indie that could.
PoxNora, developed by Octopi Inc., is a turn-based RTS where you maneuver units cross a battlefield against another opponent.
The game is, in essence, a card collection game that you can buy and trade online. Cards – called runes – are divided into four categories: champions, spells, relics and equipment and range in potency. Common, uncommon, rare and exotic cards confer how beneficial the rune is and can decide victory or defeat for the player.
Here is a trailer – two years old, yes I know – but shows the gameplay and different maps you can brawl on:
The thing I like the most about this game is not just the collection element of what is essentially a card game, but the ability you have as a gamer to level up your champion runes by playing them in a game, giving them experience points you can sink into new abilities or increased stats.
Champions are basically units and vary between cannon-fodder melee units such as the Deep Elf Mercenary to named units like Vindrax, a dragon that can easily destroy multiple units with its bad breath.
Battlefields vary but almost all require one of two victory conditions must be met before victory is established: destroy all of the opposing players champions or destroy their Nora Shrine, the source of their magical power.
Does it get beardy? Oh yes. Players have been known to field decks made up of completely exotic cards. I myself have played an overpowered deck with two Dwarven Kings – perhaps the strongest team melee cards in the whole game. But even a lamer like myself with my “1337SAUCE POWERGAMER SKILLZ” gets thrashed regularly.
Ranking goes up and down depending on your wins and losses. I was ranked fairly high at one point but now I’m
As far as hardware goes, this game is about as easy to run on a computer as you can get. The game is Java based and utilizes minimum resources to play. However, because it is Java based means that this game won’t amaze anyone with the sensory addiction that comes with high-graphic games such as Crysis or Bioshock. The nice thing is that since it is Java based that updates and expansions are relatively quick on the scene and not lacking for quality.
This game is a minimalist affair, but the simple fact that even with graphics that belong on a Nintendo DS this game is addicting and well worth the scratch to get started.
PoxNora can be demoed for free, so if you have a PC and you enjoy turn-based RTS game, you should give it a shot.
At the behest of editors who for some reason want me to do actual work here at The Herald, I have enlisted fellow gamer and good friend Barry Rolapp to help take care of some Big Game Hunter reviews and blog posts.
Why Barry you ask? Well for starters he is six foot eight inches, has a blue liberty-spike Mohawk and has been known to rip the arms off of shiny protocol droids and beat them – hence “The Wookie.”
Barry is also a PS3 owner – yes, one of THOSE people – and plays knows how to play video games like Yo-Yo Ma knows how to play the cello.
All around cool fellow, he’ll be giving us a Silent Hill: Origins review in short order.
Welcome Barry. You are the wind beneath my wings.
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