GamesRadar - Previews

Hail to the Chimp (Hail to the Chimp)

Mar 12, 2008

Ear muffs, children. The Lion King has to step down. We know - we're all reeling from the news, but the abolishment of a monarchy doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. It seems the animal kingdom has banded together and "accomplished" a certain "mission" our government can't seem to do, and whipped a little democracy on a populace desperately in need of leadership. ...

Hail to the Chimp (Hail to the Chimp)

Dec 14, 2007

Dec 14, 2007 Ear muffs, children. The Lion King has to step down. We know - we're all reeling from the news, but the abolishment of a monarchy doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. It seems the animal kingdom has banded together and "accomplished" a certain "mission" our government can't seem to do, and whipped a little democracy on a populace desperately in need of leadership. Figuratively, the poo is about to hit the fan. Not unlike the California recall, which saw a Terminator steal the ...

Half-Life 2: Episode One (Half-Life 2: Episode One)

May 31, 2006

The cliffhanger ending of Half-Life 2 felt like the dark middle arc of a trilogy, and left us with more questions than answers. The Half-Life 2: Episode One (formerly Aftermath) expansion promises to answer some of those questions ... but will raise even more. Episode One centers entirely on the now-doomed City 17. Thanks to Gordon Freeman, the annihilation of those oppressive rulers, the Citadel, has now put everyone still inside the city in peril. The action focuses around the characters you ...

Hands-on with Half-Life 2's next chapter (Half-Life 2: Episode One)

May 30, 2006

Valve, the creator of Half-Life, recently opened the doors to its plush headquarters, where we were given an exclusive session with one of the most anticipated games of the year, Half-Life 2: Episode One. We'll have a review for you soon; the game goes live next week on Steam (www.steampowered.com). But, until then, we can tell you what we saw for ourselves. Episode One is the first in a trilogy of new adventures for Gordon Freeman, Half-Life's bespectacled hero. Throughout the action, you'll ...

Half-Life 2 Aftermath (Half-Life 2: Episode One)

Feb 22, 2006

Doctor Breen told you not to do it, but you didn't listen. You had to trigger a cataclysm, had to take down the Citadel and the Combine. You didn't think about the consequences - the world faded to grey, the G-Man left the stage, the credits rolled. The lights went up and you stared at the screen. But Valve will keep working on Half-Life 2. In the next six months they're going to extend it and drive their technology to new heights. This fun will not be available in the shops. Instead, Valve ...

The first concept art from Half-Life 2: Episode Three (Half-Life 2: Episode Three)

Jul 10, 2008

The web is abuzz over what some believed to be the first concept art of Half-Life 2: Episode Three from an exhibit of video game art called Into the Pixel. And some are so wrong. The first concept art from Valve’s episodic blockbuster actually appeared in the pages of PC Gamer magazine in our November 2007 issue!

That was our cover story and review of The Orange Box, and our exclusive render ...

Half-Life 2: Episode 2 - hands-on (Half-Life 2: Episode Two)

May 18, 2007

Weve all been horribly misled about Episode Two. We ended Episode One steaming out of City 17 on a train as the Citadel exploded, but it crashed and we heard Alyx cry out. The next thing we saw was her dangling from a smashed bridge in the Episode Two trailer, then her limp body being carried by a Vortigaunt. And OK, the savvy among us probably realized she wasnt dead, but it was pretty clear shed been badly hurt in the crash and would be out of action for most of the episode. Utterly untrue. ...

Half-Life 2 (Half-Life 2: Episode Two)

Apr 3, 2007

Wed like to suggest that with every passing month we get closer to playing the next chapter in one of the best FPS of all time, but like some sort of cruel tease with a delicious chocolate bar on the end of a piece of string, Valve keeps moving the release date for the re-energized Half-Life 2 further and further away, leaving us scampering about like frothing fools. However, despite the slip from last autumn to this spring to this autumn, our over-eager ears are kept pricked up, and theres the ...

Half-Life 2 (Half-Life 2: Episode Two)

Feb 16, 2007

In a world where your usual new releases recommended retail price is $60 and every great leap in graphical prowess seems to lop another few hours off the length, its a refreshing change to be able to say that Valve are being really, really good to you. Not content with remastering the PCs best ever FPS for 360, theyre also packing in two supremely addictive mods in the form of bizarre but compulsive puzzler Portal and Team Fortress 2s insanely violent cartoon ...

E3 07: Halo 3 (Halo 3)

Jul 12, 2007

We've just returned from our first up-close look at Halo 3's trilogy-capping single player campaign. You probably don't need or even want us to waste time on eloquent introductions... this is the biggest game of the year, after all. So on with the goods, in easily digestible and always popular bullet point format. * The build we watched being played by the Bungie guys today was the same one used to capture the footage shown at the Microsoft press conference on Tuesday. Yes, every shot in that ...

The Halo 3 Beta: A n00b's perspective (Halo 3)

May 21, 2007

I'm not ashamed to admit that I am currently a bit rubbish at the Halo 3 Beta. If you've been playing over the weekend and come across someone looking dazed and confused on the battlegrounds of Valhalla or Snowbound, that's me who you shot in the face repeatedly. My only retort is that I'm an easy kill so you shouldn't feel too clever about nailing me. I'm like a baby rabbit dumped in a vat of hungry wolves. The thing is, in an office full of gamers - many of whom are Halo experts - this Halo ...

Halo 3 beta: The fanboy's verdict (Halo 3)

May 14, 2007

With the release of Tombstone and Desolate, youd think thered be no reason to put down Bungies fantastic frag-fest that is Halo 2. Until of course, the Halo 3 beta starts on the 16th. Being lucky enough to be a part of Bungies Friends and Family scheme that started last Friday across the world, weve been playing Halo 3 now for one whole weekend - and what do we have to say for ourselves? Simply, Halo 3 multiplayer downright crushes anything weve seen before and here's 5 reasons ...

Halo 3 - Essential knowledge (Halo 3)

May 14, 2007

To be part of the Halo 3 beta on May 16th you must have purchased the special version of Crackdown - the box reads “Includes an invitation to Halo 3 multiplayer beta” so you cant miss it. In Crackdowns downloadable content menu theres a Halo 3 option, which went live at 1pm on May 9th, allowing you to download three playable maps. The Crackdown disc is also needed to launch the Halo 3 beta. 1) The maps There are three different maps available: the dramatic Snowbound, the tight and ...

Brute hierarchy (Halo 3)

Feb 16, 2007

It's apparent that the Brutes are bigger and badder in Halo 3. Here's a quick look at what you're up against when you gotta "finish the ...

Halo 3 in-game screens (Halo 3)

Feb 15, 2007

In their first Halo 3 video documentary before Christmas, our friends at Bungie gave us a tantalizing glimpse into the world of Halo 3: how it will play out, what it will look like and what the spine of the game will be. The results were, not unexpectedly, incredibly exciting... and rather surprising too. Because the central premise for the third game looks to be very, very simple indeed: Brutes. And lots of ...

Pre-E3 06: Halo 3 first look (Halo 3)

May 9, 2006

Before people could even start foaming at the mouth and overturning cars in excitement after Microsoft's press conference today, the first trailer of Halo 3 emerged on Bungie's website. And now you can see it for yourself. You won't know this by watching, but the scene takes place in the African desert, about a third of the way through the game. The three-mile-wide structure that opens up is actually a weapon built by the Forerunners - the race that constructs the Halos. It's now poised to ...

Halo Wars (Halo Wars)

Feb 6, 2008

Even if you’re a big Halo fan, the concept of Halo Wars may leave a bad taste in your mouth. Understandable, if you’ve ever played RTS games on a console. Perhaps you found the interface cumbersome, the pace of the combat (and the reactions it asks of you) directly at odds with the flexibility of the controls. Perhaps you’re thinking that things will be no different this time. But having seen gameplay in motion, we reckon ...

Halo Wars - updated impressions (Halo Wars)

Aug 21, 2007

Aug 21, 2007 Cannon Fodder on the Genesis started it all, Starcraft on the N64 elevated the conflict and Command & Conquer deployed the first atomic weapons in the ongoing war between real-time strategy games and controllers. Console history is resplendent with examples of RTS atrocities, but Halo Wars is bringing peace with a decent set of buttons to push and a galaxy full of artillery. The demo begins with a Pelican dropship zipping along a valley, flanked by two new Hawk helicopters, ...

E3 07: Halo Wars (Halo Wars)

Jul 13, 2007

Halo 3 may finish the fight, but in 2008, Halo Wars will begin it all over again. We just came back from our first look at the real-time strategy game in motion and are happy to report that - despite the difference in genre and developer - this definitely looks like a Halo game. Our impressions and all the newest info is below. Watch the first gameplay footage by scrolling to the bottom of this page. For our E3 preview of Halo 3, head here. * Where does Halo Wars fit into the fiction? Right ...

Halo Wars (Halo Wars)

Feb 16, 2007

While the boys at Bungie are stealing all the limelight with Halo 3, Ensemble Studios are going about bringing the Halo -verse to 360 in RTS form quietly under the radar. There has been some skepticism about whether RTS can really work on a console but the notoriously protective Bungie has already thrown their full weight behind the project; and if anyones going to be able to pull it off, Ensemble Studios is, being the best in the business and all. The sheer importance of the Halo ...