VinWarrior

If we consider "cash-in" games by your definition, then all games are cash-in games. The way I see it, a company needs to make money. a Company needs to pay it's employees, who all have families of their own. I don't see anything wrong with them making Gears of War a flagship money-maker for the Xbox, if it's done right, who cares? Halo was a flagship game for the Xbox, and it was good, so no one complained. In short, yeah it is, but as said by Bnus, it isn't in a bad way.

Firefight in ODST and Reach was a dream come true, I even remember being back against the wall in Halo 3: ODST facing hordes of chieftains on that ONE FINAL WAVE, DEAR GOD! Spartan Ops was nice too... But it was lacking in variety and content. Firefight was fresh every time you played, and in Reach, being able to change settings, you could jump in with three friends and just start slaughtering grunts with gravity hammers... Tell me that's not fun. Spartan Ops got me excited at a few times, but I kept being thrust back into that usual "shoot this, press a button" rinse and repeat style it had. It showed one SINGLE glimmer of hope though, the beginning of the second half of season one. You are actually chained against the wall, turn around, look at your buddies, they look at you, explosion, one of you jumps out and the others watch as you assassinate a Zealot, THAT WAS AWESOME! But that was the only glimmer of hope it had, besides the cutscenes which were phenomenal. All in all, Firefight takes my vote.

I was actually first, following was BZ, Yoshi, etc... You have a point here though, even if I know getting rid of a political opponent is a good move!

This isn't really meant to parody Drizzy's amazing Interviews with the Stars of the Community volumes, which I recommend you check out. Rather, this is meant to spin-off that idea, taking stars of the community and getting their reactions on the latest news in the Gaming world! This volume, we interview the newest member of the News Group and an all around great guy, BeckoningZebra1! EK: What do you think of the recent announcement that both Microsoft and EA are paying to promote content for their games/consoles on YouTube? BZ: I think it's cheap publicity. Think about it, would you rather pay the price for a commercial on TV or pay Youtubers to promote your product for a cheaper price? Plus not only is it cheaper to pay Youtubers for publicity, it's smarter. I'd say the majority of people that watch commercials (who does that when you have a DVR?) don't believe everything the manufacturer tries to push. But if another consumer gives positive feedback on a product, the likelihood of the consumer to consider this product goes up for sure. So while I don't see a problem with them using YouTube as an advertisement method, I definitely will think a bit more when considering YouTube feedback. EK: Do YouTubers promoting the Xbox One or EA's titles give you the feeling that they are untrustworthy now? BZ: I don't know if I'd say untrustworthy. I'm sure people will take Xbox One and EA review videos with a grain of salt now that this news has surfaced, but as far as those youtubers reputation is, I wouldn't consider it to be tarnished or ruined. They may have some Sony fanboys flame them in the comments, but I can't imagine much more of anything else happening because of this. EK: What do you have to say to people complaining about this commercialization of products? BZ: I can understand why they would be upset. They're watching the review to get honest, unbiased, details about a console they know very little about and instead get someone who's telling them what could be lies. So there's plenty of reason to be upset with the Youtubers. EK: To people praising it? BZ: It was a brilliant idea from a business standpoint. It's saving Microsoft money and gaining the interest from viewers because of what used to be "trusted" youtubers. EK: Finally, How have your personal experiences been with Xbox One/EA games in the Next-Gen lineup so far? BZ: I have yet to purchase a next-gen console. I mean, I haven't even tested out a next-gen kiosk! But based off of what I've seen on YouTube (yes this is ironic isn't it?) I'm very excited to eventually purchase an Xbox One. With EA's next generation of games, I couldn't be more excited. Star Wars: Battlefront (III)??? Are you kidding me? A reboot to the greatest Star Wars video game franchise ever? Yes please! So that was the first installment of Reactions with the Stars of the Community, I want to thank you all for reading today. I also want to thank Zebra for being my Guinea Zebra for this project and for taking the interview. Tune in next week for another great volume of Reactions with the Stars of the Community!

It's happening soon all, I promise!

Yes, we're doing this again and no you cannot go to the bathroom. Now today, we are discussing the ever popular theories among our staff. If any of you remember the past thread, it featured something called the "Forum Revolution" which is what we shall be discussing. Notice the three members inciting the revolution and secrets were before the announcement of this revolution regular members, now, they have been brought into staff, a bit strange isn't it? Now I'd like to bring attention to other means of their promotion and how two more people are likely to be brought into staff sometime in February. This brings the most controversy, now the members with green near them, Beckoning and D-38 were among the revolutionaries above, not only that, but as shown, they made the list twice before they were promoted. Referencing this, I put this month and last month's common members in red, only three showed up, Silent Orbis, Maestro, and myself. All three of us have had the award both this month and last, similar to BZ1 and D-38, as well, Maestro and Orbis are large parts of the "Revolution" as well, could this mean they are next to be brought into the staff to snuff out this revolution? Now, here's something I found just plain odd... Twam had visited my profile? Why, I'm not entirely sure, but, it did peak my interest. Now most would think, just Twam looking at a member profile for a sec. While that may be true, I check all members who were currently online, Staff and Twam included to see if they had any anomalies on their profiles: Outlined in red are those I checked, each profile came up normal, no strange visits by Twam, or a mod, or even staff in general. A bit odd, isn't it? If Twam was just "Checking" random profiles, don't you think he would've done more then just one? Now, pointing to the only two awards I received that day, the 666 one and the Top 15 ones, I noticed something even stranger. The 666 one was delivered by "Twam" but at a much earlier time period, and the Top 15 award(s) were delivered by Drizzy_Dan, as well at an earlier time period. So no obvious or normal reason for the visit, so what gives? Update: After BZ1 posted, I noticed his name at the bottom go to Italics, something never done before. Update 2: Noticing what Anakin said, I added all the numbers of his number together, and it added up to 35, so naturally, I went to my own, Maestro, and Silent's profiles to do the same with their member numbers. Silent added up to 15, me to 25, Maestro to 18. When comparing these numbers, both Silent and My own numbers follow a number pattern with 35, being a 1, 2, 3 etc. Style pattern. This could mean that silent and I are next in line for staff, as we narrow the members down to two. Feel free to add theories as to the next conspiracy below.

Name: Edward Kenway Weapon(s): Dual Swords Appearance: Same as Edward Kenway in ACIV Skills and Powers: Parkour, Eagle Vision. Bio: Edward Kenway was a longtime member of the 343i City, but a few months into his time, he disappeared for quite some time, recently resurfacing as a secretive detective and News Reporter, having a hand in what news is published and who publishes it. He was also a guest at the new staff's inauguration and Drizzy's ban, making him a suspect.

Welcome to the Purple rank, you are one rank away from the best rank and colour ever... Dedicated! I smell Sparky coming up, Dedicated > Purple. Merry Promotion PBRabbit, you are deserving indeed!

This looks awesome bro, after this is over, we need to make an RP of this. I'm telling you it'd be a hit, cannot wait to find out... WHO BANNED DRIZZY_DAN?!

Lol, I doesn't look remotely right but I still love it dearly.

This is the most sensible video I've seen on Forge besides some comedy ones, if something is going to push me to get Halo 5, it will be Forge, but not at the level Halo 4 was. They need to listen to the community, and if the console cannot do it, then complain to the company to upgrade it. Halo is MS' flagship, they'll listen if it threatens their cash cow.

Hello and Welcome to the Forums, my name's Edward, and I'm part of the dedicated member group. A Basic Rundown: You start off at Green, and advance your way up two more titles with posts, and if you strive for it, could join the staff who have their own separate titles. Feel free to join the SB discussion, if you have 5 Posts of course, these posts need to be in any other section then Offbeat and Intros/Byes, so go ahead and post around, but don't spam! The rules were posted above by Moa, and I suggest you give those a quick read. Have fun around the forums, can't wait to talk sometime!

Agreed with all above, Halo 3 far outranks Halo 4 in soundtrack and... Pretty much every other aspect, I guess. But Halo 3 ODST still takes the cake as my favorite soundtrack in the Halo saga.

No actually, haha, the two were Ace Attorney and Vanquish, I've seen Crimson Skies before in Let's Plays. Consider what a 'hit' really is today, I mean, looking back then, maybe that was good, but Halo 3 made nearly 38 TIMES the amount Spore made, even if EA trots about like it was a 'true' success, it really wasn't. Besides, it wasn't what we were promised anyways. I enjoyed it, but the 2005-6 demos were a mile better. Rayman Origins I wouldn't include as it sold enough to get a sequel on all the platforms, so, it's doing pretty good.

Oh man I'm on it for the second month in a row? This calls for a celebration! Party at my place all! Thanks for choosing me, I'm honored, sir. Thanks to all who got me here. Love you all like family.

This is an interesting list, as two out of these five I never personally heard of. I'll have to check them out thanks to you. I never considered Mirror's Edge overlooked to be honest, it wasn't a triple A title, but it got good sale, and is widely played. For me, the number one has to be Spore. I loved that game with all my heart and everyone else went "Meh" and threw it out, I dunno, I liked it personally, so, it doesn't matter.

As the new year comes upon us, new games and IPs launch as well, and this year, we're in for a treat, as I point out many titles that stand out this year, more then most. Not that they will for sure be good, or bad, but get people excited. Halo 5 You guys needed to expect this, even with only one trailer to go by, a piece of concept, and a few lines of detail, 343 Industries and Microsoft already have people revved up to play and absolutely digging for the smallest strand of info. With the epic trailer we received, showcasing a beat up, astray, and wayward Master Chief, a lurid forsaken desert plain, and a metallic owl-like Promethean creature rising from the cinders leaving the Chief ready to take it down. Even though the video only lasted about a minute and a half, with so little detail, it generated so much nostalgia and excitement from those in the Community, it's safe to say this trailer definitely succeeded in getting us anticipated not just for Halo 5, but for the future of the Reclaimer saga. Watch_Dogs All I can say is this is it. A hit franchise in the making, this game plans to blend Action and Adventure, with a system of hacking, leaving a city in your fingertips. Not only that, it blends in other elements of driving, shooting, and simple open-world techniques. If that doesn't get you excited the game is made by the developer and publisher of the amazingly popular Assassin's Creed. You play a shady protagonist with an emotional back-story and some actual backing for his actions in Cyber warfare and crime. Along the way, you run into others supporting your cause. With an amazing cast of characters backing it, a fun and RPG-esque game-play system, and a stealth and combat system blending elements of games like Assassin's Creed and Far Cry, this game is sure to go down in the books, as one of the best concepts of all time, even if the execution fails, which will be a disappointing sight if it does. Dying Light Zombies, Free-running, Destruction, this all sounds like a fantasy, but I assure you, it isn't. Dying Light looks to be a bold vision of what Dead Island could have been, what it aimed for. Zombie variety looks to be amazing here, fighting all different variants and going on sprees, like in Left 4 Dead, or Dead Rising. Along with that, Mirror's Edge parkour elements make combat fluid and fast. We have only cracked the surface of the story, and it already seems to be a phenomenal masterpiece. Day and Night are a character of their own in this thriller as you battle the zombies at day, and as the clock ticks down, you begin to face a horde of brain-eating slayers and butchers. There is no surviving at night time, your only option is to run and find shelter as the masses seek you out. With such a heart pounding mechanic that will incite fear and excitement into players, Dying Light looks to revolutionize horror survival and what really makes you scared. The words on the cover, Good Night, Good Luck, about sum up what is playing through your head as you attempt to hide or try to hold out from the mindless creatures of the night. Infamous: Second Son I will admit, when they first teased the game, I wasn't all that interested. Then E3 came along, as did the trailer, and my mind was made up, this game looks fantastic. Bright colours and sparks of light everywhere, beautiful effects and detail, and an amazingly fun looking sandbox style with an array of powers. This seems like a prime example of what a sandbox game should aim for. With powers at your disposal, you play as Delsin, a fresh new character who clearly states the message of the game in his character, rebellion. He models perfectly what we all have inside us, a rebellious kid who want to just do what he/she feels like. This is an added bonus, as we can now relate to a character. With enemy variety, insane and fun sandbox and RPG elements, and understandable characters, both side and main, this game sure looks to be a ground-breaker in both it's own franchise and in RPG history. Titanfall Have you just wanted to jump into a game with your friends and battle it out in huge mechs, immersing yourself in a game? Welcome to your dream game, Titanfall. A collaboration of multi-player and single-player, this game aims high to stand out in the long line of bland FPS titles as something to jump into and have an insane time with laughs and screams all the way. With a successful first release, and an already revved up fan group, Titanfall has much to live up to, and it's developers, Respawn Entertainment, are doing the best they can to make sure Titanfall does the impossible in Shooters and connects playing with friends to a cinematic story. Honestly, only the Alpha testers can say so far if the game is living up to the hype, but in March, we'll all finally have our chance to see it for ourselves, prepare for battle, and to commence Titanfall. Sunset Overdrive Honestly, all most people are left saying is "I don't know what this game is but I want it". What looks like a colourful zombie shredding trip glorified with sparkles and pretty visuals, as well as what looks like an absolutely insane world to just mess around in, Sunset Overdrive looks to be the next Borderlands with it's wacky and insane tones. What most can realize, is it's an insane zombie shooter taking place in a huge city with many people as you slaughter zombies while admiring visuals straight out of a cartoon meant for little kids. Who honestly isn't sold by that concept? If you aren't, it's made by the Ratchet and Clank developers, Insomniac Games. This game has some high expectations, and people are excited to see what we'll learn about this funny and colourful adventure in another world straight out of a comic book or cartoon show. Evolve This game was only announced recently and it's already gaining major press in the Gaming Industry, Evolve aims to be a futuristic team based Horde mode with a twist, as a single player takes on the form of a Monster! This monster can 'Evolve' and shape-shift it's form, making different classes for the monster as well. Honestly, this game isn't even nearly ready, and it looks utterly stunning. Visuals look good, the atmosphere is comparable to that of Left 4 Dead, everything about this game seems to be going in the right direction. People only hope it stays on this path and becomes a defining game of the generation that many hours can be spent playing and enjoying, being engulfed in Evolve's simple but thrilling universe of characters and worlds. Tales from the Borderlands This title is not being left out, even if it didn't gain enormous press. It is utterly stunning that a trailer in the one minute range can get die-hard fans of both Telltale and Gearbox screeching and bouncing with excitement. Telltale is infamous now for their amazing storytelling, and Borderlands is also for it's utterly insane and wacky cast of characters, and it's large selection of loot, combined, this sounds like a game that could only be dreamed about in someone's sleep. A combo that seems to be made in heaven, what looks the like return of Handsome Jack, regarded as one of the best villains of 2012, and a cast of characters never before explored, this game is on the heels of greatness, on the heels to going down in Gaming History as a legend, with Half Life, with Portal, with Halo. One can only hope Tales from the Borderlands keeps the good changes of Borderlands 2 and adds to them with Telltale's skill. Fans cannot wait to see Gearbox and Telltale's concoction of madness and fun. The Crew While this game also got little press, taking a look into it, it looks to be a show-stopper with it's concepts. It aims to be no normal racing game, not 'by-the-books', instead, it aims to add Gang chases, crime, and cross-country riding to the table with some amazing visuals. For the first time, a racing game with some story and fun mechanics such as open world to it. This bold concept is being fulfilled by Ubisoft, not exactly well known for driving or racing in their games. The recent edition to Ubisoft's second big hit series, Far Cry 3, included driving as well as open world, and while open world was handled with extreme accuracy, driving was not critically acclaimed to be the best. But, excited drivers hold hope for the fantastical concepts in this out of the box racing game, as they hope it can live up to expectations, and be one of the best yet. The Order: 1886 What seems like a smashed together combo of Dishonored with it's visuals, and future steam-punk aspects, and Gears of War for it's barren and dark setting and overtones, as well as a shadowy enemy, The Order: 1886 looks to be one of the boldest art directions and ideas of 2014. A small trailer and gameplay photos are all the new game's fans have to look at, but even these seem like gorgeous pieces of eye-candy and overall, the games looks like it would be fun to jump into and quite enthralling. This looks to be a game like no other, where supernatural and technology collide, and looks to as well be a fun historical game, which we have seen few of in the past few decades. Destiny No, I did not forget. Destiny looks like Game of the Year, no doubt, a title that will revolutionize and change the gaming industry as well as the entertainment industry as a whole. RPG, FPS, Open World, Exploration, and more, Destiny is packed with so many interesting elements and mechanics. Going along with this, a storyline that looks to be up to the level of the legendary hit Star Wars. Action packed and filled to the brim with the best of nearly every single title that has ever hit legendary. Destiny is going to be a thrilling new title that will keep players busy for months. Titles like Destiny are what are held in the air when defending gaming and entertainment's industries. While many titles will release in 2014, we need to hold Destiny in the air, to separate it's special magic from the others. With the plethora of games releasing this new year, these are the 11 games that I singled out to talk about their features and why we should be excited, feel free to add your own below. What games on this list are you getting when they release?

Awesome, playing as Covenant this time around. Name: Vasz "One" 'Umbuee Race: Sangheili Age: 34 Rank: Major Appearance: Light grey skin which feels similar to a piece of weathered leather strips, bright blue eyes and a slight overbite on his mandibles, which each bear a darker colour then his skin tone. Armour appearance: Bright Crimson Minor Armor, adorned with Ultra Shoulders and dim orange lights and pulses on his armour, he wears a busted and cracked silver Dog tag along his neck, once belonging to a soldier, his first kill. One symbolizes this as a ritualistic object, a "first blood" of sorts, and keeps it to remember what started him on this path, likely as a motivation. Equipment: Covenant Carbine and a Jiralhanae combat knife/ Brief History: Vasz, now more commonly known as One, started off as a simple minor in the Covenant, another soldier to be wasted, another pawn to be used and cast aside, but One changed that one day. His story will follow this encounter many years later, and explain his tale eventually as the story continues, and how he was adorned with the name "One".

When browsing the origin store, I came across something quite interesting, a beta message for Titanfall. The message, at the bottom, clearly states "The beta is coming, prepare for battle." which could hint at an open or closed beta releasing soon, if so, it will definitely launch on at least PC, as it was confirmed on Origin first. A respawn employee likely updated the page too early, but this is for sure not a simple hoax from an employee or a flat out mistake to fool fans. No one has commented on this yet I believe, but I will update if an official employee breaks word about the accidental update. The update has since been taken down, but the photo above proves, it's in our hands, and battle is near. Source: Origin.com (Has been removed)

An interesting look into the recent Titanfall advertisement, now updated, has led fans on a duck hunt to solve it. The United Kingdom advertisement was in-fact updated recently, to include a miniscule detail hinting at a possible Viral Promotion Contest. The small update includes flashes of Binary code, which when decoded by fans, led to a site, containing a set of rules and regulations for an "Xbox One Advertisement Glitch Contest". While Titanfall is not immediately noticed, going through the registration leads to a site based on the name of the infamous Hammod Robotics, a Titan company. There is also a pintrest board, containing pictures of blossom, a reference to Angel City, a Titanfall map. Going along with this, prizes are revealed. These include Xbox One consoles, signed artwork, games, and in-game DLC. Microsoft has not replied to these rumors yet. Source: IGN.com

For those interested in the NFL titles, the Xbox One has some interesting enhancements soon releasing. If you're familiar with NeuLion, a streaming company working with Microsoft, you have heard that they have a multi-year contract with them to bring NFL content to the Xbox One. The content includes DLC, statistics, and TV channels geared around sports to be delivered at 60fps (Frames Per Second). The console is capable of such feats as it has a suitable video card for the situation. Chris Wagner, the company's executive VP had this to say: “One of NeuLion’s core strengths is our ability to get our partners to market fast with an integrated experience, Our sports platform has helped to reduce the complexities involved and deliver for Xbox fans a tremendous live sports experience on the game console.” The 60fps update has not yet been released, but the app is available, though it will require Xbox Live Gold and the free existing NFL app. This post has been promoted to an article

IF YOU CHOOSE COOL RANCH OVER NACHO YOU ARE NOT HUMAN! Nacho Cheese Master Race Filthy Cool Ranch Peasents.

Boston Creme Donuts Prediction: Strawberry Donuts

With the recent announcement of two Fable titles, Lionhead has commented on other projects in the works. As said, the two titles, Fable Legends, a multiplayer-focused fable for Xbox One, and Fable Anniversary, an HD remake of the original Fable, are apparently not all Lionhead has up their sleeves. When spotting a developer in the Studio's list of titles he worked on, one could clearly see Fable Legends beside an "unannounced project". As well, an earlier interview, Lionhead's Boss, said that while the studio was primarily Fable, they had been working on "other games, too." "We're working on other different sorts of games as well that we're not talking about right now and won't be Fable-esque," John Needham said. Stuart Whyte, the Studio's director, also commented on the matter, referencing their two main past games that were not Fable, The Movies, and Black & White. "We're not just a Fable studio. Judging by where we are at the moment we've had a lot of Fable games in recent times, but I wouldn't say that we're just Fable. I can't really say any more at this point!" What else do you think Lionhead has up their sleeves judging by this info?