Pingu and Halo 3: Difference between pages

Halo 3
File:Halo3finallogo.gif
Developer(s)	Bungie Studios
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Platform(s)	Xbox 360
Release	TBD 2007
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, Co-Op Play, Multiplayer, Xbox Live

Halo 3, sequel to the best selling Xbox game Halo 2, is a first-person shooter video game under development by Bungie Studios for the Xbox 360. An official announcement on the developers' website states that Halo 3 will end the current story arc of the Halo trilogy.

E3 2006 trailer

A trailer of the game was shown at Microsoft press conference at E3 2006. The trailer ends with the tagline "Finish the Fight".

File:H3chiefemerges.jpg

Master Chief emerges from smoke and rubble that litters an African plain.

The trailer opens with a powerful orchestral piece, showing a desolate and dry desert area, a few miles inland of the remaining rubble of New Mombasa, which was destroyed in Halo 2. Parts of the broken space elevator are shown in the background. Through the smoke and rubble of a ruined building a Spartan emerges, obscured occasionally by overlaid transmission images of what appears to be Cortana who utters somewhat distorted messages:

"I have defied gods and demons."

"I am your shield; I am your sword."

"I know you; your past, your future"

"This is the way the world ends."

Several of these line are spoken in the Cortana Letters.

File:H3 e32006 storyboard02 cortana.jpg

Storyboard artwork for Cortana, showing her crying out

Fans have speculated that the voice of Gravemind can be heard, mirroring Cortana's words, leading many to believe Gravemind plays a part in Cortana's speech, possibly even speaking through Cortana to the Master Chief. A scream can be heard before the transmissions, which further supports this hypothesis. Outside forces may also be acting on Cortana - in the 'Behind the Scenes' video, it is stated, "We don't know what has happened to her since then. We don't know it's Cortana. It could be any sort of bizarre, almost Satanic sort of voice. Something seems wrong." The transmission improves drastically with each attempt at communication. It should also be noted that Cortana's dialogue is highly remiscent of and can be attributed to that of Durandal, an artificial intelligence originating from Bungie's previous FPS series of games, Marathon - Master Chief is seen holding a weapon similar to the MA5B Assault Rifle from the original Halo, which was not included in Halo 2. Frank O'Connor (Bungie's Content Manger) has stated, "Who says it's the standard Assault Rifle? Doesn't look identical to me…", hinting at possible differences from the Assault Rifle seen in Halo: Combat Evolved. The gloves on Master Chief's armor are also somewhat different, potentially hinting at some sort of upgrade for the MJOLNIR armor.

Overhead, a massive Covenant "excavation fleet," as it was called by Bungie, holds position over an enormous crater the Chief is overlooking. The crater contains an expansive circular metallic structure, over three miles in diameter, stated by Bungie to be a Forerunner related structure. Whether this is the Ark or a ship similar to the one the Prophet of Truth took to Earth at the end of Halo 2 is unclear. In the Collector's edition DVD, two screens pulled from the disc show early concept art that looks nearly identical to the structure seen in the Halo 3 trailer. The concept art also shows the words Earth_Ark_09. This refers to the original 9-level Halo 2 concept. In the DVD, Joseph Staten explained the original 9 level design of Halo 2 and mentioned a "grand conclusion" on Earth. The other words in the screen capture, "Chief" and "Dervish" refer to the characters involved. Dervish was the Arbiter's original name in the first script of Halo 2. Both the Halo 3 trailer and the concept art here show clear similarities in geographical surroundings and structure. This evidence makes it likely that the structure in the announcement trailer is, or is related to, the Ark.

Above the crater, there is a massive maelstrom in the sky caused by "massive, never before seen subatomic forces," presumably emanating from the gigantic domed structure. Banshees and Covenant warships fly by, but pay no attention to the Master Chief. The camera then switches from the crater to the cliffs as a part of them fall and then zooms in onto the Master Chief's visor.

File:H3artifact.jpg

Covenant ships disperse as the ancient Forerunner artifact, rumored to be the Ark, is activated.

The camera turns from a glowing reflection on the Chief's visor and zooms out, revealing a grandiose scene as the mysterious structure is awakened. The structure begins to unfold, and parts of it rise above the ground as Covenant ships reverse direction and speed away from it. The device emits an energy pulse into the skies as the trailer ends with Cortana stating the last line, "This is the way the world ends." Cortana's closing words are in direct contradiction to T.S. Eliot's famous quote closing words from his poem, The Hollow Men:

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.

The trailer was produced entirely using the Xbox 360 hardware in real-time. After the E³ showing, Bungie demonstrated the real-time nature of the demo by moving the camera around and moving Master Chief to demonstrate the game's visual effects. The Assault Rifle was also fired to demonstrate that the muzzle flash was also reflected off Chief's visor in real-time.

The music in the trailer utilized a 60 piece orchestra and a 24 piece choir. An interesting usage of trumpets is a new effect added in the music. On Bungie's site, composer Martin O'Donnell states his goals for the trailer's music.

"I want them to feel pride and longing the moment Master Chief walks out of the smoke, I want them to get excited and perhaps even froth at the mouth when they see the Covenant Capital ship and then the incredible buried artifact. I want them to be left with that, 'I can hardly wait to play this game' feeling by the end with a slight, 'I wonder what she meant by that' aftertaste."

Because of speculation as to the identity of the Spartan shown in the trailer, Bungie has confirmed that it is the Master Chief.

The UK's Xbox World 360 magazine suggests in their August 2006 issue that the ending will be somewhat biblical. There were two arks in the Bible; the first protected Noah, his family, and two of every animal from the flood (echoed in Halo by the Flood parasites), the second called the "Ark of the Covenant" that protected the ten commandments. This magazine also admits in the same article they have no special connections to Bungie, that their insights are based on absolutely no inside information, and that their information should not be considered official.

Release and other information

The only official release date can be found on Bungie's official FAQ for the game, which says only that the game will be released "at an as-yet to be announced date in 2007."

Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman, stated in a May 2005 Time Magazine interview that Halo 3 would be released as close to the PlayStation 3's launch as possible, to divert sales. Best Buy has posted that Halo 3 will be released on November 16, 2007, the day before the PlayStation 3 is released. "It's perfect," Gates said. "The day Sony launches PlayStation 3, they walk right into Halo 3." (Time.com article, registration required; relevant quotes on GameSpot.com). When asked shortly afterwards however, Microsoft senior vice president Robbie Bach was less definite, saying: "We haven't announced anything on what Bungie is doing or where we're going with the future of the 'Halo' franchise... With all respect to Bill, I don't run Bungie's studio, and neither does he. We'll work with the Bungie guys and let people know [when they have something to announce]".

An article in Game Informer in November 2005 reports that: "Halo developer Bungie is so paranoid about the storyline for Halo 3 leaking out that two different story lines are being worked on so that even the company's employees are in the dark as to the plot of the game." Game Informer has also mentioned that Bungie is working on a "non-Halo" project as well as possibly Halo 3, although Bungie staffers have since commented that Bungie will only be working on one game at a time, and Bungie has made no subsequent mention of any other current game projects either in their Weekly Updates or during E3.

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A wobbling "Grunt Crossing" sign

Soon after the Xbox 360 was unveiled in May 2005, EB Games and FYE started taking preorders for Halo 3, despite having no official word from Bungie on whether they would make another Halo game. The preorder page has since been taken down, but other retailers have followed suit.

On May 9, 2006, exactly a year and a half after the release of Halo 2, the announcement trailer to Halo 3 appeared on the Xbox Live Marketplace, shortly before the trailer made its appearance at E3, due in part to the E3 conference starting late. Halo 3's announcement was soon carried on other gaming sites, including GameSpot. [6] After some downtime on the official Bungie Website, the game was announced officially and the trailer was made available for download. [7]

There is also an "easter egg" hidden within the trailer: a wobbling sign on the side of the road which appears to be a "Grunt Crossing" sign. Bungie's official response to the sign was "The New Mombasa City Council had an incredibly efficient public works department until and even during the tragic and devastating Covenant invasion,". Also, another Easter Egg within the trailer is when the structure is activated. In the lights around the installation is Bungie's original Marathon symbol. This picture is a choice of many symbols for players' multiplayer icon in Halo 2, and remains as an in-joke Bungie regularly features in their games. Also, avid fans of the series froze and magnified an image of the Master Chief, and found the Marathon logo imprinted on the Assault Rifle.

On June 6, 2006, Bungie Studios released a behind-the-scenes look at the E3 announcement trailer on their website. The video included many elements intended to produce speculation in the fan community. Some of these elements include a glimpses of the updated look of the UNSC Marines, an unknown race holding a new weapon, and Master Chief holding the M90 Shotgun from previous Halo titles. Thus, a total of 5 weapons have been revealed for Halo 3: The Assault Rifle, the Shotgun, the Covenant Carbine, The Covenant Beam Rifle and the new alien weapon. The video also showed different angles and takes of the announcement video, showing how powerful the engine was (and proving the video was not pre-rendered).

As of August 18, 2006, Best Buy has the Halo 3 Set release date as April 16, 2007, although it is also stated on the same page that an official release date for Halo 3 has not yet been announced by Microsoft. UK website Play.com set the release date for Halo 3 as November 24th 2007, though with no notice that it is unofficial.

On October 2, 1UP.com featured an article about the November 14 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM). The magazine is slated to have a "blowout" on the game, featuring new information, as well as new screenshots and videos on the 1UP website. [8] In addition, they would have three weeks worth of continuous coverage of Halo 3.[9]

Various game journalists from around the world were exclusively invited to Bungie to play on multiplayer test builds of the game. [10]

Bungie.net usually has a weekly humpday where the Bungie team go against other clans from all over the gaming community. Recently, due to some mishaps, Bungie has instead replaced these with Halo 3 humpdays. [11] [12]

On October 23, 2006, Game Informer reported the rumor that in the first half of 2007, a demo of Halo 3 will be released over Xbox Live.[13]

On October 27, 2006, Swedish magazine Level featured exclusive screenshots of Halo 3 in action, featuring the Mongoose ATV in use in a CTF game. The magazine also included screenshots of three different multiplayer maps: High Ground, Valhalla, and Snowbound as well as the revelation of two new weapons. The Spiker is the new weapon of choice for the Brutes, as well as the Spike Grenade, and Spartans get a new "anti-vehicular" laser gun. [14]

Confirmed elements

This section briefly lists elements of Halo 3 that are confirmed for inclusion, and specifically those returning from the other titles in the Halo series.

Characters

• Master Chief
• Cortana
• Gravemind
• Commander Miranda Keyes
• Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson
• Gunnery Sergeant Pete Stacker

Enemies

• Covenant
  • Covenant Grunts (Unggoy)
  • Covenant Elites (Sangheili)
  • Covenant Hunters (Lekgolo)
  • Covenant Jackals (Kig-Yar)
  • Covenant Brutes (Jiralhanae)
  • Unknown enemy, "something larger than a Grunt"

Allies

• UNSC Marine Corps
  • UNSC Marine Infantryman
  • UNSC Marine Dropship Pilot

Vehicles

• Human Vehicles
  • M12 LRV Warthog
  • D77-TC Pelican Dropship
  • D77-GS Pelican Gunship
  • Mongoose ATV
• Covenant Vehicles
  • Banshee
  • Ghost
  • Brute Ghost
  • Phantom
  • Capital Ship

Weapons

• Human Weapons
  • BR55 Battle Rifle [15]
  • MA5B Assault Rifle {modified from the original}[16]
  • M90 Shotgun [17]
  • M41 SSR MAV/AW Rocket Launcher [18]
  • M7/Caseless Sub-Machine Gun [19]
  • SRS99C S2-AM Sniper Rifle [20]
  • M9 HE-DP Fragmentation Grenade [21]
  • Galileian/"Spartan Laser"- Anti-Vehicle Weapon [22]
• Covenant Weapons
  • Particle Beam Rifle (modified from the original) [23]
  • Covenant Carbine (Hinted at being upgraded) [24]
  • Plasma Grenade [25]
  • Brute Spiker [26]
  • Brute Spike Grenade [27]
  • Needler {possibly modified}

Locations

• Earth, Sol System
  • Kenya, East African Protectorate
    • New Mombasa and Old Mombasa
    • The Forerunner Structure
    • Mt. Kilimanjaro

Other confirmed facts

• Bungie has confirmed the following basic plot points as revealed through the teaser trailer: Master Chief is back on a thoroughly conquered and Covenant controlled Earth. Cortana is still a prisoner of Gravemind. Finally, the Covenant ships are hovering over an excavation site only a few miles from New Mombasa.
• Bungie has confirmed via their Weekly Update that multiplayer as well as single-player testing are currently in progress for the title, in varying stages of completion.
• Bungie revealed that the game would have a new "materials system" so advanced that "you could see light reflect off the ground and onto his armor", which will be able to "[show] the difference between his armor and the rubber undersuit". The site also includes that "It's so detailed that if you bring the camera close to the Master Chief's visor, you see everything in front of him reflected in it, right down to the ammo counter in his rifle". In addition, there would be new advanced texturing to reflect permanent, persistent damage.
• With the release of the trailer Bungie has declared publicly that Gravemind, who originally appeared midway through Halo 2, is an intelligence of Flood origin.
• Bungie has also stated that the rising structure seen in the trailer should be familiar to Halo fans. To that end, seven pairs of tower structures ringing the dome call to mind the Rampancy logo. In addition, speculation suggests that it might also be the mysterious "Ark" mentioned at the end of Halo 2. Additionally, there is a piece of concept art that will soon be available at the Bungie store that is provisionally entitled "Ark Storm". It seems to be set in the same place as the Halo 3 trailer suggesting that the structure is in fact the Ark.
• Halo 3 but not the Halo movie will be released in 2007. "The two will not affect each other in terms of release dates." And while Universal Studios and Fox Film have pulled their support of the movie, Microsoft has stated it intends to continue with the production of the film.[28]
• Although Halo 3 was planned to end the Halo series, future Halo games haven't been entirely ruled out. On the Halo 3 FAQ from the official Bungie website it says, "Q: Is this the last ever Halo game? A: It is the conclusion to this story arc." This refers to the two announced games in the Halo universe, including the new Halo Wars by Ensemble Studios.
• A quote from the end of the short film released by Bungie about the making of Halo 3 trailer: “You won’t just finish one fight, you will finish all of the fights that you started in Halo 1."
• Bungie has also stated that they have redesigned the UI (user interface) from Halo 2 apparently making it easier to generate a custom game in Halo 3 multiplayer.
• Bungie has stated that there will be "a map location that will look familiar, but not identical, to an old favorite."
• The boarding of enemy vehicles will still be available, and the NPC driving AI will be greatly improved.
• The secondary weapon is shown to possibly be stored on the character's back or leg, depending on the weapon's size.
• There will be a map similar to Blood Gulch/Coagulation called Valhalla. [29]
• "Halo 3 will contain more plot twists than any other game in the series"-Jaime Griesemer
• On Gears of War being competition: "We've played lots and lots of multiplayer and some singleplayer, and yeah, it's really good. But it's also quite a bit different from what we're doing. I realize that a lot of people are concerned that Halo 3 and GoW are going to compete for the same audience, but I think that when people get to play, they'll realize how different the games are. Gears is a much slower game where stragegy and cover plays a bigger part."-Jaime Griesemer
• On graphics: "A lot is still missing in this build. Weather- and water effects are missing, and most of our HDR isn't in there yet. We're still at alpha stage, but when everything is in place, Halo 3 will be the best X360 has to offer...We definitely have another strategy than Epic Games when it comes to graphics. We'll never engulf our game environments in lots of details like that. GoW looks fantastic, but we want to avoid compromising Halo's unique visual style. That's why we're making a clean, sharp game as opposed to one with insane amount of details...There are many ways to convey emotion. Graphics is not the most important one."-Brian Jarrard
• On multiplayer and bots: Bungie's Jaime Griesemer has stated that "A lot of people ask us about bots. They would be a lot worse at abstract thought AI like 'I have to defend my flag' and so forth. In short, to create bots for Halo would be an immense undertaking, and we rather put that time into making new levels, weapons and netcode."
• Lack of "bots" ( which are essentially computer-controlled players used to fill numbers in solo deathmatches ) was among the first officially-confirmed details, and caused some consternation among fans, with worries that the game will not cater to single-player deathmatch scenarios.
• The game will feature the ability to record and send video clips via Xbox Live at any time, making Halo machinima even easier for users.[30]
• Three versions were announced: Standard ($59.99), Collector's ($69.99) (contents still unannounced), and a special "Legendary" 4-disc edition ($99.99) featuring the game, a MJOLNIR Mark VI Helmet Replica, documentaries and developer comments, spotlights on spin-offs; and all Halo cutscenes (1 – 3) including deleted scenes as well as spin-off material such as Red Vs. Blue and This Spartan Life, and an added preview of the Halo movie.[31]. Electronics Boutique/Gamestop began preorders on November 1, 2006, with a preliminary, unconfirmed release date of November 1, 2007.

External links

• Halo 3 Official Site
• Halo 3 Revealed! on Xbox.com
• Halo 3 Story on IGN
• Image Press Kit (Direct download link - 102 MB - Zipfile)
• Halo 3 article at Halopedia
• Halo 3 at Xbox.com

Videos

• Halo 3 Outline on Gamespot (Included with small trailer)
• High Resolution E3 Trailer on Bungie (Direct download link - 98 MB - Windows Media)
• High Resolution Behind The Scenes on Bungie (Direct download link - 383 MB - Windows Media)
• Halo 3 Flash Trailer (Fast Load - Good Quality)
• Halo 3 Documentary Bungie.net in-depth documentary of the E3 2006 teaser trailer.