Totally Rated features reviews and opinions of what's hot and what's not in the tech and gaming world.
Bringing together leading titles from across the industry, we hear first hand from those who have reviewed - and rated - the very latest games and products on the market.
In this week’s episode, it’s an E3 bonanza as we get a look at Halo: Infinite, Elden Ring gets a gameplay trailer and there’s a glimpse of Breath of the Wild 2.
First up, gaming, and Halo Infinite will have free-to-play multiplayer, Microsoft re-confirmed during its E3 conference.
Microsoft showed off an exciting montage of Halo Infinite multiplayer action with a lot of the series' staple sandbox items appearing.
“I didn’t expect Halo Infinite Multiplayer to look exactly what I wanted in a new Halo game, but here we are,” said PC Gamer’s Wes Fenlon.
“For a long time 343 has struggled to add features we like in a new Halo while retaining the feel of the classic games. But from what we saw at E3, I think 343 might have nailed it.
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“They dialed back on the movement abilities and they brought back Halo’s equipment system that has some really cool stuff.
“There’s a grappling hook that can grab a banshee off the air or grab a gun off the ground into your hands. They emphasized great team battle and capture the flag which is a game that’s near and dear to my heart.
“Honestly I haven’t been this optimistic about a new Halo since Bungee handed the series over.”
There's no release date specified yet, but it's coming "Holiday 2021."
Sticking with gaming, The Elden Ring gameplay trailer is finally here after debuting during the Summer Games Fest.
It shows off what essentially looks like Big Dark Souls, and I'm cool with it, as James Davenport from PC Gamer explained: “2019’s Sekiro was an excellent game but it’s been 5 years since FromSoftware took a stab at grim dark RPG.
“Elden Ring is delivering with a mythos built by George R R Martin and FromSoftware’s biggest world yet with some major added depth to character progression and discovery.
“We got a huge open world with many interchangeable skills, a Pokemon summon system and a horse that can leap up mountains.
“This isn’t the culmination of FromSoftware’s signature RPG and dungeon design, this ist a natural progression of a heritage of Dungeon crawling on PC.
“From Robe to Ultima Underworld now hopefully to Elden Ring. It’s easily what PC Gamer is most excited about coming out of E3 weekend.”
A release date of January 21, 2022 was also announced, which means we don't have much longer to wait to play it either.
Finally, the Nintendo E3 2021Direct ended on a high, showcasing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel gameplay in a dazzling new trailer that also confirmed a 2022 release window.
While the sizzle reel was fairly snappy, it tucked in glimpses at a number of new features, areas, and mechanics coming to the long-awaited JRPG.
“Ending out the showcase was Nintendo's arguably most-anticipated game yet - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2,” said Rachel Weber of GamesRadar.
“Although the segment was tantalizingly brief, we did get a look at the game in action, including new abilities, enemies, and the larger world.
“The developer said that the setting for this new adventure has expanded to the skies above Hyrule, making the map far more vertical than the original game.
“Interestingly, Link's arm seems to be transforming with various abilities - including a new feature that has Link teleporting through stone structures. Sadly, the game is scheduled for 2022, so not quite the Christmas release date any of us were hoping for.”
New episodes of Totally Rated will roll out every week.
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Rob has been writing about computing, gaming, mobile, home entertainment technology, toys (specifically Lego and board games), smart home and more for over 15 years. As the editor of PC Gamer, and former Deputy Editor for T3.com, you can find Rob's work in magazines, bookazines and online, as well as on podcasts and videos, too. Outside of his work Rob is passionate about motorbikes, skiing/snowboarding and team sports, with football and cricket his two favourites.
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