Halo 3 Halo 3

2007-07-17 00:15:15

I think its absolutely vital the first public showing of uninterrupted Halo 3 gameplay be when the music is in place. It really does add a lot to the experience so it needs to be there. ESPECIALLY after hearing how Marty has it setup.

There will be music set music in some areas, but the music system is very dynamic and will adjust to the type of action taking place on screen and regardless of what type of song is playing when the action gets more intense the additional sounds adding in are good enough to fool people that its actually apart of the original music track. I think if the music setup is as good as talked about in the weekly updates then it needs to be whatever video we see.

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Hironobu Sakaguchi is coming back to reclaim the throne :)

October 20th 2007 (A good day)

Don't ask any questions just shut up and buy Halo : Ghosts of the Onyx one of the greatest books ever.

2007-07-17 00:32:01

Well, I'm starting to appreciate the fact that I might actually PLAY this before I SEE it. I know that's not true for everyone and I know I also could just try to avoid seeing it in action even if they did let loose videos, but I most likely would've snuck in a peek at it if they had.

Against all odds, when I played Halo 2 I didn't know about the Arbiter. That part just blew me away, and I don't even remember HOW I managed to start playing it before that cat was let out of the bag on the net. With media updates this insanely controlled, Halo 3 has all the more chance to blow me away again.

But I digress, there's a hype game on. Not everyone who has a 360 had an Xbox. Not everyone who's a potential Halo fan even has a 360 yet, and Killzone inarguably had a much more eye-catching showing at E3.

For me, purchasing Halo 3 is absolutely natural, but marketing is for winning people over.

2007-07-17 01:19:33 In reply to szaromir (2007-07-16 18:39:45)

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The fans have spoken. Concerning the graphics of the Halo 3 Beta: "There's so many little effects and things going on that make this game pretty much 2nd only to Gears at the moment."

2007-07-17 03:32:33

hahah acert damn... thats a lot :)

I'll be honest I think the new weapons, new vehicles, the new deployable equipment some of which Bungie haven't revealed

Vast environments. Bungie has said many times the environments will be huge and even said if they were to combine all multiplayer maps it would probably only equal the size of one of the smaller SP maps (probably even half the size) We would believe a developer like Infinity Ward if they said this or any other well known pc developer, but why not Bungie? Why can't they be trusted?

Halo is still being true to Halo while improving on the package and this is what people like. There are people that love the Halo universe so much that the biggest draw for them coming into this game knowing they'll have the opportunity to continue the Master Chief's story and see how it all ends or see what took place immediately after the events of Halo 2. I think in any talk relating to Halo the story should factor in as one of the positives. People actually care.

Bungie strikes me as making a better Halo, but being mindful to not destroy the core of the previous games. I know it might not be something that seems innovative or forward moving, but sometimes people want their games to be bigger better more refined versions of the previous efforts and hope there aren't any drastic changes made to the formula. For example I'm one of many that really dislike a great deal of the changes made from CS 1.6 to CS Source. I think it destroyed perfectly refined gameplay although I'm getting more use to source now its still obvious which is the most superior as far as gameplay is concerned.

I saw some comparisons to other games from other forums in regards to COD4, Killzone and Halo 3 and the way I see it is good for those other games. Infinity is changing Call of Duty (I agree for the better) Guerilla is making Killzone so we gotta understand that Bungie isn't making either of those games they are making the sequel to Halo 2. Thats what people want. Halo despite the showing has been the #1 game on IGN and gamespot since the showing I think.

http://www.ign.com/index/e3/2007/games/?ordering.o...

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Hironobu Sakaguchi is coming back to reclaim the throne :)

October 20th 2007 (A good day)

Don't ask any questions just shut up and buy Halo : Ghosts of the Onyx one of the greatest books ever.

2007-07-17 11:38:26 In reply to Acert93 (2007-07-17 01:19:33)

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"That just happened 'cause that was awesome" - Randy Pitchford, Gearbox

2007-07-17 17:50:24

2007-07-17 18:53:19

I would definitely say regardless of not seeing a running demo of Halo 3, the biggest difference I noticed from the montage was the fact that a lot of action is happening in the scenes. Call of Duty has always been an incredibly scripted shooter. You always have the same enemies popping out of the same places, same tank ride sequences, same jeep sequences etc. Not a lot of variety between each play through. I don't see that changing in Call of Duty 4. I've never replayed a Call of Duty game except to play it on a harder difficulty for achievement points.

With the past Halo games, you have a ton of variety. The game doesn't give you a do over if you lose your jeep, or your tank. You're going to have to walk. And if you lose your squad mates, they're gone for good. Not to mention the fights always occur differently. An enemy might get into a vehicle instead of engaging you in a straight gun fight. You can instead of blowing up an enemy vehicle hijack it instead. A ton of differences with each play through. Add in co-op and you have a longer amount of lasting appeal.

Some people like rank and progressive based multiplayer, but I enjoy a level playing ground. I don't want to be at a disadvantage or merely have a limited selection of weapons just because I bought the game a few months later or because I don't play for 20hrs a week. I'm sure a lot of MP gamers who just want to find a match and have fun and then go on their way feel the same. To me that is why Halo has always been a good online game, and why I won't be playing very much of Call of Duty 4 MP.

Given all those differences, especially the variety of the SP of Halo, I can forgive it not being the biggest and best graphically. I'll take an extra few play throughs over amazing scripted segments. In COD4, you're always going to have that same drunk guy stagger out of the ship, your team is going to shoot those same sleeping soldiers, and you're always going to be air dropped into that same location. That makes for an amazing first play through, but each time you go through a level, you're going to find it being similar. Not being able to share the experience with friends also takes away some of the fun.

2007-07-17 19:31:10 In reply to Phaethon360 (2007-07-17 18:53:19)

I've been meaning to weigh in with my 2p on this thread but just not had the time (damn you Acert! I need bite-size chunks for my frazzled brain! j/k) but I have to say Phaethon, that's a top post.

There is certainly room for more than one approach in this genre. Some of us prefer one, some the other.

The balance is the all encompassing key facet of a game designed like Halo. Even the smallest imbalances can upset the apple cart. It won't be, and never has been perfect. Think of the pistol in Halo 1 or dual wielding in Halo 2, both features which upset the delicate sandbox in their own way. The beta confirms to be me that both of these have been addressed. No doubt in time, tiny subtleties in Halo 3 will be explored and exploited and everyone will be screaming about it needing to be fixed but there are an awful lot of games that just wouldn't bear up to that level of scrutiny.

I said when Gears came out, there is no point in innovation for innovation's sake. It would be foolish for Bungie to take Halo 3 in a completely new direction where some things work and some things need more work. That's what a new game is for. The objective of Halo 3 should be to bring a fitting end to the trilogy in terms of this particular story arc and deliver a memorable experience along the way at the same time as well as to provide the definitive *Halo* multi-player experience. I've seen enough evidence already to convince me they will deliver on the latter.

I think it was Grift who said that Gears "innovation" was to combine a lot of "un-original/old/tried & tested/potentially not innovative in themselves" mechanics into a tight, cohesive, brilliantly executed package that just works. You could say the same for Halo 3. Saved films started with Quake, probably before, but I've always considered the keystone of Halo 3 to be delivering this, combining the saved films/machinima support, live integration, and whatever else in such a way that it might as well be new, innovative etc because it's executed in such a way that is better than anything before.

An AAA title, especially a sequel has to work and be good first. If they can combine that with innovation, brilliant! But innovation should not be checkbox style "NEW" features on the back of a box, EA Sports style. Sensible evolution can be just as powerful.

Ultimately it will be gamers who decide. We are a harsh bunch and we don't play games just because we wanted them to do well. It's not the bloody Generation game. If Team Fortress 2, COD4 et al are better games than Halo 3, they will get played more. If Halo 3 MP is too close to a rehash of the same old thing, the population will dwindle rather rapidly because it will have been overtaken. But on the other hand, if this time next year Halo 3 is still the top of the LIVE most played list then you couldn't say it failed, innovative or not.

2007-07-17 19:57:46 In reply to deftangel (2007-07-17 19:31:10)

Bravo.. :)

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Halle Berry: Delgado i am feeling really reall dirty tonight, shall i call Jessica Simpson for a threesome?

Delgado: HALLE what have i told you about bothering me when i'm playing Mass Effect!!! now get out and dont come back for 2 months!! (Slams door

2007-07-17 21:09:13 In reply to szaromir (2007-07-17 11:38:26)

szaromir,