Top 13 Halo 4 Multiplayer Maps

From Blood Gulch to Zanzibar, every Halo game is remembered (or not) by its multiplayer maps. A good set of 'em can turn a great Halo into a classic (see: Halo 2), while a mediocre batch can leave a bad taste in fans' mouths (we're looking at you, Halo Reach). So how about Halo 4? Are its 13 total maps winners? After playing each one for hours and hours, we ranked them from worst to first.

13

Ascent (Forge)

We Recommend: Free-for-all game types, or just avoid it altogether

Why it Ranks Here: While we haven’t played the hundreds of hours required to cement Ascent as an outright stinker of a map, we did develop an instant dislike for it. We’ve also played enough hours to realize that this level is absolutely atrocious for team-based games. Why? The map is one giant – and very steep – hill, and the blue team starts at the bottom of it every single time. This gives the red squad a severe high-ground advantage whether you’re playing King of the Hill, Oddball, or anything else – even plain ol’ Team Slayer. Perhaps it’s just our frustration piling on here (can you tell which end of the hill we were stuck on for most of our playtime?), but it’s easily the ugliest of Halo 4’s battlegrounds to boot.

12

Vortex

We Recommend: Dominion, Extraction

Why it Ranks Here: Vortex seems almost explicitly designed to play Halo 4’s new Dominion mode. As such, it’s got a couple of key bases – one in a rock-side cave and another in the central structure – to which most of the combat funnels. It’s also got plenty of vehicles – a Ghost, a Rocket Warthog, and a Wraith – but unfortunately most of the terrain is so tight that it’s rather difficult to maneuver any of the rides around and really open ‘em up. As such, it feels like the latter two vehicles in particular are wasted a bit, since both are very scarce in War Games.

11

Relay (Forge)

We Recommend: SWAT, Oddball

Why it Ranks Here: A simple outer ring with a large arena below, Relay is a bit like Halo 3’s Foundation crossed with Halo 2’s Sanctuary and Halo 1’s Hang ‘Em High. It’s not quite small enough for one-on-one, but it makes a great Team Doubles arena. Skilled jetpackers can have a field day here, as the wide open middle area allows those with the elevation-changing Armor Ability to counter an attacker by lifting into the air, changing the shooter’s targeting plane just enough to help you escape. Also, for some Custom Game fun, we recommend Rockets-Only matches for a quick round of hilarity.

10

Abandon

We Recommend: Flood, Slayer Pro

Why it Ranks Here: Though Abandon is visually a bit reminiscent of Halo 2’s Backwash, it plays quite differently, with organic back alleys feeding into a central, three-story structure. Action tends to be fast and furious here, with the sword-and-shotgun-starring Flood mode a particular treat. Close-range weapons play well on Abandon thanks to mostly tight quarters and lack of long sightlines. You’re going to invent a lot of Custom Game variants to entertain you on this one. Oh, and be careful staring into the sun. As pretty as it is, you’re liable to get shot in the back…or shoved off the cliff.

9

Longbow

We Recommend: Dominion, CTF

Why it Ranks Here: Another of Halo 4’s larger outdoor areas, Longbow actually isn’t quite as big as it seems. Or at least, it doesn’t play as big as it looks. Its three bases are fairly close together, keeping combat focused and frantic. And that’s why it works. The structures make for great Dominion FOBs, while there’s enough road to tool around in Warthogs or Ghosts. Better still, in Dominion (or custom gametypes), you can eventually bring in a Wraith, which amps up the intensity of this level twofold. Also, there’s a “back alley” path along the water to get between two of the bases that many players tend to forget about. Use it to your advantage!

8

Adrift

We Recommend: SWAT, King of the Hill

Why it Ranks Here: All of the action funnels to the central bay, where the proto-mech (it’s not a Mantis, it’s much bigger) lives in a three-level hangar. However, the real fun of this map happens in the extremely narrow hallways that feed into the middle area, where DMR and Battle Rifle firefights will litter dozens of bodies on the floor by the end of a match. Promethean Vision is a mighty useful Armor Ability here, while grenades can make serious messes in the corridors. We also highly recommend giving Swords-only a try on Adrift once in a while, too.

7

Meltdown

We Recommend: Dominion, Capture the Flag

Why it Ranks Here: Its figure-8 driving track hearkens back to Halo PC’s memorable Infinity map, though Meltdown is nowhere near as colossally massive. But, like its spiritual forebear, it’s got vehicles. Warthogs and Ghosts will help you navigate the level as the road loops from a higher area to the bases down on the ground level, but narrow caves will help on-foot Spartans navigate the map in relatively brief sprints. Dominion is a true beast here, and it’s possible to get a Mantis on that mode, but it’s balanced because your heavily fortified bases can help repel the walking tank. Hint: try to get – and keep – your hands on the Incineration Cannon.

6

Solace

We Recommend: Team Slayer, Flood

Why it Ranks Here: Low walls and a giant glowing anti-gravity beam in the center of this small, symmetrical level means one thing: lots of aerial combat. Paying close attention to your motion tracker and knowing exactly when and where you can hop over Solace’s mini-barricades can let you get the jump – literally – on unsuspecting opponents. Coordinated teamwork here can make a good crew almost unstoppable, though with enough back alleys and below-level paths, your back is never safe. This is a fantastic four-on-four (or smaller) stage.

5

Complex

We Recommend: Capture the Flag, SWAT

Why it Ranks Here: That this outstanding outdoor level barely cracks the top 5 is a testament to just how good Halo 4’s multiplayer map complement is as a whole. Break out your DMRs and your Battle Rifles, click in your right thumbstick and start zooming in. Interestingly, the middle of the map is the least busy area. Instead, most of the frantic action will take place between the cliff-side grassy areas and the complex’s rooftops, where you’ll feel powerful but will in fact be vulnerable from all sides. Heck, even the back route tends to be fairly quiet – a fact that would serve you well to remember in CTF matches. Given the glorious return of both the Battle Rifle and the much-improved DMR, Halo 2 fans are going to be all over Complex.

4

Settler (Forge)

We Recommend: Capture the Flag, King of the Hill

Why it Ranks Here: Gee, those bases look miiiiiighty familiar…Yep, those are straight out of Blood Gulch, as is the rest of Settler. Sort of. Rather than remake the classic “boxed desert canyon” for the third time (it returned as Coagulation in Halo 2 and as Hemorrhage in Reach), 343 instead opted to create a spiritual successor, and the results are a riotous delight. Settler is much smaller than the Gulch, with three distinct “lanes” connecting the bases: the mountainside path, the central trough, and the cliff-side catwalk. Each base familiarly has a Warthog and a Ghost parked outside it, and the smaller size – combined with Halo 4’s Armor Abilities and built-in sprint, make Settler play plenty fast. This is a phenomenal update to one of Halo’s all-time greatest maps.

3

Ragnarok

We Recommend: Capture the Flag, Extraction

Why it Ranks Here: Even though Valhalla returns virtually untouched from Halo 3 as Ragnarok, it actually plays better in the Halo 4 sandbox. The addition of a Mantis mech at each base is a big reason why. The walking tank has plenty of room to maneuver in Ragnarok’s open fields, and when wielded properly can absolutely pin the enemy team in their own base. But it’s the combustible combination of the Mantis with the other vehicles – the Warthogs, Ghosts, Mongooses, and especially the Banshees – that make Ragnarok one of the finest showcases of what Halo 4 can do in multiplayer.

2

Haven

We Recommend: Team Slayer, SWAT

Why it Ranks Here: Perhaps destined to be Halo 4’s Midship, Haven is small, symmetrical, and very straightforward. But it’s the map’s simplicity that enables its greatness. Action can happen on either of the two floors, and small gaps in the top level’s walkways allow easy access to hop down into – or shoot up out of – the bottom area. Two man-cannons help allow speedy access to the center area, which is made all the more chaotic by a huge structure in the dead middle that you can’t jump over. You’ll just have to dance around it with your enemy, at which point you’re vulnerable from all sides. So good.

1

Exile

We Recommend: Capture the Flag, Extraction

Why it Ranks Here: This is it: the ultimate showcase for the Halo 4 sandbox. A giant donut loop enables full-speed vehicles laps – be it in the Warthog (Gauss variant, woo!), Ghost, Banshee, and Scorpion tank (yessssss!) – around the map, while a cave system lets walking players get around fast enough too. The green outdoor setting is decidedly Halo, and the trenches in key action points are set at just the right height where you can hide in them while crouching or put a DMR round straight into someone’s dome as their head pokes up out of them when they’re standing. Exile is a winning combination of scale, balance, and map flow. Better still, it not only plays phenomenally on just about any game type, but it plays great in different ways depending on which mode you choose.

Ryan McCaffrey heads up IGN Xbox. He used to own a DeLorean, which is weird. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, on IGN, catch him on Podcast Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.

Source : ign[dot]com

Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome to Make Online Debut

It’s been a long, strange road for Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome. First announced as a webseries, it was then intended to become a full-length Syfy series – only for the network to pass on it, having produced a TV-Movie pilot. Syfy had insisted the pilot would air though, and indeed it shall – but first, it will be released as webisodes, bring the project full circle.

As first reported by EW.com, Machinima Prime will debut the webisodes, with the first available on November 9th. There will be ten webisodes total, ranging in length from seven to twelve minutes. Early in 2013, Syfy will then air the complete Blood and Chrome TV-Movie – before a Blu-ray and DVD release of an unrated version.

Set in-between the events of Caprica and Battlestar Galactica, Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome stars The Borgias’ Luke Pasquaino as a young William Adama, a gifted fighter pilot who finds himself assigned to one of the most powerful battlestars in the Colonial fleet: the Galactica. Full of ambition and hungry for action, Adama quickly finds himself at odds with his co-pilot, the battle-weary officer Coker (Ben Cotton, Alcatraz). With only 47 days left in his tour of duty, Coker desires an end to battle as much as Adama craves its onset. Lili Bordán (Silent Witness) also stars.

David Eick (Battlestar Galactica, Caprica) is executive producer along with Michael Taylor (Battlestar Galactica, Caprica), who wrote the teleplay from a story by Eick, Bradley Thompson (Battlestar Galactica, Falling Skies) and David Weddle (Battlestar Galactica, Falling Skies). Blood & Chrome was directed by Jonas Pate (Prime Suspect, Caprica).

Source : ign[dot]com

Wild Blood Review

What is it?

Wild Blood is the latest visually splendorous hack & slash title from Gameloft. The game puts players in the armored boots of Sir Lancelot as he slices and dices his way through hundreds of demons on a mission to take out a mad King Arthur. The Arthurian storyline mostly just serves as an excuse for the 10 missions of demon-slaying, though.

Wild Blood’s combat at first seems very simple. Mashing the single attack button to swing Lancelot’s ridiculously gigantic sword can dispatch nearly all of the demonic enemies players encounter. But over time Gameloft spices the action up with a dodge-roll, multiple types of magic, dual-axes and even a bow and arrow. All movement and actions are handled via virtual on-screen buttons.

Coins earned by grabbing treasure chests, defeating foes, rescuing maidens and generally smashing everything in sight can be spent between rounds to power-up Lancelot’s offensive and defensive stats. Optional In-App Purchases let players prematurely power-up, but I never felt any unbalanced difficulty steering me towards paying.

Wild Blood does include a four-on-four online multiplayer with Capture the Flag and Team Deathmatch but most matches devolve into a team-on-team button-mashing pile-up. It works as a casual diversion but doesn’t offer up a serious competitive experience.

Did we like it?

Wild Blood’s combat system comes together nicely as the single player campaign progresses. By the game’s final stages I was rolling into enemies to stagger them, unleashing a fury of sword swings and finally mopping up with a huge lightning attack. Boss fights and mid-mission mini-bosses spice up the formula by forcing players to uncover specific enemy weak points to progress. A handful of first-person turret defense and block-sliding puzzle sections also help pace each stage.

Although the dodge-heavy combat feels frantic and fun, like many 3D action titles clunky camera issues sometimes crop up. I often found myself losing health due to attacks coming in from off-screen as I frantically tried to swing the camera around to get a better viewpoint.

Wild Blood’s clunky virtual buttons also cause problems. It simply doesn’t feel good to clutch your iPhone and iPad while moving a virtual thumbpad and hitting virtual attack buttons.

Should you buy it?

Problems aside, Wild Blood is a solid original effort from Gameloft. It isn’t perfect, but the core swordplay works well and offers up plenty of demon-slaying thrills. Hardcore players can extend the adventure by playing through the adventure a second time on Hard Mode to unlock the game’s true ending. For $6.99 gamers looking for a gorgeous iOS sword & sorcery action title will enjoy this adventure through Arthurian legend.

Source : ign[dot]com

Lawless Review

A violent tale of Prohibition-era hillbilly gangsters, Lawless comes marinated in blood and moonshine. It’s based on the book The Wettest County in the World (that’s Franklin County, VA, not Lancashire, UK) by Matt Bondurant, which traced the true story of his own grandfather and two brothers who ran illegal home-brewed hooch across the backwaters and got embroiled in all-out gang warfare with rival clans and the law. The filmmakers clearly want you to imagine L.A. Confidential with bootleggers, or The Untouchables gone country.

Unfortunately Lawless fails to live up to those two crime sagas. Nor does it resonate like director John Hillcoat’s two previous films, eerie Outback Western The Proposition and doom-laden apocalyptic drama The Road. What we’ve got here is a solid, smartly cast, occasionally downright nasty B-movie that too closely resembles the product its outlaw heroes brew: a slug of rotgut rather than refined malt; a quick, cheap kick that does the basics and definitely won’t improve with age.

It’s 1931 and the Bondurant brothers have a slick but strictly small-time bootleg racket going. Big brother Howard (Jason Clarke) is the muscle, while young pup Jack (Shia LaBeouf) is driver and all-round annoyance. Holding it all together in the middle is Forrest (Tom Hardy), the brains and, when required, the enforcer. The Bondurant myth is built on their being “invincible”, both Howard and Forrest having respectively survived WWI and the life-threatening disease that killed their parents. So when big city special deputy Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) is brought in to clamp down on local outlaw operations (and pretty much everyone in Franklin seems to be at it), he’s all-too willing to put the Bondurant myth to the test.

Weaving in and around these Brothers Grim are Jessica Chastain’s showgirl fugitive and all-round Bondurant sidekick; and Mia Wasikowska as the local preacher’s daughter who Jack takes a shine to. There’s also Gary Oldman as legendary gangster Floyd Banner, who’s playing his own angles on the moonshine front and isn’t afraid to do his own dirty work.

With all this fascinating set up, what’s most disappointing about Lawless is how straight it is. In terms of genre conventions, it’s practically law-abiding, never really attempting to fill this stark terrain in anything but the broadest brush strokes. LaBeouf is once again the eager young up-and-comer out to prove himself; Hardy’s a moody bruiser; the women suffer or simper in silence; and worst of all, Pearce’s fey sadist - with shaved eyebrows, effete mannerisms and a centre parting you could drive a train through - seems like he’s stepped out of the local am-dram society. He doesn’t have a moustache but if he did, it’d be constantly a-twirling.

The violence - often sudden and shocking - is effectively repulsive, often strangely centred on necks and throats, though there’s also a novel if gruesome use of someone’s cojones. But in terms of the overall lack of accountability, the films plays the old Godfather card: win sympathy for your family of killers by having their rivals be that much more vicious and sneaky. It’s a tired conceit and, when wrapped up in a Disney-like coda as it is here, feels contrived.

That said, Benoit Delhomme’s imagery and the set design looks authentically gritty and a cast of rising stars hold it all together. Hardy, once again, is the single most charismatic thing onscreen, the actor’s own magnetism finding shading and even welcome glimpses of humour in his taciturn brooder. And it’s a shame he doesn’t share screen time with his Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy/Dark Knight Rises co-star Oldman, who’s wasted in basically a cameo.

If musician Nick Cave’s by-the-numbers screenplay – which streamlines and tightens Bondurant’s memoir – isn’t his finest moment, at least he fares far better in his day job, pulling together the film’s soundtrack. Rather than just compile a collection of old Appalachian standards, in the (excellent) vein of, say, O Brother Where Art Thou, Cave and Bad Seed cohort Warren Ellis favour a more intriguing, modern approach. A bluegrass version of The Velvet Underground’s ‘White Light/White Heat’ shows more subtlety and innovation than anything we see or hear from the film’s characters.

At heart, this is Lawless’s main problem. It’s pacy, punchy - often literally, a knuckleduster being Forrest’s weapon of choice - but relatively frothy. The Proposition dealt with similar ideas - simmering male violence in a primitive landscape - but distilled it into a genuinely dangerous, potent brew. Lawless may be graphic at times, but ultimately plays it safe. It’s an alcopop that thinks it’s absinthe.

Source : ign[dot]com

Blood Knights: A New Vampire Action-RPG

DTP Entertainment has announced Blood Knights, a new vampire action-RPG headed to consoles and PC. Blood Knights follows the story of Jeremy, a vampire hunter who is bound by blood to a sexy, mysterious vampiress named Alysa. “The former arch-enemies have to work together to rid themselves of the binding,” DTP Entertainment says.

Blood Knights is developed by German studio Deck 13, who previously worked on Venetica and Ankh. DTP says the game features “intense combat, tons of weapons, items as well as vampiric abilities that put players in total control over their enemies and let them feel the powers that vampires wield in the Blood Knights universe.”

Blood Knights will hit Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC on October 31st for $14.99 (1200 Microsoft Points). Check back to IGN for our hands-on impressions later this week. Until then, you can find more info on Blood Knights’ official site.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

True Blood: "Somebody That I Used To Know" Review

Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow...

"I hate this goddamn town"

I hear you, Sheriff Andy. Well, mostly. True Blood star Stephen Moyer directed this week's overly-absurd episode, "Somebody That I Used To Know," which saw Sam tenderly reconcile with a Sam-shifted Luna, Hoyt ponder shooting a chained up Jessica and Bill fall in line with the Saguinistas.

Yes, most of this episode was off its rocker, and I'm sad to see Russell regulated to comic relief, but in the midst of all the madness came, possibly, the first inkling of a driving, directional plot point this season; the destruction of the True Blood factories. Most people were excited about Season 3 until Russell's plot fizzled and the wolf stuff went nowhere. And as much as people roll their eyes at the thought of Season 4, it, at least, had a central adversary in play. This season just seems so arbitrary, with people bouncing around from story to story; mixing their chocolate in each others' peanut butter.

Take Lafayette. Who went from dealing with turning Tara into a vampire, to almost killing Sookie with his Brujo powers, to getting his lips sewn shut by Don Bartolo to...being a paid medium for Arlene and Holly. Look, as much as I crap on Terry and his smoke monster story, at least he's only had one story. Not four. By episode eight. And one of the things that bothers me with the show is how it uses its own cheekiness to explain away/shrug off all the frivolous things. As in, all Sookie or Lafayette have to do is say "You wouldn't believe the last couple of days I've had." Or even having Andy, as funny as it was, say "I hate this goddamn town."

Luna turning into Sam. Why? I mean, everything can't be played as a goof here, right? Yes, I liked seeing human-shifting brought back, but it still has yet to pay off. Luna didn't do anything as Sam. Nothing came of her being Sam. And it forced us to watch what could have been a touching scene as farce. As Sam Trammell acting opposite an effeminate Sam Trammell. So terrible.

I actually liked Hoyt and Jessica's scene, as dark and misogynistic as it was. In fact, anyone who think Hoyt is still a good guy simply because he didn't choose to shoot Jessica in the head needs to have their head examined. This whole thing was still about a guy who almost considered shooting his ex-girlfriend because she broke his heart. And when he put the gun to her head, he didn't say "I'm just doing this for dramatic effect because a camera's right there." He put it there to scare her; maybe even contemplating pulling the trigger. So, at his best, Hoyt opted to not kill her at the last possible second. And that's fine, but I think it really changes his character. And while I know that I'd like to see this show kill off about half its cast, it would have been a great end for Hoyt if the mystery driver had shot him. Because that scene between him and Jessica felt final. And it really closed off the most important story regarding his entire character.

I liked Pam's little gift to Tara, in the form of a ex-high school rival/glamoured food slave. Still, as much as I enjoy Pam being Tara's maker, their story is still stagnant. And Tara, after her big life change, is still just a bartender who has to watch her mouth around patrons. I know the show has made several references to that fact; earnestly trying to even make it the point of her story. But it's still lazy. The upside here is Tara finding Pam to be a better mother to her than she's ever known. I just hope none of this becomes a retread of the Maryann/mother story.

I like Eric's confrontation with Nora about how Godric was sickened by their display at the karaoke bar. It was funny watching Eric tell Nora that Lilith is a figment while trying to convince her that he saw Godric. Also, it would seem that Nora has no sentiment left for Godric. In fact, I'm wondering if there is an extra underlying power at work here since everyone seems brainwashed. Even before they drank the blood. I mean, something made Bill kill that woman with Salome. He had second thoughts about it and then...he didn't. I even thought he might become a double-agent until he suggested bombing the True Blood factories. So, I'm just not sure why he wasn't able to resist Salome this time around, when he could see through her agenda back in "Whatever I Am, You Made Me." Are we still blaming the blood?

Sookie's entire story last week was about how she didn't want to be a fairy. She had a heart-to-heart with Sam. She blasted off fairy blammos into the sky. This week? They took it all back during her first scene with Jason. So that was that, apparently. They only good part of her story this week was that it introduced a new vampire into the picture. And that the monster who killed her parents wasn't Russell or Bill or Eric or some other pre-established character that we'd now have to retcon.

Oh yeah, Alcide did some s*** too.

In the end, given the title of the episode, at least we were spared having to hear that Gotye song. Yes, an Elliot Smith song did just fine.

Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com