GC'07: Halo 3 Preview

TVG lands in a Covenant-held Earth just weeks ahead of Master Chief's arrival on Xbox 360, and Forges a preview...

[Stella]

With so many fantastic multiplayer console games out this year Halo 3 really fails to stand out for anything other than its marketing budget.

With games like UT3,Warhawk,Resistance,Haze just on consoles and all the amazing pc titles too numerous to list, Halo 3 just doesn't have anything compelling to make people other than existing Halo fans take notice of the game.

With so many games being able to handle 32,40, and 64 player matches, Halo 3's 16 player limit really looks weak. You would think that after three years since Halo 2 they could have upgraded their networking code to the same next gen levels the rest of the gaming world already has.

The failure to move to dedicated servers is also just plain inexcusable for a company that is charging to play games online. Paying money for lag just isn't acceptable.

And graphically Halo 3 is a major bust. Easily the poorest graphics of any fps out there right now outside of pc shareware games.

The question everyone should be asking of Microsoft and Bungie is "What the hell have you been doing for the past three years and why do you have so little to show for it"

Halo 3 should have been the leader of the pack for online gaming, but it has turned out to be very last gen remake in 720p. Microsoft isn't going to be expanding their userbase with such a weak effort.

[MoonDust]

We all know there will be only one game on the news and it wont be any of the ones you mentioned.

[Stella]

Wow, news stories. Those 'news stories' really help Microsoft last gen didn't they!

Heh. Stupid fanboys.

Instead of really expanding and diversifying their first party development studios and IPs Microsoft for some inane reason still thinks that getting a bunch Halo fans to all stand around at midnight to buy a copy of the next Halo somehow accomplishes something.

[iceice123]

"With so many fantastic multiplayer console games out this year Halo 3 really fails to stand out for anything other than its marketing budget."

Halo 3 outshines them all, easily. It has a higher fun factor than anything coming this year and easily more replay value than any other console game, this year or next.

"With games like UT3,Warhawk,Resistance,Haze just on consoles and all the amazing pc titles too numerous to list, Halo 3 just doesn't have anything compelling to make people other than existing Halo fans take notice of the game."

Pure guess work, how could you possibly say nobody will see this game in the store and say "hey this looks like fun". You must have Halo confused with lair.

"With so many games being able to handle 32,40, and 64 player matches, Halo 3's 16 player limit really looks weak. You would think that after three years since Halo 2 they could have upgraded their networking code to the same next gen levels the rest of the gaming world already has."

You obviously don't keep up with Bungie, so don't know what you're talking about. Halo is perfect with 8v8, hence the 16 player cap. They feel it is actually better with just 4v4 or 5v5 mostly.

"The failure to move to dedicated servers is also just plain inexcusable for a company that is charging to play games online. Paying money for lag just isn't acceptable."

It is rare I see lag in GOW, RBS:V or any other 360 title. Their netcodes are vastly improved, dedicated server arn't really needed. And I'm sure Bungies will be top of the line.

"And graphically Halo 3 is a major bust. Easily the poorest graphics of any fps out there right now outside of pc shareware games."

You just don't know what to look for. You look at simply the textures. When Halo 3 easily has the best lighting of any console game, wider open massive environments to boot.

"The question everyone should be asking of Microsoft and Bungie is "What the hell have you been doing for the past three years and why do you have so little to show for it""

They were developing what probably will be the best game for this gen, that's what.

"Halo 3 should have been the leader of the pack for online gaming, but it has turned out to be very last gen remake in 720p. Microsoft isn't going to be expanding their userbase with such a weak effort."

Spoken like a true idiot.

And lol@ some of the games you find to be amazing.

[i Shank u]

wow dude, once you mentioned haze as a counter to halo i knew you were a retard

Huxley is coming to 360, with 100 vs. 100 player, Unreal 3 Engine grphx. and since its sounds like what you want is a huge f@gfest, i mean fragfest, Huxley for PC/360 should be right up your alley. personally, i like to keep killing the same n00b over and over, so halo's small player limits are good with me. dont blame the console; player limit is a design choice, not limitation. take your hatin' as$ elsewhere please?

[ShiftyLookingCow]

wow stella, I bet on yoshi getting killed in raccoon city you are a guy

[Daxx]

What you say, Stella, is still not going to hinder me and many others from buying Halo 3.

You're basically pissing in the ocean with your words. What you say isn't going to affect the larger majority.

[Funky Town_TX]

He has the right to his own opinion. I forgot it's not okay to say anything but H3 rocks.

[Maddens Raiders]

YOu will get a dozen or more disagrees as will I, but that's only because you're touching people's feeling's and something they identify with as an extension of their own personality. They see it as a personal attack. It's funny how commenting on something like this, is totally different to 360 fans that commetn on EVERYTHING SONY.

With that said, obviously Halo has had a great run with much deserved praise, and some....not so much. Honestly coupled with the early launch, the Beta spoiler, the overhype, and the Total Eclipse provided by KILLZONE II, and mixed in with what seems like an endless river of FPS's this year -- Halo seems to be an old friend lost in the crowd @ Grand Central Station. I'm sure it will sell out of the box, but there's no doubt that some luster is lost with the title, and am eager to see how the masses really respond to it. Only time will tell. Not much longer, but I have already seen 9 minutes and well....Let's let the crowds decide.

[Skynetone]

the multiplayer looks like no improvments have been made

that stupid alien is back from halo 2 {which i hated}

ive finished halo 1 and 2 {hated the second one}

will i be buying a crap box 360 to play it NO

[fopums]

I though H3 was set up to have 32 player limits? when did that change?

edit: well I cant lie, Im kinda disapointed, all those vehicals would have been much better crawling with players. Cant the new covenant tank hold like 5 guys itself? Dont get me wrong Im sure it will still be really fun with the replay vids and such, I just like having the option to have larger firefight's.

[iceice123]

Probably heard that as a rumor. The other one was 50V50 multiplayer.
----------------------------- ------------------------------ - ----------

Wow at the Sony girl just randomly disagreeing with people because they have nothing to say =)

@dr pepper, I belive that was an egm rumor.

[Dr Pepper]

Where was there a 50v50 multiplayer rumor for Halo?

@ fopums

They considered raising the amount of players to 32, but they decided against it. One reason was that with too many players, you just become "a face in the crowd" and not really having anything to do with the outcome of the game. They also said that if the maps were set-up for 32, they'd be less detailed and feel emptier.

@ Icewake

Oh

[AkUmAzRaGe lRl]

you me friend are what we call a complete HATER go play warhawk or something you have way to much time on your hands, just read you'er comment stop trying to be a sony fanboy because I dont even think they consider you ....punk!

[spike]

Aint Warhawk having problems with their online right now. Halo 3 will be huge no doubt about it. Cant wait to play it. For right now im having fun playing Bioshock. What good games are PS3 fans playing right now ? Resistance, Warhawk got an OK score, Lair sucked.

[Odinson]

"With games like UT3,Warhawk,Resistance,Haze just on consoles and all the amazing pc titles too numerous to list, Halo 3 just doesn't have anything compelling to make people other than existing Halo fans take notice of the game."

Ohhh, now I get it. So this is why Halo 3 has broken all records in pre-order sales? See instructions below.

(instructions: 1) grab the back of your neck 2) pull real hard 3) listen for the pop when your head comes out of you anus.)

[Stella]

What is so funny about Halo and its fans is most of you actually think Halo is some sort of singular sales record holder when in fact neither of the two games are even in the all time top ten list for sales. I'm not even sure if they make it into the top twenty.

Halo 2 only sold around 6-7 million last gen. Nowhere near the big franchises like GT that were up in the 11-12 million range.

[i Shank u]

whenever sales records are mentioned, they have to do with how many copies are sold in 24 hours, how much money made in this amount of time, etc. they all have to do with the game selling really fast, not long term sales. which says to me alot love it, and alot dont give a damn

On a sidenote, i see you just joined N4G stella, but already you're spamming out comments all over the place. whose multiple account are you? funny how nasim runs out of bubbles, isnt anywhere to be found in here, and you are.

[RadientFlux]

ah just 3 weeks to go and FPS bliss will be upon me

[batman2million]

there's always some sony fanboy just ruining the moment.

Didn't halo 2 break some kind of record?
Either way, all i know is that I, since i got the game on nov 2004, still play halo 2 religiously! every week my friends come over and we play online for at least 2-3 hours! the only game we MIGHT have played that much must be Smash Brothers melee!

And with Halo 3's video play back, I can finally see which one of them is really betraying me!!!

[Odinson]

"Halo 2 only sold around 6-7 million last gen. Nowhere near the big franchises like GT that were up in the 11-12 million range."

Name one PS3 game that has outsold halo 2. Really? Nothing? Not even one? Hmph. You really burned me there huh?

By the way, I never said anything about all time sales of any halo game in my other comment. I only spoke of pre-orders. Nice try though feel free to try again.

[iceice123]

Halo 2 sold over 8 million. GTA:SA sold like 13, which isn't even the same type of game. Shows how desperate you are to justify your claims.

[FirstknighT]

The excitement is starting to build. You can feel the love from the fans and the hate/jealousy from the haters. This game will be the #1 moneymaker of 2007 beating out Spiderman 3, Transformers, etc...The story, the multiplayer, the music. Oh man!!!!!!!! This is going to be HUUUUUUUUUUUGE!!!!! No other game brings the excitement like this game. I expect a Halo Holiday to follow.

[BADBOYEK4]

I am a console and a PC gamer so let me school you a little,UT3 is not a system seller.Epic never sold a million copies of any UT on the PC,HALF LIFE AND QUAKE always kicked UT azz in Sales.

[zigzag]

killzone 2 is gonna be way better I'm not saying halo 3 sucks I'm just saying compared with killzone 2 halo would'nt stand a chance

[iceice123]

lolwut?

[i Shank u]

nu huh! halo 3 is better! /:P

[Odinson]

Considering these games are nothing alike, besides you shoot people in them, your comment is a bit irrational. Halo, a run and gun shooter, has bright colors and elaborate story line. Killzone, a stop and pop shooter, is mostly...well...grey and greyer and blackish brown, with...uh what is the story again?

My point is that Killzone should probably be compared to GEars of War. Both have about zero story, muted colors, stop and pop action. In this case, I might actually favor Killzone 2. I will wait to make judgement once I have played the game though. Because I am better than you at life. Excelsior. poop.

[fopums]

@Odinson

whaaaaa? KZ has a pretty good story I think, instead of being invaded by aliens or some sort of monsters, which is pretty much every other FPS out there..Halo, Resistance, Gears and so forth

KZ story is more about revenge, or reaping what we sow. The Helghast were sent to Helgan to populate it, but when they found out it was almost inhospitable to human life the tried to return, but the ISA wouldnt let them becuase of what Helghan turned them into.

not so much monsters, they need breating apparatus and the average helghast is 7ft tall, but enough of a change the vetkans didnt want to let them return. So the Helghast get pissed and attack them!

after they beat back the Helghast twice, once prior to KZ(ps2) and then again which are the events of KZ and KZ:liberation now the ISA are going to try and take the fight to the helghast homeworld.

for looking all scary and such IMO the helghast got a pretty raw deal

[BADBOYEK4]

Epic sold over 5 million copies of Gears of War on the 360,I will bet anybody that Unreal 3 on the 360 will out sale the PS3 and the PC version combined.

[ShiftyLookingCow]

lmao at all the Halo haters

edit: oops, I didnt mean to reply here. But speaking of UT3, be assured PC version is going to sell a ton, maybe not immediately but it will. 360 has a lot to offer, UT3 is not even really needed. I hope Epic will focus on Gears of War 2 now.

[IQUITN4G]

Loved the comment someone left on that site "crappy soundtrack"

What a W!nker

[spike]

Wait a minute. Didnt Killzone 1 suck. Didnt Halo 2 get a 10. Killzone 2 will never be in the same category as Halo.

[Elginer]

looks to be a decent game, but never in my life have I seen so much hype for a sequel to what is a subpar game. Killzone 1 was not even the best shooter on the PS2; Snowblind was and that was a third party game. Killzone 2 will be cool but Halo 3 in a league that cannot be touched. Sorry.

[power of Green]

Hahahaha lol you people havn't learned to avoid [Jebissaveme] when he posts 360 news he was one of the worst. He doesn't post comments anymore but does waste all of his time looking for news to make 360 look bad. Its all he does do not even bother with this guys 360 posts. The-mart is the man but its like "theMart" posting fantastic news about the PS3 or myself; letting PS3 fanboys get way with slander and malice driven agendas.

Please do not visit Jebissaveme 360 posts his history does not have one good 360 post with complete positive under-tow(seems good but has hidden messages in every post).

[Wii60_FTW]

...until all sony drones cower from the might of the biggest event in electronic entertainment human history.

[Raptors]

Am I the only one who doesn't care for 40 ppl matches? I personally think 4 on 4 is the sweet spot. You can effectively talk to 3 other teammates and worry about 4 places on the map rather than 20 ppl trying to kill you.

[fopums]

no thats perfectly fine, but I like having the option to scale my matchs to whatever :D

Edit: yeah, I know they want to do it, but it just seems like there could have been more if you get my drift. Halo 3 has sooo many vehicals and some that hold what 5 people? I just feel it would have been better to have said vehicals filled to the brim and then some...you know, storm the other teams flag and such. now there is somthing that would make for a kick ass replay

[Xi]

and teams of 5 feel fine, I agree, smaller teams are better. Even from TFC I got use to 12 on 12 but that's only because it's 6 defense 6 offense. I think the 8 on 8 is perfect for the game types and map offering of halo.

Also Fopums, halo 2 had 32, 16 v 16 on big team matches. It's obvious that bungie is making a conscience decision to lower max player count.

[ALMIGHTYPS3]

According to several xbox360 owners comments I've read on this site recently,it sounds like H3 is retread with a minute graphic/gameplay upgrade(yawn).On another note I would like to see how botboy comments will be in a year or so WHEN YOU WILL REALLY START TO TO SEE THE IMMENSE CAPABILITY OF THE PS3.IT WILL BE SHOCK AND AWE(lol).I would also like to give a shoutout to the BEST SELLING CONSOLE OF ALL TIME(to date)with 40,000,000 units and counting,ladies and gentlemen lets give a round of applause to the MIGHTY PS2!!!HOORAAH!!!!!

[IRONMAN_357X]

GOW only made 3million copies and RFOM is still selling OVER 3million

HALO 2 was a huge let down for true HALO fans so say what you want

DIDNT EVEN TOUCH GOLDENEYE SALES

Saw the single player and it was so boring, on a highway with the dumbest AI in history

It aint me when i say that HALO fans let down turned to TIMESPLITTERS

[IRONMAN457]

The AI in both were horrible, saw the halo singleplayer and it sucked, why?
- no great engine at all
- AI was Horrible, ran into the warthog
- Same characters 3 MORE!!!!!
- Same Vehicles 2 MORE!!!!!!!!
- SAME CONCRETE ENVIROMENTS!!!!
- MULTIPLAYER LEVELS ARE DRAWN BACK AND EMPTY
And this is supposed to break records? SURE XBOTS, you play low standard games, ill still play RFOM and WARHAWK, and no thse arent the only games i got

[darkequitus]

357X is still stuck playing golden? are you still in the N64 era. That is all you talk about. Considering there is harldy anything else to buy on the PS3 it is no wonder RTFOM is selling well. Have you thought about that? That is why I had to buy it.

The only game I have now is Warhawk, and I can barely get on a server. A gold star for dedicated servers then

And your other self. From your comments, you never played Halo.

I am no fanboy, just a person who hate Fanboy *ss holes like you with mutiple accounts. You and nasim/stell/larry007/malim should get married

PC/PSWii60 gamer

[IRONMAN_357X]

are you stuck on master chief's nuts so much you cant except nothing has beatin goldeneye
No i dont make multiple accounts, he is a FOLLOWER dumbass, he said it, not me, who are you
jokesonyou, TheDude, STFU and leave me alone
Sux for you your ps3 hates you dont it while i have:
FEAR
DEF JAM
RFOM
VF5
NINLA GAIDEN, so you are obviously poor
F*CK YEA I TALK ABOUT GOLDNEYE, nothing has deranked its greatness
Srry HALO3 will be a flop, enjoy your crappy life

AND YEA I PLAYED HALO and 2 so another dumbass comment

[darkequitus]

I have owned every console since the NES era and been a hardcore PC since the days of Doom. I have a great gaming life you retarded C8CK stain

steam/xbl/xfire/psn/gamespy: darkequitus UP YOURS from true lover of games

3 weeks will say whther or not halo3 is a flop. Hope you are on the board then. Or are you going to go all quiet. Unlike you I can enjoy all the good games. Not a closed minded freak who still breast feeds. Are you and your clones offsring of nasim/larry007/stella

Currently playing:

360 - Bioshock
PC - Stalker, Quake wars beta
PS3 - Warhawk

[Wii60_FTW]

way to shut this f*cking fanboy up, but even still, he keeps on going. what a sad waste of life. all sony fanboys should just die. 1-console welfare idiots.

[Evoluti0n]

Nice avatar :D

[BloodySinner]

Gotta' love trolls.

[IRONMAN_357X]

like ima belive a grown man who had EVERYTHING is calling me a freak, your a 10 year old fandroid, and IVE PLAYED ALL THE CONSOLE FROM ATARI to PS3 , IM 15, i know my games and all, ive played doom and loved it, its a revolutionary game. HALO is not, no one uses a HALO ENGINE, no so you are an idiot and get your SH*T sherlock
YOUR such a tru gamer did you ever play goldeneye online, did you ever unlock the secret levels in DOOM? No, thought so
UNDER ME
great i was gonna put you on mine but you do all teh work great, and you said NES right, salted, come on now, in school you must of eaten the books than read em, 38 year old in your basement tryin act tough. BTW who agreed with you, your useless self

[darkequitus]

Owned is not quite the same a played. I have played computer space (do you know what that is) never owned the machine

so go to school while I go to work. I understand your going through pubrty. You are a child. welcome to my ignore list

[The Chief of Mjolnir]

Go play your GoldeEye on N64, and Doom, while the rest of us are playing games on the current generation consoles.

Jackass...

[IQUITN4G]

Make sense boy

[Nicosia]

Wow i am kinda suprised in the fear in some of these comments. And there are some hypocrites here, you don't care about halo but you trail every post that comes out.The fear is dripping from some people faces and you can see them making those immature comments.Lets be true alot of people are nitpicking stuff, and everytime with the same excuse.I know some of you will disagree about being immature but when your commenting on a other console exlcusive your quit sad.They praise games for there own system, but lets be frank its appealing only/mosly 2 the hardcore fans.The only reason your not going to bash halo if its gonna come to your console, then the praise keeps coming out. AND i know for sure you hate Gear of War,Bioshock to...mmmm...let me think why. YOU ARE NOT A GAMER, YOUR A CORPARATE TOOL...and mark my words when halo 3 releases you will be playing it at your friends house(and will be bashing it).

[JokesOnYou]

JokesOnYou - 1 Hour ago

PM
Track
Ignore50 - @ maddens and the other haters
-------------Halo CE----------

Halo CE was awesome. Great single player, and addicting multiplayer. It ranks as one of the revolutionary console shooters to date, yes its debatable whether or not if its the best, some like Golden Eye 007, some say HL2, (both are definitely great in their own right) etc. but Halo CE is still considered by many as a revolutionary FPS for consoles, due to the story, great controls and gameplay.

= kz was glitchy, with framerate issues, poorly done and the gameplay suffered, its not even considered a good game by anyone other than a sonykids, kz2 hides its so so texture and graphics with dark color pallete, but more importantly will it have great gameplay?

-------------Halo 2--------------

Halo 2 was almost just as awesome, unfortunately the story itself felt unfinished, the multiplayer was one of the very best console multiplayers to date, which is why many more shooters have come and gone on both consoles yet Halo2 still holds its own online, even among so many other 3rd party greats, only surpassed now for online playtime by Gears, maybe you've heard of that game?

= 1st kz was a crappy shooter touted as the Halo killer, ha ha we know that turned out, we saw the record sales and if its just hype explain why millions STILL kept playing it long after others were released? so far Halo has delivered not 1 but 2 TIMES, kz delivered dissapointment even GG wished it had never been called the Halo killer

-------------Halo 3---------------

Halo3 beta was really fun, I played it myself and Halo3 itself has been beefed up significantly compared to the beta, with more shader effects being utilized, top-notch animation, sharper textures, and those with hands on impressions so far have said it all runs at a silky-smooth framerate with a hell of a lot going on too= so of course we know that Bungie hasn't changed the core gameplay that the millions of fans love about Halo series, NO they have just made it better, now its alot more epic, more fluid, it has better level design, better AI, with beautiful graphics and a deeper more detail story with more background info on charachters and even for weapons.

= So it looks to me that Bungie has already taken a great game to a even higher level, which is not surprising for ANY next gen game and Halo fans expect that from Bungie, now add all the above with some new features like:

MORE WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT THAN EVER BEFORE= adds more depth and variety for kills, ie flamethrower, one-way plasma shield, etc.

MORE UNIQUE VEHICLES= again adds fun and excitement to gameplay, ie Brute chopper, Prowler, etc.

4-PLAYER CO-OP= allows you to play the campaign missions online with 4 friends (a huge plus for CAMPAIGN REPLAY VALUE)

NEW REPLAY FEATURE= allows you to seamlessly moved around the world freely, analyze your gameplay and strategy, see other players in action, and watch the game from all angles

UPLOAD RECORDED VIDEO/SCREENSHOT= send insane killshots to a friend or show it off to the whole world online which will build a huge community of online sharing for Halo3

BIGGER, BETTER and MORE BREATHTAKING MULTIPLAYER MAPS= Sandtrap, Last Resort, Valhalla, and the Narrows(not huge) is a very nice looking map of a bridge embedded into two cliffs over a gaping void= you can use man cannons to fly through mid-air to the other side, nice!

MAP EDITOR= allows you to drop in any of the weapons, objects, vehicles, spawn points, or tools present in the Halo 3 world anywhere, gravity control and the list goes on and on with endless amounts of customizable options, ha ha its like a whole multiplayer game all by itself

and theres much more we havent even seen yet, especially the growing anticipation to "Finish the Fight"= suck it up maddens and haters, Halo3 will be an awesome game, it doesnt matter what you or the other sonykids believe, "its nothing special", "its over-hyped" blah, blah, blah you say, but millions love it for the reasons I described above= YOU CANT CHANGE THAT, Master Chief is an ICON, kz is just another "want to be", so Maddens keep telling yourself Halo is nothing special, oh I see that you went off to bed after writing that, ha ha it must make you sleep better, well sweet dreams then, and best of luck online when you play Halo3=

JOY

'nuff said

[IQUITN4G]

Can't argue with that - wont stop the tiny brains from trying of course.

[The Chief of Mjolnir]

Now, that was some serious pwn...

[Wii60_FTW]

and just what are the sony dogs going to say to that? nothing. "waaaaah waaaaaaah Krapzone is halo killer waaaaaaaaaaaaah" krapzone is garbage. halo is #1.

[The Chief of Mjolnir]

Yeah, about that. I´m not trying to flame or anything here, but Killzone 1 was mediocre. It had lot of buggs and glitches. Killzone 2 looks pretty good, but the AI needs a improvement, from what I´ve seen.
But that´s in the middle of 2008, so who knows? At this time, I´ll enjoy Halo 3.