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Xbox News is a site that brings you the very latest Original Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One news, the latest games and releases, Part of the
DCEmu Homebrew & Gaming Network.
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June 13th, 2014, 23:24 Posted By: wraggster
The creators of Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris can't have forgotten the sour note in the choir of praise around the previous game: Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light launched without online co-op, which was added weeks later in a patch. That won't happen again, I learned in a meeting with Crystal Dynamics this morning.
The custodians of all things Croft are planning to have online co-op ready to go when the game arrives ("soon") on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Single-screen top-down tomb raiding also returns, of course, now with a diverse cast of four playable characters: Lara Croft, a rival explorer named Carter Bell and two imprisoned Egyptian gods, Horus and Isis. The game will support a mixture of local and online players that make up the adventurers, and can also be completed solo.
You can read more in our preview, which calls the Temple of Osiris another exciting venue for the older Ms. Croft, once again played by Keely Hawes.
http://www.joystiq.com/2014/06/12/la...e-co-op-at-la/
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June 13th, 2014, 23:20 Posted By: wraggster
During my earlier meeting with Forza Horizon 2 devs Playground Games, they put a heavy emphasis on the racer's new dynamic weather system. Raindrops spatter windshields, turn roads into soggy slicks and reduce visibility. At the time I wasn't able to experience the effect for myself, but after a bit of hands-on time, I've learned one crucial point: Summer showers turn exotic supercars into missiles with all the guidance of a blind penguin.
The key thing to remember is that all weather in Forza Horizon 2 is actuallydynamic. A given race may be bathed in sunshine, while the same race, later in the game, might feature a sunny start, followed by a momentary deluge, then a bone-dry race to the finish. In most racing games, weather has a less than realistic effect, but in the case of Forza Horizon 2, a sudden downpour translates to cars sliding off the road at 160 miles per hour. Once the rains come, you should be prepared to drive as cautiously as possible, lest your expensive ride turn into a rolling hunk of scrap.
http://www.joystiq.com/2014/06/13/fo...t-on-the-rain/
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June 12th, 2014, 01:46 Posted By: wraggster
 And with that, Xbox One is an Xbox again. To the relief of the millions watching around the world earlier today, Xbox One wasn’t referred to as an ‘all-in-one entertainment system’ at all during Microsoft’s E3 2014 media briefing; instead, we were presented with a string of new games intended to recapture some of the spark that made Xbox 360 the market leader and console of choice for the hardcore player last generation.Without an awkward celebrity cameo in sight, this was a press conference full of familiar franchises and game concepts. They had next-gen polish, fourplayer online co-op and dedicated servers. What were intended as surprises weren’t all that surprising, and once again, Microsoft’s efforts to promote more alternative fare from the indie scene felt forced. But at least they’re trying.Once part of the supporting cast, Phil Spencer is now in charge and was, amusingly, careful to distance himself from the previous regime. We’ve heard Microsoft talk of ‘listening to its audience’ plenty of times before, but here Spencer went one step further, wrapping up the briefing by referring to all that had unfolded as a look at “the new Xbox”. Without Don Mattrick, Marc Whitten or indeed Kinect in his way, Xbox One is now Phil Spencer’s console – it is his hand steadying the tiller and his tight focus on games made for a showcase which wasn’t quite impressive enough to get pulses truly racing, but enough to suggest that Microsoft now understands what players want.These were games made for that resilient, faithful core of Xbox players who know what they like and just want more of it. It was appropriate, then, that first out the gate was the new Call Of Duty, which looked like a confident amalgamation of all the sci-fi shooters that have gone before it. It was also our first mention of “raising the bar”, while being “built from the ground up” was saved to describe Forza Horizon 2, an open world driving game with a strong social element. You can group together with friends to race in a club – a Drive Club, if you will – and that kind of connected, co-operative play would become a theme to run throughout this year’s showcase. New footage of Evolve, Assassin’s Creed Unity and The Division all revolved around co-op, and just as the presentation threatened to become a little too earnest and serious, Sunset Overdrive arrived to offer a welcome shift in tone, brimming with colour and cheeky self-referential humour.
http://www.edge-online.com/news/micr...cers-new-xbox/
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June 12th, 2014, 01:41 Posted By: wraggster
Toylogic's free-to-play online multiplayer title Happy Wars is on its way to Xbox One, Microsoft announced this week during its E3 press briefing.
The game combines RPG and strategy mechanics, offering a short single player campaign along with up to 15 on 15 battles in multiplayer.
A release window for the Xbox One version wasn't mentioned during the short announcement.
Happy Wars originally launched on Xbox 360 in 2012,garnering 2m players in its first few months out. It recently released for Windows PC as an Early Access title on Steam as well.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/happy...ox-one/0133941
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June 11th, 2014, 22:45 Posted By: wraggster
If you've long suspected that Grand Theft Auto V would reach next-gen consoles and the PC, you were on the mark -- Sony and Rockstar have confirmed that the open-world crime saga is coming to the PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One this fall. Moreover, any progress you've made in Grand Theft Auto Online on the PS3 or Xbox 360 carries over to its next-gen equivalents. How nice is that? In a blog post, Rockstar says the upgraded versions will have "across-the-board graphical and technical improvements to deliver a stunning new level of detail. Increased draw distances, finer texture details, denser traffic, and enhanced resolutions." That's not all though, since the gameplay will have all the new features added since the originals released, and extra tweaks to things like weather, damage, wildlife and more. Check out a brief clip of the new version after the break (look at all that traffic!).
http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/09/g...playstation-4/
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June 11th, 2014, 22:27 Posted By: wraggster
The first WWE 2K15 characters and details for have been revealed.
Bray Wyatt, Cesaro, John Cena, Hulk Hogan and Roman Reigns are the first five superstars to join the game's roster, with Wyatt making his debut video game appearance.
Publisher 2K Sports is promising a vast overhaul for the 16th game in the WWE series, with developer Visual Concepts (NBA 2K14) taking on a much larger role alongside regular studio Yukes.
This will be the first game fully handled by 2K: when the studio took over the license from THQ, WWE 2K14 was already partly in development.
According to Game Informer, WWE 2K15 will incorporate Visual Concepts' scanning technique currently used in the NBA 2K series, with superstars who look "leaps and bounds closer to their real-life counterparts".
2K has already scanned 90 per cent of the game's roster, with massive upgrades reported for hair, skin, faces and ring gear.
Other improvements include the use of a new motion-capture studio that will result in five times the number of existing animations, and a new cut-off date for content set months later than in previous games, ensuring the roster and content will be more up-to-date with the WWE programming showing on TV when the game is released.
Finally, commentary is said to have been greatly improved, with Jerry 'The King' Lawler and Michael Cole recording their commentary together for the first time in the series' history, meaning their interactions and conversations will sound more realistic. Each commentator will record over 30 hours of dialogue to ensure repetition is kept to a minimum.
More information on WWE 2K15 is expected to be revealed on Thursday, June 12.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...ails-revealed/
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June 11th, 2014, 22:20 Posted By: wraggster
"They went on sale in GameStop yesterday; these things started to fly off the shelves," senior vice president of merchandising Bob Puzon toldGameSpot. "It's a huge win and a huge opportunity for us."
Puzon also noted that the original $499 Xbox One is still "very vibrant" for the retailer.
 Microsoft reported in late April that Xbox One shipments totalled five million units. PS4 sales stood at seven million units as of April 6, according to Sony, with both platforms having launched in November 2013.
Microsoft made a number of significant announcements in the run-up to E3. Aside from the Kinect-free Xbox One, Games with Gold launched on the system, while entertainment apps are no longer locked behind an Xbox Live Gold subscription..
The announcements cleared the way for the company to focus on game-related reveals during its E3 press conference on Monday.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...s-at-gamestop/
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June 9th, 2014, 23:16 Posted By: wraggster
Microsoft’s Chris Charla took to the stage at E3 to show off the company’s array of upcoming indie titles heading to Xbox One.
Charla said through its ID@Xbox program Microsoft was aiming to offer independent developers free middleware options and on-going support to enable developers self-publishing on Xbox One.
A montage of upcoming titles claimed that hundreds of games were coming to Xbox One.
Developers featured in the reel included Team Colourblind, nDemic Creations, Snow Castle Games, Heart Machine, Studio MDHR, Stage 2 Studios, Through Games, Comcept, Broke Window Studios and Grin.
Also taking centre stage was Playdead’s latest release, Inside.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/e...upport/0193924
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June 9th, 2014, 22:54 Posted By: wraggster
From the moment Phil Spencer took to the stage and referenced his ‘friends’ over at Sony and Nintendo, you knew Xbox was playing the humble card.
And that's fair enough, because they had been humbled. Last year’s E3 was a disaster for the platform holder, a mistake they must not repeat. Spencer said they had been listening to the fans and was delivering a conference just for them.
“You are shaping the future of Xbox and we are better for it,” he said, evoking the first ‘whoop’ of the showcase.
And so that means there was no Kinect. No SmartGlass. With the notable exception of a two minute reference to Dance Central, there was nothing in this press conference that would have put off any potential Xbox customer. Members of the trade, the retailers in the room, may have wondered what they had to offer consumers that aren’t hardcore gamers, but for everyone else this was a solid showing.
The fan pleasing moments came thick and fast. Revisiting cult games such as Phantom Dust and Conker’s Bad Fur Day, mixed with super franchises like Crackdown and Halo’s new collection. But was there enough on show to slow Sony’s momentum? Maybe.
The PlayStation press conference is still to come and Xbox has asked Sony a question: What do you have coming this year?
Microsoft’s line-up for the rest of the year includes Project Spark, Halo Masterchief Collection, Forza Horizon 2, Sunset Overdrive and all those little indie products and major third-party titles.
Sony’s current slate is weak, with only DriveClub on the Christmas line-up. If PlayStation does not offer enough this Q4, Microsoft will have another opportunity to close that gap.
Yet, likewise, E3 remains firmly in the balance. As solid as Microsoft’s conference was, it wasn’t particularly sensational either. One big surprise from Sony could change everything. And with Microsoft backing away from any talk of hardware and online service, Sony can generate extra excitement around its recent investment in Virtual Reality and PlayStation Now unchallenged.
It will be an interesting evening.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/opini...bundle/0133713
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June 9th, 2014, 22:40 Posted By: wraggster
Microsoft dedicates its entire 90-minute presentation to tons of games
[h=3]Microsoft[/h]microsoft.com
Perhaps to erase any doubts about just how serious Microsoft is when it comes to showing that the Xbox One is a games machine and not just an entertainment hub, today at its E3 2014 media briefing the company went full throttle showing a plethora of games coming this year, next year and beyond.
Microsoft's Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, noted that Xbox shares "a common purpose with our friends at Sony, Nintendo" and all publishers to "showcase the potential of games."
Things began with Sledgehammer Games' Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, which Spencer said is the "beginning of new era" for Call of Duty. Xbox gamers will be first to play all of the add-on content for the title. Up next, Dan Greenwalt of Turn 10 announced that the Nurburging course will be available starting today in Forza 5 for free. Additionally, the team showed off Forza Horizon 2, which is built on Forza 5's graphics engine, introduces a day/night cycle and dynamic weather. It launches on September 30.
After a trailer from 2K for Evolve, the next big spotlight was given to Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Unity. "Explore our biggest playground ever," Ubisoft boasted. For the first time you'll be able to form your own brotherhood and join up to three friends on Xbox Live, the publisher said.
More big titles were then teased: Dragon Age Inquisition from BioWare (October 7), Insomniac's Sunset Overdrive trailer (Xbox One exclusive on October 28), Dead Rising 3 Arcade Adventure (up to 4 players online, all new DLC available now for Dead Rising 3), Disney Fantasia Music Evolved and Dance Central Spotlight (digital only game for Xbox One this September).
Another headliner for Xbox One will be Fable Legends. Lionhead's David Eckelberry said, "Our vision is more than for just a cooperative Fable." In the game you have the option of playing as the villain, which brings a whole new perspective to the game, basically letting you control the game from above like a malevolent god. The multiplayer beta begins this fall.
Project Spark was shown next. The game creation software is coming this holiday, and Microsoft teased Conker at the end of the trailer, as he chainsawed through a logo. "Almost 10 years without a new game, guess we'll have to make our own," Conker said.
For gamers with a passion for unique art styles, Microsoft then showed an Xbox One exclusive called Ori and the Blind Forest, which felt very much inspired by the great Miyazaki.
Then Microsoft transitioned to its biggest franchise of all: Halo. 343's Bonnie Ross came out to describe that Master Chief is about to begin "a deeply personal journey." Not only is Halo 5 coming, but on November 11, Microsoft will launch Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which enables fans to play through the whole saga. November marks the 10-year anniversary of Halo 2, so as part of the collection, the game is getting a full makeover treatment. Halo 2 Anniversary will recreate six iconic multiplayer maps with power of Xbox One. The Master Chief Collection also includes a Halo Nightfall digital video series, and perhaps the biggest selling point: access to the Halo 5 Guardians beta.
Following the Halo orgy, Microsoft went on to show what's coming in 2015 and beyond. First a trailer for Inside from Limbo dev Playdead was shown. It's first on Xbox in 2015. Chris Charla, director of ID@Xbox, also took the stage to note that "hundreds of games are coming from independent devs" and they showed a quick trailer to tease some of those titles.
Other titles then shown included Rise of the Tomb Raider (holiday 2015), CD Projekt Red's The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, a new Phantom Dust from creative director Ken Lobb, Tom Clancy's The Division (new content first on Xbox One), Platinum Games' Hideki Kamiya's next original game, exclusive to Xbox One, called Scalebound, and finally a new Crackdown game from David Jones. "Time to reimagine your open world gaming experience," Jones quipped.
Spencer then closed out the show, noting that it's Microsoft's "commitment to make Xbox One the best place to play games" and the company will "continue to invest to bring the best creators to Xbox One."
"We will continue to listen to you, our community, we will continue to make Xbox One for you. Thank you for helping us shape the future of the new Xbox," he closed.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...nquet-of-games
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June 9th, 2014, 21:07 Posted By: wraggster
One way Microsoft can stimulate Xbox One sales is to drop the price to match its better-selling rival, the PlayStation 4. After it confirmed exactly that by announcing a Kinectless Xbox One last month, the company has now opened sales -- hours before E3 2014 kicks off. You can pick one up for $399.99/£349.99 via Microsoft's online store, which lets you concentrate on gaming instead of repeating that frustrating "Xbox on" command. If you decide later that you do want the sensor-packed accessory, a standalone version will be available this fall. Microsoft will also continue to sell the "premium" bundle with Kinect. Today's launch is meant to be about gamers that "just like to play games with a controller in their hand," because, you know, everyone else totally wanted a Kinect to begin with.
Microsoft Store (US), (UK)
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June 9th, 2014, 21:01 Posted By: wraggster
Xbox One will get a new Achievements-tracking app "later this summer", Microsoft has announced.Speaking during the company's pre-E3 conference event, Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb showed off the new-look app which can now be Snapped for the first time.Achievements can now be tracked easily, difficult awards highlighted, and an option to "gain help". See images and video of the app below:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...er-this-summer
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June 9th, 2014, 20:55 Posted By: wraggster
Microsoft has signed some sort of content deal with BioWare for Dragon Age: Inquisition.A new trailer aired at E3 for the game announced "premiere content first on Xbox". What that is, is unclear.The new trailer showed a varied, colourful and raucous fantasy world to explore. The fire effect hurled from a dragon's chops was fantastic.The game's out on new-gen and old-gen consoles, as well as PC, 10th October.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-first-on-xbox
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June 9th, 2014, 20:54 Posted By: wraggster
By Robert Purchese Published Monday, 9 June 2014
UPDATE: Harmonix has announced Dance Central: Spotlight at E3. It's a digital-only (download only) game that's coming this September. Harmonix boss Alex Rigopulos said the game had new technology that gets music tracks into the game faster than ever before. This should mean more, newer content and more often.
ORIGINAL STORY: US video game age-ratings board, ESRB, has listed/outed Dance Central: Spotlight for Xbox One (via Project Boommeister).
Doesn't say too much about it, other than that there's the option for downloadable music - what, really? - and that some of the songs have naughty lyrics.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...tral-spotlight
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June 9th, 2014, 20:53 Posted By: wraggster
Microsoft has just shown off beautiful new platformer from indie developer Moon Studios, named Ori and the Blind Forest.Due out this holiday exclusively on Xbox One (edit: and PC too), the game looks to be a side-scrolling 2D platformer with stylised visuals and some Studio Ghibli-style characters.Alongside the main character is a floating orb, almost like the player's helper in Ubisoft's Child of Light.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...e-blind-forest
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June 9th, 2014, 20:52 Posted By: wraggster
Never played Halo? Microsoft and 343 are stuffing all the mainline Halo games into one box - and remastering them - for Xbox One. Introducing Halo: The Master Chief collection, due out 11th November 2014.Included are the anniversary editions of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, as well as Halo 3 and Halo 4. Every game runs at 60fps. And, as Microsoft noted, "even the series' most recent releases - Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and Halo 4 - will benefit from the jump to Xbox One, sporting much higher fidelity, better shadowing, reflection, and lighting effects, as well as an overall level of detail that trumps the previous console generation".The Master Chief Collection has one single unified interface and everything unlocked, all on one disc. Every single multiplayer map ever released for any Halo game is included. That's 100 multiplayer maps and all on dedicated servers in 1080p, apparently.The developer noted that this collection will include Halo 2 multiplayer "exactly as it shipped 10 years ago", and will feature six remastered maps.Also included with The Master Chief Collection are a beta key for the Halo 5 beta, which takes place this December, and the Halo: Nightfall TV series announced last year - a collaboration with Ridley Scott and director Sergio Mimica-Gezzan.And to top it all off: 4000 Gamescore for The Master Chief Collection.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ludes-halo-1-4
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June 9th, 2014, 20:51 Posted By: wraggster
Add-on content for Tom Clancy's The Division, Ubisoft's ambitious 2015 open-world shooter, will launch first on Xbox One.Developer Ubisoft Massive made the announcement live on stage just now during Microsoft's press conference. The game is also set to launch on PC and PlayStation 4.Also shown off was a new slice of gameplay set on a snowy Christmas Day in post-apocalypse US. A four-player fireteam is shown taking on adversaries amongst the debris of a street littered with cars and rubble.Players use assault rifles, drones and flamethrowers in battle, with the HUDs for each weapon popping up on screen next to the weapons.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...st-to-xbox-one
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June 9th, 2014, 20:51 Posted By: wraggster
Microsoft is making another Crackdown game. This one's just called Crackdown, by the looks of it, and development's being handled by Dave Jones and - apparently - the Dundee-based firm Cloudgine. Jones created the first game in the series back at Realtime Worlds.Announcing the game on-stage at Microsoft's E3 press conference, Jones promised campaign co-op and dedicated servers, and then showed a trailer that featured the Agency taking out a kingpin by hitting him in the face with a skyscraper.So destructible terrain? Sounds like a good fit. More details when we get them.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ng-to-xbox-one
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June 9th, 2014, 20:50 Posted By: wraggster
The Xbox One version of Destiny will have a higher resolution than originally planned thanks to Microsoft's decision to "unlock" system resources previously reserved for Kinect. Shiny.
Microsoft's June software development kit removes the previous allocation of GPU specifically reserved for Kinect, meaning more memory is available directly to games.Speaking last night in a Major Nelsonpodcast (thanks, Total Xbox), Xbox boss Phil Spencer explained the change and gave examples of two games that would benefit."I think about games like Sunset Overdrive, that's going to take advantage of the June [SDK]," Spencer said. "And they're going to use the increased capability that lowering the reserve will have to actually make a more vibrant and alive gameplay space, so that's where they're going to invest."Even our friends at Bungie, and I've been spending a lot of time down there, they're going to pick up the June SDK update for Destiny, and they're going to up the resolution of Destiny based on this change. So I think it's just a great time for us."But you won't need to unplug your Kinect to see the difference, Spencer added."We wanted to give developers a choice on how much of the reserve, the Kinect reserve, they wanted to leave in the system," Spencer continued. "If they know how they're going to use Kinect, or if they're going to not use Kinect in their game, we wanted them to have the option at a game side to decide how much of that reserve will remain."It has nothing to do with Kinect being plugged in, in fact everyone should leave Kinect plugged in, because as soon as the game isn't running anymore, you quit the game, you go back to the dash, you are going to have all the great Kinect functionality that you ever had, and you can boot a Kinect game and the Kinect will continue to work - it'll have no impact on the game that decides off the back end that it's going to lower the reserve that's set in."Digital Foundry recently investigated the question of whether a Kinect-free Xbox One might mean more power for games. It would, Rich Leadbetter argued, but it may not close the gap.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...eserve-removal
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June 9th, 2014, 20:49 Posted By: wraggster
Let me tell you the story of the number 33, an American teenager called Marine14, and how I never became a doctor of film.It's a story in which I claim that Halo 2 is a masterpiece, which is especially exciting because I can't remember much of what happened in the single-player side of the game aside from me getting quite cross and wishing Bungie had read more Robert McKee. Actually, I only wish that was true - I do remember more.I remember a plant made of flesh who rearranged the story's major players in an unprecedented act of deus ex flora, I remember playing as not-Master Chief for longer than the zero seconds I would have found this acceptable, and I remember that the campaign wasn't so much forgettable as actually unfinished, less of a cliffhanger than a narrative power cut.More importantly, I remember that none of it mattered. And in not mattering, Halo 2 blazed a dubious trail for a whole genre of iterative billion-dollar shooters with half-formed, interchangeable storylines delivered as a blaring Hollywood howl.All of which is to say that Halo 2's multiplayer was both authentically revolutionary and the best online console shooter there has been. The sweet, sweet taste of a plasma grenade planted right in the gob.
Halo 2 emerged almost a full decade ago into a gaming world, it's worth remembering, very different from our own. I knew Halo 2's multiplayer was likely to be good because its LAN-only predecessor in Halo: Combat Evolved had inspired me and a group of my friends to learn the basics of network cabling and regularly rearrange our houses into wired battlegrounds. The promise of doing this online was huge - Halo 2 wasn't just the reason I bought my first Xbox Live subscription. It was the reason I got broadband. It dragged me and a generation of gamers through the rabbit hole and into the bittersweet connected wonderland beyond.For the purposes of the entirely arbitrary rhetorical formulation I'm about to deploy, three distinct things combined to make Halo 2's multiplayer so exceptional. The first is a mainstay of the series from Combat Evolved onwards - its just-so sense of movement and aiming. Articulating the elusive satisfaction that comes with physically existing in the world of Halo has proved difficult over the years, so naturally I've come to rely on the lyrics of an artfully shoddy band from the 90s you've probably never heard of called Animals That Swim. In a song called London Bridge, they sing about treasuring a lump of rubble snatched from a remodelled laundrette, and the pleasure of holding it to feel its "splendid weight". I appreciate we're a long way from holy wars among the stars and the audacious grace of lush green ringworlds here, but this comes closer than anything else I've found to capturing the deep joy taken in something that's so perfectly the right measure and dimension. That's how moving in Halo feels.Secondly, Halo 2 was balanced and level in a way which encouraged skill and strategy. Starting weapons were standardised, with more powerful alternatives to be fought over on the map. Deathmatch became a matter of territory and tactics. The game offered no geography-defeating power-ups of flight or speed, making knowledge of and fleet-footed navigation around the maps crucial. And there was skill-based matchmaking to ensure a mostly steady curve of challenging opponent - actually skill-based, because your rank would fall if you lost matches. In sharp contrast to the accumulative 'Well Done' of ranking in today's shooters, Halo 2 wasn't afraid to tell you you'd gotten worse. Its multiplayer was an elegant bare box. Learning its depths took time, and its complexities were unlocked by patience and ability rather than the brute investment of pure hours and the XP they bring.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ade-old-halo-2
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