1UP's 3 weeks of Halo 3 Coverage

[John Veteran]

I love the storyline! I'm reading through the books now and can't wait for the fourth one.

Are they still doing the books? I thought they were giving up on them in favor of their "graphic novel"? :(

[goji]

heres my prediction: Halo 3 will be a prettier Halo 2, just as Halo 2 was a pretier Halo. PLEASE prove me wrong ;)

Looking at the scans I am expecting Halo 3 to be what Halo 2 should have been, a better/prettier Halo 1. Halo 2 attempted to be more realistic instead of futuristic, the reason I loved Halo, a sci-fi run n gun game. And in that process it felt like they had to reinvent Halo all over again as the game play in H2 felt like it went through the same routines as the first.

Heres hoping that Bungie takes a cue and returns back to the method of 15 seconds of fun being repeated over and over again instead of being bogged down by ridiculous battles, 100% accurate jackal snipers with flat game play. Halo 2's campaign is rather boring; I expected more. Whether Bungie redeems itself with Halo 3 or not is questionable, regardless Ill be buying it for the online play and to finish the story.

[iconboy]

I love the storyline! I'm reading through the books now and can't wait for the fourth one. You have to keep in mind that Halo 2 was a cliff-hanger ending because it was between the first and last of a trilogy, it's expected to have a cliff-hanger ending. Look at The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, etc etc. I'm sure the Halo 3 SP will have a much more 'complete' feel to it than Halo 2. :)

Did you even play Halo 1 and/or 2? Besides at a friend's house for more than 10 minutes?

Didn't think so.

You probably wont believe me, but ive owned an xbox for a long time now and I own both games. I played both for a couple of hours... i enjoy multiplayer via XBConnect, but yeah i never played the single player games all the way through, AND YES i was totally confused at the opening cinemativ for Halo 2 ;) LOL -my brother plays that and MGS3 online mostly now.

using the same logic you can say Super Mario Galaxy is the same as Super Mario on the NES only with a higher poly count and more this...

jump

kick

jump

jump

jump

mama mia!!!

kick

jump

and so and so...

:rolleyes:

PLEASE tell me u can tell the difference between a 2d version of a game from the 80s, the 3d mario that came out on the N64 which imo is one of the best games of all time and the newest incarnation played with a totally new controller and mechanics.

YES, now compare H1 and H2, H1= jump, shoot, strafe, shoot, save point.. rinse repeat. H2 was like this but prettier and now i can hold 2 guns! (wohhoo!)

[goji]

I love the storyline! I'm reading through the books now and can't wait for the fourth one. You have to keep in mind that Halo 2 was a cliff-hanger ending because it was between the first and last of a trilogy, it's expected to have a cliff-hanger ending.

Halo 2 ended with a cliffhanger since Bungie ran out of time in developing the game, they cut a few levels off at the end. Joe Staten has admitted to this on several occasions.

Are they still doing the books? I thought they were giving up on them in favor of their "graphic novel"? :(

Oh ya, Ghosts of Onyx has already been released with a book or two more after that.

[Spartan_X]

:D :D :D I Love you now just for that.

I'd never stop loving you sunshine! :wub:

j/k :laugh: :rofl: :p

[John Veteran]

Oh ya, Ghosts of Onyx has already been released with a book or two more after that.

WHAT?!?!? I missed one! :o Runs to bookstore... DAMN! They closed at 6 :(

[Spartan_X]

PLEASE tell me u can tell the difference between a 2d version of a game from the 80s, the 3d mario that came out on the N64 which imo is one of the best games of all time and the newest incarnation played with a totally new controller and mechanics.

YES, now compare H1 and H2, H1= jump, shoot, strafe, shoot, save point.. rinse repeat. H2 was like this but prettier and now i can hold 2 guns! (wohhoo!)

did I hurt your feelings? ohh poor baby... :pacifier: :rolleyes:

seems like you can't a dose of your own medicine... :devil: :laugh: :rofl: :p

or as the song says "if you can't take the heat, get your ass out of the kitchen"... :happy: :yes:

[stanley porkchop]

PLEASE tell me u can tell the difference between a 2d version of a game from the 80s, the 3d mario that came out on the N64 which imo is one of the best games of all time and the newest incarnation played with a totally new controller and mechanics.

YES, now compare H1 and H2, H1= jump, shoot, strafe, shoot, save point.. rinse repeat. H2 was like this but prettier and now i can hold 2 guns! (wohhoo!)

Flawed logic. Look, all those SMB games were logical progressions for the series. Halo 2 was an advancement from Halo 1 in the same ways. By using your formula, you could say Half Life 2 and Half Life 1 were basically the same because they both had guns. Or Final Fantasies are all the same because they all have you fighting monsters and drinking potions. Or DVDs and VHS tapes are the same because they both show movies.

And there was a controller change introduced between Halo 1 and 2, in case you didn't know :whistle:

Seriously, rethink your argument.

[magik]

1up is clarifying some of the leaked information regarding Halo 3 details:

Last week we detailed some of the changes coming to Halo 3's multiplayer and gave readers a small taste of some of the coverage that will appear in this month's EGM and during the rest of the month here at 1UP. Unfortunately, as 1UP Network Editorial Director John Davison pointed out some of that information peeked out a bit early, courtesy of Swedish magazine, Level. Those reveals were quickly translated and reported on (with some speculation where applicable) -- we just want to set the record straight and cut through some of the speculative stuff.

What They Said: IGN reported:

There's also word on a new Spartan Laser, a difficult-to-control but powerful attack that can disable vehicles in a single hit.

Truth and Reconciliation: The Spartan Laser was introduced to us as an anti-vehicle weapon, but the shoulder-mounted laser showed tremendous versatility as an anti-personnel weapon, too (it's really not very hard to control at all). Developer Bungie admitted that they were looking into ways to balancing the weapon a bit better in infantry combat (weapon nerf incoming?).

What They Said: IGN also wondered just how many players would appear in Halo 3's multiplayer:

But we still don't know how many players will be able to jump online at one time. We're hoping Bungie has plans to compete with the PS3's Resistance and 40-player action. Just imagine.

Truth and Reconciliation: Bungie told 1UP that they had no plans to extend the gameplay beyond the 16-player limit the previous games had. Judging from the size of the maps we saw (Valhalla, Snowbound and High Ground) -- it seems like a safe bet that the maps are being designed around the sweet spot of Halo's four vs. four multiplayer (they just served their four billionth Halo 2 game).

What They Said: Gameblog Kotaku reported (and showed scans) of the Level spread, among the tidbits they unearthed:

New Weapons

Spiker: Some sort of melee weapon.

Spartan Laser: An anti-vehicle weapon.

Nail Grenade: A grenade that sticks to the wall and shoots nails out when it explodes.

Apparently the Spiker and your secondary weapon will now actually be visible strapped to your back.

Truth and Reconciliation: Like other weapons in the Halo universe, the Spiker will have a melee element (it has a small sickle on the bottom like the the Brute Shot). Still, it's useful for more than up-close encounters. On the other hand, the rifle (whose rounds fall somewhere between the bullet-hose spray of a SMG and the projectile-ejection of a needler) is far more useful than either of those -- it plugs foes full of bright orange spikes.

The "nail grenade" is actually a Spike Grenade and it functions quite a bit differently than the other grenades (plasma and frag) in the Halo-verse, while combining the best parts of both. We'll be detailing the new weapons in with an in-depth look at Halo 3's multiplayer (and the December EGM has some new information about existing Halo weaponry and how it changes in Halo 3).

Technically, the Spiker (gun) rests on your hip in Halo 3. Two-handed weapons like the Battle Rifle, redesigned Assault Rifle, Spartan Laser and Shotgun are slung across players' backs when they aren't using them -- the single-hand weapons are stowed in would-be holsters on the Spartan's legs. Does being able to see all of the weapons your foes are toting around change the gameplay? Oh, it does.

What They Said: Gamespot Rumor Control'd the Halo 3 information ending their article with a plea:

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus, although we hope the term "Man Cannon" is the result of a translation error.

Truth and Reconciliation: We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but "Man Cannon" is indeed the real name. Will they be renamed "Launch Vents" or something far less interesting by the time the game ships? Maybe. But the giggles that crackled through the room when they said "Man Cannon" didn't bode too well for a name change.

This is just the information that came from Level magazine, the December issue of EGM and the next three weeks of coverage here at 1UP will expand, unveil and analyze even more from Halo 3. Stay friggin' tuned.

I can't wait for my EGM to arrive! :woot: Anyone get theirs yet?

[Remysaus]

new scans from famitsu;

source: http://www.xboxyde.com/news_3763_en.html#

[spenser.d]

Anyone know Japanese? :D The Legendary edition looks slick.

-Spenser

[-Anthony]

Don't want to show off the new Spartan Mark Armor ehhhhh.

[magik]

^^^ That first picture is interesting. Notice how that Spartan is holding an Assault Rifle while having a Rocket Launcher slung around his back AND a Pistol ( ?) ... maybe that's a hint at tertiary weapons? GASP! lol i dunno, just a thought :)

EDIT: Also, further down on that same scan you can see a Spartan really high up in the air... that doesn't look like a normal jump. So I'm guessing maybe it's a new-ish planet where the gravity is a little different and you can jump higher? That would be pretty cool, I think.

[John Veteran]

OMG :drool: Can't wait! :D

[Admodieus]

Is that one map with the Forerunner shrine (in the distance) with the light beam shooting straight up possibly Infinity from Halo PC?

[Elliott]

using the same logic you can say Super Mario Galaxy is the same as Super Mario on the NES only with a higher poly count and more this...

jump

kick

jump

jump

jump

mama mia!!!

kick

jump

and so and so...

:rolleyes:

Oh wow. That made my day. :laugh: :rofl: Spartan, you somehow make me happier every day.

[duntkno]

that jump was probably the work of a modder... :p

[Spartan_X]

Oh wow. That made my day. :laugh: :rofl: Spartan, you somehow make me happier every day.

hehehe... :blush:

good to know my twisted sense of humor is making somebody happy. :happy: :yes:

[sweetham]

The item on the Spartan that stands out above the other on his hip also looks like it might be something other than a pistol. Its has a lot more of a rounded shape than blockiness of the pistol. Could it possibly be a new weapon all together, or a spiker grenade before it is activated for detonation?

Also look closely on the spartan on the right. What is that on his back. Could that be a fuel rod cannon. that would be nice.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

Is that a mini-warthog I see? Certainly looks smaller than a normal 2 seat warthog.

[Elliott]

Is that a mini-warthog I see? Certainly looks smaller than a normal 2 seat warthog.

You mean the ATV-like vehicle: the Mongoose?

[magik]

There's some juice details on Bungie's Weekly Update in case anyone hasn't read it yet.

I?m the biggest ever water-fan in the history of video games. It started with the compelling waves found in Pitfall 2 on the Atari 2600. I was hooked. From then on, I became a voraciously addicted connoisseur of video game aquatics. I just saw Hao Chen?s new water tech. He?s not there so I can?t ask him about it, and I?m not even sure that?s what we?re using, but it was astonishing. Water flowing around objects and creating eddies and turbulence. A far cry from the shiny default placeholder in the MP demo EGM played.

Hao?s work on ?atmospherics? is dropping in daily too. That is to say, particulates in the air that dramatically and subtly affect the quality of light and realism of the atmosphere. Objects in the distance are obscured by a realistic haze rather than fogged out or knocked out of focus. Some of this can be seen in the H3 announcement trailer, but in normal gameplay environments, it makes a big difference. It?s possible to achieve anything from a dry and dusty plain t a close, humid forest in terms of visible atmospherics. We won?t hit you over the head with it, but it?ll be there!

The atmospherics and lighting are also used to amazing effect in the single most terrifying Halo moment I ever saw. I literally yelped. Something really, really bad happened in the Campaign story, and something really, really scary ensued. Joe screamed when he saw it. I admit I peed :Do.

:D Can't wait for them to get on:parget with the trailer. :p

[spenser.d]

I guess the latest 1up show also talked about Halo 3 a lot also. Not much in the way of new info, but it is the center of attention.

-Spenser

[spenser.d]

Apparently the French OXM has a Halo 3 blowout? Anyone here get that mag? :D

-Spenser

[ahhell]

Dual weapons and weapon combos ruined Halo.

Halo 1 actually required skill. Halo 2 was a ###### and laggy noobfest.