Grave Gamer News & Views — 343 industries

Master Chief Unofficially Confirms Halo 2 Anniversary

Remember that massive list of Xbox related leaks that hit the web oh not so long ago? The one that seemed too good to be true yet, suspiciously, Microsoft was lawyering up over? Welp, another bullet point rumor has seemingly come true.

Steve Downes, the gravelly voice behind our beloved Master Chief’s helmet for nearly thirteen years now, says we’ll be seeing a Halo 2 Anniversary Edition released later this year, as prophesied in the leak. Unfortunately, we’re getting the remake in lieu of a proper sequel to Halo 4.

In a yet to be posted interview with GameZone, the sometimes DJ, sometimes savior of the Earth commented on 343 Industries’ next installment saying, “I think you may be ahead of yourself on Halo 5. I wouldn’t expect anything until 2015.” However, “What you can look forward to this year is an anniversary edition of Halo 2.”

It fits. This year does indeed mark the tenth anniversary of Halo 2 (my god, I need to start getting serious about my will). Mr. Downes didn’t specify which system(s) we’d see the remake on, but according to that rumor monster of a list, we should expect it out on Microsoft’s latest and greatest, the Xbox One.

Giving more credence to the leak, Downes also backs up Halo 5’s slip into 2015 (the Big M originally was dead set on pumping out Chief’s new adventure in ‘14).

I’m obligated by the journalistic gods to inform you none of this information is official. But seriously. If you’re not going to believe Halo news straight out of Master Chief’s mouth, what’s it going to take?

UPDATE: IGN took a minute to reach out to Steve Downes about his revealing quote. His reply? That GameZone misquoted him. Downes claims he merely said he heard some rumblings online about there possibly being a Halo 2 Anniversary and that he didn’t intend on implying he had any inside info in the least.

Oh, well. Rumor debunked, internet. But brake your warthogs, Spartans. IGN was then emailed the original interview that took place between the Chief and GameZone. Low and behold, Downes’ spiel about online rumors and this “possibly” talk are nowhere in sight. Curiouser and curiouser. Consider this rumor… bunked still? 

Halo’s Reclaimer Trilogy Upgraded to a Saga

Seems like the Xbox One is heralding much more than just two more numbered Halo’s.  Powwowing with GameSpot, Microsoft Studio’s VP, Phil Spencer, teased bigger plans are in store for the Master Chief.  “While we originally said trilogy, we’ve actually expanded this to more of a saga,” said Spencer, “So we don’t want to limit the Reclaimer story within a trilogy.”

Once the FPS franchise was under 343 Industries’ wings – a development studio specifically formed by Microsoft to create and oversee all media labeled “Halo” –  Halo 4 was announced to be the first act in a new arc of the main series dubbed The Reclaimer Trilogy.

To catch you up, Master Chief himself has been ominously referred to as “The Reclaimer” within Bungie’s original three games.  Halo 4 set up a greater emphasis on the Master Chief as a character by revealing that his destiny plays a larger part in the fabric of the series’ universe than just his role as a military grunt mowing down waves of Covenant. This is reinforced by the implication that (spoiler) his fate has been manufactured by the fabled Forerunners through eons of manipulation (To what end?  Well, now we have to wait a whole saga to find out).

Now rebranded as the Reclaimer Saga, 343 has stated, “…We don’t want to limit our plans to a trilogy,” adding, “Our ambitions for the franchise are even broader than that."  They do, however, promise the main plot line of the Reclaimer Saga will follow the traditional beginning, middle, and end storytelling structure.  Personally, I feel plans for a mainline trilogy are still well in place, but fans should expect several satellite titles (likely a mix of both FPS and other genres) that dart in and out of the Reclaimer story.  Think Spartan Ops on a grander, multi-game scale.

As for the unnamed Xbox One Halo trailer shown off at E3, Phil Spencer rejects the notion that it was for a Reclaimer spin-off, calling it a "legitimate” installment…which, of course, makes me want to refer to games like Reach and ODST as illegitimate kids.  We’re still not calling it Halo 5, apparently, but Spencer confirms it is the next Halo planned for release.

Microsoft Then and Now: Old Franchises Coming Back in New Ways

While the video game world anxiously awaits the banquet of announcements being served up at next week’s E3, Microsoft has slammed two appetizers on the table especially for impatient fans.

First up, Microsoft is trying to give you reasons not to box up your 360 and send it to trade-in pasture (Xbox One’s lack of backwards compatibility should’ve already convinced you not to but that’s another battle – and a losing one).  Lionhead Studios is digging up their roots and giving their acclaimed RPG-adventure an HD overhaul for the Xbox 360 in Fable Anniversary.  Not content on settling for an HD port, this re-addition is a full-on graphical remake that plays host to updated textures, Unreal backed lighting and rendering, a brand new UI, and all sorts of pretty 1080p uplifting.

Completionists will be pleased as hell to hear the Platinum Hits version’s Lost Chapters are included with Anniversary, as well as new achievements that play up the choice/consequence nature of the original title.  Fable Anniversary places the classic back on store shelves Holiday 2013.

Halo – a moderately known sci-fi shooter that might’ve made a blip on your radar sometime in the past two console cycles – may be famous for its larger-than-life action but 343 Industries looks to shrink that signature epic experience and let you go mobile with Halo: Spartan Assault, a twin-stick shooter dropped in the gap between Halo 3 and 4’s events.

The story follows Spartan Sarah Palmer and chronicles the rise of the Spartan Ops program that sought to bolster the UNSC with Master Chief-a-likes.  Though bite-sized, Spartan Assault’s 25 mission campaign shares the same DNA as its console brethren; you’ll man a multitude of vehicles, customize your loadout with weapons spanning the series’ history, and generally mop the battlefield floor with Covenant dregs.  Some cross compatibility comes into play as blasting away in Spartan Assault earns you experience and unique emblems within Halo 4 so you can blast away with style there.

Unfortunately, this enticing little shoot em’ up is only bound for Windows 8 phones and tablets.  If it proves successful, though, it’s very unlike Microsoft to avoid a mean stream of green, possibly paving a path for an XBLA version (we’ll keep our SMG’s crossed).  Expect Halo: Spartan Assault out sometime in July.

Watch 343 Industries Create An Epic in ‘Halo 4 Prelude’

Calling Halo 4 a massive undertaking is officially a staggering understatement once you check out this trailer.

343 dropped a tastefully filmed, scored, edited trailer that shirks standard preview conventions and borrows the spotlight from their creation to focus on the creators themselves. While the duration of the video depicts art teams,...

More production shots from Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.  It’s lookin’ pretty sweet.