Halo: MCC Is Adding An Unreleased Halo: Reach Helmet And Armor Piece In Season 4

The big Season 3 refresh recently came to Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and developer 343 Industries has lots more in store for the game down the road. The studio has outlined some of what’s coming in a new blog post, and it includes a never-before-released Halo: Reach helmet and piece of armor, as well as some redacted content that we’re very curious about.

The GRD helmet was cut from the original Halo: Reach, but 343 is bringing it back for MCC with the Season 4 update in the future.

The helmet was used in promotional material for Halo: Reach’s Defiant map pack DLC, but the developer had to cut it due to time/resource constraints. It is a very unique-looking helmet, as you can see in the image below. As for “AKIS,” we don’t know what this means, but 343 said the developer will share more details in a “deeper dive” later on.

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The helmet isn’t the only unreleased piece of Halo: Reach content coming to MCC. An “EXD” chest piece is coming to MCC with the Season 4 update as well; check it out below.

“The GRD helmet is the one that most people have requested, but there were other pieces like another helmet and an additional chest piece that we’re able to basically unearth, finish, and polish-up to get in for a future update and seasons. We really think players are going to enjoy these future pieces!” design director Max Szlagor said.

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Intriguingly, the blog post also mentions that 343 is looking to further expand the customization options in MCC with other unreleased content. The blog post contains [REDACTED] brackets for this content, and it’s interesting to think about what it may pertain to.

“There are some additional areas we are exploring so investigations are definitely underway and we’re coming to it with a lot of ideas, including looking at unreleased content. But we are unsure of the technical feasibility of bringing that work into MCC like the [REDACTED] armor pieces,” Szlagor said. “We’re excited, but we want to keep some of the [REDACTED] stuff close to our chest as we figure out just how realistic it is. We do not want to over-promise stuff, but we’re definitely taking a look.”

MCC on PC will expand later this year with the arrival of Halo 4, which will complete the package. 2021 is gearing up to be a big year for the Halo series as well with the launch of Halo Infinite for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.

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Spellbreak Update 1.1 Fixes Bugs, Adds Anti-Cheat Measures, And Smooths Out Aiming Issues

Spellbreak, a free-to-play battle royale where every player has an elemental power to fight with, has received its first major update. The game, which launched on PC, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One on September 3, has updated to version 1.1, and has fixed numerous bugs and issues in the process.

Update 1.1 brings several fixes to Spellbreak across all platforms, as well as some system-specific changes for each different version of the game. It doesn’t add any major new features, but instead focuses on tweaking and improving what is already there.

“We wanted the focus of this one to be on stability and performance across all of our platforms,” the Spellbreak blog reads before detailing the patch notes.

The complete patch notes for Spellbreak Update 1.1 are below.

Gameplay

  • The Lighting Bolts spell’s recovery animation can now be interrupted by casting a sorcery.
  • Fix edge case where reviving or exiling someone could be canceled in order to get faster spell firing.
  • Fixed an issue that caused projectiles to sometimes not register damage even though they hit.

Aim Assist

  • Smoothed out difference in aim assist strength between different framerates.
    • This results in more consistent behavior for all players and eliminates advantages that came from very high framerate.
  • Fixed an exploit where aim assist could be much stronger than intended under certain combinations of distance to target and input sensitivity.
    • This meant it was possible for players under certain circumstances to make their spells incredibly easy to hit. This was mostly clearly seen with the Lightning Gauntlet on PC.
  • Adjusted aim assist values for various console platforms.
  • Aim assist now decreases over distance.
  • Default Look Deadzone setting on Switch is now 0%.
    • This is generally what you want, because deadzones are handled by the OS itself.

Miscellaneous

  • Enabled some extra anti-cheat mechanisms.
  • Game mode now automatically swaps to squad after completing the tutorial.
  • When a player accepts a party invitation while already in a match, they’ll get a UI notification and they can choose to immediately join the lobby.

Windows fixes

  • Fixed a bug that would cause some players to hang on the initial title screen.
  • Fixed graphics settings getting reset to Ultra in some cases, despite the game reporting other values.
  • Fixed a bug that would occasionally cause very long loading times when entering a match.
  • Fixed an issue where the mouse would not come back into focus if the player was using both a controller and mouse to navigate menus.

Switch

  • Fixed cases where players would sometimes get stuck with a black screen during a match.
  • Addressed an issue where players couldn’t load into a lobby with enough time to properly select their drop portal.
  • Switch Pro and third-party controllers no longer send multiple inputs for a single button press.
  • Fixed a bug causing players to sometimes be unable to see disrupted player’s orbs.

Playstation 4

  • Fixed issue where lowest-ping matchmaking region was sometimes not correctly identified.
  • Fixed a crash due to changing languages in the pre-match lobby.
  • Fixed a black screen caused by waking the console up after idling for an hour in rest mode.

Xbox One

  • If an Xbox One player has crossplay disabled in their system settings, Spellbreak will now properly block all interaction with players on other platforms.
  • Recent players in Spellbreak now populate the recent players list tied to your Xbox Live account.
  • Players set to “Friendly only” in their communication settings will no longer have voice chat blocked for their Spellbreak friends.
  • “Ready” button no longer greys out when joining a party through the Xbox shell.
  • Fixed a crash caused by returning to the game after pressing the Home button mid-match.

All Platforms

  • Fixed a netcode issue that resulted in other characters appearing to stutter/jitter or otherwise not to update at full framerate.
    • Note this also caused “weird” aiming offsets that were reported where it felt like your aim was off. Due to this, your muscle memory with different spells may be affected!
  • Players should be able to interact with things after being interrupted while aiming a rune or sorcery.
  • Players should no longer get stuck indefinitely on the reconnect screen after internet connectivity had been lost and restored.
  • Fixed the infinite loading screen when entering invalid account credentials on login.
  • Fixed missing hit sound effect when your damage is buffed.
  • If the same Spellbreak account is used to log in to two machines at the same time, the most recent login will cause the early session to abort to prevent data corruption.
  • Controller vibration settings now correctly apply in game.
  • Fixed issues where item ping indicators would not draw/update correctly.
  • Added in translations for some previously untranslated text.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause quests to disappear from the main menu when restarting the game.
  • Corrected adjective/noun order indicating rarity for latin-based languages on the collection screen.
  • Fixed Mana Vault animations getting out of sync with sound and timer.
  • Fixed issue with Mana Vaults where its pieces would sometimes flicker as the player walked it.
  • Cleaned up some low-resolution textures that could sometimes appear.
  • Menu / UI sound effect volume is now properly controlled the associated volume slider.
  • Fixed a crash caused by repeatedly pressing the confirm button on the squad loading screen.
  • Fixed instances of shadow popping around the map.
  • Fixed a crash caused by viewing an item in the store while the rollover takes effect.
  • Ice Lance should no longer randomly generate a MASSIVE ice bow.
  • Fixed a bug causing 2 players with random outfits equipped to mirror one another’s outfits.
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  • Fixed a crash caused by repeatedly exiling yourself in the tutorial.
    • Why do you keep hitting yourself?!
  • Fixed some chests not being visible on the player’s client.
  • And last but not least, a whole bunch of more rare crashes have been fixed.

Now Playing: Spellbreak Official Launch Trailer | Gamescom 2020

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200,000+ Accounts Have Been Banned From Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare And Warzone

Like many popular games, cheaters are flocking to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and the battle royale game Warzone. Developer Infinity Ward isn’t letting these cheaters run amok, however, as the company has confirmed it has banned more than 200,000 accounts for cheating since launch.

This number applies to Modern Warfare and the Warzone spinoff, but Activision did not provide a breakdown by game. There was a new wave of bans this week, Infinity Ward said, and this is seemingly the 20,000 Warzone players that had their accounts deactivated for using cheats, according to a Vice report.

In addition to announcing the new ban total, Infinity Ward said it is staying vigilant in the fight against cheaters by releasing “additional security updates” and “backend enforcement tools.” The developer did not provide any specifics on these, and that may be intentional so as not to give cheaters a heads-up.

Overall, Infinity Ward said it has “zero tolerance” for cheating in its games.

Modern Warfare and Warzone recently welcomed its big Season 6 update, introducing new multiplayer maps, a big change to the Verdansk battle royale map, a new Operator, and more. Check out GameSpot’s Season 6 breakdown to find out everything that’s new.

The next Call of Duty game is Black Ops Cold War, and it’s set for release in November. You’ll be able to play the game much sooner, however, as the open beta begins later in October.

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Super Mario Bros. 35 Is Available Now For Nintendo Switch Online Subscribers

Super Mario Bros. 35, Nintendo’s sort-of take on a Super Mario battle royale, is available now on Nintendo Switch in all Eshop regions around the world. The game is free to download for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.

he online game casts you as one of 35 Marios, playing the 2D levels of Super Mario Bros. against others online. As you play, you can make other people’s journeys more difficult by defeating enemies, which will be sent to your opponent’s courses; think Tetris 99, but with 35 Marios instead. It can be accessed from the “Nintendo Switch Online” tab on the Eshop, and will take up 400MB of space.

The game has been made to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the original Super Mario Bros. releasing on the NES.

The game is only available to play until March 31, 2021. This is the same day that Super Mario 3D All-Stars will be discontinued, too. It’s not clear why Nintendo has set this time limit, but Jump Rope Challenge was only meant to be available until September 30 and has been extended indefinitely.

A Game and Watch version of Super Mario Bros. is also coming in November, but stock is limited.

Now Playing: Super Mario Bros. 35 – Official Announcement Trailer

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COD Cold War Zombies Details, Cyberpunk 2077 Crunch, & Spider-Man PS5 Save Transfers | Save State

In your Save State for September 30, Chastity gives you details on Zombies mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Activision says this version is something of a reboot, with a fresh start to the story and tweaks to the progression system.

With Cyberpunk 2077 releasing on November 19, CD Projekt Red has entered a mandatory crunch period with six-day work weeks, despite previous indications this would not happen. Studio head Adam Badowski has released a statement trying to justify the final-month crunch.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales game saves will transfer from PS4 to PS5, but save date from the original Spider-Man will not. This is because Spider-Man: Remastered is only coming to PS5 as an add-on for Miles Morales as part of the Ultimate Edition. If you play the remaster, you’ll notice that Peter Parker looks different and that’s because Insomniac has a new face model for the character, replacing John Bubniak with Ben Jordan.

New Trailer For Adam Sandler’s Halloween Netflix Movie Hubie Halloween Is Totally Absurd

Netflix has released the latest trailer for Adam Sandler’s Halloween movie, Hubie Halloween, and like the first one, it’s completely absurd.

Hubie Halloween follows Sandler’s character, Hubie Dubois, who over the years has defended his city–Salem, Massachusetts–from the dangers of the spooky holiday. In this particular year, however, the danger is more real and people begin vanishing. Hubie tries to convince everyone in town that the monsters are real and “only he can stop them.”

The movie features a long list of Sandler’s friends and other funny people, including Kenan Thompson, Kevin James, and Maya Rudolph. Oscar-nominated actress June Squibb plays Sandler’s mother, while Julie Bowen, Ray Liotta, Noah Schnapp, Steve Buscemi, and Tim Meadows also feature in the movie. Here’s the trailer:

Hubie Halloween–which premieres on October 7–was directed by Steven Brill, who also directed Sandler’s other Netflix movies The Do-Over and Sandy Wexler. Their partnership goes back well before that, however, as Brill also directed Sandler’s earlier hits, including Mr. Deeds and Little Nicky.

Sandler’s Netflix movies are extremely popular. As of February 1, users worldwide have collectively streamed more than 2 billion minutes of Sandler’s movies on the service. Netflix and Sandler are staying in business together for a further four movies.

Sandler is still making movies outside Netflix, too, as he starred in the well-received Uncut Gems. That movie is now streaming in the US, but it’s nothing like his comedic fare and is very intense, so be aware of that before clicking play.

Rogue One Writer Teases Star Wars News For Next Week

Gary Whitta, who was one of the writers for the billion-dollar Star Wars spin-off movie Rogue One has teased some news for next week, and it could be related to Star Wars.

Whitta cryptically wrote on Twitter, “Some news coming from a galaxy far, far away next week… stay tuned.”

This tease from Whitta follows his statement from July when he said he sold a movie script that he said was a “big one.”

“Okay, okay. I sold a movie. A big one. Writing and producing. Hope to be able to talk about it soon!” Whitta wrote in July.

There is no connection between Whitta’s latest tease and the earlier one, however, so the projects may not be connected.

Before he co-wrote Rogue One, Whitta was the editor-in-chief of PC Gamer magazine. Whitta was a story consultant on Halo 5, and he also wrote for Telltale’s acclaimed Walking Dead video game series. Additionally, he wrote the Denzel Washington movie Book of Eli and he co-wrote After Earth with director M. Night Shyamalan. Whitta has also written episodes of Star Wars Rebels.

More recently, Whitta has kept busy with his video game-themed talk shows in the universes of Animal Crossing and Fall Guys.

Jason Blum Wants To Make Happy Death Day 3, Here’s How He’d Do It

It was back in February 2019 that fans of the first Happy Death Day movie were treated to a sequel to the time loop horror-comedy: Happy Death Day 2U. Since then, viewers have been clamoring for a followup, given that the film ends on a cliffhanger, but it’s never been a certainty that they’d actually get one. After all, the film made about half of what the first did at the box office. While both were produced on very small budgets, the diminishing returns could be enough for producers to move on.

Thankfully for this franchise, though, that doesn’t seem to be the case. While director Christopher Landon and star Jessica Rothe have been vocal supporters of getting to do a third Happy Death Day movie, they’re not alone. Speaking to GameSpot, producer and Blumhouse Productions founder Jason Blum was adamant that the story gets a proper ending.

“It’s a trilogy. I’ve got to make the third one,” Blum said, while promoting the Welcome to the Blumhouse movies that debut on Amazon Prime Video in October. With another movie from Landon, the serial killer body swap film Freaky, set to hit theaters soon, Blum thinks the time to strike might be soon. “Maybe after Freaky we’ll figure it out,” he hinted. “Both of us really want to do it. So hopefully we’ll figure it out.”

Should that come to pass, though, its release pattern would likely change. “That’s a perfect [premium video-on-demand] movie,” Blum explained. “Universal has this agreement–17 days in the theater. The same as Freaky, 17 days in a theater and then [it] goes to PVOD. We should make Happy Death Day 3 for that system. I mean, if that movie isn’t right for it, I don’t know what is. So that’s what it would be.”

What’s more, Blum sees that being the route for the future of Blumhouse’s theatrical films. “I think most of my movies going forward will work very well in that system–will work very well with a shortened theatrical window, then going straight to premium VOD,” he said. “I think that that system will be very good for Blumhouse.”

It’ll be interesting to see what that kind of release does for Freaky, which is scheduled to hit theaters for a brief window on November 13, before moving to PVOD. Given that many movie theaters throughout the United States remain closed, PVOD may be the only way many audiences will get to see the film.

Whatever the case, the possibility of getting a third Happy Death Day movie is alive and well–unlike main character Tree (Jessica Rothe) who dies again and again and again in the films.

Cyberpunk 2077 New Teaser Debuts, Starring Keanu Reeves

A new Cyberpunk 2077 teaser has debuted during Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and it’s got Keanu Reeves–the real Keanu, not the character he’s playing–in it. Geoff Keighley captured the trailer and has shared it on Twitter.

The trailer, narrated by Keanu and set to Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy, gives us a glimpse at the world of 2077. “In 2077, what makes someone a criminal?,” Reeves asks. “Getting caught.”

If you’ve ever wanted to hear Keanu Reeves encourage you to seize the day, and then set it on fire, look no further.

The trailer doesn’t feature any gameplay footage, but instead focuses on the game’s tone.

Keanu Reeves plays Johnny Silverhand in the game, and reportedly loved working on it. As the game approaches release on November 19, CD Projekt Red is working extended hours to finish development.

Cyberpunk 2077 will launch on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. It will also be playable on PS5 and Xbox Series X, but upgraded versions for those consoles will not arrive until later.

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