Microsoft knows that Halo is a system seller. That’s why last year at E3 we saw the TBD titled Halo get a tease. But without knowing when the next Halo would be coming out, they needed to keep the appetite wet for gamers before the hoopla of this year’s E3 kicked in. What better way to do so than open up preorders to the world. If you head to Amazon you can place your preorder on Halo 5: Guardians which is set to ship by end of year 2015 (no doubt, this will be more formally announced with an actual release date at E3 or at least a quarter).

There are two things that stand out about Halo 5: Guardians based off the current cover artwork. The first is the name. Since Halo: Combat Evolved, this is the first proper Halo title to have a suffix attached to it. This leads one to believe it is either because they feel just another number isn’t enough of a differentiator to keep motivating new purchases or these new Guardians are that essential to the plot.

Since we already told you the important facts about the XBox One yesterday, I thought I would take time to let it sink in and then give my reaction to what was announced. Any of you follow me on Twitter saw my initial reactions yesterday, but I wanted to be fair and take a step back before voicing my actual thoughts instead of just hoping for retweets. This isn’t about being a fanboy or ranting, but just my honest reactions to the announcements.

First off, the name has to be addressed. I like the fact that Microsoft didn’t go with calling the console just “XBox” again and at least the “One” differentiates it. I call my current console the “360” in conversation and I don’t doubt that I’ll end up calling the XBox One just the “XBox,” but it was at least better than Apple’s iPad, iPad 2 and then “new iPad.” And let’s be honest, the name isn’t what sells a system as the Wii proved since every gamer ripped that name to shreds.

Also, thank you to Microsoft for showing the system. They needed to do something to separate themselves from Sony and the PlayStation 4 and rather than continue the pissing contest that is going to reach E3, they just showed what it looked like. Much like the name, the overall look of the system isn’t going to make or break the sale of a console (again take a look at the Wii). I was happy to see most of the design on the controller remained and was happy to see the D-Pad had been changed as it is especially reviled by fighting gamers.

Hooray for Blu-Ray. Although that means my HD-DVD is now officially in the same category as Betamax and Laserdisc.

I appreciate Skype being on the XBox One and integrated with the “Snap” feature, but I feel like I’ll never use it. The last thing I want when watching TV or a movie is to have someone talking to me. Maybe if I was a sports guy and wanted to talk trash during a game with my friend across the country during a basketball game, I’d be down. But if I am watching The Walking Dead, don’t you dare try calling me during the show.

During an event today at its Redmond, WA campus, Microsoft announced the brand new Xbox console everyone had been waiting for. Dubbed “XBox One” the new console features a host of internal and external improvement, enhancements and new features/content including 8GB of RAM, a 500 GB internal HD, USB 3.0, 802.11n Wi-Fi, a Blu-ray drive and three operating systems: The standard Xbox OS, the kernel of Windows 8 for web applications and a third platform that connects the two together.

Microsoft has also completely redesigned its Kinect sensor to better respond to users’ voices and gestures and has overhauled its Xbox Live experience, which is now supported by 300,000 servers, or 20 times the number of servers that currently power Xbox Live. That’s a lot of servers.

Microsoft also said during the event that it will launch 15 exclusive games on the Xbox One, 8 of which are new titles. The major one reveled was, of course, a brand new Call of Duty game called: Call of Duty: Ghosts.

As always, the Monday Freeview is here to help point you towards the tip top best in free entertainment. And today, a special one day promotion is in the works from the team at 434 Industries. The best kept secret in gaming, the Halo 2: HD Remix is up for grabs today. Though you won’t be able to play the game today, the 434 Industries website will be a giant treasure hunt for gamers and hackers alike as the game’s developers have taken the series creator Bungie’s approach to ARG marketing to their newly announced title. Hidden throughout the site will be series of 25 digit codes, that once found can be redeemed on XBox Live, granting the free downloadable versions of the game, including multiplayer, to one hundred individuals.

Studio head Frank O’Connar, who announced the game and the ARG early this morning, told the invited press, “We are happy to be able to help complete the cycle of Halo on the XBox 360. There are some people who have never had the chance to play the original Halo 2 because it was only available on the XBox. Now, they can get the full glory of the game’s story including its…. controversial abrupt ending as well as full Achievement support this fall. On top of the single player HD remix, there will be full makeover on the multiplayer too including new weapons from the other games in the classic Halo 2 maps.”

Hey all! As I am sure some of the regular readers of The Flickcast have noticed, my favorite part of the Con season is taking pics at them. Unfortunately, due to some professional responsibilities, I was only able to get down to one day of WonderCon this year.

But because my time was limited, I didn’t waste it on panels and the like. Instead I hit the floor with camera in hand and got as many pics of the Wondercon sights as I could.

While WonderCon doesn’t have the size of San Diego or New York Comic Con, the fans there weren’t any less fervent with their cosplay love. This year I saw a lot of new and original costumes I had not seen before. While a pimped out Boba Fett was present, I also saw for the first time Paper Mario as well as a group of female X-Man villains. Alongside the working R2 units, there was a life sized Wall-E that sadly the picture doesn’t do justice as it captured all of the personality of the movie and brought it to life in front of us all.

When the creators of the top XBox exclusive Halo franchise teams up with the publishing behemoth behind the Call of Duty franchise, at least on paper it is a recipe for success. After months of only hearing the project’s name Destiny, Bungie was finally ready to reveal just what it was during an event this weekend.

Below check out the first developer diary featuring the first concept art for Destiny. After spending a decade with Halo, Bungie looks to spend the next ten years working on Destiny. In the trailer, you’ll hear the start of the Destiny mythos. Unlike Halo where mankind was fighting back against an invading force, Destiny takes place in the aftermath of an invading force. Saved only by a figure known as the Traveler, the remnants of humanity struggle to survive.

Since the events of Sandy Hook in Newtown, CT, the argument about violence in games and the effect it has on children has been reignited. Recently, Vice President Joe Biden spoke to everyone from gun owners to experts in the entertainment and gaming industries to try and find ways to prevent another tragedy like Sandy Hook from happening. And when a call came for a ban on assault weapons, the NRA responded by trying to shift the blame solely to the media, including the gaming industry, since the offender was reported to have played “violent video games.”

Obviously, there are many issues that contributed to the tragedy at Sandy Hook and the events that led to it. I cannot even begin to fully explain them all and to try would be socially irresponsible on my part. However, there there are some aspects of it, and the resulting controversy, I feel I need to address.

So last night my iPhone buzzes me and let’s me know I have a new email from American Express. I figure it is just another Skymiles statement tied into my Delta frequent flyer account that I get every month. But luckily before quickly hitting delete, I see XBox 360 in the subject line.

So I decide to actually open it and I find out something surprising. American Express is going to issue me a credit just for synching up my Amex account with my XBox 360. Now I am sure there is some malevolent connection between the two to allow them to both do market research on me but let’s face it, these two companies already know all the bad stuff about me.

Microsoft knows how many hours of my life are spent online gaming already and my AmEx card knows where I blow my disposable income. Registering the two together isn’t going to ruin me by any means.

It’s been five years since Master Chief finished the fight and saved the earth in the events of Halo 3. Since, there have been an expansion turned spin-off, RTS, prequel and an HD remake of the original, but no proper sequel. As hyped as Black Ops II may be, no game’s fanbase may be clamoring more for a sequel than those of the XBox 360 exclusive Halo 4.

This is the first new proper Halo title made by 343 Industries and the start of a new trilogy for Master Chief called the Reclaimer trilogy. With the lofty task put on this new studio, the results so far have been amazing.

The Long

The biggest fear of Halo 4 was if the game was actually going to still feel like Halo. After all, it has been five years and a new studio working on the game. At the same time, the first person shooter genre has evolved by leaps and bounds since Halo broke open the floodgates of FPS shooting to consoles. Luckily, 343 Industries was able to take both into effect and comes up with a compromise that feels modern while not just trying to be another Call of Duty clone.

Halo 4 retains most of Halo’s signature control elements. Zooming in with a weapon comes from pressing down on the right stick. Melee comes from the right bumper. And the grenade toss happens from the left trigger. If you haven’t played a Halo since Reach, it will only take a few minutes to reacclimate yourself with the controls. There is a reason they have worked so well for the series in the past and continue to hold true to this version of the game as well.

Knowing full well that no matter what, when review season was going to come around Halo 4 would be on my list, I couldn’t bring myself to wait in the horde of players hoping to get a brief hands on in San Diego at Comic Con. With so much going on, it wasn’t worth missing an entire day’s worth of events just for ten minutes of multiplayer. But with preview night of NYCC being less crowded, the proposition of waiting less than an hour to get hands on with Halo 4’s multiplayer seemed much more reasonable.

In our game, we had the opportunity to play Team Slayer on Ragnarok. As the name would suggest, this map is the successor to Valhalla from Halo 3. Not much has changed about the physical layout of the map though. The same basic structures still exist as they did before but with higher res textures. The only major change to the level was the position of weapons, taking into effect weapons new to the game. We also had the mech walker in our level which when used properly was a beast on the battlefield. Unfortunately, everyone was rushing for it at most times so we didn’t get to spend too long with it.

At Comic-Con in San Diego the first trailer for Halo: Forward Unto Dawn screened for an enthusiastic crowd. This live action/CGI web series sounds, and looks, pretty great.

Here’s the story:

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn tells an exciting story of heroism and sacrifice on a scale never before seen in the Halo universe, taking fans back to the beginning of the human and Covenant war and leading into the events of Halo 4.

Set against the backdrop of a United Nations Space Command (UNSC) military academy, a group of highborn cadets are training to be the next generation of soldiers in the UNSC’s ongoing war with insurrectionists in the outer colonial planets. Among these cadets, Thomas Lasky struggles with his doubts about this war, and with the burden of expectations he may not be able to carry.

As we told you earlier, Microsoft kicked off their E3 festivities with what could be considered a fairly standard and unsurprising Press Conference. As expected, they announced the anticipated console exclusive, Halo 4. Upping the ante from last year, this E3 brought gameplay footage of Halo 4 to the audience with a first look at the new enemies and weapons as well as some familiar faces from past Halos. Microsoft would follow with footage of the new Splinter Cell: Black List which uses enhanced Kinect controls.

Following on the Kinect bandwagon, EA debuted footage of the latest Fifa and Madden franchises. In Fifa, players will be able to make coaching decisions and their reactions will be read by the Kinect and penalties may even be awarded based on poor sportsmanship. In Madden, NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback Joe Montana demonstrated the game’s new Kinect enabled play calling features.

After the Fable: The Journey trailer, Microsoft Studios brought out studio head Phil Spencer who introduced the trailer for the new Gears of War: Judgment, staring Baird, and then the latest racing experience with Forza Horizon.