Halo Community Feedback Program Now Taking Sign Ups December 24, 2014

343 Industries is calling all Halo fans to participate in a Community Feedback program which they say will help them shape the future of the Halo franchise.

It’s always nice when a game developer request direct feedback from the online community like this. Bungie has been doing it for years, Sony did it back when they had the Gamer Advisory Panel, but this is the first time that I’ve seen 343 Industries do this.

If you are 18 years of age or older and live in the United States with a valid email address and Xbox Live GamerTag, you can sign up here.

Right now the immediate plan is to use the program to assist them in the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta test, but the possibilities are limitless for what they plan to do in the future. There is no minimum amount of time required to be a part of the service, Microsoft says that you can quit at any point.

The Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta officially starts December 29, 2014 for all Xbox One owners with a copy of Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

Halo 4 Spartan Ops Cooperative Campaign Added to Halo: The Master Chief Collection December 22, 2014

A new content update was sent out to users of Halo: The Master Chief Collection this afternoon. The update adds, among many other bug fixes and stability improvements, the entire ten part Spartan Ops cooperative campaign from Halo 4.

You can read all the information about the content update here.

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

343 Industries Announces Halo 3: ODST is Coming to Halo: The Master Chief Collection December 20, 2014

A major apology was posted to the Internet this evening on behalf of 343 Industries and Microsoft for continued issues with Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

However unlike the previous apologies we have heard before which contained plans and promises, this apology included information on what kinds of compensation players who have been having issues with the game will be getting. You might want to sit down, because I have a lot to reveal.

Compensated players include anyone who has purchased and played the game on their Xbox One between its release date and December 19th, 2014. So if you’re someone who has been frustrated by the issues you’ve been having with the game because you’ve been trying to play it in any way, you will be covered by this.

First off, the game will continue to be serviced by 343 Industries, and further Content Updates should be expected, tackling a range of continued issues with the game, in both single and multiplayer. By next week, all ten episodes of Halo 4‘s Spartan Ops cooperative campaign will be added to Halo: The Master Chief collection in the form of a free update.

Also, 343 Industries have announced that they are remaking the classic Halo 2 multiplayer map “Relic” for Halo 2 Anniversary multiplayer. The updated map will be running in 1080p at 60 frames per second and will be coming in the form of a free content update some time in the future.

The Spartan Ops episodes will be available to all Master Chief Collection players. If you’re interested in learning what new game content will be coming to compensate affected players, keep reading. Anyone who purchased and played Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be getting a free month of Xbox Live service, as well as an exclusive nameplate and in-game avatar.

Sounds like a lot, but if you’ve read the article’s headline you know that isn’t all that will be coming to the game. The fans have spoken out that they wanted Halo 3: ODST on the Xbox One and 343 Industries has listened, Halo 3: ODST, originally released in 2009 by Bungie, is being added as a digital download for The Master Chief Collection and it will be playable in native 1080p at 60 frames per second.

The Halo 3: ODST campaign will require a download code for access. Codes will be distributed to eligible players when the content is released however no information has been made available yet on how the codes for any of this promised content will be distributed.

You can read all the details about this enormous amount of information here. If you have any specific questions, here’s the official FAQ.

My cousin Vinny (yes I actually have a cousin named Vinny) would like to know if they’re planning to bring Halo: Reach to the Xbox One next.

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

Final Fantasy XV Jump Fiesta 2015 Trailer December 20, 2014

Since TGS, a lot of gamers have been looking forward to seeing more from the next numbered title in the Final Fantasy franchise, Final Fantasy XV and to celebrate the opening of Jump Fiesta, Square Enix released the newest trailer from the game.

Final Fantasy XV is coming in 2015 to Xbox One and PS4.

Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta Documentary – The Sprint December 18, 2014

The guys at 343 Industries are continuing to plug away as they plan to launch the Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta Test later this month. Halo 5 is bringing some entirely new gameplay features to the table which Halo players have not used before.

In the meantime, 343 Industries has produced a new documentary series detailing the development of the game’s multiplayer beta. Here’s the trailer.

As I write this, Episode 1 of this series is on the Halo Channel ready to watch. If you’re interested in checking out this series, fire up your Xbox One and give it a look.

Halo 5: Guardians is coming in 2015 exclusively on Xbox One.

Final Fantasy XV English TGS 2014 Trailer December 16, 2014

Square Enix has released an updated version of their TGS 2014 trailer for Final Fantasy XV, presenting the trailer with a full English voice over.

Segments featured in this trailer will be playable in the upcoming Final Fantasy XV demo, which will be released with the first run of Final Fantasy Type-0 when it comes out in March 2015.

Final Fantasy XV is coming to Xbox One and PS4.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection Content Update 6 Released December 16, 2014

Earlier tonight, 343 Industries released the sixth update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection on the Xbox One.

The new update, like many previous ones before it, specifically addresses issues with the game’s multiplayer matchmaking (specifically for people in parties), as well as fixes issues unlocking certain achievements.

You can read all the information about the update here.

If you have already installed the previous content update, the new update weighs in at 1164MB.

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

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker Unboxing December 10, 2014

Fans of Super Mario Galaxy will remember Captain Toad as the little guy with a huge backpack always getting into trouble. In Super Mario 3D World, players finally got the chance to play as Captain Toad in a completely new style of gameplay. Now, that gameplay has been made into a full retail title in the form of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and I’ve been looking forward to it since this year’s E3,

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is out now on the Wii U.

D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die DLC 8 Released December 10, 2014

Part of the fun of D4 is trying on all new clothing in your vast wardrobe and seeing how that clothing can affect your gameplay experience. Since D4‘s launch, the game’s developer has released regular content packs for free to add more clothing options to the game. The downside is that this clothing is typically only out for a short period of time. Today, an all new collaboration pack has been released for D4 on the Xbox Store. The eighth DLC pack features some t-shirts and hoodies based on “République”!

The République content is currently free to download off the Xbox Store, but it is unlikely it will be up for very long. If you have this game on your Xbox One’s hard drive, you should give this DLC a download.

D4 is out now exclusively for the Xbox One.

Sim City 2000 Special Edition Free Through Origin On the House December 9, 2014

In their own words, EA is giving out an early Christmas present to PC customers in the form of a free copy of the critically acclaimed classic PC title Sim City 2000.  Sim City 2000 is now completely free to download on EA’s Origin service through their On the House promotion.  Like with all games released through On the House, EA is not saying how long the game will continue to be free, so it would be my recommendation for Origin users to get it as soon as they can.

All games purchased for free through On the House will remain free and on your record for as long as you’re an Origin user.  You will need the Origin client on your PC to download and play the game, and you can obtain that client here.  The Origin client software is free to download.