- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Here's the breakdown of the OXM article (buy it when it comes out, the screens are sweet and the article is much more in-depth):
Vehicles:
* they've been fine-tuned to include incredible in-craft graphics and sound
* some vehicles, like the Warthog will actually shift in gear and increase in speed depending on what gear they're on (and they've added an emergency break to control the Warthog more effeciently)
* vehicles will now reflect damage to a greater degree and will eventually become unusable
* vehicles will respond to damage in force-feedback, for example there will be a shaking sensation if there's a problem with craft you're driving, however it will not directly affect the control
* Wraith tanks can be taken out with a shot to the fuel tank once it's been lowered sufficiently in power
Weapons:
* dual-wielding is confirmed, but the extent has yet to be determined, so far it only has been seen with single-handed weapons
* you cannot throw grenades while wielding two weapons
* the new Covenant weapon is the "Covenant Carbine" with scope (claiming to be a soon-to-be-fan-favorite)
Enivironments:
* Halo 2's maps and levels will be five times larger then the original
* the environment's animations will create accurate ambient sounds
* level repetition has been completely eliminated
* lighting is an impressive dynamic that changes the way the game is played
* character animations responding to environments are more crisp (ie. from walk to jog to sprint)
* level size allows for multiple angles and approaches
The Enemies:
* Brute's weapon fires "slugs" and will include the blade
* Brutes do not have energy shields, but are protected by armor and it takes two head-shots to bring them down
* Jackals will hunt in impressive fashions
* Brutes and Elites don't care for eachother and this is displayed in the game
* Covenant rank will reflect different armor and weaponry
Boarding:
* based on their report it appears you can in fact board (vehicle-takeover) every vehicle, including tanks and Banshees
* you can board a variety of ways (from back, front, left , right) as long as the craft is moving slow enough
* you can choose from attacks during the boarding process to dispatch the driver
* Elites and Brutes are confirmed for boaring
Multiplayer:
* basically just rehashed the Game Informer article (I bet they were pissed about this because they don't even mention the names of the maps they played or spend too much time on it)
* they show the Master Chief in a white/silver for multiplayer which I believe may partially confirm Frank's inference (by his art) that there will be more than four teams to choose from or at least four colors to choose from
[Edited on 5/4/2004 10:06:56 PM]