As part of a promotional effort from Microsoft, several sites (including Powet.tv) were sent out part of a large ‘Halo 4’ image, split into 32 parts.

I got the email less than a half hour ago, but enough other fans and blogs got it that a forum goer from NeoGAF was able to stitch them all together.

What appears to the left may well be the box art for Halo 4. Behind the crouching Master Chief is the UNSC ship Forward Unto Dawn, broken in half from the event of Halo 3, is being sucked into the maw of the mysterious monster planet we saw in the E3 trailer last year. Also along for the ride are a few Covenant ships and who knows what else behind that fire and debris.

This next image transcends implications into an outright leak. This is the card back to one of the Halo 4 action figures. The first wave has Master Chief, an Elite Zealot, a Grunt Storm (whatever that means!) and a Red multiplayer Spartan.

Advertised as Wave two is another Spartan, Cortana, and two new characters: The ‘Crawler’ and the ‘Watcher’ with images of each. They’re kind of hard to see, since they’re toys and the images isn’t the best to begin with. Hopefully these new enemy classes mean we’re officially beyond The Flood as late game enemies. The Flood did not appear in ODST or Reach.

Halo 4 will launch on November 6 in North America, and is available for pre-order now. More news is expected soon, during E3.

Welcome to the Powet Top 5, where we explore the top (and bottom) 5 items we think are relevant to any of a variety of topics that span the imagination. Sit back, read, and respond

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Borderlands is a synthesis of first person shooting action and RPG-style level grinding and looting. Playing as one of four survivors in a post-apocalyptic landscape, you search for what is called “The Vault”. According to legend, the Vault contains vast amounts of treasure. Since no one has ever made it there, you’re going to trek through miles of desert, battling enemies, and collecting weapons. You’ll complete several quests and meet several NPCs. The guns are a huge part of the experience. You’ll collect certain guns, fall in love with them, using them every chance you get, only to discard them when you find something even cooler and you’re nowhere near a shop where you can sell it. Each of their four characters have their own upgradable abilities, and you can team up with another player for online co-op. The sequel is on its way, so now is a good time to check out the original. If you got a little extra, you can buy the complete edition which contains all the downloadable content released for the game.

I have been attending Transformers conventions for over a decade now. I not only own all of the convention exclusive sets offered over that time, I have experienced the convention and its prevailing atmosphere each year. I wanted to make a list of the five best Botcon exclusive sets, not just based on the toys, but on much more than that. Innovation. Character Selection. Overall theme. Fan Demand. I made this list with all of these things in mind to bring forth the most cohesive and synergistic sets to date. Have a look through each of my selections and let us know what you think in the comments.

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In what should have been a forgotten series, Brad Bird and J.J. Abrams breathe new life and maybe too many laughs in the languishing franchise. To be fair the current trend in action films is lean more towards the comic relief, but there are series that are entrenched in a legacy that transcends current fads. Consider for a moment, if you remember a lot of knee-slappers in the Bourne legacy or if indeed James Bond left you in stitches with his drink order. The Mission Impossible franchise, the films at least, were following this very paradigm; but to a detriment. By the time the third film came out the word of mouth informed many a casual fan that if you barely followed the plot of the sequel don’t bother to finish out the third installment. In a rare feat of cinematic resuscitation the brains behind the latest iteration of the Mission Impossible franchise has moved the series in the right direction.

To say the film moves at a break-neck speed is a disservice to the thought and careful plotting behind all of the action and exposition. Basically it looks great with smart gadgets and a plot that is within the viewers grasp. The first twenty minutes of the film are tightly plotted and paced to really reach in and grab the viewer. The best part of the opening of the film is that it has struck the correct balance of showcasing the beloved parts of the series as well as showcasing the stylistic and comedic flares that Bird and Abrams bring to the series.

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Welcome to the Powet Top 5, where we explore the top (and bottom) 5 items we think are relevant to any of a variety of topics that span the imagination. Sit back, read, and respond

As I said two weeks ago, there is plenty that is wrong with video gaming. However, as I also stated, there are plenty of good things about the gaming scene. For one, technology is more advanced than ever before, and two, there are plenty of examples showing that video games can be a form of art and literature. Number three, developers are breaking new ground when it comes to graphics, gameplay, and storytelling, weather it’s triple A mainstream titles or independently developed games. This week’s top 5 shows why I’m happy and blessed to be a gamer, and why you should be too. Again, not everyone will agree with me.
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Now we really get to see Grimlock in action. We have 4 high resolution stills of Grimlock from the game. That’s not enough? OK, here is two and a half minutes of footage with narration from High Moon Studios Matt Tieger.

We see Grimlock performing very differently from other characters in the game. He is all close combat, using an energon shield and sword, swiping at Insecticons that threaten him 3 or 4 at a time. When he’s taken (or dished out) enough abuse, he hulks out and becomes a T Rex and has a move set that includes swping with his tail, stomping the ground and biting enemies in half. Keep an eye out for another Dinobot at the end of the video as well.

Welcome to the Powet Top 5, where we explore the top (and bottom) 5 items we think are relevant to any of a variety of topics that span the imagination. Sit back, read, and respond

Difficulty in a video game is a tough thing. Make it too easy, and there’s no challenge to it. Make it too hard, and if the player gives up on the game, it’s failed them. You pretty much want to make a game as hard as possible, so long as the player likes the game enough to push through and triumph, ultimately feeling satisfied for their win. This list is about games that, for better or for worse, are just too damned hard. There’s always a certain amount of shame associated with admitting that you find a game too hard, but I have no shame in saying that I am not able to beat any of the games on this list, and if you’ve been able to conquer any of them yourself I’d love to hear about it.

I’m sure you’ve all got your own games which make you so angry you could whip a gamepad at the wall, so feel free to leave a comment with your own list. With that, here are my 5 most difficult video games.

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