August has arrived and if it seems like we missed a month of Evolved Digest that’s because we did. With all the excitement of the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase and the subsequent Halo Infinite Beta, the Evolved team got quite busy covering new content and news. So to make it up, we are bringing you the latest Evolved content from the past two months, as well as what is upcoming.
Halo Infinite
We would be crazy if we didn’t talk about the Halo Infinite right at the top. This last weekend saw the first Infinite Technical Preview go live, allowing us and many other Halo fans the chance to experience the gameplay of Infinite for themselves. If we had to sum up the entire experience in one word, it would be “incredible”!
But luckily, we don’t have to sum it up in one word. In fact, we didn’t even sum it up in a few words. To fully express our thoughts and opinions on our first hands-on experience with Infinite, the Evolved team has written up a live blog of our initial thoughts and reactions to what we saw, as well as tons of gameplay and menu footage. We even were able to share the latest on what the Halo Infinite soundtrack will sound like, publishing all 9 tracks available from the beta. Be sure to check out all the Infinite content we have published so far, as well as more to come in the following days and weeks.
HCS Pro Talk
This month we thought we would start off the show review with a visit from our partners over at HCS Pro Talk. If you don’t know, they are the competitive multiplayer experts of Halo, and since the rest of the Evolved crew is more lore-focused, we decided to let them talk about the ins and outs of Halo multiplayer rather than one of us making ourselves look silly. So without further ado, here is Josh to talk about the latest in the HCS Pro Talk front.
July was a month of speculation and anticipation for HCS Pro Talk as we patiently awaited information on the first Halo Infinite Technical Preview (Flight) along with speculating around what platform(s) Halo Infinite competition will be taking place. Luckily, good things come to those who wait. The Technical Preview has been a delight to experience, connection issues and all. And we have finally learned how the next generation of competitive Halo will be played out, both with cross-platform and cross-input. We will have plenty to talk about over the month of August, including our thoughts on the flight, the latest aforementioned HCS announcement, community tournaments, and so much more. Stay tuned!
Be sure to check out their latest coverage on Halo Infinite and the Technical Preview on their website, YouTube, and your favorite podcast app!
Podcast Evolved
For June, the entire Evolved crew waited anxiously for the latest news on Halo Infinite coming out of the Games Showcase, and we were not disappointed! The crew split into two teams and covered our thoughts and reactions to what we were shown in two episodes, the Blue Team and Red Team post shows. It was a blast, and if you haven’t had a chance to go back and have a listen, we strongly recommend you do!
In July we were given the opportunity to put together a special episode for Canon Fodder episode 117, where we chatted about the Master Chief and our favorite moments of his in the entirety of the Halo universe. Thanks to friend of the show and 343 Industries’ Keeper of the Lore Jeff “GrimBrotherOne” Easterling for inviting us and so many other Halo content creators to participate in this special event!
Later that month we continued out Character Dossier series with a deep lore discussion on the Librarian, that mysterious Forerunner who always seems to have her five-fingered hands in everything going on in the galaxy, even 100 millennia after her death. Will we see her again in Infinite? Only time will tell.
Halo Book Club
The Halo Book Club covered two short stories in June and July. The former, Armor Testing from the Halo Graphic Novel, tells the story of Maria-062 and the testing of the new MJOLNIR Mark-VI armor prior to the Master Chief receiving his own suit in the prologue of Halo 2. The latter, Palace Hotel from Halo: Evolutions, is a semi-canonical retelling of the Metropolis mission from Halo 2, featuring Corporal Palmer (not THAT Palmer), Private Locke (not THAT Locke), and of course, the legend himself John-117. Both are interesting additions to the Halo canon, so if you haven’t had a chance to read them yourself, at least check out our thoughts and discussion on each.
To catch up on Halo Book Club, and to listen to future episodes, you can find Halo Book Club on the main Podcast Evolved feed on most podcast services. And for those looking for a little more on the visual front, all Book Club episodes can be found on our YouTube channel as well!
Mission Debrief
All 10 seasons of Mission Debrief are now available on all platforms, including your favorite podcast app and YouTube! With Halo Infinite still a few months away, the Mission Debrief crew is currently producing 20 for 20, a mini-series on YouTube where they play through the 20 best Halo missions of all time for the 20th anniversary of Halo. Be sure to check it out and let them know your thoughts in the comments!
Builds with Blocks
Build with Blocks released two episodes in June, first sitting down with THE Halo Canon himself to discuss Halo, Mega, and the lore of toys, and then later in June discussing the best ODST and NMPD Mega sets. In addition to the podcast feed, the Builds with Blocks crew also published several Mega Construx set reviews for the newly released Halo Infinite sets on the Podcast Evolved YouTube channel. Each is only 3-5 minutes long, so if you are thinking about picking up one of the sets, check out our review first!
That is all for this month! Be sure to keep up on the latest Podcast Evolved content on our website, YouTube, your favorite podcast app, and our social media. There is a lot more coming in August and beyond, with more Infinite news, more lore, and maybe even another Infinite Technical Preview! Join us to experience all of that and more!
