approach to chit chat, and we decided to dial up her sense of self possession," Harrison recalled. Jen Taylor provides the voice for the virtual assistant. Microsoft released a beta for Cortana in April 2014 with the developer release of Windows Phone 8.1. Microsoft also released Cortana virtual assistant on the Xbox One, Windows 10, iOS, and Android platforms. Reception Cortana is one of Halos most beloved characters, and has appeared in numerous lists of video game's best sidekicks. Tom's Hardware named the character one of the 50 greatest female characters for the character's determination and fearlessness, which meshed perfectly with the game's protagonist, while Glixel staff ranked Cortana as the 15th most iconic video game character of the 21st century. Den of Geeks Megan Crouse called Cortana one of the Halo series' most important characters, and her relationship with her mother figure Halsey a relationship that was under-appreciated in much of the franchise. Professor Monica Evans on a book Halo and Philosophy: Intellect Evolved called Cortana the most human character in the original game and one of the most developed. Cortana has also been recognized for her sex appeal; the character has featured on numerous lists of attractive video game characters and "babes" from publications such as Team Xbox, GameDaily, Games.net, Thanh Niên, and Complex. Feminist critic Anita Sarkeesian argues that Cortana had gotten "more and more sexualized in every new installment"; 1UP.com noted that as Cortana's sanity waned in the video games, her clothing appeared to decrease as well. Times Matt Peckham described Cortana's character as a controversial figure, with a tension between being well-rounded character and being trapped as "[an] adolescent male's fantasy notion of a Campbellian hero figure," and that this tension had increased commensurately with the game series' graphical fidelity. Media critic Maddy Myers suggested that O'Connor's explanation for Cortana's look implies that the Halo universe's futuristic setting still grapples with systemic sexism. Mike Rougeau of Complex noted that Halo 3 balanced a large conflict with a more personal one—that while the galaxy was imperiled by aliens, "more important to fans was the rescue of Cortana." While Cortana's role was greatly expanded in the game, Stuff.co.nz noted that the character "has inexplicably had a sexy makeover". According to CinemaBlend, the "love story" between Master Chief and Cortana in the game provides "a focus to the game that an epic war between species can not accomplish.