Halo 3 co-op play offline only

360 News | The Chief fights alone. Period.

In the lead-up to Halo 3's launch, the rumours keep growing. First it was that Halo 3 wll be less violent than Halo 2, now Computer and Videogames reports that according to the next issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Halo 3 co-operative play will be offline only and limited to two-player.

If true, it marks a rather large disappointment for Halo fans interested in taking on the Horde with their buddies - some believed that four player online co-operative play was a likely feature. Two-player co-operative play has been confirmed for quite a while, but it now looks like it will only be available via LAN or split-screen.

Frank O'Conner, Bungie's Halo 3 coordinator, recognises the issue, stating, "We're not dumb." After stating the obvious, he continued, "We know that people want it and we're trying to make it happen."

Tying it down to a specific issue, Conner stated, "I think the biggest problem for us for online co-op is that we have a situation where you can be in a Warthog with five troops, almost a mile away from the other player. That's a significant challenge. And there's lots of design things you could do to prevent that from happening, but they would make it not feel like Halo anymore. If we can make it happen in a way that works well, we will - and if it works badly, we won't."

On a brighter note, Bungie didn't rule out introducing online co-operative multiplayer through a Live update post-launch. New details of Halo 3 equipment have also emerged - flashbangs, a dual wield Brute shotgun, a gravity hammer, and a weapon the opposite of the power drainer are all set to make an appearance.

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41 Comments

B3NBO

4 years ago

Oh damn i really hope they try and do something to get it to work online, it makes it soooo much more fun going through it with a friend on live.. its one of the reasons i played through Gears so many times (also for the achievements though).

Passa

4 years ago

Aww.. this is really disappointing considering some months ago there were reports of four player online co-op..

Emuaust

4 years ago

shafted

ittekimasu

4 years ago

while not a halo or even 360 fan, i'm dissapointed that this won't be an online co-op mode.

while those will stamp me as a fanboy and move me along, i can only assume that most of the fans would've loved to have the experience to play with someone online, that and i hate having to share a screen >.> split screen is my enemy.

But this can always be fixed in the future with a patch correct? so while you may not have it now, there could be room down the road to get it in the future. one of the benefits with games being so adaptable with patches in this gen, the ability to add and change content.

Crestfallen

4 years ago

maybe Bunjie aren't good at their job? Team Radical have 4 player online co-op for Haze, and that's a multiplatform game.

Or maybe Haze is set out a lot differently. I don't know.

Cerebral

4 years ago

Most likely. Don't forget, the size of traditional Halo levels range from large to extremely massive.

SMASHED

4 years ago

Do I hear another push in PS3 sales?

Seriously, for the one game that xbox got a reputation on, this surely has to be fake or misunderstood.

Lord Halo Nerd

4 years ago

That sucks. Oh man and I wanted to play Co-Op online too.

grantay

4 years ago

i dont get this... ok yes playing online with a heap of people you dont know and just blowing the crap out of them is cool.. but to play co-op with your friends online is just stupid. how about you become a little bit more social and go to their place or they go to your place and play it together.. even if it is with 2 tvs. instead of sitting alone in a dark room infront of a lonely tv pretending your friends are right there with you

Dane Oss

4 years ago

grantay wrote

Your theory is flawed because people have made friends from all over the world and its not exactly easy to ask them to come around for a beer and a game of Halo 3 is it?

Plus I could not be bothered sitting down with a mate for 15+ hours playing Halo its not like you could exactly do it one sitting.

Me and my mate (real friend, not online) finished Gears Co-Op online and it was great fun, We did a couple of hours a night until it was done.

See what I mean by your theory being flawed.

B3NBO

4 years ago

grantay wrote

uh right.. you dont know anything.. some people are busy at times and just wanna come home after a day of work and relax with on the couch. sure its fun to play in real life with em to, but thats not always possible and i actually prefer playing online cos it gives me more freedom and i can relax more. meh. everybody has their opinion, but playing online with your friends does not mean you are "anti-social".

DancesInUnderwear

4 years ago

Get some real friends, losers. Stop playing with people online.

Joking guys, relax

Jim Dash

4 years ago

Obviously they want to incorporate it into the game and all, and there are technical reasons as to why it isn't being, but its still not good enough.

I know it was never confirmed but it was definately expected to be in there, or at least 2 player co-op.

ittekimasu

4 years ago

^well in the kotaku article relating to this, there is word that they haven't yet succeeded in being able to make it onto the final release. so there is definitely still a chance that it will be a down loadable attatchment later in the future.

but with all downloads for M$ i'm not sure if this will be free or have to pay. i'm hoping for those who enjoy this game that its free since it should've been something that was built into the game from the start and not have to charge players in the later stages because of their flaws.

Karai Pantsu

4 years ago

I suppose their biggest problem is dealing with the issue of player 1 triggering a level event, while players 2 (and 3, and 4) are possibly miles away. If, for example, at one point in a level you get shut off from going back to the start but the other players are on the other side of the barrier... well, without just added stupid arbitrary things like forcing all players to be in an area to progress, or having players warp to each other if they stray too far, how do you handle it? Those kind of choices would fix it easily but would also leave playing co-op online with people way open to (bad) exploits (like joining a game and then sitting in a corner stopping the others from progressing).
I just hope they get it all in order, online co-op is a necessity IMO.

ObsoletE

4 years ago

Jim Dash wrote

Obviously they want to incorporate it into the game and all, and there are technical reasons as to why it isn't being, but its still not good enough.

i can't really understand what the technical issue could be. if they have got the deathmatch issues tied down, and they've got the LAN/Splitscreen co-op down, then surely there's not THAT much of a leap tying the two together.

even if online Co-Op is limited to 2 people (and why wouldn't it be, given the LAN/SS version is 2p only?) i can't see it being that large an issue.

not that i'm a programmer or anything, it just sounds iffy to me.

Jim Dash

4 years ago

^ That's exactly what I think. Even if it is limited to 2 player, then I'll settle for that, better than nothing. If they do release a patch, or and upgradepack or whatever, there is no way they'd make you pay. With the amount this game will sell, there is no way.

Is there?

I am starting to think Halo 3 may not meet people's expectations. I mean, what do I know, it'll probably exceed them, but still. It has all been a little underwhelming thus far.

slapshakle

4 years ago

grantay wrote

Well, I work fulltime so when I see my friends it's only when we go out. I can't even remember the last time I played splitscreen with a friend...

by the way my room is light and my TV isn't lonely. Your logic is silly at best.

ugh the boot

4 years ago

You know what? After waiting in line for ages at the midnight launch for Halo 2 and then taking it home with a mate to be quite severley disappointed with the single player game I wondered if the original Halo was a bit of a fluke and with each new announcement regarding Halo 3 i'm thinking this is more and more the case. Halo 2 had an awesome multiplayer mode but I was really really disappointed with the single player game.....if just didn't have the polish and structured combat of the first game. For example you could pop your head out in certain places and you would get killed instantly....like trial and error gameplay and I don't remember a single part in the original that was like that....almost every situation could be handled properly even if it was yout first time.

Also whoever thinks co-op online sucks probably has a crappy setup where they don't actually like kicking back with their own full-screen view. Zarnoss and I played through the whole game of Gears of War in co-op a couple of times and the whole experience was pretty much flawless (except for the part where the 360 scratched my GOW disc and refused to keep playing it.....untill I fixed it with some silvo).

I actually think now Halo 3 will be crap. I have less faith almost every new announcement I hear.

I really hope they prove me wrong because I really like Bungie especially with the way they talk about games but honestly after Halo 2 I don't really have much confidence....there's only so much talk can do.

I think this is a huge blow to the series because it shows they can't even keep up with current tech let alone exceed it. If they can't implement online co-op before launch, don't launch it untill you can finish it. Your game will be much better for it.

LeonJ

4 years ago

Hrmmm, while this is slightly dissapointing I am in no way upset or surprised. The achievements leaked a month or two ago didn't have any co-op so I figured they have scrapped it.

Don't really care, while I think GoW makes sense for co-op (ie cover system and very scripted linear seqeneces) I don't think it's really a big deal for Halo. It's just a totally different type of game.

Although I would agree with not being able to see the technical reason. I have heard that they have spilt the development teams into two (1/3 working on multi; 2/3 on single), so this could explain it. Ie both soley focusing on completely their component and not having any time to do this before the release.

Halo 3's campaign will be great Ugh, relax. There is no way in way it will be unpolished or crap.

ugh the boot

4 years ago

LeonJ wrote

Don't really care, while I think GoW makes sense for co-op (ie cover system and very scripted linear seqeneces) I don't think it's really a big deal for Halo. It's just a totally different type of game.

Honestly it's comments like these that sometimes make me think you really have no idea! It IS a big deal for Halo because Halo is what put it on the map! So it's become a trademark. So for Gears to have a better co-op mode really should be quite embarassing for Bungie.

I'm now thinking about just buying the regular version, no point getting a special edition when the game ain't special itself.

When Halo 2's single player was crap why they hell should I think that part 3's is gonna be great by default? It was unpolished and crap and I have more reason to believe that this will be the case with Halo 3 because as soon as the money started rolling in for Bungie all passion went out the door.

LeonJ

4 years ago

ugh the boot wrote

LeonJ wrote

Whateva, Halo 2 single was fine. Not by today's standards, but great fun when it came out. I can't see Halo 3 being a pile of crap. It may not top Bioshock but it's going to be a well polished dumb epic masterpiece.

You can't see what I'm talking about with co-op? Gears is a tightly group cover system game with small rooms and corridors. Making it ideal for co-op. In fact, the game design was incorperated great set-prices in co-op. Ie the level where one team is above in building and the other getting pinned down by the cross-bow dudes. Tense moments where when Dom got knock out and your trying to get to him to revive him are priceless.

Halo 3 sounds to me as an uber upgrade of Halo 1. It sounds like very large dymanic battlefields and I don't think it would be well suited to co-op. Co-op to me is most fun when you have to actually help your man out. Halo doesn't really conform to this because it's all over blowing **** up and you being the hero. Sure it's fun, but I don't see Halo as the utlimate co-op experience. I'm sure it will be added in with a patch anyway. I personally don't really care at this point and I'd rather them get out the game with a kickass multiplayer.

Gears 2 is they get 4 player co-op working will be where the fun truely lies. Or even the upcoming army of two.

Crestfallen

4 years ago

As mentioned, Halo has some very open ended areas making co-op not really co-op when they can be miles away from each other. Triggering sequence events, as Karai said, would come out a little funny as well.

It doesn't even matter though. When Bioshock gets released (and people play it on their PC, heh) nobody will remember what a Halo is.

ugh the boot

4 years ago

Just because Gears of War was actually desinged around co-op doesn't change the fact that Halo's trademark is co-op! So having Gears implement an online system compared to Halo 3's split screen is an embarassment.

ANd i'm not saying Halo 3 will be crap because of this but it will be crap because Bungie seem like all talk because since the first Halo game they haven't been producing results imo.

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Halo 3

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Australian Release Date:
  25/09/2007 (Confirmed)
Standard Retail Price:
  $99.95 AU
Publisher:
  Microsoft
Genre:
  Shooter
Year Made:
  2007
Players:
  8

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