Last week we picked your brain about your favorite fantasy world. This week, science fiction gets its day. What’s your favorite scifi universe, and why?

This isn’t a poll about your favorite science fiction movie, video game, or novel. It’s about the setting, the living, breathing world where the story takes place. Which one do you find the most intriguing, the most exciting? Which one would you most like to visit?

Vote in the poll above, and then if you like, head down to the Comments below and tell us why you voted the way you did. Or, if you don’t see your favorite universe listed in the poll, select “Other” and then write-in your vote in the Comments.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the poll:

• Alienverse: It’s yet to be confirmed that Ridley Scott’s upcoming Prometheus is a prequel to Alien, but it sure looks that way.
• The Forerunners’ Universe: The galaxy as built and influenced by the ancient Forerunner society in Halo.
• A Galaxy Far, Far Away: The setting of Star Wars.
• The Matrix: Both the scorched “real world” and the “interactive neural simulation” of The Matrix films.
• Pandora: The alien moon where Avatar takes place.
• Star Trek‘s Universe: Where starships and their crews boldly go and see what’s out there.
• The 13 Colonies of Cobol: The universe of the human and the Cylons as seen in Battlestar Galactica (either series).
• The Whoniverse: all of time and space as visitable in the TARDIS at the whims of Doctor Who.

[Image credit.]

So, yeah. A Halo movie. Pipe dream, right? When it comes to Hollywood, it sure seems that way. But the game’s legion of fans aren’t willing to sit around and wait for Hollywood to get in the game. Gamer Philip Kang (no relation to the Conqueror or the Klingon) created this incredible, 22-minute epic using nothing but Halo 3‘s in-game editor.

Halo: Eye of the Storm is the name of Kang’s creation, and it imagines the fifth level of Halo 3, “The Storm,” as a blockbuster movie. With his short film, Kang has single-handedly shows Hollywood why a Halo movie would be awesome. According to Joystiq, it took Kang over two years to create, because he had to keep playing “The Storm” level over and over to get the game’s AI to “perform” properly for the shots he wanted. All told, he played the level more than one hundred times.

That’s a lot more takes than most directors would require, but he wasn’t exactly working with trained thespians.

Don’t let Philip’s two years of work be in vain. Take 20 minutes out of your day to watch this. It’s worth it.

Neill Blomkamp’s big-budget Halo movie isn’t happening anytime soon. But one group of dedicated Halo fans decided not to sit around and fret of this unfortunate state of affairs. So they pooled their resources to create Helljumper, a forthcoming web series that looks good enough for Hollywood.

Across an unspecified number of episodes, Helljumper will tell the 27-year story of an ODST soldier named Gage Yevgenny, from a time before the war with the Covenant to the fabled Fall of Reach. The series employs some special effects and cinematography that look pretty darn good by Hollywood standards. (The trailer starts a bit slow, but wait for it — the good stuff kicks in around the 1:07 mark.)

The story is adapted from a short story in the book Halo: Evolutions called “Dirt,” which was written by science fiction author Tobias S. Buckell (who also wrote the bestselling Halo novel, The Cole Protocol). The series is directed by up-and-comer Dan Wang.

The series’ first episode is expected to premiere in January. In the meantime, you can learn more about the project at its official website.

The original Halo was a transformative moment in console gaming. It’s singlehandedly responsible for launching the Xbox as a platform, as well as proving the viability of Xbox Live. Bungie’s magnum opus has gotten a major facelift just in time for its tenth anniversary, and it’s still just as fun as you remember.

There’s very little I can say about Halo‘s gameplay that would be news to you. Master Chief, Cortana, Pillar of Autumn, Covenant, Flood, yadda yadda yadda. You know what Halo is and how it works. Most importantly, you know how it plays. And its trademark run-and-gun bliss has held up remarkably well in light of the more advanced shooters we enjoy today.

Halo Anniversary screenshot

Halo Anniversary upgrades the experience with modern sensibilities, but does nothing to change the game’s perfectly balanced action. Its most clever conceit is the inclusion of a button that lets you switch between the Halo‘s original graphics and Anniversary‘s newness. I was surprised to find that my memory of the first game had evolved over the years as gaming technology advanced, to the point that the remastered graphics of Halo Anniversary are remarkably similar to what I remember. Of course, the new graphics are significantly different, they’re more crisp and detailed now, but my memory was far kinder to the old game than its reality.

Switching over to the old-school graphics (a process that’s not as instantaneous as the game’s trailers would have you believe — it takes a few seconds to fade out and fade back in) reveals imagery so primitive by today’s standards that it’s downright laughable to think back at how high-tech it seemed at the time. I thought beforehand that it might be fun to play through a level or two with the original graphics, just for nostalgia’s sake, but a few minutes was more than enough to have me switching back to the newfangled tech, just because it’s so doggone better looking.

Halo Anniversary screenshot

Halo Anniversary is not a remake; it runs on the engine of the original game. So the feel of the game is precisely what you remember — the physics, the way the Chief moves, the pacing of the fights, the size of the locations, and placement of objects — it just comes in a shiny new package. But there’s more to Anniversary than upgraded graphics. Scenes are lit with movie-style cinematography, nicely heightening the drama. The musical score has been re-recorded with a bigger, fuller orchestra and some additional cues, though just like with the graphics, the game offers you the option to switch between the original score and the new, enhanced version. Sound effects have been upgraded as well. You can even play the game in 3D if you have a 3D-capable TV.

Halo Anniversary screenshot

There’s no getting around how weird the human character models are when you first see them. They look more like real people now, but the transition is as jarring as a cartoon character suddenly being portrayed by a live-action actor. Their lips also seem to move with a peculiarity that leaves them lost somewhere in the uncanny valley. But Master Chief and the alien characters look great.

Another new addition is a series of mythology heavy, pre-rendered cutscenes that flesh out the backstory of the Forerunners, Halo, and Guilty Spark. There’s one of these polished scenes for every level, but they’re hidden almost like Easter eggs, and it’s up to you to find them. Some are easy to locate, others are almost diabolical.

Halo Anniversary screenshot

A teeny bit of Kinect functionality has been added to the game in the form of a downloadable update. With Kinect, you can issue orders by voice for things like throwing grenades and turning on your flashlight. It’s sorta nifty, but still feels like an afterthought, and it’s in no way required to excel at the game. Multiplayer is a bit more hit-and-miss; some of the classic maps have held up with better balance and flow than others, though there’s one fun new firefight map included. The addition of two-player co-op over Xbox Live is extremely welcome, and can really change the overall dynamic of the game.

Bottom line: Halo Anniversary is a must-play for the series faithful, if only to get a second chance at besting it while putting your Xbox 360′s processing power through its paces. But if Halo never interested you before, this won’t change your mind. On the other hand, newbies might finally find this as their excuse to jump on board the Halo phenomenon.

Halo Living Monument

Oh, Microsoft. You and your oddball marketing campaigns.

Halo Living Monument picture

The latest is this website called Halo Living Monument, where you can add a photo of your own to a 3D model of the Master Chief. The idea is to give fans the chance to pay tribute to the character and game (and console) that gave them so many hours of love, across four FPS games. In conjunction with Halo: Anniversary, releasing tomorrow, Halo Living Monument is supposedly a way to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the franchise.

I’m not sure what the ultimate point is, here. Are they going to manufacture figurine versions of the final mosaic-covered Master Chief? Does it give you some kind of in-game bragging rights if your photo is chosen for inclusion? I don’t get it, though I do see some nifty nostalgic pictures like the one at right, and some cool fan art. But the majority of images appear to be gamer guys mugging as if for their high school yearbook, with no reference to Halo visible. Why, people, why? (I’m happy to report there’s a minimum of half-naked weirdos among these pics.)

If you feel the need, you can add your own image by clicking the link above. But do the world a favor and make sure it’s actually Halo-related.

Despite the high-res textures, character models with way more polygons, and all kinds of other upgraded technology on display in this trailer, there’s still something decidedly retro about the look and feel of Halo: Anniversary.

Take a look at the launch trailer for Halo: Anniversary and tell me you don’t feel the same. They can throw all the state-of-the-art tech in the world into the original Halo, but it still plays like the original Halo. Which I suppose is the point. I mean, let’s face it: the first Halo is sacred among the Xbox faithful, and you don’t screw around with it unless you have a death wish.

That said, fans of the series will find more to enjoy in this remastered game than just enhanced bells and whistles. Seven of Halo’s all-time most popular multiplayer maps are included, along with all of the latest Xbox Live features that have been added to the most recent games in the series. There are new achievements, new challenges, new online co-op play, and even additional story material to find within the game world.

Halo: Anniversary drops November 15th, for the bargain price of just $39.99.

Microsoft’s 343 Industries — its new division devoted to making new Halo games — has spilled some early details about Halo 4… and beyond.

The "mysterious new planet" featured in Halo 4

343 Industries has enormous shoes to fill and unreasonable expectations to meet in trying to pick up Bungie’s torch to run with the Halo franchise. Our first glimpse at Halo 4 came via this year’s E3, when Microsoft unveiled a CG teaser trailer that showed Master Chief being awakened from his stasis by a new galaxy-threatening crisis.

At the recent PAX gaming convention, 343 held a Halo 4 panel and began to trickle out details about the new game. The big news: Halo 4, Halo 5, and Halo 6 are being collectively titled “The Reclaimer Trilogy.” (As such, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the title “Halo 4” go away at some point, in favor of some new “Halo: Subtitle” name.) They said that the trilogy will more deeply explore Master Chief as a character, and that he and Cortana — and the unique relationship between them — will be a big focus.

As hinted at in the trailer, Master Chief is heading towards a “mysterious new planet,” which is directly connected to the Forerunners (the alien race that built the Halo rings). Might we be visiting the Forerunners’ home world in Halo 4? Hmm… One of the devs mentioned that while we’ve seen abandoned Forerunner technology in the past, The Reclaimer Trilogy will show us Forerunner tech at its peak. Exploration of this world will play a big part of the game.

Master Chief in Halo 4

They also plan to introduce new weapons and abilities, but to balance this carefully with the elements fans know and love from the original trilogy.

Lastly, they commented on the visuals in the game and how they will evolve and grow to reflect the evolution of Master Chief‘s character. They said they’re still tweaking the details of the Chief’s look for the new game, and that the one seen in the teaser trailer is not the final version. One thing they hope to convey with their design is that Master Chief is “an 800-pound hero that’s part tank, part jet fighter.” They also showed a demo reel (embedded above) showing off concept art for the new game.

Halo 4 has no release date, but Microsoft has wanted to make the franchise an annual one for a long time now, so with Halo: Anniversary coming this year… My money is on Holiday 2012.

Mark your calendar for June 23 – July 7, Halo fans. For those two weeks, Bungie is pulling out all the stops for a spectacular “farewell to Halo” extravaganza on the 20th anniversary of the company’s inception. Halo isn’t going anywhere, of course. Microsoft just announced two new Halo releases at E3 last week. But series creator Bungie is leaving its baby in the hands of others as it sets off to create a mysterious new franchise.

The two weeks of Halo goodness will (finally!) include a detailed explanation of “Bungie Aerospace,” a trademark filed by the game maker that scuttlebutt says is a code name connected to their next game. Of course, there’s always the chance that Bungie Aerospace could be a side project from the studio, some sort of non-gaming venture. Guess we’ll find out soon.

Bungie will also be making available some rare Halo swag in its own Bungie Store, along with some rare Halo artwork that will be auctioned off for charity. On Bungie Day, June 7th, the company’s staff is planning a 24-hour marathon of Halo: Reach multiplayer tournaments, with teams who best Bungie by 20+ kills being awarded “a grade-A cut of steak.” Seriously.

If you’re ready for all-Halo-all-the-time, you’ll also want to download Bungie’s new community app to your iPhone.

Kicking off a months-long celebration of Xbox’s flagship game, Microsoft today announced a slew of goodies for Halo fans that will begin this Friday.

Xbox 360′s version of Halo Waypoint is getting a significant update with several new features, including a streamlined experience, making Waypoint faster and smoother. Waypoint fans will gain access to their Halo: Reach service record, complete with detailed stats, which you can compare against your friends, along with two new Waypoint career levels. You’ll be able to launch the Games on Demand version of Halo: Reach from inside Waypoint, too.

Premiering on Waypoint April 23rd is “The Mona Lisa,” a new motion comic that retells a story set after the first Halo game from the Halo Evolutions anthology. The UNSC Red Horse discovers a prison ship called the Mona Lisa adrift in the debris from the first Halo, holding a terrifying secret within its walls. You’ll be able to watch “The Mona Lisa” from Waypoint, Windows Phone 7, and on the Net.

A wealth of new avatar items will be available starting tomorrow (April 14th), including Spartan helmets, Red v. Blue shirts, and even a Flood creature you can own as your pet. Square Enix is also releasing a selection of new Halo action figures. You can see images of all this stuff in the gallery below.

Microsoft fell short of announcing that HD remake of Halo 1 that we’ve been waiting to hear about, but scuttlebutt still suggests that it’s on target for a release this Christmas.

It takes a LEGO builder of special caliber to build something of their own design that’s recognizable to others. Now imagine compounding that challenge by trying to make something out of LEGO that you can actually wear.

By its very nature, LEGO is far too fragile to be worn. It’s not meant for building clothes; basic human movement is more than enough to cause the bricks to come apart and shatter on the floor. I’m not sure how teenage master builder Ben Caulkins managed to avoid this — if he glued the pieces together or what. But cleverly using Technic pieces for the framework, he modeled his costume pieces to the contours of his own body, and then molded them to look unmistakably like the Master Chief‘s costume.

In one of his many comments about building the costume — which he’s photographically documented in its entirety — Caulkins mentions that the suit is painfully hot to wear, not to mention heavy. But you’ve got to admire his ingenuity. Starting with a wetsuit underneath, he attaches each piece of armor with velcro. The ensemble is completed by his custom-made, wearable helmet, and black biker gloves that he affixed more bits of armor to.

And even after all this, he says the suit isn’t finished yet. He’s still got the lower legs and feet to do, too.

With all the work he’s put into the suit, you’d expect Caulkins to be a serious Halo player, but he says he doesn’t even own an Xbox!

November 2011 will mark the 10th anniversary of the first Halo game — the game that both started a franchise and launched a console (the original Xbox). So you might say that Microsoft has a soft spot for Halo 1.

When Bungie jumped ship from Microsoft to Activision after this year’s Halo: Reach (review), no way was Microsoft going to let such a lucrative franchise just fade away. 343 Industries, a new studio internal to Microsoft, was formed primarily to take up the Halo mantle and keep cranking out new entries in the series. Their first game — widely believed to be Halo 4 — is rumored to be scheduled for holiday 2012.

But that leaves a gap of two years between Reach and the next new game. Microsoft is way too smart to go two whole years without any new Halo (sure, they did it in the past, but that was out of respect to Bungie; now MS is calling the shots), so to keep the franchise alive in the meantime, 343 is rumored to also be working on a remake of the original Halo.

This new iteration of the classic would feature full HD graphics using the Reach engine, and would likely arrive next November, just in time for the game’s 10th anniversary.

All of this is just speculation right now, as the rumored remake is nothing but that: a rumor. But I wholeheartedly believe that Microsoft is pursuing this, because it just makes too much business sense for them not to.

The trick will be in getting the series’ millions of fans to purchase a remake of a game they’ve already played. I can think of two ways this could be done:

1. Lower the price. No way will people shell out $60 to play a game they’ve already played — ten years ago — at today’s standard price. Offer it at $20 or $30 at the most, and make it available as both a box-on-a-shelf and an Xbox Live download.
2. Add new content. If Halo HD turns out to be nothing but a straight remake, with nothing enhanced beyond the graphics and physics, it won’t generate sales outside of the average nostalgic gamer. To really reach the masses with this, they’ll have to add some buzz-worthy new features, like new levels — both single and multiplayer — and all of the online multiplayer modes that have been introduced with Halo: Reach. Add in Forge for user level creation, the Theater for recording video, and maybe even toss in some new ideas that Halo‘s never done before.

If Halo HD becomes a reality, will you buy it?

Follow @FGgamer on Twitter for the latest gaming news.

Halo: Reach is more than just Bungie’s magnum opus for the Halo series. It’s a love letter to the franchise’s multitude of fans, in the form of a “greatest hits” compilation of everything the series has done right.

But that’s not to say that Reach is unwilling to try new things. This final installment of the series is so robust with features and so expertly executed, that it can’t help but be a thrilling, resounding success.

Since this is Bungie‘s final Halo game ever (though no doubt there will be more from Microsoft, which holds the rights to the franchise), they took a kitchen sink approach with it. There’s a full 8+ hour solo campaign, an entire menu of multiplayer modes, the popular Forge level editor first provided with Halo 3, and the Theater, where you can record, edit, and watch your own Halo movies. All of these elements have been given numerous upgrades and a ton of polish, and everything — and I mean absolutely everything — offers customization out the wazoo, down to the tiniest minutia.

The campaign’s story shows one of the most pivotal events Halo’s mythology: the fall of the human-colonized planet Reach to the vicious Covenent. Referenced frequently throughout the Halo trilogy, the fall of Reach even has its own novelization. But Halo: Reach lets you to live these events, and in placing you inside this tragic story, Bungie achieves a level of tension that I’ve never experienced in a video game before. You know from minute one that Reach is going to be decimated, that countless lives will be lost, so every move you make carries great significance and a tangible sense of foreboding. Will this level be the one where the planet is set ablaze, or where one or more of my team members will be killed? It’s dark stuff to be sure, a disaster movie of global proportions, but somehow Bungie manages to pull it off with just the right amount of tragic heroism, while never dragging the player into the depths of depression.

I’ve always found Halo’s storytelling to be a bit lacking, as the focus has always been on that razor-sharp gameplay. In particular, I never liked how you had to work harder to get the whole story than you had to work to take part in the gameplay. Reach resolves these issues nicely, with some dramatic cutscenes that tell you everything you need to know to follow the story.

Reach itself is a gorgeous world, fully realized. Bungie outdid themselves on the graphics front, mixing high-res textures with a color palette that goes far beyond the green-and-purple hues of the trilogy to the full spectrum. Wandering around the countryside or strolling through the cities at night is absolutely stunning. Case in point: there’s a waterfall in one outdoor level that looks unquestionably real, as if it was a video of an earthbound waterfall that Bungie somehow mapped and put into the game. And water is one of the hardest things for CGI to pull off convincingly. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. I often found myself wishing that the game weren’t quite so frantic, because I would love to — sometime, when in a more contemplative mood — roam the hills and mountains and plains, and just explore its grandeur and beauty.

Because Halo: Reach is a prequel to the trilogy, many of the elements players are most familiar with are absent. There’s no Master Chief, no Arbiter, no Guilty Spark, and no Flood. But nearly every other trope from the series is present in one form or another, from the weapons and armor to vehicles and bases. The HUD is exactly the same as it’s always been, and you’ll recognize the feel and the sounds of every weapon you wield. And there are a ton of weapons, too — I could write an entire article on the dozens upon dozens of weaponry types and models available to use in this game.

The team dynamic is probably the most profound new innovation for Halo: Reach. You’re cast in the story as a nameless soldier (who can be male or female), just assigned to a crew of Spartans called Noble Team, and since you’re the sixth member, you’re known as “Noble Six.” We never get to learn anything about Noble Six, but this team is every bit as tough and resourceful as another Spartan that players know so well.

Each member of the team has their own personality and abilities, and you’ll come to care about and respect each one of them. Playing alongside them in the solo campaign is a treat, as you’re often unleashed against enemies of overwhelming numbers, but thanks to the assistance of your cohorts, you come out of the fight feeling like a master player (whether you are one or not). The enemy AI is just as lethal and cunning as Halo fans expect, but unfortunately Noble Team isn’t quite so smart on the battlefield. More times than I could count, my beloved teammates would strafe right through my line of fire, and I frequently found one or more of them stuck, standing in a certain spot for no particular reason. (I always popped off a shot at them to wake ‘em up.)

The voice of your commanding officer is in your ear at all times, guiding you to directives and barking urgent orders. The game has a stronger sense of momentum to it than any other in the series, to the point that you never feel you have time to stop and explore (even though you do), and it reminded me a lot of that same trick that Modern Warfare put to good use.

There are times you’ll be given orders to go to important locations, but not told how to get there. There were more of these instances than I could count, and it was very frustrating at first. With multiple paths to choose from on this living, breathing planet, do I go left, right, straight, etc.? It wasn’t until about halfway through the game that I realized that Reach‘s levels are ingeniously built to prevent you from getting lost. It feels like you’re roaming freely, choosing your own path, but all roads lead to your next objective. Very clever.

Halo: Reach never tries to depict the fall of the entire planet; instead, you stick with Noble Team and witness events from their point of view. They’re a crucial group, the most important in the war for Reach, so you see a lot of very important events. But they can’t be everywhere, so you don’t have to watch billions die right in front of you. It’s a slow burn as the game goes from the moment when the Covenant arrives on Reach, to an all-out war between humans and aliens, to finally a desperate fight to save as many humans as possible and help them escape the planet.

Another new element introduced into the series is a level where you dogfight in space above Reach. This level is so much fun, I could play it all day. Your sleek spacecraft can shoot lasers and torpedoes both, while engaging in evasive maneuvers and hitting the afterburners. Shooting enemy ships is made easier by the reticle not focusing on the ship but on the spot in front of the moving ship where you need to fire in order to hit it. I was reminded of the thrilling space battles in Star Wars Battlefront II, and the only negative thing I can say about it is that it didn’t last long enough to satisfy my hunger.

The same can’t be said of the twin-rotor airships, which you’re asked to pilot during one critical mission in the game’s second half. Sure, it’s fun and clever to get to fly the airship around a dense city and land on helipads and hoof it around various hotspots for important objectives, but trying to fight in the thing is a bear, because it handles like a flying tank. Sluggishly turning and barely offering anything resembling speed, you’ll fight frustration more than the Covenant in the airship — which is made all the harder because it’s a lengthy nighttime level where visibility is very poor.

The solo campaign ends beautifully, perfectly setting everything the events from the first game into motion.

The multiplayer options are nearly endless, with deathmatches, co-ops, Firefights, Matchmaking, and so much more, where every last option can be tweaked. I particularly enjoyed Firefight mode, where it’s all about defending your territory and surviving wave after wave of enemies. Every mode — even Forge, where you can edit your own levels — lets you rack up points, and with more points, come even more options that you can unlock and purchase to your heart’s content. Needless to say, Bungie is one studio that understands the importance of replay value, and Reach sends it off the charts.

Halo: Reach is the must-have title of the year for Xbox owners, offering as much playtime value as any dozen other games combined.

In case you haven’t heard, there’s this little indie game coming out next week called Halo: Reach.

A full, extended version of the “Deliver Hope” live action short film that Microsoft commissioned for Halo: Reach has found its way online, and man is it a doozy. Full of killer battle scenes on a planet burning from invasion and war, there’s no other word to describe it but epic. It makes me yearn all the more for District 9 director Neil Blomkamp’s Halo movie-that-almost-was (even though Blomkamp had nothing to do with making this ad).

Kudos to Machinima.com for the exclusive on this. In related news, today it was announced that there are thousands of midnight events taking place all over the country to celebrate the release of the game, which you can read about here.

A few weeks ago, I speculated about whether or not the “fighting a losing battle” nature of Halo: Reach would be an asset or an achilles’ heel. I have to admire the fact that Microsoft and Bungie aren’t shying away from the fatalistic aspects of the game — they’re attempting to use the heavy subject matter to their advantage.

One particularly intriguing new social marketing campaign sees a massive robot arm in a nondescript warehouse, creating a “constellation of light.” Fans can go to RememberReach.com and sign up to add a star to this constellation. As you can see from the image above, the resulting memorial is going to depict the five members of “Noble team,” one of which you’ll play as in the game.

Head over to the site, and after an age gate, some tragic, mournful music kicks in and you’re invited to register with the site to add your own “point of light” to the memorial. In the end, there will be 54,000 points of light in all that make up this sorrowful image.

In case you don’t know: Halo: Reach tells of the infamous fall of the planet Reach, a pivotal turning point in Halo‘s universe. The game plops you right in the middle of this revolution — on the losing side. So no matter what you do, no matter how hard you fight, the game will always end in defeat.

It’s pretty nifty to watch that robot arm do its thing, and there can be no doubt that Microsoft is throwing the full weight of its marketing might behind this game. But it’s taking its subject matter so seriously that I still wonder if fans will find this entry as fun and memorable as the past games, or if this one will simply be too depressing for hardcore gamers’ tastes. Personally, I love that the game makers aren’t afraid to go down this road and that they’re actually trying to elicit an emotional response in gamers. But I’m not sure that the majority of gamers would agree with me (and Bungie).

We’ll find out in about two weeks, when Halo: Reach arrives in stores.

Fall 2010 is going to be one of the hottest seasons ever for gamers. Though the economy is still sluggish, the arrival of the new motion controllers — Xbox Kinect and PlayStation Move — and a slew of new A-list titles, and we could have ourselves a record quarter for the gaming industry.

Let’s look at the ten hottest titles coming to a console near you in the next two or three months. (And fanboys, start cracking those knuckles: you’re invited to gripe about all of the big games I didn’t include…)

10) Call of Duty: Black Ops

Does this long-lasting franchise still have some life left in it? Especially now that the creators of the series at Infinity Ward have been dumped by Activision? The prognosis looks pretty good. For one thing, Black Ops is an entry from secondary game production team Treyarch, which has a history of turning in solid titles.

The Infinity Ward titles get all of the brio and hype, but Treyarch still produces excellent games that maintain the quality standards the series is known for. Plus, Black Ops throws a whole new dynamic into the mix: setting the game in the throws of the Cold War, and featuring a heavy focus on covert tactics, with new and different kinds of weapons and vehicles. Have gamers finally tired of Call of Duty?

Doubt it.

9) PlayStation Move

This isn’t a game so much as a peripheral (or a whole new platform, depending on who you ask). Regardless, it brings with it a new way of playing on the PS3, and an entire roster of new titles to go with it. Sadly, the most promising of the bunch — SOCOM 4 — has been pushed back to 2010. What’s more, everyone that’s had some hands-on time with the Move controllers are calling it Wii HD. Granted, it’s got super high-def games, and the controllers are more finely tuned than even the Wii Motion Plus. But it’s still beyond obvious that Sony couldn’t come up with anything more original in the motion controller wars than a riff on the Wii.

Are Sony fans itching to Move? We’re all about to be bombarded with ads for the new controllers, so I guess we’ll find out.

8) Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2

How is Starkiller back from the dead? Is he a clone? Was the original Starkiller a clone, too? Or is something else at work? (After all, if the Empire could clone Jedi so easily… why didn’t they clone a Jedi army instead of all those disposable Stormtroopers?) Story is front and center of the new Force Unleashed title, and that’s A-okay with me.

The original game was a blast for the faithful, offering you the chance to manipulate entire environments and obliterate your enemies just by using the Force. The new game is adding lots of cool new tricks to Starkiller’s arsenal, as well as dual lightsabers for him to wield. And the buzz from people who actually played it at E3 was off the charts.

7) Little Big Planet 2

The first LBP was a revelation to many. Its cardboard aesthetic was clever, and its side-scrolling gameplay dynamic was like Mario designed for three generations from now. What really set the game apart was the ease with which it allowed users to create their own levels and then share them on the PS3.

The second game in the series looks as though it’s being made primarily to serve those amateur game makers by giving them a vast new toolset to play with. Modders can now make virtually any type of game they want — not just side-scrollers — including racing games, RTS, FPS, and more. It remains to be seen if LBP2 will provide enough incentive for noobs to jump on the bandwagon, but what’s exciting about it is getting to see just how innovative gamers will become with the versatile new tools it offers.

6) Super Scribblenauts

Scribblenauts was one of the most original games of all time, giving gamers a virtual playground to think up pretty much anything by writing words on the screen of their Nintendo DS, and then dropping the objects those words create into an environment together to see what happens. Super Scribblenauts improves on the original with lots of player-requested tweaks and an entire dictionary worth of adjectives that you can use to add greater specificity to the words you write.

Overlook this one at your own risk.

5) Fable III

Fable II finally gave the Xbox 360 the genre-defining RPS it deserved, and its addictive gameplay was the source of many a sleepless night. Fable III takes the formula to a new level by offering you the chance to become king over Albion, and see what kind of a ruler you would be. Its “industrial revolution” setting looks like the shot in the arm the franchise needs, and the dozens of other innovations are sure to entice existing fans back for more.

For anyone who played Fable II, Fable III is already at the top of their wish list.

4) Rock Band 3

A real-world six-string guitar. A piano keyboard. Fine-tuned instruments. A gi-normous playlist. Rock Band has defined the rhythmic gaming genre with its past titles.

How can Rock Band 3 not be another mega-hit?

3) Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Brotherhood adds some much-needed multiplayer to the bestselling series, letting you hunt and assassinate those pesky Templars alongside your BFFs. Come on, admit it: that’s just too awesome to resist. Plus, there’s a fantastic-looking single player campaign that continues the story of fan-favorite protagonist Ezzio Auditore, taking him to Rome to build an entire army of assassins. With three enormous new areas of Rome to explore — all three of which are bigger than the three cities we visited in AC2 — and tons of multiplayer goodness, there’s a tremendous bang for your buck.

2) Halo: Reach

There’s a reason Halo is one of the biggest gaming franchises in the world. Well, more than one, actually. First, there’s that honed-to-perfection, frenetic gameplay. Then there’s the legions of fans who spend day and night online in deathmatches and capture-the-flag and all those other wonderful multiplayer game modes.

What Halo: Reach brings to the table that most of the other games have lacked is a powerful story. (Don’t hate me fanboys — I know ODST had a pretty darn awesome story, but it was the exception to the rule.) The fall of the planet Reach is the pivotal event in the games’ history, and Bungie’s not just telling that story — it’s letting you live it. Knowing that no matter how hard you fight to save Reach, it’s still going to fall… This is the elephant in the room. Will it create an unforgettable experience, or it will prove too fatalistic for gamers wanting a fun escape from daily life?

1) Kinect

Like it or not, all eyes are on Microsoft‘s major gamble. Will turning the human body into the controller be a revolution in gaming? Or will its simplicity prove too limiting for hardcore gamers? Kinect‘s reported difficulties with couch-bound gaming is not encouraging. Many gamers simply aren’t interested in standing up all the time. Then there’s the fact that the best and most defining games for Kinect aren’t launching with the hardware itself (aside from perhaps Harmonix’ Dance Central, which has some buzz around it).

But what Kinect represents is more exciting than what it currently is. This could be a landmark moment in not just gaming but computing of all kinds. Used in different ways and different settings, Kinect is just one step away from the gesture-based computing seen in Minority Report. If Microsoft latches onto this as wave of the future, it could affect everything from how future computers are designed, to operating systems like Windows itself.

Until then, the innovations it offers makes Kinect the must-have of the Fall. I can’t wait to see what creative ways game publishers dream up to make use of it.

Yep, it’s for real. Insert this bad boy in any Atari 2600 console, and it actually plays.

Granted, this ain’t your daddy’s Halo. It’s more like your great-grandfather’s. It’s not a side-scroller, it’s more of an adventure title, made up of fewer pixels than your standard Gravatar icon. Only 100 of these cartridges have been made, but don’t fret: you can also play it online, right now.

Created by former Microsoft gaming vice president Ed Fries as an experiment in programming for the downright ancient Atari 2600, Halo 2600 finds a sprite Master Chief moving and shooting a simple gun at Covenant enemies through a sparse forest, on up to 64 separate screens. Fries wanted to include a driveable Warthog, but had to scrap the idea because it took up too much memory on the game’s teeny-tiny 4 kilobyte memory card.

The game was unveiled at Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas just this weekend, and reportedly wowed the crowd. Try it out right now as a Flash game at halo2600.com.

What do you get when you combine Nerf darts with a Halo Assault Rifle? This bad-to-the-bone rifle prop used by a Master Chief cosplayer — that actually works.

Me want.

Microsoft has been charged with patent infringement that could potentially cost the company $90 million in damages. According to the suit, the patent infringement stems from two patents that were developed by Mpath Interactive. The said patents refer to “technology for ways to control interactive applications over multiple computers.”

Microsoft reportedly met with Mpath to discuss the said patents before since it found the technology as very valuable, perhaps seeing how it can be applied for its video game console. Although Microsoft acknowledged that the meeting did take place it said that the patents worked in a way that would not cover how Halo works so it decided to go with another company.

Will this be a dud case against Microsoft or one that could potentially turn into another Immersion situation?

Halo Wars

Capturing the Halo world shouldn’t have been too difficult a task given that there are three games already to market, however, it’s still a compliment to the developers that the game comes across as an authentic Halo experience despite you having control far above the battlefield.

Gameplay
Naturally, resource management comes into play, and you’ll have various elements to interact with in order to develop, boost and ultimately control a map-winning force. Units that you’d expect to see are taken directly from the franchise such as Warthogs, Banshees, Spartans and Elites. This is sure to please any fan.

Controls
Of all games, you could argue that the consoles are least suited to providing a simplistic interface for the RTS genre. However, Halo Wars does very well in making things simple to control and intuitive, without having to boil the game down for the lowest common denominator – the casual gamer.

Overall
Halo Wars delivers a good, if not great RTS game that offers something different for the franchise. Some may be disappointed at the lack of intricacy but on the whole the gameplay comes fun and fast. Upgradable weapons and decent cut scenes are the icing on the cake and fans and newbies alike will get enjoyment from this title.

8/10
Available: Now
Price: $60

If you haven’t watched the “Arms Race” clip, head over here and check it out.

A new installment in the live-action Halo movie being put together by Neill Blomkamp and Weta has been leaked online. You can catch the Warthog and Pelican in action, along with a fleeting glimpse at the Covenant, and even some Needler action.

Props to Gamersyde…head over there for the download.

Once again, a Lego fan proves that too much free time can result in amazing things. Justin Stebbins created models and sets for most vehicles and characters from Halo and Halo 2.

What’s so great about this? Well, you can kill the Monitor for starters and break him apart piece by piece! You can also create your own (better) ending for either game. Just be sure to have a good excuse handy for stealing your son’s or little brother’s toys.

Be sure to also check some of his other “Lego Game” projects like Metal Gear and Star Wars.

Thanks Jay Shisky