Halo 4: Spartan Ops DLC is "Longer Than ODST"

343 Industries' boss Frank O'Connor has responded to fan concerns over the length of Halo 4.

After yesterday's achievement list leak pointed to the game containing just eight missions, O'Connor explained on NeoGaf that this didn't reflect how long each would be.

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The main campaign is substantial and will compare favorably with previous entries in the series.

Posting as 'Stinkles', he wrote that the "Number of missions has no bearing on the length of the campaign. It's a Halo sized campaign. PLUS [Spartan Ops] etc."

His words were then added to by 343 Industries' designer David Ellis (as lybertyboy) who claimed that "[Spartan Ops] season alone is longer than [Halo 3: ODST].

"Spartan Ops and Campaign are completely separate teams. As Frank mentioned earlier, the main campaign is substantial and will compare favorably with previous entries in the series."

Spartan Ops is a new story-driven game mode set to feature in Halo 4 and will replace the Firefight mode that appeared in Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST. Gamers can play it on their own or co-operatively with up to three other players, and the first Season of Spartan Ops plans to deliver five new objective-based missions and cinematics each week over a 10-week period. It's this content taken in isolation that Ellis has claimed will consist of more content than Halo 3: ODST.

So it seems if you were concerned after yesterday's news then there's no need to panic. Halo 4 launches on Xbox 360 on November 6.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

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The Making of Thomas Jane's Punisher Short

Actor Thomas Jane, star of 2004's The Punisher, recently made a short film called Dirty Laundry that features his Frank Castle character. Now his company Raw Studios has posted a video chronicling the making of their badass short film. Check it out:

And for those who haven't seen the original RED BAND short film Dirty Laundry, check it out here:

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Space Punisher #2 Review

You have to love a series whose title so elegantly sums up everything about it. Space Punisher is all about Frank Castle heading into the cosmos to deal out his particular brand of justice. Squid monsters and four-armed Hulks replace the usual drug dealers and mob bosses, but the basics remain the same. It's as if Lobo chewed up a bunch of Fear Agent and Cosmic Marvel comics and barfed the mixture onto a drawing board. Only prettier.

Frank Tieri dials up the zaniness a few notches in issue #2 as Frank battles Sabretooth, Deadpool, and The Leader. It isn't long before Hulk is thrown into the mix as well. Half the fun of this series is in seeing the entire Marvel Universe reflected though Tieri's goofy sci-fi mirror. It isn't just familiar Punisher players who are given the space treatment, but all corners of the Marvel U. In truth, the sci-fi re-imagining of Barracuda is the weakest one in the series so far, as there's really nothing whatsoever to tie this character to the traditional version.

There's not a great deal of subtlety in Tieri's handling of Frank. It's a very old school take on the character and his quest for vengeance. But nothing about this series is or should be subtle. Tieri embraces the zaniness of the concept and runs with it. I only wish we could see more of Frank's enemies in the Six-Fingered Hand. His clashes with them in this issue are fairly well glossed over.

Mark Texeira strikes the perfect visual tone with his painted artwork. His characters look like they crawled out of a sci-fi B-movie poster with their massive physiques, dramatic faces, and generally larger than-life presence. The painted approach provides a much-needed smooth, almost sterile look that Texeira's scratchier penciled style wouldn't have allowed for.

This is the sort of book that Marvel supposedly doesn't publish anymore -- off-the-wall, out of continuity, and delightfully bizarre. The least Punisher fans can do is give it a chance.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and various other IGN channels. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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Mickey Rourke in Sin City 2 Talks

With Marv playing a central part in the second Sin City book A Dame to Kill For, fans have been wondering if Mickey Rourke would reprise the role in Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’s forthcoming film adaptation.

And while rumours have been circulating that he definitely will be starring, it's only today that we've had any kind of update, with Deadline reporting that Rourke is currently in negotiation to top-line Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (which takes place before the events of the first film).

And if that’s not enough Mickey Rourke news for one day, the actor-turned-boxer-turned-actor is also in talks to join Gerard Butler in Motor City.

Albert Hughes will direct the revenge thriller, with both films set to hit in 2013.

Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN and would like to go for a beer with Mickey Rourke. His idle chat can be found on both Twitter and MyIGN.

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