One of my fondest memories of playing a pre-release game was the Halo: Reach Beta that ran for about two weeks some months before the game’s release. The changes beyond the visuals were subtle at best. But what made it so great was the feeling of familiarity that came with the game. You could give someone a controller, tell them “This is a Halo game,” and, assuming they’ve played one before, they instantly understand how the game should be played. Every change that was made to Reach was enhanced off of the typical Halo design; things like assassinations, jetpacks, and armor lock all fit with how Halo had been designed for years beforehand. So it makes sense that when I played the beta for Halo 5: Guardians, I wasn’t impressed by it’s first impression.

Continue reading Greek Letters: Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta →

There has been a noticeable dearth in driving games this generation. Even EA, the kings of annualized games, just re-released last year’s Need for Speed game in a version that I personally call the “Game of Last Year Edition.” And after the catastrophic mess that was the launch of Driveclub, and the pretty good, but ultimately underwhelming Forza Horizon 2, Ubisoft’s The Crew seems the last hope for a little while.

Continue reading Greek Letters: The Crew Beta →