Halo 4 First Impressions and Gameplay Footage

Halo 4 puts you back in the boots of the Master Chief from Halo 3. Along with his AI, Cortana, he’s been lost in space before they crash land near a mysterious Forerunner planet. The campaign takes place on an artificial planet called Requiem.

What Halo 4 promises is a move away from the straight-forward first-person-shooter and more focus on mystery, exploration and discovery, think more ‘Combat Evolved’ than ODST. Halo 4 is intended to be the first of a new series of Halo game, named the Reclaimer trilogy – so the story has been designed to be part of a three-game arc from the beginning – with Halo 5 planned to be more dark than this, and six being the conclusion.

All good so far. But for those expecting to be blown away by this latest Halo outing, there may be slight hints of disappointment. First off, Bungie are no longer developing the game. Now it’s 343 Industries - the team behind the latest HD remake of Halo: Combat Evolved. That being said, the Master Chief has never looked better, and the new enemies are interesting-looking, making a refreshing change from the Flood and Covenant.

source- dailymail.co.uk

Microsoft Surface Tablet Unveiled

After days of speculation and rumors, Microsoft's major announcement has just been unveiled at a press event in Los Angeles: a Surface tablet. We suspected the company might be working on its own tablet, and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer revealed the device on stage at Milk Studios in Los Angeles today. Discussing Microsoft's history with Windows, Xbox, and Kinect, Ballmer introduced a video of the company's hardware products over the years before unveiling Windows 8's companion, the Microsoft Surface.
 
Microsoft's Intel-based Surface tablet will run Windows 8 Pro, with a thickness of 13.5mm, a weight of 1.9lbs, and USB 3.0 support. This particular version will also include magnesium casing and a built-in kickstand, but will ship with either 64GB or 128GB storage. Additionally, the Intel version will include additional digital ink support through a pen that magnetizes to the body of the tablet, and a 10.6-inch ClearType "Full HD" display. Both of Microsoft's Surface tablets feature optional Touch and Type keyboard covers.

Microsoft says suggested retail pricing will be announced closer to availability and is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC. The Windows RT PC will be available at the time of the Windows 8 general availability (expected in October), with the Windows 8 Pro model to ship about three months later. Surface will be available through Microsoft's physical retail stores in the US and through select online outlets of the Microsoft Store.

Windows Store Launch to include Angry Birds

Windows users can grab some Angry Birds and a host of other games when Microsoft's Windows Store opens for business later this month.

The new store is slated to launch in preview mode by the end of February at the same time the Windows 8 Consumer Preview debuts.Citing a "source familiar with Microsoft's plans," The Verge has spilled the beans on which games will be among the first titles to pop up in the store. Though Pinball and Solitaire will automatically come with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, several other games will be available for download from the store.

The titles revealed by The Verge include-

Angry Birds
Crash Course
Full House Poker
Hydro Thunder
Ilomilo
Ms Splosion Man
Reckless Racing
Rocket Riot
Tentacles
Toy Soldiers
Wordament