I am verging on forgiving Blizzard for splitting the game into three seperate parts…but they need more than a 37 second clip to truly win me over. I am trying to comfort myself with the presumption that more time in between games means that they’ll be wonderous and beautiful, and everything a girl could hope for.. I really hope I’m not wrong

I mean, it would be completely irrational for them to have finished all three parts at the same time with minimal effort and they’re just releasing them spaced out like this because they’re a bunch of no good, lazy, bastard, suits who are just in it for the padding of my wallet. Right?

According to February’s edition of Game Informer, the prequal to Halo: Combat Evolved, brings us back into a world of Spartan III’s and all the joys that are had in saving the world while still being completely and utterly expendable.  There are a few notable differences though.

Instead of being just a singular bad ass that is charged with the duties of being the only hero awesome enough to finish the job, Halo: Reach brings us an entire team of Spartans and their squad called Noble Team. You play as Noble 6, the newest member of Noble Team. The leader is Carter-259, gender equality is portrayed by the female Spartan Kat-320, Jorge-052 is heavy weapons specialist and the only Spartan II on the team, Emile-239, and Jun-266 star as canon fodder or “red shirts”, I am sure.

You and your bad ass squad will be going to Reach, a planet that is falling to the hands of the invading Covenant.  The rest of the mission seems pretty clear from here.  Don’t die, save the world, get little to no recognition for it.  A few things that will bring this game out of the typical Halo world will be the darker art styles, battles that support up to 40 AI and 20 vehicles [the original only supports 20 AI, for comparison sake], new weapons [the Marksman Rifle and Needle Rifle, which read like ownage via bullets], Melee Assassinations, and new Armor Up abilities that will allow a player to choose between powered up abilities like Sprint or Camoflauge.  There are new enemies to look out for, as well.  [Lizard faced bipedals that travel in packs.]

From a technical stand point, you can look forward to motion capture having been used in all the cinematic scenes, and 20-40 dynamic light sources at any given time.  Translation: The game is going to be pretty. 

There are a few hommages to Halo: Combat Evolved, so don’t think that you won’t see anything you haven’t already seen before.  The health bar damage will be the same as the first game and a few of the more memoriable weapons will be turning up from time to time.  Regardless, though.. Halo: Reach is proving to be able to stand on it’s own in a series that seems like it’s already done everything it could.  With Multiplayer remaining untouched in the perfection that it is, and the single player starting to sound like it’s going to blow all the other Halo games out of the water; it really leaves me hoping for one thing.

Please be less lame when it comes to your commercials, Bungie.  If this game is going to be as good as it sounds, the overdramatic stylings of advertising are going to be unnecessary.

Over at our Forums, Animate The CAKE has shared with us an… interesting Youtube find.  This is, from what I have been able to decern, a trailer for the live-action Tekken movie.  I don’t think there are enough adjectives in the english language to sum up my feelings on this video, so I will just let you watch it and decide for yourself.

This week Mixmoff, Aevan, and Dr. Scares discuss The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, The Sims 3, Phantom Dust, Dark Void, Dragon Age: Origins, Wii Sports, and Magnetis. They dive into discussion on Sony and Microsoft’s upcoming motion controllers. Stay tuned until the very end of the show, as the hosts are joined by a VERY special guest who will be the future host of several Fall Damage Sidequests!

In what has become a DD tradition, it seems that when games reach a certain anniversary, the developers decide that they no longer want to rip everyone off.  I shouldn’t say Rip Off, really… most games are priced fair for the amount of fun you get out of them and the delight that they  bring to otherwise meaningless existences.  World Of Goo was the first game to do this [that I am aware of] and now it seems that the makers of Crayon Physics Deluxe has decided to follow suit.

Pay A Penny?  Pay A Billion Dollars?  

Well, that’s up to you and your moral compass, but either way it’s going on until January 15th.

It’s a new year, and Mixmoff Aevan and Dr. Scares are back with a brand spanking new episode of Fall Damage!

This week we have an interview with RetroAffect, the developers behind the upcoming Puzzle/Platformer Snapshot! Also we talk ModNation Racers, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Eufloria, and Aevan finally weighs in on Uncharted 2. We also take a moment to warn you of the treachery of a certain Demon’s Souls NPC, and in the community segment you will finally learn the origin stories behind the hosts online handles!

Today Bioware announced Awakening, the first expansion pack for Dragon Age: Origins. It will feature “new party members, spells, abilities and more in March 2010.”

Designed and written by the same team that brought you Dragon Age: Origins, the Awakening expansion pack offers a brand new area of the world to explore known as Amaranthine, featuring an epic story that will allow players to unravel the secrets of the darkspawn – and their true motivations! Players will face a range of horrific and terrifying creatures including an evolved, intelligent breed of darkspawn and other menacing creatures such as the Inferno Golem and Spectral Dragon. Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening provides exciting new ways for players to customize their heroes and party, including the ability to re-spec their character attributes, allowing even greater customization and replayability. Featuring an increased level cap, new spells, abilities, specializations and items, plus five all-new party members, players can continue their adventures from Dragon Age, or begin with a brand new party.

Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening, BioWare’s next thread in the Dragon Age: Origins tapestry, occurs following the events of Dragon Age: Origins and puts players into the role of a Grey Warden Commander entrusted with rebuilding the order of Grey Wardens. In addition to rebuilding the ranks of the Grey Wardens, you will be tasked with uncovering the mystery of how the darkspawn survive after the slaying of the Archdemon dragon. How players choose to rebuild their order, resolve the conflict with the mysterious “Architect,” and determine the fate of the darkspawn are just some of the many intriguing moral choices that will shape each player’s heroic journey. Players will be able to import their character from Dragon Age: Origins or start out as a new Grey Warden from the neighboring land of Orlais.

The expansion will be priced at $39.99 and drops March 16th on 360, PS3, and PC.

As Capcom has at least semi-officially closed the door on future collaboration with future developers, it’s now very clear how little margin for error exists in this generation of gaming development. After pledging to work with western devs in order to expand their sales in the western markets, Capcom’s failure to revive the Bionic Commando series seems to have caused the Japanese game maker to reverse course entirely.

It’s evident developers walk a tight rope in this generation. We complain of “sequelitis”, but once a winning formula is found it’s dangerous or even reckless to deviate from that success. A single failure can topple a small developer, and can cause even a powerhouse like Capcom to feel very uncomfortable.

Our pastime of choice has become big money, but that means developers are less and less likely to take the chances to truly innovate. Hopefully the burgeoning scene of indie and download-only games will keep us awash with fresh ideas to help propel the industry forward!