Complete Halo 3: ODST Single-Player Campaign Released on Halo: The Master Chief Collection May 30, 2015

If you were an early adopter of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, I would check your Xbox messages IMMEDIATLY.  You might find a special gift from Microsoft inside.  After the horrible ongoing issues with Halo: The Master Chief Collection have been plaguing users worldwide for months, 343 Industries decided to reward their customers with a special gift, the complete single player campaign for the fan favorite game Halo 3: ODST in native 1080p at 60 frames.

How’s it look?  Lets watch.

If you were not an early adopter of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, you can purchase the campaign soon from the Xbox Store for a price of $4.99 US.  You must have the most recent Content Update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection installed to play Halo 3: ODST.

Now, when do they plan to bring over Halo: Reach?

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is out now exclusively on Xbox One.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection Content Update 9 Patch Notes May 30, 2015

343 Industries keeps plugging away with more and more updates to Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and this morning, they released the game’s NINTH Content Update.

The new update functions more as a gift to the game’s owners than an actual content patch.  While it does include several bug fixes and other updates, this content update adds a brand new remastered Halo 2 multiplayer map, and support for the upcoming Halo 3: ODST campaign, which will be coming free to the game’s early adopters.

Here’s the full patch notes for the update:

New Features and Content

• Remnant [Remake of the Halo 2 Classic multiplayer map Relic] is now available for all users
• 100 New Achievements added for ODST and Remnant. To see the list, head here.
• Players can now search for Gamertags and access file share, by selecting their own Gamertag in the Active Roster. To learn how, head here.
• Enables DLC addition of Halo 3: ODST campaign (available separately via the Xbox Store). For more information on Halo 3: ODST campaign, go here.

Ranking

• Improved skill matchmaking for parties in ranked playlists
• Made an updated to ensure that parties are no longer separated onto different teams in ranked playlists
• Improved rank stability to prevent ranks from incorrectly resetting

Quit and loss Penalties

• Quit and loss penalties are now applied immediately in matchmaking

Halo: CE

• Resolved Assault Rifle and Shotgun registration issues
• Fixed an issue with vehicle audio in split-screen
• Reduced occurrences of players falling out of map
• Improved stability while title is in “suspend” mode
• Improved music playback for Campaign

Halo 2 Classic

• Fixed an issue where playlist scores posted to Leaderboards incorrectly
• Improved host migration handling in for peer-to-peer custom game matches

Halo 3

• Added UI support for Halo 3 voice chat in matchmaking
• Improved Campaign stability
• Fixed an issue where the scoring HUD would not display in Campaign
• Fixed an issue where some players could experience a delayed spawn into a matchmade game

Halo 4

• Fixed an issue where the scoring HUD would not display in Campaign

Parties & Roster

• Added support for displaying parties as a group in the roster
• Improved handling of dedicated servers
• Team colors are preserved after every match in custom games
• Fixed a host migration issue for Custom Games
• Improved handling of player joinability and leader promotions through Active Roster
• Improved stability of 16 player parties

Forge

• Improved Forge Stability with large number of players on high budget maps
• Added support for Infection within Halo 3 Forge maps
• Fixed an issue where “Place at Start” did not function correctly in Halo 3
• Fixed an issue where controller settings were not respected in Halo 2: Anniversary

Achievements

• Improvements to achievement unlocking throughout title
• Fixed an issue that prevented the Blast Can achievements from unlocking in matchmaking

UI, Stability, & Misc

• Made improvements to stat tracking for all titles
• Improved functionality of unlock notifications
• Improved voice chat functionality throughout all titles
• Improved PGCR stats/details and stat uploading reliability
• Fixed issues where local & shared files may not appear under “My Files”
• Improved Stability of Co-op play in Campaign Playlists
• UI now sorts achievements, nameplates, and avatars based on what you have unlocked
• Improved Scoring functionality during Co-Op Campaign sessions
• Improved Spartan Ops performance
• Improvements made to mission progression in Campaign Playlists
• Improved Rival functionality in Campaign Playlists
• Improved stability for Halo 2: Anniversary map loading in matchmaking
• Final scoreboard is now displayed during outro loading screen after a match

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is out now exclusively on the Xbox One.

Until Dawn Release Date May 26, 2015

I’ve been waiting for this day to come for quite some time. Until Dawn first caught my eye when it was announced at GamesCom several years ago as a PS3-exclusive title that would require the Playstation Move controller.  Many years in development brought this game a total platform shift to the PS4, and Dual Shock 4 controller support, but the game’s artistic aesthetics and storyline seem to have remained untouched.

Today, Sony has finally announced the release date of this interesting horror adventure title with this trailer.

Until Dawn is coming August 25th, 2015 exclusively to the Playstation 4.

Sony Playstation E3 Press Conference Coming to Theaters May 22, 2015

Before the main floor of E3 opens the major publishers will typically host a private event to show the press what they can expect to appear on the show floor.  This year, Sony plans to broadcast their E3 Press Event to theaters across the U.S. and Canada!

The show will be broadcasted live on June 15th, 2015 at 9PM EST.  Tickets will be free, but you will need to order them in advance from this website starting May 27th, 2015.

Final Fantasy XV Community Outreach Video May 21, 2015

The developers at Square Enix brought some long time fans of the Final Fantasy series to their studios to give their thoughts about the Final Fantasy XV demo just before they plan to release a major patch for it. Keep your eyes open, a high-ranking developer may pop in to say hello to the fans.

The Final Fantasy XV demo can only be obtained by purchasing the Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Day One Edition on the Xbox One or PS4.  A patch for the demo is still in development and will be automatically downloadable upon release.

Nintendo World Championships 2015 Details May 20, 2015

Nintendo has long held a place in many gamers’ hearts and now Nintendo plans to give back to their fans.  In the early 90s, Nintendo ruled video gaming with an iron fist.  They were everywhere. TV, magazines, shampoo, and even breakfast cereal.  At the height of their popularity Nintendo hosted a series of competitions to find the best NES players in the world. Those events have gone down in gaming legend. Heck, there was even a Fred Savage movie about the phenomenon, called The Wizard.

This year, just prior to this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, Nintendo is once again hosting the Nintendo World Championships and they’re opening it to anyone who wants to play.

If you would like to compete, you’ll have to head to one of the eight participating Best Buy locations on May 30th, 2015.  The qualifying events will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time at Best Buy stores at the following locations:

• 1717 Harrison St.  San Francisco, CA
• 3675 Pacific Coast Highway. Torrance, CA
• 10760 NW 17th St.  Miami, FL
• 900 E. Golf Road. Schaumburg, IL
• 12905 Elm Creek Blvd. N. Maple Grove, MN
• 5001 Northern Blvd.  Long Island City, NY
• 9378 N. Central Expressway  Dallas, TX
• 2214 S. 48th St.  Tacoma, WA

Nintendo says they’ll be testing players with the game Ultimate NES Remix on the Nintendo 3DS. The special challenges will be taken from Dr. Mario, Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario Bros. The top players from each store will be given the chance to compete against each other at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. You can read all the official details about the promotion here.

Fred Savage himself has expressed interest in attending the event. If you know Fred, make sure to pass along this information to him!

Doom 4 Will Be at E3 2015 May 18, 2015

Bethesda Softworks has confirmed today that the next game in the Doom franchise (currently just titled Doom even though it will actually be the fourth game in the Doom franchise) will be shown at E3 2015 during the Bethesda E3 Press Conference.

If that isn’t enough, here’s a very brief teaser of what is in store for us at E3.  Take a look.

Life is Strange Episode 3 Launch Trailer May 18, 2015

After the incredible ending of Life is Strange Episode 2, players of this unique episodic adventure title have been waiting with baited breath for the release of the third episode.  Today, developer DONTNOD released this launch trailer for the game in anticipation for its release tomorrow.  Just be warned, there may be spoilers.

Life is Strange is out for Xbox One, PC, Xbox 360, PS3, and PS4

Xbox One May 2015 System Update Released May 13, 2015

Microsoft has really been working overtime at delivering monthly improvements to the Xbox One’s operating system.  New features are being added on a regular basis alongside patches, bug fixes, and more.  Xbox One owners hoping for the ability to send other Xbox Live users voice messages will be happy to know that the feature has been added in the new System Update.

You can watch all the specific details about the update below.