Blog Posts by Ben Silverman

Last year's Halo: Reach might have been the swan song for original franchise creator Bungie, but the famous first-person shooter series has plenty of life left in it.

At their E3 2011 press conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft pulled the wraps off two new Halo endeavors. A short teaser trailer marked the debut of Halo 4. Featuring the return of series staple Master Chief, the new game is due out in holiday 2012:

This year, however, will see the release of Halo Combat
Evolved: Anniversary, an HD remake of the original 2001 Xbox game that kicked off the series. It's due to release November 15^th.

Microsoft also unveiled new experiences for its Kinect motion system. Sequels to best-selling

Yessir, here I go trying not to break everything. I am of course doing this on a day when the rest of Y! is off getting drunk or sleeping. Risk-taking is rewarded at Yahoo! u000a Here I go BOLDING something. Now, I attempt to ITALICIZE . u000a So far so good, right? Testing! u000a How about an unordered list? Such as: u000a u000a this one u000a this one u000a or this one u000a u000a You know what? Clearly this is a boring test page. How about we spice it up a bit by trying to blockquote some text from a more exciting blog? For instance, are you wondering if Valve is bringing DOTA 2 to Gamescom? I am not, but Rich certainly is. Let's see what Kotaku has to say about it: u000a Over on

Star Trek - Paramount Digital A winner at both the box office and the Academy Awards (it nabbed a Best Makeup statue, the first Oscar nod for a Trek film), the 2009 Star Trek movie reboot breathed new life into the 45 year-old sci-fi series. Paramount Digital is hoping a video game reboot will enjoy similar success.

On Friday, the company announced Star Trek, a co-operative action game for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Due out next year, the game puts players in the well-worn uniforms of Kirk and Spock as they try to stop some evil alien race from blowing up the universe, or thereabouts. The details are pretty lacking at the moment.

But don't fret, Trekkers: it's in good hands. The game's original plot -- which "continues

Still playing StarCraft II? You and about 6 million other computer strategy fans. And you're about to get even more.

Blizzard has revealed details on the next game in its epic StarCraft II trilogy, painting a pretty creepy picture of the anticipated follow-up to the smash hit, Wings of Liberty.
Whereas that game focused squarely on the Terran (human) race, Heart of the Swarm shifts to the game's famous, insect-like Zerg faction. More specifically, its plot follows Zerg leader (and former Terran psychic) Sarah Kerrigan, picking up right where Wings of Liberty left off.

The new game will feature about 20 campaign missions, new units and maps, and, we're guessing, lots and lots of awesome

Tommy might play a mean pinball, but can he ollie? If he wants to tackle this completely awesome pinball table in West Auckland, New Zealand, he better learn.

Built in just over two weeks at the cost of about $500,000, it looks just like a huge pinball machine -- except instead of using flippers to slap around a shiny silver ball, players become the ball themselves by whipping around its slopes and kickflipping off its bumpers on skateboards. It even comes complete with a giant plunger to start you off:

All that pinball insanity isn't just for show, either. Sensors have been spread throughout the park, triggering lights, sounds and even allowing skaters to score points as they glide around

Looks like the rumors were true: the best-selling shooter in the U.S. is going
on a world tour later this year.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the next game in
Activision's record-setting first-person franchise, is set to blast into stores
on November 8th. To commemorate the news, Activision also released the game's
debut trailer, which shows off its new globetrotting style by letting gamers
play army men in at least four major cities, including New York, London, Paris
and Berlin.

Ports are destroyed, subways are demolished, helicopters are piloted, buildings
are razed and bullets are shot. Lots and lots of 'em. See for yourself:

Flashy, disturbing stuff, and though we're not entirely

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Activision It appears Activision has sprung a leak. A big one.

According to an impressively detailed report from game blog Kotaku, the next installment in Activision's blockbuster Call of Duty series, the heavily-anticipated Modern Warfare 3, will launch on November 8th of this year.

Citing numerous sources, the site revealed a wealth of info about the upcoming shooter. Reportedly set right after the events in the massive-selling Modern Warfare 2, the game will criss-cross the globe, letting players blast their way through a dozen cities including New York, London and Paris.

Kotaku further reports that gamers will once again play as multiple characters in the main campaign, tackling 15 missions as "a

L.A. Noire - Rockstar Games Rockstar Games is ready for its close-up.

The company behind game-changing epics like the revolutionary Grand Theft Auto III, the record-setting Grand Theft Auto IV and the riveting Red Dead Redemption are best known for giving gamers massive, sprawling worlds to explore -- and, more pointedly, blast their way through using guns, cars, horses, and pretty much anything else they can get their hands on.

But for their next trick, Rockstar is toning down the action in favor of a nuanced approach to storytelling that has more in common with The Maltese Falcon than Die Hard. And it's already being hailed as a massive leap forward for the game industry.

Check out Rockstar Games: Through the Years