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Halo 4 as a love story: The personal origins of Cortana's breakdown
The Halo universe's sentient artificial intelligence programs – smart AIs – have a limited lifespan. After seven years, they begin to break down, acting irrationally and eventually thinking themselves to death. This process is known as Rampancy and closely resembles humanity's own end-of-life conditions such as dementia. In Halo 4, the rampancy of Master Chief's personal AI, Cortana, serves as a central element of the story, putting the Chief in a desperate bid to save the life of his longtime companion.Speaking during a Halo 4 postmortem at GDC, 343 Industries franchise creative director, Josh Holmes, revealed that telling such an emotional story within the confines of a first-person shooter was no easy task. "At the beginning of our campaign in Halo 4, Cortana is 8 years old, and she's struggling to keep hold of her mental faculties," said Holmes, "and the Chief is faced for the first time with an obstacle that he may not be able to overcome." He's charged not only with saving the galaxy, but with saving his best friend. It was a radically different direction for a Halo game, and one that was difficult for the team. "There was a lot of skepticism from members of the team [about] whether this was something we should even take on.""Early on, [senior writer Chris Schlerf] was having a crisis of confidence. He was literally tearing his hair out, because he didn't know how to tell this story," said Holmes. "There were times when he came to me, and he said, 'Maybe we shouldn't do it. Maybe we should just focus on the A story and put this story aside, because I don't see how we're going to be able to tell it.'" But for Holmes, telling the story of the relationship between Chief and Cortana was very important. It was "the human heart of Halo 4's campaign." And, as Holmes soon revealed, some of the inspiration for Cortana's breakdown came from a very personal place.%Gallery-184626%
Forward Unto Dawn and staying true to Halo
You might think that the biggest challenge in creating Halo 4's Forward Unto Dawn series was translating one of gaming's most beloved franchises into a live-action film that was not only true to the source material, but also worth watching. You'd be right, of course, but for fans the biggest challenge was in making sure Master Chief sounded right.During the Forward Unto Dawn postmortem at GDC, 343 Industries franchise development director Frank O'Connor noted that the casting of Master Chief was "a source of much consternation" for series fans. "We did a couple of tests using the actor who plays Master Chief in the game, and he's an older guy," said O'Connor.The ending of Forward Unto Dawn reveals that the superhuman Spartan soldiers are just as young as the film's UNSC cadets, so giving Master Chief the gravelly voice we all know and love would be out of place. "He can't sound like he's 50," said O'Connor, "and so we had to find a young actor whose voice sounded like his voice might eventually grow into the Chief's."
Freddy Rodriguez is in Lococycle, wishes it was Call of Duty
We're starting to understand how Twisted Pixel managed to wrangle all the actors featured in LocoCycle.
Gears of War: Judgment's scribes recount the narrative process
During a preview event last week, I asked Rob Auten and author Tom Bissell, the writers and one pair of "many parents" for Gears of War: Judgment, about the gig and how they were going to instill some drama into a franchise whose calling card is killing underground-dwelling monster men.%Gallery-180347%
Gears of War: Judgment's multiplayer comfort food
I am an unabashed Gears of War multiplayer fanatic.I was immediately hooked by Gears of War and its intoxicating blend of third-person cover-based shooting. I struggled through the muddled mess that was Gears of War 2's launch, yet kept playing regardless. Gears of War 3 made up for a lot of missteps with the most solid multiplayer offering yet, and found in me a stalwart soldier for over a year.So when Epic Games announced not only a new control scheme in Gears of War: Judgment, but a smattering of new modes and changes, I was a bit worried – as I'm sure some of you were and perhaps still are. Taking off the press cap and putting on the fan hat, I found my few hours in Gears of War: Judgment's multiplayer suite a reassuring slice of grandma's apple pie – a comfort food not entirely as I remember it, but still as rich and full of empty calories as I could hope.
Gears of War: Judgment's 'Aftermath' builds a bridge to Gears 3
Gears of War: Judgment will have a special unlockable mini-campaign taking place during the events of Gears of War 3, called Aftermath. The Aftermath campaign is an epilogue to Judgment's main story, centering on Baird, Cole and Clayton Carmine's mission to track down reinforcements before the COG invade Azura during Gears of War 3.Senior producer at Epic Games, Alan Van Slyke, says the choice to include Aftermath is two-fold. "Aftermath is two things. One, for the Gears 3 fans who wanted more traditional Gears 3 content, it's there to satisfy them," he said. "Two, I think it gives us a chance to bookend the trilogy, so we have Cole and Baird leaving to go get reinforcements at the end of Gears 3 and we're able to build upon that. So it gives Judgment this nice additional content to be able to bookend the trilogy with something that happened right after Emergence Day prior to Gears 1, and also plays off of the traditional Gears 3 content."Aftermath will be unlocked after players compete the main campaign in Gears of War: Judgment.
Gears of War: Judgment offers up 'VIP Season Pass' for $20
Epic Games is following in the footsteps of Gears of War 3, offering up a season pass for proposed multiplayer maps and other content in Gears of War: Judgment.The VIP Season Pass, available for 1600 Microsoft Points ($20) when Gears of War: Judgment launches, will include six multiplayer maps, two game modes and "nine exclusive unlocks," including a permanent double XP modifier, five weapon skins and four armor skins. VIPs also get early access to add-on multiplayer maps.The Gears of War 3 Season Pass totaled $30 and covered four different DLC installments, running the gamut from multiplayer maps to singleplayer DLC campaigns. While the VIP pass for Gears of War: Judgment is cheaper, the reduced price seems to come at the cost of singleplayer DLC.
Forza Horizon 'Meguiar's Car Pack' DLC puts pedal to metal March 5
The Forza Horizon monthly rollout of shiny new DLC drives continues with Meguiar's Car Pack', which is revving up for a March 5 release. The DLC comes without cost to those with the game's season pass, while other can gain access via a 400 MSP pit stop.The six cars included are the 2013 Audi RS4 Avant, the 2012 Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG, the 2013 BMW M135i, the 2003 Ferrari Challenge Stradale, the 2004 Peugeot 206 RC, and the 1998 Nissan R390. If you're looking to take the DLC out for a test drive, the Nissan R390 is a free sample this month. Meanwhile, season pass owners get the 2010 Joss JT1 as a bonus. %Gallery-179906%
Gears of War: Judgment registers the Markza for murder
The newest gun in the COG arsenal is the Markza, a semi-automatic mid-range rifle that we like to imagine was named after a mid-'90s rapper who spits rhymes with an over-the-top italian accent.
Learn how to rush rockets in Halo 4's Landfall map
Here's a video for the Landfall map in Halo 4, with is part of the upcoming Majestic Map Pack. The rockets are in the back. What else do you need to know?
Baird cracks wise about Gears of War: Judgment multiplayer
Gears of War: Judgment shakes up the Gears formula on the multiplayer side, adding a host of new weapons and tweaking established ones. For example, grenades now stick to enemies when tossed. The video above showcases some of the content found in the upcoming prequel, including OverRun and Domination, a capture-point game type where two teams battle to control three different rings in the environment.Narrated by Baird, the video gives us a look at the new prize box system, which yields XP bonuses, characters and weapon skins after each multiplayer match based on performance. As you get more ribbons in a multiplayer match, you improve your odds when it comes to opening the prize box.The last big change is the multi-storied maps. In Gears of War: Judgment, maps aren't as flat as they've been in the past, and players will need to keep an eye out for other players dropping in and, in the case of the video above, firing off a boomshot in their faces.
Librarian, meet Dr. Halsey in Halo 4 Spartan Ops ep. 9
If you've been entrenched in the story of Halo 4's Spartan Ops mode, prepare yourself for this latest episode. Dr. Halsey meets the Didact's wife, the Librarian, and learns her role in humanity's fate is bigger than she imagined.
Pre-order Gears of War: Judgment at Walmart, get Gears 2 or 3 for free
Those who purchase Gears of War: Judgment will score a copy of the original Gears of War gratis, this much we know; however, Walmart is further sweetening the deal for those who pre-order through the retailer by offering Gears of War 2 or Gears of War 3 free as well.If you're on the fence, a public demo of the new OverRun mode will be made available to Xbox Live Gold subscribers on March 19, but that just so happens to also be the launch date for Gears of War: Judgment – so that won't be much help for your decision. If you want to score the additional two free games and included Classic Hammerburst skin from Walmart, you're going to have to pre-order before then.
Hit List Q&A: Frank O'Connor, 343 franchise development director
In the "Hit List" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the video game industry's top talents describe their current gaming addictions, their most anticipated releases and more. This week: 343's Franchise Development Director Frank O'Connor. Frank O'Connor has worked in and around the gaming industry for about twenty years, starting in the gaming press in the UK, where he edited and wrote for several magazines before making the move to the States. After several years working on games publications here, he took an opportunity to work at Bungie studios as a community manager, working on consumer relations, marketing efforts and game fiction.When Bungie spun out of Microsoft during Halo Reach, he decided to stay with the Halo franchise and has been there since the inception of 343 Industries. He's lived through every single console and computer game transition, and he is just as excited about the impending one as he was when Pong gave way to the Atari 2600.At Frank's forthcoming 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit session with Microsoft Game Studios/343 Industries' Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill, Frank will co-present on "Changing the Universe - Three for Three." This session will explore the trials, tribulations, and opportunities in building and rebuilding a cultural phenomenon, expanding a beloved universe into live action and transmedia storytelling, all while creating a AAA-game studio from scratch.
Dance Central 3 gets Bieber, One Direction, Ellie Goulding, B.O.B.
Dance Central 3 is set to receive a hefty infusion of new tracks this month. One Direction and its ubiquitous "What Makes You Beautiful" will drop on February 5. On February 12 the Beebs returns with two new jams in "Justin Bieber Dance Pack 01," which features "Beauty And A Beat" and "All Around the World." The pack will run $5, or each track will be available individually for $3.On February 19 you can grab the number one song on your jogging megamix, Ellie Goulding's "Lights." The month is rounded out on February 26 with "Airplanes" by B.O.B., though we're not really sure what music from a 16-bit action game is doing in Dance Central.
Forza Horizon 'February Jalopnik car pack' DLC hits the open road Feb. 5
Six rides are being added to Forza Horizon on Tuesday: the 2013 Subaru BRZ, '91 Ferrari 512 TR, 2012 Toyota FJ Cruiser, '70 Nissan Datsun 510, and '73 Mazda RX-3. The pass is included with the game's Season Pass or separately for 400MS Points ($5). As a special bonus, the '66 Ford Country Squire will be free for all speed demons.
Halo 4 Spartan Ops ep. 8 trailer exposes the dangerous life of scientists
If video games have taught us anything, it's that the life of a scientist is always in jeopardy. Their labs are invaded, their projects go awry and, as illustrated in the latest Spartan Ops trailer, aliens try to murder them. It's no wonder STEM education is so important – our scientists keep dying.%Gallery-177675%
World Series of Poker: Full House Pro coming to XBLA, Windows 8
Xbox Live just can't get enough poker, apparently, with Microsoft today announcing a free-to-play sequel to Full House Poker. Entitled World Series of Poker: Full House Pro, the new game ups the ante (geddit?) with ESPN announcers Lon McEachern and Norman Chad and the inclusion of real-world casinos.Players start each day with a free stack of chips, which can be played at single tables or in tournaments. Furthermore, the game will be playable across Xbox 360 and Windows 8, with players able to start a game on one platform and continue on another. World Series of Poker: Full House Pro will launch this spring.%Gallery-176526%
Wordament hits iOS, complete with Xbox Live Achievements
Wordament, one of the first Xbox Live-enabled games Microsoft brought to Windows 8, is now available for free on iOS devices. The tournament-based word game connects to Xbox Live and is capable of cross-platform play, as it uses the same servers as the Windows 8 and Windows Phone versions.Wordament is a Boggle-style word finding game, and includes "frenemies" lists, stat tracking and global leaderboards. Additionally, players that log in to their Xbox Live accounts in the game can also earn up to 50 gamerpoints from the its 10 achievements.
Forza Horizon Rally expansion drifts onto XBL next week
As Vin Diesel and Bow Wow taught us in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, drifting is the coolest possible way to travel from Point A to Point B, regardless of situation, circumstance or the amount of neon lights underneath your car.We bring this up because Forza Horizon's latest bundle of DLC is a rally racing expansion pack, available next Tuesday, December 18, for 1,600 MS Points. The "Rally" expansion includes five new rally-purposed cars, new stages, new online multiplayer events and even co-driver announcements, so you can keep your damn eyes on the road you lunatic.Anyone who purchased Horizon's $50 Season Pass will get the Rally expansion for free, along with an exclusive 2003 Ford Focus SVT. Under any other circumstances, a 10-year-old Ford Focus isn't really what we'd call a "motivating incentive."
