Splash Damage founder Paul Wedgwood has reiterated the PS3 is "more of a challenge" to develop on, compared to the "easier" 360. He points out in his interview with Edge Online that console gamers crave the greater depth PC games offer. Consoles could be deep "but it isn't there", mainly as PC called it first.
Bungie's add-on for Halo 3 has just gotten a lot more interesting, in a Cold Case kind of way oddly. Cast as an ODST marine grunt you'll unravel what happen to your team. The city will be open to discover and work through in whatever order the player wants, until you stumble across "a crime scene" of sorts, and relive as a team-mate for a bit.
The downloadable content will be held back despite being almost wrapped up already, the purpose is in "sustaining interest", which most DLC does "a good job" of. Lead designer Graeme Devine also reveals why the team believes that Halo Wars is the first of its kind, a true console RTS; they're "pretty confident about it."
Ensemble's Dave Pottinger has revealed that the Halo MMO wasn't just some experimental tinkering but that the project had been given the thumbs up. Then disaster struck as there was "some reorganization" at Microsoft and the team's dream for an MMO were canned. It would have been pre-Covenant, "more actiony than WoW."
Bungie has posted their explanation for why Halo 3 loads slower once installed to the hard drive of a 360 through NXE. It's the games way of caching maps basically. The game doesn't know it's already on the HDD so it re-copies the map data to the "utility partition" to cache the data; all this reading/writing ties up the HDD slowing it.
In a move that has shocked possibly some guy in Paraguay or something, Bungie have decided to alter the name of the upcoming expansion to Halo 3. Apparently this name change will give a more "straightforward account of the experience that awaits" gamers, plus it rhymes. ODST stands for 'Orbital Drop Shock Trooper'.
Microsoft confirmed today that Halo Wars, the action-based strategy game set in the iconic Halo Universe and created exclusively for Xbox 360, will be available in Europe on 27th February, whilst the US will get it slightly later on 3rd March.
During Microsoft's CES 09 Keynote last night, it emerged that a demo would be released for Halo Wars on 5th February, along with a small release date delay to February 28. Europeans will still get the game first, whilst the US has to wait until March.
Microsoft has revealed during CES that the Master Chief and his buddies have sold over 25 million, with about 150 hours online for the average player. Also confirmed was the arrival of Halo 3: ODST for release this year, as well as Halo Wars arriving February 28th in the US, with a demo coming earlier in the month.
Microsoft has let us know about some misinformation shared at the CES event, which claimed that the Halo Wars release date had changed, although this doesn't appear to be the case. Here are the correct release dates straight from Microsoft: Japan and Asia Pacific: Feb. 26 EMEA: Feb. 27 Americas (US, Canada, Mexico and South America): March 3
Ensemble Studios' real-time strategy Halo Wars for Xbox 360 will have its demo debut with tutorials, a skirmish map and a taste of the campaign. Chasms is one of fourteen multiplayer maps and will be included to let gamers try their luck freely against an AI opponent. The full game launches in Europe on February 27th.
Through the Bungie Weekly Update the developers reveal a little bit of the story and why fans won't be blasting Elites in New Mombasa. Under new management the Elites are cast as incompetent and so stripped of their rank. The Prophet of Truth, pulling a Chancellor Palpatine, has schemed to further his own power.
While not getting a nod of confirmation that there will be downloadable content, producer Jason Pace did reveal their interest. Pace admits it's "something we're looking in to," but the future of Ensemble is already to eclipse. Despite that they're "committed to supporting the franchise," no set plans yet he adds.
Despite the iconic studios closure Ensemble will survive, reform and help Microsoft Game Studios with technical support for Halo Wars. Lead Producer Jason Pace has said MGS are "really interested" in keeping a relationship with the new Ensemble. There are rumours they could even handle more Age of Empires.
Microsoft's Jason Pace, supreme overlord of Halo franchise, has said they're hoping to expand Halo in "many different directions". That includes other "genres of gaming" as well as other venues for telling the story. On the elusive Peter Jackson Halo project he's "not at liberty" to blab like a school girl to her mates.
Bungie and Microsoft have announced that the map pack will be available over Xbox Live on March 3rd, a week later than Halo Wars' release. However if you've got a Limited Collector's Edition of Ensemble's Halo Wars earmarked for yourself then the map pack is yours when the game arrives. Mythic adds three new maps.
Halo lead producer Jason Pace has said Microsoft are aiming galactic when it comes to the franchise, with plans to go beyond first-person shooters. He adds they want it to become as "culturally pervasive" as George Lucas' iconic Star Wars. Pace notes that Halo has a "vast universe" to tap into, one that spans "thousands of years".
Microsoft has posted the promised Halo Wars Demo on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo is 1GB in size, and can be added to your download queue here.
In the latest of Bungie's weekly updates, the developer has confirmed that Halo: ODST will release with a recognisable set of 24 multiplayer maps. Bungie discussed, "All twenty-four Halo 3 Multiplayer maps will be in the box. All shipping maps: The Heroic Map Pack, The Legendary Map Pack, Cold Storage, The Mythic Map Pack, and three brand new exclusive maps are included. "
Comprised of Ensemble veterans, Robot Entertainment have revealed they are indeed working on more stuff for Xbox 360's Halo Wars. They're still chums with Microsoft Game Studios and will be helping out with online support for Age of Empires as well, but they're also developing their "own original IP" too.