Halo 5 NEWS!!! Officially called Halo 5 Guardians!

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From MicroSoft/XBOX:

Any time you transition to a new platform, there is the opportunity to look at things with a new perspective. For us at 343 Industries, the launch of the Xbox One was an opportunity to think about what stories we wanted to tell, how to tell them, and how best to push the “Halo” franchise to showcase the platform. And, most importantly, combining our passion for “Halo” with the vocal and informative input from our fans.

“Halo” isn’t simply a perennial game franchise, it’s a part of the Xbox platform itself. In terms of innovation and ideation, it’s sometimes important to people who might not even play “Halo.” And of course it’s a passion and an essential experience for two generations of gamers.  So we asked ourselves, how do we begin and where do we go with “Halo” on Xbox One?

In the past, “Halo” games have pushed the Xbox forward, showcasing the console and its ecosystem in entertaining and innovative ways. Making a “Halo” game that runs at 60 frames per second, on dedicated servers, with the scope, features and scale we’ve been dreaming of for more than a decade, is non-trivial.  It’s a task that we, at 343 Industries, are taking very seriously to ensure we deliver the “Halo” game that fans deserve, and a game that is built from the ground up for Xbox One.

I’m happy to reveal that “Halo 5: Guardians,” the next installment in the legendary saga of the Master Chief, will launch on Xbox One in fall of 2015.  In the tradition of every “Halo” game since its debut in 2001, it is a massive and exciting project.

“Halo 5: Guardians” is a bigger effort than “Halo 4.”  That applies to the content and scope of the game, as well as the technology in what’s now a brand new and more powerful engine.  Certainly there are some core elements carried over from prior games, but we’ve invested a huge effort in retooling our tech to take full advantage of the Xbox One’s hardware and ecosystem to create worlds and experiences worthy of next-gen.

It’s a game that will hopefully demonstrate the talent, learnings and abilities of the 343 Industries team. A game that will incorporate the things we learned from “Halo 4” about technology, aesthetics, performance and scale – and perhaps more importantly, understanding and embracing a community of gamers who love what lies at the heart of this game, and the limitless potential of the “Halo” universe.

HFFL: This is great news so far!

And 2015 won’t simply be the year of “Halo 5: Guardians,” it will also be a year that offers us a unique opportunity. The opportunity to invite old friends and new audiences into that universe through the “Halo” television series, launched as a unique collaboration with Steven Spielberg and some of the finest creative minds in the business.  A series that will stand alone, as well as complement and enrich the game experience.  We’ll have more to share on the “Halo” television series as we near its projected fall 2015 release.

YES!!! Finally some news!!!

SOURCE LINK

Halo 5 news coming 5-16-14?

If you’re prone to believing in rumors, rumor has it that at 6am this morning, info on Halo 5 will be released. What that info is, is not yet know.

Given that I’m a night owl and will be up at that time, you can bet I’ll be scouring the web for the news. I’ll bring it to you as soon as possible.

You can read this article about the rumor: Halo 5 rumor

-Sal

Halo Concept Art: Reach Equipment and Characters

Today we take a peek at some equipment and spartan armor of Halo Reach.

haloreach_equipment_civilian_milling_machines_by_ryan_demitaAbove we see some machinery. You can find the mechanical arm at the bottom, on the last level of the campaign. It’s within the final room just before you climb the ladder to use the MAC canon.

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I can really appreciate this piece. The shading is superb and the metallic sheen is near perfect for a piece of concept art.

haloreach_equipment_unsc_armor_mjolnir_parts_powerup_mountVarious equipment packs. If I recall, the one near top right is the M-spec reentry pack.

haloreach_equipment_unsc_armor_mjolnir_full_customization_concepts_by_isaac_hannafordVarious armor sets. The red color of the armor shows some of the differentiation and multiple configurations the Spartan IIIs can have.

haloreach_equipment_unsc_armor_mjolnir_full_markiv_by_isaac_hannaford

A concept showing both the male and female default armor of Noble 6.

haloreach_equipment_unsc_armor_mjolnir_full_spartan_portrait_01_by_isaac_hannafordAnother armor concept. This one makes me think ODST meets Spartan.

haloreach_equipment_unsc_armor_mjolnir_full_spartan_portrait_02_by_isaac_hannafordDefault Noble 6? Some additions.

Often as is shown by the red armor pic and the one immediately above, base models are used which then have layers added to them to create a different effect.

The following are 9 graphics of Spartan helmet concepts.

haloreach_equipment_unsc_armor_mjolnir_helmet_cqb_helmet_by_isaac_hannafordThe CQB helmet of Reach. While this color version didn’t make it in the game, I’m very happy that the helmet itself did.

haloreach_equipment_unsc_armor_mjolnir_helmet_eod_helmet_01_by_isaac_hannafordhaloreach_equipment_unsc_armor_mjolnir_helmet_eod_helmet_02_by_isaac_hannaford.jpghaloreach_equipment_unsc_armor_mjolnir_helmet_eod_helmet_03_by_isaac_hannaford.jpgThe above three show subtle differences in the EOD helmet, most notably the visor.

Any one of those would have been great for the design in-game.

haloreach_equipment_unsc_armor_mjolnir_helmet_gungir_helmet_by_isaac_hannafordHere we have the Gungnir helmet. This is the first Spartan Helmet to feature a near visor-less visage. But for the small eyehole, there is no apparent way by which the Spartan can see out. It’s presumed the helmet has a view screen within that shows the Spartan their surroundings. The design is very cool. Something even more advanced than what we’re used to for Spartans. I am glad however the Bungie stopped at this one and didn’t create anymore without visors. 

haloreach_equipment_unsc_armor_mjolnir_helmet_helmet_by_isaac_hannafordThis looks to be the final concept of the Mark V [b] helmet. here in green, ultimately as we know the default became steel in color. I love the clean lines of this design. It looks completely plausible as a helmet, even in rendered form.

haloreach_equipment_unsc_armor_mjolnir_helmet_helmets_by_isaac_hannafordYou may have likely seen this image before. While some of these designs, didn’t make it into the game, it appears 343 borrowed a couple for Halo 4. The bottom left and bottom right looks similar in concept to the Orbital and Venator helmets, respectively.

haloreach_equipment_unsc_armor_mjolnir_helmet_recon_helmet_by_isaac_hannafordHere the Recon helmet has had a slight redesign from previous game. I like this version a lot. For some reason, that bottom one reminds me of a snake. I can’t quite put my finger on why though.

haloreach_equipment_unsc_armor_mjolnir_helmet_skull_helmet_by_isaac_hannafordAnd finally for this article, we have the HAZOP helmet. HAZOP meaning, hazardous operations. Most people refer to it as the skull helmet though. This was one of my favorite helmet designs of Reach. Now if this had also been combined with the actual skull helmet, it would have been beyond cool.

Once again, this is a little late. Heh, I have to blame my wife on this one…She started playing the Avengers movie right next to me. That made writing this extremely long as I couldn’t help but watch most of the movie as it played. LOL.

Tomorrow we look at some of the Halo 4 counterparts to these concepts.

What was your favorite helmet in Reach and why? Let me know by replying below!

-Sal