Category Archives: GAMING

GAMING

Grizzly Game Review: Sleeping Dogs

1 Comment

Summer is a quiet time for video gamers. With triple-A titles such as Call of Duty and Dishonored not being released until fall, there really isn’t a reason to get excited about summer if you’re a gamer. Of course we have Darksiders 2 which came out earlier this week, but that’s pretty much it.

Or is it?

Sleeping Dogs was also released on Tuesday for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. The game, once went by the name of True Crime: Hong Kong, was under United Front Games’ development before it was dropped by Activision. The publisher of the infamous Call of Duty  franchise decided that doing something different and switching things up are not part of their repertoire, and thus gave up on the title after pooling in a couple of years’ worth of resources and time. Six months after the game’s cancellation, Square Enix purchased the publishing rights to the game. And a year later, the game was released.

So, does the game make you put your dogs to sleep? Wait, that’s a horrible attempt on a pun, like “I’m gonna perform seppuku to express my shame” level of horrible. It doesn’t even make sense. What’s wrong with me?

How about this:
So, will you be playing Sleeping Dogs for a long time? Or will you be watching sleeping dogs online instead?

That’s much better.

Story

The game puts you in the shoes of Wei Shen, a detective working for San Francisco Police Department. He was seconded (or “lent”) to the Hong Kong police to help investigate a triad known as Sun On Yee. Wei was born and raised in Hong Kong for most of his childhood, and has some connections to triad members in the city. These factors make him a seemingly perfect candidate for undercover work in the gang. So, Wei is assigned a handler and his journey on the fine line between black and white begins.

Yea, we have all heard that story before.

Plot-wise, the game is fairly predictable. The characters range from the good-guy-who-turns-out-to-be-the-big-bad to the asshole-who-turns-out-to-be-cool-cat. You know, the usual stuff. Of course, there are also the dialogues practically made out of cheese:

Handler: I’m shutting the operation down because you can’t handle the stress
Wei: You can’t do it now! They see me as one of them. We’re so close!
Handler: That’s what I’m worried about – you’re one of them.

Obviously, we also have the melodramatic sequences in which the protagonist is not sure of his identity. You know, sound bites of characters from both sides of the law playing in the protagonist’s mind as he drives in the rain to confront a major antagonist and sad music about being lost or something like that playing in the background. It’s pretty much a basic requisite for any form of entertainment that involves police working undercover.

Despite of the story’s predictability and cringe-worthiness, I find it, strangely, enjoyable (though not by any means good). How the journey unfolds feels right, and most of the characters are fairly likable. Characters complement each other very well even though they’re molded straight from the cookie cutters of movies or TV shows dealing with Asian gangs. In this case, they picked the right cookie cutters and baked good cookies. They’re nothing mind-blowing, but they are very solid. The story flows well and is satisfying. Like a well-made sponge cake, it is nothing to be excited about, but you’ll eat it. It’s relatively bland compared to other cakes, but at the very least, it will meet your expectations since there aren’t too many things that could go wrong in a sponge cake. In non-food-analogy terms, the game tells an average story. Since the story is pretty easy to execute, and the writers delivered a solid performance, there aren’t too many flaws to be found in the end product. Your low expectations are easily met.

I still don’t understand the title though. Just thinking about it is wrinkling my brain.

(Note: Per TV Tropes. the title is based on the proverb “Let sleeping dogs lie”. It should be interpreted as “leave something alone as it may cause trouble”.  I still don’t get it though. Does that mean the protagonist should have left his past alone? Whatever. I’m done with this.)

7 grizzly paws out of 10.

Gameplay

Throughout the game, you will be completing around 30+ story missions. There aren’t too many varieties among missions. Most of them feature the player getting from point A to point B in a car, kick some asses, chase someone down on foot, and maybe pick up a gun and shoot some people. They’re fun, but not revolutionary. Early story missions introduced side quests. More on that later.

As far gameplay mechanics go, they are pretty well-done. The cars feel grippy, and are fun to drive. The devs did a great job in creating the sense of speed. Driving down the highway has never been more satisfying. Cars have different handlings. You can tell the difference between driving a van and a coupe. I did not like the motorcycles though. Their handling is not agile enough for me to pick them over cars. You can hop from one car to another as you drive, performing a mid-air high jack of sorts. Personally, I didn’t care for this feature. The cars you purchase from merchants are much faster than civilian cars anyways.

The shooting mechanics are so-so. They’re just there because open world games set in modern times need guns. You have a reticle and you shoot people. There are pistols, submachine guns, assault rifles, shotguns and grenade launchers.  That’s pretty much it. They don’t feel all that different. You can get into slow motion if you hit X (on the PS3 controller) as you vault over cover. That’s generally how I eliminate the baddies. Bullet time is somewhat over-powering if you ask me. A skilled player can take out quite a number of hostiles in one use.

The fighting mechanics, however, are other-worldly. Picture Batman: Arkham Asylum’s system on steroids.  Unlike Arkham Asylum, you can grapple your enemies in this game, and you need to hit a different button to counter enemy attacks. You can’t chain up insane combos in this game like you can in Batman, but I would take the melee combat system in this title over the other. Why? The combat in Sleeping Dogs is very fluid and much more brutal. You have the usual melee weapons as well. Most importantly, you can use the environment to your advantage. Grappling your enemy and hauling his ass into the spinning blades of a fan cannot be more satisfying. Or drop a car engine on him if you feel like it. Hell, you can throw him off a building if given a chance. It has the hands down most awesome hand-to-hand combat in open world games.

The parkour style on-foot chases are decent. Basically, you hold down the X button to run, and when the screen prompts you to vault or climb, hit the X button. It’s not Assassin’s creed though, since you can only climb low walls. It’s not like you can get to the top of a 10-storey building by just climbing up the side of said-building.  The pursuits are fun due to the diversity in environments. Running through the crowded night market of Hong Kong chasing after a gangster is pretty mesmerizing.

When it comes to side quests, the game offers a decent amount of those. Obviously, there are the usual street races, which are fun because they’re short and the driving mechanics are great. There are also the random encounters, which are diverse in objectives, though most of them follow a similar structure – the usual get to a certain point, do some stuff, and get paid. You may also pursue a romance if you so desire. Romantic interests appear as contacts on your phone after certain missions. You can invite them out for a date. Afterwards, you’ll receive some sort of reward. Most of them reveal the locations of hidden items on the map. These relationships are incredibly shallow since you won’t be able to contact them anymore after that one date (and in some cases, not see them ever again throughout the story). I have no idea why the devs were bothered enough to include this feature.

Speaking of hidden items, there are different types of those. There are health shrines, which boost 10% of your health for every five you find. You can also look for lock boxes, which grant you a generous sum of cash, or clothing items, or even a firearm. You are also asked to keep an eye out for security cameras. These cameras are located all across town and you’re asked to hack them on location. Hacking them will lead to potential drug busts. There are also statues which you can keep an eye out for during missions. These statues, when brought back to the wushu academy, can give you new fighting abilities. The rewards are immediate and adequate enough for you to actively seek out for them.

The critics are in love with the leveling up. To me, it just seems like a no-brainer. You have the cop XP and the thug XP. The former requires you to drive carefully throughout missions and not harm innocent civilians. The latter asks for you to be brutal towards your foes. (Perform an environment attack for example.) They do not contradict each other. There is the face meter as well, which keeps track of your progress on side missions. The more side missions you complete, the more you progress on your face meter. For each level of face you gain, you will unlock perks such as reduced prices of clothes and cars.

Customization options are limited to clothes. Wearing different sets grant you different perks as well. Some increase your XP and some reduce the price of cars. You can also purchase cars from merchants. They are generally faster than the generic civilian transport. Either case, there is nothing too special about them.

Powerups are available in food stalls. Different types of food grant you different temporary abilities. Consuming a can of energy drink will enhance your melee damage whereas eating a bowl of curry fishballs will increase your rate of health regeneration. They are readily available at all times, even during missions.

In conclusion, the gameplay is fine. It will last you somewhere over 20 hours. There is nothing innovative, but there are also little wrongdoings. The game is just fun to play. The complaint will be the devs were playing it a little too safe.

7.5 grizzly paws out of 10.

Presentation

Presentation is where this title shines. Having spent the first 16 years of my life in Hong Kong (which is a shit hole if you ask me), I am glad to report that Sleeping Dogs is a fairly accurate portrayal of Hong Kong. The game covered only one of three major areas of Hong Kong and only four of eighteen districts. Despite of these shortcomings, you can clearly tell the devs did their research. There is a balanced mix of eastern and western architectures across the city. Each district has a distinct feel to it and is a good representation of its real life counterpart. The narrow roads on the slopes of Central and the neon lights in North Point brought me a sense of nostalgia. Certainly, street vendors selling food do not happen anymore and the back alleys are much cleaner in reality, but there is no complaint from me. As a matter of fact, their inclusion gives the city an early-90’s feel, when nasty alleys and food carts were everywhere.

Complementing the city’s sights are the sounds. There are many interesting dialogues going on between pedestrians and they are surprisingly good reflections of the current Hong Kong culture. Some of the swear words / phrases are surprisingly explicit (which is a plus in my book). Well, I’m sure most of you don’t understand Cantonese, so this may not be a point of interest to you. Either case, I must applaud the devs for putting in all that hard work in making the city feel authentic.

I must also compliment the voice acting in Sleeping Dogs. The devs somehow managed to involve big time Hollywood actors in the project. Names such as James Hong, Will Yun Lee, Lucy Liu, Tom Wilkinson, Kelly Hu, and even our beloved Emma Stone appear on the credits.  They did a fantastic job in giving lives to the characters they were playing. Sadly, the devs have underused many of these talents. Most of them appeared in no more than a couple of missions only to be ditched and forgotten. For any Emma Stone fans out there, she appeared in only two missions and her character was never mentioned again. Anyways, I must also give credit to the rest of the cast – the ones voicing the nobodies on the streets. They were responsible for making the in-game city alive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NzBC2N7yAo

When it comes to soundtrack, the game covered a good number of genres. From Canto pop to Chinese oldies to American hip hop, they have it all. Don’t ask me if I like the Chinese tracks in the game. I listen to English music exclusively. Modern day Canto pop consists of incredibly one-dimensional love songs only. Anyways, the soundtrack doesn’t blow fishes out of water. It’s solid, but it’s also nothing special.

9 grizzly paws out of 10.

With that said…

The game is good. It is nicely executed but lacks in innovation. Without a doubt, it’s much better than its predecessor, True Crime: New York.

7.5 grizzly high fives out of 10

I don’t do round-ups.

Should you buy it?

Not now. As good as the game is, it is not on the level where Square Enix can command 60 bucks. Grand Theft Auto IV was perfection in presentation and Saints Row The Third was creativity at its finest. Certainly, the presentation of Sleeping Dogs is almost on a phenomenal level, but it is not enough to overcome the shortcomings in gameplay.

It’s a good, clean punch but not a knock out.

Rent the game or wait till a price drop (to somewhere under 40 bucks).

GAMING

Star Wars: You Have Reached Level 1313

Leave a comment

A new trailer for Star Wars 1313 has come out and it just makes me more and more excited… and angry because there is still no release date for the game! I would imagine It will hit store shelves sometime next year (Spring hopefully, though Christmas would be ideal for sales.) the way they are promoting it and how finished the game appears to be. The graphics are simply stunning and smooth and this time around won’t be your typical Star Wars game. Normally you are able to play as a Jedi and do all sorts of awesome shit with your lightsaber, in an unusually overpowered Jedi way as evidenced below:

However, the minimal information that we have to go on for 1313 is that it takes place in the deep underworld of Coruscant, the lawless abyss known as level 1313, hence the title of the game. And in the game instead of playing as a Jedi or Sith apprentice, you’ll be stepping into the shoes of a bounty hunter on the hunt to take down a criminal conspiracy. The criminals? We don’t know. The conspiracy? We don’t know. Although we do know that as this bounty hunter there will be an ass load of weaponry to use. The game has also been described to have cover based gameplay, platform gameplay and playable cinematic gameplay. I can only envision the cover based gameplay being a lot like our good friend Mass Effect, and upon watching gameplay footage of 1313 it sure the hell looks like Mass Effect, which is awesome. As much as I like Mass Effect the Star Wars galaxy is a far bigger place with a lot of avenues to explore. Listen to me thinking sequel already. But seriously watch the newest trailer below. I’m all for a sequel already:

The playable cinematic gameplay I would imagine is akin to something like Resident Evil 4 or parts of the Force Unleashed games. Maybe by now they’ve found more innovative ways to do things instead of quick button tapping and button combinations. Check out some direct gameplay below:

Personally I hope that Black Sun is involved somehow in this “criminal conspiracy”. They seem to be the mainstay criminal organization in the Star Wars universe aside from the Hutt Cartels. But then again, we don’t even know which era this will be in. Looking at some of the ship designs I’m betting it will be in the Dark Times era between episodes 3 and 4, which is a time period I love. There’s something about the dark and dangerous storylines in the Star Wars universe where the Empire is always a looming cloud and Jedi, smugglers and rebels alike are constantly on the run from them. The mood of that era does seem to fit perfectly with the supposed gritty and adult themed feel that the game will be sporting.

Hopefully more will be revealed soon as time progresses. (Like a damned release date!) I can’t get enough of the locales of Coruscant, particularly the less savory parts. Whether it is in the comics, movies,  games or books, the Coruscant’s underbelly is a diverse yet dangerous place. The best writing and descriptions of Coruscant are done by author Michael Reaves not only in the excellent Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, but also in the equally awesome Coruscant Nights trilogy that takes place soon after Order 66 and the end of the Clone Wars. I don’t expect any of the locations used by Reaves to be in the game but I’m eagerly anticipating whether or not they give Coruscant the same life that Mr. Reaves was able to convey in his novels.

GAMING

‘Arkham City’ Sequel is Actually a Prequel?

1 Comment

The epic, geek manga carta I had in my pants for the inevitable sequel to the bestselling Arkham City video game released late last year has just taken a nose dive upon hearing the most recent plans Rocksteady Games has for the franchise. Trust me, it doesn’t start off bad at all. First we are told that (It’s still rumor mind you) the game will in fact be a prequel to Arkham Asylum, so that’s fine right? Maybe a lead up to the first game showing Batman clobbering the various members of the rogues gallery and sending them one by one to Arkham, the whole thing ending with Batman capturing the Joker and leading right up to the beginning of the first game. Sounds great right? But apparently they’re going in a whole new direction.

According to a video at IGN, Rocksteady is furthering this new direction by having the game take place during the Silver Age of DC… Silver Age meaning the flashier costumes and ridiculous storylines like Batman traveling through space and stopping the most asinine schemes that his foes can throw at him. I’m having some trouble understanding how they go from the dark grittiness of the Arkham games into the fluffy and bygone era of the Silver Age. I hope this is one rumor that doesn’t come true. They also report that members of the Justice League will show up and the game will involve the Justice League being formed. Why not just sever all ties completely with the Arkham games then? Don’t even call it a prequel. If Warner Bros. and DC are wanting to start showing off the Justice League before their much-anticipated movie (supposedly due in 2015) then why not do a game focusing only on them? And this isn’t even the worst of it.

Paul Dini, the writer of the past two Arkham games and Batman: The Animated Series from the early 90’s will not be returning for this prequel game. To me Dini and the group of voice actors from the animated show, along with the newcomers completely owned the Batman scene. The voices and story all fit perfect, having the same amount of dark edginess to it that I remember from Batman: The Animated Series that I watched as a youngster. I watched the show and felt a sense of wonderment because so much of the show’s subject matter leaned towards being more dark and adult themed. Paul Dini will be deeply missed and hopefully won’t have to watch the franchise completely go down the crapper.

What do all of our Bat-Fans think? Excited for this so-called prequel or is it too soon to pass judgment? Sound off below!

GAMING

WoW: Mist of Pandaria Announces Release Date, Nerds in Basements Rejoice

Leave a comment

So according to multiple news sources, the ones I used being Gamespot and WoW Insider, it looks like we finally got a release date on the new expansion for World of Warcraft. Mists of Pandaria is going to be hitting store shelves on September 25th. Which means you need to start requesting that day off. The 4th expansion of the series will come with a new level cap of 90, a whole new playable race (The Pandaren) with new starting zones and the such, a new race (Monk), and something called scenarios which is a cooperative PvE trial where you get to brag about accomplishing certain tasks in dungeons and prove that you are better than your average WoW player. Of course there will be new zones and more raids and rewards as well but that goes without saying.

The reason this is a full blown article and not just a news item in a sea of news items? There’s an opportunity to win some beta keys. Of course I have to make sure that you had the opportunity to win some. On Battle.Net, Blizzard released some details that they are giving out 2,000 keys each week starting on July 31st, and every other winner will get a friend key as well so they can share the fun. All it requires is that you sign up via Facebook so if you still play WoW (and I imagine a bunch of you still do), this should be something you need to do.

For those that are going to wait until September 25th, you can pre-order them online at Battle.Net with the retail version being $39.99, the Digital Deluxe version for $59.99 and the Collector’s Edition at $79.99. Differences you ask? Retail is just the simple copy you get with no frills, the Digital Deluxe gets you a special in-game mount and pet, along with banners and sigils for Diablo III and some Starcraft II Battle.Net portraits. The Collector’s edition scores you the same stuff along with a Behind-the-Scenes DVD and Blu-Ray, a soundtrack CD, mouse pad and art book. So you have options. Looks like it’s time to throw some free time out the window. Especially with no BlizzCon, you now have more time to grind to 90 and hit some raids. Or bitch about the class balancing and out of control rewards system but whatever, details, details I guess. Also, how awesome is the dragon turtle mount?

GAMING

CCI 2012: Video Game News Roundup

Leave a comment

Hey there, people. It’s me again. Comic-Con has been rather quiet when it comes to video games. Just like day 1, nothing much happened in that area of nerdism so I decided to combine day 2, 3 and 4 into one article.

A Mass Effect anime will invade our television sets soon

Mass Effect: Paragon Lost is an anime series which is set right before the event of Mass Effect 3. The plot centers on James Vega (voiced by the corny Freddie Prinze Jr.), telling the story of his team’s encounter with the Collectors aka the bad guys in Mass Effect 2. Here’s a brief description of the storyline taken from the official website:

Mass Effect: Paragon Lost is the prequel to the highly-anticipated Mass Effect 3 and follows the early career of Alliance Marine, James Vega. Vega leads an elite Special Forces squad into battle against a mysterious alien threat known as The Collectors. Stationed at a colony in a remote star system, Vega and his soldiers must protect the civilians from a ruthless invasion determined to capture the population for unknown purposes. Learn more about the Mass Effect universe with an unprecedented glimpse into the haunted past of Mass Effect’s newest hero!

If you ask me, I don’t really give a shit about the anime. Given how crappy the ending is, there is no reason for me to care. Plus, the animation looks pretty bad. We’re talking about “made using Flash by a bunch of middle-schoolers” level of disaster. Don’t get me wrong. Flash can look fantastic when done right, but Paragon Lost does not seem to be the case. But what do I know? Some people liked the ending. That includes our very own CheeseBadger, who is oh-so-sarcastic all the time. Maybe some of you will enjoy this. As for me, I’ll pass.

By the way, the anime is coming out in November this year.

Oh, there’s also this Mass Effect 3 DLC tease

Word on the street is that BioWare released a teaser. Some speculate it’s for an upcoming DLC. Apparently the story is set underwater and there will be Atlas’s (the Cerberus robot thingy).  I’m not holding my breath for this one. Here’s an interesting question: was that pun intended?

(We’ll update this post as soon as we find the teaser on Youtube.)

The Last of Us introduces a new, bearded character

The trailer shows Joel, Ellie and the new character getting into a building after fending off the zombies, or whatever they’re called. I mean, technically speaking, they have some fungal infection in their brains or some crazy ass shit like that. That part isn’t so zombie-like, but since they’re acting as if they’re high on bath salts, we’ll just refer to them as zombies. They’re crazy, and I think they eat people. Let’s not pretend they’re anything other than zombies, aight?

Anyways, this mysterious figure, Bill, handcuffs Ellie and points the gun at Joel. The men get into an argument as Ellie breaks free to hit Bill with the steel pipe she was handcuffed to. Joel stops her after the first hit and the three talk things out. In short, Bill is the typical “trust nobody” type of guy who’s reluctant to help the protagonists in zombie movies. He’ll probably end up being eaten because he’s not a team player. Now all we need are some token (insert stereotypical minority ethnicity here) guy/gal, a dumb blonde, and a dickish beefcake to make the most predictable zombie video game ever. I am still intrigued by the story though.

More Resident Evil 6 details

Yoshiaki Hirabayashi, Resident Evil 6’s producer, has released more details on the game.

  • Jill and Claire will not be in the game. Claire will be mentioned.
  • You can switch camera to your character’s right or left.
  • For those hardcore players, the hud display can be switched off.
  • Weapons are scattered throughout levels. No purchases are necessary.
  • You no longer have worry about your AI partner’s inventory. He/She will pick up various items based on his/her needs.
  • Swapping items is possible when you’re playing online co-op.
  • Weapons are not individually upgraded. Instead, you upgrade weapons, among many other skills, through the allocation of skill points.
  • As of current, the game is not going to support Playstation Move.

Capcom has also revealed the voices behind the main characters:

  • Leon S Kennedy – Matthew Mercer
  • Helena Harper – Laura Bailey
  • Chris Redfield – Roger Craig Smith
  • Piers Nivans – Chris Emerson
  • Jake Muller – Troy Baker
  • Sherry Birkin – Eden Riegel
  • Ada Wong / Carla Radames – Courtnay Taylor

I swear to god Laura Bailey and Troy Baker were in every single thing that came out in the last twelve months. Both of them played the Boss in Saints Row The Third (Caucasian female and male respectively), as well as different supporting roles Mass Effect 3 (Laura as the asari lieutenant at the beginning of Priority: Thessia, I think, and Troy as the notoriously comical Kai Leng), and many more. Just look at their IMDB profiles yourself. Here’s Laura’s and here’s Troy’s.

They’re both quite attractive. Just saying…

A Deadpool video game is coming out…

And surprisingly, he’s not voiced by Nolan North, or is he? Oh wait, he is. All that I care about is Deadpool himself actually showed up in Comic Con to announce the game himself, and that was awesome.

The game is being developed by High Moon Studios and will be published by Activision. Anyways, here’s the teaser:

[youtube

The gameplay itself doesn’t look particularly interesting. It’s seems like another third-person hack-&-slash / shooting. Perhaps the witty dialogue may just be the game changer. Who knows? It’s too early to tell.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our Comic Con coverage. Big shoutouts to all of you who read the articles. I know it sounds corny but you are the reason why we’re doing this. We don’t get paid. Please keep following us on Facebook or Twitter (or start now if you haven’t already done so) for more pop culture opinions.

GAMING

CCI 2012: Halo 4 – Forward Unto Dawn Live-Action Trailer Plus Multiplayer Reactions!

Leave a comment

As if Comic-Con wasn’t exciting enough, Microsoft and 343 Industries released the official trailer yesterday for their upcoming digital web series, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. It. Is. Epic.

Based on the beloved Halo universe, the series will premiere on October 5, 2012, on machinima.com’s new premiere channel, Machinima Prime, and on Halo Waypoint on Xbox Live. Five episodes are planned for promotional purposes leading up to the release of Halo 4 on November 6. The official Xbox Halo Waypoint site says, “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn brings a brand new Halo story to life on a scale never before seen in the Halo Universe.” (Xbox.com: Halo Waypoint)

The story goes something like this:

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 Lasky comes to terms with his potential as a military leader, the terrifying alien alliance known as the Covenant arrives and turns his world upside down. Inspired by the Master Chief, he must decide what it means to be a hero. Halo fans who experience Lasky’s thrilling origin story in Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn will be rewarded with special insights into the story of Halo 4 and the “Halo Infinity Multiplayer” experience. (finance.yahoo.com)

Written by Todd and Aaron Helbing of Smallville and Spartacus, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn also boasts director Stewart Hendler of Sorority Row. The up-and-coming cast is riddled with smaller names that have made appearances in big-title films. For example, Master Chief will be played by Daniel Cudmore, who has been in X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, and The Twilight Saga. Tom Green (Dance Academy) will play Thomas Lasky, the character whose story drives the web series. More stars and their respective characters include Anna Popplewell (The Chronicles of Narnia) as Chyler Silva, Ayelet Zurer (Angels & Demons, Munich) as Mehaffey, Mike Dopud (Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol) as General Black, Enisha Brewster (Footloose) as April Orenski, Masam Holden (Grey’s Anatomy, Elizabethtown) as Michael “Sully” Sullivan, Osric Chau (2012) as JJ Chen, Iain Belcher (Supernatural) as Vickers, and Kat De Lieva as Dimah. (finance.yahoo.com)

Do I think this web series will be incredible? I think that was just a rhetorical question. Of course it will be. When video games started coming out with live-action trailers before the official release dates, all I could think of was, “That’s genius! What a way to get people more interested in the story than the gameplay. Video games are becoming real and relatable now.” Then when I saw the “Remember Reach” trailer which came out for Halo: Reach‘s promotion, I thought, “HO-LY SHIT. What did I just see?! My mind cannot contain or comprehend the glories that just scrolled in front of my eyes.”

If I was that stoked about the Reach trailer, you can very well expect this Halo fan of over 10 years to be more than ecstatic for another live-action viewing opportunity. For those of you wondering about the actual Halo 4 gameplay that is currently available at Comic-Con, all I can report is that our very own C Tan claims that the “multiplayer is awesome.” Take our word for it. (EDITOR’S NOTE: It was pretty sweet. Reminds me more of Halo 2 multi versus Halo 3, which is good. What was bad was I sucked at playing Halo so I got my ass kicked. Regardless, enjoyable and just feels a bit more balanced but that might have to deal with the fact no one else played it and didn’t have a great feel off the bat.)

For some additional eye candy on this series, you should check out this video by IGN: IGN First Look: Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Behind-the-Scenes. They were able to attend the set in Vancouver, B.C., and get some incredible behind-the-scenes footage. You can then add this to your list of total Halo achievements completed.

Check out more Comic-Con coverage here, more pics on our Tumblr and follow the action at the Con over on our Twitter!