All Articles: Halo: Spartan Assault

Halo: Spartan Strike was quietly released today for Windows 8, iOS devices

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After discovering a variety of major bugs in Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Microsoft and 343 Industries pushed the release of Halo: Spartan Strike, a twin-stick spinoff, from December 2014 to “early 2015.” Today, the game was quietly released for the PC (via Steam), Windows 8 tablets and PCs, iOS devices (iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad), and Windows Phone 8. Halo: Saprtan Assault, which was originally released in 2013, also makes its iOS debut today as part of the Halo: Spartan Bundle.

Developed by Vanguard Games, Xbox Wire says Spartan Strike takes place during Halo 2 and serves as a training ground for Spartan soldiers:

Halo: Spartan Strike tells a compelling new story in the Halo universe set during the events of Halo 2 on New Mombasa in 2552. As a Spartan supersoldier in a classified ONI simulation, delve into 30 challenging missions while leading UNSC troops through cities and jungles with an all new arsenal of weapons, abilities and vehicles.

Players who advance through Halo: Spartan Strike’s Achievements will be able to unlock an exclusive Emblem, Nameplate, and Avatar in Halo: The Master Chief Collection. So I guess it’s got that going for it.

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MS drops Gold requirement for entertainment apps; Games With Gold coming to Xbox One

xboxlivelogomajornelsonsaleMicrosoft has announced that, beginning in June, all entertainment apps (such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, and others) will not require an Xbox Live Gold subscription. Instead, the apps will be open to all Xbox 360 and Xbox One owners with an Internet connection.

The consolemaker will also expand their Games With Gold program to the Xbox One in June. Xbox One owners with Gold memberships will be able to download Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and Halo: Spartan Assault for free during the month.

Microsoft also announced the Xbox 360’s Games With Gold for June and we’re all in for a treat: Dark Souls and Charlie Murder will be the free games for the month. As a bonus, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition will also be available to download for Gold subscribers.

My Xbox 360’s hard drive will be a lot less roomy by June 30.

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XBL Store Today: Halo: Spartan Assault for Xbox 360

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Microsoft previously said that Halo: Spartan Assault would be available to download from the Xbox Live Arcade sometime in January. Making it in just under the wire, the top-down shooter was added to the XBL Game Store today to fulfill Microsoft’s promise.

If you haven’t played Halo: Spartan Assault on a Windows 8 device or the Xbox One, here’s what you can expect:

Halo: Spartan Assault ($14.99)
Halo: Spartan Assault is a fast paced top-down shooter set during the timeline between “Halo 3” and “Halo 4,” progress your Spartan career as you engage in over 30 exciting Campaign missions using many of favorite Halo weapons, vehicles and armor abilities. Team-up on Xbox Live and fight with a friend against waves of the nightmarish Flood in the all-new online co-op multiplayer mode. Earn achievements, complete weekly Assault Ops and compete for the top scores in the leaderboards.

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XBL Store Today: Halo: Spartan Assault

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Christmas has come a bit early! Halo: Spartan Assault was previously penciled in for a December 24 launch, but Microsoft has decided to push its release up a day and the title is now available to download from the Xbox One Game Store for $14.99. It’s everything you love about Halo, now in a nifty top-down view:

Halo: Spartan Assault is a fast paced top-down shooter set during the timeline between “Halo 3” and “Halo 4,” progress your Spartan career as you engage in over 30 exciting Campaign missions using many of favorite Halo weapons, vehicles and armor abilities. Team-up on Xbox Live and fight with a friend against waves of the nightmarish Flood in the all-new online co-op multiplayer mode.

Halo: Spartan Assault is also in development for the Xbox 360 and will be released for that platform in 2014.

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Microsoft sets Halo: Spartan Assault for a December 24 release on Xbox One

Santa Claus is coming to town and he’s bringing presents for all the good girls and boys… including shotguns and assault rifles and rocket launchers! Microsoft has announced that Halo: Spartan Assault, their twin-stick shooter set in the Halo universe, will be released for the Xbox One on Christmas Eve, December 24.

Halo: Spartan Assault was previously released for Windows 8 PCs and devices through the Windows Store. The Xbox One edition will add a co-op mode and new weapons to the game, as well as include the “Operation Hydra” expansion. If you’ve previously purchased the Windows 8 version of Spartan Assault, you’ll be able to upgrade to the Xbox One edition for just $4.99.

If you’re interested in learning more about Halo: Spartan Assault, head over to Xbox Wire for an interview with the game’s Executive Producer, Dan Ayoub.

And if you’re an Xbox 360 owner and you’re interested in Spartan Assault, don’t worry, Microsoft plans to bring the game to the Xbox 360 in January 2014.

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Halo: Spartan Assault is bound for Xbox 360, Xbox One in December

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Tell me if this makes sense…

You’re a massive publishing company and you own one of the biggest and most-beloved brands in all of gaming. You want to create a spinoff game, a twin-stick shooter, for your popular franchise. You have multiple platforms both available and in development that it could be released for. So what do you do? You release it on the one that doesn’t support twin-stick controllers.

Sounds crazy, right? Yet, that’s exactly how Microsoft has handled Halo: Spartan Assault. The top-down shooter was released for Windows 8 tablets and smartphones back in July and didn’t include controller support. It was later patched in, but why not release a game like that on the Xbox 360 or the upcoming Xbox One?

Thankfully, Microsoft has come to their senses and plans to bring Halo: Spartan Assault to the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One in December. The console version will include everything found in the tablet/smartphone version as well as the “Operation Hydra” expansion and an exclusive online co-op mode.

Sadly, online play between the two consoles will not be supported.

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Halo: Spartan Assault is a top-down shooter coming to Windows 8, Windows Phone

Microsoft is bringing the Halo franchise back to the PC this Summer with Halo: Spartan Assault, a top-down shooter available exclusively for Windows 8 and Windows Phone devices. Spartan Assault is being developed by Vanguard Games and Microsoft’s Halo studio, 343 Industries, and will be available this July.

Set between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4, Halo: Spartan Assault is a new chapter of the award-winning Halo universe that explores the first missions of the Spartan Ops program and dives deeper into the backstory of Human-Covenant wars. Play through the eyes of either Commander Sarah Palmer or Spartan Davis stationed aboard the UNSC Infinity as they fight never-before-seen battles against Covenant forces.

Hey Microsoft! Doesn’t the Xbox 360 controller have the twin sticks necessary to play a top-down shooter? Hopefully Halo: Spartan Assault also makes it to Microsoft’s current console (or the Xbox One) someday.

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