Yes you read that correctly. 30 YEARS OF HALO. At least this is what 343i’s Studio Head Bonnie Ross wants to see. She noted in a recent quote to Gamespot that:

“I wanted to make sure we were able to go another three decades.”

Gamespot did confirm that she meant this in relation to 343i and the Halo Franchise itself. This is very much in line with what Microsoft has wanted to pursue since taking over and creating Halo 4. Instead of a trilogy, the are dubbing it as the Reclaimer Saga. Ross also noted that she and the studio want to get away from the numbered releases and do more spin-off series, which I would imagine would be something similar to ODST.

This is very interesting as it seems that 343 is diving as far away from core Halo into a new interpretation. I for one would love to see more and more Halo, but I personally do not think that the franchise can stay relevant in it’s current identity crisis. It’s clear to me that 343i is going to continue on with their interpretation of Halo and the long time fans who may enjoy the classic experience are left behind.

I myself as a fan knew one day that the Halo series would end. This would have ultimately been a sad day, but I always envisioned it going out with a bang with one of the best games to date. I myself will leave all final judgments until I actually play the beta and experience it first hand. However, from what I have seen I am not all too enthusiastic. Don’t get me wrong here, the visuals are stunning, and things seem to flow really well. It’s the mechanics and gameplay that I’m concerned about.

Leave a comment below on your thoughts, or tweet me @thehaloarray

Source

Missed any of Championship Sunday? Feel free to watch it below. Gameplay starts at about halfway through the Game 3 video. I highly recommend clicking on the YouTube video below and watching it directly on YouTube as this supports Iron Gaming.

What was your favorite series from this weekend? Leave a comment below or tweet me @TheHaloArray

Yesterday upon booting up The Master Chief Collection you should have been prompted with a large update. This update as expected is to address the issues that have been plaguing the title since release.

Patch notes are as follows.

MATCHMAKING

• Made improvements to the reliability of Matchmaking parties.
• Local split-screen players will now always be on the same team in Halo 2 Matchmaking.
• Made an update to allow players to use Voice Chat during loading screens in Matchmaking.
• Made an update to ensure that players are not forced into an incorrect party after encountering an issue in Matchmaking.
• Resolved an issue where the “Winning Team Won” text was shown in the Carnage Report.

ROSTER

• Made fixes to reduce the amount of time it takes to update the Roster:
  • Players will now be discovered sooner after starting the game.
  • Changes to the roster will be more immediate to better reflect friend activity.

PARTIES

• Made several improvements to party joining and management.
• Resolved an issue where players that were in a party could not join another party from the Roster.
• Made changes to ensure that parties cannot exceed the maximum party size of a playlist.
• Made an update to ensure that Party Leaders can assign a new Party Leader or Kick a player from their party.

CUSTOM GAMES

• Made a change to ensure that teams selections are correctly carried over in Custom Games.
• Made an update to ensure that player settings do not revert to a previous state after completing a Halo 2 Anniversary Multiplayer match.
• Made an update to ensure that players do not disconnect  after completing a Custom Game.
• Resolved an issue in Custom Games where parties would disband if some players were playing in Split-Screen.
• Made a change to ensure that Halo 3 Custom Game variants display correct author information.

HALO: CE

• Made various changes and improvements to Halo: CE multiplayer hit registration.

ACHIEVEMENTS

• Made an update to ensure that the “Legend Slayer” achievement unlocks when prerequisites are met.
• The “Pacifist” Achievement will no longer be awarded for resuming “Assault on the Control Room”.

STABILITY IMPROVEMENTS

• Made a variety of stability improvements across the following areas:
  • Matchmaking
  • Custom Games
  • Campaign Playlists
  • Main Menu

CONTROL SCHEMES

• Updated the Halo 2 “Green Fingers” Button Layout.
• Updated the Halo 2 Anniversary Multiplayer Recon Button Layout.

Have you noticed any improvements? Leave a comment below, or tweet me @TheHaloArray