As expected, Halo was in action at E3 2014 during the Microsoft press conference. But while you might have been expecting the next game in the series, Halo 5: Guardians, it was instead the announcement of a new collection called Halo: The Master Chief Collection that took the spotlight.

The collection will include the original game, Halo: Combat Evolved. It will include Halo 2, which is getting the 10-year anniversary HD makeover treatment. It will include Halo 3 and Halo 4. It will include all multiplayer maps and levels, and everything will be unlocked from the start if you wish to jump right to a certain chapter from the get-go. And it will include a live-action series produced by Ridley Scott titled Halo: Nightfall. All on one disc; all running at 1080p and 60 fps; and all for the single-game price of $59.99. A pretty incredible deal if you’re a Halo junkie.

You can see a video for the Master Chief Collection below, which also acts as something of a teaser for Halo 5: Guardians.

During the big Xbox One reveal, it was announced that a new live-action Halo TV series was on the way involving Steven Spielberg. Now Microsoft has announced another new Halo project.

In a brief e-mail sent out, the company revealed plans for a new digital feature project produced by Ridley Scott that will be released later this year. They also pointed out that this is a completely separate project from the TV series.

Continue reading to see the announcement.

Taxonomy posters have a long history in entertainment and education. They can range from a staid and serious presentation of the comparative anatomy of mammals for the college lecture hall to the free and breezy relationships between kinds of beer that are perfectly at home in the college dorm room.

We recently spotted a new poster-sized graphic of “Size Comparison – Science Fiction spaceships” from artist Dirk Loechel that pretty much took our breath away. It covers ships from approximately 35 different popular science fiction universes from books, games, film, and television, including Star Wars, Star Trek, Farscape, and much more. They are all rendered in the same scale according to the best sources that Mr. Loechel could find.

Click on the image below to go to the author’s web site and zoom in on the real thing.

Halo: Initiation #2
Written by Brian Reed
Art by Marco Castiello
Colored by Michael Atiyeh
Lettered by Michael Heisler
Cover by Paul Richards
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: September 11, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Halo: Initiation #2 takes us through the story of the most recent Spartan program, and the new Spartans. In this installment, we see the the new Spartans struggle to use their new abilities and start to get a feel for who they are.

The writing is crisp and clear, making the reader be drawn in and want more. The story is great, working well within the established Halo Universe. The artwork, by Marco Castiello, is rugged and angular, which I like for this story. I like how it draws attention to important characters by having them drawn more clearly than the background characters.

Another Xbox One exclusive shown off at E3 was of course the next game in the Halo franchise.

The game isn’t specifically identified as Halo 5, interestingly enough, but it’s assumed to be the next entry in the new Reclaimer trilogy from 343 Industries that began with Halo 4.

The first trailer is of the cinematic variety, and you can check it out below now.