The Official Halo 3 Topic

[The Kraig]

I can't wait any longer. We had the Beta topic, this is the game release itself. Please, if you're going to post plot spoilers, do so in spoiler tags. Thank ye. (Y)

I'm just gonna lists some knowns about the release, some new features and just general tips I can chip in with about the new weapons and items that featured in the Halo 3 Beta and Halo 2. I'll include a basics section for those unfamiliar with the Halo story, or the concept of the game called 'What Is Halo?'. Obviously no one has played Halo 3 as it has not been finished yet (but is close to being finished) so many of the things mentioned could well have changed appearance, function or name. As I said, I will try to keep it updated.

I'll will also try to keep this post updated with the facts that we know from official Bungie Studios releases, and mention any rumoured or semi-confirmed stuff and note it as such:

RELEASE DATES:

North America: September 25th 2007

Australia: September 25th 2007

Europe: September 26th 2007

Japan: September 27th 2007

WHAT IS HALO?

In a nutshell, Halo is an first-person shooter (FPS) based in our universe, but set in the 26th century. Humans have a large systems of planetary colonies. In the human systems, policing is difficult, so super soldiers were commissioned. Uniquely skilled children were kidnapped, educated and trained to be the best soldiers humanity has ever produced. Not only that, but each soldier was given special enhancements, biological augmentations. Many of the children did not survive the process unharmed. Many were killed and some blinded, crippled or other such disabilities, preventing them from progressing into full-fledged SPARTANs. SPARTANs are the 'super soldiers', and in the Halo series, you play primarily as what is rumoured to be the last surviving SPARTAN, John-117, known by his rank (and probably out of respect), as 'Master Chief'. The rest of the SPARTANs are focused on more in the novels and other Halo media. After the Covenant invaded human space without any provocation or reason, that's when war broke out.

The Covenant are a bunch of aliens races, banded together under a single religion, and see humanity as vermin, and have an obscene level of hatred for them despite not actually knowing them. They have harvested alien technology not of their own making, but of the 'forerunners', a civilization long destroyed by that technology. The Covenant have adapted the forerunner technology into their own ways and founded their religion on data they found from the forerunners technology, and believe the path to their heaven/nirvana/whatever is by activating one, if not ALL, of the forerunners' 'Halo' installations. They do not know that the Halo installations were built to study the Flood, a parasitic organism that kills the host and takes control of the body via the nervous system, and then tries to infect anything else it can find (comparable to rabies...with a bit of zombie thrown in) and accidentally free the Flood from the first Halo they discover, which had been safely locked away for milennia and were starving. The forerunners built the Halos as a last resort as well, if nothing could be done to stop the Flood from surviving, starving them into extinction was the only option. Which meant destroying ALL sentient (intelligent) life in the galaxy, which is the purpose of the Halos and why the forerunners are long dead. The Covenant believe that by activating the Halo they will achieve their ultimate goal, their 'Great Journey', but in actuality it will only kill all the sentient life in the galaxy, and so the cycle would continue until another race develops and eradicates the Flood once and for all.

During the time the Covenant were exploring the first Halo they found, just prior to accidentally releasing the Flood, other Covenant forces were attacking the SPARTAN base world called reach 'Reach', and glassing the entire planet. One of the UNSC (United Nations Space Corps) fleet (with Master Chief on board) did a random slipspace jump to prevent the Covenant following their route and finding the location of Earth, but accidentally discover the Halo that the Covenant have already occupied. And that's where the first Halo game begins.

WHAT IS HALO 3?

It's the culmination in the first Xbox and Xbox 360 Halo game-series story-arc. Spin-offs and possibly even sequels or prequels are planned, but any sequels/prequels could be of an entirely different story-arc and may not even involve Master Chief, or any Halo installations (the big rings).

It is a sci-fi FPS based in our universe about 5000 years from now, with four main characters and the ability to play 4-player co-op on a LAN and across Xbox Live. The four main characters are Master Chief, a human super soldier, The Arbiter, an unnamed Elite and grizzled Covenant war hero who has recently been kicked out of the Covenant along with the rest of the Elite/Sangheili species, despite his survival in the greatest of odds. Two new Elite characters Usze 'Taham and N'tho 'Sraom make up the four playable characters in the Halo 3 campaign (single player).

Halo 3 will also have a robust online multiplayer with regular updates in the form of patches and new matchmaking to eliminate cheating, glitches and freshen things up. Downloadable content is also highly likely to follow in 2008. The longevity of Halo 3's multiplayer is unknown, but if it reflects it's Halo 2 predecessor, it will likely have a strong community until perhaps 2012. It is likely that another FPS series will become more popular in the absence of new Halo content for fans. The beta was already widely praised, despite still being very much a work in progress.

WHAT BETA?

There was a semi-public beta in the spring of this year for those who were selected by Bungie via the Friends & Family method (special/random selection), the Rule of Three method (playing Halo 2 for three hours across a period of three specific days in February) and buy buying special versions of the 360 game, Crackdown. This was to see how mass online play was like, testing out the matchmaking settings, bringing glitches to light and allowing players to give their feedback to Bungie for what they would prefer in the final game.

This was strictly matchmaking (randomly assigned games with randomly assigned opponents, including any party members you had), however custom games were soon hacked, and by joining and leaving a person's custom game, you yourself would have your own custom game when you left. This was not supposed to occur, but soon it was a widely available option to social players.

Fortunately for Bungie, the beta was only for a short period of time (May 16th to June 10th), and not even hackers or glitchers can now access the Halo 3 Beta, as of June 14th.

VERSIONS

There will be THREE different versions of Halo 3 released.

The standard game, like you would find any other retail game, comes in the standard plastic casing. Includes the game disc and the instruction manual, as you would expect. That is all. It has been priced in the United States as $59.99.

The limited edition, 'Collector's Edition' comes with everything in the standard version of course, but comes with additional content such as an interactive DVD (likely to be a behind the scenes look at the making of Halo 3, TV advertisements, and general video featurettes), what is being called a 'Beastarum' which is an elaborate, detailed hard-cover mini-book which delves into the Halo universe's creatures and civilizations and will most likely come in a metal case instead of plastic. This is not unlike the Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition. It has been priced in the United States as $69.99. Not bad for an extra ten dollars.

The Legendary Edition, named after the game's harshest difficulty setting, infamously comes inside a rather large 'scale replica' of the Master Chief's helmet and includes everything in the Collector's Edition as well as the following: A higher quality Beastarum, an exclusive 'legendary' DVD including exclusive content, which is not likely to be released by any other means and includes remastered cutscenes from the original Halo and Halo 2 games, and content from the fanatically popular Red vs Blue machinima series. The helmet acts as a holder for the triple-disc set (game disc, Collector's Edition DVD and the Legendary DVD) and assumably the Beastarum and manual will also fit in there. It has been priced in the United States at a whopping $129.99! The helmet must be made of gold.

THE NEW FEATURES

Vetoing poor gametypes. A very popular request was the ability to 'veto' something you got in matchmaking. If the majority (ie, > 50%) of the players choose to 'veto' the proposed gametype in the pre-game lobby, then matchmaking will assign a different gametype in it's place. This secondary gametype cannot be vetoed, and sometimes can be less preferable than the gametype you didn't want to play in the first place.

Another cool new option is you can save the data recording of a just-played online game, and watch the video back in a video editing suite built into the Halo 3 game. You can pick and choose highlights from your game, choose the angles and choose whose character in the game you wish to observe. These can then be saved and uploaded to your video hub where friends and strangers alike can access you videos, download them and watch them. So you can FINALLY go back and look at that INSANE plasma grenade stick from 500 yards away, cut it, upload it and show all your friends. And of course watch it again and again yourself. You can of course download others players' video files and try to learn new techniques, strategies and tricks, as well as scout your competition if you have an upcoming clan match or something like that. And the best thing about it is that the files are very small, they are simply reconstruction files, not actual video files, so every time you watch the video file, you can change perspective and such, which would be impossibly large if a video file were created and saved for every person and angle in the game. Upload and download times on the Halo 3 Beta were very respectable, however the video reconstruction features in the Beta were purposefully limited.

Campaign levels can also be saved and edited in the exact same manner.

Armour customization. So far, it seems like a nice new superficial feature to add personality to a player's character online and so far three designs have been revealed. Close-quarters battle armour (T-shaped visor), extravehicular activity armour (very tall and wide visor) and the classic MJOLNIR armour the Master Chief sports. It is unlikely to cause any different in how the game plays, although it may change the HUD.

THE NEW CONTROLS

It keeps the general controller layout from Halo 2, which in itself wasn't changed too much from Halo, will be a relief to seasoned Halo 2 players who are very used to the controls for playing Halo 2 on the 360 controller. However there have been some changes which players who did not play the beta will be unfamiliar with.

The left bumper/shoulder button that used to control the teamtalk communication link has now been moved exclusively to the direction-pad (d-pad). While the 'up' on the d-pad could be used to teamtalk in Halo 2 as well as the left bumper, the bumper was by far the most commonly used method of accessing the teamtalk radio so this has met some annoyance in the community. The weapon pick up and reload buttons have changed as well. The 'X' button now has a different purpose (discussed below in 'Pick-Ups') so now everything the X button used to do is now controlled by the right bumper/shoulder button (including getting into vehicles, picking up weapons, interacting with computer consoles and tapping to reload the right-handed weapon). Like the right bumper, the left bumper picks up a dual-wieldable weapon for the left hand if one is in the right hand, and tapping this left bumper will reload your left hand weapon. That used to be the function of the 'Y' button. The Y button now exclusively changes weapons (if you have two). Everything else has been kept the same as the 360 Halo 2 controls. For more on the new purpose for the X button, see directly below.

PICK-UPS

As mentioned, the blue 'X' button does not reload weapons any longer (reloading is now done with the shoulder buttons; independently when dual-wielding), but instead allows the use of certain pick-ups which you can find on the level, and use when you wish. This should not be confused with the already existing 'power-ups' like the active camouflage and overshield which activate when the player touches them. All of the pick-ups so far can be dropped when the holder is killed, and picked up again. If it is not, it will respawn. These pick-ups are sparsely distributed across spawn points on any given map/level, so they are quite good to have, even if it is just to stop the enemy from possessing it. ALL of the pick-ups, when deployed, affect both enemies and teammates (including yourself).

Confirmed pick-ups shown in the Halo 3 Beta included the portable gravity lift, a device that when deployed acts like a small launch pad allowing the penetration of bases by elevating the player over high base walls, and can suspend players in the air if they wish to use it as a vantage point. It only lasts for a limited time however. It also works as a potent confusion weapon, as it can be thrown down in front of a charging enemy, who will be launched into the air unexpectedly, leaving them susceptible to attack, or can allow the grav-lift deployer to escape a tricky situation while his opponent is caught by surprise.

Another pick-up is the shield drainer, and was featured in the Halo 3 Beta. It's a large ball, which should be thrown away from the self at an enemy to immediately cause that person's shield to fail, leaving them vulnerable. The balls roll and will react as expected with the adjustable gravity settings, and constantly give off a charge that disables shields. This is very good for use against groups of opponents, as well as 'smoking out' enemy players who are occupying an area but are tactically hiding (also known as camping). As the shield drainer expires, it will explode, causing damage to, or even killing anyone nearby, as if it were a large grenade. It should be noted the shield drainer works against overshield users equally as it does against those with regular shields. When used, expect panic to consume the opposing players. Due to it's shield draining characteristics, some players have named this the 'n00b bomb', in reference to the plasma pistol/battle rifle combination (aka the n00b combo) from Halo 2 which is seen as a very cheap method of killing, as the plasma pistol blast could follow target players rather long distances and when it hits the target's shield, the shield would completely fail as it does if too close to the sparking shield drainer and be susceptible to headshots from the battle rifle.

The bubble shield is likely the best known pick-up, as it was featured to great effect in the second Halo 3 trailer (named 'Starry Night', aired in late 2006), saving Master Chief from certain death from a plasma mortar bomb, presumably fired from an off-screen Wraith (tank). It was another pick-up in the Beta and as the name suggests, creates a small spherical space where grenades, bullets and plasma cannot penetrate. However, the walls off the bubble can be walked through by anyone, and what applies to the outside, applies to the inside. No grenades, bullets or plasma can ESCAPE the bubble so if you're in the bubble shield with a live grenade, it would be best to evacuate. The shield can be deactivated from inside by destroying the core, via melee attacking, grenades or gunfire. Meleeing through the shield wall is possible and is the general method of removing a bubble shield's resident and claiming it for yourself. The bubble shields are immovable and can only be deployed onto solid ground (so no sticking one on to a vehicle to keep the driver invincible to gunfire). The bubble shield expires quite suddenly, so unless you know how long it has been operating, you will have to guess when it will suddenly disperse and leave you wide open to enemy fire. Many enemies will have seen you from afar and ignored you because they lack the fire power or patience to kill you, other however will have been patiently waiting for your shield to expire, and will have lined up a headshot, which with the sniper rifle is still a one-hit kill. I recommend trying to spot such enemies before the shield expires, and then leaving the shield by walking in the opposite direction to a suspected sniper. This will allow you to get more distance between yourself and the sniper, possibly allowing you to escape to more permanent cover (e.g., a rock).

The fourth and final pick-up from the Halo 3 Beta was the trip mine. Specifically made to defend against vehicular attacks on bases, it can be used as a lack resort if you feel you will not survive your close-range battle and your opponent will by quickly deploying it to your opponent's feet. There is a small delay before the mine becomes 'active' after deploying it however, so this cannot be done at the very last second before you die. The trip mine is quite powerful as expected from an anti-vehicular device, but can also be used to cover entrances to bases, or even be placed on objective points such as flag positions. They emit a bleeping noise and can be heard quite clearly from short distances away, so are not as cheap as they may sound. Mines can be safely destroyed from distance by shooting them or grenading them, however meleeing them is not recommended (). Simply walking around them, or jumping over them is also an option for the less destructive player, or if you are trying to sneak into a base covertly. Mines can be deployed anywhere, and there have been instances where the mines have been deployed and have landed INSIDE moving vehicles, later causing explosions when they become active and detect the driver of the vehicle. Mines can also be used as projectiles via gravity lifts and gravity cannons, launching deployed mine through the air. When traveling through the air, the mine becomes active, so anyone hit by the device is quickly killed in a large, embarrassing explosion (this technique has been used against aircraft vehicles successfully already).

Another confirmed pick-up is the radar jammer, although not featured in the Halo 3 Beta (unless hacked). When deployed, it becomes active and will proceed to scramble the radar readings of any nearby players - self, friend or foe. When taking damage, the player's head's up display (HUD) will also behave erratically. This would be very effective against multiple opposition from medium to long range like the power drainer, and also like the power drainer, the device is spherical and will roll with gravity.

Portable shield generators, positional shields or PSGs. These have long been seen in the Halo and Halo 2 single-player, but as stationary defenses. Once they had taken too much damage, they would temporarily disperse, but reappear later once the base powered up again. Resembling a half-eggshell of plasma projected upwards from a grounded base, they provide decent cover in a fire fight, but do little to prevent splash damage from grenades and rockets. If implemented in Halo 3 as a usable item, it is likely the shield will not regenerate after being broken by incoming fire. However, they will, as the name suggests, be portable. Whether that means they can be deployed, picked up again, and redeployed elsewhere remains a mystery.

It has since been revealed and confirmedthat the deployable shield has a big twist to it. It is much like the eggshell shields described above, however it's a one-way shield meaning you can shoot through it while being completely safe from enemy fire from that direction! Perfect for snipers or covering doorways!

Also shown in magazines is the shield regenerator. Allegedly, it works in the exact opposite to the power drainer detailed above, but is stationary like the bubble shield with a 'core', which is probably destroyable like the bubble shields. Tactical use of this could allow good long range defense of a base or hill without having to cover, giving you the free range to open fire and not be fired upon to any great effect as the regenerator would be opping up your shield. Close range combat could result in a very long melee fight to the death, waiting for the regenerator to expire. If like the power drainer, it may expire with an explosion, or perhaps an implosion instead, as it does the opposite of the power drainer. The regenerator has been confirmed.

Finally, the 'flare' device is essentially a flashbang grenade that Counter-Strike players will be all too familiar with. Shown in magazines, it apparently acts as the power drainer and radar jammer in that it is a spherical device and can be rolled with the help of gravity. Assumably the device will activate soon after being deployed and blind (and possibly deafen) any nearby players. A good tactical weapon for the pacifist in us, it would allow the stealing of an enemy flag without having to deal with those pesky base defenders. Of course, it may just awaken the assassin within you, and allow you to run in and assassinate the entire opposing team. A flag is a bit hard to defend when you're blind, deaf AND dead. This has also been confirmed by those who have played the leaked Halo 3 Epsilon build.

POWER-UPS

Seen in Halo and Halo 2, power-ups were small coloured semi-transparent items found on the map, usually only one of each at most per map. However, some maps had two overshields (this is most notable in the recently released Halo 2 maps of Tombstone and Desolation). This has now changed.

Active camouflage...it acts as it always did, making the player transparent, but leaving a shimmer like evaporation on a hot road. The item itself is now a large blue floating orb, instead of a small blue triangular pyramid with the orb inside it.

The overshield has not been seen yet, however it is likely to be a large floating orb like it's sister power-up, the active camo, but gold/yellow in colour. Nothing has been said about what happens if active camo is combined with the overshield and the new armour from Halo 3. In the past, the earlier armour from Halo allowed the overshield to help power the active camo to cause the player to become COMPLETELY invisible. In Halo 2, this was not the case, as while your character would benefit from the active camo, the overshield around him would still give off a very bright glow, making the active camo redundant.

A new power-up called 'agility' has been found in the hacked Halo 3 Beta and later confirmed. This will give the player a brief period of heightened athletic prowess, allowing faster movement, greater vertical leap and more powerful melee attacks. This has been likened to a 'temporary juggernaut' ability, and the power-up may be renamed before the release.

A rumoured non-confirmed power-up is 'invincibility'. As the name suggests, it may have the ability to keep a player alive even if they have no shield and no health remaining. It was seen in a magazine, and is likely to last very short periods of time.

WEAPONS

I will only mention the weapons which are new, or drastically different to their previous models in Halo and Halo 2.

The assault rifle is the new regulation equipment. Don't leave base without one. A common default weapon in the Beta, the Assault rifle is like a very effective SMG. Better range, better accuracy. It is adapted from the original assault rifle from Halo, which was replaced by the battle rifle and dual-wieldable SMGs in Halo 2. Incidentally, the SMGs still suck and the battle rifle is still great.

The plasma pistol's 'homing' abilities to follow targets has been decreased to force more skill to be applied when using the plasma pistol/battle rifle combo, aka the 'n00b combo'. Rampant n00b combo usage on Halo 2 has caused no end to arguments and trash talk, so this hopes to quell those arguments. That is all. Since Halo 2, the plasma pistol can be dual-wielded. If not specifically said to not be dual-wieldable anymore assume old weapons can be wielded as normal.

The brute shot grenade launcher has been downgraded, in favour of a lighter model presumably for a better focus on close combat. While having six grenades per clip instead of four, the shots are far weaker. The speed of the weapon has increased however, with grenades being fired at a faster speed and a faster rate. Due to it's lighter structure, the melee attack is also faster now. The biggest setback is that the grenades now no longer bounce off of surfaces, which was a big advantage.

The new magnum pistol is slower to fire, but fire much more powerful shots, and feel like you're actually firing bullets out of it. That's about it really.

The plasma sword has been a bain on the lives of many Halo 2 players. But Bungie has been very secret about the sword so far, and was only available in the Beta via the custom game options. There are rumours it will have a battery like in Halo 2's campaign so it runs out of power eventually. There is also talk of a new sword combat system with the 'lunge' from Halo 2, along with a parry manouvre and some sort of blocking move (against melee attacks). And there's even talk of players being able to dual-wield swords, as has been witnessed in various Halo media. Either way, it seems like the sword will be more balanced than it was in Halo 2.

The rocket launcher, or 'spanker' has been downgraded. Less maximum ammunition, and less splash damage, the rockets now fire at a faster speed through the air. The biggest change, and the only reason I'm mentioning the rockets (which are the primary tank busters) is that they no longer lock onto vehicles at all. All aiming must be done manually, and from any sort of distance, with foresight.

Removable turrets have long been called for in the Halo community. Well done, now we're all screwed, run for your lives! Well, not really...while the human and Covenant turrets have been in Halo and Halo 2 for a long time in different forms, it seems the smaller turrets seen in Halo 2 are now able to be picked up from where they have been positioned and used as a very powerful heavy machine gun or plasma cannon. In the Beta, the human turrets were found to slow down the carrier greatly when carried around and had a strong 'kickback' effect causing the player to slowly look upwards. Perfect for taking out vehicles such as the banshee from mid-range and any unlucky soldier to get in it's way, it doesn't have much else of a use. When used against groups it's very ineffective and on large maps it's simply too heavy to lug around all the time. Close-range combat is dangerous, while long-range is ineffective. Not to mention you can't actually look up, so don't even try taking out the banshee with the turret if it's above you. While not present in the Beta, images of the Covenant's plasma turret have been seen used in a similar way. They can be dropped at any time, but lay on the ground and cannot be set up as they are found again. When they have not been removed from their default position they can be destroyed easily by explosives and not so easily by melees and gunfire. To remove the turrets from their default position you must man them using the right bumper, then press 'B' to lift it from it's stand.

The spiker carbines in the Beta, are a new weapon which can be dual-wielded for maximum damage, and when used together are devastating. As the name suggests, they rapidly fire spikes, like a high powered nail-gun. As with all dual-wieldable weapons, they can be reloaded independently using the left and right bumpers. Like the brute shot grenade launcher, these weapons come with bayonette-like fixtures on the front of the gun for meleeing. At acute angles, the spikes can be ricocheted around corners off of hard surfaces, like the needles from a needler.

The maulers were not featured in the Halo 3 Beta, and probably with good reason. They are dual-wieldable SHOTGUNS. Yes, SHOTGUNS. While apparently not as powerful by themselves as the standard shotgun, together they are (supposedly) massively effective at close range. Bring 'em on!

The fuel rod cannon (or Fuel Rod Gun) is a rare treat for players in Halo 2's campaign only, where in Halo PC it was a good alternative to the rocket launcher in multiplayer. Making it's return in Halo 3, the 360 is likely to be able to support up to 16 people firing many fuel rod cannons simultaneously without a framerate horror show that caused them to be exiled from Halo 2's multiplayer. Even the fuel rod cannons in the banshee were removed from Halo 2's multiplayer, but remained in the campaign mode. In the recent Halo 3 Beta, banshees have regained the ability to fire the fuel rod cannons, giving hope that perhaps the fuel rod cannons are set to make a return for Halo 3's multiplayer. Like the rocket launcher, it fires large projectiles but at a faster rate, but they also travel at a lower speed. Capable of firing FIVE fuel rods in one clip, quite rapidly compared to the rocket launcher's two rockets per clip, it's a close contest. The FRC also reloaded much faster than the rocket launcher in Halo 2's campaign.

There is another new weapon announced, called the gravity hammer. It is said to act as an splash damage creator, using it's powerful 'gravity' effects. Supposedly even more powerful than the sword, it can redirect oncoming vehicles and it's blasts can knock grenades away from the user. It can be used as a melee weapon and has a lunge ability, but not as ranged as the sword's. It runs on an unknown power source which gradually whittled away during use.

Yet another hugely impressive weapon is the Spartan Laser, or the Weapon/Anti-Vehicle Model 6 Grindell/Galileian Nonlinear Rifle if you want to get technical. Quite simply, it is the new vehicle destroyer, taking the crown the rocket launcher held so well. Once powered up and fired, the spartan laser beam can penetrate MULTIPLE enemies and vehicles! While it does take a while to power up, it uses no battery power to do so, only when it is fired is power used up. Another great benefit of the laser is that you can adjust your aim even while the beam is firing, so you can follow a vehicle as your firing the laser into it for maximum damage and ultimate carnage. The laser is immensely powerful and can rocket dead bodies across vast distances, and can blast vehicles to smithereens in one blow. The only drawback is that the laser does take time to power up (a full three seconds) which can be the difference between your death and your dominance. The laser is highly effective for any range skirmishes, even close range.

Yes. It's another new weapon folks. The missile pod is trying really hard to be the old lock-on rocket launcher. And fails. The pod automatically locks onto any vehicles on your HUD and will follow the target until they hit something. However, they are rather slow and the missile pod itself is very cumbersome and heavy, causing a massive lack of mobility which is what you need when tracking enemy vehicles. The missile themselves are oddly quiet when sailing through the air (much like grenades fired from a brute shot) and so can be rather effective long-range weapons against stationary snipers who do not know they are in danger because of the relative slow moving, quiet nature of the missiles, until it is too late to get out of the way. Also good for covering the inside of base entrances.

And finally, the new grenade type. The spike grenade is essentially a shrapnel grenade, and out of the blast fires the nail-like spikes as seen in the spiker. Unlike most grenades, these grenades attach to whatever surface they are thrown at, be it a wall, floor, ceiling, your own crotch, anything. The grenade blast is also peculiar, instead of projecting outwards in all directions, the spike grenades fires primarily in the opposite direction at which is is connected to a surface. So if you were to throw it onto a wall directly in front of you, it will fire a mass of spikes into you torso and head, killing you quite instantly. Using these grenades can be easy, however in the hands of an expert they can be used as effective traps, last resorts and unorthodox methods of taking out difficult opponents. For example, you are being chased down a corridor, shield are very low, you are about to turn a corner and you know your pursuer is not far behind. You throw a spike grenade into the wall in front of you, quickly turn the corner and turn around to see your pursuer get shredded by your well-placed spike grenade. Spike grenades can also be used to 'stick' people, like the plasma grenade, however the blast radius of the plasma grenade is far greater, so if you miss a sticking opportunity with a spike grenade, the blast will likely do little damage. As a general tip against short-ranged weapons using the spike grenades, it is best to throw the spike 'nades into the ground in front of an enemy. Either they step forward to attack you with the shotgun or whatever close-range weapon they have and will be shredded by the grenade, or they stay back and continue to get shot by you. Spike grenades are also horrifically effective in side bubble shields. As the spikes ricochet like in the spiker, they will ping around inside the bubble shield and annihilate anyone unlucky enough to be inside the shield at the time.

I saved the best for last: the needler. No seriously, the needler. If you thought they were good in Halo 2 (I did), then you'll love them now. Considered a new 'power weapon' like the sword, etc, the needler is now extremely potent. The needles are faster, but home-in less like the new plasma pistol, requiring a better aim. The needles cause far more damage than they ever did in Halo or Halo 2. I think even a single needler in Halo 3 is better than two in Halo 2. And because they are so powerful, they are now ONLY single-wield weapons, despite being dual-wieldable in Halo 2. This is likely down to both hands being needed to control the kickback caused by the juiced up firing mechanism. Despite this drawback, the needler is astonishingly powerful at any range and you can still bounce the needles at angles off of surfaces to reach enemies in cover. The new needlers have been known to blast victims across vast distances.

As always, the flamethrower has been mentioned. While found in the Halo 3 Beta code by hackers, it still won't be included unless Bungie feel it fits in with their complicated, yet relatively balanced weapon system. This was the cited reason why it was not in Halo, or Halo 2. The flamethrower has since been confirmed.

Another new grenade has been revealed and seems to be a molotov cocktail/petrol bomb, the firebomb. When the casing is broken, it becomes fuel itself as well, and the blast radius will burn and cause damage for almost five seconds. Perfect for repelling base attacks and tanks.

VEHICLES

One of the anticipated vehicles for Halo 3 was the Brute 'Ghost'. This is now known as the Brute Chopper and is basically Harley Davidson meets Covenant technology, and is a single-wheeled grav-boosted motorbike. With two pronged blades at the front and the massive force that can be put behind them, the term 'chopper' seems to take on two meanings. The Chopper comes armed with quadruple autocannons which fire bullets, not plasma (like the Covenant Ghost vehicle).

The ATV, also known as the Mongoose was also highly anticipated, even more so than the Chopper. It was originally developed for Halo 2, but time restraints caused Bungie to abandon the ATV designs and instead had the regular chaingun Warthog jeep, and the Gauss cannon Warthog. Like the Warthog jeeps, the Mongoose has space for a driver and a passenger, but no turret. Instead, the passenger on the back of the Mongoose is supposed to use their weapons to fend off anyone attacking the small, light ATV. While certainly a lot of fun, the ATV's speed is invaluable, especially when carrying out speedy retrieve and delivery missions. In the Beta, the Mongoose seemed a little top-heavy, and had a tendency to flip over and not roll back onto it's wheels, so foolish drivers beware.

Lastly, the Brute Prowler appears to be the Brute equivalent to a Warthog or Spectre. With space for a driver, two passengers as well as a gunner, the unique placement of the driver at the back of the vehicle (like the Chopper) and the turret at the front allows the driver to be well protected from the front and be able to see what his gunner is doing. It is rumoured to replace the highly unpopular Spectre in Halo 3's multiplayer, however both may still be included in it.

THOUGHTS

I can't fucking wait until September 26th. I hope this sort of...FAQ(?) helps some people out, especially some people who have been asking me about getting into Halo on MSN.

Any questions? Even if it's just small things or basics, I'm here to help. I'm not from Bungie or anything...but it's the next best thing. (¬_¬)

Discussion about the rumoured stuff would be sweet too.

Edited September 9, 2007 by The Kraig

[abundant]

Just to add in a few things…

THE NEW FEATURES

Forge. First talked about in EGM, Forge is a limited map editor. It’s limited in that you can’t create a map from scratch nor altar an existing map physically (raise/lower terrain). What you can do in Forge is place, delete, or altar weapons, equipment, objects (boxes and fusion cores) and vehicles (except the Elephant). Want to place a Banshee in High Ground and set it to respawn instantly, do it. Want multiple Spartan Lasers with adjusted ammo capacity, do it. You may also have control over where capture points or flag positions are located, although I don’t know 100%. Another cool feature with Forge is that when playing around in it, you can invite friends to join in on the fun.

Meta-Game, or game within a game, will be present during Halo 3 campaign. You score points based off of kills, with more points given for stylistic kills like head shots or boarding a vehicle. Like in Halo 2, you can collect Skulls which affect your game, making the Meta-Game harder or easier.

VEHICLES

The UNSC forces finally have an equivalent to the Banshee in the form of the Hornet. It appears as little more than a one man cockpit, a rear section extending out perhaps a meter or two from the cockpit, a pair of wings and either a jet engine or a turbo fan on the end of each wing. No obvious weapons have been seen as of yet but it does possess a pair of stands attached to the underside of the fuselage that act as infantry platforms during battle for extra support. It’s confirmed to be in the campaign, but it might not be included in multiplayer.

Another UNSC vehicle is the mobile base known as the Elephant. Twelve soldiers can ride in it, it can house a Mongoose in its belly, and it is armed with a M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun towards it's front to the right side. It is a 3-storied vehicle: there is a hollow hold in its bowels that can store a Scorpion, a warthog, two Mongooses, and infantry inside. Also a second story that appears to feature a crane, its M41 LAAG for defending it and also a general elevated position where defenders can fire down at attackers that are on the ground near the Elephant, providing a strategic advantage for defenders. It appears to be in the same track set up of the Scorpion Tank with a set of four tracked bogies along its chassis. It's chassis appears as high as it is long, providing stability. The Elephant will only be included in the multiplayer map known as Sandtrap. In Sandtrap, the Elephant holds the Flag, is the capture point, and is the spawn point for the team.

Edited August 7, 2007 by abundant

[abundant]

Just got more info on Forge. You have control over teleporters, weapons, objects, vehicles, game rules, player traits, spawn points, special custom items (a grav lift that never expires) and more. With Forge, you can make an Infection match in High Ground where the base is completely blockade, or you can make a race course in Valhalla or Sandtrap, where fusion cores are placed in tight corners and in between ramps. And these are just two examples!!

The only limitations you have are that you can’t raise/lower terrain and you have a set amount of points to use (These points are nothing more than to ensure that you don’t break the map). The possibilities with Forge and Custom Games are almost endless.

There’s two ways to share your Forge creations: 1. Send it to a friend much like the save film feature or 2. Bungie.net will have a list of what they consider to be the best maps, so all you’ll have to do is click on what maps you want off of Bungie.net, then when you start up Halo 3, the maps are automatically downloaded to your Xbox 360.

Edited August 7, 2007 by abundant

[The Kraig]

I love you abundant. I really do. What's your tag? I'm simply 'The Kraig'. Lucky enough to get my first choice gamertag a few years ago.

The meta-game will expand the campaign beyond it's secludedness, especially with the 4-player co-op. Bungie really are pulling wonders out of their arse like turds at Christmas time.

The Forge is an immense concept...I can foresee myself spending WEEKS purely making new maps.

Edited August 7, 2007 by The Kraig

[abundant]

EDIT: I can’t wait until the embargos are lifted (which should be around 8/23), so we can see and get actual information about stuff like Forge. Right now I’m getting my info from various magazines like EDGE and EGM, as well as from Frankie over at NeoGAF.

Edited August 7, 2007 by abundant

[abundant]

Want to know just how big Halo 3 is? According to Microsoft, there are already more then 1 million preorders!! Also, be prepared, because the Halo 3 Ad Blitz is almost here.

For years, movie studios have linked up with well-known consumer brands to help create marketing that promotes food, retail and other products alongside blockbuster films such as "Transformers" or "Shrek the Third."

But the next big entertainment property to get the Hollywood-style cross-merchandising treatment isn't a movie -- it's a Microsoft Corp. videogame called Halo 3.

Due on store shelves Sept. 25, Halo 3 is the follow-up to an enormously successful game franchise. The Halo series follows the exploits of a genetically altered super solider called Master Chief as he battles an alien race called the Covenant. The new game is widely expected to be one of the year's biggest sellers and an important part of its corporate parent's play for the living room. Halo 3 will only be available on one console: Microsoft's Xbox 360. Already gamers have pre-ordered more than one million copies, according to Microsoft.

WSJ's Nick Wingfield previews graphics and advertising for Halo 3, a new videogame from Microsoft that's garnered high sales expectations.

Microsoft's marketing plans for Halo 3 also reflect broader aspirations. Many companies that work in the game industry want their products to be seen as cultural and commercial equals to movies and other forms of entertainment, rather than as a niche business. The Redmond, Wash., company and its partners will plaster the Halo 3 name and characters across cans of pop, wrappers for french fries and more. The game will also be featured in multimillion-dollar TV ad campaigns from General Motors Corp.'s Pontiac and PepsiCo Inc., along with commercials by Microsoft itself.

"Our competition isn't other videogames," says Chris Di Cesare, director of creative marketing at Microsoft. "We put it on the plane with other entertainment launches, versus other game launches."

Filmed entertainment, which includes box office and DVD sales, took in $81.2 billion in revenue last year, dwarfing the haul for game sales, which grossed $31.6 billion in revenue last year. But game sales grew 14.3% in 2006 from the previous year, compared with 2.9% for movies, according to estimates by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Generally, far more people attend movies than purchase typical games, but games cost between $50 and $60, far more than movie ticket prices.

Halo is one of a handful of games that seemed to strike a broader pop-culture nerve. Microsoft says it has sold a combined 14.8 million copies of the first and second installments of Halo since the original game's release in 2001. That suggests sales of around $600 million for both, putting the haul of each game slightly ahead of the domestic box office sales of movies like "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" and "X-Men: The Last Stand."

New Halo 3 themed packaging that will be offered at Burger King

Consumer brands began to take more notice of the Halo franchise after Microsoft announced that Halo 2 brought in $125 million in retail sales the first day it went on sale nearly three years ago. "Just seeing that number eclipse a huge theatrical release's box office was telling for us," says Brian Gies, vice president of marketing impact at Burger King Holdings Inc.

For several weeks starting in late September, Burger King will offer customers who purchase "king-sized" meals in its fast food stores Halo 3-themed wrappers around food, including a 42-ounce soda cup and french fry container. "We like to tap into events where there is a great deal of curiosity and anticipation involved," says Mr. Gies, who believes that Halo 3 fits the bill. Burger King has begun to do more marketing partnerships with game companies, including a deal with game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. that involved in-store promotions for a boxing game called Fight Night.

One issue for Burger King: its marketing partnerships with Hollywood studios typically involve movies that are more family-friendly than Halo 3. For example, the chain is currently running a promotion related to the PG-13 rated "Simpsons" movie. Halo 3, which features plenty of soldiers shooting aliens, is a "mature-rated" game because of violence, roughly equivalent to an R rating for a film. At the same time that the Halo campaign will run in its stores, Mr. Gies says Burger King will feature an unrelated kids meal marketing program. He says there's no barrier in place to prevent the children coming in for that program from buying the Halo 3 themed meals.

For Pepsi, the hype around Halo 3 inspired it to do something more dramatic: create an entirely new soda with the game's brand and characters on the packaging. The result is Mountain Dew Game Fuel, which adds the taste of cherry to the original Mountain Dew's citrus flavor, along with 30% more caffeine. Frank Cooper, vice president of marketing for Mountain Dew, said the soda will be available for a limited period of 12 weeks starting in mid-August, in an effort to create a sense of scarcity for the product tied to the Halo 3 launch.

A scene from the new Halo 3 game, due on store shelves Sept. 25.

Mr. Cooper says Mountain Dew is already popular among gamers and the new drink is a way to deepen that connection.

Also part of the Halo 3 marketing blitz are Halo 3 branded Slurpee cups in 7-Eleven stores. General Motors' Pontiac will host several events in cities around the country that will allow gamers to play Halo 3 prior to the game's launch. The auto maker will also feature Halo 3 in commercials for its new G6 GXP Street, a car aimed at 18- to 34-year-old men.

Games are "becoming a more and more prevalent part of entertainment," says Craig Bierley, marketing director at Pontiac. "The target audience really fits our target audience very, very well."

Michael Pachter, a game industry analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities, says Microsoft, like movie studios, is eager to see Halo 3 open big because its sales could be highly concentrated in its first weeks on store shelves. "There's a lot riding on its launch date," Mr. Pachter says.

Microsoft is betting Halo 3 will provide a lift this holiday season for the Xbox 360, the game console it introduced two years ago. The first two Halos, created by a team of game makers at Microsoft's Bungie Studios in Kirkland, Wash., were key to getting consumers to buy the original Xbox. This is the first time a version of Halo will be designed for the Xbox 360, with its more powerful graphics and online capabilities.

Microsoft could use a good holiday season for its games business. The company recently took a more than $1 billion charge to cover costs related to defective Xbox 360s. The company said their customers experienced an "unacceptable" number of repairs on Xbox 360s, so it extended the warranty on the product to three years from one in the U.S. It says it has addressed the technical problems in the game system.

Microsoft says it has shipped more than 11.6 million Xbox 360s, but rival Nintendo Co. is gaining quickly on it with its Wii console.

The Halo franchise still is also a ways off from reaching the silver screen. Two years ago, Microsoft struck a deal with Universal Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox to create a film based on the game, but the project is now on hold due to disagreements over the financing of the project. Microsoft says it still hopes a Halo movie will happen one day.

Edited August 9, 2007 by abundant

[Your Mom]

What if I never played Halo 2? Do I have to play that one first?

[Gazz]

What if I never played Halo 2? Do I have to play that one first?

Not really, though it would help with the story, the premise of Halo 3 is basically 'protect earth from invading alien hordes'... bit like Space Invaders, only prettier.

[abundant]

Just wanted to point out two new things. First, the new Bungie Podcast can be found here. Secondly… The picture says it all…

There's also a fourth grenade called the Firebomb.

Edited August 10, 2007 by abundant

[The Kraig]

Well...blow me down.

PYROWARFARE~!!~~!~!~~!~!!!

[Gongsun Zan]

There goes my plan to *not* think about Halo 3, thus making the wait shorter.

I hate you all.

[The Kraig]

Pre-ordering Halo 3 Legendary is such a cunt.

I have the 21st place on the list of 21 places at Gamestation. But then G-Force (a much smaller local game shop that I love) said that Microsoft and Bungie are actually giving out far less than anticipated. Which made me worry about my spot on the Gamestation list. That what a few weeks ago, and I was out when Amazon.co.uk took ALL their pre-orders within about 6 hours, but today G-Force finally confirmed they're getting at least a few and at the very least one. And since I've been going in almost daily to check on their progress, I'm the first on their list! I fucking love them.

Persistence and loyalty FTW. w00t!

However, this means I could potentially end up with two Halo 3 Legendary packs. The lure of ebay is tempting, but I might just sell it to a friend for half-price as it's her birthday soon and she might not get hers. I don't know anyone else who likes Halo, which leaves me with a problem. So yeah...if I do end up with two, anyone want one? PAL format. I will be selling of course, and it will be unopened - brand new. And I won't be paying for the packaging to Australia so forget about that, unless you want to pay for it yourself (it'll be relatively heavy, and thus very expensive to ship so far).

And it's not a guarantee or anything, as I said, even both shops might not get any, I'm only putting this here for the Halo brethren who missed out on their local game shop pre-orders and have no choice but to scan ebay (and their extortionate prices). And I'll probably only accept a cheque in the post or something. Don't worry, if I cash it and don't send the goods then the mods here can have permission to ban me and burns effigies of me in the street, etc. Of course, cash is also welcome, but that's probably only possible with Kaney, since he's quite close and we can meet. But he's not much of a Halo boy.

I can't wait until September 26th. I'm going nuts. 35 days to go.

[-A-]

I'll have it! I need to wait and see whether I get one of course. but I'm definitely interested.

[abundant]

Big update!

Here’s a few videos of the first 5 minutes of Tsavo Highway, as well as a brief look at the updated saved films feature. - http://www.gamersyde.com/news_4868_en.html

And here’s a video of Forge. The cool thing in this video is that it’s mentioned that Bungie will be evaluating the forge maps, and those they deemed good enough will be put into the match making system. - http://www.jeuxvideo.tv/halo-3-video-42440.html

[abundant]

Heads up, gametrailers.com has three new videos showcasing Guardian and Narrows, as well as the Mauler, Flamethrower, Firebomb, Plasma turret, and much more.

Edited August 27, 2007 by abundant

[The Kraig]

Finding it...so hard...not to watch...I've done well so far. Only saw maybe 20 seconds of the campaign video editing demonstration. I had to stop myself.

29 days.

Although apparently some Bungie folk are playing Halo 3 online, THE Halo 3 (not beta or Epsilon builds), so it's gone gold. HUZZAH!

[abundant]

The new Bungie Podcast is out and it’s about FORGE~! Some interesting notes:

- Pretty much every tool used by Bungie’s multiplayer department can be used in Forge. You can tweak spawn times, ammo capacity, and even create your own power ups.

- You won’t have access to everything on every map. Like, for instance, you can’t spawn/place a Scorpion on Guardian or Narrows.

- Forge Example - Rocket Race: Escort on Sandtrap. Spawn points are paired up two apiece and they’re located near a mongoose and a rocket launcher. Point of the game is to escort the VIP to various points on the map, while the other team tries to stop you.

-Forge Example - Infection on High Ground: Block all the entrances to the base with destructible items, spawn the zombies on the beach with some active camo. Spawn the survivors in the base and fill it with a lot of guns and turrets. Turn off the radar.

- Match making: If a map has an imperfection, like the broken sniper rifle in Colossus that completely ruins the game, Bungie could go in and fix the map. They can also place a custom forge map made by a random person into match making.

- Scorpions, fire weapons, and teleports won’t be in match making initially, but if demand for them rises or someone makes a great forge variant, it could be placed into match making. On that note, the Hornet will NEVER be in match making because it’s really powerful and unbalanced. You can add it in Forge though.

Edited August 29, 2007 by abundant

[The Kraig]

This is awesome.

http://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/article.../theoddcouples/

[abundant]

It’s almost here! Look out for reviews this Sunday, as the embargo is coming to an end. Also, I posted this in the Gamertag thread, but I’ll also post it here.

For those who will be getting Halo 3, make sure to link your gamertag to a bungie.net account. That way you’ll get the insane amount of stat tracking for both solo and multi play, as well as having the option of downloading saved films, forge maps, and screen shots from bungie.net. Just click download and it’ll download straight to your 360 the next time you’re on Live.

Edited September 22, 2007 by abundant

[Guest Kou]

For anyone who thinks Halo 3 is going to have a good story needs to be shot.

For anyone who thinks Halo 3 will have sexy multiplayer is completely not shot.