Podtacular 323: Halo 1 Review

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Dust Storm

You guys have asked for it, and how we’re giving it to you. We start our trio of podcasts looking at the history of Master Chief in the Halo franchise starting with Halo: Combat Evolved. Halo was has been defined as one of the pivotal moments for first person shooters on the console and it has lived up to that name ever since. In Combat Evolved, we are greeted by Captain Keyes and his crew being run down by Covenant and have ended up near a ring world called Halo. While captured on the surface of Halo, the captain overhears conversations the Covenant have about Halo being a weapon of some kind. The objective to take control of Halo turned out to be an adventure of mystery, as the secrets of Halo unfold before your eyes and reveal and even greater thread than the Covenant: the Flood. Halo was originally designed to wipe out all sentient life to starve the Flood to prevent them spreading, which 343 Guilty Spark tries to convince Chief of doing as a “Reclaimer”. After discovering Spark’s true intent, the goal was no longer to control Halo, but to disable and destroy it at all costs. Enjoy

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:10:54 — 50.2MB)

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS

Posted in Media, Podtacular | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

Halo 4 Gameplay Launch Trailer

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Dust Storm


An ancient evil awakens. The Forerunners have returned.

Posted in Videos, Waypoint | Tagged , , , , , , , , , 7 Comments

Podtacular 322: Forward Unto Dawn – Episode 3

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Dust Storm

In the third installment of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, we see that Cryo training has taken quite a toll on Lasky which resulted in his medical officer recommending medical discharge. He is faced with a big decision whether he wants to leave the academy or stay. When he shows Silva the letter, she expresses her sadness about him leaving and they kiss. In the meantime, Sullivan has pieced together all of the ONI footage that we’ve seen hints of in the past couple of episodes and has discovered something astonishing: a super soldier, the likes of which they have not seen, and on top of that, helping protect Insurrectionists. Upon later investigation, Sullivan comes back to Lasky with a zoomed in image of the Spartan’s helmet pointing out the reflection on it’s visor. At the the end of the episode, a planet-wide evacuation starts as a Covenant invasion begins. At the very beginning of the episode, we also see just how far Cortana’s rampancy has progressed, and discover that she may not be all she appears to be. Enjoy

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:09:31 — 44.9MB)

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS

Posted in Forward Unto Dawn, Media, Podtacular | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 15 Comments

Podtacular 321: Infinity Multiplayer

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Dust Storm

Shownotes
At New York Comic Con, 343i showed off another Making Halo 4 video, this time featuring Infinity Multiplayer. We got a first look at Meltdown, which looks really familiar to Ice Fields from Halo: PC, explanations of the personal ordnance drops with medals stacking up to gain your ordnance, the introduction of Situational Records, and much more. From the bulletin, we see how the Chief’s armor has changed throughout the games, design decisions for Meltdown and the Mantis, overview of the available skulls for the campaign, and some nice Halo-ween Spark-o-lantern designs for you to use. Enjoy

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:02:05 — 41.0MB)

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS

Posted in Media, Podtacular | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Podtacular 320: First Look at Halo’s Extended Fiction

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Dust Storm

For those who enjoy the campaign story of the past Halo games, you have likely read some of the Halo books that extend the fiction of the Halo Universe. If you have no read the books, then this show is a starting point to get you acclimated to some of the back story of the Chief and the bits that will influence the story of Halo 4. There are spoiler content in here regarding the books if you have not read them, so tread lightly. We are joined by two very knowledgeable people of the Halo lore: GrimBrother One and B2 The Ryan. These two “librarians” help is explore the first two books: The Fall of Reach and The Flood, along with a few sidebar conversations. Enjoy

UPDATE: Here are the links we mentioned in the show
Keyes Loop: http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100920022712/halo/images/b/be/Keyes_Loop.jpeg
Data Drop: http://www.halopedia.org/Data_Drop

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:50:06 — 75.3MB)

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS

Posted in Media, Podtacular | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , 9 Comments

Community Evolved: A Look at the Last Decade of Halo Fandom

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Dust Storm


There is a constant in the Halo Universe that has been one of the key driving factors in making the franchise successful: the community. Our friends over at Forward Unto Dawn (not to be confused with the Live Action series Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn), have started a Kickstarter project called Community Evolved: A Look at the Last Decade of Halo Fandom. It’s a project that highlights how the Halo community at large has shaped the Halo Universe and what contributions have been made celebrating the franchise we all have come to know and love. They are asking for your support for any amount you are willing to give. No matter what amount you donate to the project, you will receive a PDF copy of the book that has the potential to become the community version of the Halo Encyclopedia. We will have them on the podcast in the not too distant future to talk about their project and what they hope to accomplish with this book.

Posted in Community | Tagged , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

Podtacular 319: Forward Unto Dawn – Episode 2

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Dust Storm

In the second installment of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, we see Lasky’s family record come into play a lot during his training and education where he doesn’t live up to the pedigree of his mother and brother. After getting into a fight with Vickers, he get’s pulled aside from Mahaffey to tries to convince Tom he has what it takes to get through the academy and should look within himself to be a soldier. Does he have the strength and courage to take a stand for the last big exercise for the semester or risk embarrassing his squad? Enjoy

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:35 — 33.5MB)

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS

Posted in Forward Unto Dawn, Media, Podtacular | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 10 Comments