QCF: Halo 5: Guardians

he Halo franchise is nowhere near the fever pitch that it once was, but that hasn’t stopped 343 from attempting to launch a chapter of the lore that’s worthy of the prestige that most hold the Halo dynasty of games in.

Halo 4 yielded a mixed response of sorts from the community at large, but there was a universal consensus on thing, and that was some of the bold changes that the studio took to the series in both gameplay, and narratively.

Halo 5: Guardians is no exception; I would go further as to say that 343 may have finally nailed it with this entry, and may have finally outdone what many consider to be Bungie’s (albeit underrated) Magnum Opus to the franchise that was Halo Reach.

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QCF: Halo: The Master Chief Collection

efore military shooting affairs were all the rage, Microsoft penned all of its hopes on a series, one that  eventually become the flagship brand that defined it—a space marine fantasy filled with as many guns, aliens, and bits of action that could fit on to the disc; Halo set the first-person shooting genre on fire.

That was then though, and like it or not, the shooter landscape has long moved on from the prime of Bungie’s galactic odyssey, and even in spite of 343’s development of Halo 5; the relevance of the franchise is arguably still up in the air as far as mainstream shooting appeal is concerned.

Enter the Master Chief Collection, an ambitious collection that containing upgraded revisions of the four main titles, complete with online integration that allows for a combination of the various elements and nuances of from each entry to experiment and customize with.

Indeed, questioning the value offered within this arrangement of games itself, is a hard-pressed argument to counter; but considering the jump to better hardware and age of these particular games being hyped here—the expectations are respectively loftier the second time around.

So it’s sad to say that when it comes down to it—The Master Chief Collection barely justifies it’s worth beyond being anything more than a budget bundle with a savvy price tag—the reality is that it’s simply a glorified revision of games that scantly improve upon the originals that we’ve all played to death years ago.

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PPR Presents Play Play: Destiny-Alpha

hat happens when Press Pause Radio gets invited to an alpha trial weekend of one of the most anticipated shooters to be developed for the Next Generation platforms of video games? We mostly die and stuff, but we share our all too important thoughts none of the less!

This special edition of Play Play, the gang gets together and shares it impressions of Destiny; George and Andrew speculate a number of questions while discussing feedback among each other, and Ser’s explains why he hasn’t bought into anything the new Bungie shooter has to offer so far. One of our longest videos yet, we discuss that, Peter Dinkelage, Phil Fish’s comments regarding the gaming YouTube community’s “Let’s Play” content and more.

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

E3 2011 Impressions: Microsoft

The stage is brightly lit, almost as if it were extracting all light within the conference center, and leaving the audience with anticipation that's dense as the dark surrounding them. A voice then welcomes the crowd, as the theater above suddenly illuminates with the Xbox logo. The presentation immediately transitions to business, with one of the most anticipated sequels of the year being demonstrated to the conference attendees, and kicking off the forum of upcoming releases for Microsoft’s catalog of 2011.

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