Plus a little bit of E3!

Show Notes after the jump

[Read the rest of this entry…]

These are all the videos from the Microsoft press event, minus the staged introductions from the executives.

Enjoy, and post your thoughts about any of these videos in our comments section!

The Covenant you thought you’d stopped at the end of Halo 3? They’re not done yet. If anything the survivors have an axe to grind with John 117 for taking away their great journey.

The on stage demo from the floor of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 E3 event starts with a live action short showing the launch of the UNSC Infinity, the largest ship ever constructed by man and intended to be a peaceful ship for exploration. On the surface of an unknown planet, Master Chief and Cortana watch this ship barrel over head ready to crash. As Chief treks to catch up, you’ll see Halo 4’s new Heads Up Display, now with Cortana’s face displayed when she talks to you. After taking out a small Covenant scout party, Chief runs into a nasty bunch of Forerunner AI. He’ll pick up a new Forerunner rifle and a Forerunner shotgun, both of which disintergrate enemies.

The demo ends with Chief surrounded by these Forerunner AI, and then a quick montage of scenes from other parts of the game. Cortana was put into service 8 years ago, and UNSC AI only have a lifespan of 7 years. She’s dying and going crazy, and some voice from beyond announces “I have long dreamt of this day, Reclaimer.” Reclaimer is the title given to Master Chief by the Forerunner AI in the first Halo game, when it was thought he was activate the ring and eliminate all life in the galaxy.

The idea and practical applications of marriage barely come up in video games. Sure, there’s not much of a place for it in Angry Birds, and it theoretically might be the ultimate goal of dating sims. But what about games where you’re playing as a character or interact with NPCs who just ARE married? Sean and Vinnk (gamers who are, apparently miraculously, each respectively married with children) explore the reasons why games might actually shy away from the trapping of matrimony, and how the few games that do use it (Fable, The Sims, Alan Wake) want to milk it for emotional impact. But how "emotionally impacted" might an 8 year-old gamer feel about such subject matter — and is that right there the reason it’s a subject few developers dare to tread? And when is Mario just going to marry Princess Peach already! How many more times does she need to get kidnapped by Bowser for him to get the hint??

[Read the rest of this entry…]

Master Chief or Commander in Chief? If you’re in the US, thats what you’re facing on November 6, as Microsoft will be launching the first chapter in the next Halo trilogy, Halo 4. This day also happens to be Election Day, with national and local offices including the Presidency on the ballot in all states and territories.

Halo 4 is still pending a rating, but is expected to be rated “M” like others in the series. M rated games are available to those age 17 and up, while those 18 and up are eligible to vote. Just a friendly reminder to vote by absentee ballot if you’re planning to attend a midnight launch and spend all night playing.

Halo 4 is on the cover of the next issue of Game Informer (see image) and many details from the interior article are already online. Expect the Covenant to return in reduced numbers, a Forerunner planet, and a new faction that will challenge players beyond previous games.

The video starts with the closing cinematic from Halo 3, so spoilers beware if you managed to not complete that game since the last time Earth had a leap day.

The designers and producers at 343 Industries walk through some of the changes to the Spartan armor and do reveal that multiplayer features the next generation Spartan IV equipment. Master Chief himself was (or is?) a Spartan II, and much of the Noble team from Reach were Spartan IIIs. 343 were not kind enough to talk about armor abilities, but it does seem that dual wielding is gone for good.

Only a small fragment of campaign footage appears, and they’re not revealing the enemies just yet. We’ll probably have to wait until E3 in June for more answers.

When Nintendo reported two straight quarterly losses in early 2011, followed by a less-than-stellar initial release of its new 3DS handheld console, it didn’t take long for the naysayers to begin spelling the company’s doom.

This is a familiar dance. It started in the ’90s, when Nintendo’s veneer of dominance started cracking in the face of competition with the Sega Genesis. Or maybe it was the decision to abandon the CD format for the Nintendo 64 when Sega and Sony made the leap. Or perhaps it was because, even with the GameCube, no Nintendo console had sold better than its predecessor — that is, until the release of the Wii.

However, despite calls that Nintendo abandon its hardware ambitions — even with the new wrinkle of the ever-rising iOS platform — there are plenty of reasons why Nintendo would never, could never, and should never stop making TV or handheld consoles.

Here are the top five:

[Read the rest of this entry…]