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Here's how 'Halo 5: Guardians' multiplayer rankings work
Halo 5: Guardians is almost upon us, and once the campaign credits roll (or the game itself finishes installing on your Xbox One, depending on your style) you might be curious how multiplayer ranking works. Wonder no more because it's similar to League of Legends according to a post on Halo Waypoint. Your starting placement in matchmade Arena games is determined by how you fare in your first ten games. That "Competitive Skill Rating" breaks down into seven categories: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Onyx and Champion. The post stresses that the only way to increase your rank after those initial ten matches are set is by winning.
Cortana won't help you on Xbox One until next year
If you were hoping to experience Cortana's most helpful version on your Xbox One this year, you might have to settle for her possible appearance in Halo 5 at the end of the month instead. The virtual assistant won't make her full debut to owners of Microsoft's latest console until early next year. Don't fret though: Redmond spokesperson Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb says that the voice from Master Chief's ear will be available to folks in the Xbox One's Dashboard Preview Program later this fall. There's a joke to be made about rampancy in this news -- I'm almost sure of it. Oh, and speaking of Halo 5, there's a new live-action trailer out today (embedded after the break) that nurtures the seeds of doubt in Spartan 117 that Microsoft's been sowing since the first teaser hit.
'Halo 5' card system gives you a leg up in multiplayer mayhem
We're going to need a lot more time to properly judge the main story campaign in Halo 5: Guardians, but -- as with all Halo games -- the story mode is far from the only reason to play. Halo 5 will come with co-op multiplayer in the main game and the classic "arena" four vs. four deathmatch, but there's also a new mode this time around. The new Warzone is a vast 12-on-12 multiplayer matchup where your team fights not only other players but also computer-controlled AI as well.
'Halo 5: Guardians' is good fun, but it's better with friends
I'm a pretty huge video game fan, but I've never played a minute of the Halo series in my life; I've never even owned an Xbox console. As such, it's somewhat appropriate that a preview of Halo 5: Guardians was my introduction to the series -- it's the first Halo game for the Xbox One, and it's undoubtedly a title that Microsoft is looking at as a system seller. The game shouldn't have a hard time getting long-time fans back into the fold, but what about someone like me?
Latest look at 'Halo 5' is entirely devoid of Master Chief
If you were hoping to see more of Spartan 117 ahead of Halo 5: Guardians release this October, today isn't your day. Sure, there's a new trailer embedded below, but it isn't gameplay. Nor does it tell us much about what's going on with the game's story (Dr. Halsey working alongside Covenant Elites is intriguing, though). It's bombastic, pretty, and stars Nightfall protagonist Jameson Locke, but the clip ultimately rings a bit hollow. If you want to see what Nathan FIllion looks like after spending some time in the uncanny valley, however, you're in for a treat. Everyone else that's expecting some hot new footage of Master Chief on the battlefield will almost assuredly be disappointed, though.
The 'Halo 5' 1TB Xbox One is up for pre-order today
Among the bullet storms and massive explosions of today's Xbox conference, Microsoft unveiled a limited edition, Halo 5-branded 1TB Xbox One bundle, and it's so, so shiny. The bundle is available for pre-order today (priced at $500) and it drops on October 20th. Microsoft launched the standard 1TB console for $400 back in June, complete with a new controller. That console isn't so shiny -- because it's matte.
Trade the limited edition 'Halo 5' code for a disc, if you want
The Halo 5: Guardians Collector's Edition costs $250 and comes with a fair amount of stuff for die-hard fans, including this pretty little statue, a special box, a metal Guardian model and a download code for the full game. That last part was a disappointment to some potential players who were looking forward to a physical game disc in such a pricey package. Now, developer 343 Industries says that fans will be able to exchange the digital code for a physical copy of the game at no additional cost. As 343i writes on Halo Waypoint: "When we last left off, we let you know that we had heard the feedback that some of you prefer a physical disc instead of a digital copy.... We'll get into details as we get closer to launch, and we'd like to once again thank you for the feedback."
This is the 'Halo 5: Guardians' collector's edition statue
$250 worth of static love from Master Chief.
Microsoft: We won't skip 'Halo' betas from now on
When Halo: The Master Chief Collection launched last year, it was supposed to be ultimate fan service: four of the most renowned games in the series, all in one fancy package loaded with extras, all on Xbox One. The final product was... well, problematic. To this day it still isn't 100 percent functional all the time, with a rash of issues like game crashes still persisting. "It was our first game on a new platform, and it was essentially five engines [with] a wrapper," 343 Industries head Bonnie Ross explained to me this week. All that to say, because the game wasn't a native Xbox One game is why it had so many issues. Still that makes it incredibly difficult to get excited for this fall's Halo 5: Guardians. Will it be as heartbreaking on a technical level as MCC? I briefly spoke with Ross about how she and her teams are working to overcome and address that very valid concern.
'Halo 5' doesn't have split-screen, but 'never say never'
Halo 5: Guardians doesn't have split-screen cooperative play. This is a drastic shift for the series -- every console Halo game has featured local co-op, including the recently released Halo: Master Chief Collection, a bundle of the franchise's major titles. Plenty of longtime Halo fans have hit Twitter with messages ranging from disappointment to some that promise to cancel their Halo 5 pre-orders. Microsoft doesn't have any plans to launch the game with split-screen, but in a world of constantly updating consoles and streams of downloadable content, there's a sliver of hope for couch co-op fans, according to Microsoft General Manager of Games Publishing Shannon Loftis.
I got Holo-briefed on 'Halo 5'
Typically E3's vision of the future is pretty shortsighted. But this year when I stepped into a war room for a Halo 5: Guardians mission briefing, that's when I knew that the gaming trade show's look at what's ahead extended beyond just games that are months or sometimes years off. The space's middle was dominated by a hexagonal table roughly four feet across, and floating a scant few inches above its surface was a slowly rotating, azure hologram of a massive starship. It was familiar and I'd seen it somewhere before, but it took a moment for me to identify: It was the UNSC Infinity from the Halo universe, courtesy of Microsoft's HoloLens augmented reality headset sitting atop my skull. With the few moments I had alone in the room, I circled the dais. The hologram remained on its deliberate arc while I peered from every angle, looking for flaws that'd break the 3D illusion. Those came later, but not where I expected them. "This is ridiculous," another attendee said as I returned to my spot at the table. He was right.
'Halo 5' brings the epic scale of its solo campaign to multiplayer
Halo 5: Guardians won't force you to you choose between the grand scale of its single-player story and the camaraderie of multiplayer... in theory, you'll get both at the same time. The crew at 343 Industries has revealed that its sci-fi shooter will include Warzone, a 24-player mode that has you facing off against both other humans and AI opponents. Its maps are about four times the size of those from earlier games in the series, too. The addition reflects just how important the team dynamic (also shown off in single-player mode at E3) will be when Halo 5 arrives in October -- it's anything but an afterthought. Check here for everything happening at E3 2015!
Halo 5 lands on Xbox One this October 27th
Ready for the next installment of Halo? The bad news is you still have a seven-month wait on your hands, but at least it's a concrete release date, right? Right? The news coincides with a new in-game teaser for Halo 5, with Master Chief et al. attempting to emote again --still while cocooned in giant spacesuit helmets. Hashtags have been readied, as have faux docu-diary tumblr blogs. But you'd probably like to see that trailer before diving down that particular rabbit hole; it's right after the break.
'Halo 5: Guardians' hype train starts with a whisper
Halo fans aren't strangers to alternate reality games, and it looks like Halo 5: Guardians could get something similar to Halo 2's I Love Bees treatment. The just released teaser trailer (embedded below) doesn't give much by way of clues, but ends with a #HUNTtheTRUTH hashtag. The video also links to a Tumblr bearing that name with a countdown clock that stops Sunday night at 9 PM Eastern. Perhaps a new commercial will debut during The Walking Dead? Maybe, but at least it won't be long before we find out, regardless. If you're looking for folks to speculate with head over to NeoGAF or the Halo Waypoint forums -- the topic's thread has already hit 24 pages.
Playdate: We're livestreaming the 'Halo 5: Guardians' beta! [update: game over!]
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is more than just a collection of the green supersoldier's greatest hits -- it's also an early access pass to the next game in the franchise, Halo 5: Guardians. How early? Well, the game isn't expected until fall 2015, so pretty freakin' early is the answer. Right now -- today -- you can get into Halo 5's multiplayer beta months ahead of the game's completion. In that spirit, we're streaming a few hours of the game in action while taking questions live! Join us at 1PM ET today for Halo 5: Guardians, multiplayer, in beta. Update: We're done for now, but the archived video is available just below the break!
'Halo: The Master Chief Collection' coming to Xbox this fall, 'Halo 5' beta in December
The next installment of the Halo series isn't coming out until next year, so there's plenty of time to revisit the franchise and catch up on the timeline. Given today's consoles, however, the four games featuring the Master Chief look like they could use a touch-up. As we reported two weeks ago, Microsoft confirmed Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which is an HD remastered collection of Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3 and Halo 4. The new setup comes courtesy of 343 Industries and will be coming to Xbox on November 11th (the 10th anniversary of Halo 2's release) with the multiplayer experience intact, including all DLC; in addition, you'll be able to enjoy the multiplayer beta of Halo 5: Guardians this December.
'Halo: The Master Chief Collection' coming to Xbox One this year, collects 'Halos 1-4'
Master Chief is getting a facelift with an HD collection of his exploits. We've learned that Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3 and Halo 4 are being collected in a Master Chief-focused HD remaster coming from Microsoft. Our sources say that the set will zero in on Halo's most famous soldier to refresh audience's memories ahead of Halo 5: Guardians' release, so curiosities like Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach likely won't be a part of the package. The game's developer is unknown at this point, but considering that Saber Interactive handled Combat Evolved Anniversary and is also working on an unannounced Xbox One project, the team is a likely suspect. Also unclear are plans for digital distribution, resolution and frame-rate (Microsoft bragged that that the next Halo will run at a "blistering" 60fps), piecemeal releases, or if the games will surface on other platforms as well (PC, anyone?).
Next-gen Halo title announced for Xbox One: runs at 60 fps, available in 2014 (video)
What could be better than a live action Halo TV-series? Why, a fully fledged next-generation sequel, of course. Microsoft has confirmed that a new Halo game is making its way to the Xbox One, calming the doubts of fans who were concerned that the franchise was shifting to less traditional platforms. According to a Microsoft rep, this next-gen Halo (actual name to be determined) will not only "take full advantage of the power and flexibility of Xbox One," but will also be buffered by MS' cloud computing and, in a first for the franchise, run at a "blistering" 60 fps. Look for it to launch sometime in 2014. Update: Ballmer and Co. just published the video online and we've slotted it in right after the break. Follow all of our E3 2013 coverage at our event hub.
