When Microsoft revealed that Halo: Campaign Evolved last year, I balked at its claim that this would be "a faithful yet modernised remake of Halo: Combat Evolved's campaign". How could it be? It's made in Unreal Engine 5, very few of the original team is left at what is now Halo Studios, and the devs dared to tinker with the controls. I made my views very clear. I even cited examples from the very minds that made the original game when Bungie was but a fledgling studio with dreams of grandeur; it wasn't just me that felt this way: even the series creators did. Vindication! Read more
Category: Gaming
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Boox’s quirky page-turning remote won me over
Following the launch of the surprisingly popular Kobo Remote, Boox has released its own device to ease the burden of reaching for an e-reader’s touchscreen that’s an arm’s length away. The Tappy isn’t Boox’s first page-turning remote, but its design takes a much different approach to the company’s slim but boring B.T. Remoter. The Tappy […]
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Gears of War: E-Day is making big changes to one of the series' most iconic mechanics
You can really tell that Gears of War: E-Day developer, The Coalition, wants the upcoming third-person shooter to be enjoyed by more than just Gears diehards. In last Sunday's developer Direct, the studio recalled the decision to start development from an empty hard drive. Read more
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Despite reports and a video takedown, Gears of War: E-Day developers insist it was never in development for PS5
Gears of War: E-Day showed off incredibly well during last Sunday's Xbox Games Showcase. The show opened with a meaty first look at gameplay, before we were later treated to a much deeper dive into the upcoming prequel in a dedicated Direct. Read more
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There's never been an easier time to boycott Microsoft, the most boring video game publisher in the business
When I talk to other journalists and random bus stop strangers about the idea of divesting from Microsoft and Xbox – worth doing for many reasons besides the company's dealings with the Israeli military – there is often an air of learned helplessness, a kind of deer-in-headlights mentality. Microsoft's gaming biz is too huge to ignore. They own so much. They own a lot of the malarkey that gets eyeballs. Which I can confirm, based on day-to-day experience of traffic stats. Still, I would argue that they do not have any momentum with the things they own, and to be frank, a fair whack of their stuff does sod-all traffic for us. Microsoft today are institutionally incapable of being intriguing. As such, an extremely indulgent way of thinking about the BDS boycott is to treat it as positive encouragement to seek intrigue elsewhere.
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"The curse of Mixed is broken" – Swery turns opinion around on oddball roguelike Hotel Barcelona by removing gen-AI voices and substantially reworking the game
Hidetaka "Swery" Suehiro's oddball roguelike Hotel Barcelona didn't impress us when it dropped last year, but there was something charming and earnest about it. But months later – and many updates later – Swery and White Owl appear to have turned opinion around. Read more