Halo 3Xbox 360

Released on 26/09/2007.

• History of Halo

  
  
  
  
  

  What is HALO?

  You're kidding, right? Halo is the brainchild of Bungie Studios. It's one of the biggest videogame series in the world, and arguably the best exclusive on the Xbox. That means you won't find a Halo game on any other home console - it's basically a reason to buy a 360. On top of that, Halo is also a huge multimedia phenomenon that's grown to include comics, figurines and novels - and maybe even a movie in the not-so-far-future.

  The games themselves mostly take the form of First-Person shooters, pitting you as a rock-hard armoured space marine fighting against a fanatical alien race called The Covenant. We say mostly, because occasionally you get to play as a Covenant soldier, instead - while one of the Halo games, Halo Wars, isn't actually a shooter at all; it's a Real-Time Strategy game based on the back-story of Bungie's acclaimed sci-fi universe.

  Before there was HALO...

  
  

  ...There was Marathon. No, not the old name for Snickers, but actually the series that Bungie made for the Macintosh prior to Halo.

  Marathon was a critically-acclaimed first-person shooter which the Halo games openly reference with injokes, iconography and sci-fi subject matter - although Bungie insist that the two game universes are separate. First released in 1994, with sequels Marathon 2: Durandal and Marathon Infinity arriving in '95 and '96 respectively, the Marathon trilogy was one of the era's most advanced FPSs, but being a Mac-only release flew under the radar next to ID's all-conquering DOOM for PC.

  If you want to try Marathon and witness Halo's spiritual heritage, you can download it here.

• History of Halo: HALO 3

  HALO 3 - Xbox 360 (2007)

  
  

  The first Halo had been one of the greatest singleplayer shooters ever, while Halo 2 set a new benchmark for online FPS play, all in the space of one console generation. Bungie's Xbox 360 debut had a lot to live up to, and it also had the twin towers of Gears of War and Call of Duty to contend with. No pressure...

  Story: The biggest letdown in Halo 2 had been the nature of its ending; To recap, Halo 2 finished with the Covenant in a state of civil war, the Halo ring network primed for firing, Cortana stranded on the Covenant's floating holy city High Charity, which had been taken over by a Flood called the Gravemind, and the Master Chief hitching a ride on a Covenant ship back to Earth to finish the fight. Anti climax doesn't even come close.

  Halo 3's plot centred on the Covenant's plot to locate The Ark, an ancient Forerunner control station. The means to finding this was located on, of all places, Earth - which in itself revealed the Forunners to be humanity's ancestors. Battling their way through to the invaded New Mombasa jungle, the Chief and Arbiter eventually found themselves transported to The Ark; at the centre of which was another Halo. Here, they killed the Covenant's leader, defeated the Gravemind, sent Halo into self destruct, and escaped the crumbling planet ring on a frigate.

  Only half of their ship made it through the portal back to Earth, however. And so, while the Arbiter attended the Chief's funeral on Earth, Spartan 117 entered cryogenic sleep adrift in space, telling Cortana to "Wake me when you need me" as the pair unwittingly drifted towards another Forerunner planet...

  Gameplay: A Halo Greatest Hits would be the apt description; Halo 3's campaign was neither as fresh as the first game, nor as flawed as the second, but brought the gameplay full circle back to openly roving levels and bombastic set pieces - like fighting an enormous armoured Scarab, or racing across Halo in a Warthog at the grand finale. It was the shortest of the three Halos, but Halo 3 was also the most well-rounded, proving a fitting finale to the acclaimed FPS trilogy.

  Online, Forge and Theatre modes went above and beyond anything Halo 2 fans had envisaged, letting them make their own maps and record and share footage of their best Halo 3 games with friends. Added to the refined matchmaking mode, all-new maps and ever-growing popularity of Xbox Live, Halo 3 remains one of the leading lights of online console gaming, battling it out with Call of Duty at the top of the most-played charts.

• Bungie lifts the lid on Master Chief

  Bungie has been discussing the creation of its iconic Halo star Master Chief over at Industry Gamers - thanks for the story, Eurogamer - and the developer has explained why the big green giant tends to keep his thoughts to himself.

  "We left out details to increase immersion; the less players knew about the Chief, we believed, the more they would feel like the Chief," explained Bungie lead writer Joseph Staten. "Immersion was the main goal here. Also keeping the Chief a man of few words reinforced what we wanted to be a tough-as-nails soldierly persona."
  
  Staten adds that to give the game a bit of oomph, Bungie wanted players to understand the Chief predicament. "In the first Halo game we absolutely designed experiences around themes of loneliness and abandonment," Staten revealed. "Halo didn't dwell on the loss of the other Spartans (the closest we came was some of the 'combat dialog' from friendly A.I. For example, 'Look, a Spartan! I thought they all died on Reach...'), but we did absolutely want players sometimes to feel the weight of the Chief's heavy responsibilities. Take, for example, the mission where the Chief leaves Cortana to search for his commanding officer, Captain Keyes, only to end up witnessing the recorded deaths of other soldiers who might have lived had the Chief been with them."

  Master Chief was last seen in Halo 3, of course, but if you want to catch up with his Spartan buddies in something a bit newer, check out last year Xbox 360 exclusive, Halo Reach.

  Published: 03/02/2011

• Microsoft unveils Halo Fest

  Ready to feel old? Microsoft best-selling Halo series is 10 years old this year. A decade of Master Chief! To celebrate, the Xbox giant has announced Halo Fest, a three day event celebrating all things Spartan, which will take place during the Penny Arcade Expo, due to hit Seattle this August.

  The event should be a blast, and will see Microsoft swamping attendees with tournaments, panels and all sorts of prizes. The reason why wee excited, though, is that, even if wel be stuck in rainy old England for the event itself, several websites looking at you, Eurogamer - are speculating that Microsoft might use the occasion to announce a new Halo game.

  With Bungie leaving the series it created with last year Halo: Reach, it over to the franchise new custodian 343 Industries. The team has been hiring game developers left, right and centre for quite a while, and Eurogamer seems to think that a tenth birthday party would be the perfect time to reveal what 343 been up to.

  If youe not in Seattle this August, don worry too much. Wel have all the news for you right here.

  Published: 04/05/2011

• Halo 4 beta invites are a hoax, warns 343 Industries

  Halo 4 beta invites are a hoax, warns 343 Industries

  David Ellis of 343 Industries, the studio which inherited the Halo series from Bungie, has taken to Twitter to warn fans that offers to take part in a beta trial for the upcoming Halo 4 are not to be trusted.

  If you see a page claiming to allow you to sign up for a Halo 4 beta be advised, IT'S A FAKE, he posted, which is pretty conclusive. It seems fans had been lured in by unscrupulous phishing sites which requested personal account details in return for access to the hotly anticipated FPS sequel.

  Halo 4 sees the return of Master Chief, having sat out both Halo ODST and Halo: Reach, and marks the start of a new trilogy for the award-winning series. The game is expected later this year, exclusively for Xbox 360 of course, but Microsoft has yet to announce any further details.

  Published: 20/01/2012

• Heroes Reborn!

  
  

  2012 sees the return of four iconic heroes to our screens - Master Chief in Halo 4, Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, Agent 47 in Hitman: Absolution, and Max Payne in, er, Max Payne 3. But why is this exciting? Read on...

  

  Max Payne

  
  

  In a nutshell: Vengeful cop turned vengeful vigilante.
  Last seen in: Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (2003)
  Returns in: Max Payne 3 (May 18th 2012) on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC

  Why this excites us: The man who really puts the "Homicide" into "Homicide Detective", Max has been missing in action for nearly a decade (unless you count the Mark Wahlberg movie. We don't). The series was famed for its film noir elements and its use of bullet time action, and for Max's own increasing inner darkness.

  When he returns in Max Payne 3 he's still just as miserable; the years have not been good to Max, who's now working private security for a less than scrutable employer in South America. Needless to say, a certain substance soon hits the fan and Max finds himself smack in the middle of criminal wars, teaching them all a lesson in his own brand of angry justice. And we couldn't be happier.

  

  Agent 47

  
  

  In a nutshell: Bald-and-barcoded clone built for assassination
  Last seen in: Hitman: Blood Money (2006)
  Returns in: Hitman: Absolution (TBC 2012) on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC

  Why this excites us: Gaming's best-dressed killer has always been cool, calm and genetically superior, and this year he's back to remind everyone just how this assassin thing is done. He's famed for his increasingly ingenious methods of eliminating his targets, from poisoning punch, to pushing off balconies, to sneaking about in disguise, to plain old shooting, with a real emphasis on tactics, planning and skill.

  Betrayed by the agency who built him, and those he's gone on to trust, Hitman: Absolution sees 47 on the run once more and at the heart of a dark conspiracy, and on a journey that's more personal than professional. The developers are promising big technological advancements to enhance your instincts and abilities - and those around you, too. Just remember, it's not just about killing, but killing outside the box!

  

  Master Chief

  
  

  In a nutshell: Silent Spartan super-soldier. John-117 to his mates.
  Last seen in: Halo 3 (2007)
  Returns in: Halo 4 (6th November 2012) on Xbox 360

  Why this excites us: The UNSC may not like him, but we sure do. It didn't matter that he didn't really get a personality until Halo 3, this intergalactic badass has been doing his job and saving the Earth from alien conquests (with no showboating or stopping for, ahem, conquests of his own) since the launch of the Xbox. The responses to Halo: ODST and Halo: Reach showed that it was really the Chief that we wanted to see, and Cortana's cry of "I need you! Wake up John! Chief!" in the Halo 4 trailer echoed the sentiment of Halo gamers the world over.

  Halo 4 promises to delve further into who Chief is and what makes him tick, as well as his relationship with Cortana. Getting to know the Chief a little better can only further our relationship with him, especially as his new armour seems to only further his relationship with badassery. November can't come soon enough.

  

  Lara Croft

  
  

  In a nutshell: Posh British adventuress with enormous... skills
  Last seen in: Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008)
  Returns in: Tomb Raider (TBC 2012) on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC

  Why this excites us: Lara Croft is one of THE icons of modern gaming. She arrived in time to launch the original PlayStation and drew mainstream press to gaming like none before her. Since 1996 she's raided many a tomb, fought tigers, sharks and dinosaurs, and survived more than one reboot - as well as more than one subpar movie. But now she's back, younger than ever in a Batman Begins-style reboot (minus, we hope, the gravelly voice).

  In this year's new Tomb Raider Lara is 21, fresh out of "the academy" and shipwrecked on an island. This game promises not only a back-to-basics setting but more challenging gameplay than recent outings, with the stress on exploration to survive over exploration for kicks. A reboot like this is a little risky - and we'll miss Keeley Hawes' voice acting - but Lara has certainly proved she can endure pretty much anything.
  

  Published: 27/04/2012

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