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Two Halo characters are joining ‘Gears 5’
Thirteen years into their shared history, you would think Halo and Gears of War would have already crossed over before today. After all, following Microsoft's purchase of the Gears franchise in 2014, the two properties are the company's biggest and most important exclusives. So it's a bit strange to see it's not Master Chief, Halo's main hero, joining the fight against the Gear's Locust villains. Instead, it's two characters from 2010's Halo: Reach.
'Halo: Reach' runs poorly on the Xbox One
The Xbox One's backwards compatibility with Xbox 360 games has largely worked as promised, but there's now one glaring exception. Microsoft has confirmed reports that Halo: Reach (aka one of the 360's biggest titles) runs much slower than you'd expect. While talk of it being "unplayable" is extreme, Bungie's shooter fell from a largely steady 30 frames per second on the original hardware to the mid-teens -- enough to throw you off during intense action scenes. Others report audio glitches, too.
Xbox One adds 'Halo: Reach' and 15 more playable 360 titles
Microsoft's Xbox One has had a stellar release slate over the last few months, packed with exclusive games like Rise of the Tomb Raider and multiplatform hits such as Fallout 4 and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Still not satisfied? Well, there's now an additional 16 games from the Xbox 360 era that you can play on your Xbox One via backwards compatibility. Some of the highlights include the head-scratching puzzle-platformer Braid, indie darling Spelunky, Portal and Fable 3.
Microsoft also declares record revenue, but Apple still on top
Apple isn't the only technology company that's posting record revenue this year -- Microsoft has brought in $16.20 billion in the last quarter, which stands as a record with a 25 percent increase from the same time last year. The Seattle giant also increased net income to $5.41 billion, so it looks like Halo Reach (in September) and Office 2010 (in July) sent things in a good direction. Apple announced revenue of $20 billion last quarter, which puts the Cupertino company on top by $4 billion in terms of incoming money. But Microsoft still rules net income, with Apple pulling in $4.31 billion for the same quarter. That may change next reporting period, given Apple's steam in the industry so far, but no matter which way you slice it, both of these companies are rolling in the dough.
Halo Reach requires hard drive to play in co-op mode, Microsoft working on this 'temporary issue'
The Halo series has always been about addictive multiplayer experiences, so it's most disturbing to find out that campaign co-op gaming on the latest title is a non-starter for people without a hard drive attached to their 360. An issue has been identified by users of the 4GB Xbox 360, whereby attempts to team up on the baddies with your buddies -- whether locally or via Xbox Live -- is met with an error message saying that a HDD is "required for this game type." This affects both Halo: Reach and the earlier Halo: ODST. Adding extra memory via USB has been found to be ineffective, but at least Microsoft has stated that it's aware of the limitation and is "quickly working to resolve it." Standard multiplayer is predictably unaffected, so we suggest taking your rage out on some newbies while the MS techs figure out their caching algorithms.
New Xbox 360 250GB Limited Edition Halo: Reach bundle revealed
The Halo series is no stranger to special edition Xbox 360 hardware, so it should come as no surprise that the latest entry, Halo: Reach, is also privy to such treatment. What makes it special, however, is that it's the first special edition based on the new model -- 250GB HDD, built-in 802.11n WiFi, a silver (presumably matte, based on the picture) finish, and custom, Halo-inspired sounds. The $399 price tag also nets you two special edition wireless controllers and, naturally, a copy of the game itself. Look for this September 14th, and really, if you're not into glossy black (and we feel ya, brother), this might be in your best interest to pick up. %Gallery-98042%
