The new A-team.
Jeremy's Impressions
While the event definitely took its time to get started, we were eventually treated to a demonstration of the single player campaign by a couple of the game's developers. Throughout the ten minute demonstration of 'Tsavo Highway', we saw an experience that was rather familiar. They played as a co-op team, and we saw how they made their way across an open landscape, after starting in an underground facility/tunnel. It demonstrated the variety of combat, from close quarters and tight spaces to the more open fields. We were also informed that this would be the first mission where vehicles would be accessible, and even got a peak at the new Brute Chopper. Obviously, you'd expect developers to be proficient at their own game, but even they struggled with the enemies in Heroic mode. While we didn’t see much of the story, it would be really nice if we actually had an ending this time.
Things started to get interesting when the developers showed off the cinema mode. Your play time, whether it be in single or multiplayer, will always be recorded and stored for viewing afterwards. When viewing, you have full control over the camera, so you can either stick to the FPS perspective or zoom out to virtually any conceivable angle. Exploring the feature will allow players to see how much detail there is in the game, such as the bullet marks on a Brute's armour. Furthermore, you can store recordings of your exploits and take your own screenshots. These can all be named, saved for later and spread around the community. Not that the Halo community needed a boost, but add this and the 'Forge' mode that adds in 'creation' tools, and you've got a game that is likely to spawn a massive community following, not to mention some very creative moments. This is the main advantage that was apparent for Halo 3.
We then got a chance to check out the single player and the multiplayer for ourselves. While we only saw a small portion of the game, we feel that it was a fairly good indicator for what to expect from the final release. And well, it's fairly clear that Halo 3 will not be revolutionising the first person genre. It did however, feel polished, reasonably tight and showed that while it doesn't really innovate, it provides a rock solid experience. The single player has its moments, particularly as you assault a tight cluster of enemies, in or out of the vehicles, or as a giant Covenant Mothership ship flies right over your head.
Next came the co-operative modes. Probably because of the fact that many Australian gaming journalists know each other too well, co-op didn't quite go as planned. Camaraderie was thrown out the window as warthogs were trashed and teabagings came a plenty. Still, it ran smoothly, and if played with friends, could mean some good times to follow. However, it doesn't seem like something that is likely to work unless you're with friends, as it is easy to get picked on. Then again, that's what plasma grenades are for, right?
It's all in the details.
The only multiplayer map that was initially available was Zanzibar, and it really hasn't changed much since our last visit. The fun really started once we got to check out the new map, Narrows. A worldwide exclusive, shown in Australia for the first time, PALGN staff and forum members ran rings around most of the other gaming journos. We felt that Narrows as actually a very good map, though it would have been very hectic with the full sixteen players, rather than just the eight.
Just as with the single player, the multiplayer is a familiar story. Apart from the additions such as the bubble shield and extra weapons (which will be found in the single player as well), the experience was pretty much the same. Don't get us wrong, we had a lot of fun and it's a fast and fluid experience but at the same time, anyone who is expecting there to be any large differences is likely to be very disappointed. If you didn't like Halo in the first place, this won't change your mind. If you did, on the other hand, happy days are to come.
Graphically, the game looked good but not as breathtaking as Halo looked upon its initial Xbox release. The game essentially looks like it has been upgraded over its predecessor, rather than rebuilt or revolutionised. The game retained the unique Halo style and the scope of the environment was amazing. We at least know, that looking into the distance in Halo 3 will yield some breathtaking sights. In terms of sound the music was absolutely spot on and really highlighted of the experience.
With the release of arguably the most hyped game of the year imminent, we have a good idea of how things will turn out. Playing this game on your own will definitely take a back seat to the more enjoyable experiences that are likely to be offered by the co-op and multiplayer. Not to mention, it's the community aspect of creation and recording that are most likely to help the game achieve some justification for the tremendous hype. While there is no doubt the game will succeed in terms of sales, it's the community aspect that will help the game truly succeed. That is, even if the game is virtually an expansion on previous efforts.
Trouble much?
Frozencry’s Impressions
I walked into the Halo 3 event with Jeremy expecting to be thoroughly underwhelmed and unimpressed, as so far what has been shown publicly has proven nothing, apart from the game being rather sub-standard and feeling a whole lot like Halo 2, just with sharper textures.
However after tonight, I stand corrected.
Don't get me wrong, the game isn't in any way mind-blowing, nor is it going to revolutionize the way we play console FPS, but it's definitely impressive what Bungie have mustered in the 3 years they've had to plan this beast out, and it sure as hell isn't going to disappoint the Halo fans.
Visually, you'll notice that the game has been beefed up significantly compared to the beta, with more shader effects being utilized, top-notch animation, sharper textures, and it all runs at a silky-smooth framerate. There was a hell of a lot going on too, with small clusters of Imps firing away at our Warthog, chunks of the war-torn vehicle being torn off as the plasma hits, and general all-out madness. The scale of the game adds to this significantly, as probably the most impressive part of the demo was a Covenant Mothership flying overhead, casting a massive shadow over the battleground, and being so close to the field of battle that you feel as if it can almost be touched. It was moments like this where Halo 3 really shined, and hopefully there'll be more of this throughout the entire campaign, with its superb orchestrated music pounding in the background. It feels epic, and it feels right.
The replay value also looks to be very high, as not only does it sport an extremely solid online/offline Multiplayer component, but it now features 4-player co-op, which was surprisingly easy to set up and played extremely well. It was just as easy as finding the game that was hosted (and joining it) and you're in the battle right away. We're yet to see how stable and consistent it is online, however I trust in Bungie's ability to polish it up before launch.
The new replay feature for campaign also works quite a treat, as it's been improved from the betas iteration, and holds many new features which will surely cater towards fans. One of these features is basically being able to roam around the world freely with the camera. You can slow down and speed up the replay as you do this, and you can even pause it and rotate around your character in real-time. The developers demonstrated how this worked and they seamlessly moved around the world freely as the replay ran, and on occasion, paused so they could take a screenshot of a certain kill or whatnot, and the screenshot is then submitted to the Bungie.net servers for viewing. It's an interesting system that will surely be popular among fans. It's always gratifying to be able to take a screenshot of the insane headshot you just pulled and show it off to the world.
We then ended the night with some multiplayer Team Deathmatch madness, me (naturally!) taking first place in most matches, with Jeremy right behind me, both of us casually destroying the IGN guys. We played a new map that was shown for the first time ever, and the level design and overall layout was brilliant. Definitely a welcome addition to Halo's map arsenal and bound to be a popular map online.
Overall, I came out thoroughly impressed and look forward to the final product come September 25th. If Bungie keep the level design and feel of the Campaign as consistent as we saw at the demonstration, then finishing the fight will be going off with quite a bang. Mark your calenders Halo fans, it's almost time.
The ground is Narrow, take to the air!
So there you have it. Will Halo 3 be the run away winner of 2007. Well, even with GTA out of the picture, there is going to be some tremendously stiff competition. Even though we doubt the Game-of-the-Year potential, we don't doubt that the game is likely to garner a massive following, what with there already being one million preorders. As we've mentioned, it is the community and the creation features at their disposal, as well as the co-op and multiplayer that will win it for Halo 3. It seems that a lot of people will have fun with this game, so long as they are not expecting anything radically different.
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