Halo 2
Halo 2 is a 2004 first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004,[ the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001’s critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved. A Microsoft Windows version of the game was released on May 31, 2007,[ developed by an internal team at Microsoft Game Studios known as Hired Gun. The game features a new game engine, as well as using the Havok physics engine; added weapons and vehicles, and new multiplayer maps. The player alternately assumes the roles of the human Master Chief and the alien Arbiter in a 26th-century conflict between the human United Nations Space Command and genocidal Covenant.
After the success of Combat Evolved, a sequel was expected and highly anticipated. Bungie found inspiration in plot points and gameplay elements that had been left out of their first game, including multiplayer over the Internet through Xbox Live. Time constraints forced a series of cutbacks in the size and scope of the game, including a cliffhanger ending to the game’s campaign mode that left many in the studio dissatisfied. Among Halo 2‘s marketing efforts was an alternate reality gamecalled “I Love Bees” that involved players solving real-world puzzles.
On release, Halo 2 was the most popular video game on Xbox Live, holding that rank until the release of Gears of War for the Xbox 360 nearly two years later. By June 20, 2006, more than 500 million games of Halo 2 had been played and more than 710 million hours have been spent playing it on Xbox Live;[ by May 9, 2007, the number of unique players had risen to over five million.[ Halo 2 is the best-selling first-generation Xbox game with at least 6.3 million copies sold in the United States alone.[ The game received critical acclaim, with most publications lauding the strong multiplayer component. The campaign however, was the focus of criticism for its cliffhanger ending.
A high-definition remastered version of Halo 2 was released as part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection on November 11, 2014, for the Xbox One.
Halo 2 is a shooter game, with players predominantly experiencing gameplay from a first-person perspective.[ Players use a combination of human and alien weaponry and vehicles to progress through the game’s levels. The player’s health bar is not visible, but players are instead equipped with a damage-absorbing shield that regenerates when not taking fire.[
Certain weapons can be dual-wielded, allowing the player to trade accuracy, the use of grenades and melee attacks for raw firepower.[ The player can carry two weapons at a time (or three if dual-wielding; one weapon remains holstered), with each weapon having advantages and disadvantages in different combat situations. For example, most Covenant weapons eschew disposable ammo clips for a contained battery, which cannot be replaced if depleted. However, these weapons can overheat if fired continuously for prolonged periods. Human weapons are less effective at penetrating shields and require reloading, but cannot overheat due to prolonged fire. The player can carry a total of eight grenades (four human grenades, four Covenant) to dislodge and disrupt enemies. New in Halo 2 is the ability to board enemy vehicles that are near the player and traveling at low speeds. The player or AI latches onto the vehicle and forcibly ejects the other driver from the vehicle.
Battlefield 1
Battlefield 1 is a first-person shooter video game developed by EA DICE and published by Electronic Arts. Battlefield 1 is the fifteenth installment in the Battlefield series,[ and the first main entry in the series since Battlefield 4.] It was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 21, 2016.
Battlefield 1 received positive reviews by critics and was seen as an improvement over the series’ previous installments, Battlefield 4 and Battlefield Hardline. Most of the praise was directed towards its World War I theme, single-player campaigns, multiplayer modes, visuals, and sound design. It was a commercial success, selling over 15 million copies. A sequel, Battlefield V, was announced on May 23, 2018[ and was released on November 20, 2018.
Similar to its predecessors, Battlefield 1 is a first-person shooter game that emphasizes teamwork. It is set in the period of World War I, and is inspired by historical events. Players can make use of World War I weapons, including bolt-action rifles, submachine guns, automatic and semi-automatic rifles, artillery, flamethrowers, and mustard gas to combat opponents. Melee combat was reworked, with DICE introducing new melee weapons such as sabres, trench clubs, and shovels into the game. These melee weapons were divided into three groups: heavy, medium and light. Players can also take control of various armored vehicles, including light and heavy tanks, armored trucks, cars, torpedo boats, bi- and tri-plane aircraft, an armored train, Reconnaissance vehicles, a Dreadnought and an LZ 30 Airship, as well as ride horses into battle. Destructible environments and weapon customization, features present in the previous games, returned in Battlefield 1 and are more dynamic.[
The game’s world designer, Daniel Berlin, said the campaign mode has larger and more open environments than those in previous installments in the franchise, with more options and choices in terms of paths to completing levels and how to approach combat.[ Players can control several characters in the campaign. If the player dies in the prologue, they will then take control of another soldier and role instead of reloading from a checkpoint. These roles can range from tank gunner to rifleman. When the player dies, a name appears on the screen of a real soldier, along with their birth year. Unlike its predecessors, the game features a collection of war stories, similar to an anthology.[
The game’s multiplayer mode supports up to 64 players. The new squad system allows a group of players to enter and leave game servers together. According to Berlin, playing without joining a squad would make gameplay significantly more difficult.[ Multiplayer maps are based on locations around the world, including Arabia, the Western Front, and the Alps. The game launched with nine maps and six modes, which include Conquest, Domination, Operations, Rush, Team Deathmatch, and War Pigeons, a mode in which players must secure war pigeons and use them to call for an artillery strike.
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The Last of Us
The Last of Us is an action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released for the PlayStation 3 worldwide on June 14, 2013. Players control Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a post-apocalyptic United States. The Last of Us is played from a third-person perspective. Players use firearms and improvised weapons, and can use stealth to defend against hostile humans and cannibalistic creatures infected by a mutated strain of the Cordyceps fungus. In the online multiplayer mode, up to eight players engage in cooperative and competitive gameplay.
Development of The Last of Us began in 2009, soon after the release of Naughty Dog’s previous game, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The relationship between Joel and Ellie became the central focus of the game, with all other elements developed around it. Actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson portrayed Joel and Ellie respectively through voice and motion capture, and assisted creative director Neil Druckmann with the development of the characters and story. The original score was composed and performed by Gustavo Santaolalla.
Following its announcement in December 2011, The Last of Us was widely anticipated. Upon release, it received critical acclaim, with praise directed at its narrative, gameplay, visual and sound design, characterization, and depiction of female characters. The Last of Us became one of the best-selling games on the PlayStation 3, selling over 1.3 million units in its first week and 17 million by April 2018. It won year-end accolades, including multiple Game of the Year awards from several gaming publications, critics, and game award ceremonies, making it one of the most awarded games in history, and is considered one of the greatest video games ever made.
After the game’s release, Naughty Dog released several downloadable content additions. The Last of Us: Left Behind adds a single-player campaign following Ellie and her best friend Riley. An enhanced edition of the original game, The Last of Us Remastered, was released for the PlayStation 4 in July 2014. A sequel, The Last of Us Part II, was announced in December 2016.
The Last of Us is an action-adventure survival horror game played from a third-person perspective.[ The player traverses across post-apocalyptic environments such as towns, buildings, forest and sewers to advance the story. The player can use firearms, improvised weapons, and stealth to defend against hostile humans and cannibalistic creatures infected by a mutated strain of the Cordyceps fungus. For most of the game, the player takes control of Joel, a man tasked with escorting a young girl, Ellie, across the United States; Ellie and other companions are controlled by the artificial intelligence.[ The player also controls Ellie throughout the game’s winter segment.[
In combat, the player can use long-range weapons, such as rifles, shotguns, and bows, and short-range weapons such as handguns and short-barreled shotgun. The player is able to scavenge limited-use melee weapons, such as pipes and baseball bats, and throw bottles and bricks to distract, stun, or attack enemies.[ The player can upgrade weapons at workbenches using collected items. Equipment such as health kits and Molotov cocktails can be found or crafted using collected items. Attributes such as the health meter and crafting speed can be upgraded by collecting pills and medicinal plants. Health can be recharged through the use of health kits.[
Though the player can attack enemies directly, they can also use stealth to attack undetected or sneak by them. “Listen Mode” allows the player to locate enemies through a heightened sense of hearing and spatial awareness, indicated as outlines visible through walls and objects.[ In the dynamic cover system, the player can crouch behind obstacles to gain a tactical advantage during combat.[ The game features periods without combat, often involving conversation between the characters.[ The player can solve simple puzzles, such as using floating pallets to move Ellie, who is unable to swim, across bodies of water, and using ladders or dumpsters to reach higher areas. Story collectibles, such as notes, maps and comics, can be scavenged and viewed in the backpack menu.[
The game features an artificial intelligence system by which hostile human enemies react to combat. If enemies discover the player, they may take cover or call for assistance, and can take advantage of the player when they are distracted, out of ammunition, or in a fight. Player companions, such as Ellie, can assist in combat by throwing objects at threats to stun them, announcing the location of unseen enemies, or using a knife and pistol to attack enemies.
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Warframe
Warframe is a free-to-play cooperative third-person shooter video game developed and published by Digital Extremes. Originally released for Microsoft Windows in March 2013, it was later ported to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. In Warframe, players control members of the Tenno, a race of ancient warriors who have awoken from centuries of cryosleep to find themselves at war in a planetary system with different factions. The Tenno use their powered Warframes along with powerful weapons and abilities to complete missions. While many of the game’s missions use procedurally-generated levels, newer updates have included large open world areas similar to other massively multiplayer online games. The game includes elements of shooting and melee games, parkour, and role-playing to allow players to advance their Tenno character with improved gear.
The concepts for Warframe had been in place at Digital Extremes since 2000 under the name Dark Sector. The company reintroduced Dark Sector in 2004 in preparation for release on the upcoming seventh generation consoles but could not find a publisher due to its theme. Ultimately Digital Extremes released a game called Dark Sector in 2008, far different from their original plan. By 2012, looking at the success of free-to-play games, the developers took their earlier Dark Sector ideas and art assets, to present it as Warframe.
Initially, the growth of Warframe was slow, hindered by moderate critical reviews and low player counts. However, since it’s release, the game has experienced positive growth through development by Digital Extremes over the years. The game seen around 38 million players in 2018 and it is now one of Digital Extremes’ most successful titles, with it receiving a large chunk of developer attention through the introduction of new game content and modes. The game is supported by microtransactions, which lets player purchase in-game items for real money that would otherwise normally be obtained through grinding.
Set in an extremely far future, players control the members of the Tenno, a race of ancient warriors who have awoken from a century long cryosleep to find themselves at war with the Grineer, a matriarchal race of militarized and deteriorated human clones built upon metal, blood, and war; the Corpus, a mega-corporation with advanced robotics and laser technology built upon profit; the Infested, disfigured victims of the Technocyte virus, a reference to Dark Sector and the Sentients, a race of self-replicating machines returning from a stellar system known as the Tau system after being driven back centuries ago in an ancient war. To fight back, the Tenno use remotely controlled bio-mechanical suits to channel their unique abilities – the eponymous Warframes.[1]
All of the factions encountered in the game, including the Tenno, were created by or are splinter groups of the old Orokin Empire, an ancient civilization and former reigning power in the Sol system that was led by an elite caste of trans-humans known as the Orokin. Although most of them are long dead by the time of the Tenno’s awakening, their lingering presence can be still be felt throughout the Solar system.
Warframe is an online action game that includes elements of shooters, RPG and stealth games. The player creates their Tenno character, which includes a basic armor unit called a “Warframe” which provides the player with special abilities, basic weapons (a melee weapon, guns, and sidearms), and a ship. Through the ship’s console, they can select any of the available missions to them. A main storyline set of missions requires players to complete certain missions across planets and moons in the solar system, to be able to access relays that they can progress to other planets or locations. Other missions rotate over time as part of the game’s living universe; these can include missions with special rewards and community challenges to allow all players to reap benefits if they are successfully met. Aboard the ship, the player can also manage all other functions for their Tenno, including managing their arsenal of equipment, customizing their Warframe and weapons, crafting new equipment, and access the in-game store.
Missions can be played alone or with up to four players in a player versus environment cooperative manner. Each mission is given a ranking that indicates how difficult the mission is. Missions are generally played on randomly generated maps composed of “tiles” of map sections. Missions have various objectives, such as defeating a certain number of enemies, collecting data from terminals without activating alarms, rescuing prisoners, or defending points on the map for set periods of time. Newer updates have added space-bound combat using Archwings, and a large open-field environment where numerous bounties can be completed. Players can use their weapons, special abilities, and a number of parkour style moves to navigate through and overpower forces within these missions. Downed players may be revived a limited number of times on any map. Once complete, players are rewarded with in-game items, as well as in-game currency and items picked up while exploring the map; failure to complete a mission causes these rewards to be lost. In addition to cooperative missions, the game includes player versus player (PvP) content through the multiplayer “Conclave”, which also rewards the player for placing high in such matches.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt[is a 2015 action role-playing game developed and published by CD Projekt. Based on The Witcher series of fantasy novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, it is the sequel to the 2011 game The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Played in an open world with a third-person perspective, players control protagonist Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter known as a witcher, who is looking for his missing adopted daughter on the run from the Wild Hunt: an otherworldly force determined to capture and use her powers. Players battle the game’s many dangers with weapons and magic, interact with non-player characters, and complete main-story and side quests to acquire experience points and gold, which are used to increase Geralt’s abilities and purchase equipment. Its central story has several endings, determined by the player’s choices at certain points in the game.
Development began in 2011 and lasted for three and a half years. Voice recording took over two and a half years. The writing was infused with realistic aspects such as moral ambiguity in a deliberate attempt to avoid simplification, impart authenticity, and reflect Sapkowski’s novels. Europe was the basis of the game’s open world, with Poland, Amsterdam, and Scandinavia as its primary inspirations. REDengine 3 enabled the developer to create a complex story without compromising the game world. The music was composed by Marcin Przybyłowicz and performed by the Brandenburg State Orchestra.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on 19 May 2015. The game received critical acclaim, with praise of its gameplay, narrative, world design, combat, and visuals, although it received minor criticism due to technical issues, most of which were later patched. It received numerous Game of the Yearawards, and has been cited as one of the greatest video games of all time. The game was also a commercial success, shipping nearly ten million copies by March 2016. Two expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, were also released to critical acclaim. A Game of the Year edition, with the base game, expansions and all downloadable content, was released in August 2016.
Plot
Geralt rejoins his long-lost lover, Yennefer, in the town of White Orchard. Yennefer tells him that Emperor Emhyr has summoned him to the city of Vizima. Emhyr tasks Geralt with finding Ciri, who has recently been seen in several places. Ciri is a Child of the Elder Blood, the last heir to an ancient elfish bloodline with the power to manipulate space and time. Geralt first hears that Ciri was in Velen at Crow’s Perch, the Bloody Baron’s fort.[ The baron refuses to help, but Geralt’s acquaintance, the sorceress Keira Metz, tells him that an elfish mage was looking for Ciri. Keira directs Geralt to the Crones of Crookback Bog: malicious, ancient spirits living near Velen. The Crones say that they captured Ciri for the Wild Hunt before she escaped and have enslaved Anna, the baron’s missing wife. Geralt returns to the baron, who tells him that Ciri went to Novigrad.
He discovers that the Church of the Eternal Fire, a militant religious organization, is purging mages in Novigrad. Meeting his former lover, Triss Merigold, Geralt learns that Ciri had contacted his friend Dandelion. Geralt navigates Novigrad’s criminal underworld to rescue Dandelion, and learns that Ciri teleported to the Skellige archipelago. In Novigrad, Geralt may help Triss to free fugitive mages. He sails to Skellige and rejoins Yennefer, who has been investigating a magical explosion linked to Ciri. They track Ciri to the island of Lofoten, which has been attacked by the Wild Hunt. Geralt and Yennefer realise that Uma, a deformed, cursed creature at Crow’s Perch, was present after Ciri’s escape. Before leaving Skellige, Geralt can help determine who will rule Skellige after the king’s death. Yennefer severs the magical bond between her and Geralt, giving him the option of affirming his love for her or ending their relationship.
They bring Uma to the witcher school of Kaer Morhen, where Yennefer removes his curse and transforms him into Avallac’h. He reveals that he teleported Ciri to the Isle of Mists to save her from the Lofoten attack. Geralt travels to the island and finds Ciri in a deathlike state, until she is awakened by Avallac’h’s magic. She says that Eredin’s (the King of the Wild Hunt) homeworld is being destroyed by the White Frost, and he wants Ciri’s power to conquer the Continent. Ciri and Geralt teleport to Kaer Morhen, pursued by the Wild Hunt. After a brief reunion with Yennefer, Triss and Vesemir (their witcher mentor), the Hunt attacks. Vesemir is killed protecting Ciri; her distress unleashes her Elder power, and Eredin and the Hunt retreat. Geralt, Yennefer, Triss, Ciri, and their allies conduct a funeral for Vesemir. Ciri and Geralt travel to Novigrad and help Triss and Yennefer reform the Lodge of Sorceresses to aid their fight.
They learn about the Sunstone, a relic which can lure Eredin out and bind him to a location. On the Skelligan island of Undvik, Avallac’h uses the Sunstone to draw out the Hunt and their fleet. Geralt, Ciri, their allies and the Nilfgaardian fleet battle the Hunt, and Geralt defeats Eredin in combat. As the White Frost descends on Skellige, Ciri insists that she must confront it with her Elder Blood before it consumes all life on every world. She enters a portal and defeats the White Frost, ending the threat. The game ending varies, depending on previous choices. If Ciri is alive, Geralt can retire with Yennefer or Triss or remain a lone witcher. If Geralt helps Nilfgaard win the war and brings Ciri to meet the emperor, she will become empress; if Ciri does not meet the emperor, Geralt fakes her death and she becomes a witcher. If Ciri dies fighting the White Frost, Geralt hunts down her stolen medallion as a keepsake; surrounded by monsters when he finds it, his fate is unknown.
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