On Oct. 3, 2012, the developers behind “Halo 4” made the most exciting announcement yet: “Halo 4” has officially gone gold. What that means is that 343 Industries has finalized their version of the game and have officially shipped it off to manufacturers to be reproduced thousands and thousands of times over to make all the retail versions that people can buy come Nov. 6, 2012. This announcement came just one day after 343 released a new video showcasing a new vehicle and the return of the fan-favorite map, Valhalla. Going gold wasn’t the only news coming out of this week’s Halo Bulletin though, 343 had a few more details on their new game mode, “Flood”.

“Flood” is the spiritual successor to “Zombies”, a custom game type which became so popular during “Halo 2”, it was actually added to matchmaking for future titles. “Flood” follows the exact same premise as “Zombies”, where two players start out as the “infected” and attempt to infect the other eight “humans”; whose sole purpose is to survive as long as possible. In the original game type, zombies were given swords and humans were given a shotgun and magnum.

This is where things start to get a little more interesting. In “Halo 3” and “Halo: Reach”, zombies were just Spartans with green armor. In “Halo 4”, they’re going to have a completely unique character model which is a Spartan that has been infected by the flood. Not only that, but they’ll have a giant flood claw to use as a melee attack. They’ll also have special armor effects, a different view for characters playing as the flood, dynamic music, and a unique assassination animation. There will also be ten medals specific to the flood game type, which will range from surviving the whole time as a human or converting a Spartan to the flood.

Also addressed in the bulletin was the reveal of a map titled “Abandon”, a deserted ONI research base on the alien planet Erebus VII. At one time it was a lively active center for information, but the team of researchers mysteriously vanished and now it lies eerily vacant. The map feels very claustrophobic and frantic, which results mainly in close-quarters battles. There are areas around the outskirts that will allow for mid-range battles, but most of the action will likely take place inside the abandoned buildings.

If you’re looking to get your hands on a free copy of “Halo 4”, be sure to check out their soundtrack remix contest. The grand prize features a Samsung Series 7 Laptop, the Halo 4 Limited Edition 320GB Xbox 360, a Halo 4 Trigger Headset, and a complete collection of the Halo Soundtracks. All you have to do is grab the samples provided from the soundtrack and put your own personal spin on it. For complete details, check out http://halo4remix.com.

Anthony Ortale writes news and reviews on behalf of Examiner.com. He does so much gaming in his spare time, it’s practically a full time job! If you like what you read here, please subscribe to his articles! You can also follow Tony on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook! If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email Tony any time at ortale.anthony@gmail.com, he’d love to hear from you!

Lollipop Chainsaw for the Xbox 360

Rating:

5 Stars

When was the last time you could say a video game actually made you laugh out loud? If you have yet to experienced Suda51’s latest game, you may find yourself searching for a while. However, those who have played “Lollipop Chainsaw” can answer that question with ease. “Lollipop Chainsaw” is an action hack and slash video game similar to “X-men Origins: Wolverine” that’s “bursting with Sex, Blood, and Rock ‘n’ Roll”.

It’s a big day for 18-year-old Juliet Starling. It’s her birthday and her family is about to meet her boyfriend Nick for the first time. Oh yeah, and there’s an impending zombie invasion. After meeting Nick in the park, he’s bitten by a zombie, leaving Juliet no choice but to cut off his head with her chainsaw. After he awakes, he discovers he’s somehow still alive, and now just a severed head attached to Juliet’s belt. She reveals to him that she’s actually a zombie hunter. Together, with the help of the rest of Juliet’s zombie-hunting family, they take on the hordes of zombies that have overrun San Romero High School. Sound crazy enough for you?

The Fun Stuff:

“Lollipop Chainsaw” is just an all-around entertaining package from start to finish. The presentation is fantastic. The main menu, along with the pause menu, is designed with a comic book feel. Once you’re in the game itself, the whole setup feels very reminiscent of some of the best arcade hack-and-slash games of the 80’s and 90’s. To go with it, some of the best songs from that era adorn the soundtrack in all the appropriate places. Bearing that in mind, the game screams cheesy goodness. There’s nothing quite like riding around on a combine mowing down zombies while listening to “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”.

As far as difficulty goes, you can make it as easy or hard as you like. The control scheme is fairly simple, and although there are a lot of combos, they too are simple and it won’t take anyone too long to grasp. The gameplay follows a pretty simple formula that also won’t be difficult for new users or veterans alike to understand. There are a few extra quirks, mostly in the form of achievements, for dedicated fans that wish to perfect their game; however, no one will be stunted by the occasional mistake.

The Frustrating Stuff:

The game is short, by nature, although it’s not too terrible of a thing. This is the kind of game you’ll want to replay to try and beat high scores. It’s also worth replaying for all of those “wait, did they really just say that?” moments. The only time where replay gets really annoying is when you get stuck at a particularly difficult checkpoint and have to listen to the same jokes over and over. Likewise, going into the “Chop and Shop” in game store is hilarious the first time, until you realize that Juliet isn’t going to shut up and “Lollipop” plays on loop nonstop. These are the only areas where the game could have used a little more variety and polish.

Bottom Line:

Just like the game’s protagonist, Juliet, “Lollipop Chainsaw” is short but sweet. It’s an absolute blast to play whether you wish to challenge yourself on the harder difficulties, or just do some mindless zombie killing on the easier ones. At about 6 hours playtime on an average difficulty, replaying is a must to really get your money’s worth, but you can also use that time to gather up achievements, none of which are too terribly difficult to collect.

Although it doesn’t really feel like a full-fledged $60 release, there’s plenty of entertainment to satisfy about a $35 price point. If you find a sale around that point, definitely grab a copy because this is one crazy experience you don’t want to miss – assuming you’re of age, that is. Much like the aforementioned “X-Men Origins” and another great title “Mafia II”, ‘Lollipop Chainsaw” definitely earns it’s “M” rating.

“Lollipop Chainsaw” was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and was published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in collaboration with Kadokawa Shoten. It was released in North America on June 12, 2012 with an M rating from the ESRB and an MSRP of $59.99. This review was based on a copy of the game purchased on the release date.

[10.05.12] ‘Halo 4’ goes gold, more flood details revealed

[09.06.12] Review: ‘Lollipop Chainsaw’

Lollipop Chainsaw for the Xbox 360

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