Halo 2 was told anything and everything: that was a successful disruptive; that marked indelibly the online game on consoles; that was one of the most beloved games of last generation of hardware; It had a single player campaign a bit slow and with a final for some disappointing. The day after tomorrow out worldwide Halo 3, the third chapter of the saga and, having widely played and finished the campaign, we are getting ready to tell you about the impressions from single player and cooperative mode, one of the flowers the Crown of this chapter. Pending their gutted properly all aspects of multiplayer and online.
The end of the trip.
With Halo 3 return the canonical four difficulty levels to choose from before launching with Master Chief and the Arbyter to the hunting of the prophets, of the article (or, more correctly alienofatto) that they are looking into full Africa and, of course, Cortana, inseparable companion of our virtual hero. The adventures of the “Boss” always change dramatically depending on whether you face at easy level, normal, heroic or Legendary, but this time even more, since Bungie, after criticism of the second episode, he gave a jolt to the campaign, making it Compact, rich in different locations, almost entirely without backtracking, but shorter. On normal difficulty it takes less than ten hours to make this journey which leads to closure the epic of the Flood and the Covenant, with a crescendo of situations and some epic moments, of which we do not have the heart to mention anything, but we’re sure they’ll the joy of any Halo fans, but also of those who for the first time you dive into this universe. As in other occasions, however, for heroic and Legendary that the AI of the Brute and Grunt becomes treacherous, perfidious, making almost useless the simple hand grenades, since opponents knock down, do pirouettes and shelter just to avoid any damage, often succeeding. There are no obstacles or repair of any kind which may prevent him to come and hunt down and, once you are comfortable with the paraphernalia and the controls, the game manages to be exciting in many situations. Especially thanks to the possibilities offered by the new incarnation of the engine that throws up dozens of opponents simultaneously on screen.
The gameplay of Halo remained virtually unchanged compared to previous episodes, but some of the maps you really get the feeling that they are among the very best endeavors by Bungie, not to mention a precise balance between sections by foot, air and Board on wheels. Not to be underestimated, however, is the introduction of new weapons, including the gravitational hammer of Brute, already seen in the series, but only now can also be used in multiplayer, which knocks any object and adversary around the screen; or the new guns really lethal blade Spiker, mainly mounted under the barrel which makes them perfect in Melee when dry remains of ammunition. Works even the inclusion of accessories such as bubble-shaped energy shield, creating an area where you cannot be impressed by any bullet or bomb, forcing the Brute to go into combat, or the regenerator of energy that creates a zone where anyone see restores the defense shield. Work because even the Brute can use them with equal effectiveness, managing to create ever-changing situations. Equally intelligent, unfortunately, cannot be said the marines allies of Master Chief, wholly irrelevant to the battlefield and disastrous to the media guide, compelling the player to take control of them first-person. Unless you want to find in circles at the mercy of Wraith or Ghost shots in pursuit. Luckily we think the Covenant Elite and Arbyter to balance the situation, especially in the final stages of the game.
Cooperative, multipliers and skulls!
The most striking of the Halo 3 is the introduction of four-player cooperative mode in split screen, system link and Xbox Live. If only this can guarantee a nice boost to longevity, but if that isn’t enough Bungie took her with one of those touches that leave their mark. The options you can unlock activation of the score, which can be a team or free for all. For each kill, for each enemy shot down during any level, any player who participates in the game receives points, which determine a total that ends in a ranking, team, or individual (each death, however, leads to a 25 penalty points). The points made are then increased by a range of multipliers, one of which, for example, is inversely proportional to the time it takes to complete a level. Once activated the timer appears on the lower right Campaign marking the minutes have elapsed since the beginning of the stage and its multiplier that starts from 3 to drop to 0, passed a precise limit. But the real find is littered with skulls for internships ranging found and collected as if they were weapons. Each of these gives you the possibility to activate penalty by a special menu, like the disappearance of the viewfinder, for example, to all participants in the game in co op, or doubling the penalties for each death. The greater the number of skulls/malus activated, the greater the multiplier for the score of the individual or the team, who will be encouraged to test their skills to unlock achievements requiring for each level to achieve at least 15000 points . Given that a player accumulates usually between 2000 and 3000 points, multipliers of skulls become necessary to bridge the gap between 8000 and 12000, which can be obtained normally by a whole team, and those necessary to achieve the objective. Among other things the skulls are not easy to find, given the size of the maps, and to find them all it will take patience and time. Here too, there are different objectives as further gratification for gamers. Of course, as long as you have friends to take home or a subscription to Xbox Live.
Halo light
This will undoubtedly be the Halo 3 that will do more to discuss. The first two levels perplexing, because, apart from the HDR, the excellent lighting system and the water ripples and even breaking into small waves when the current is interrupted by any solid body, there are some elements that do not are convincing. Major players in the scene, in fact, are the soldiers and the cramped conditions of a forest (although lovely) and an underground base recovered as strong. The character models are tiny, even in the cut scenes, and the underground base is littered with trucks and hoists that can’t help but bring up their noses for the few polygons they are made of. Going forward, though, the maps are opened, the number of enemies increases exponentially and with them the lights and explosions that fill the screen with almost never slow down. Some fights are definitely, especially those with the Scarab, huge means in Halo 2 and it appeared that animals here are tamed and destroyed, cut short by clumping over while they continue to walk, Joggle the Visual and the Brute who guide them. We witnessed scenes CLT with a Ghost splashed from a hillside and planting himself in the belly of the Scarab, while we were just hopped trying to eliminate the guards, and all around a good number of marines there supported aboard Moongose and Halo warthog, motorcycles and jeeps. Given the frenzy and speed, only the replay options you can really understand all that he can do the Halo 3 engine in an explosion and another, but be assured that the game Bungie is able to hit with several shots settle properly. To note, unfortunately, the aliasing that appears in some scenes and that if mainly in VGA fades almost completely in Component is rather obvious, at least on the Panel we tested.
Halo soundtrack you could spend many words here but suffice it to say that confirms one of the best ever and that can scan play times, vehemently when needed, or the most touching scenes with melancholy. Always in the context of a science fiction block buster like Halo, obviously.
All the movies
One of the slogans that accompanied the launch of Halo 3 was definitely the now well-known “with love, Bungie” and the result of this can only be the photos and movies that can be derived from any match will face with Master Chief and Arbyter, both in campaign and multiplayer. After years of Halo 2, the only thing that remained in the hands of the fans were more hectic match statistics and memories. But now, thousands of pictures, in many cases much more beautiful than those issued officially by Bungie, are canvassing the forum communities around the world. After each session, the replays are left in memory of the console in the form of movies that can be reviewed at any time online together with other friends like a virtual cinema. During the viewing, which can be accelerated and stop at will by a special menu (rewind, however, is a bit more cumbersome), you can take screenshots that are immediately passed on player profile www.bungie.net website, from here downloaded on PC and disseminated on the internet thanks to image hosting sites (or on Xbox 360). During replay you can detach from Master Chief and roam freely with the camera to the levels, which are all held in memory, allowing then to resume glimpses, sometimes really suggestive, from any angle and point of view. A headshot that resulted in an online game or a feat that has stunned friends and opponents are no longer rely on delusional tales, but in pictures to share and vote in what is a small revolution in the world of consoles and TRA. TER the emotions of those who play on the net.
All the movies
Shaking up ideas
He spoke at length before the launch of the game and now that opened the forge, it is clear that in order to understand the exact contours will need months. Bungie has included among the online mode of Halo 3 a real-time map editor, where each player can, at any time, turn into a metal ball and fly around by changing gameplay elements. By means available, from respawn points, up to the speakers and to arms, with a limit of item that can be manipulated; anyone of the participants can be fall in front of a Ghost, for example, get back on the field and use it at will. Or at least until another player intervenes levandoglielo downstairs or carrying it around then do it plunging to the ground with hilarious outcomes.
This is the basis of the forge, which, however, also create offline maps and share them with other users, reaching even to change the energy shield recharge capacity, the length of the jump of the players or the visibility on radar the Spartans and Covenant. It’s even conceivable just a configuration in which the host needs the ability to intervene on the editor, while other players battling it divided into two separate teams. As a kind of role playing Game Master, who tries his hand in setting the rules of a God Game disguised as fps.
What is puzzling, however, is that you cannot start the matchmaking in this mode, which can be played only with friends and players recently met about Halo. It then becomes difficult to convince others to try the possibilities that undoubtedly has and, for sure, it would have been easier for the more daring return to the fray after trying the thrill of the forge with players met casually around the NET, learning tricks and secrets that would spread like wildfire. In doing so, it will take much longer before the players take confidence.
And this probably will happen only after the 11 maps available for classic mode will have been picked clean and digested, dressed as a gameplay which makes you feel immediately at home. Apart from the introduction of the gadgets, which we have already spoken, and minor adjustments, the Halo multiplayer has remained largely unchanged. There is a much stronger emphasis on melee fights, far more crucial than before, and a clear sympathy for the smaller maps and fast with a quote more or less evident to what made from Gears of War in the past year. There are several clans, and matches can be addressed by groups of up to 4 players, leaving only 16 groups custom games and friends. It is obvious what, the guys at Bungie, Halo, with the ideal frenetic matches and continues up to the excesses of the matches with teams from 2 that are transformed into real psychological wars in the long run. New real are relegated to the new media, like the immense wagons on which one can climb the desert map or the brute chopper. Not to mention the new weapons, like the flamethrower, which thanks to the surprising use of HDR and light sources can give a satisfaction of real power. No real news in the substance. For some it will be a problem for most would be a crime to the contrary.
