[SPARTAN-367]

You guys should see Halo: ODST Gameplay

Plus Bungie Announced Halo: Reach



I can't wait I love the first Halo book! 

[Vidmaster]

good.

[General Battuta]

As long as Halo focuses on the gritty, beautifully non-conventional war story (terribly Freespace-like, actually) of Human vs. Covenant instead of the mess that the Forerunner/Flood backstory has become, I will be very pleased.

[SPARTAN-367]

As long as Halo focuses on the gritty, beautifully non-conventional war story (terribly Freespace-like, actually) of Human vs. Covenant instead of the mess that the Forerunner/Flood backstory has become, I will be very pleased.

Agreed. The Flood/Forerunner can get out of hand and ruin but so far its okay.

But hey the first book which this game will be based on is all about the Humans vs. Covenant and I'm happy as well.

Here are the trailers. There Finally Up.

Halo: ODST (BAD QUALITY CAM) ... http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-halo-3-odst/49979 Second Part: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-halo-3-odst/49977
Halo: Reach ... http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-halo-reach/49988

[Col. Fishguts]

So, any further details what Halo: Reach is gonna be... shooter, RTS, or what?

[BloodEagle]

Am I the only one who sees the title as innuendo? 

[General Battuta]

Judging by the Kotaku comments, probably not.

[Aardwolf]

So yeah, what genre?

Edit: I mean as far as gameplay, not theme (I know it's sci-fi)

[General Battuta]

Probably shooter.

*sigh* They better really mix the gameplay up, or...ugh. Bungie needs to get out of its rut. Halo 3 was a lovingly polished and solid experience, but it lacked the soaring ambition or beauty of Halo 1. I'd rather have that kind of flawed masterpiece than a comfortable follow-up.

[Rhymes]

Probably shooter.

*sigh* They better really mix the gameplay up, or...ugh. Bungie needs to get out of its rut. Halo 3 was a lovingly polished and solid experience, but it lacked the soaring ambition or beauty of Halo 1. I'd rather have that kind of flawed masterpiece than a comfortable follow-up.

*cough*Halo 3:ODST*cough*

Ahem...don't mind me...

[haloboy100]

I thought Halo 3 was too full of next-gen gamin cliches.

I.E. Covering up bad repetitive game design with beautiful graphics and completely ruining the immersion for me by adding that stupid helmet overlay and still not including a static health bar or any sort of health bar at all. Halo 3 was decent, but it was by far the worst in the entire series. I'd pick Halo Wars over Halo 3. Halo: CE was by far the best, as it included the health bar underneath the shield, implementing the perfect blend of tactical battlefield strategy and FPS survival.

As long as Halo focuses on the gritty, beautifully non-conventional war story (terribly Freespace-like, actually) of Human vs. Covenant instead of the mess that the Forerunner/Flood backstory has become, I will be very pleased.

Hey!!! I love the Forerunner back-story!

Agreed, though, both ideas I think are a masterpiece. Especially the books, except for Contact Harvest, which I lost interest at around the time they talked about Avery getting drunk. I've been told it's right up my alley with the forerunner stuff though, so I need to ask my friend to give that book back.

[General Battuta]

Probably shooter.

*sigh* They better really mix the gameplay up, or...ugh. Bungie needs to get out of its rut. Halo 3 was a lovingly polished and solid experience, but it lacked the soaring ambition or beauty of Halo 1. I'd rather have that kind of flawed masterpiece than a comfortable follow-up.

*cough*Halo 3:ODST*cough*

Ahem...don't mind me...

It's a side story, and engine-wise it's just not going to be much different.

I thought Halo 3 was too full of next-gen gamin cliches.

I.E. Covering up bad repetitive game design with beautiful graphics and completely ruining the immersion for me by adding that stupid helmet overlay and still not including a static health bar or any sort of health bar at all. Halo 3 was decent, but it was by far the worst in the entire series. I'd pick Halo Wars over Halo 3. Halo: CE was by far the best, as it included the health bar underneath the shield, implementing the perfect blend of tactical battlefield strategy and FPS survival.

As long as Halo focuses on the gritty, beautifully non-conventional war story (terribly Freespace-like, actually) of Human vs. Covenant instead of the mess that the Forerunner/Flood backstory has become, I will be very pleased.

Hey!!! I love the Forerunner back-story!

Agreed, though, both ideas I think are a masterpiece. Especially the books, except for Contact Harvest, which I lost interest at around the time they talked about Avery getting drunk. I've been told it's right up my alley with the forerunner stuff though, so I need to ask my friend to give that book back.

I loved the helmet overlay!

And I like the Forerunner back story a lot. But it's clear that they had some very interesting twists lined up for it, foreshadowed in Halo 2...which were summarily discarded in favor of making Halo 3 easier to understand for preteen boys.

[redsniper]

wait... what the heck was the helmet overlay?

[General Battuta]

The fact that the HUD looked 3D and had a general outline of a Spartan visor, instead of being flat.

[Mefustae]

The fact that the HUD looked 3D and had a general outline of a Spartan visor, instead of being flat.

Which was a great idea, an homage to Metroid Prime and Republic Commando.

As a basic FPS, Halo: ODST looks pretty good. That orbital drop looks dead sexy, and the usual Halo gameplay is at the very least diverting, and occasionally excellent. I'm not banking on it being particularly good, but there are definitely worse games out there to buy.

Halo: Reach... well, **** it. Last time I trusted Bungie enough to pay $110 for Halo 3, they ended up telling all as assholes who enjoy story and compelling narrative to **** off. Right to our faces. With feces.

[redsniper]

and what's all this ODST nonsense?

[General Battuta]

Full-price expansion set deal. Actually looks really good. I was expecting to be underwhelmed, but...if that Firefight mode is as good as Gears of War 2's 'Horde' mode was, it ought to be worth it.

[StarSlayer]

Yeah ODST looks pretty interesting, though I admit I was blown away by the Halo 2 E3 demo and that ended up being ten times more interesting then the finished product.  You know the one that looked like an actual insertion at dusk into a embattled city?  This little gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoqGLS1U6GQ.  As opposed to the foolish, "chase the shiny metal crab bot" over the city we ended up with?  Now I don't subscribe to the whole hating Halo because its fashionable schtik so many people have.  I found them all a fun ride and worth my time and effort.  That said I was pretty disappointed when the gritty New Mombassa siege promised in the demo evaporated in the finished product.

[General Battuta]

I agree. That demo was the best thing Halo's ever done. Even the little stuff - the gun sounds, the art style, the effects. But they had to ditch it all because the Xbox couldn't handle it.

Hopefully, between ODST and Reach, they'll recapture some of that awesome atmosphere.

[Mikes]

As far as Halo goes... i enjoyed the backstory.

... but even in the first game:  Storming the same absolute identical room full of Covenant for the xth time kinda made it clear to me that the series kinda isn't the "pinnacle" of game design that it's often hyped up to be LOL.