Game: Halo 3

[Vegechan]

I'm a huge Halo fan, and surprised not to see a thread talking about it, especially with the newest trailer just released, and the information concerning a public beta test.

If you don't know, those with a Xbox 360 (and a hard drive), a Live Gold membership, and are 17 or older, can currently register for the Halo 3 Public Beta that will launch in spring 2007 for the XBox 360. You can sign up at http://www.halo3.com

The second big peice of news, was the Halo 3 commerical that aired during Monday Night Football on December 4th. One thing I would like to mention, is that this isn't the graphics you can expect. And it isn't Bungie trying to pull a fast one. This is what Bungie has to say about the issue:


Halo 3 Commercial!

Now to the business at hand – There’s some juicy Halo information to absorb and process. First up is the announcement of an exclusive worldwide Halo 3 TV commercial set to air during Monday Night Football on December 4th. Naturally we don’t want to spoil the fun but we did want to clear the air on a few points up front to set your expectations appropriately. As the press release mentions, this ad will feature CG scenes that are being built by a 3rd party agency (known as Digital Domain). Now you may be thinking to yourself – “CG!? But Bungie doesn’t do CG!” – and you would be correct… until now.

For the purposes of this holiday commercial and knowing the tight timeline with which it had to come together we decided a long time ago that utilizing real, final, actual gameplay just wasn’t the right thing to do. As you know, we’re very protective of our baby and we will only show it when we feel it’s ready to be shown (and even then it’s sometimes pried from our protective fingers). We all agreed that a cooler thing to do would be to move as far away from gameplay-style footage as possible, and make something more movie-like. Let our fans see what the Halo universe looks like in a photo-realistic fashion.

We didn’t want folks to think we were trying to pull the wool over their eyes, when we had such a great opportunity to do something cool and worthwhile.

Now don’t get me wrong – just because this ad isn’t gameplay doesn’t mean it’s not really cool. In fact, we provided the folks at Digital Domain with all of our new in-game models and assets. They then polished them up to movie CGI standards, animated them and rendered them to a degree of stunning beauty. There will be a lot to like in this ad and we’re happy with how it’s turning out. Just because you’re seeing a kind of “real-life” representation of Halo 3 doesn’t mean you aren’t seeing real gameplay elements from Halo 3.

Of course you’ll also hear Halo 3 as well, with new music composed by our own Marty O’Donnell. We’ll leave it at that for now. After the commercial airs on television, it will be available on Xbox Live Marketplace in full 720p glory for you to dissect and discuss.

Shortly after the commercial airs, we’ll be treating our fans to the next installment in our “making of” documentary series on Xbox Live Marketplace. This next “VIDOC” is going to give some new insights into elements of the campaign and will peel back the curtain on a certain prominent character in Halo 3. We’ll talk more about this in the coming weeks.

Source: http://www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?cid=9182

Now, for the trailer. While it's not gameplay footage, it still hints to various new pieces of information, such as a new grenade type, the possible return of the Halo CE pistol (I'm sure with balancing issues) new shiny Brute armor, and a potential look into the story (possible flashbacks during the game that tells the story of Master Chief?)

Here is the trailer in HD:

http://xboxmovies.teamxbox.com/xbox-360-hires/4001/Halo-3-Trailer-HD/

There's also A LOT of other information about there about the game per a new EGM article. If you want, I suggest checking out my pre-release Halo 3 FAQ at GameFAQS for a lot of information about the game:

http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=926632&topic=32076527

I'm personally excited for this game, probably more than most right now. Looks like Bungie is doing things right.

Thoughts?

[Yukimura]

I saw this Trailer before I saw that disclaimer and didn't know that it wasn't actual gameplay...guess I nearly shit myself for nothing. But it looked fantastic and sounded fantastic and generally made me want to buy a 360 just for it, as Halo CE made me buy an X-box.

As to the comment about the Master Chiefs history, if you really want to know read the books. The first and third reveal a lot of interesting information about what happened before and after Halo CE, the third being my favorite b/c it explains how Johnson survived a thermonuclear explosion, as well as why the Covenant hate the Chief as much as they do.

The second isn't as important since it's just the story of Halo CE and it was written by a different author who wasn't as imaginative as Eric Nylund. I hope they get Nylund the Halo 3 book but maybe he doesn't like having the whole plot pre-dictated for him.

EDIT: I just checked and he did write a fourth book that details the happenings during and after the events of Halo 2 called Halo: Ghosts of Onyx. So if you're a fan of the story behind the Haloverse in addition to destroying Covenant and Flood get yourselves out there read it!

[darkshadow]

the brute was a brute chieftan, the pistol was the one from halo2, not halo1

[Vegechan]

As to the comment about the Master Chiefs history, if you really want to know read the books. The first and third reveal a lot of interesting information about what happened before and after Halo CE, the third being my favorite b/c it explains how Johnson survived a thermonuclear explosion, as well as why the Covenant hate the Chief as much as they do.

EDIT: I just checked and he did write a fourth book that details the happenings during and after the events of Halo 2 called Halo: Ghosts of Onyx. So if you're a fan of the story behind the Haloverse in addition to destroying Covenant and Flood get yourselves out there read it!

I've read all 4 books, and know a great deal about the Haloverse. I would just like some of his past visualized in the game.


the brute was a brute chieftan, the pistol was the one from halo2, not halo1

Not just the Chieftain is all suped up, but so are the other Brutes as well. The Brutes are almost completely decked out in armor. Also, I originally thought the pistol was the Halo 2 pistol as well, but upon closer inspection, it isn't The clip extends out from the bottom, and the front it bulging, two distinctive characteristics from the M6D. The M6C has a smoother front, and clip fits perfectly. You can check out comparison shots at Bungie.net. You can see what the M6D looks like under "equipment" in the Halo CE section, and a clear picture of the M6C on the online manual they have for Halo 2.

Again, huge fan.

[darkshadow]

its not the halo1 pistol, i know what they look like, the one in the trailer for one wasn't silver, its clip didnt extend as much either, plus it has grooves on the sides which the halo1 pistol doesnt have, but the halo2 pistol doesnt have it either, which could make this gun an upgrade from the halo2 pistol, or maybe a mix, also, you didnt notice the "warthog" is actually the buggy/quad thing did you?
That is what i found most interesting.
The brutes are prolly decked out like that cause they dont have the elites on their side anymore, the brutes have to be on the frontline of battle now.

[Vegechan]

its not the halo1 pistol, i know what they look like, the one in the trailer for one wasn't silver, its clip didnt extend as much either, plus it has grooves on the sides which the halo1 pistol doesnt have, but the halo2 pistol doesnt have it either, which could make this gun an upgrade from the halo2 pistol, or maybe a mix, also,

My theory, is a mix of the two. Fast rate of fire, less punch power than the M6D, with a scope. So basically, the M6C with a scope.


you didnt notice the "warthog" is actually a buggy did you?
That is what i found most interesting.

There are two vehicles. When he grabs for the Assault rifle, that vehicle is without a doubt a Warthog. When the uses the grenade, it's defintely a Mongoose that gets blown away.


The brutes are prolly decked out like that cause they dont have the elites on their side anymore, the brutes have to be on the frontline of battle now.

I'm sure this is the reasoning for it. Before, they were guards for temples, and slowly started to take over Elite duties until finally taking over completely. Now that they are on the front line, they need some more armor to compensate for lack of Shield generators.

Unless... the armor is equipped with shield generators...