halo-fest-2011
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The making of a McFarlane Halo figure makes us feel old
Video games are great and all, but most of us at Joystiq HQ still harbor a penchant for action figures, born from youthful days and being forced to play outside now and again. As we've matured, however, so has the toy industry, and action figures these days are way more awesome than the stuff we had growing up. Kids these days don't know how good they have it, either. The above video, for instance, showcases the state-of-the-art rapid prototyping technologies used by McFarlane Toys to create their hyper-detailed Halo figures. Back in our day, action figures took months to prototype, and we were happy about it! And another thing! Back in our day, the words "3D" and "printer" would never share space in the same sentence, let alone be used in conjunction with one another to describe an actual thing. Get off our lawn!
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary screens not ideal for time-travel gloating
"Hey, me from ten years ago! Check out how awesome our Halo looks in 2011!" "We're still playing the same games ten years from now? Good job." "Well ... uh ... it's in 3D, you know. There's 3D in your house now."
Halo Anniversary adds 3 more maps, including PC version's 'Timberland'
Reports from the frontlines of Halo Fest, as relayed by Major Nelson, have revealed three new multiplayer maps for the upcoming Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. The highlight of the bunch is probably Timberland, the pine-studded arena from the PC version of Halo (original version pictured), suitable for 8 to 16 players. Next up is Prisoner, a symmetrical map with bridges designed for 2-8 players. Finally, a new Firefight map has been announced. Titled Installation 04, the map is based on the level "Halo" from the original game, which you might remember as the first level in which Master Chief set foot on the ring world (after crash landing). Update: We also learned of a neat new feature of the additional Firefight map while perusing Halo Fest: While you hold off the hordes of Covenant, you'll be aided by AI-controlled Marines, further simulating the level from the original game. Just don't, you know, kill them, or else you'll lose valuable points, and also probably fractions of your soul, because that's murder.
Halo: Reach title update coming in September, Armor Lock getting nerfed
At last night's Halo Fest event, we learned about a rather beefy title update to Halo: Reach that's set to launch sometime next month. The patch implements a number of significant (and, therefore, controversial) changes to the multiplayer title, with the biggest being the nerfing of the Armor Lock ability. Instead of making you an invulnerable juggernaut, Armor Lock now only prevents most of the damage done to you whilst locked, and no longer detaches stuck plasma grenades. Other changes include: the addition of "Shield Bleed-through," whereby damage done to players with a fraction of their shield remaining can now be carried over to their remaining health; an option to remove reticle bloom; the removal of a player's ability to deflect an oncoming sword lunge by meleeing (unless they too are using a sword); and the wholesale buffing of the pistol, bringing it closer to parity with its Halo: Combat Evolved predecessor.
