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| Halo 3 |
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| Shooters |
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| Bungie |
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| Microsoft |
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26th September 07 |
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25th September 07 |
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N/A |
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Humble Beginnings
If there ever was a game that personifies Xbox gaming then it would have to be Halo. Prior to the launch of Xbox, Halo was the showcase title for the system and the game most people were talking about. After some not so impressive hands on previews based on journalists being able to play an early build during E3 at the time, Bungie really turned around their product making it into the classic masterpiece we all know and love today.
I think for many gamers in their gaming infancy when they played Halo for the first time were wowed at the level of detail and depth the game provided on all levels. For many console gamers this was the first time that they had experienced some very intelligent AI in a console game combined with the scale the Halo universe provides. Vehicles in games were nothing new at the time especially if you are an avid PC gamer but for many the culmination of an intriguing story, cool characters, impressive AI, vehicles and of course the beautifully realised graphics all in their bump mapped glory was enough to cement Halo as “The” game for Xbox. The leading character Master chief received gaming iconic status and pretty much symbolises all things Xbox; although he did lend his talents to the PC audience he remains one of the gaming greats and a mascot so to speak for Xbox gamers across the globe.
The Halo beater?
With a successful and predominantly well loved game under their belts the team at Bungie laboured away on a sequel which as you can expect was thrust under the spotlight by fans and gaming press alike. With an E3 demo trailer ( you can view this here) shown as a first glimpse of the game in 2004 the excitement and anticipation hit new levels. The pressure was really on for Bungie to deliver as expectation for Halo 2 reached fever pitch. Forums across the globe were rife with theories on the game’s content and gamers scoured the internet for anything they could find on Halo/Halo2 with sites such as ILove-bees.com causing mass confusion and intrigue at the same time.
With the emphasis Microsoft placed on its Xbox Live service which continued to go from strength to strength it was an obvious fact that Halo 2 would take advantage of this. As more info surfaced regarding the game it was clear to see that the Multiplayer aspect wasn’t going to be anything less that stellar. Well November 2004 arrived as Halo 2 hit stores across the globe although to the distaste of European gamers who had to wait a few days or so longer after the American public had the game. Halo 2 had arrived and despite the negative ramblings of the few was deemed a success. For gamers embarking on the single player, the biggest shock arrived when during the game players assumed the role of the enemy in a plot twist almost as painful as Raiden replacing Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Whilst many gamers appreciated this aspect there were a number of people who didn’t warm to the character.
For the majority of gamers across the globe there was one aspect of the game that they could mostly all agree on; The Multiplayer which offered intense and reasonably balanced combat. Halo 2 really did make multiplayer first person combat more accessible to the masses, especially over Xbox Live with its comprehensive matchmaking system that matched players of equal skill with each other. Recent news has reported that some 500 million games have been played online of Halo 2 since it launched.
New beginnings to an end
If you turn off your TV, computer and any other noise in your home and sit there with your eyes closed you may just hear a feint sound. Well that sound is the sound of Halo 3 and its impending arrival. If you can imagine a pillar of dust appearing on the horizon and the clutter of hooves getting louder and louder with a million strong herd of buffalo fast approaching, that is Halo 3 and the sheer amount of hype that will be generated over the coming months. With many speculating when it will eventually arrive and even Bill Gates giving it a mention in one of his speeches, speculation, anticipation and the rest of it is going to reach new levels. Well Bungie are keeping tight lipped over their project and many anticipated that at this years E3 something of Halo 3 would be shown. Well those who guessed were right as we were all shown a teaser trailer which I’m sure many of you have watched countless times now (you can view the trailer here ). The trailer itself heralds a new dawn for Halo as it will be the first time the series will appear on the Xbox 360 which grants the developers more powerful hardware to realise their vision for the game. The Xbox was a great starting platform for the series but the limitations with the hardware meant that the true scale Bungie were looking for couldn’t quite be implemented.
Bungie have recently released a documentary video which outlines some of their vision and excitement for Halo 3 (you can view the documentary trailer here. It’s clear to see that Halo 3 will be an amazing experience especially after viewing the E3 trailer which were told runs on the new Halo 3 engine and grants the programmers far more scope when creating the epic battles that we can expect in the game. The visual quality seen in the trailer is also what Bungie are aiming for and as you can see when viewing it that it features some excellent attention to detail, including a slightly war torn looking Master Chief.
Not for the feint hearted
Well what can we expect from Halo 3 especially as the pressure on the team to deliver the ultimate Halo experience becomes surmountable? Obviously we can expect the graphical overhaul from the new hardware; although by the time Halo 3 is actually released which were told will be at some point in 2007 the developers should have had plenty of time to get to grips with the system. The trailer also gives us a good indication of what to expect graphically from the game. However what game play features can we expect? Well there will no doubt be a number of ground and air based vehicles in the game which will probably include some new additions to the warthogs, Scorpions, Banshees and Ghosts offered in the previous games. Perhaps we will see Master Chief piloting small spacecraft to quickly get from Earth to orbit, who knows?
From watching the documentary it’s clear to see that the team are hoping to bring forth a more epic feel to the game’s battles. Can we expect raging battles with numerous characters battling it out on screen at once with ground vehicles and overhead aircraft participating as well; especially as we all know Master Chief and his antics are part of a greater war? I most definitely would hope so and the trailer once again indicates that this will be the case. Well we’ve had similar experiences from the previous two games so it will be interesting to see how Bungie incorporate the epic battles this time. In creating large scale battles the team AI will no doubt be a major factor in creating atmosphere and to some extent more empathy for the on screen action. No doubt the team AI will have been tweaked to offer an even more immersive experience, perhaps this time due to the scale of the levels we will be able to issue simple orders to nearby troops?
Halo 2 offered an impressive amount of weapons both human and alien based and therefore we can expect more of the same; however I’m pretty sure we will see the inclusion of some more weapons to unleash upon our enemies. Maybe this time round console gamers will be able to get their hands on the flamethrower for some heated action. The combat has always been of the highest quality in both of the previous games offering unique AI encounters to the player in Halo 3 we will hopefully see an even greater level of interactivity with the environment with things like destructible cover and more physics in action.
The story portion of the game will no doubt be shrouded in mystery right up until the game reaches the shop shelves. However we can speculate and expect the battle to be finalised as indicated by the ending of Halo 2. However let’s not assume necessarily that the final battle will be the end of the series. Bungie can take any direction they please with the story and whiles there is a lot of folklore surrounding the series, the possibilities are there for plenty of surprises. One such surprise could be the inclusion of another Spartan perhaps? We’ve already sampled the delights of Nicole in Dead Or Alive 4 and although her inclusion was fan inspired the possibilities of her or a similar character meeting Master Chief in his native environment is perhaps a possibility. The discovery of Forerunner technology on Earth, the fact that ally Cortana is in the clutches of super being Gravemind means the story could go in any direction and will no doubt be a wonderful experience when we finally get to play the game next year.
The multiplayer experience will also be improved upon and perhaps this time players will be able to pick classes of marine, Spartans and Elites and any new characters they introduce. Expect even more impressive multiplayer maps and of course a huge roster of customisable game types. Many gamers will be crying out for are the inclusion of on and offline bots as well as a much needed only co-op mode which allows gamers to experience the single player co-operatively. With the arrival of the Xbox 360 camera maybe we will see some sort of implementation in the game, perhaps the option to map our own faces onto multiplayer characters?
All eyes are on Bungie now as Halo is no doubt the big franchise for Microsoft and no doubt the team will be feeling the pressure at times during production. The clock is ticking and we all know that one day next year we will all be enjoying a next generation Halo game. Whilst game specific details are pretty much non existent right now the speculation has already begun. Master Chief is on his way just like those stampeding buffalo on the horizon it’s soon time to prepare yourself for what could be the greatest battle of them all.
Preview By: Robert Cram
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