NEWS: Microsoft Discuss Halo 2 Anniversary's Multiplayer

The multiplayer aspect in the highly anticipated Halo 2 remake would have "to be fantastic."

Speaking with IGN, Microsoft Game Studies boss Phil Spencer has highlighted some of the most important features which would have to be included in the Halo 2 remake. 

Spencer initially discusses important moments during the original release of Halo 2 back in November 2004:

"In this fiticious world where that game existed", he says whilst smiling according to IGN - "it's an easy answer: it has to be just the multiplayer experience that we all found in that first Halo 2 game. If you think about what happened in the franchise and what were the hallmark moments - when did duel wielding come in, when did another playable character that wasn't Master Chief come in?"

More notably, Spencer goes on to speak on the multiplayer:

"All of the things that you and I know about the evolution of the franchise, if you're going to say one thing about Halo 2, you're going to talk about real multiplayer. I think you just have to nail that in just such a fundamentally core way. Frankly [we'd have to do it] probably better than we did with Halo 1 Anniversary. I thought the multiplayer in Halo 1 Anniversary was good, but Halo 1 never had multiplayer in the truest sense, so it always was going to be something different."

Although Spencer only speaks in a way which indicates the anniversary remake is yet to be announced, Master Chief's voice actor Steve Downes recently said:

"What you can look forward to this year is an anniversary edition of Halo 2."

Halo 2 was one of the most successful titles to incorporate online multiplayer during the lifespan of the original Xbox - the servers were shut down April 2010.

NEWS: Destiny - Beta Codes This Week

Bungie will be giving away beta codes at random throughout the week to lucky participants.

Bungie will be opening the beta for their first game since leaving Microsoft; Destiny during early 2014, but codes will already be given out this week at random.

The official Destiny page on Facebook has said the following:

"You might want to keep checking back in with us this week; we'll be posting #Destiny Beta codes randomly each day."

Of course, if you've already pre-ordered your copy, you'll be getting instant access to the beta, whether it be on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, or Xbox One.

With no release date known for the actual game, expect to see it on shelves a short time after the beta period has finished.

PREVIEW: Destiny - "The Moon" Gameplay

Fresh footage has been revealed, showcasing promising gameplay from Bungie's next title.

Just as Bungie said, some new gameplay for the highly anticipated Destiny has been unveiled today, and it looks incredible.

The trailer focuses on The Moon and what this specific location has to offer players, which seems to be a lot of action-filled combat.

We see the Guardians embark to The Moon, here they encounter practically every enemy we've seen in previous footage, utilizing their special abilities and weaponry. 

Once the initial battles are over, the Guardians come across what looks like a boss battle - a massive troll-like monster chained to the ground, for about two seconds at least anyway. One shot is put into this....thing, and unfortunately that is the end of the trailer.

However, new information is shown regarding beta access, that will be available exclusively to those who decide to pre-order their copy of the game.

Currently the following retailers are giving early beta access with pre-orders:

• Amazon 
• Game
• Gamestop
• Sainsburys
• Tesco
• Blockbuster (those guys are still around?

Watch the new gameplay below and leave your comments; will you be pre-ordering?

NEWS: Games with Gold Mid-October 2013 - Halo 3

Microsoft has revealed Halo 3 as the next free-to-download title.

If for some crazy reason you still haven't played Halo 3, it will be joining Microsoft's Games with Gold promotion on October 16-31. Of course, the game will be completely free to download, which usually sells for around £5-15 from most retailers.

Fancy playing Halo 3 matchmaking again? Now's your chance if you've got rid of your physical copy. The game was originally released in September 2007 and served as one of the most anticipated games on the Xbox 360, taking place directly after the cliffhanger ending of Halo 2.

NEWS: Destiny - Box Art Revealed/New Gameplay Coming Soon

The box art for Bungie's highly anticipated Destiny has surfaced.

Bungie's community manager DeeJ has revealed the official box art for both the PS3 and PS4 versions of the much anticipated Destiny. It should be assumed the Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions will have the same covers.

The cover features three of the game's classes - Titan, Hunter, and Warlock, which can be seen below.

The PS4 box art.

The PS3 box art.

New gameplay footage will be released tomorrow according to the same blog post over at PlayStation Europe, DeeJ said:

"Tomorrow, check back right here to watch our latest gameplay trailer, set in a destination a lot of fans have been asking to see for the first time. We'll also have some exciting announcement if you're looking to suit up and explore our new frontier. Stay tuned!"

Exciting stuff for sure, what with Destiny being the first game Bungie have created since their departure from Microsoft.

FEATURE: My First Halo 2 Vista Montage

Just a quick post to let you know my first Halo 2 Vista montage has been uploaded, my friend DarkAspire did all of the editing, you can visit his channel HERE.

There are some leftover clips so I am planning on putting together a quick leftover video, and there are plenty more clips ready for montage number 2. Feature1

FEATURE: Keeping Halo 2 Alive!

Halo 2 has played a massive part in my social gaming life, it was one of the first multiplayer games I truly got into, and it is something that has a special place in my heart. When I found out in April 2010 the servers were going to be shut down for good, I was devastated. My all-time favourite online game would no longer be available to play, I know most people will say oh it's only a game but I was genuinely really sad about this.

That was until I found out the game would be released as part of the Games for Windows scheme, but I didn't have the appropriate specifications on my system, so again - pure disappointment. However, since then I have been able to install it on a better system, and it runs perfectly. When I plugged in my Xbox 360 controller, it felt just like the original Xbox version, and I was playing online constantly, having so much fun and relishing in the fact I can play Halo 2 yet again without any of that annoying Xbox Connect nonsense. 

It was reported that the PC servers would also be shut down in June 2013, which made me feel the same anger and disappointment I felt with the original servers, however they are still online and a big part of that is the support of the community, who have contacted 343 Industries themselves in order to keep the servers online, and being a part of a community like that makes me feel good as not only a gamer but part of a team that loves Halo 2 and wants to play it for many more years to come.

So, what am I actually getting at here? I'd like you to help me along with many others to keep Halo 2 going, to do this simply buy the game or download it legally (wink wink), and come play with the community, it is generally cheap to buy either way. From personal experience, I had massive problems with the downloaded version, so I would advise to just buy the disc instead, much easier and less hassle that way. 

You do need an Xbox LIVE account but it doesn't have to be gold, you can play Halo 2 PC for free which is something I really appreciate since I don't have gold any more. If you decide to join the community, please leave your GamerTag in the comments below and I'll be happy to add you and we'll run some games together. Don't hesitate to check out my YouTube channel with a ton of clips and gameplay HERE

Join for forum that helped keep Halo 2 PC alive HERE, really great community with a lot of passion for the game still. Feature1

FEATURE: Resistance 3 - Another Victim of Bad Matchmaking?

With so many games incorporating online multiplayer, will we ever get a matchmaking system that truly works?

Fall of Man had a fantastic matchmaking system when it was released,
 which was fair and consistent.

I've been playing the Resistance series online now and again since Fall of Man was released as a PS3 launch title and I had a lot of fun playing online - there was always a sense that I was playing against players with the same skill level as me, and if players weren't interested in serious competitive play, there was a separate way of finding matches to suit your play-style and favoured game-types. Resistance 2 followed in these footsteps, there was a ranked matchmaking system and an unranked, which made the game far more enjoyable for me and I imagine a lot of other players out there, a ranked matchmaking system allows for players of all skill levels to shoot it out against players of the same level as them, which can make competitive multiplayer a thoroughly fun experience.

Call of Duty has the same matchmaking problem as Resistance 3 -
 go into matchmaking and simply hope you play against
 players like yourself...which is unlikely most of the time.

As I write this, I have literally just come back from an online session of Resistance 3 and managed to rack up 32 kills and 4 deaths against extremely low-level players, I am currently a level 29 and I was pitched against level 5-15's, which seems insanely unfair to me. Yes, I know, I took advantage of them to get easy kills and experience.....but that's besides the point - I have also been on the other end of the stick many times, leading to general frustration and a bad kill/death ratio at the end of the match, I am always up for a challenge but it's a bit extreme when you find yourself against max-ranked players during your first match ever (This happened to me a lot the first day I got Resistance 3). It's not just  Resistance 3 that has this problem - every Call of Duty game i've played online has had the same issue; I want to go into matchmaking and face off against players of the same skill but somehow manage to find myself against max-rank prestige players, tell me - how does that work? There needs to be some barriers within matchmaking in online games, for example, the Halo series has always had a clever matchmaking system - you go into a ranked playlist of your choice and the game will put you against players of the same level or very close, which is fantastic, more games should do this, it would make playing them online a greater experience for everyone.

More developers should take note of how
 Bungie went about matchmaking

I'm aware that Halo Reach' matchmaking system is drastically different to previous instalments  but after a year and over worth of playing the game, I find myself playing against people who are similar to my skill level, regardless of the departure of the levelling system previous titles had - my point is, Bungie/343 Industries know exactly how to match up players of equal skill levels and experience, sure Reach isn't perfect, but it's a lot more better than Call of Duty and Resistance 3, so why can't other games have a fair ranking system? Evidently, Call of Duty players don't seem to care that they could be playing against extremely low level players or extremely high level players because it's the best-selling FPS ever. It's a personal thing for me - it's not nice being a bunny facing a lion. Feature1