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- Exalted Heroic Member
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om1yZYyY9lY&hd=1
Hi everyone, I'm Paolo and I'm Italian, so sorry for my bad written english...
Well, I wish to create this topic to talk about of what Bungie DID in the last generation of games, with Halo 1 on the first Xbox, and what they DIDN'T (but they could do it if only they really wanted) in this, brand new and still fully-unexplored generation of new games and potential, with Halo 3...
Halo: Combat Evolved was something that rebooted the history of games, something that was created with only one objective in mind: create the most entertaing, revolutionary (or at least the most evolutionary), complete and advanced game possible, supporting and squeezing every bit and possibilities of a single hardware to its limit and creating an universe totally new and deep.
In 2001 it was a game that already showed:
-Open, sandbox, environment
-Large scale human and vehicle combat, with large number of enemies
-Future graphics elements like Bump-mapping, Vertex Shading, Hi-res textures, complex lightings.
-A physic engine (before Havok!) that simply worked perfectly within the universe
-Was one of the first (if not the first) title to support real, full, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround music and sound
-It created a Gameplay that EVERY Fps (if not title in general) emulated on consoles until now, from the control scheme to the balance and variety of the situations.
-It was simply the best Campaign experience AND the best Multiplayer experience in one single game
And we're talking about the "first" Xbox, an Intel Celeron 733Mhz single-core with a Geforce 3 and 64MB of RAM...TOTAL (between data and video)...
With Halo 2 Bungie tried to optimize everything created with Halo 1 on the same machine, so: they tried to surpass themselves...and they PARTIALLY did it, with the awesome multiplayer online via Xbox Live and revamped Gameplay, but not in Campaign (that was epic, but not so epic like HALO:CE)...and the fast developing left behind too many bugs and flaws...but was ok.
But with Halo 3...
With Halo 3 they had a MONSTER hardware like Xbox 360, they could reboot it all over again like Halo CE did, creating something totally (r)evolutionary, but they DIDN'T.
I love Halo 3, but this game it's like "Well, they initially wanted to release it on the first Xbox" to me...
It uses the same Halo 2 engine (a 2004 engine, created for old hardware), "only" revamped (and converted) in every aspect for the new power at disposal, but it wasn't "new from scratch" like Halo CE was, it was like "Halo 2.5 in High Definition, a Good Conclusion to the Saga"...
I repeat: I LOVE HALO 3, it remains my favourite game of 360, but I was really disappointed by not seeing what I saw in Halo 1 actualized in 2007...
So, that's the point: HALO REACH. This time:
-I hope that Bungie conserved it even BEFORE the devoloping of Halo 3
-I hope that it will use brand new engine and engineering created shoulder to shoulder with Microsoft FROM SCRATCH around the real 360 hardware and the real power and possibilities that 360 has to offer (at least like KillZone 2 did on PS3, after YEARS of developing)
-I hope they will RE-EVOLVE again what they've created so far with the past 3 games, but in this generation and with this REAL possibilities, for examples: Mindblowing Graphics, Physics, Interactivity/Destructibility of the environment, size and complexity of the fights, DEDICATED SERVERS, large number of players)
-I simply hope that Halo: Reach will make me feel the same emotions I felt with Halo 1 on 2001...but in 2010, when it'll be released, if not even stronger and glorious. Halo 2 and 3 still remain two of my favourite games of all time...but those "emotions", I remember those emotions only with Halo CE...
...and I simply hope that Halo: Reach will "reach" them... =)
Thanks for reading.
And THANKS BUNGIE!
You guys will always be more special...
EDIT:
POSSIBLE FRESH NEW INFOs @PAGE 3 !!!!!!!!!!!
EDIT #2:
This is one of my first personal trailer I ever created on my PC, it was my tribute to the Halo Universe and shows a lot of good stuff from Halo 1 and the first E3 demos of Halo 2, in 2003 and 2004: Check it Out! And let me know what you think... :)
EDIT #3:
A great post/tribute to Halo 1, thanks x Wayne Venus x for writing!
Posted by: x Wayne Venus x
Last week, I figured I'd pop in Halo: CE to play the Campaign again, mostly for nostalgic reasons.
Turns out, I had forgotten how EPIC Halo:CE campaign really was. Honestly, every weapon was useful, every level was amazing (exception: the Library), and it just felt....fun.
I really don't know how to explain it. I'm pretty sure it was the HUGE open environments, and the memorable, distinct levels.
Who could forget Truth and Reconciliation? You were dropped in at night with a Sniper Rifle(with extended ammo) and Night Vision, and you were tasked with taking out as many Covenant as you could, without alarming the rest. And that was just the beginning of the level.
Unforgettable
How bout The Silent Cartographer? Not exactly the best level, but I could replay the opening beach assault countless times, just because it was crafted beautifully. I group of Marines and yourself, charging up an enemy beach head. The quickness of the assault, the frantic firefights.
Brilliant.
Assault on the Control Room? The first level you experience the tank, the massive vehicular battles, the feeling of importance to your objectives. The many times where you could take out a whole army of grunts, just by quietly sneaking around and smacking them while they slept.
Exceptional
Two Betrayals? When everything comes together, you find out the truth. The 4 way battles: Flood, Covenant, Sentinels, and of course you. It was FUN deciding which side to aid when you came across two sided fighting. If done correctly, you could fight only one or two enemies instead of fighting a whole group, by whittling away at both sides. And the wide open feel of flying a banshee around at night.
Amazing
And don't even get me started on the ending. Sheer brilliance. Frantically racing a warthog through a ship to escape?
Masterfully crafted.
Every other Halo game has never had memorable levels such as these. Both Halo 2 and Halo 3 were missing night levels, which I feel greatly added to the mood and tone of Halo 1. Also missing were the stealthy levels, which I'm hoping Halo 3:ODST will have.
TL;DR
Bring back the wide-openness of Halo.
Bring back night levels.
Bring back stealth elements.
And from what I've seen so far, this is essentially what Halo 3:ODST. That's why I'm so excited for this game.
[Edited on 06.22.2009 3:01 PM PDT]