Bungie released a beautiful little video of the Halo 3 beta, as recorded by Mr. Jukes. It’s a mouth-watering, tantalizing bit that promises an even more awesome multiplayer format for Halo 3 than we’ve enjoyed with Halo 2. So, Halo 3 is really going to be something.
There has already been a lot of analysis on the video leaks we’ve already seen, and I’m no interest in trying to rehash any of that. Most of the guys who’ve captured screens and shots have written up a much better analysis of stuff than I ever will. But I did nab a view quick captures that I either haven’t seen already or that I’m particularly intrigued by.
Silver helmet with red armor?
This was possibly the first thing I noticed that looked “out of place.” I wonder if it’s going to be possible to set up armor colors to be able to make one’s helmet a different color from the rest of the armor. Or, if the helmet will be all the secondary color. I suppose it’s also possible that this was some sort of glitch, but I’m thinking it’s probably not. Naturally, this isn’t a
functional thing – it certainly won’t affect gameplay at all – but it
is intriguing, nonetheless.
New feature – mines
We know we’re going to get a couple of new toys in Halo 3. I missed seeing the mine the first time I watched the video, but I noticed it the second time. I’m guessing that it’s either a proxy mine or some sort of triggered mine. My money’s on the first option, though, since it looked like it only exploded once the other Spartan got near it. I wonder if you can accidentally blow yourself up on your own mine. Probably.
Only six shots, instead of – what was it? – 12?
The shotgun in Halo 2 holds quite a few more shells than it does in Halo 3. Unless it was a shotgun gametype, I don’t think I ever used all the ammo – and you could shoot for quite a while before having to reload. Six shots to reload seems like a good way to balance this weapon. I just hope it’s a bit more reliable and predictable than it has been in Halo 2.
New medal – Killjoy
I want to know exactly what this medal is and what the criteria are to get it. It’s a new one – obviously – and it’s not clear from the video itself where it comes from. I wonder if it’s a result of ending someone’s killing spree. After all, that’d be a major killjoy for me.
Lots of good stuff coming in Halo 3, not least of which is going to be the Spartan laser, the man-cannon, the Mongoose, the personal lift, and much more. I already can’t wait to play.
Tags: bungie, halo-3, halo-3-beta, killjoy-medal, man-cannon, personal-lift, spartan-laser, spartan-mine
This just seems remarkably unfair:
FyreWulff pointed out a thread on Bungie.net discussing the new Halo 2 maps coming out soon – Jeremiah mentioned that these maps would likely be incorporated in a significant number of playlists – and (at least at this point in the developments) those playlists would no longer be available to people playing on the original Xbox.
This is, of course, a Microsoft decision. If Bungie had their way, everyone who had already purchased Halo 2 and had an Xbox Live account would also have access to these new maps – and they’re going to work to see if there is any way to make such a thing happen. But I’m annoyed and a little angry that Microsoft continually tries to shaft their customers this way. I can understand and appreciate their desire to get as many Xbox owners to upgrade to an Xbox 360 as possible – they understandably want to make as much money as possible. And I can appreciate that we, as consumers, don’t actually deserve to get new maps for free; heck, I’m willing to pay for the new maps. But I do believe it’s terribly unfair to single out Xbox owners from being able to get these maps just because they’re Xbox owners who haven’t been able to upgrade yet.
I’m really hoping that Bungie is able to talk some sense into the powers-that-be at Microsoft to actually make these maps available for everyone. We who love Halo 2 so much want to experience every aspect of the game. This is especially true for those of us in specific communities who will end up being left behind on some of these matchmaking lists if it turns out that we won’t be able to acquire these maps.
It’s just another way that Microshaft is trying to take it to their customers by punishing them for not purchasing certain of their products. It’s bad market sense, it’s bad public relations, and it’s a terrible way to keep your customers happy. Here’s hoping they repent of this decision, but I’m not holding my breath waiting on it.
Tags: bungie, halo-2, haloverse, microsoft, video-games, xbox
Oh. Oh, my. Bungie has just announced two more reasons why I need an Xbox 360. First, is the announcement of Halo Wars, which is a Halo RTS game that takes place before the events of Halo: CE. The trailer for the game looks absolutely stunning, and I can’t wait to see how the storyline for this one unfolds.
The second is an as-yet un-named and still-secret project. Bungie has teamed up with film-maker and director Peter Jackson of the Lord of the Rings fame. In addition to working on the upcoming Halo film, Jackson has teamed up with Fran Walsh to create Wingnut Interactive, a new video game studio.
Wingnut Interactive will be working closely with us to create “another chapter in the Halo universe,” which is a phrase you’ll be hearing a lot and of course, we’re sworn to secrecy.
This raises as many questions as it answers—will it be a sequel? A prequel? A side-story? We won’t squeal, but we can tell you it will be a blend of gameplay and storytelling quite unlike anything the games industry has ever seen before. And Wingnut Interactive isn’t stopping at Halo—the newly formed gaming behemoth will also be working closely with Microsoft to introduce a brand-new gaming IP created by Wingnut themselves. (Source: “Bungie”:http://www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?link=bungieatx06)
I’m super-excited about these announcements and positively drooling over the prospect of seeing the Halo universe expanded like this. Now, I just need to figure out how to afford the pricetag for an Xbox 360.
Tags: bungie, halo, halo-ce, halo-wars, lord-of-the-rings, microsoft, peter-jackson, real-time-strategy, video-games, wingnut-interactive, xbox-360
