halo : reach

There's probably no better way to determine who's a hard-core Xbox player and who's not than this: do they play Halo?

On November 15, 2001, the then relatively low-profile video game development studio Bungie, which at the time was owned by Microsoft, released what would become one of the most significant game titles ever--Halo: Combat Evolved.

No one knew it at the time, but this storyline, spelled out in the game's manual--for Microsoft's original Xbox, not the Xbox 360--ushered in what is now nine years and the six titles of what is easily one of … Read more

We're not huge fans of "collector's edition" game boxes, truth be told. More often than not, the extras included just seem silly. It's to our great surprise, then, that we unwrapped the monolithic box of the $80 Halo: Reach Collector's Edition, the deluxe version of the imminent Xbox 360 prequel, and found items inside that were actually both beautifully produced and fun to explore.

You won't find action figures or extra DVDs here--statues and helmets are reserved for the $150 Halo: Reach Legendary Edition. Instead, you'll get the core of what's … Read more

Looking more like a nuclear football than a video game, a packed-to-the-gills press kit for the upcoming Xbox 360 game Halo: Reach showed up in this morning's mail.

Different than the regular ($59), limited ($79), or legendary ($149) versions that will be available starting September 14, this kit consists of a metal briefcase that opens to revel a series of Halo-related items.

Inside, we found a United Nations Space Command folder with press information, a softcover art book titled "Halo Overture", a Halo: Reach Xbox 360 controller, and a tie-in novel, "Halo: The Fall of Reach.&… Read more

Those who have downloaded the recently leaked Halo: Reach and plan to play it on Xbox Live should beware: Microsoft will act swiftly to remove you from the online gaming service.

According to Stephen Toulouse, Microsoft's director of Policy Enforcement for Xbox Live, Microsoft will permanently ban anyone who plays the leaked game on Xbox Live.

"As with all unauthorized play on Xbox Live, anyone playing any unauthorized title runs the risk of account 'permaban,'" Toulouse posted on his Twitter feed. "Remember, legit store-bought copies run no risk of ban. Keyword: unauthorized. We have ways of … Read more

According to reports, the latest game in the Halo series, which isn't due for release until next month, has already been downloaded early--and from all places, Microsoft's own Xbox Live Marketplace.

Joystiq reports that members of the game-modifying enthusiast site Game-Tuts.com were able to circumvent Microsoft's download key system to download fully licensed copies of the game to their Xbox 360 hard drive. Microsoft had made the full game available to reviewers as a download earlier in the week, though had put in a security measure that would only allow it to be accessed with an … Read more

Without a doubt, one of Microsoft's most valuable video game franchises was highlighted Monday at the company's E3 2010 press conference; Halo: Reach takes place before the events of the original Halo trilogy. Gamers can join the Spartan resistance against the Convenant this September when Halo: Reach is set to ship.

The title has already enjoyed success due to the 2.7 million players who participated in the limited multiplayer beta last month.

Besides directly taking on the Wii with Kinect, how else can Microsoft hope to compete with Sony and Nintendo--not to mention Apple--this holiday season? With its big guns, literally.

Microsoft's focus at this year's E3 was, not surprisingly, on its biggest franchises. The company's boast was that the 360 is the only place to have these experiences--which all involved gunplay--although one, Call of Duty: Black Ops, is multiplatform.

Metal Gear Solid Rising: Hideo Kojima's sword-based Metal Gear action game was shown briefly, with a heck of a lot of slicing to pieces and a requisite fruit-slicing … Read more

This week on preGAME, we ollie into a front-side 50-50 grind to bring you a live game demo of Skate 3. There are plenty of new tricks and elements to the most realistic skateboarding franchise on the market and we'll show you a few of them on today's show.

But first, come take a peek at the trailer for the first next-gen Medal of Honor game from EA. The company just announced October 12 as the release date so we'll chat about what we can expect this time around from a franchise we haven't heard from … Read more

If I had any doubts that you wanted Halo: Reach beta codes, they were put to rest by the responses I got over the last few days after I offered up 10 codes in return for suggestions of where I should go on my forthcoming CNET Road Trip project.

In response to my offer, I got close to 200 suggestions, many of which were terrific, and some of which I'll likely visit during the trip. And the codes lasted just hours.

Now, however, I've got 10 more Halo: Reach codes to offer you. This time, though, I'm … Read more