Halo 3

[Altaïr47]

if you buy a special copy of crackdown(it's supposed to have a special mark or something), you get a halo 3 beta invite.
i don't think it's valid in india though.

[avishkar14]

Well for those of you'll who don't know, Halo 3 is indeed the last game of the Halo series. Bungie has announced that. As for Master Chief dying or not, I don't really know but I think he may. I also think that Master Chief's face will finally be revealed in this game!

[N@$Ty ^__^]

i dont need to concern myself coz i already pre odered the game frm playasia

[KC]

i got a gut feeling that halo might be the biggest dissapointment of 2007,since this time it will directly be compared to gta4 and mgs4 in technical terms.
if the chief does indeed die ,then he'll join solid snake as a dead lead character,only thing to watch out is whose death will be more moisty eyed?? my bet is on snake and kojima

[Altaïr47]

avishkar14 said:

I also think that Master Chief's face will finally be revealed in this game!

it would be nice if they don't reveal it.
some things are better left in the dark.

[Altaïr47]

gamerevolution.com/news/view.php?id=2135

Earn a Halo 3 beta spot by playing Halo 2

So, you "enlisted" for more information on the Halo 3 website, and you know to be on the look-out for specially marked boxes of Crackdown. Well, now there's a third way to attempt to snag a slot in the Halo 3 beta program when it hits this spring.

In a promotion being dubbed the "Rule of Three," Halo 2 players that can rack up three hours of gameplay between 12:01am EST on Thursday, February 1st, and 11:59pm EST on Saturday, February 3rd, can register their proven dedication on the Halo 3 website. The first 13,333 to sign up in this manner will apparently be granted entry to what is arguably one of the most hyped beta events in gaming history.

It's worth noting that this promotion is only open to players with a current Xbox Live Gold subscription, playing on an Xbox 360 with a hard drive attached. The former is likely another in a series of moves by Microsoft to distinguish the highest tier from the freebie arrangements underneath it, while the latter most likely serves simply to enforce the basic hardware requirements the beta software is likely to demand.

Mark your calendars! We'll be competing for spots right alongside you.

Here's hoping the Live servers can survive the onslaught of desperate players this February.

[sanjoy]

i hope this does not turn out to be a over rated piece of crap like Halo 2

[Altaïr47]

gamerevolution.com/news/view.php?id=2153


Bungie talks up new Halo 3 vehicle "Mongoose"


Time to try out that new battle cry: "wheeeeeeeee!"

Gamers who purchased the Halo 3 Special Edition might remember this four-wheeled monster from the bonus DVD, but for everyone else the Mongoose is brand-spanking new.

Officially referred to as the "M274 Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicle," the Mongoose has a top speed of 60 mph, making it just a touch faster than the famous Warthog recon jeep. Though it'll hold one less passenger than that fan favorite, its lighter weight should let it get to areas other vehicles can't reach. The extra speed, snappy acceleration, and lighter chassis come with a price, however: there's precisely zero armor on it, and it's much more likely to roll over. As ever, you'll be encouraged to choose the right vehicle for the job, adjusting your strategy to match its strengths and weaknesses.

Bungie also mentions in passing its ability to tow a trailer, which could open up some interesting mission wrinkles. Only the release of Halo 3 will completely reveal what remains up Bungie's sleeves, but you can read more about the new vehicle here(www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?link=mongi).

[Shicko]

Here's a little snippet about the new assault rifle in Halo 3 from bungie.net : Enjoy

" MA5C Assault Rifle
Posted by KPaul at 1/17/2007 4:57 PM PST

Excerpt from long-term, in-field interview with the soldiers of E2-BAG/1/7.

MA5C Individual Combat Weapon System

Official designation: MA5C
Length (o/a): 88 cm (34.6 in.)
Length (barrel): 60.7 cm (24 in.)
Weight (empty): 3.8 kg (8.378 lbs)
Weight (loaded): 4.1 kg (9.05 lbs)
Cartridge: 7.62mm x 51 FMJ
Max. effective range: 300 meters (984 ft)
Muzzle velocity: 905 m/s (2970 f/s)
Magazine capacity: 32 rounds
Rate of fire: 750 – 900 rnds/min
Unit Replacement cost: 1686.00

Description:

The MA5C 7.62mm rifle is an air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine fed weapon designed for automatic fire. The weapon has an attached electronics suite that provides information on rounds remaining in magazine, compass heading, as well as several other "housekeeping" functions.

Improvements over the MA5B include:

- a heavier barrel with a 1 in 7 twist;
- a redesigned cowling to house the electronics suite that reduces weight and increases pointability of weapon;
- a redesigned handguard which is sturdier and provides a more positive grip.

Observations:

Soldiers are very satisfied with this weapon. It performed well in a variety of environments especially given the perceived delicacy of the attached electronics suite. The general consensus is that every infantryman wants a MA5C.

The most significant negative comment was reference to the MA5C’s lack of a secondary weapon system. "

for the rest of the story hit : www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?link=ma5carrrrr

[Altaïr47]

xbox360.ign.com/articles/757/757273p1.html

Halo 3 Playable "From End to End"
Bungie getting closer to finishing Master Chief's next outing.

Bungie has revealed that Halo 3's single-player is now in a state that's almost playable, from the beginning right through to the end. Unfortunately though, according to the developer, the game is still apparently a bit "all over the place" in terms of performance.

"Pretty much every level is not only in the build, and for want of a better word, populated, but that the levels actually flow together pretty well. It's playable enough now, from end to end, that we've started testing properly for difficulty and length. Performance is all over the place of course, from build to build," explained Bungie's Frank O' Connor.

Speaking as part of the weekly Halo 3 update on Bungie's website, O' Connor also noted the game is steadily being upped in terms of graphical finesse. "Layers. Layers and layers of detail. That's what's going into Campaign now, and the speed at which it's happening is astonishing," he revealed. "Artists are checking in such amazing stuff, at such an amazing rate, that something you get at 6pm might be markedly different than something you picked up at 8am."

For the next two weeks O'Connor will be getting to grips with the dialogue in the game. "We have a lot more characters this time around, with more Marines, Grunts, Brutes, Elites and more to write dialogue for. The acting roster is being filled out now, and the people involved are going to be amazing folks to work with. True talents, old and new, famous and obscure. It's going to be a riot.

"The sheer number of characters on screen, talking simultaneously, affects the flavour of combat. Hearing three grunts panic while two charge you, yelling, makes combat feel way more intense. Grunts are still funny, but it's not so funny when they're winging plasma 'nades at you like The Big Unit after a bad haircut. The number of times I have been taken by surprise by a gang of angry Grunts - I can't even tell you. And don't even get me started on Brutes and Jackals."

We've all been surprised by a series of angry Grunts from behind, Frank. Don't worry.

[Altaïr47]

www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=72102

Halo 3 online 'years ahead' of rivals - ex-Bungie dev

Certain Affinity's Max Hoberman says that Halo 3's Xbox Live features are "years ahead of everything that's out there".
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Speaking exclusively to our sister site GamesIndustry.biz about the formation of his Austin-based studio, which is currently working on multiplayer maps for Halo 2, Hoberman also hinted at the levels of secrecy surrounding the project at his former employer, Bungie.

When he originally left Seattle, Hoberman was working remotely for the Halo developer. "Online, UI, planning... All sorts of stuff. I did that for a long time," he says. But that quickly became impossible as the game reached implementation. "They won't even let a build of Halo 3 leave the building," he says.

With a bit of help from Microsoft Hoberman was then able to set up Certain Affinity, whose multiplayer maps are due out this spring. The company is also working on a new, unannounced project. "We're prototyping it on the Xbox 360," says Hoberman - but he won't say much else.

For more on Hoberman's new studio and to read about what would drive a man to quit working for the foremost developer of console FPS games, check out the full interview: www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=22353

[Altaïr47]

biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=15040

'We Screwed Up' Halo 2, says Bungie

Halo 2 was and is a great game, but it's certainly not perfect. Now developer Bungie is acknowledging that certain aspects of the game (most notably its ending) needed a lot more work. One employee even went so far as to say that Bungie "screwed up" on Halo 2.

It's hard to criticize a game that puts up $125 million in sales on its first day of availability and goes on to sell around 6.5 million copies worldwide, but for a lot of Xbox gamers, looking back at 2004's blockbuster adventure with Master Chief is frustrating because of the game's somewhat lackluster ending. In hindsight, developer Bungie agrees.

In a fantastic article on the inner workings of the Microsoft-owned studio, Edge Online cites technical lead Chris Butcher on the irritating fact that Bungie just ran out of time on Halo 2. "We had about four to five weeks to polish Halo at the end. No more than that. And that last five per cent is responsible for 30 per cent of the success of the game, or more. That's the period in which we really had a perfect storm," he said. "The team was all there, everything was working great, the Xbox hardware was finally there and good, and we just were able to relentlessly execute on that. The entire game came together within that four- to six-week period.

Butcher continued, "One of the things that stuns me when I think about it, and I can't believe this is true - we had none of that for Halo 2. Take that polish period and completely get rid of it. We miscalculated, we screwed up, we came down to the wire and we just lost all of that. So Halo 2 is far less than it could and should be in many ways because of that. It kills me to think of it. Even the multiplayer experience for Halo 2 is a pale shadow of what it could and should have been if we had gotten the timing of our schedule right. It's astounding to me. I f***ing cannot play Halo 2 multiplayer. I cannot do it. And that's why I know Halo 3 is going to be so much better."

Writer and community officer Frank O'Connor agreed completely that Halo 2's ending just wasn't satisfactory. "We drove off Thelma & Louise style," he said, adding, "The trick is to avoid designing or writing by committee. You have to take what's best from the input you're getting and not have it turn into that too many cooks situation."

Butcher and Bungie composer Marty O'Donnell also shed some light on Bungie's existence as a Microsoft studio and their relationship with the parent company. "The concept that Bungie wouldn't have a launch title for the Xbox 360 was almost impossible to conceive of," remarked O'Donnell. "That was really hard for the suits to swallow, it was like, no no no, we have to have a Bungie launch title. But I remember saying that there's nothing better than for Bungie not to be able to have a launch title, and for Bungie not to be defining the Xbox 360. I know it's scary for everybody, but it's not scary for us. We make games. We don't ship platforms. We don't push platforms. As soon as we think that that's what we're about, as soon as we think that Bungie's a platform company, we are, in my opinion, doomed."

Butcher fully backed O'Donnell's sentiments: "Even through the Microsoft acquisition, Bungie's purpose is not to make money for Microsoft and support the platform. Bungie's purpose is to make great stuff."

Be sure to check out the entire piece here: www.edge-online.co.uk/archives/2007/01/inside_bungie.php

[ΨBarnacleBrainBrantΨ]

i guess a big threat to halo 3 maybe resident evil 5

[KC]

dare21 said:

i guess a big threat to halo 3 maybe resident evil 5

*yawn* RE5 isnt coming anytime in 2007 ,i dunno how it can be a threat to halo 3 *yawn*

[N@$Ty ^__^]

i think mgs 4 is gonna b a major threat to all titles