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343 Industries has had an interesting run with the Halo franchise. The developer has struggled to win over fans with its two original entries into the series, which some have criticized for both gameplay and plot reasons. And while 343 Industries has attempted to take Halo in its own direction, Bungie is still influencing the design of the Halo franchise, even a decade after moving on. There are immediate parallels between Destiny 2 and Halo Infinite that 343 Industries won’t be able to shake....

When Aliens’ Private William Hudson first declared “Game over man, game over!” back in the Summer of 1986 (circa 2179) he may well have been predicting the future of the entire Xenomorph-infested franchise. Following the monstrous successes of Alien and its space marine-starring sequel some 7 years later, the action/horror hybrid would go to spawn a terrifying legacy all its own. Infamous box office failures, including Alien 3 and its canon blasting sequel Alien: Resurrection — as well as an ill-advised cross-pollination project with the Predator — all helped to transform this once-proud franchise into a shameless self-parody....

The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited edition has been a long time in the making. The game was always planned for PC and current-gen consoles, but saw a few delays as the PC version stumbled out of the gate. The game was entertaining enough, but its subscription fee made many fans of MMOs or the Elder Scrolls universe hesitant to test the waters. Just a little more than a year after the game’s PC launch, ZeniMax has thrown the subscription model to the side (despite initial insistence that the monthly fee was necessary) and is ready to start testing the fantasy MMO on consoles....

While Gears of War: Judgment may not be the sequel fans expected, so far Epic Games is proving it’s right at home in the existing fiction. Following the entire game being leaked online ahead of release - and Epic’s promise to ban anyone found playing a pirated copy - the opening cinematic of the game’s campaign can now be viewed. Hitting the ground running with Locust tearing apart the COG’s men and machinery, Judgment’s opening scene sets the stage for a trip backwards through time for Damon Baird and his colleagues, in more ways than one....

It’s been a long time coming, but Grand Theft Auto 5 has finally been announced by Rockstar Games. The internet has been abuzz with long standing rumors about when the fifth installment of the infamous GTA series may make its triumphant return, and while some key details on the mature-rated title are still M.I.A., the game’s existence is finally confirmed. Rockstar Games put up the official logo for Grand Theft Auto 5 on their website, along with some information regarding when gamers will finally be able to get more information on the upcoming project....

In the ongoing saga that is Halo: The Master Chief Collection, 343 Industries has put out another patch for the game that hopes to improve certain aspects that are still less than favorable. Among the contents of the update, players that are still sticking with the games may notice tweaks to matchmaking, UI, stats and more; hopefully, a much better experience overall. The most notable addition, however, is the implementation of Halo 4’s episodic co-op mode, Spartan Ops....

Although lots of the teasers for Halo 5: Guardians are focused on the upcoming campaign story, some of the most compelling viral marketing has been about the franchise’s past. As a new protagonist is being added to the picture, 343 Industries is making sure that fans know Master Chief and his mysterious backstory will still play a major role in Halo 5’s story. In the long waits between Halo 5 teaser trailers, fans are able to entertain themselves by listening to the Hunt the Truth podcast....

There are very few developers who are as focused on providing regular updates and add-on content for their games as Mojang. The Swedish developer – that was recently acquired by Microsoft – has been especially active at updating its flagship game, Minecraft, every few months since it’s official launch in 2011. While these updates do often fix bugs and issues in the game, they also include major additions, such as animals, plants, and even entire realms, like the Nether and the End....

There are very few game franchises that are capable of rivalling the pure amount of carnage and brutality that’s often found in Mortal Kombat, but there’s a lot more to NetherRealm’s iconic series then just severing heads and removing spinal cords. The franchise itself has a lot of depth to it and is a ton of fun to play, so it’s easy to see why gamers have been waiting on the next entry for quite some time....

Over the past few years, the PlayStation Network has become a haven for some truly exceptional titles. One series that has become synonymous with the service is the PixelJunk series. Encompassing five titles, what makes this series so impressive is the fact that the small catalog of games span four different genres. It’s not often that a developer is so comfortable jumping between conventions in the way that Q-Games is. PixelJunk SideScroller, their newest title, aims to tread new ground once more, tackling the popular sidescrolling shoot-em-up genre....

WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff told Variety that the Snyder cut was a one-off and that no sequels will be underway despite it being a monumental hit for HBO Max, so much so that the service crashed. In response, fans have flocked to Twitter to campaign with the hashtag ‘RestoreTheSnyderVerse.’ What that actually entails isn’t necessarily more ‘cuts’ or anything of that nature barring David Ayer’s Suicide Squad which was also shut down, rather it’s a call for direct sequels to Zack Snyder’s Justice League with more of the Knightmare timeline and Darkseid....

With its provocative imagery and moody music (Archive’s “Bullets”), the debut trailer for CD Projekt Red’s upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 made quite an impression when it was unleashed yesterday. It’s a great teaser that left fans of the developer’s previous work – namely The Witcher and its sequel – understandably excited, even though the game itself is, regrettably, far from completion. As it turns out, there is more to the trailer than meets the eye – or, at least, more than meets most eyes....

When a project manages to raise over 43 million dollars from crowd-funding alone, it’s bound to attract some serious talent. Chris Roberts may be a living legend in the realm of space sims, but a game as ambitious as Star Citizen will require a team much bigger than one leader to deliver a finished product as robust and polished as what has been promised to the many backers. Cloud Imperium Games managed to add another familiar face in the gaming community to the project this week when Diablo 3 producer Alex Mayberry signed on to be the executive producer for Star Citizen....

Today, at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Sonic the Hedgehog was the star of his own panel. As expected, Team Sonic Racing took a center focus. We learned that the cars will have a robust customization process, and got to hear a new remix. Arguably, the most exciting announcement was Team Sonic Racing Overdrive, a two-part animation similar to the well-liked Sonic Mania Adventures. As a surprise, SEGA debuted the first part of Overdrive for attendees at SXSW, and viewers at home....

Sony recently announced that the release of Venom: Let There Be Carnage is postponed once again and will now premiere on September 17, 2021. The superhero sequel was previously slated to open on the same weekend as Universal’s Fast and Furious 9. Let There Be Carnage is the direct sequel to 2018’s Venom. The original was directed by Zombieland’s Ruben Fleischer and starred Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock/Venom, Michelle Williams as Anne Weying, and Riz Ahmed as Carlton Drake/Riot....

As far as their main narratives go, Ubisoft’s various action franchises all seem to exist happily independent of one another, even their Tom Clancy-branded games - that is, until you start peering very closely. Players of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag who explored the modern-day setting and hacked Abstergo Entertainment’s computers (which use the patented Frogger security system) can unearth an e-mail concerning Abstergo’s potential interest in ctOS, the central operating system used to control the alternate version of Chicago in Ubisoft’s upcoming open world game Watch Dogs....

Publisher Devolver Digital has been around for some time and has been well-regarded among gamers and the industry alike. However, no game by the publisher has reached the level of publicity that Fall Guys has, mostly because of its unique twist on the popular battle royale genre. Despite this hilarious game getting a lot of love lately, the game is not among the best-reviewed games the company has ever seen. In fact, it isn’t even in the top 10 on Metacritic....

Tabletop games are a fun way to spend time together on a night in the house with friends or family members. But these days, board games are definitely not the kind of games that a lot of people grew up with and instead, modern board games are super immersive and detailed and are perfect for people that love really story-driven, detailed video games. But, if game night means trying to get people that aren’t normally gamers involved, these games might not be a good choice....

Immortals Fenyx Rising is a game newly released by Ubisoft. Those who love, or at least appreciate Greek mythology will love this game as well. While there are a ton of video games already that tackle or use mythology as an inspiration, Immortals Fenyx Rising is its own unique game and will surely be one of the best games players will have the pleasure of playing. Similar to many massive open-world games, there are a ton of hidden details in Immortals Fenyx Rising many people won’t be able to find if they don’t scour around the game’s world....

The following list details the most incredibly expensive consoles at launch. This is not including special editions or inflated prices; this is the honest to goodness retail cost for consumers. Some of the early entries are fairly reasonable, but further on down the list the sticker prices skyrocket for obscure platforms most modern gamers do not know. Shelling out several hundred dollars for a piece of hardware only to have it discontinued a year or two later is devastating, especially when the competition is thriving....