Halo 3 Hands On - Background
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Before the beta version hit the public, Bungie and Microsoft has publicly released the game packaging and prices. The Standard Edition will have just the normal game, and will go for $59.99. The next up is the Limited Edition which will be similar to the Halo 2 Limited Edition. It will have the game, a metal case and a "making of..." DVD. The Top edition will be called the Legendary Edition, at a nice $129.99. This gets you everything: the game, "making of..." DVD, the guide, another exclusive disc and the collectible game case.
We know some information that has been released through interviews and press statements. Halo 3 will be the last of the Halo series. There is however another Halo game coming out. It will not be a first person shooter; it will be a role playing game (RPG) called Halo Wars. There may also be a Halo movie, but that may or may not have been scrapped by now.
Filming
There will be a new feature in Halo 3 that allows you to save the "Film" of the game you just played. This way you can share your killing spree or award winning sniper skills with your friends. This is a new feature for the series. It doesn't add anything to the game play, but it does allow for some bragging. In the beta version I played it was only filmed in first person perspective, but the final version should allow total camera control. After the game you have the option of saving the film and uploading it to share with friends. The total amount of space you will have is not decided yet by Bungie but we were given 25 MB in the beta, so look for somewhere around there.
Graphics
Bungie hasn't been slacking in the development of this game by any means. I wasn't very impressed at the graphics transition from Halo to Halo 2. I didn't think they were that great, but they were still for the original Xbox. Now with Halo 3, and the Xbox 360, Bungie has put together a work of art. There is a lot more attention to detail. It looks like it deserves the title name Halo 3.
Even though this is still a beta version and therefore has many more months of debugging and polishing ahead, the three maps I played felt like they were ready for the market; I didn't see anything that needs special attention. Seeing that this beta release was scheduled, I'm sure that these three maps are a lot more polished then the rest of the game. If the rest of the game comes out looking as good as these three maps did, this game will surpass Halo and Halo 2 in sales and be a blockbuster game that is exclusively on the Xbox 360.
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