Halo 4 - The Best Maps

Every Halo game is remembered for it’s multiplayer maps, good or bad, this sets the pace on whether the games are classics or not. A mediocre batch can leave players with a bad taste due to their lack of replayability like Halo Reach or can turn them into true icons like Halo 2. After playing through Halo 4’s vast selection I have come up with 5 favourites.

5 – Solace

This symmetrical level gives us the opportunity for lots of aerial combat – my favourite kind – with it’s low walls and giant anti gravity beam you always need to pay attention to your motion tracker. You can literally give the jump on unsuspecting players and precise teamwork will always prevail. Perfect for small scale battles this one is worth the investment time, it’s easy to learn but difficult to master.

4 - Exile

One of the best sandbox multiplayer levels on offer this, high speed vehicle fest is great for anyone looking for their Scorpion tank fix. Basically a giant donut loop this map enables full speed chases and high octane rounds as you fly around the open exterior. The cave systems also allow walking players to rush about quickly and the green spaces make it all feel decidedly ‘Halo’. The trenches also make a welcome addition to the action with enough room to hide but also the right height that a well placed DMR/Battle Rifle shot will bring you down exceptionally quickly. This is great for basically any game type.

3 - Settler

Blood Gulch is one of my favourite maps ever and although it’s been remastered many times before. The Settler map is another attempt at a similar formula but is a spiritual successor and the results are brilliantly crafted together. Smaller than Gulch, the map is divided into three district connections from each base. The mountain path, the central area and the cliff-side walk are all excellent for walking patrols but the bases are all given a familiar Warthog and a Ghost for quick movement. A great update to one of Halo’s most classic maps this can be also be used for any of the game types and is great in the new Dominion mode.

2 - Ragnarok

This popular classic is a return of Valhalla from Halo 3 but comes over to us virtually untouched due to its perfect intensity. The big addition here is the Mantis mech vehicles that can be found at each of the bases. These strong walkers manoeuvre nicely in the open battlefields and can be used very successfully in the hands of a skilled player. The open spaces add a good dynamic for snipers and also give players enough of an area to take down the vehicles while on foot too – having a Mantis isn’t a massive advantage for any team but does enough to force players to strategise properly. The other vehicles on the map – Warthogs, Ghosts and Banshees make this one of the best vehicle maps ever.

1 - Haven

This small, symmetrical map is very straightforward to learn but difficult to master. The action happens over two floors and the gaps in the walkways allow players the chance to drop in and out of the action with ease. There are also two player launchers that propel people up to the centre area, which is made excellently with the structure in the centre – meaning you have to strife around it and not over it. It’s great to see a new map getting the top spot and this one really shows that 343 have through about what players like and how to create something to effortlessly. Watch your back on this one as there are plenty of attack points. Haven is my personal favourite map so far and ensures that players must work as a team in order to win these affairs.

What are you favourite Halo 4 maps? Do you have any comments for my top 5? If so sound off in the comments below.

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Grand Theft Auto V

The new GameInformer cover story has lead to tons of details about Rockstar’s highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 5.

Most strikingly, GTA 5 allows the play to seamlessly switch between three characters during set points in the missions are at any time when in free roam.

The playable cast is comprised of the following:

·         Michael is a retired bank robber in his early 40s who lives in a posh Rockford Hill estate (think Beverley Hills) with his two kids and his obnoxious trophy wife. He is on a witness protection program but still leads a luxurious life due to his FIB connections. Unfortunately his wife is running his bank account dry and this leads him back to a life of crime.

·         Trevor is a junkie and an ex-military pilot suffering from fits of rage. He resides in an area full of biker gangs and meth heads. He’s an old friend of Michael and joins up with his pal for ‘one last heist’.

·         Franklin is a young hustler in his mid 20s that originally comes into contact with Michael after targeting him for a con job. He lives in Vespucci Beach (see-Venice Beach) and is looking to move up in the world. Franklin currently works for an Armenian car dealership where he plays the role of a thuggish repo man.

The article explains that one mission see the group extracting a target from an interrogation. Trevor flies the helicopter while Michael rappels down the side of the building. Franklin meanwhile acts as a sniper from the rooftop across the way. Although the player initially takes on the role of Michael, he/she will at this point get a choice on whether to snipe from afar or to continue through the building with a human shield.

During the getaway a helicopter chase ensures the players are given yet another choice on whether to pilot the fleeing vehicle or to act as one of the gunners.

The only thing with having three characters is that some of the previous systems would become overcomplicated and therefore they have been dropped. No more romancing or weight gaining will be available as this could cause a lot of system issues.

The article also quotes that cars will feel less 'boatlike' than in GTA 4 and give off the feeling of a racing game instead.

GTA 5 is much larger than any of Rockstars more recent outings and the art director, Aaron Garbutt, explains that it’s so big that you can even grab some scuba diving gear and explore the ocean floor. Los Angeles, which the new game is based on, is the largest city in the world and the studio decided that the game should feel the same way. The game will span several diverse regions what give the whole experience an immersive feeling with dry deserts and rural styled geography outside of the city streets.

Rockstar also confirmed a multiplayer element although they are keeping tight lipped on what this will actually entail. The report noted that the multiplayer option was located just under the character switching selection in the menus suggesting a form of co-op.

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A Decade of Xbox Live

Last week marked the 10 year anniversary of Xbox Live and sprouted various articles about the effect it has had on the industry today and how this has strengthened the consoles we use.

When the original Xbox released 10 years ago no-one could really foresee the effect it would have on the industry and how it would push other hardware to the edge. It released against an already successful platform in the shape of the PlayStation 2 but given the online capabilities of Live the hardware still managed to establish itself as a premiere service without much competition to grade itself against. It was a risky move for Microsoft, not just because of the established console competition, but also because the broadband industry was being used by less than 5% of UK residents. Its biggest selling point aside from its games was its online functionality and in most respects this was far ahead of the curve.

As the generation was exhausted Microsoft sent out its 360 console ahead of the competition in order to grow its coverage and utilise the expanding online services being taken up by the general public. As the Live community grew the word of mouth advertising pushed even more people over to the console, by the time Sony brought out its new hardware, this made Microsoft the behemoth of the industry. The push for online functionalities meant that Sony aggressively forced themselves into the same market, creating the PlayStation Network being used today.

While it is widely know that the PlayStation Network isn’t as robust as the Xbox service, the origin of the services is in whole due to the success of Microsoft’s product. As Sony watch Microsoft push ahead to extend their online services a few years ago, the Japanese hardware specialist decided to attempt to follow suite. They both added a host of new features with the idea that an online service on a gaming console extended beyond the ability to just play games. Sony added the online social hub, Home, with a free friends system and Microsoft guided down the pay monthly route.

With Microsoft's paid subscription option they have once again raised the bar - and the fee for using this only allows them to pump more money into their growing ecosystem. Sony just don’t have the level of experience or the infrastructure to compete, even now.

The addition of Achievements back at the beginning of the 360 lifecycle gave people even more reason to stay with the console. The more purchases you made online and the more achievement you racked up the more you became invested in the path of Microsoft. Once again Sony found themselves itching to keep people playing on their system and out came the Trophy service. Again no innovation from the competition, Sony delivered a product idea almost exactly the same as the one offered by the Microsoft hardware. The XBLA players are likely to have gaming friends who he/she will want to play with and therefore pester them into getting on board with the same system.

The genius of Xbox Live, and the core reason why Microsoft have overtaken Sony in the worldwide market is their innovation and their excellent ideas when improving their online services. Halo 2 pushed the boundaries of the multiplayer content back on the original system and Halo 3 did the same on the 360. They also push the COD series and although Sony tried to replicate that success they never quite had the killer results they would have liked.

The questions now is with this console generation drawing to a close are Sony able to push their offerings and overtake Microsoft again? The line is pretty close and the user-bases on both systems is in an almost negligible difference now.

A more digital era is upon us and the changes in hardware will mean that players have less physical ties to the services they currently use. As everyone moves over to cloud based content, the propositions for physical content will be slimmer and the new attachments create with the hardware will be even higher.

The biggest benefit for Microsoft’s next hardware will be the biggest selling point for Sony’s online services currently, XBL is paid and the PSN is a free service. When the services become more and more entwined with the cloud offerings the services will have to be on a subscription and Xbox users are already accustomed to the bill. Sony will now need to target how they will get the market of consumers paying for a service that they currently get for free.

Microsoft bank around a billion every year simply from these subscriptions and the groundwork means that people will be even less willing to jump ship when they know how much they’ve invested. Sony users are looking towards their implementation of the PlayStation Plus but lets face it – and this isn’t fanboy beliefs, the facts are there – Microsoft’s ideas have always been ahead of the curve and Sony seem to follow suit. I can’t see that changing anytime soon and no matter who is released by with Windows manufacturer it makes sense to think that it’ll be the same route taken by Sony and not the other way around. Don’t get my wrong though the PlayStation Plus is a great way to onboard subscribers and should build a decent following over time.

Either way online gaming has become the go to place for content offerings and with its exceptional benefits it really does show that Xbox Live has given us the landscape we see and use today both on Sony and Microsoft hardware.

Are you currently an XBL gold member? If so, how long have you been with them? If both Sony and Microsoft charged for their service, whose service would you choose? Let us know in the comments, or by tweeting me at the usual place.

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