Get a First Look at the Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Dust Storm

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Get a First Look at the Next Generation of Halo Multiplayer

During the Xbox Press briefing, 343 Industries took to the stage to talk about Halo: The Master Chief Collection.  During the Halo presentation, they showed off more of what’s to come with the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta coming this December.  Not only will the beta focus on an arena style of Halo gameplay, but is an opportunity for 343 to get valuable fan feedback during the development of the multiplayer experience.

The multiplayer beta includes 11 weapons, 7 maps, 3 game modes and 7 armor sets you can customize. The arena shooter focus of the beta will include 4v4 games to refine the competitive nature at the core of the Halo experience.  The multiplayer beta also features “Fair Starts” as described by Quinn DelHoyo:

Small maps that are really tailored to 4v4 combat. We’ve also got fair starts. What that means is, no one is going to have a different loadout than the other person. Every member on Red Team is going to be the same as every member of Blue Team.

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Ship Deck

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Rooftops

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City Scape

Multiplayer Beta Weapons

Of the eleven weapons coming with the beta, we know of six that will be present in the game (depicted below): Assault Rifle, Battle Rifle, DMR, SMG, Rocket Launcher or RPG and Sniper Rifle.

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Multiplayer Beta Map 1 – Re-imagining of Midship

Thanks to Vic Deleon, we know that one of the maps shown today is a re-imagining of the Halo 2 map Midship.

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Beta Map 1 (Midship) – Bridge

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Beta Map 1 (Midship) – Center Point

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Beta Map 1 (Midship) – Command

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Beta Map 1 (Midship) – Command Center

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Beta Map 1 (Midship) – Core

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Beta Map 1 (Midship) – Decisions

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Beta Map 1 (Midship) – Flowing Forms

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Beta Map 1 (Midship) – Invitation

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Beta Map 1 (Midship) – Map Room

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Beta Map 1 (Midship) – Secrets

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Beta Map 1 (Midship) – Soell

Multiplayer Beta Map 2

We don’t know what the second map is, but here’s screenshots of it.

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Beta Map 2 – Aftermath

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Beta Map 2 – Broadway

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Beta Map 2 – Corner

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Beta Map 2 – Dark

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Beta Map 2 – Dawn

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Beta Map 2 – Fanbase

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Beta Map 2 – Light

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Halo Channel Announced at Gamescom

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Dust Storm

Halo Channel: Your destination for all things Halo Universe

This morning at Gamescom, 343 Industries announced the Halo Channel, a new interactive digital experience that aims to be your source for everything related to the Halo Universe.  The new Xbox One and Windows 8.1 devices app connects you to original programming like Halo: Forward Unto Dawn and the upcoming Halo: Nightfall, as well as Community Content, background information into the Halo franchise harkening to the likes of an encyclopedia, and supercharged Twitch integration.  The app launches this fall with The Master Chief Collection on November 11th.

Twitch broadcast within the Halo Channel includes live stats during a match being watched, including the “kill feed” and scores for all players during a match.  The Halo Encyclopedia lets you dive into the background of scenes your watching in original features like FUD and Nightfall.  You can share your experience with friends via integrated social media platforms like Twitter.  Rewards can be earned and unlocked by watching Halo programming.  Rewards include in-game content for upcoming Halo titles like The Master Chief Collection and Halo 5: Guardians.  You can access the Halo Channel on Windows 8.1 devices by syncing it to your Xbox One, acting as a second screen where you can seamlessly transition your experience from your TV to your Windows device.

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Halo Channel Live and Welcome Screen

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Encyclopedia

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Promo

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Scene Explorer

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Twitch TV Stream

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Social Feed

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Halo Channel Guide

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Halo Channel Detailed Guide

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Multiplatform Access

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Challenges and Rewards

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Community Polls

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Community Poll Results

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Pax Prime Schedule Out with Halo Event Details

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Dust Storm

Benaroya HallThe Penny Arcade Expo just released their schedule for PAX Prime and includes some Halo events to get involved with. While there are sure to be more details listed out in the 20 Aug and 27 Aug Halo bulletins, two Halo console tournaments and two panels of interest have been announced.  A Halo: Reach tourney begins on Friday at 2:00 PM and a Halo 4 tourney on Sunday at 8:00 PM.  As for the two panels, here’s the info:

Halo and the Journey of The Master Chief

Halo 2 Anniversary Campaign

Main Theatre – Saturday 8/30 11:00AM – 12:00PM

Join the Halo Developers from 343 Industries for an in-depth look into Halo: The Master Chief Collection and other upcoming Halo projects and releases. Come celebrate The Master Chief and the future of the franchise as we take you on the next steps of your Halo journey.

Panelists: Dan Ayoub, Executive Producer; Frank O’connor, Franchise Director; Kiki Wolfkill, Partner Executive Producer

Notice in the description how it says, “and other upcoming Halo projects and releases.”  This is likely just for Halo 5: Guardians, but with the term “projects”, perhaps there’s something else they are working on they will be discussing, like a Halo Wars sequel.

Maestros of Videogames

Marty O'Donnel Final Halo Music

Sphinx Theatre – Saturday 8/30 5:30PM – 6:30PM

What does it take to write music for games? Hear from five of the industry’s most accomplished composers as they share their experiences and discuss the craft of scoring music for some of the most popular titles in interactive entertainment. Featuring the award-winning composers of Assassin’s Creed, Bastion, Borderlands, Dead Rising, Destiny, Halo, Hitman, Mass Effect, Ratchet & Clank, State of Decay, Sunset Overdrive, Transistor, and many more!

Panelists: Martin O’Donnell, Jesper Kyd, Darren Korb, Boris Salchow, Sascha Dikiciyan, Oleksa Lozowchuk

We will be at both panels showing off our Halo support, so if you’re going to be at PAX, we’d love to meet you.

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Podtacular 436: Halo Gamescompetition

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Dust Storm

Next week, Halo heads to Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, what is essentially the European version of E3. Bravo details all the Halo sightings you’ll find at Gamescom in this week’s Halo Bulletin, which will include the first Halo 2 Anniversary Tournament.  Halo will have a stage presence during the Xbox briefing on Tuesday and will likely announce the next map in the Halo 2 Anniversary experience on Wednesday from the Xbox booth.  Halo: The Master Chief Collection Special Editions have been spotted and available exclusively from Game.co.uk, thankfully just retailer and not country exclusive.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:15:16 — 52.7MB)

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Halo 2 Anniversary Playable at Gamescom with $10K Tournament

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Dust Storm

Gamescom Showdown

Next week marks the beginning of Gamescom in Cologne, Germany and not only will Halo: The Master Chief Collection be playable for the first time, but in partnership with the ESL and Twitch, 343 Industries will be hosting the Gamescom Showdown, a $10K tournament played on Halo 2 Anniversary.  Bravo breaks down the details in this week’s Halo Bulletin:

To qualify for the finals, swing by the ESL Arena in Hall 9, where ESL will have a dedicated area for Halo: The Master Chief Collection competition. On these stations, we’ll be featuring “winner stays” 4v4 gameplay, so grab three teammates (or form a team on the spot) and come compete on Ascension and one other unannounced map. The rules are simple: If your team wins 10 matches in a row, you’ll take the top spot on the daily leaderboard, and if another team tops your score (and wins 11 in a row), you’ll need to swing back and reclaim your spot. At the end of each day, the top teams will advance to the Sunday finals, where they’ll compete for a prize pool of $10,000 USD on the eSports main stage. If you qualify, but don’t have Sunday passes to gamescom, we’ve got you covered – all qualified teams will receive complimentary Sunday access courtesy of ESL.

The Sunday finals will kick off with a Free-For-All exhibition at 10:30 CEST, and conclude with the 4v4 finals, where the bracket will be whittled down until only one team remains. The broadcast will feature commentary from yours truly and Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez, and run from 10:30 to 17:00 CEST (4:30AM – 11:00AM EDT) at Twitch.tv/Halo. We hope you’ll join us.

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Tournament Schedule

Qualifier tournament – ESL Arena, Hall 9
Wednesday, August 13 – 14:00 to 19:30 CEST
Thursday, August 14 – 10:00 to 19:30 CEST
Friday, August 15 – 10:00 to 19:30 CEST
Saturday, August 16 – 09:00 to 19:30 CEST

Sunday, 17th August – ESL Arena Main Stage, Hall 9 (Watch the finals on Twitch.tv/Halo!)
Pre-tournament Free-for-All – 10:30 to 11:15 CEST (1:30 to 2:15 AM PDT)
4v4 Tournament Final – 11:30 to 17:00 CEST (2:30 AM to 8:00 AM PDT)

Tournament Prize Breakdown

  • 1st Place: $5,000 USD
  • 2nd Place: $1,500 USD
  • 3rd/4th Place: $750 USD
  • 5th-8th Place:  $500 USD

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In addition to the Gamescom Showdown, 343 Industries will have other events going on during Gamescom.  They will be a part of the Xbox Press briefing airing at 8:00AM EDT broadcasted live at Twitch.TV/Xbox, have Halo: The Master Chief Collection playable on the show floor with 4v4 games running on Ascension and a yet-to-be-unveiled map, and they will be streaming with Bonnie Ross, Dan Ayoub, and Kiki Wolfkill from the Xbox Booth at 5:00AM EDT to talk about more insider news and sneak peeks at the Master Chief Collection.

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Master Chief Collection Special Editions Exclusive to UK

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Dust Storm

Halo: The Master Chief Collection - Limited Edition Exclusive to the UK from Game.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection – Limited Edition Exclusive from Game.co.uk.

We previously announced the pre-order bonuses available from retailers, primarily being skulls unlocked in Halo 2 Anniversary, however, Game.co.uk has announced two special editions for the Master Chief Collection exclusive to the UK through their online store: The Limited and Mjolnir editions.  The Limited Edition, pictured above, includes the Grunt Funeral Skull, which will be made available to everyone a month after the game’s release, a physical map book of every map in the game, which is also available from Best Buy, and the exclusive steel book case only available to the UK through Game.  The Mjolnir Edition includes everything in the Limited Edition plus the Master Chief 12″ Artfx Statue, which is available separately from different retailers for $149.99.  The Mjolnir Edition is already sold out as of when this post was published, but Limited Editions with the exclusive steel book case is still available.

UPDATE: You can purchase the game outside the UK for an additional £2.49-£4.99 for international shipping.

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Podtacular 435: When the Halos Fell

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Dust Storm

San Diego Comic Con wrapped up this past weekend with lots of new Halo goodness from the two Halo panels covering Nightfall and The Master Chief Collection.  Last week we talked with FinalPOSTMORTEM and TDSpiral on the information received by word of mouth and from the trailer.  After both panels being published by Halo Waypoint, available in this week’s Halo Bulletin, we picked up a few more details around the Nightfall production and we’ve since learned that Zanzibar will be making it’s return in Halo 2 Anniversary.  Outside of SDCC news, a new Halo-themed wireless mouse has popped up on the Windows Blog.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:46 — 34.9MB)

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