- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Its safe to assume that heading into E3 2003, both Microsoft and Bungie were counting on Halo 2 to steal the show. Anticipation for the sequel to what many considered the best game of the previous several years, not to mention the game of the year for 2001, was already at a fevered pitch and Bungie had some exciting footage to wow the E3 crowds with. Then it happened. Weeks before the show, Valve unveiled the sequel to what is near-universally recognized as the most influential first person shooter of all time; Half-Life 2 came onto the scene and immediately all eyes were turned towards it the graphics were fantastic, the physics unbelievable, and the sheer excitement felt by everyone in attendance most of whom who had experienced the first game - could not be matched by anything presented at the show floor (and unsurprisingly, MS responded to this reaction by approaching Valve about an Xbox version as soon as possible). This year, all eyes were back on Halo 2. While Half-Life 2 would once again be present, the huge amount of publicity gave way to months without any real updates, and the anticipation for that title heading into this E3 was noticeably more subdued on the whole (though PC gamers were still salivating for the latest look see). Just like last year, Microsoft and Bungie came into E3 2004 intent on making a big impression, and as of the first night, Halo 2 is the star of the show.
Jason Jones, project lead for both Halo games, narrated the 8-minute demo which was played in real-time before the audience. This preview will take the form of a step by step walkthrough of the demo, and will point out all facets of the gameplay that were pointed out in the presentation, as well as various obvious upgrades from the original Halo that could be ascertained. The audience was introduced to a large island named Zanzibar littered with rocky formations and large moving mechanical structures. It is not long before we are looking upon the familiar sight of a Spartan warrior, this one clad in blue whilst pointing a large weapon resembling an assault rifle towards the audience. Jason Jones brings attention to the customizability of the Spartan armor, highlighting the ability to choose color, as well as adorn various decals on the shoulder areas (possibly among others; If I can put the DX logo and Suck it on the crotch area, Bungie is officially the best developer ever). The camera pans around the Spartan, allowing us to gave upon the graphical detail of the character model, most notably the use of bump-mapping and reflection-mapping which replaces the flat, matte look of the armor in the first Halo, with one that actually resembles a metallic surface. The camera suddenly zooms over the shoulder of the Spartan and focuses on a Covenant Elite standing on a rock structure, looking down upon the Spartan. Once again, the audience is treated to a pan around, and as Mr. Jones goes over the brutal nature of the Elite, it becomes obvious how improved all the models in the game are. The Elites armor has received the same graphical upgrades as the armor of the Spartan (What? Did you think you were special?), and the facial structure is entirely redefined as independent mandibles and teeth are clearly seen. From here the camera shifts into first person mode, and the true facets of the multiplayer gameplay are exposed.
Jason playing as a Spartan introduces us to his opponent, multiplayer team lead and acting test-dummy for the duration of the demo, Max playing a Covenant Elite. While it was announced at an earlier time that players would be able to control Covenant Elite, actually seeing it for the first time still elicited cheers from the audience. Its unknown whether the distinct types of playable characters will bring differences in abilities or characteristics with them, but it seems unlikely for the sake of game balance. Based on statements made later on in the demo, as Jason lays out the fundamental design and mission objective of the Zanzibar map, it seemed that [at least some gameplay types] will force all members of each team to select the same species. Jason begins the demo holding the submachine gun, while Max begins with the games most brutal close range weapon, the Covenant Light Sword. Jason quickly makes his way over to a large pile of weapons to find something to wield along with his Submachine Gun, and chooses a Needler - he also makes sure to state that the Needler may actually be "worth picking up in Halo 2"aside from humiliation kills, that is). While that claim is bold enough to warrant verifying for ourselves in the future, an obvious increase in the rate of fire was made, but the actual damage dealt by the weapon could not be determined since Jason killed Max using both the Needler and the Submachine Gun. As in the first game, messages appear which indicate the function of the context-sensitive X-button such as picking up a weapon to replace the one currently being wielded. In Halo 2, it appears as though the Y-button becomes context sensitive when the player walks over a weapon, and assumes its normal functionality of switching between weapons in all other cases. When dual-wielding, the triggers fire the weapons in the corresponding hands, and as a result, grenades cant be thrown while in this weapon mode. Jason picks up the Light Sword and the new & improved Assault Rifle from Maxs dead body, and proceeds to demonstrate how the vehicles can take damage by tearing the crap out of the graphically updated Ghost model. Wings are torn off individually by gunfire, and eventually the entire thing explodes taking Max out with it. Maxs death was a theme throughout the presentation, but there werent any protests about that from the audience.
The Ghost itself has been more than aesthetically updated, as it is now capable of a boost move which should allow players to exit threatening situations with greater ease than the limited maneuvering in the first game, and should prove to be a blast for those who spent hours in Grand Theft Auto 3 doing nothing more than plowing over innocent civilians. Speaking of Grand Theft Auto, the mechanics of the "car-jacking" maneuver witnessed in the demo shown at last years E3 were revealed, and the maneuver is almost disappointingly easy to pull off. A player must do nothing more than approach an idle or slowly moving vehicle and press the context-sensitive X-button to kick them off. As of this point it does not seem as though there is any way for the player on the vehicle to prevent this from happening other than continuing to drive at a high speed when in the vicinity of other characters which seems counter-intuitive since most are likely to slow down in order to line up decent shots with the onboard weapons. Hopefully Bungie will implement some means for the player on the vehicle to counter the attempted jacking, as it would be pretty cool to see a gameplay scenario where one player jumps on the hood or back of vehicle, and before they can kick off the driver, he punches or flips them off, putting them directly in front of the vehicle for some quick hit-n-run damage. Jason demonstrates the equivalent damage modeling on the Warthog, as he takes out wheels with the Assault Rifle before picking up a Rocket Launcher and blowing it into several large chunkskilling Max in the process, of course. The Rocket Launcher has also been given some new functionality, essentially becoming an RPG launcher in the vein of the one featured in the original Half-Life. Once a target is "painted" with the reticle, causing it to turn red, the player can guide the rocket to follow a moving target by keeping the reticle on top of the intended target. Considering that the Rocket Launcher was only particularly useful for taking out vehicles in the first game (or if players became very skilled, other players as well), such an update is welcome. Finally, Max appears to have had enough poor treatment and immediately begins firing upon Jason, who retaliates with the ultimate anti-son-of-a-pregnant dog-stick the Covenant Light Sword, which can deal damage both through generic slashing attacks, or by lining up a lunge attack that does a huge amount of damage, but presumably leaves the melee-weapon user open for a prolonged amount of time.
Upon this final death and subsequent respawn, the camera fades to white and pans out, as we are treated to a tour of Zanzibar. Mr. Jones illustrates the various characteristics of the level and the objectives for each team. Similar to the Assault mode that was featured in the original Unreal Tournament, a team of Spartans are charged with attacking a stronghold and retrieving a flag, while a team of Elites have the equally unenviable job of defending against this attack. There are multiple routes throughout the island, and apparently certain areas feature destructible terrain as well. Spartans have the advantage of the ability to use vehicles to attain this goal should they be able to open the main gates via a control panel at the center of the fortress, while the Elite have the elevation advantage and more higher-power weapons, including rocket launchers and mini-gun turrets, from the onset. Such design hints at the increased amount of balance Bungie is hoping to integrate into the multiplayer experience, however Spawn AI during the preceding demo seemed to be as broken as it was in the first game, although it may have been altered to prevent Jason from spending several minutes searching the island for Max.