After seeing the image of that *alleged* special edition Halo: Reach controller on the internet earlier this week, it should come as no surprise that Microsoft announced a whole Reach console bundle yesterday.  The limited edition Xbox 360 bundle will include all the goodies that the newly released slimline version has (Kinect ready, WiFi, 250GB HDD, etc.) but all in a silvery UNSC paint scheme.  It also comes loaded with sounds from the Halo universe (like a charging energy shield when you open the disk tray!).  The bundle comes with two of those silver controllers, a special edition Reach headset, limited edition Elite armor, some other media and a copy of Halo: Reach.

The Reach bundle will be available September 14^th for $399.  The limited edition controller and headset will be available separately in late August for $59.99 and $49.99 respectively.

Last night was a long one.  With energy drinks and the Halo: Reach Beta fueling my frenzy, I went long in to the night and awoke this morning to swollen eyes and a strong urge to remove them from my face.  But, having the opportunity to play in the biggest public beta ever is totally worth the pain, right?  I mean, this is something we’ll probably tell our grandchildren about (immediately before they laugh at us for the primitive games we used to play).  Ah, kids… I really don’t care for them.

My early impressions of the beta are pretty good.  That old, familiar gameplay is back and probably tighter than ever.  The new weapons seem fairly balanced and are mostly fun to use.  And playing with the new Armor Abilities has proven entertaining, too; although it’s pretty annoying when the guy you were about to kill drops to his knees and encases himself in glow-y-ness.  It just seems a bit cheap to me.  But I’ll still use it from time-to-time—especially when I see someone else do it—so that we can both be crouched there glowing and not shooting at each other.

My only major complaint during my marathon Reach session was the lack of gametypes and maps.  I seemed to always be doing the same thing over-and-over again.  So I did some research for about 10-seconds and found a statement from Bungie over at the official Halo: Reach Beta site that I will now share with you:

“… [We] will be releasing the maps and gametypes on different dates throughout the duration of the beta test, with only a subset of them being available immediately on May 3rd.

The good news is that once a map or gametype is released, it will remain available through the end of the beta even as other gametypes become available. Below is the schedule of release:

• Grab Bag – May 3
• FFA – May 3
• Arena – May 3
• Invasion – May 7
• Network Test 1/Generator Defense – May 14”

Yay!  So, be patient and enjoy the short time that you and the Reach Beta have together.  See you all later tonight—I’ll be the one stabbing you in the back.

I had big plans for today.  I was going to create a really great post about the top-ten games to play while celebrating 4/20.  It was going to be epic!  I had big plans for today—and had every intention of doing this—but then I got… well, you know.

Anyway, as to not leave you totally disappointed, I thought I would at-least share with you my top- FIVE games to be enjoyed on this joyous day.  So, sit back. Relax.  And enjoy 420.

 5.  Brutal Legend – I’m pretty certain that the man behind the game, Tim Schafer, assumes that you're high.  You’d have to be to buy it—because it pretty much sucks otherwise. But, Jack Black is funny and the semi-open world style suits stoners just fine.  And although the visuals feel dated, the rock ‘n’ roll art style and music will keep you playing.

 4.  Halo – It doesn’t really matter which one, it only matters that it’s Halo.  The easy to pick-up-and-play shooter fares well for kiddies puffing the magic dragon after school and the millions of “big kids” who still live in their parents’ “finished” garage that puff all day.  I mean, how many of you don’t have some form of “420” in your Gamertag?

 3. Burnout – ‘Nuf said.

  2.  Guitar Hero – Whichever of the half-dozen iterations you choose is up to you, the idea is the same.  Jam to your favorite songs.  Hold fake, plastic instrument.  Follow along while colors flow down the screen—you can almost taste them!  It’s like Blink 182 without the “blink” (whatever that means).

 1.  Grand Theft Auto – The obvious and quintessential time-waster.  It doesn’t get any better.  What time is it, you say?  You mean I’ve been killing pedestrians and driving around aimlessly for 22-hours?  GTA’s open world and great radio stations act as digital Yoo-Hoo for your parched mouth.  Just remember, after you “use” a hooker, kill her and take your money back.  It’s just poor business otherwise.

 Stoner-able Mention: Saints Row – It’s like Volition really knows you.  You see, Saints Row is a lot like GTA but you can actually smoke marijuana in the game, which creates a strange, stoner paradox (just who’s controlling who?)*.

*Smoking Marijuana is illegal and you should never smoke it… near a cop.

It wasn’t too long ago that online shooters offered up far less intimidating experiences for first-timers.  There was little to no customization as far as what you could bring in to battle with you.  You just chose a basic loadout and shot at other people who were using the same basic loadout.  It was simple.  It worked well.  Everyone had a fighting chance—even the noobs.  The only real advantage veteran players had over beginners was more practice.  They knew the maps well.  They knew all the good spots and maybe a few glitches—but that was all.  They didn’t have increased health and armor, airstrikes or choppers, martyrdom or any other seemingly magical abilities.  Just guns and nades—it was the good ‘ol days.

But Call of Duty changed all that.  In 2007 Modern Warfare exploded on to the scene, bringing with it a leveling system ripe with Perks and rewards that would become the standard for online FPS’s.

Because of Modern Warfare’s popularity, more and more games are following its formula for character leveling.  In this new generation of online shooters, players are rewarded with better equipment as their skills improve.  This deadly mix of more practice and better equipment further increases the gap between ‘leveled’ players and players just starting out.  The result is an environment where natural ability can only get you so far.  What was once a pick up and play experience for casual gamers has become a case of the haves and the have-nots.

Now, this system is a great idea from the standpoint of developers who want you to play their game for countless hours.  It gives the player a reason to keep playing; and it gives you a sense of progression that some earlier games have always been missing.  It’s also a great system for competitive gamers who join clans and love playing against other clans with similar skills.  The problem is that it’s unfair punishment for the players who aren’t playing every night.  It locks out casual gamers who don’t necessarily want to put in the time and rank up enough to become competitive.  Frankly, the noobs are suffering.  Frustrated and mal-equipped, casual gamers are likely to crawl back to single-player and non-competitive game modes and leave the competitive modes for the rest of us.

So, what do you guys think?  What can the developers do to level the playing field?  MW2 addressed the problem a little bit with “Death Streaks” and Halo keeps it even by only letting you customize your armor’s appearance.  What’s the answer?  How can the developers give hardcore gamers and casual gamers an equally fun experience?  Is it even possible?

Let your noob-flag fly!  Join the discussion in our Modern Warfare 2 forums.  We want to hear from both sides.

Halo: Reach is going to be 2010's biggest Xbox 360 game.  If you don't believe me, just take a look at the newest gameplay footage in this minute-long video.  Besides all the sweet, Halo-y action that we know and love, it looks like the graphical upgrade is coming along quite nicely.

What do you guys think?  Is Halo: Reach going to live up to your huge expectations?  Does Halo even need Mr. Chief?   Are you more excited about the new campaign or the online multiplayer?  What is the square root of 2,406,372?

Check out the video!  Then head on over to the KontrolFreek Forums and join the discussion about Halo: Reach.

By this time, most of you serious Halo fans have probably read the new issue of Game Informer with its 10-page Halo: Reach story.  Hell, some of you have probably even memorized it, framed it or had it transferred to your arm in tattoo form.  So, if you’re wearing Master Chief Underwear right now, you may want to move along, as there is nothing new here that I can tell you.  For the rest of you, I have written this summary of the Game Informer article to introduce you to some of the cool new things coming when Halo: Reach launches later this year.

Reach will have you starring as Noble 6, the newest member of Noble Team.  You are a Spartan III, a cheaper and more expendable member of the Spartan family.  You’re not quite the badass Mr. Chief is but you’ve got some friends to help you on your way.  Noble Team consists of 4 more Spartan III’s and one old Spartan II who acts as your heavy weapons specialist.

The Covenant you know-and-love-to-kill return but will reportedly be a bit more menacing this time around.  That means the signature cutesy remarks from the Grunts will probably be absent in favor of a more serious, darker tone.  Covenant Elites finally make their return as the alpha-dogs of the Covy forces; and early screens have them walking more upright than you’ve seen them previously.  A new species of Covenant has also been announced.  Cousins of the Jackal, Skirmishers, hunt in packs and flank your squad with tactical prowess.

Bungie has told G.I. that many of your favorite weapons will return but have been “re-imagined” to be more realistic in their look and sound.  You will also get to wield some new firepower like the DMR (Designated Marksman Rifle) and the Needler Rifle, with the former being somewhat of a cross between a Battle Rifle and a Sniper Rifle.  Gone will be the Flame and Spike grenades, leaving you with only the original duo of Plasma and standard UNSC Frag.

Reach’s health system will be similar to that of Combat Evolved, where Health Packs are needed to restore your health.  There will too be some armor abilities that you can pick up and activate.  There is a Sprint Ability that lets you run at high speeds for short intervals, and Master Chiefs’ favorite, Active Camouflage, makes a comeback.  Speaking of Active Camouflage, context sensitive melee kills using a Combat Knife can occur if you’re sneaky enough and hold the melee button behind your foe.

Maybe the most exciting details revealed by G.I. are the ones about the new tech upgrade promised by Bungie.  In Reach there will be far more detail all across the board—guns, characters, water, rocks, vehicles, lighting,  effects and textures have all been given a new layer of polish that the Halo series has been needing for a while.  The new tech also allows for larger spaces for exploration and twice the number of enemy AI that can be on screen at once—allowing Bungie to increase the scope and size of the battles you’ll be fighting in.  Player and character animation is set to be much better this time, too.  Motion capture is being implemented by Bungie for the first time in franchise history and some animation duties are even being handled out-of-house for Reach.  Employing Image Metrics to handle some of the facial animation duties should ensure the days of fugly-faced NPC’s in the Halo games are finally gone.

Well, there you have it.  Everything known so far about Halo: Reach in summary.  Now you don’t need to spend money on this month’s issue of Game Informer.  You can now donate that money to Haiti or get a hooker or something...

Anyway, Reach should definitely be 2010’s biggest exclusive Xbox 360 game.  Bungie seems hell-bent on proving that they can continue to make great games even in the AC (After Chief) era.

I can’t wait for Reach’s beta to start (hopefully really soon) and the full release later this year.

In anticipation of Spike’s big Video Game Awards show on 12/12, Bungie has launched its official Halo: Reach website.  There’s not much on the site at this point other than the E3 ’09 trailer that we’ve all seen before, some wallpapers and some “Intel” items that give you a little (very little) information about planet Reach. 

Most of the links on the page are locked right now, but check back after tomorrow’s big awards show—where Bungie is set to premier the Halo: Reach trailer—for possibly more content*.

As for me, well, I just can’t wait for that Beta I purchased with my copy of ODST to start.  Hurry up 2010!

*Checking back right after tomorrow’s show may lead to disappointment, frustration, suicidal thoughts, cats meowing, and non-lubricated robot dances.  But seriously, Bungie definitely promises more content coming in 2010.