Microsoft and Bungie have released Halo 3: ODST, the latest installment in the companies’ long-running Halo sci-fi-combat franchise. ODST—which stands for Orbital Drop Shock Trooper—doesn’t involve the iconic Halo character Master Chief, but instead follows marines in a story related to Halo 2 as they drop into the city of New Mombasa to try to figure out what happened to members of their squad. Items found along the way supply clues to the backstory, and—in true Halo fashion—the city’s AI tries to help players along the way. And, of course, there’s lots of action and fighting, and players will even get to meet a new alien race in the Halo universe.
Halo 3: ODST was originally developed as an expansion pack for Halo 3, and instead morphed into its own game. Unlike existing Halo titles, ODST doesn’t feature Master Chief—instead, players are limited to playing as a rookie trooper, which might present a problem for folks used to playing with Master Chief’s nigh-invulnerability. ODST boasts a full campaign that can be played in single player or co-op mode, along with a Firefight mode that lets players engage in pure, story-free combat. ODST also includes all the multiplayer maps for Halo 3—plus three new ones available nowhere else—and will also provide access to the Halo: Reach beta when Bungie and Microsoft light it up in the future. The game also features new weapons, including the return of the original zooming pistol from the original Halo.
Microsoft is charging $60 for Halo 3: ODST, and opinions seem to be mixed. Although the game contains many elements that will appeal to Halo fans—like a Firefight mode and new multiplayer maps—the rest of the game may not be enough to sustain the interest of the franchises’ hard-core players—particularly if they kept up with Halo 3 content as it was released.
Halo 3: ODST is available now for the Xbox 360.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.