The three maps that launched yesterday are medium to large size and designed to emphasize vehicular combat in large battles with a focus on team strategy. Along with that map pack also came the new Competitive Skill Rank with a 1-50 level ranking system to match against similarly skilled opponents. Today, the Halo 4 original soundtrack volume 2 debuts.

That soundtrack is a 20-track digital release companion volume featuring key music themes from the game. On Wednesday the 10th, 343 Industries will be offering new Extra XP challenges to help you break up your Spartan. There will be 14 daily and six weekly challenges giving players the chance to earn extra experience points by competing in any Halo 4 mode.

Those challenges will offer more XP than standard challenges for all players. On Thursday the 11th, Spartan Ops Day kicks off. These missions will be playable in single player or with up to three friends and co-op mode allowing users to explore Requiem using objective-based chapters. The special ops will start at 10 AM on Thursday and end on April 12 at 10 AM. Friday will kick off a sale on Halo 4 DLC with the War Games Map Pass selling for 1600 Microsoft points, the Crimson Map Pack selling for 600 Microsoft points, and the Majestic Map Pack selling for 600 Microsoft points. All through those map packs represent a 25% savings.

[via Halo Waypoint]

The map pack includes three all new small to medium size maps designed for tight, competitive combat using small-team and free-for-all modes. The three maps offered in the pack include Landfall, Monolith, and Skyline. Landfall places an emphasis on infantry fighting next to a glittering ocean and a massive city under siege.

Monolith is set at a monument built by the Forerunners to celebrate the victory over ancient humans. The map is small and has central man-cannons, short corridors, and little cover. This map is said to be particularly good for capture the flag. The final map is Skyline set in rooftop terrain on a new space tether construction site.

The map pack also brings two Majestic DLC playlists and the new free-for-all game type called Infinity Rumble. The pack also includes 10 new achievements worth 250 additional Gamerscore. The map pack will be available via Xbox Live for 800 Microsoft points.

[via Halowaypoint.com]

If you guessed Black Ops II, you were right. Activision’s latest entry in the Call of Duty series settled at first place for the year, followed in second by Modern Warfare 3. Halo 4 managed to work its way into third, pushing the incredibly popular Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition into fourth place. That Minecraft finished in the top five is important – normally, we’d expect the most-played games of the year to be full retail releases, while Minecraft is an Xbox Live Arcade title.

The original Black Ops (which has been on shelves since November 2010, remember) rounds out the top five, so it seems that only Halo and Minecraft had the player base to challenge the Call of Duty series. Borderlands 2 just missed the top ten with its 11th-place ranking, while it seems that a healthy number of people were playing Skyrim all through the year, as Bethesda’s epic managed to secure 13th place. Despite the fact that it was only released on December 4, Far Cry 3 broke into the list nonetheless, coming in at number 18. Here’s the full list of Xbox Live’s most-played games for 2012:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
3. Halo 4
4. Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops
6. FIFA Soccer 13
7. FIFA Soccer 12
8. Battlefield 3
9. Halo: Reach
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
11. Borderlands 2
12. Assassin’s Creed III
13. Skyrim
14. Madden NFL 13
15. Gears of War 3
16. NBA 2K13
17. NBA 2K12
18. Far Cry 3
19. Grand Theft Auto IV
20. Forza Motorsport 4

Major Nelson also shared lists of the top Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Indie, and Games For Windows Live titles for 2012. Though Minecraft was pushed out of the top spot on the overall list, it came in at first place on the Xbox Live Arcade list, with CastleMiner Z taking the first place crown for the indie list. Surprisingly, Grand Theft Auto IV was the top Games for Windows Live title of 2012, beating out more recent games like Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition and Batman: Arkham City. If you’d like to see all four full lists, they can be found over on Major Nelson’s blog.

Shea clarifies that players will still be able to access multiplayer through LAN, but points out that Halo 2‘s player numbers have “been peaking consistently at approximately 20 players or less.” Hearing that, it’s pretty obvious why Microsoft has opted to shut down the game’s servers, though this news probably stings a bit for players who have a soft spot for Halo 2 on PC. Multiplayer for the Xbox version of Halo 2 was ended back in 2010 when Microsoft pulled the plug on Xbox Live service for its first console.

Despite the fact that Microsoft’s decision to shut off the multiplayer servers for Halo 2 is bound to make at least a few players upset, online multiplayer for both versions was supported for almost six years. That certainly isn’t bad, especially when there are some publishers who seem all too willing to shut down online functionality just a couple of years after release. Of course, if you get the urge to play Halo online after the servers go dark, you can always pick up a copy of Halo 3, Halo: Reach, or Halo 4, all of which still have accessible matchmaking.

Shea’s announcement was hidden in a much longer post about the future of Halo 4‘s multiplayer, among other things. The post reminded us that the first season of Spartan Ops is set to resume on January 21, while players will get to enjoy two new class specializations starting next week: the Pioneer and the Pathfinder, both of which were given a rundown when Microsoft detailed all of the different specializations last year. No word on when the other specializations will become available, so it might not be the best idea to blow through the additional 20 SR levels the Pioneer and Pathfinder classes add to the game.

[via Eurogamer]

Say hello to the Hacker and Teleport armor abilities, which you can see in action with the video posted below. Teleport is pretty self-explanatory, as it lets you jump a short distance almost instantly. As you can imagine, having an armor ability like that would be great for closing the gap quickly so you can get in and perform an assassination before the other player has a chance to react.

The Hacker ability is definitely the coolest of the two, as it allows you to disable the armor abilities of other players. See someone sneaking around with active camouflage on? Use the Hacker to disable their cloak and expose them to the world. The Hacker ability seems like it would go a long way in evening the odds against nearly every other armor ability out there, which might just be why we didn’t see it in the final game.

While the host of the video speculates that these armor abilities might be released in future Halo 4 DLC, a Microsoft representative told Kotaku that these are merely “legacy items” and the studio doesn’t have any plans to implement more armor abilities in the future. While that’s a bummer, it was nice to catch a glimpse of canned features despite the fact that we’ll probably never get to use them in regular gameplay.

According to Kotaku, Microsoft has confirmed that “less than 200″ Halo 4 gamers ended up experiencing the ban bug, rather than the thousands and thousands that some people were assuming. However, Microsoft has since resolved the issue, and all gamers that were affected are being unbanned and should see that their accounts are back to normal.

Word of the ban bug spread on the official Halo Waypoint forum where it seemed that a ton of gamers were getting incorrectly banned when accessing the new map pack. Hundreds of users posted in “The Official Halo 4 Ban Thread” and mentioned they were getting banned from matchmaking multiplayer, but still able to access Xbox Live.

The Crimson Map Pack consists of three new multiplayer maps, and is the first of three total DLC map packs that will be released for Halo 4. The map pack is priced at 800 MSP, but if you purchased the War Games Map Pass, which grants you access to all three map packs for 2000 MSP, you end up saving even more — approximately 400 MSP off the initial price.

[via Kotaku]

That isn’t a bad deal if you know in advance that you’re going to purchase all three DLC packs, so if you’re big on Halo 4, picking up the War Games Map Pass would be a good move. Crimson tosses the Wreckage, Covenant, and Shatter maps into the mix, along with a dedicated playlist for the three new battlegrounds so you can get acquainted with them quickly. It’s launching just over a month after Halo 4 itself released, so 343 Industries and Microsoft got right to work on the game’s DLC.

Next up we’ll have the Majestic map pack launching in February, which adds three additional maps of its own. Finally, players will have the Castle map pack to look forward to in April, rounding out the trio. Those are the only DLC packs Microsoft and 343 have announced for Halo 4, but then again, they could always choose to surprise players with more DLC if these three packs sell well.

For now, though, just plan on these three map packs hitting in a relatively short time frame. Players will also have a new multiplayer mode called Extraction waiting for them when they sign on today, which will have two teams attacking and defending player-placed beacons. Check out our story timeline below for more on Halo 4!

That may have just changed, as a new screenshot from the German Xbox 360 Dashboard apparently lists the release dates for all three map packs. Originally posted over at Halo Council, this screenshot says gives Crimson, Majestic, and Castle release dates of December 10, February 25, and April 1 respectively. If this is true, it means that the first Halo 4 map pack DLC is a mere two weeks away.

We wouldn’t be surprised at all if this is true, but the fact that Castle has a listed release date of April 1 makes this whole thing a little suspicious. April 1, as many of you know, is the worldwide day of pranks, so it’s possible that Microsoft and 343 Industries are having a little fun at the expense of players. In any case, with no official word from Microsoft, it’s hard to say with any certainty that this is legitimate.

If these dates are the real deal and Crimson’s release is really just two weeks away, then we should be getting confirmation from Microsoft and 343 any day now. While we’re hesitant to believe that these are the official release dates, it’s worth pointing out that Microsoft said the three map packs would be releasing in December, February, and April when they were all announced, so that lends some credibility to this rumor. Stay tuned.

[via Kotaku]

Microsoft says that 4 million people have logged in to play the game since it launched, and it’s certainly possible that even more are playing it when you consider that not everyone has a subscription to Xbox Live or has their console connected to the Internet. We can’t really see the point behind playing Halo solely offline, but we’re sure there are some folks out there who are doing it.

Unsurprisingly, Microsoft doesn’t dish any sales numbers, so we’ll have to wait until the game hits some sort of milestone before Microsoft tells us how many copies have been sold. Still, with expectations for the week coming it at $300 million, it isn’t hard to imagine that Microsoft is selling a healthy amount of copies. The success of Halo 4 also means that Halo 5 will almost certainly happen, though that was another given considering Halo is easily Microsoft’s biggest series.

So, the Halo train continues to pull in the big bucks for Microsoft. Little surprise, but the series will definitely be outshined by tomorrow’s launch of Black Ops II, which promises to be the single biggest release of the year. With hundreds of millions already in its pocket and millions more left to come, though, we doubt Microsoft cares much about the launch of Black Ops II. Have you been playing Halo 4? What do you think of it?

Oh, did we also mention that there aren’t any armor abilities or custom load outs in SWAT? As the description of the Halo: Reach game mode described, it’s “just you, your DMR, and a lot of headshots.” In Halo 4‘s SWAT mode, players actually get to pick between the DMR and the Battle Rifle, but aside from that little change, it appears that SWAT is more or less the same as it was in Halo: Reach.

Also available today is a brand new episode for Halo 4‘s Spartan Ops mode dubbed “Artifact.” Like episode 1 before it, episode 2 features five playable chapters, with more episodes on the way shortly. Needless to say, if you’re a Spartan Ops fan, you’ll probably be quite pleased with this playlist update.

Make no mistake, this is a pretty big update for Halo 4 fans – or at least for the ones who have been begging 343 Industries for SWAT since the game launched last Tuesday. Checking the Xbox 360 here at SlashGear Towers confirms that the playlist update is live, so go nuts! How about it – are you a fan of SWAT, or has it never been your cup of tea?

After Microsoft ousted Bungie to take over the Halo franchise, there was rampant speculation over what the future might look like for the world-renowned games. Would they deliver a new experience? Would they follow in Bungie’s footsteps? Would they try to tread new ground?

With Halo 4, we have an answer. Microsoft’s 343 Industries game studio has decided that it wants to take the Halo franchise to new heights with a trilogy that will follow the first one developed by Bungie. A lot was riding on 343 to deliver a worthwhile Halo experience. And so far, it appears the company delivered.

Don’t believe me? According to Metacritic, a site that compiles all game reviews in one spot, Halo 4 has received a Metascore of 87 from critics. Gamers have nearly universally celebrated the game’s graphics and fun. Sales are believed to be strong and could have won the month if not for Call of Duty: Black Ops II. By all measure, Halo 4 is a success.

That success requires us to give credit where it’s due. Bungie should be credited with creating a franchise that so many people across the world enjoy. Microsoft should be credited with understanding how important it is to deliver a high-quality experience. 343 Industries should be credited with carrying the torch bravely and effectively.

But perhaps this saga goes beyond just one good game. The outpouring of love for Halo 4 can’t help but make me think that Bungie is negatively affected here. For a long time, gaming fans believed only Bungie could deliver a gaming experience that players would want. Now, it’s clear that’s not the case. And since Microsoft owns the Halo franchise, with each new launch, Bungie’s inspiration on the game will only be diminished.

Therefore, I have to pose a question I thought I never would: does Halo 4’s success make Bungie irrelevant?

Bungie fans who are displeased with the way Microsoft has treated the company will of course say I’m losing it. But think about it. Gamers responded extremely favorably to the game, despite protests over Bungie’s treatment. In fact, Halo 4 is one of the most popular games on store shelves right now.

So, maybe gamers really don’t care about Bungie or fairness. Perhaps today’s gamer cares most about entertainment value and they couldn’t care less which company is behind a title.

A similar scenario played out with the Call of Duty franchise. After Infinity Ward was left in shambles with the ouster of Jason West and Vince Zampella, the studio’s leaders, some believed that Call of Duty would die. Gamers, those folks said, would never buy a game from a company that, in their minds, treated the brains behind Call of Duty so poorly.

However, since Zampella and West have been gone, Call of Duty has hit new heights. It turns out that West and Zampella mattered little. And now, gamers who play Call of Duty each day rarely think about them.

For the sake of all gamers, I hope Bungie comes back with bigger and better things in the coming years. But for now, I can’t help but wonder if Bungie has been relegated to an afterthought now that Microsoft has staked claim to Halo.

Via Xbox Live Rewards, players who hit the 35 hour mark in Halo 4 will score a cool 100MS, while those who hit 70 hours will receive 300MS. The folks over at Computer and Video Games did some calculating, and figured that if you play Halo 4 for six hours a day, every day, for the rest of the month, you can hit the 600MS points mark.

Players can earn a maximum of 800MS through this rewards program. Obviously, you need to be signed up for Xbox Live Rewards, which you can do over at the Xbox website. To sign up, hit up the Xbox Rewards website and click “Join.” Log in with your Windows Live email, then select “I want to participate in the Xbox LIVE Rewards program.”

In order to signup for LIVE Rewards, you need an Xbox LIVE account. You can join Xbox LIVE for $5 a month for a Gold account, or $8.33 a month for the Family Pack. Haven’t grabbed a copy of Halo 4 yet? You can get it from the Microsoft Store for $59.99. Users must get in on this offer by November 30, otherwise they’re miss out on a chance to get points for doing what it is they’re doing any way.

[via Computer and Video Games]

Fortunately, 343 Industries is aware of these issues and it’s already trying to iron them out, posting a message to the Halo Waypoint forums just a couple hours ago. In the message, it says it’s working on solving these issues, and asks gamers to describe the problems they’re having in the thread. The problem range, but it seems that a lot of players have having issues connecting with friends for multiplayer matches.

Another glitch in the system that’s currently making the rounds is knocking players’ SR level down to one, which is obviously proving to be a major annoyance. Players have flocked to the Halo Waypoint thread in the hours since 343 started it, with the current tally sitting at 13 pages of posts. That number is climbing quickly too, so it looks like a significant number of Halo 4 players are experiencing launch day server issues.

It’s a shame, but as we stated above, it isn’t entirely unexpected. A lot of big multiplayer games fall victim to kinks in the system on day one, and unfortunately Halo 4 is no different. We’ll update you if 343 Industries makes any progress combating these issues, but in the meantime, let us know if you’re experiencing any problems when trying to play Halo 4 online.

[via Kotaku]

The glyph offered some sort of dynamic effects providing a light show to 500 fans and spectators watching the event. Microsoft flew the glyph over the Thames River from Greenwich Peninsula to Tower Bridge. The path took the glyph past some of the most iconic landmarks in London.

Halo 4 is officially available as of today, and many locations around the world held special launch events last night. Microsoft reports that over 10,000 stores in 40 different countries held midnight opening events. There were over 350 locations in the UK holding launch events for the video game. The GAME Westfield Stratford flagship store held an event with 350 fans lined up to get the game at midnight.

Microsoft offered a few key facts about the glyph, including that was 50-feet in diameter and weighed 3.2 tons. It took a team of 50 designers, engineers, and fabricators to create the glyph. It took eight weeks to design and construct the glyph, which was covered with 455 LED light strips mounted on the 37 panels. There were 113,096 LEDs of pure orange color consuming 20KW of power. The dynamic lighting effects were controlled using an onboard computer and remote mounted on a boat following the glyph. The helicopter flew at a height of 600 feet and the glyph itself was 350 feet above the river.

Halo 4 picks up a number of years after the events in Halo 3. Throughout the game, Master Chief battles a dangerous new enemy, and to make matters worse, Cortana is quickly becoming “rampant,” due to a longer-than-normal lifespan for an AI. It sounds like the game has a pretty thrilling story, but there’s also the multiplayer mode to tackle, which comes with a number of changes too.

For instance, the multiplayer mode now features experience points and customizable loadouts. Hearing all of that, it’s understandable that a number of fans have been hesitant to embrace Halo 4 in the same way they welcomed Bungie-made Halo titles. Thankfully, it seems that 343 Industries has delivered a Halo game worthy of being placed alongside the others in the series, as the game currently sports a score of 87 out of 100 on Metacritic.

In just about 8 hours (depending on where you live in the country), fans of the series will get the chance to find out for themselves if Halo 4 is any good. Hopefully this is the beginning of a hot streak for 343 Industries, as it would be great to see the studio put out more great Halo games in the future. Are you ready for Halo 4?

This crack down on sexism was revealed by 343 Industries lead Bonnie Ross and Halo 4 executive producer Kiki Wolfkill in an new interview with GameSpot. It sounds like these new rules against sexist remarks don’t just apply to Halo 4 either, but rather Xbox Live as a whole. “It can be dangerous to give adolescents a broadcast mechanism,” Wolfkill said. “There are always going to be jerks out there, and if you give them a way to express that side of their personality without being seen, you’re going to see this type of behavior manifest itself.”

Apparently this is a zero tolerance policy too, so if you’re found to be making sexist comments, don’t expect to get away with just a slap on the wrist. Wolfkill and Ross say that developers have a responsibility to break through gender stereotypes and stamp out sexism in the games industry too. It’s sad that it has to come to Xbox Live bans just to get people to act civil toward one another, but that’s unfortunately what you get when everyone is hidden behind a veil of anonymity.

Of course, there’s one easy way to avoid the banhammer altogether: just don’t be a jerk. It’s fine to get angry when you’re losing a match or can’t seem to get a decent shot in, but there are plenty of other ways to express that anger without resorting to bigoted or sexist remarks. What do you think of this new Xbox Live rule? Is the harsh punishment for the best?

The app is available worldwide but is focused on the US and Canada. The game is designed to allow players to fight to be the King of the Hill at their local 7-Eleven store. The app allows players to win all sorts of in game awards, including digital Halo 4 gear such as Double XP and an exclusive Custom Locus Helmet for US players.

Players in Canada can win a custom Ghost Prop Avatar. The game app requires players to scan their favorite Halo 4 themed Mountain Dew and Doritos products to get supplies in games to keep the battle going. The game went available officially today in version 1.0 and is 39.2 MB in size.

The game is also limited to players 17 and up. The location-based game play ties game action to real-world stores and allows players to compete on local and national levels. It’s odd to me to see this game at all considering Halo 4 will only be offered on the Xbox. I guess Microsoft knows there’s not enough Windows Phone users out there to make effective marketing campaign if the game was limited to its own platform.

[via The AppSide]

Google has added Amber Alerts to search and maps results, while we heard that the LG Nexus 4 will be landing at 02 UK on November 13. Apple released its iPhone 5 launch video earlier today, and Microsoft dropped a full list of devices that are compatible with Windows RT. Apple delayed turn-by-turn navigation in Australia today, while Samsung finally pulled the veil off the long-rumored Galaxy Premier I9260 smartphone.

ASUS says that close to 1 million Nexus 7 tablets are sold each and every month, which definitely isn’t bad, and Kickstarter has launched in the UK, so it’s officially time to get your crowd-funding on. RIM has started BlackBerry 10 testing with its carrier partners, and the Google Nexus Q has disappeared from the Nexus landing page, suggesting that the big G may have pulled the plug on the project. What may be the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 cleared testing today, and a new dock that turns the Galaxy Note II into a desktop has gone up for sale.

LG has a new touchscreen monitor ready for some Windows 8 action, and Curiosity has found that some of the dust on Mars is similar to Hawaiian volcanic basalt. Netflix made a pretty big error in one of its SEC filings today, while Microsoft was busy transforming Lichtenstein for the launch of Halo 4. Speaking of Halo 4, Microsoft announced today that the Halo series has sold 46 million copies worldwide, so Halo 4 has a lot to live up to when it launches next week.

Finally tonight, we have a couple of original posts for you to have a look at. Chris Burns checks out the Galaxy Note II’s gaming capabilities and goes hands-on with the Nokia Lumia 920 from AT&T. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy the rest of your night everyone!

$3 billion in revenue might seem a little on the low side for a popular series that has been running for more than a decade (especially when held up against Call of Duty‘s insane numbers), but it’s important to remember that Halo has been exclusive to just one console for its entire run. When everything has been tallied up, Microsoft says that players have created 120 million pieces of content – maps, screenshots, machinima, gameplay videos – and the Halo community has spent a staggering 5 billion hours playing one Halo game or another on Xbox Live.

These numbers will probably begin another significant climb next week, when Halo 4 is released to the eager masses. If we’re not counting Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, which was an HD remake of the very first Halo game, players have been waiting since 2010′s Halo: Reach for a new entry in the series. Many are interested in seeing what 343 Industries can do with the Halo universe, but some are worried that 343 might not be able to deliver on the same scale that Bungie did.

Microsoft has to tread carefully moving forward, because fans are understandably hesitant about a Halo game that isn’t made by Bungie. To tell the truth, we’re pretty excited for Halo 4, and the best part is that we don’t much longer to wait before it arrives – Halo 4 will be launching next Tuesday, November 6. Are you picking it up on launch day, or are you going to wait for the reviews to come in?

Microsoft changed the Principality of Liechtenstein to turn it into a real-life replica of the Halo universe for the launch of Halo 4 in early November. The Microsoft transformation lasted only a day as the landscapes of the countryside became the stage for an alternate universe inspired by the video game. Microsoft invited media and fans from 16 different countries to take part in the experience.

The recreation of the Halo 4 universe is called a theatrical experience. Media folks and fans had to travel to a secret location before being thrust into a war zone that re-created the brutal battlegrounds with explosions, sound effects, and cinematic set builds. I can only imagine that this was incredibly cool.

If you somehow missed all the news and talk of Halo 4, this game is the start of a new saga in the franchise and will launch on Tuesday, November 6. This has been one of the most anticipated games of the year. One of the best things about the build up to the launch for me has been the Forward Unto Dawn live-action series that ties in with the events leading up to the video game.

AT&T delivered its earnings results for Q3 2012 today, and though they were a touch disappointing, they weren’t nearly as bad as Zynga’s report. Facebook’s stock was riding high today after the company’s great financial report yesterday, while Nintendo was another to report underwhelming results for the quarter. Despite the rather negative earnings report, Nintendo still has high hopes for coming quarters, and today one analyst was warning that there will probably be an iPad Mini shortage after launch.

Microsoft is in more hot water with the European Commission over browsers today, and Samsung was given a boost at its Galaxy Note II event this evening by none other than Kanye West. Chevrolet was spotted showing off the engine in the new 2014 Corvette, while we heard a strange assessment that claims Android will surpass Windows in terms of OS market share by 2016. Apple has launched its new Lightning adapters and they aren’t exactly cheap, and we learned that those sexy new iMacs sadly can’t be upgraded.

Corning says that it has Gorilla Glass on 1 billion devices around the world, and Star Citizen reached its Kickstarter funding goal today. Microsoft will be live streaming the keynote from its Windows 8 event tomorrow, and today the company announced the War Games Map Pass for Halo 4. SplashData has released its list of the 25 worst passwords for 2012 and the name of a certain religious big-wig is present on it, and we learned today that the Windows Phone Marketplace has surpassed the 125,000 published apps milestone.

Finally tonight, we have a number of new original articles for you to have a look at. Chris Davies compares the HTC One X+ to the Galaxy S III in a series of benchmark tests, while Chris Burns goes hands-on with a selection of Lenovo Windows 8 convertibles. He also gives us his review of the Galaxy Note II from T-Mobile, and Don Reisinger asks if Apple has simply stopped loving the Mac Pro. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy the rest of your night folks!

The Halo 4 War Games Map Pass comes with a price tag of 2000 Microsoft Points ($25), which means that the individual map packs will cost $10 (800 MSP) each. Microsoft also gave us the names of these three maps packs today: Crimson, Majestic, and Castle. Crimson features the Wreckage, Harvest, and Shatter maps; Majestic includes the Landfall, Monolith, and Skyline maps; while Castle will be adding the Daybreak, Outcast, and Perdition maps to the game.

Even better is that we were given release windows for all three packs today. Crimson will be out in December, Majestic in February, and Castle in April, so we’ll begin getting DLC shortly after Halo 4‘s release. There aren’t any specific release dates for these map packs available at the moment, probably due to the fact that none of them have been finished yet.

If you pick up the Halo 4 War Games Map Pass, Microsoft will also toss in a few extras on the side. Purchasers will get the Scanner and Strider helmets to use in-game, along with a new Falcon emblem that would otherwise be unobtainable. Microsoft’s announcement originally said that the Map Pass is included as part of the Halo 4 Limited Edition console bundle, but in the time since, 343′s David Ellis has clarified that it will be bonus with the Limited Edition game only, not the console. Will you be buying a Halo 4 War Games Map Pass?

We had a few Nexus-related stories hit this afternoon, with a new Nexus 4 leak giving us some details on the phone’s specs, and an internal Staples document telling us that the 32GB Nexus 7 model right be replacing the 8GB variant. The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga will be launching in Japan as the NEC LaVie Y, and one expert is telling us today that there aren’t many visual differences between smartphone displays in 720p and 1080p.

Stanford Ovshinsky, who created the NiMH battery and helped developed many other products, passed away earlier this week, and YouTube launched Campaigns today, a feature that’s being called a “digital thermometer” for non-profits. Pricing for the rumored 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display could top $1,700, while the Skifta app for Android has been updated with support for Instagram and Dropbox. Moog unveiled its new LEV-96 “sensoriactuator” today, and we got word that T-Mobile is now requiring users to sign up for at least a 2GB data plan when taking home a new smartphone.

Microsoft unleashed the launch trailer for Halo 4 today, while EA CEO John Riccitiello was seen saying that social gaming isn’t dying. One unlucky Nintendo counterfeiter is likely headed to the slammer, Motorola has delivered a list of phones that won’t be getting an upgrade to Jelly Bean, and Rovio released a new teaser trailer for Angry Birds Star Wars today. Finally tonight, we have a new column from Don Reisinger for you to read through, in which he asks “How many tablets do you really need?” That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, we hope you have an excellent weekend!

David Fincher, the man who gave us the films Fight Club and Se7en, served as producer on this two-minute trailer, while Tim Miller, who’s name is attached to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, directed it. That team-up appears to be a match made in heaven for Microsoft, as Scanned is one hell of launch trailer. Don’t just take our word for it, though – check it out below.

The trailer centers around Master Chief and a brand new enemy who has not only captured the Spartan, but is in the process of scanning his memory in search of the Chief’s weakness when the trailer picks up. Through this thought-scanning process, we get a taste of Master Chief’s backstory, going all the way back to when he was just a boy. Then we get to see his transition from mere man to Spartan super soldier which, needless to say, looks like a pretty painful process.

Halo 4 launches for the Xbox 360 on November 6, and will be the first Halo game made from the ground up by 343 Industries, the studio Microsoft created to continue the Halo franchise after it was Bungie’s for ten years. Plenty of fans are worried that Halo 4 is going to disappoint, while others are optimistic that 343 will be able to make a Halo title that’s worthy of standing among the other games in the franchise. We’ll find out if Halo 4 sinks or swims soon enough!

Of course, pirated versions of Halo 4 will only work on modded Xbox 360s, and why anyone would take their modded console onto Xbox Live is entirely beyond us. Some particularly dumb 360 owners are doing just that, though, as evidenced by the email MCV posted. The email is from the Live Enforcement Team, and lets the user know that they’ve violated the Xbox Live Code of Conduct. The punishment? Permaban, baby.

Though the email states that users won’t be able to log into Xbox Live during their suspension (which is never-ending in this case), it’s a little unclear at the moment if Microsoft is banning consoles or just gamertags – two very different things. If Microsoft is banning consoles, that means the console will never be able to access Xbox Live again, effectively bricking it as far as multiplayer and Xbox Live Arcade are concerned. If Microsoft is only banning gamertags, then the infringing gamer could just create a new tag and go online with that, which is a far less severe punishment.

In any case, you’re in for some headaches if you’re caught playing Halo 4 ahead of release while your 360 is connected to Live. Microsoft has launched an investigation to find out who leaked Halo 4 ahead of release, but in the meantime, the company is showing us that it has no problem at all with dropping the banhammer left and right. We’re going to go ahead and suggest that you just wait for Halo 4‘s official release on November 6 – yes, its release is still a few weeks off, but we’re thinking that waiting three weeks is much better than having your Xbox Live privileges taken away.

Writing on the Halo Waypoint blog, community manager Jessica Shea says that 343′s goal in creating the achievements for Halo 4 was to “reward milestones and increase replay value while balancing both difficulty and the breadth of game modes.” She also says that a secondary priority was to come up with ridiculous names for the achievements, and as you can see from the list below, the studio appears to have accomplished that. Have a look:

• Dawn – Complete Mission 1 on any difficulty (10 points)
• Requiem – Complete Mission 2 on any difficulty (10 points)
• Forerunner – Complete Mission 3 on any difficulty (10 points)
• Infinity – Complete Mission 4 on any difficulty (10 points)
• Reclaimer – Complete Mission 5 on any difficulty (10 points)
• Shutdown – Complete Mission 6 on any difficulty (10 points)
• Composer – Complete Mission 7 on any difficulty (10 points)
• Midnight – Complete Mission 8 on any difficulty (10 points)
• Wake up John – Complete the Campaign on Normal or harder (20 points)
• I Need a Hero – Complete the Campaign on Heroic or harder (40 points)
• The Legend of 117 – Complete the Campaign on Legendary difficulty (70 points)
• Lone Wolf Legend – Complete the Campaign solo on Legendary difficulty (90 points)
• Skullduggery – Complete any Campaign mission with 3 or more Skulls on Heroic or harder (15 points)
• Bropocalypse – Complete any Campaign mission co-operatively on Heroic or harder (10 points)
• Bromageddon – Complete the Campaign co-operatively on Heroic or harder (40 points)
• Contact the Domain – Find a Terminal in the Campaign (10 points)
• Terminus – Find all of the Terminals in the Campaign (50 points)
• Digging up the Past – In Mission 1, find and access Chief’s record (20 points)
• Midnight Launch – In Mission 2, get significant air in the Warthog at midnight (20 points)
• This is my Rifle, this is my Gun – In Mission 3, carry a UNSC weapon all the way through on Heroic or harder (20 points)
• Bros to the Close – Make it through Mission 4 without one preventable Marine death on Heroic or harder (20 points)
• Mortardom – In Mission 5, hijack a Wraith and use it to kill at least four enemy Wraiths on Heroic or harder (20 points)
• Explore the Floor – In Mission 6, trick or force a Hunter to fall to his demise (20 points)
• Give Him the Stick – In Mission 7 in solo Campaign, take out both Hunters using only the Sticky Detonator (20 points)
• Chief, Smash! – In Mission 8, kill 3 Crawlers in one hit with the Gravity Hammer (20 points)
• Not Some Recruit Anymore – Rank up your Spartan-IV to SR-5 (15 points)
• Movin’ on Up – Rank up your Spartan-IV to SR-20 (30 points)
• I <3 Red vs Blue – Win 5 War Games matchmaking matches (10 points)
• The Dongblainer – Win 20 War Games matchmaking matches (30 points)
• Operation Completion – Complete a Spartan Ops Mission on any difficulty (15 points)
• A Legendary Episode – Complete all chapters in Spartan Ops Episode 1 on Legendary difficulty (40 points)
• Dedicated to Crimson – Complete all chapters in the first 5 episodes of Spartan Ops on any difficulty (80 points)
• Crimson Alone – Complete a Spartan Ops chapter solo on Legendary (20 points)
• Roses vs Violets – Find one of the RvB Easter Eggs in Spartan Ops (20 points)
• Rescue Ranger – Save at least one Marine in Chapter 3 of Episode 2 of Spartan Ops on Heroic or harder (20 points)
• Knight in White Assassination – Assassinate a Knight in any Spartan Ops mission (20 points)
• What Power Outage? – Complete Chapter 4, Episode 5 of Spartan Ops without losing a generator on Heroic or harder (20 points)
• No Easy Way Out – In Ch 1, Ep 5 of Spartan Ops survive all enemy waves during the defense on Normal or harder (20 points)
• The Challenged – Complete a Challenge (10 points)
• The Challenger – Complete 25 Challenges (20 points)
• Armorer – Change your Spartan's armor in the Spartan Armor card (5 points)
• Badge – Change your Emblem in the Spartan ID card (5 points)
• PWND – Change your Service Tag in the Spartan ID card (5 points)
• What a Poser! – Change your Spartan's pose in the Spartan ID card (5 points)
• The Cartographer – Create and save a Custom Map in Forge (5 points)
• Game Changer – Create and save a Custom Game type in War Games (5 points)
• Snapshot! – Save a Screenshot from the Theater (5 points)
• The Director – Save a Film Clip from the Theater (5 points)
• Sharing is Caring – Upload a File to your File Share (5 points)

So there you have it folks, 49 achievements in all. There seems to be a healthy balance of single player and multiplayer achievements, but obviously you’ll need to play both modes (and play around in Forge and the Theater a little bit) if you want to snag all of them. Some of them sound quite simple to get, while in true Halo fashion, others will be ridiculously hard. Halo 4 launches on November 6 for Xbox 360. Are you ready?

The two-and-a-half minute video showcases just how much work has gone into creating Halo 4, from recording the soundtrack to filming the motion capture for the in-game models. There’s footage of programmers and designers doing what they do best, and we’re even treated to a glimpse at how the team records the sound of weapon fire. All of this is set to a rousing score that’s sure to give any longtime Halo fan chills.

The video posted below offers an all-too-rare look at what happens behind the scenes. Of course, we gamers only ever get a look at the finished product, but it’s clear from the video that a lot of blood, sweat, and maybe even a few tears have gone into the production of Halo 4. Don’t just take our word for it though – have a look for yourself:

343 Industries has a lot to prove with Halo 4. The franchise was Bungie’s for 10 exciting (and in some ways historic) years before the reins were handed off to the folks at 343. There are plenty of Halo fans excited to see what 343 Industries can do with Halo 4, but there are plenty more who are worried that it’s only downhill from here. It’s certainly way too early to call it, but at the very least, Prelude proves that 343 Industries is committed to doing the best they can with Halo 4. Enjoy it, and be sure to check our story timeline below for more information on Microsoft‘s next major release.

As stated above, there are 8 different specializations in all: Wetwork, Pioneer, Engineer, Tracker, Rogue, Stalker, Pathfinder and Operator. Only two of these specializations – Wetwork and Pioneer – will be available at launch, with the others unlocking one by one after the game’s release. If you opt to purchase the Halo 4 Limited Edition, you’ll get all 8 specializations at launch. We have a feeling that will go over really well with the players who were planning on buying the standard edition.

The Wetwork comes with a special Stealth armor mod, which allows him to get up close and perform assassinations, all while remaining unseen. The Pioneer’s Fast Track armor mod, on the other hand, allows him to level up faster than the other classes, so you may want to go for the Pioneer first before choosing any of the other specializations. That choice is important too, as players will be locked into the specialization they pick until they reach level 10 with it. Once that happens, players will be free to choose a different specialization to use.

This new specialization aspect sounds like a good way of giving the Halo 4 multiplayer experience a little more longevity, but will players go for it? 343 Industries is making a lot of changes to the tried-and-true Halo multiplayer formula, and it sounds like it risks becoming too similar to other multiplayer modes floating around there. Is 343 heading in the wrong direction with Halo 4‘s multiplayer? The answer to that question will have to wait until November 6.

[via Halo Waypoint]

A decent amount of the weapons featured in this trailer return from previous games, including the Assault Rifle, the fan-favorite Magnum handgun, the Battle Rifle, the DMR (yes, Halo 4 features both the Battle Rifle and the DMR), the Shotgun, the Rocket Launcher, the Spartan Laser, and of course, the Sniper Rifle. For the most part, these guns seem largely unchanged from the last time we saw them, which longtime fans should appreciate.

In addition to the returning weapons, we also get a look at three brand new weapons: the Saw, the Railgun, and the Sticky Detonator. The Saw is a light machine gun capable of holding 72 rounds at a time and firing ridiculously fast. The Railgun, on the other hand, is a weapon you’ll want to take your time with, as it charges up before unleashing a powerful explosive round. Finally, the Sticky Detonator is a gun that fires a sticky grenade at your opponent and allows you to detonate it whenever you like. Expect to have a lot of fun with that one.

All of these weapons have been detailed in depth over on the Halo Waypoint blog. Halo 4 is scheduled to launch for Xbox 360 on November 6, and even though some fans are hesitant to trust 343 Industries with the franchise now that Bungie has moved on, Halo 4 looks like it’ll be a blast to play. Stay tuned, because we’ll definitely be seeing more Halo 4 media as we inch closer to its release date.

So, here’s everything you’ll be getting in this Halo 4 limited edition Xbox 360 bundle: one 320GB console, two wireless controllers, a wired headset, a copy of Halo 4, and a set of download codes for Halo 4-themed avatar items and in-game DLC. The console and controllers come decked out in Halo 4 artwork and blue LEDs to match the overall color scheme of the set, so if you want an Xbox 360 that stands out from the sea of other consoles out there, this is probably the bundle for you.

Admission to this show is not cheap, however, with Microsoft giving this bundle a price point of $399.99. If you like the look but don’t like dropping $400 all in one go, you might want to consider picking up a standalone Halo 4 wireless controller, which are being released on October 21 and will only set you back $59.99. As you can see in the image above (and the gallery below), the design of the standalone controller differs quite a bit from that of the controller included in the bundle, but Microsoft says that both will feature blue LEDs surrounding the guide button. The bundle itself releases the same day that Halo 4 hits shelves – November 6 – and is available for pre-order right now, so get to saving!

[via Joystiq]

However, the one thing the company is missing right now is a deep first-party game lineup. 343 Industries will undoubtedly help with the Halo 4 launch, and every now and then, something good comes out of Microsoft Game Studios, but I think it’s about time the software giant acquires a major publisher.

Of course, acquiring a major publisher won’t be cheap. Microsoft will need to once again dig down into its massive cash coffers and dole out billions just to get its hands on a major company. But in so doing, it can go a long way in finally establishing itself as a credible threat in software.

Don’t think that doesn’t matter. Part of Nintendo’s success, even during its current downturn, is due to its ability to deliver compelling first-party games. Although the third-party lineup hasn’t always been up to par on Nintendo’s consoles, franchises like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda have kept it propped up.

Microsoft right now really doesn’t have that. As noted, it has Halo, but it needs more. And acquiring all or at least part of a major game publisher could help it become more like Nintendo in all of the right ways.

Luckily for Microsoft, it might have an opening. According to a recent Bloomberg report, Vivendi is considering dumping its equity stake in Activision for $8.1 billion. What’s more, the company has reportedly already talked to Microsoft about it.

Whether Microsoft should take the deal is decidedly up for debate. But it underscores a broader point: there is a market out there for major companies, like Microsoft, to invest heavily in gaming and get some real value for its cash outlay.

Of course, Microsoft has been spending a serious amount of cash as of late. The company acquired Skype for $8.5 billion and offered up $1.2 billion for Yammer. Add that to the cash it’s spending on patents, and Microsoft appears to be willing and ready to write checks.

Unfortunately, the company really hasn’t done enough in the gaming space. It’s about time for the software giant to find a suitable target and start spending some money.

The issue is, which company should Microsoft consider acquiring? It’s not as easy as one might think. Electronic Arts is probably off the table and Activision Blizzard can’t be bought outright. Ubisoft might be a suitable choice, but who knows if it’s willing to be let go. Perhaps Take-Two Interactive, which would come in more cheaply, could be a fine option.

Exactly which major publisher Microsoft should acquire is up to the software company. But it’s time for Microsoft to make a choice.

The point of the series is to lead-up to the launch of Halo 4 on November 6. The series will cover the beginning of the human and Covenant war leading up to the events that take place in the Halo 4 video game. The game is set against a backdrop of the United Nations Space Command military Academy with a group of cadets training to be Spartans.

The series will offer insights into the story of Halo 4 and the Halo Infinity Multiple player experience according to Microsoft. Live series has some big names behind it is being directed by Stuart Hendler written by Todd and Aaron Helbing. A special extended 90-minute version of the live-action digital series will be offered in the Halo 4 Limited Edition game bundle.

Microsoft president for interactive entertainment Don Mattrick, who has become the company’s poster child at its annual E3 press conference, made the announcement at the recent GamesBeat 2012 conference. He did not go into detail on exactly how it will work – if there will be a different version of Halo 4 for Surface or if the game was built specifically with Surface in mind.

Of course, the “second screen” strategy is a big part of Microsoft’s strategy moving forward, so perhaps Surface will act as an augmented experience of the core Xbox 360 game. If this is the case, it would be unclear whether or not such an experience would be possible with other tablet devices or if it is designed exclusively with Surface in mind. Stay tuned for details.

[via VentureBeat]

You’ll be interested to know that the box floating around your Piccsy screen is not a gigantic USB stick, it’s a Ouya Android device, made to be a game streaming box for just $99 on kickstarter – see it soon! Watch out for the framers out there looking to make Android look bad with Malware Botnet like you’ve never seen before.

You will also be having a fabulous time working with the Quad GeForce GTX 690 server – a blast of power from all sides! Microsoft has confirmed that there will be no Windows Home Server for the Windows 8 generation.

Samsung is doing quite a bit better this past quarter than HTC has done.

NASA is showing off some brand new images of Mars. The folks at Blue have released a brand new Tiki USB mic that’s out at Best Buy today – and be sure to check out their new setup at the big box stores that are left as well! Nokia has released their until-now-secretive Batman: Dark Knight Rises 3D Gotham map. And of course, don’t forget the Amazon Kindle Phone – also very possibly coming soon, too.

BONUS: keep up to date on the newest blockbuster action, adventure, super-hero film on the block: The Amazing Spider-Man with our interviews and features galore – check em all in the timeline below and stay tuned for more this and next week!

In Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, Master Chief will work with a cadet who is ends up becoming a leader on a UNSC spaceship. Each episode will be 15 minutes and new episodes will be added on a weekly basis. The Halo franchise is one of Microsoft’s biggest cash cows. Since its initial launch in 2001, more than 40 million Halo games have been sold.

In terms of dollar values, the Halo series has been responsible for generating more than $2 billion in sales. There was a failed attempt at a big screen adaptation which was reported to hit theaters at its apex in 2005, but it has bounced back from that struggle and become a truly tried and tested blockbuster. The Halo 4 console will no doubt move millions of new hardware units.

[via Business2Community]

Featured: So let’s take a look at our featured stories of the day. Here’s the kind of featured article that could light up any pre-holiday roster – Dead Trigger THD zombie-killing FPS hands-on. And if that isn’t crazy enough for you, we ask the mind-boggling question of why Apple is allowed to charge so much stuff for its products. Is the Retina Display worth paying more for Apple products?

Apple, iCade, & Robot Viagra: Before you head off to the fireworks and parties, let’s just take a quick look at the other newsmakers from today. Here’s something that’s pretty interesting – Apple Surface a possibility says Bill Gates. And for a lighter story on this July 3, check this out – iCade mobile gaming system for iPhone now available. And finally – Darpa kickstarts research into Robot Viagra.

This next-generation blockbuster game will be popping up on the 6th of November this year and will be the first person shooter to beat for the holiday season. The folks at the Xbox.com blog have suggested that you pick up an official Xbox 360 USB Flash Drive by SanDisk, but remind you that you’re also perfectly welcome to format one of your own USB flash drives for use with your Xbox 360 instead.

The folks responsible for this update have also shown off the Xbox 360 320GB Media Hard Drive, this also ready to rock for Halo 4. The hard drive spoken of also comes with LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (as a downloadable game from Xbox LIVE) as well – so get to swinging your light sticks!

Check out our Halo 4 timeline below as well for more Halo action all the way until Christmas!

This release will be the kick-off of a brand new trilogy of Halo games, each of them being produced again by 343 Industries. Halo 4 will star Master Chief while he “returns to confront his own destiny and face an ancient evil that threatens the fate of the entire universe” while you blast your way through enemy after enemy. This game will be big, ladies and gentlemen, very big.

Here you’ll find that a Live Action trailer will have you covered for a game that will be decidedly not Live Action in its gameplay, this perhaps leading the audience to believe that cinematics will be seen in such a manner. That said, a tiny bonus trailer can be seen at the end of this one with gameplay action and what appears to be 3D cinematics. Stay tuned as more information on this alien-ridden game busts out later this year.

Halo 4 will be bringing no less than an infusion of the best bits of both multiplayer and single-player into the multiplayer gameplay portion of the whole game environment. What you’ll be working with here is “Infinity Multiplayer”, or at least that’s what its called for now. This new mode of play will have Halo lovers working with cooperative “Spartan Ops” as well as “War Games”, two different ways to play, both of them kill-heavy. Spartan Ops has been tipped to lift a lot from the game Call of Duty’s Spec Ops missions. War Games on the other hand will have Deathmatch and Capture the Flag mode like all good multiplayer shooters should.

The Limited Edition of this game will have the same options for gameplay that the standard edition does, but will be including several more single-player maps for you to interact with. At $99.99 upon its release, we’re certainly hoping it’s more than just maps that we’ll be getting – that and some physical items such as a USNC Briefing Packet, some armor schematics, and a bluetooth of the Infinity. UPDATE: Also included in the Limited Edition pack will be such lovely bits and pieces like armor and weapon skins, Avatar unlockables, and a 90-minute video feature Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. This feature will have you gaining an understanding of the storyline like only a hardcore character would want!

Have a listen in on some Sountrack samples while you wait for the big day!

Stay tuned as we continue to hunt down and deliver all the Halo 4 details you can handle, right up until – and beyond – the big launch!

[via Complex]

But it’s November that has caught my eye the most. Early on that month, Halo 4 will hit store shelves. Only this time, the game won’t come from the fine folks at Bungie Studios that made the Halo name in the first place. This time around, Halo will be coming from 343 Industries, a part of Microsoft.

For fans of the first Halo trilogy, it’s hard not to be suspect of what 343 Industries will unveil. After all, the company is trying to match what Bungie did, and its predecessor was able to build a kind of rapport with the audience that all other developers only wish to have. To say that 343 Industries has some major shoes to fill would probably be an understatement.

But the soap opera surrounding Halo 4 goes beyond a couple of development studios trying to achieve the same level of success. We can’t forget that quite a few people are unhappy with Bungie not controlling the Halo franchise, and even some have decided to boycott the game in protest. Still others who might play the game are going into it with every intention of watching it fail.

I don’t feel so bitter, however. Yes, I do believe that Bungie did a fine job with the franchise, and as much as I would like to see the company still offer up Halo games, I’m not so convinced that 343 Industries won’t be able to do it justice. I think the studio knows all too well that the future of its operation relies solely on its ability to launch high-quality Halo games, and it knows that it’s facing down some real negativity. Victory is an absolute necessity.

For Bungie, there’s also a lot riding on the launch of Halo 4. That company has really been the only developer to deliver a top-notch Halo experience so far. It’s especially the only company to have delivered a continuous storyline that gamers could actually get behind.

We also can’t forget that Bungie’s break from Microsoft wasn’t necessarily the nicest, and the company was forced to give up its chief franchise for the right to go elsewhere. There has to be an element there for Bungie to want to be looked at as the only Halo developer to ever truly get it right.

So, as we inch closer to the launch of Halo 4, it’s hard not to get caught up in the drama surrounding it. If it’s successful, Microsoft and 343 Industries will be vindicated. If the game falls short, Bungie will be held in even higher regard than it is right now.

Look for some fireworks when Halo 4 launches later this year.