Before Bungie left Microsoft as a second party developer, the company gave us one last hurrah for the Halo franchise. Taking place shortly before the events of the original Halo, Reach follows the exploits of Noble Team, a group of Spartans fighting the covenant on the doomed planet Reach. If you read the novel ‘The Fall of Reach’, you’ll know that the planet is on borrowed time. Stepping in the shoes of Noble Six, you join the group and do what you can to battle the covenant. While you already know the tragic way it will end, you’ll enjoy getting there in the meantime.
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Sunset Overdrive, an Xbox One exclusive title developed by Insomniac (Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank), is one of many new gaming franchises set to make its debut next console generation.

Like it or not, this next generation of consoles will soon be upon us. With the Wii U having been out for little over half a year, some will say it’s already here. The Wii U, Xbox One, and Playstation 4 will present players with dozens of sure to be classic titles, including several new franchises. Lets not forget however that there were several classic franchises that came from this generation. So now is a perfect time to take a look at the classic franchises that were spawned this past generation. To qualify, a franchise has to have it’s first title released on the Wii, Xbox 360, or Playstation 3, so you won’t see the Elder Scrolls or Halo in this list. Also, a game has to have more than one title in it’s series, so that’s why you won’t see Mirror’s Edge here.
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Normally I don’t do fan-developed games in this column, but this was too cool to ignore. Created by Cutmanmike, Mega Man 8-bit deathmatch is a modification of the Doom Skulltag source port which gives Doom an 8-bit makeover. Taking control of either Mega Man or one of several robot masters, players will battle each other using several familiar Mega Man weapons. Players can either play in Multiplayer, or a single player story mode which spans 60 levels. As the game is based upon a Doom engine, players can mod the game, creating new maps and skins. Check it out here. Between this and Mega Man vs Street Fighter, Mega Man fans are doing more to keep the franchise alive than Capcom has done as of late!

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon was the first Castlavania game for the Game Boy Advance. On a personal note, when I got my Game Boy Advance, COTM was the first game I picked up. The game adopts the exploration heavy formula of Castlevania Symphony of the Night. Despite a few nagging problems, and the fact that its storyline is considered non-canon, COTM is a classic entry in the long standing franchise.
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The Gears of War franchise was this console generation’s surprise hit. While everyone was busy waiting for Halo 3, Gear of War’s cover-focused gameplay, fun multiplayer, and beautiful Unreal Engine powered 3 graphics took gamers by surprise and made its way into many an Xbox 360 owner’s console. A fourth entry in the series, Judgement was released a few months ago, but many fans still prefer the classic third installment, and for good reason. It wraps up the trilogy in style.
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As with any great franchise, there is the potential for spinoffs. As with any spinoff, there is also a chance for it to get out of hand. This is one of those times it got out of hand.
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Announced on April fool’s day, and too awesome to be fake, Blood Dragon is a standalone expansion to Far Cry 3 that’s a homage to 80s sci-fi. Completely and utterly batshit insane, Blood Dragon does not require the base game of Far Cry 3 nor do you have to have played it in order to enjoy this expansion (of course the FC3 base game isn’t a bad either).
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Before being outsourced to other developers and turned into a first person shooter, Metroid was one of Nintendo’s most celebrated franchises of both the 8 and 16-bit era. Come to think about it, it’s still one of Nintendo’s most celebrated franchises even after being outsourced to other developers. Its exploration heavy gameplay has made it a hit among gamers, and its heroine Samus Aran is one of the most recognizable female protagonists in gaming. Super Metroid represented the series at its best.
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