Game of the week
I have a confession to make: I’m not a fan of the Halo franchise. Despite a handful of fun online-play sessions with friends, I’ve never quite understood the appeal of spending countless hours with Master Chief (despite personally playing every entry in the series in an effort to get hooked).
Sometimes you have to give into the masses though, and that’s exactly the case with the game of the week: Halo 4. For the first time in the franchise’s history, development duties have shifted to a brand new studio – 343 Industries. There are sure to be skeptics due to the absence of former developer Bungie, but reviews seem to indicate yet another strong entry in the wildly popular first-person shooter series.
Master Chief makes his return as the main protagonist four years after the events of 2007’s Halo 3. Additions include a new enemy threat, new weapons and expanded multiplayer modes. Most notably, a story-driven “Spartan Ops” mode will replace the former co-op driven “Firefight” mode.
I imagine I’ll end up playing Halo 4 at some point, though I’m in no rush. But based on feedback so far, fans of the series will likely be satisfied.
This week in news
Remember The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the 2011 release that gamers poured hundreds of hours into? As if that wasn’t enough, developer Bethesda has announced new downloadable content (DLC) for the highly acclaimed RPG title.
Titled “Dragonborn,” the new DLC will feature dragon mounts. I can already imagine flying dragons over snowy terrains … there’s no way that won’t be awesome.
The plot involves an antagonist named Dragonbeast who attempts to retain his previous power as the first Dragonborn by consuming the souls of dragons. More importantly, the DLC will take place in a familiar environment — the island of Solthseim. This locale first appeared in the “Blood Moon” expansion for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.
“Dragonborn” will be available on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace on December 4 for 1600 Microsoft Points. No plans for a PC or PlayStation 3 release have been revealed yet.
ANTHONY LABELLA can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.
