Category: Games

The next update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Xbox One is coming soon, and it introduces a new bug in Halo 2: Anniversary. In a blog post, developer 343 Industries warned players that the new update adds a bug where the reticule moves off-center for couch co-op split-screen multiplayer.

343 said it is currently working on a fix for the problem, with the aim of it releasing in the coming weeks.

“Our test teams identified a newly introduced issue in H2:A where the reticule is off centered when playing split screen multiplayer,” 343 said. “The team is working on a fix for this and we will be targeting a hot fix build update for this in the coming weeks ahead.”

This update releases on May 12, which is the same day that Halo 2 comes to PC through The Master Chief Collection. The May 12 Xbox update also includes performance updates for Halo 3 that aim to bring the game back to a better state.

“Our goal is to bring Halo 3’s performance on Xbox back to what it was prior to our update when Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary launched on PC. In great news, the team has been conducting internal tests and they are showing positive improvements for the experience which you will see in this update,” 343 said. “The team is not done and will continue more extensive testing and listen for community feedback on any additional areas of improvements needed for Halo 3’s performance.”

In other Halo news, Microsoft has announced an all-new MCC Pro Series tournament, while the first beta tests for Halo 3 and ODST on PC are due to begin soon. These Halo: MCC updates are happening concurrently with the development of Halo Infinite, which is a launch title for Xbox Series X this Holiday. The first gameplay footage for Halo Infinite is likely to premiere in July during an Xbox 20/20 event.

Thimbleweed Park, Ron Gilbert’s charming 2017 adventure game, just got a surprise free spin-off. The new game, Delores: A Thimbleweed Park Mini-Adventure, is available to download now on Steam and the Epic Games Store. It weighs in at just 52MB.

The new game is a parallel story following Dolores, one of the main characters from the original game, getting a job as a photographer. It’s designed as a test for Gilbert’s new adventure game engine, which is why it’s free–don’t expect an experience as long as the original. It is not available on consoles.

Here’s the launch trailer for the new adventure, if you need further convincing to download a free game.

Thimbleweed Park is also discounted by 60% on Steam and the Epic Games Store right now, but that discount is due to end very soon.

The original game received a 7/10 in GameSpot’s 2017 review. Reviewer Matt Espineli described the game as “a time capsule that reminds us what we love about the point-and-click genre while still retaining many of its unremedied issues.”

Halo: The Master Chief Collection continues its PC rollout, with Halo 2 Anniversary releasing on May 12, and plans already underway to get Halo 3 to users as soon as possible. Microsoft recently released the first screenshots of Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST on PC, and now they’ve announced that the first “flight” (their term for a beta test) will start soon.

In a new MCC Development Update on Halo Waypoint, 343 Industries has promised that preparations are underway for the “Ring 1” flight to begin soon. Ring 1 is typically a very small group of folks who work closely with the developer, but future updates will bring in other members of the Halo Insider program to test the game ahead of launch.

According to the update, testing will begin “in the coming weeks,” and will begin expanding out to more Insiders soon. “As it progresses and we work through our process we will make sure to keep folks apprised of when and where to expect the next series of PC flights to take off,” the update reads.

Since Halo 3: ODST does not have its own multiplayer mode, there’s a good chance it will release alongside Halo 3 after the flight period. After that, Halo 4 will be the last remaining part of The Master Chief Collection to come to PC.

Unfortunately, it seems that Halo 2 Anniversary’s PC launch will be fairly compromised–at launch, at least.

Given that Microsoft has said almost nothing about what to expect from Halo Infinite, which is releasing later this year, fans are understandable hungry for any morsel of news about the game. Halo community manager John Junyszek has now shared a tease for Halo Infinite as it relates to its use of Medals.

Replying to a fan who remarked that Medals feel meaningless in Halo 5 because they are doled out so generously, Junyszek said, “We’re definitely aware of this feedback,” adding the smiley face and punch emojis to his message, whatever that means.

Reading between the lines here, it seems developer 343 Industries is planning some kind of change for how Medals work in Halo Infinite. Some people criticized Halo 5 for simply having too many medals. Other people, meanwhile, enjoyed the frequent feedback of in-game performance. It’ll be interesting to see how Halo Infinite addresses the feedback.

Halo Infinite is primed for its proper unveiling at the Xbox 20/20 event in July. It is the third brand-new Halo game developed by Microsoft’s 343 Industries after taking over control of the franchise from series creator Bungie. Halo 5 was criticized by some for its lackluster campaign, so fans may be happy to know that Halo Infinite puts a renewed focus on Master Chief and the art style is meant to hearken back to Halo’s earlier days.

Halo Infinite is a launch title for the Xbox Series X; it’s also coming to Xbox One and PC. Xbox Game Pass subscribers–on Xbox and PC–can get the new Halo game for no extra cost.

While you wait for Halo Infinite, you can check out Halo 2: Anniversary on PC starting May 12 and take part in an all-new MCC Pro Series tournament. Microsoft is also bringing Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST to the PC through The Master Chief Collection, and the first beta tests are due to begin soon.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has taken the world by storm, but it’s not the only huge, long-awaited 2020 game release–Final Fantasy VII Remake finally released in April, and scored a very rare GameSpot 10/10 review. And now, you can (kind of) combine the two games.

Twitter user The Regressor, an animator and cosplayer who has been putting some time into Animal Crossing: New Horizons, has designed some incredible costume recreations of the main costumes worn by Cloud, Barret, Tifa, and Aerith in Final Fantasy VII Remake. Paired with the right hair, you can make a character that looks a lot like their Final Fantasy counterpart.

The codes for these costume parts are in the tweet below.

Additional codes are included for costumes that show some skin–like Cloud’s shoulders and Tifa’s midriff–because that “skin” is actually part of the costume, and there’s no guarantee that your Animal Crossing villager’s skin will be the same color. If it does not match, you can use the other code.

Everyone is getting in on Animal Crossing, even United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The game is already the highest selling Animal Crossing game ever.

Halo 2 is launching for PC through The Master Chief Collection on May 12. Developer 343 Industries has now shared some important launch details, including the specific release time and a list of issues to expect out of the gate.

Starting with the release time, Halo 2 (including the Anniversary remaster) will release on PC at 8 PM PT / 11 PM ET on May 12. Microsoft is releasing the game late during the US day due to “current bandwidth concerns across the globe,” the developer said on Twitter.

In terms of the known issues, there are many, including some that sound quite significant. An update is also coming to Xbox One, and this includes some issues as well.

Some of the bigger issues include the HUD becoming off-center during couch co-op (on Xbox), subtitles being out of sync with audio during cutscenes, and the audio during campaign cutscenes being “much louder” than during gameplay. Some campaign missions will also suffer FPS drops at the start, while gunfire sounds are missing for multiple weapons when using the Scarab Skull.

343 is also warning that bullet registration is “not in parity” with the original game, while the visual effects on snow “do not match legacy behavior.” Additionally, and this one sounds like a big deal–“the sun is not rendering on most maps and missions.” You can see the full known issues below, as posted on 343’s website.

Halo 2 is the third game to be added to the PC version of the Master Chief Collection, following Halo: Reach and the original Combat Evolved. The remaining three entries in the PC collection are coming later, wrapping up with Halo 4. The Master Chief Collection is free for Xbox Game Pass subscribers on PC and Xbox One.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is developed by one of at least two internal teams at 343 Industries. One of the other teams is working on Halo Infinite, which is a launch title for the Xbox Series X later this year. That system and the game remain on schedule to release this holiday, despite concerns around COVID-19.

Halo 2 Launch Known Issues

Campaign

• On Xbox in Co-op multiplayer, the HUD will become off centered when zooming in
• Terminal videos default to English only
• In-game audio plays while viewing terminal videos
• Subtitles are not present in campaign gameplay
• Subtitles are out of sync with audio when viewing cutscenes
• Users on AMD hardware may encounter missing and/or flickering textures across campaign (such as the Elevator on Oracle)
• Oracle in has several graphical issues including around glass flood tanks, clouds, and lightning effects
• Cinematic audio for in Halo 2 and Halo 2: Anniversary is affected by different audio option sliders.
• Enemy Elites do not dual wield in the Campaign
• Campaign cutscenes are much louder than gameplay
• Some Campaign missions have FPS drops on first launch of the mission
• When having multiple audio devices and swapping between classic and remastered graphics in cutscenes, audio can change output devices
• When using a Ryzen 5 and AMD GPU, large rectangle volumes appear on the mission Oracle
• Blur Cinematics and Terminal videos can have visual issues in non-16:9 aspect ratios as they were rendered at 16:9
• Gunfire sounds are missing from multiple weapons with the Scarab Skull active
• With the Scarab Gun skull active, a hardlock can happen when firing a plasma rifle after swapping weapons with an Elite
• Sentinel lights will display for a short time after death before disappearing
• Some environmental textures appear in lower than expected resolutions
• Music will loop incorrectly on Metropolis while in the Scorpion tank
• Using Nvidia GPUs on Classic graphics, various foliage environment LOD textures are missing
• Gravemind on co-op has hitches and with poor network conditions disconnects can happen
• When swapping between Classic and Remastered graphics music will change to different parts of the track

Halo 2: Anniversary

• Pixilation on shadows can be seen in Anniversary graphics
• Forge map lighting is not appearing correctly
• Performance lowers during games of 3 plots
• Texture resolution is displaying in low quality through various parts of the title
• When looking at the fan on Stonetown, FPS sometimes drops to 45
• Audio is missing when reloading weapons when done quickly
• Primary weapon audio decreases if you are shooting while picking up a secondary weapon
• Decals on the Gauss Warthog turret will detach from the model during the firing animation
• When using newer Intel drivers with onboard graphics, you cannot launch
• Performance in theater films is capped at 60 fps when framerate is set to unlimited
• There are no inversion options in the Settings Menu for dual wielding
• Lighting is inconsistent between Elite and Spartan armors
• There is visible stuttering on objects when strafing with Unlimited Framerate enabled
• Sound effects do not play for the player holding the oddball when playing Hot Potato
• The Hoplite armor is missing a rear armor piece in gameplay

Halo 2

• When using voice chat there is no notification that players are talking
• The music mixing is much quieter in MCC compared to the original
• Team Spawn system does not have parity with original
• Bullet registration is not in parity with the original
• The respawn timer is hidden by the territory capture meter in multiplayer
• Gamma values are excessively blown out compared to legacy
• Super bouncing does not mirror legacy
• Snow VFX do not match legacy behavior on snow weather missions and maps
• The sun is not rendering on most maps and missions
• When playing at higher field of view, textures will appear to pop in more frequently as the LOD distance is shortened
• Banshees turn faster when using Mouse and Keyboard

Microsoft has announced a brand-new Halo competitive gaming tournament, and you don’t have to be a professional to participate. The MCC Pro Series is a new, online tournament that anyone can take part in for an opportunity to win cash prizes.

Halo developer 343 Industries said it’s launching the new tournament series to “help restore even a small sliver of normalcy” for Halo fans amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The MCC Pro Series begins May 23 with open tournaments (for anyone) and Pro tournaments for professionals. The esports organization Face It is running the competition, and you can see the full rundown of schedules and how to enter here on the MCC Pro Series site.

The MCC Pro Series will use Halo 2: Anniversary on PC as its main title, but other games in the Master Chief Collection will also be featured in the event. The top eight teams from the open tournament will quality for the 16-team Pro tournament where they will face off against the top eight teams from the DreamHack Anaheim event. The top eight teams from the Pro tournaments thereafter will quality for the next Pro tournament, and this cycle continues until the finals in July.

Microsoft is putting in $5,500 in total for the MCC Pro Series, spread between the open tournaments and the pro tournaments. The top team for the open tournament will get $250, while the winners of the Pro event will get $2,000. You can see the full prizing information below.

MCC Pro Series Prizing:

Open Tournament: $500 (single elimination)

1. $250
2. $150
3. $100

Pro Tournament: $5,000 (Round robin groups into single elimination)

1. $2,000
2. $1,000
3. $500
4. $500
5. $250
6. $250
7. $250
8. $250

Looking ahead, this year’s Halo Infinite will also have an ambitious competitive gaming plan, but the full details of this have not yet been announced. “Thank you to all fans, players, teams, and partners for joining us on this journey. The best is yet to come with Halo Infinite and we can’t wait to share more. Best of luck to all players, and stay safe,” Microsoft said.

After having not posted anything for nearly two years, the official Mafia franchise Twitter account tweeted out a single word on May 10: Family. The account hasn’t explained itself, but it suggests that previous reports of a remastered game could be true.

In early April, the Game Rating and Administration Committee of Korea apparently leaked Mafia 2: Definitive Edition, which Take-Two has still not announced. The original Mafia 2 game released in 2010 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, making 2020 its 10^th anniversary, which would be an appropriate time for a remaster or remake.

Mafia 2 received better reviews than Mafia 3, which took the franchise in an even more grim direction but struggled with some of its open-world gameplay mechanics. GameSpot’s Mafia 2 review awarded the game an 8.5/10, while our Mafia 3 review gave the game a 6/10 when it released in 2016.

It’s possible that Take-Two could be saving a Mafia 2 remaster for the next-generation Xbox Series X and PS5 systems instead of current-generation consoles. They’re both due to release this holiday season, and the improved power compared to what Mafia 2 ran on a decade ago could make the game much more impressive. Until we get an official announcement, we’ll just have to keep an eye on the series’ Twitter account for more updates.