Microsoft Announces Halo: The Master Chief Collection Xbox One Bundle

We're surprised it's taken this long. Finally, Microsoft has announced the Halo: The Master Chief Collection Xbox One Bundle.

Halo Fan Spent 3.5 Years And $7,000 On Lego Ship

Halo's Pillar of Autumn, a massive UNSC spaceship, has been recreated in Lego form. Fan Lee Jones writes on this Lego fan creation community site that he spent 3.5 years and $7,000 to build the impressive brick ship.

The ship is over six feet long and weighs more than 200 pounds. It's quite an impressive feat overall, though the most impressive part is probably the epic-looking engines, which you can see in the image at left.

More images of Jones' Lego Halo ship are available at the Lego fansite.


Lego does not make official Halo toy sets, though competitor Mega Bloks offers a range of similar toys for children based on the series.


The next core Halo game is 2015's Halo 5: Guardians, which launches next fall on Xbox One. Everyone who bought Halo: The Master Chief Collection can play the game's beta beginning next week or today if you're an Xbox One Preview member

Halo 5 Multiplayer Beta Menu Revealed

Over the weekend, a Reddit user by the name of "TheLittleMoa" uploaded an image of what was claimed to be the menu screen for the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta. This image is indeed genuine, a Microsoft representative confirmed with GameSpot on Monday.

Halo: Spartan Assault Is Coming To Steam

The top-down shooter that started on the moribund Windows phone platform and Windows 8 in July, went to both Xbox platforms around the holidays, and is finally coming to Valve's digital distribution platform.

Xbox E3 presentation this year won't feature many execs

Microsoft's E3 presentation this summer should be primarily focused on games, with "very few" Xbox executives taking the stage to talk, studio boss Phil Spencer said on Twitter.

Halo 4 live-action Web series due this fall

Gamers eager for Halo 4, the first new non-Bungie Halo title, won't have to wait until the game's November 6 release date to see the return of Master Chief. Hollywood news site Variety reports today that live-action web series Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn will premiere exclusively on Machinima and Halo Waypoint in the weeks leading up to Halo 4's debut this fall.

The new video series represents the "largest investment" Microsoft has ever committed itself to in the live-action space, according to the report. Forward Unto Dawn will release over five weekly installments, with each episode lasting about 15 minutes.

Episodes will focus on an original story concerning the series' iconic hero Master Chief, and how he helped inspire a fledgling UNSC soldier to work his way through the program, and eventually command the UNSC Infinity spacecraft.

No director or actors have been named for Forward Unto Dawn, but more information is being readied for San Diego Comic-Con 2012 this July.

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn is not Microsoft's first dabble in live-action content surrounding the Halo brand. Previously, the firm commissioned Neil Blomkamp (District 9) and Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) to create several live-action shorts and commercials for Halo properties.
Though Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn specifics are not yet being discussed, new Halo developer 343 Industries' director of franchise business management Matt McCloskey said the Halo 4 series is being aimed "to make Halo accessible for people who haven't played the games."

Forward Unto Dawn represents the "next step" for Microsoft and the Halo franchise, which could eventually bring Master Chief to the big screen, according to the report. A Halo film was originally planned, with Blomkamp attached to direct and Lord of the Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson set to produce. This project was later cancelled, with Blomkamp and Jackson creating District 9 instead.

[gamespot.com]

Microsoft Aims for Quality Over Quantity

Microsoft has yet to reveal their full 2012 lineup of original games for Xbox 360. While Halo 4 is scheduled to arrive sometime this year, as is Fable: The Journey, we still don't have a solid map of where the system will head in the coming months outside of a handful of downloadable release dates.

"Chief, we can't talk about new IPs yet."

                  
In a new interview with Game Informer, Microsoft Studios Corporate Vice President Phil Spencer stated that the important aspect of the Xbox 360's future is "quality and impact, not number of releases in a year."

"Creating core IP, as many first-and third-parties have seen over the years, isn't an easy thing," stated Spencer. And it's the "equal amount of sweat equity and heart" that he feels will drive the company's games into the future. He added, "it will continue to be something that we focus on with new partners like Crytek and new people that aren't announced yet. We do think that it's fundamental that core gamers look at 360 as the place they want to play games."

Crytek is currently working on the Kinect-powered fighter Ryse, and we hope to learn more about Microsoft's unannounced partners soon. Additionally, Microsoft purchased Twisted Pixel last year, developer of The The Maw, Splosion Man, and Comic Jumper. The Gunstringer was their first retail release for Xbox 360.

Thanks to GameZone for the report. What do you want to see out of original IPs on the Xbox 360?