Mark of the Ninja: Stealth Revival

I often wonder what it would be like to be a ninja. It's been a secret dream of mine since childhood, along with the desire to be an astronaut, dinosaur, underpaid startup employee, and unheralded videogame blogger. But at the end of the day, ninja is the one dream that persisted. If gaming has taught me anything, it's that ninjas are pretty much space marines with swords who every now and then rely on the cloak of shadow to replenish health before running back into broad daylight, slicing everything up like a food processor. Having done plenty of study on my future profession, I'm wise enough to know ninja blend into crowds like normal folk, using simple subterfuge to complete their tasks. While Mark of the Ninja isn't quite on that level of subtlely, it's one of the best representations of my shadow brethren since Tenchu. But is it any good?

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Mecha? In My Halo 4? Yesplzthx!

Just so you know, there will be giant bi-pedal tanks in Halo 4 which can shoot machine guns, missiles, and even stomp the fuel cells out of Warthogs and Ghosts. Apparently, they can also hump a corpse pretty damn good. This is a good addition, right? Of course it is.

I can't wait to see what the clever Halo community cooks up using the Forge. Who needs a new Armored Core game?

A Visual Overview of Halo 4's Spartan Specializations

Halo 4 is going to be pretty good, innit? It's already all but secured my $100 buy-in for the Limited Edition, which will give me access to all these beautiful Specializations, and give you access to the green eyes of jealously as I thoroughly trounce you. The Specializations are Spartan sub-classes of sorts, allowing the player an extra 10 levels per Spec, which will unlock additional pieces of armor, weapon skins, and perks for use in Halo 4's competitive multiplayer modes, known as War Games, as well as the episodic cooperative mode, Spartan Ops.

Check out the visual rundown of the eight total Specializations below. Of these, only Pioneer and Wetworks will be available at launch - unless you pre-order the Limited Edition, which will unlock all Specs right from the start. Sorry regular edition folk, your no-frills asses will have to wait for 343 Industries to release the 6 Specs that you miss at launch on their own accord. Suckaz.

Which Specialization will you choose? Halo 4 releases on November 4. Pre-order before it's too late, and trust me, it will be too late very soon.

Halo 4 Specializations Gallery view

Say Hello to Two New Halo Games

The title may be stretching the truth. One new Halo game, and one rework of a classic. That's right! Let's start with the more exciting news: Halo 4. If you thought the series was done for you're rudely mistaken. Bungie's departure has not deterred Microsoft from pumping out more Master Chief, but that doesn't mean it will be any good. 343 Industries is still a relatively unknown, so Halo 4 could go either way of north or south. If gameplay is anything like the trailer (which it usually isn't) Halo 4 is looking a might bit like Dead Space 2, don't you think? No details or release date yet, outside of the Holiday 2012 window.

In addition to a brand new Halo game, comes an old classic. Halo: Combat Evolved, remastered into Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary to celebrate 10 years of incredible success to the date, with a release of November 15th, 2011. Halo Anniversary will feature the original campaign, reworked and retooled with the Halo: Reach engine, and will support online co-op only. The $40 purchase will get you 6 multiplayer maps from the original Halo, which will be used in Reach's matchmaking multiplayer. Map names haven't been confirmed yet, but I will say this: no Hang 'em High, no buy. It's really that simple. 

Gears of War 3 Multiplayer Beta Impressions

Written by John Rios

Fans were naturally upset when Gears of War 3 was delayed for marketing purposes, but that anger quickly turned into excitement when Epic announced that it would run a public multiplayer beta. While Epic is using the beta to gather valuable technical data to tweak and refine the game, players are just happy for an advanced opportunity to chainsaw their buddies into bloody giblets.

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