Halo 3: Early Impressions

Halo 3 has just been announced by Microsoft, to be exclusive to the Xbox 360. A trailer was shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo on May 9^th.

Bungie.net claims that this will be the final game in the Trilogy. This may come as disappointing news to all of the Halo fans but it sure does make it an exciting release.

If you want to check out the trailer it is available on Bungie.net and also from Xbox Live. The trailer is rendered in real-time on the Xbox 360 using the Halo 3 engine. It's obvious that a lot of hard work was put into the trailer and it really shows. Don't waste anytime if you haven't had a peak; view the high definition trailer at Bungie's website.

An impressive amount of work has also been put into Marty O'Donnell's Halo theme. New music is introduced by a 60 piece orchestra and a 24 piece choir. "I want the viewer to have a feeling of anticipation and wonder for the first fifty seconds or so, up until Master Chief is revealed and they realize that it's Cortana trying to tell them something," says O'Donnell.

The trailer lacks any multiplayer demonstrations and AI but better stuff is said to be coming later. This is said to be deliberate because this is the announcement.

Fans of Halo fiction are discussing the array of story possibilities on Bungie's Halo 3 forum with great interest. Bungie will also be reviving their "Update - Proper", a weekly diary of the progress of the game. With many exciting updates to come, this should be a fairly popular item to watch for.

It starts off with in a situation that we've never seen before. Cortana and the Chief will be a galaxy apart and the Chief will be back on a savage and covenant controlled Earth.

The game will contain a lot of dazzling Cinematics just as the previous versions did. Keeping the player feeling like they are part of the action is critical to the experience. Graphically the game will look familiar to its predecessor but will of course take advantage of the 360's better hardware.

As a huge Halo fan myself, I am anxiously awaiting this release. I have spent endless hours sniping players in Blood Gulch and Coagulation only to want more. Will this release live up to its name? I'm sure it will and I can't wait to find out.

Source: www.bungie.net