Splinter Cell Blacklist Collector’s Edition Goodies

Collector’s editions of games are usually something that only the elite gamers (deep pockets) could afford – and that hasn’t changed in the recent past, BUT it’s also brought out some really wicked stuff that even the ones without deep pockets tend to dig deep to shell out. One such addition is the Splinter Cell Blacklist Collector’s Edition.

Splinter Cell Blacklist publisher Ubisoft has revealed the Collector’s Edition for the upcoming stealth game. The Paladin Multi-Mission Aircraft Edition for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 will be priced at $169.99 and be available on August 20 (in North America and Latin America only). The box will include a copy of the game, a copy of the 88-page Splinter Cell Echoes graphic novel, a poster, the “Billionaire’s Yacht” co-op map, the Upper Echelon Pack containing the “Dead Coast” co-op map as well as the Gold Sonar Goggles and Upper Echelon Suit in-game items, and a radio-controlled version of the Paladin airplane that hero Sam Fisher and his Fourth Echelon team use as their aerial base of operations. The Paladin is, according to Ubisoft, a “custom three-channel, dual-motor plane modeled after the in-game mobile headquarters.”

Yes, it actually flies.

Halo 4 Preview

Halo 4 begins the first of an impressive trilogy that’s set to blow your mind!

[youtube id="5N-CRrP9xjQ" width="600" height="350"]

Halo 4 is an upcoming first-person shooter video game and the eighth installment in the Halo franchise being developed for the Xbox 360. Halo 4 is intended to be the first of a new trilogy of Halo series games, named the “Reclaimer Trilogy”.Whereas the previous Halo games were developed by Bungie, Halo 4 will be developed by 343 Industries. The game begins 4 years after the ending of Halo 3, and marks the return of the Master Chief as the main protagonist, and AI Cortana.

Halo 4 was officially announced on June 4, 2011, at E3 2011.Its development was revealed at the same time as Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.The game is set for a worldwide release on November 6, 2012.

Halo 4 marks the return of John-117 – the “Master Chief” – as a playable protagonist for the first time since 2007′s Halo 3.Having been lost in space since the finale of Halo 3, Master Chief and Cortana, adrift aboard the wreckage of the UNSC frigate Forward Unto Dawn, find themselves near a mysterious Forerunner planet.A key plot point will involve changes to Cortana and how her exposure to Halo and her operation beyond her natural lifespan may have contributed to her becoming “rampant”, a mental state of aged AIs akin to insanity, and which normally results in the ‘death’ of the AI.The campaign will mainly take place on the artificial forerunner planet, called Requiem.

The story of Halo 4 will be focused less on the Halo series’ traditional straightforward first-person shooter genre, instead relying more on mystery, exploration and discovery.Developers described the game as being grand in scope and scale. Forerunner elements will be featured extensively in the game’s environment. Developers also suggested that the game will reveal how humanity and the UNSC have adapted to the galaxy after the end of their war with the Covenant, particularly how they have co-opted Forerunner technology.

Unlike the original trilogy, the story has been designed to be part of a three-game arc from the beginning. In addition, developer 343 Industries is aiming for “a more complete connectivity between all of their future media than before”,and the Forerunner Saga novel Halo: Primordium, the post-war novel Halo: Glasslands, and the terminals in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, will “definitely” have “resonant connections” to Halo 4′s story.Little information has been released regarding the storyline trilogy, but developers have claimed that Halo 5 will be a much darker title before the conflict is resolved in Halo 6.