Halo series - Crimson Map Pack out now!

[CRASHiC]

2.5 million people bought the exact same game they already own, full price

fixed it for you

 

[Dr Drew the Dragon]

I bought ODST despite never owning Halo 3...

 

[RuNNing Riot]

Now that I have the game, I think it was a waste after all. Aide from the obvious plus of getting the Mythic map pack, I didn't really think it was worth the campaign. Sure, it had some cool new features (basically only the visor, since Firefight for me was incredibly boring), but if you already own Halo 3, it just isn't worth the ~£50 price tag.

 

[The Real Gamer]

I bought ODST despite never owning Halo 3...

Tbh this wasn't a very bad move at all. You get all of the maps available in Halo 3 as well as a new, though short, story mode. Only difference is that you don't get Halo 3's campaign, which I can tell you is not that great at all.

Boy I miss playing Halo though, it brings back many, many good memories. As stated earlier, I will definitely purchase ODST when I want to get back into Halo again. But seeing as how Modern Warfare 2 is coming out soon... That might be a while. >.>

 

[F8AL]

Tbh this wasn't a very bad move at all. You get all of the maps available in Halo 3 as well as a new, though short, story mode. Only difference is that you don't get Halo 3's campaign, which I can tell you is not that great at all.

Boy I miss playing Halo though, it brings back many, many good memories. As stated earlier, I will definitely purchase ODST when I want to get back into Halo again. But seeing as how Modern Warfare 2 is coming out soon... That might be a while. >.>

I think you mean you will buy ODST when it goes down in price to it's true value of $30. ($15 for the 4 hour campaign, $10 for firefight mode and $5 for the 2 new maps.)

 

[Zero Beat]

I'll be honest, to truly appreciate what ODST has to offer gameplay wise, you need to play Halo 1 and then play that garbage of a game, Halo 3.

In ODST, the sense of speed is back(ala halo 1). Firefight mode could practically keep you all day playing, it is that much fun. I thought the campaign was very well crafted and true to the disadvantages of not being Master Chief.

Would I pay 60 bucks for it? No, unless I never had Halo 3. Then it becomes an awesome deal. Halo 3, ODST, and all of Halo 3's DLC for free amounts to well over $100 in value. If you already bought Halo 3, you may feel like you're getting boned by paying $60 for this game. The lack of matchmaking is a big red flag. -_-

 

[ThunderSt0rm]

I think you mean you will buy ODST when it goes down in price to it's true value of $30. ($15 for the 4 hour campaign, $10 for firefight mode and $5 for the 2 new maps.)

Alright, we see that you continue to b**** and moan over something that does not involve your money and/or time (if the game was not purchased by you). So why continue to complain about others' choices in buying the game?

 

[Cam3ron]

I think its true that if you don't have halo 3 then you might wanna pick up odst. But to be honest im a little disappointed with the length of the campaign mode. I liked it a lot but i just wish it was longer

 

[F8AL]

Alright, we see that you continue to b**** and moan over something that does not involve your money and/or time (if the game was not purchased by you). So why continue to complain about others' choices in buying the game?

It's the truth.

I think its true that if you don't have halo 3 then you might wanna pick up odst. But to be honest im a little disappointed with the length of the campaign mode. I liked it a lot but i just wish it was longer

It's not supposed to be that long anyways.

New Halo Waypoint information:

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/19/halo-waypoint-detailed-captured-on-video/
http://kotaku.com/5385014/welcome-to-halo-waypoint/gallery/

 

[ThunderSt0rm]

It's the truth.

but maybe others enjoy the game, despite the short campaign. Just because you don't approve of the game doesn't mean no one should buy it.

 

[barrel_roll]

I enjoy ODST...a lot every thing was an improvement in the game(other than not playing as master chief). My biggest problem was the mutiplayer disc because most of us already bought legendary and mythic map packs which means we wasted like 1400 points and now a days most of the games you need the disc *on a different note, at least I get to play as Johnson

What do you thing about Reach, would you buy it?

 

[Renth]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eq4GoWTPVg

edit:

That's because Halo 2 had massive auto-aim. It's a good thing that they decreased it in Halo 3 so it actually takes skill to kill someone.

you're silly.

 

[F8AL]

*BREAKING NEWS!!!!!*

The Halo franchise finally arrives on the PS3 in Feb 2010

Spoiler

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=3658

Warner Home Video is set to release 'Halo Legends' on Blu-ray on February 9, 2010, day-and-date with the DVD. The Blu-ray will include several hours of special features, including a BD-exclusive overview of the Halo universe up until the end of Halo 3.

Special features include:
Audio commentary with franchise directors Frank O'Connor and Joseph Chou
The Making of Halo Legends (with an introduction and making-of segments for each episode)
Halo: Gaming Evolved
Halo: The Story So Far (BD-exclusive)

 

[RuNNing Riot]

Bah! Always on a format that my DVD player can't read.

But about Halo: Legends, which ones are you lot interested in? I'm leaning towards Homecoming myself.

EDIT: Holy crap, I just missed that top bit of your post, F8AL. Halo on PS3?!

EDIT2: Actually, give me a source. I Googled it and found only a clip where the Halo trailer was being viewed on a PS3.

EDiT3: Scratch that too. I forgot the link at the top of the post. No, it's not Halo 3 he's talking about.

Spoiler

That would be sacrilege!

 

[F8AL]

Halo: Reach Beta Shots Sneak Out Of MS HQ

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/11/05/rumor-first-screens-details-for-halo-reach-leaked/
http://kotaku.com/5398204/halo-reach-beta-shots-sneak-out-of-ms-hq-[updated]

"Somewhere, somehow, someone managed to get blurry digital camera shots of what appears to be Halo: Reach, Bungie's next Xbox 360 game then post 'em all of the internet.

Those shots appear to have originated from Bungie's own forums, reposted at Bungie.org and finally at NeoGAF, offering a look at what may be Reach's arsenal, locations and maybe even a few unannounced features. It's unclear whether these shots are from the multiplayer beta promised to those who pre-ordered Halo 3: ODST, but since one shot shows a menu screen offering access to a Solo Game and Activities, we're wagering it's a portion of the campaign."

"MLG forum user (and MS Paint fanatic) ToM MoReLLo claims to have played Halo: Reach, and was somehow able to nab multiple blurry screenshots of the game as evidence."

 

[RuNNing Riot]

I'm still amazed that nobody's mentioned that Halo Waypoint's going to be showing each episode of Helo: Legends each Saturday.

Spoiler

I'm also still amazed that Spartans could look so pretty under that armour. Yes, Cal is a girl! Sexists.

 

[O D I N]

I'm still amazed that nobody's mentioned that Halo Waypoint's going to be showing each episode of Helo: Legends each Saturday.

Spoiler

I'm also still amazed that Spartans could look so pretty under that armour. Yes, Cal is a girl! Sexists.

Sweet deal. I saw "The Babysitter" yesterday. Was pretty good. I'm also a rank 40 according to Waypoint. XD

 

[RuNNing Riot]

Lol. My brother and three of his friends were attempting to get Endure just now. They failed... on the very last round. I am not making this up.

 

[O D I N]

Lol. My brother and three of his friends were attempting to get Endure just now. They failed... on the very last round. I am not making this up.

It happens to the best of us.

 

[F8AL]

Halo 3: ODST Drops Three Million Copies

http://kotaku.com/5404518/halo-3-odst-drops-three-million-copies

"And, all things considered, they're not bad. Since launching on September 22, ODST has sold just over three million units, having sold 1.5 of those in its first month on sale."

 

[GreenFox]

I'm tempted to get ODST just so I can play Halo 3's multiplayer properly...

 

[F8AL]

Halo: Reach To Premiere At Spike VGA Awards

http://kotaku.com/5407540/halo-reach-to-premiere-at-spike-vga-awards

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/11/18/halo-reach-premiere-to-pull-in-vga-audience-dec-12/

"GameTrailers TV host and extreme Twitter enthusiast Geoff Keighley has announced that the world premier for Halo: Reach will be aired during the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards."

 

[RuNNing Riot]

Wow. I watched 'The Duel' just now on Halo: Waypoint (part of Halo Legends). I think it had a very strange animation style, but I kind of liked it. The story, though, was all over the place. Anyone else got any thoughts, ideas?

 

[F8AL]

Wow. I watched 'The Duel' just now on Halo: Waypoint (part of Halo Legends). I think it had a very strange animation style, but I kind of liked it. The story, though, was all over the place. Anyone else got any thoughts, ideas?

I started watching the free episode yesterday but I quickly lost interest in it...I don't like their unique kind of art style/animation style.

 

[F8AL]

Halo Legends Dated For Japan, First Look At Movie Cover

http://kotaku.com/5415983/halo-legends-dated-for-japan-first-look-at-movie-cover/gallery/

 

[RuNNing Riot]

Halo Legends again from me. Am I the only one here who bothers to watch it every other Saturday?

The Package's animation was decent, I guess. At times it was poor, though. Not to mention that some of the actiny was rather corny. Doesn't particularly pay much attention to Halo canon either. And what the HELL was up with the 'To Be Continued' at the end?

Anyone else want to gripe...?

 

[F8AL]

Bungie explains 'series of stumbles' in ODST marketing

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/08/bungie-explains-series-of-stumbles-in-odst-marketing/

"From the initial talk of a lower price to a renaming, Bungie's ever-changing plans for Halo 3: ODST left a lot of people confused as to what the final product would be. "I'm no PR expert, but it's pretty obvious the game had a series of stumbles; from the naming, to the initial E3 2008 countdown reveal failure, and finally pricing ... it would definitely be nice to have a do-over for the game introduction," senior designer Lars Bakken told G4TV in a recent interview. "The big takeaway for us is just to never comment on matters that are outside of our control," added community manager Brian Jarrard.

The subject of ODST becoming an "expansion pack," however, was never an arguable point to executive producer Curtis Creamer. "Though ODST was built from the Halo 3 engine, there were enough changes made to the engine that we could not have released it as an expansion in the way that you might equate with a PC game expansion pack ... the ODST executable is not compatible with Halo 3."

The crew of Bungie devs also reconfirmed that "there are currently no plans for any ODST DLC," with all of the studio's resources tied up with Halo: Reach."

 

[JustKindaBoredUKno]

Halo: Reach

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS. IF YOU WANT THIS GAME TO BE A COMPLETE SURPRISE, DO NOT READ.

Halo: Reach​

Intro:

In 2553, the planet Reach is humanity’s best hope for victory over an overwhelming alien threat. It houses a huge stockpile of military assets, from training facilities to industrial mineral production. It is an impenetrable fortress planet bristling with UNSC forces and surrounded by orbital defense platforms. Its enormous tactical and strategic importance is hidden deep behind dozens of outer colony worlds, and well obscured from enemy infiltration. It's not enough. This symbol of humanity's military might falls in that same year, overwhelmed by a massive Covenant force that turns the surface of the planet to glass. A lucky few, like the Spartan II Master Chief, will escape. For everyone else on the surface, the end is a foregone conclusion. Reach will fall. And we'll be there to see it.


Halo: Reach is the prequel to the first Halo game, and in fact, only taking place a few days prior to it. The game tells the story of Noble Team, a six-person squad of mostly Spartan IIIs, who arrive on the planet shortly after the invasion begins.

So lets cut to the basics.

Storyline:

With a whole new planet, and a whole new cast, this story line (despite the dramatic irony) will be very much unlike the others, even more so then ODST. With a 6 person Spartan team, **** gets bigger, faster.

Bungie says they'll really want to focus on the planet, and its culture. This isn't the same hustle and bustle type-towns you saw in New Mombasa in Halo 2, 3, and ODST. You get to see a whole different culture then Earth's.

And even outside the cities, the planet is different. Settled only 100 years ago, Reach wasn't exactly hospitable. Reach has a harsh wilderness, with huge mountain ranges and weather-beaten forests.
New Features:

Even with so little known about the game, Bungie released a ton of new info to Game Informer.

Gameplay:

All weapons got a revamped look, reverting closer in appearance to their Halo 1 origins. The magnum returns as it was in ODST, and most weapons (Human and Covenant) return as well. And in addition to looks, all weapons got revamped with new sounds, reportedly more explosive and realistic.

These Spartans have more then just new weapons. New stealth assassinations offer a whole new way to kill. Completed by holding down the melee button while near an opponent, if the enemy remains unaware of your presence, your Spartan will draw his Combat Knife and silently assassinate the opponent.
New weapons:
Needle Rifle- a mid-range headshot weapon, combining the Needle with greater flexibility and accuracy. Three individual hits from the needle rifle will super-combine and explode.

Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR)- Fits somewhere between the sniper rifle and battle rifle. Single kill-shot.

New Vehicles:

Falcon- A helicopter-like armed attack and transport vehicle.

Civilian Vehicles- Remember the first time you saw a car or truck in Halo 3 or ODST and thought "Man, if only I could drive that..." Well now you can.

The Covenant:
The Covenant get the same kind of revamp as the weapons do, with their armor returning (obviously) to the same fashion as in Halo 1, but with stunning new detail.

Elites return as the new main enemy, before the "Great Betrayal" when the Prophets re-designated the Brutes as the Royal Guards in place of the Elites. No word on whether or not Brutes will actually appear in the game yet.

One of the most surprising new add-ons on the entire game is the new Covenant species, the Skirmishers. Very close in appearance to the Jackals (probably cousins as species) they do not brandish the sheilds, but what they lack in defense they make up for in obvious offense. They're deadly, cunning, travel in packs and flank positions, truly a force to be reckoned with.

Armor:
Halo: Reach adds a whole new element to the competitive gameplay. Armor abilities will be replacing equipment features. These new armor abilities will work about the same however, being just as easily switched (only being able to carry one at a time.) What these new abilities do however, is offer a unique perk, depending on the ability. Only two were revealed. First, a Sprint Ability, allowing the Spartan to speed up for a short distance, and an Active Camo ability, allowing a short period of time for almost total invisibility, a lot like the Arbiter had. These abilities will recharge overtime, for repeated use, and will offer a variety of ways to solve certain missions.

Halo: Reach also bring back the health system, that will be incredibly similar to ODST, just not as sensitive. Your Spartans will be able to take much more beating then Rookie in ODST, but finding a health pack will still be needed every now and then.
Other Things:
Halo: Reach implements an "imposter" tech for graphics. In summary, the graphics do not load with full detail all at once, but with lower detail the further you are from the object. From far away, you can't even tell.

This data saving allows for a ton of other things.

AI has been been increased from 20 to 40, and up to 20 vehicles can appear on the map at once, allowing for huge battles. Which is what you'll need with a team of 6 Spartans.

Dynamic light sources go from 3-4 to an incredibly 20-40. This allows plasma bolts to emit their own light, turret to produce their own light, and even allows sparks to generate when bullets hit concrete.

Reach also brings in a weather system. This not only brings in different kinds of weather, such as rain or snow, but brings in an entire atmosphere. As you descend to the planet, you come in through clouds, as you would in real life. The level doesn't just appear.

And finally, Bungie implements motion capture. Now there will be transitions between walking and running, and turning will be mroe realistic instead of just pivoting. Bungie even brought in Image Metrics for facial work, so human faces will appear more lifelike.
What to expect from online play:
Bungie has confirmed that everything in Halo 3 will appear in Halo: Reach, eliminating the rumour that Reach will not have Forge, easily the greatest feature ever introduced to the Halo series, and argueably the best thing keeping the game gonig strong online. Players can still expect at least 4-player co-op online, with 2 person splitscreen, and will still have at least 16 player online matchmaking. Bungie also says they have several new features that they're keeping under wraps for now, but with the single player focusing on so many different Spartans, you can imagine customization will be huge.

 

[JustKindaBoredUKno]

I thought this deserved its own thread, since this game differs so much from Halo 3, and is a whole new chapter to the giant story.

I'll try to update the thread with pictures, especially if people actually discuss in here.


My opinions:

intro/storyline: epic. The halo series is amazing, games or books. As a diehard halo fan, I'm super excited to finally see Reach.

features:
-stealth assassinations are amazing. I hope this works online as well, and that it takes away from the "oops, I accidently smacked you in the back while we were jumping all over the place" you often get in Halo 3.

-new weapons are always good, though I don't quite understand the DMR. It seems like a more versitile sniper, in which case, whats the point in using a sniper? new vehicles are cool too.

-The new species is awesome. Though I don't quite understand how they're going to explain for their lack of appearence in the later halo games.

-The armor abilities is sick. I hated the bubble sheild/power drain crap, it's good to see them adding a new layer to competitive gameplay.

-I'm not sure where I stand on the health thing, only because of online play. Its hard enough to tolerate the n00b going 1 and 30, let alone him ganking all your health packs.

 

[Gerudo Warrior]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_Tournament

for the love of god play some UT

 

[Spire]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_Tournament

for the love of god play some UT

Unreal Tournament 3 paled. The series is going downhill as of right now while Halo isn't.

I'm very excited for Halo: Reach. Halo 3 was a letdown after the perfection that was Halo 2, but was nevertheless a good game. I'm still wondering if Halo: Reach will be entirely chapter based, or sport a more sandbox feel like Borderlands has. That would be insane.

 

[F8AL]

*BUMP*

Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack 2 On Sale Next Month

http://kotaku.com/5452873/halo-3-mythic-map-pack-2-on-sale-next-month

"Perhaps one of the biggest reasons for Halo fans to pick up ODST was the three exclusive multiplayer maps, Citadel, Longshore, and Heretic. Buying Halo 3: ODST is the only way to get your hands on the maps, until February 2nd. That's when the Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack 2 will be available for purchase, packaging all three new battlegrounds together for the standard map pack price of 800 Microsoft points."

Halo: Reach screenshots leaked then pulled by EB Games website

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/20/halo-reach-screenshots-leaked-then-pulled-by-eb-games-website/

http://xcastonline.com/index.php/News/official-halo-reach-screenshots-arrive.html

"thanks to a little slip up from the folks at EB Games, almost all of the official in-game Reach images that are present in the Game Informer cover story have hit the web early -- in full high-resolution glory."

"Leaked" Halo: Reach Beta Boot-Up Clip Introduces "Murder Mode"

http://kotaku.com/5452619/leaked-halo-reach-beta-boot+up-clip-introduces-murder-mode

"Halo: Reach is forthcoming. It will be out later this year. One individual is already leaking beta footage onto the internet.

The footage is of the game booting up. There is no game play footage. The screen carries a message which reads:

Welcome to the Halo: Reach Public Beta, the experience you are about to enjoy is an early sample of a few multiplayer and single-player levels from Halo: Reach, launching exclusively on Xbox 360 later this year. Until then, drive into Activities or Campaign and have a blast.

However, the leaked clip does introduce a new mode called "Murder Mode". From the tip description: "Use the Murder Mode to kill an enemy without being spotted." The Halo franchise is getting a stealth kill mode, it seems."

 

[Zero Beat]

Merging it with the current Halo discussion thread.

 

[Maniclysane]

Anyone here interested in playing Firefight anytime soon? I haven't been able to fine anyone to play with.

 

[JustKindaBoredUKno]

I cannot wait for the demo, murder mode sounds sick

 

[F8AL]

I cannot wait for the demo, murder mode sounds sick

There won't be a beta for Reach. There will be a beta.

Also:

Halo: Reach 'bending the Xbox as far as it'll bend,' Bungie assures

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/22/halo-reach-bending-the-xbox-as-far-as-itll-bend-bungie-assures/

Halo: Reach will be expected to deliver an experience that not only speaks highly of its developer, but also of the technological capabilities and commercial identity of its home platform. Whereas Halo 3: ODST was built upon Bungie's 2007 space hoop outing (has it already been that long?), the developer tells Edge that its next shooter is already "bending the Xbox as far as it'll bend."

 

[JustKindaBoredUKno]

i meant beta, sorry.

yeah, this game will seriously be top of the line

 

[F8AL]

i meant beta, sorry.

yeah, this game will seriously be top of the line

I hope so too. ODST wasn't a very good game IMO. (i.e. game breaking glitches)

 

[O D I N]

I hope so too. ODST wasn't a very good game IMO. (i.e. game breaking glitches)

I never had these issues. Stop hatin.

 

[GreenFox]

Who here plays Halo Wars?