Halo 4: Will it Come or Will it Die?

Well I published a post not to long ago about Halo 4 being released, and some features it would have. As I stated at the end of the post it was an April fools joke. That post has since flown all the way up to the second page of Google’s search engine. How this happened I’m not to sure as I wasn’t trying to get that indexed. This article is my thoughts on whether or not Halo 4 will ever come or if it will die.

There is a lot of debate surrounding the videos on YouTube of the 3rd ending of Halo 3. The one on Legendary where you turn on every skull. If these videos are in fact valid endings then there is no doubt a Halo 4. I’m starting to believe this is a Halo 2 ending or beginning; however I never watched the videos in Halo 2 so I can’t be certain. People are claiming this to go both ways.

Bungie has officially lost the rights to the Halo name. They separated from Microsoft which in turn causes their loss of rights to the Halo franchise. With Microsoft at the helm who knows what could happen. This is old news, several months old, yet it makes a valid argument that we could see a Halo 4 simply because Microsoft would have the ability to produce it. I have no reference to this news as it happened some time ago, anybody got a link to the article can put it in a comment.

The game sold 1 million copies before the game even released. At $60 for the basic editions they had earned over $60 million before the game released. There were also the buyers who didn’t reserve it and still bought it. I’ve yet to see a valid sales number out there, but I would be willing to be somewhere in the 20 million copies overall. Add the $10 profit off of each of the new map packs and you’ve got one rich creator.

Halo 4 is inevitable. Look at this connection, Microsoft having the ability to create Halo 4. Halo is an exclusive game, only for the Microsoft systems ie Vista computers, and Xbox. They could simply release a new system with Halo 4 and just crush all of the competition. You will see another Halo, but it’s going to be a few years down the road. I’d say 2010 at it’s earliest.

Grand Theft Auto IV is near!!!

Hey all you fellow gamers out there. My name is Ryan and I am a new author here at LTNG. Are you ready for Grand Theft Auto IV? Well you better be!!! With the release of one of the most anticipated games of the year, I for-see lines equivalent to that of a Halo release. With the release of the game almost 25 hours away many gamers are already lining up as we speak.

GTA IV reinvents the series with a renewed version of Liberty City detailed to the last pothole and rooftop vent. There are now four boroughs to explore plus extra areas outside of Liberty City proper. With the ability to climb obstacles, drive cars, steer boats and pilot helicopters, the world of GTA is more accessible than ever before.

For Niko Bellic, fresh off the boat from Europe, it is the hope he can escape his past. For his cousin, Roman, it is the vision that together they can find fortune in Liberty City, gateway to the land of opportunity. As they slip into debt and are dragged into a criminal underworld by a series of shysters, thieves and sociopaths, they discover that the reality is very different from the dream in a city that worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them and a living nightmare for those who don’t.

Features:

• The Plot – Grand Theft Auto IV is a brand new adventure in the GTA universe following the experiences of Nikolai ?Niko? Bellic, a new immigrant from an undisclosed eastern European country whose troubled past and the persuasion of his cousin Roman have brought him to the fictional Liberty City. Unfortunately, Niko’s search for the American Dream and a much needed fresh start, hits an immediate snag when the rags to riches story Roman spun to pique Niko’s interest is exposed as not only a complete fabrication, but a ploy to enlist Niko’s well-known skills as a tough guy against the ample list of enemies clamoring for Roman’s debt-ridden blood. Because Roman is the only person Niko knows in Liberty City he begrudgingly accepts his role as Roman’s protector despite the deception. But as time goes on Niko comes into his own, and his experience on the wrong side of the tracks proves more valuable than he could have ever imagined as he fights for survival and later supremacy on the crime ridden streets of Liberty City.
• Game Environments – Based on several of the boroughs of New York City and parts of New Jersey, Liberty City, familiar to players of previous games in the series, has been entirely redesigned for GTA IV. Players can expect visible detail down to the weeds growing in the cracks in the sidewalk, cars and buildings of visibly different ages and a much greater level if verticality in the buildings and bridges that they are able to explore as Niko moves through the city streets. In addition, pedestrians in GTA IV are much more realistic. No longer simply moving cardboard cutouts, these NPCs are intelligent, modern, human representations that laugh, cry, eat, drink, use cell phones and As, and talking amongst themselves regardless of Niko’s interaction with them.
• Gameplay – Historically GTA games have focused heavily on mission-based play, requiring successful completion of fixed tasks in order for players to progress through the game, but this has changed to a great extent in GTA IV. Players will experience an entirely new and exciting emphasis centered on the blending of on-mission and off-mission play, resulting not only in an increased sense of realism, but more interesting and unrestricted gameplay.

Source:Walmart.com

Guitar Hero on the DS?

The Nintendo DS is one of the two larger hand held systems on the market. I’m assuming everybody knows the basic concept of the DS, so I won’t explain that. Activision has officially announced that it will be releasing the game for the DS.

The idea is pretty simple. There is the touch screen where you will have to strum, and then a smaller plugin on the bottom that will have the buttons for the notes. What I don’t understand is how you will even play this. I mean there are the frets on the bottom so in order to hold it so the buttons are verticle, you and strum with your left hand, you wouldn’t be able to see the screen very well if at all.

I guess for you DS only owners this may be something pretty cool to happen for you. If you’ve got any other system though I suggest buying it for that. The hand held version will not be anywhere near as good of quality and as much fun as the full system would be. If you are interested in reading a post that is more informative on this topic and makes it sounds “exciting” you may want to check out IGN’s post about it.

Nintendo has no intentions of price-cutting.

I saw this on my local news today, haha. Nintendo stated earlier that they have absolutely no intention to price cut and of their available products on the market today. The Wii will stay at the original retail price and so will the Nintendo DS. I can see where they’re coming from being the Wii is only 250 dollars and better priced than both the XBox 360 and the PS3.

What baffles me though is that graphics that we have seen in many releases for the Wii are not in the same range as that of the XBox 360 and PS3, it has very few extra components that make it more appealing, and the general demographic for their video games are geared more towards party play, and sometimes children. You really are getting what you pay for when it comes down too it.

What also surprised me about Nintendo is the lack of product. Finding a brand new Wii is extremely hard to do,  atleast where I’m from, and I’m only in Michigan. To price cut their Wii could be a good idea, becayse 1) I believe more people will buy it, even though it is already fairly priced. 2) It is not on the same level as other next-gen platforms (no hate towards Nintendo).

XBox came out with the Arcade version which is 280 dollars, and you can buy a 20gig hard drive off of Ebay for 30 bucks, and you can get an extra headset from a buddy. So the choice is obvious there. PS3 came out with the $400 PS3, still pricey, but a far cry from $600, and you’re also getting a Blu-Ray DVD player.

In my own opinion, I just think Nintendo is not making a good choice, especially for their consumers. I’m not XBox or PS3 fanboy, I like all 3 systems, but like I said, in my opinion the Wii doesn’t compare, and the price is too high for the product given.

fancy playing guitar hero with this?

 

Toyota Matrix Xbox Guitar Hero III All-Nighter

Xbox, Toyota, and Peavey have teamed up to bring you the coolest prizes in the history of Xbox.com for the upcoming All-Nighter: Crafted from a real-wood, life-size Peavey guitar and modified for play with guitar-based music video games, this custom Peavey AG RiffMaster guitar controller features the sleek finish, dimensions and feel of a real Peavey guitar to provide a truly authentic music video game experience. For more details about one-of-a-kind Peavey AG RiffMaster guitar game controllers, check them out online atPeavey.com.

Kick out the jams in style.

For a chance to win one of these 24 guitars, download the “Toyota Matrix Xbox All-Nighter Registration Gamer Picture” from the Xbox LIVE® Marketplace before 5:59 A.M. Pacific Time April 27, 2008. For complete instructions and rules for the sweepstakes, please see the Toyota Matrix Xbox All-Nighter sweepstakes rules page.

Then take to the stage in Guitar Hero III and play any time all night long, from dusk to dawn the weekend of April 26-27. Also, we’d love to see and hear about your Guitar Hero III All-Nighter! Send us pictures of you and your friends rocking out and let us know how long you played, which songs you played, and how much fun you had. Send a short recap with the subject “Toyota Matrix All-Nighter” and we may choose to feature you on Xbox.com! Don’t forget to include your Gamertag and home town. You don’t have to tell us about your All-Nighter to be eligible to win the sweepstakes, only if you’d like the chance to be featured on Xbox.com.

 

The Third Author

Carnage1124 will be joining this blog. Two author additions in one day? This is pretty big news. The site will expand at a rate nobody would have seen coming. Let’s help make carnage feel welcome by commenting his posts and encouraging him. Good luck carnage!

A Second New Author

Bradrulez1 has joined the 1337 to Noob community of authors and you should expect to see some posts from him in the near future. Leave him comments and make him feel welcome to help inspire him to continue posting for a long time to come. Welcome.

GTAIV LEAKED to the internet.

Announced not too long ago that the highly anticipted Grand Theft Auto IV has been leaked to the internet and many, mnay file-sharing sites. It’s the PAL version, not NTSC and people are downloading, burning, and playing it on their XBox 360.

R* deserves the money from the time and effort put into this game. Everyone who wants to play this game, should buy it. I’m not saying I’m against downloading some stuff, BUT, if you look at how far Rockstar has come, company wise, and gaming wise, they really do deserve full payment for putting out, possibly, the Game of the Year.

Check back here for more updates as the day goes on.

Madden NFL 2009: Special 20th Edition

Ok honestly Madden games don’t change that much each year. In fact, the majority of the changes involve the players switching teams and the top rookies being added. Not much more changes between years to make it worth another $60 come out of your pocket.

If you haven’t purchased a Madden game in the last two or three years, this is the year. Why is this so special? Nothing really makes it stand out much more than 2008’s. The fact that this is the 20th season of the Madden franchise is probably the biggest factor.

You will get a bonus though. Two games for the price of one. When you purchase Madden 2008 you will receive NFL Coach 2009 for free. What could be better? You get a classic edition of a classic game as well as another football game you probably wouldn’t bother purchasing anyways.

It’s worth checking out, but you may not need to buy it. According to xbox.com the only two real significant additions to the ‘09 game are that you can import personal playbooks from the NFL Coach game and you can control your touchdown celebrations. That alone makes it worth another $60?

Recon Armor: How You Won’t Get It

So the Bungie.net weekly update has come in with a very unique topic. Recon armor. Recon Armor is pretty old news, it’s been out for a few months now. It is armor that is only available to a small population of Halo players at the current time. People have gotten it for amazing clips, different stats, and of course, working for Bungie.

As you can probably guess, the limited addition armor makes this a highly sought after object. People have tried hundreds of different things to get a creator to unlock the recon armor for them to no avail. You should take caution, there are some things that will ban you from ever receiving it.

I guess I can’t really specify exactly what can get you on their apparent “list”; however I can give some advice. Don’t be stupid, don’t lie, don’t bribe, and just plain old, don’t worry about it. They hint at the fact that eventually it will be unlocked for everybody, everybody not on the “list”.

If you would like to receive it consider making a creative forge. This has helped a few receive it. Capture an awesome clip or picture. This will possibly help you receive it. Finally, if you are desperate enough to get it, play as many of the double experience games as possible in one weekend. They’ve given it out to the players who have played the most in a weekends games, as well as a few other cool stat leaders in these games.

Once you unlock recon armor you will be separate from the rest of the players in virtually every game you play in. Nobody will have the same armor as you so you will stand out. If you are to achieve this, you will be get looks in every game. To read the weekly update on recon armor and more check out bungie.net.