If there is any video game that has made a huge impact on my life,then its none other than the Halo franchise , ever since beating Halo 2 , i ve been waiting to Finish The Fight . and now that Halo 3 has finally gone gold , i am super excited for The Most Antcipated Game of my life.
Halo 3 is such a phenomenon not just in the gaming Industry, but in the entire industry that all the major Industry punters are watching this game.It made history in the entertainment Industry, by changing the way the entertainment industry as a whole looked at the gaming industry , raking in more than 125 million $ in sales on its first day for Halo 2. Now it is the fastest selling pre-ordered game 
, it has already raked in more than a million pre-orders . Halo's news is so closely watched by gamers, that the very mention of Halo's news on GS makes GS servers begging for more bandwidth. Every major site is having a Master Chief icon in it'shome page.
Usually Gamespot makes a launch center for a game usually within a week or so of the games release, but for Halo it's preparing the launch center , earlier than a month to the Game's release.This alone speaks volumes of the expectations this game has raised.Halo is also trounced as a phenomenon close to Star Wars, and it has reached this higher echelon of entertainment standards in less than a decade. This game has made its imprint into every gamers mind .In all due respect to the games legacy, to the high expectation or not, time will tell.
The Charachters
Spartan 117 - Master Chief .
A tenacious, driven soldier, known primarily by his rank, the Master Chief is the last of the Spartan II soldiers. An elite group of genetically superior, highly trained super-soldiers, Spartans stand nearly seven feet tall, and in Mark VI Mjolnir powered assault armor, weigh almost 1000 pounds.
Spartan 117 is expert in all weapon and combat systems, can run faster, jump higher and hit harder than any normal human. He is the perfect weapon, honed by years of battlefield experience and has an unparalleled natural talent for war. He is our last and best hope.
The Arbiter .
The disgraced Commander of the Covenant Fleet of Particular Justice was stripped of his rank and privilege and forced to don the ancient Armor of The Arbiter - a traditional Elite custom, where a warrior is sent on a final suicide mission to reclaim lost honor in death.
In the pursuit of this mission, the Arbiter discovered that the Covenant's Great Journey was a lie, and he subsequently led a rebellion - a civil war that has shaken the foundations of the Covenant. The Arbiter's people, the Elites, have joined humanity's struggle against the rest of the Covenant. It is a strange and strained alliance.
Cortana .
The UNSC's most sophisticated AI, Cortana is the onetime shipboard intelligence of the Halcyon-cruiser, The Pillar of Autumn. Cortana, like most UNSC artificial intelligences, represents herself in holographic form when communing with her human colleagues.
After helping destroy the first Halo by downloading herself into the Master Chief's armor, she formed a closer bond with him - but was wrenched apart by events on the second Halo. Cortana is the only link to the incredible secret of Halo - and if she cannot be saved, the Galaxy will fall with her.
The Prophet of Truth .
The deluded and possibly insane leader of the entire Covenant civilization, this demented pontiff is leading his civilization down a suicidal path. He intends to activate the Halo array at any and all costs, and is happy to sacrifice his culture to do so, secure in his knowledge that he and his immediate cronies will be safe.
The Prophet believes that he can follow the Forerunners to their mysterious final destination, and there, share their ancient and unlimited power.
Sgt Major Avery Johnson.
The battle-hardened Sergeant is the longtime cohort of the Master Chief. He's an excellent soldier and unmatched marksman who's seen more than his fair share of combat, and internal UNSC military intrigue.
No other human knows the Master Chief as well as this capable and brilliant marine. Sgt. Johnson is that most singular of soldiers - a professional who's never more at home than in the thick of battle, and a loyal, fearless warrior who will do anything for his men, and his homeworld.
Commander Miranda Keyes .
The daughter of the late Captain Jacob Keyes, Miranda Keyes now finds herself the Commander of Earth's tattered, broken ground forces. The Commander proved her worth and her mettle by following, and then helping assassinate the Prophet of Regret at the second Halo.
Now, effectively leading a guerilla army against the marauding Covenant occupation force, Miranda must pull together a fighting unit with the weaponry, personnel and supplies that survived the devastation of the Covenant invasion. Unlike most shooters, the enemies in won't just sit around waiting to be killed. If you walk around a corner you may come upon some enemies who are doing something completely unrelated to fighting. Maybe the Brutes will be communicating with each other, or other members of the Covenant. Maybe they will be playing with, or taking notice to a dead marine or Covenant corpse.
Each individual character is also much more detailed and realistic in the way they approach a combat situation, they are also more intellectual in the way they function during combat. Brutes are brutal, they typify that aggressive and mean invader. This aggression is seen in how they act, how they behave towards other characters, and how they act in a combat situation. In combat if a Brute is going to punch the face of a marine, then that will be embellished, the Brute won't just punch the Marines face, he will punch the entire jaw off. Brutes will punch straight through their enemies.
Environments
Levels in Halo 3 are immensely larger then any of the previous locations in either game, outdoor environments such as jungles with draping canopies, scorching desserts, and snow covered plains just to name a few. Even indoors the size of the areas still dwarfs what was seen in Halo 2. A location that would have been large previously is now little more then medium.
Outdoors environments will usually have a draw distance of up and around 16km (10 miles), all with added particles to simulate pollution, weather, smoke and other "normal" atmospheric occurrences. Bungie calls this a subtle effect, but says that in a vast landscape it adds spectacular depth of realism to a scene.
The last, and possibly most interesting piece of information about the environments is that they are alive. Much like the dogfights out in the distance, there will also be birds in flocking patterns flying around in the distances. These birds are also detailed, if you are lucky or skillful enough to shoot down one of these birds "think...miles"then you will be able to walk over to them and look at them, and just like the mountains in the distance, the birds are detailed. Then there are the fish, who will be swimming through the streams, rivers, and lakes of Halo 3. They also can be shot and killed. If they are killed then they will bleed, turn the water red, turn belly up, and float away.
E3 07 trailer capture
Graphics
The armor's visor reflects light in real time and everything that is happening in front and around you is reflected. The reflection is so detailed that everything from dynamic lighting through tree canopies in the jungles of Sierra 117 to the ammo read out on the back of certain weapons will be visible off the visor.
Possibly more interesting is that the armor will even collect damage over the course of the campaign. If you go into a battle and take a lot of damage, then that damage will stay with you so that by the end of a series of encounters the Chief's armor will reflect what he has been through.
Each location in Halo 3 also has unique graphical touches,when the player is in a desert environment - like the one seen in the E3 06 trailer - inferior mirages will appear near hills and the edges of sight, dust will be blown around, and even the heat from the sun will be visible. In the forests of Sierra 117, and others, there is visible humidity, dynamic lighting through the canopy(god rays), destructible vegetation, and flora that responds to movement (whether that movement is the player, an ally, an enemy, gunfire or explosions).
Gameplay
Gameplay and combat is completely evolved (no pun intended) from either of the previous titles. Players will find themselves in more to encounters were they will have to plan out how they will execute the situation. An encounter may appear normal at first, it is anything but: "You can see a group of Covenant in the distance, and head down to fight them. You could toss a grenade to get the party started - but here's a hint. Between you and them and the tumble of rocks and scree between you, a Phantom is going to drop off four Grunts and a Brute Chieftain. The Phantom itself is going to start laying down fire on you."
"Frank, I can't believe I am actually enjoying this encounter more than anything I ever played in Halo one or two!" - Joseph Staten, Bungie employee
The interplay and strategies created among the various Covenant foes and the fact that you have to plan for multiple encounters in one location adds much more depth of gameplay. There is also much more happening during a fight then anything seen before. A normal encounter isn't just two sides trying to kill the other; there will be fiery explosions, plasma fire coming from everywhere, aerial combat in the skies above. Covenant with turrets on the ground below,and rockets flying everywhere. The content of an encounter is just as intense as what will be happening around you during these fight. And big doesn't even begin to describe what is happening during some of the more intense fights. Fights are large, larger then anything seen previously. Often involving dozens of characters in breath taking environments fighting for their lives.
The "average" encounter size is below as described by Frank O'Connor. I should also mention that the below encounter is from Normal difficulty and more will appear on the harder difficulty settings:
- Scary Post Apocalyptic Environment: 1
- Phantoms: 3
- Grunts: 14
- Marines: 6
- Brutes: 8
- Jackals: 3
- Wraiths: 3
- Ghosts: 6
- Mongoose: 1
- Warthogs: 1
- New version of old favorite: 1
- Chief: 1
- Giant Bad Guy in distance: 1
- Frightening and Inexplicable Maelstrom: 1
- Ancient Forerunner Artifact: 1
The above battle is enormous in size and scale, the "Scary Post Apocalyptic Environment" will feature all the graphical touches Bungie has mentioned along with the enormous draw distance, there are 14 total vehicles, and 32 total characters (Both Covenant, Marine, and the Master Chief).
That also lists only the majority of the enemies, more are dropped off by Phantoms, and more appear from the far end of the map. Items were also deliberately left out because they have not yet been announced.
"Halo 3 encounters are more fun, more challenging, more varied and more enjoyable than those in Halo or Halo 2." - Frank O'Connor, Content Manager of bungie.net
E3 07 trailer capture
AI
AI behavior of both enemies and allies has been greatly enhanced for Halo 3, Marines' driving and gunning skills on the Warthog, Grunt flanking maneuvers in battle, and Brute "pack mentality" are the new and most exciting forms of Halo 3's AI. Bungie has said that they are working on online co-op, but the one reason that it has not yet been completed is because of the AI. It is that complicated.
The Brute Pack is the new AI designed specifically for the Brutes. Each group of Brutes will have a leader, either a Captain or Chieftain, who will keep his troops in formation, tell them were to fire, whether or not to throw grenades, and even tell Grunts to execute flanking maneuvers. It is unknown whether or not the Jackals, Drones and any other Covenant will be given orders similar to Grunts.
The world you will fight through is living and very volumetric, everything is real. Because of this the Covenant can, and will, take shelter in the environment. Such as the jungles of Sierra 117, if a group of Grunts is under heavy pressure, there leader has been killed, and they are out gunned, they will clime the trees and take shelter and when they feel safe enough they will attack from their elevated position. This isn't just limited to the Grunts, no, all Covenant will act this way. The Brutes are monkeys and will clime the trees. Jackal snipers will relocate themselves. And Drones just might swoop in on you and steal a Marine or two.
E3 07 trailer capture
Marine AI has also been improved, marines will now stick closer to each other and to the Chief. The newest aspect improves their predictive targeting while in vehicles. They will now shoot were they think the player is looking, with frightening accuracy as well. If you are in the middle of a fight and a Brute is giving you a hard time you can easily have the gunner target that Brute just by looking at him, and it doesn't matter if the Brute is in the middle of five or six Grunts, the AI gunner will know the difference and concentrate on the Brute. Marine behaviour is also more appropriate. In previous titles they used to scatter and dive out of the way if you drove a Warthog or other multiple occupant vehicle close to them. Now they're far smarter about knowing where you're aiming and how fast you're going, and will only dive at the last second if they sense real danger to their livelihood. They're also way faster and more logical about getting in and out of vehicles. It's almost as if they know there's a war going on....
Grunts are less cowardly as well. In Combat Evolved and Halo 2 if an Elite was killed before the Grunts that were following him those Grunts would run away screaming, now they will think more for themselves. They will even leave their superiors when they are given orders by Brutes to flank an enemy or position. However, Grunts are still aware that they can easily be killed so they won't stand one on one with the Chief. However, if a Grunt is unlucky enough to be caught off guard and alone, that lone Grunt can turn into a cornered Grunt.
Physics
The physics engine in Halo 3 has been completely revamped to accommodate for the new hardware. No longer will grass, trees, bushes, etc. just sit in a level and take up space. Foliage is completely interactive, reacting to bullets, explosions, players and NPCs.The vegetation also emits its own shadow and can be lit correctly, some flora can even be destroyed after receiving enough damage.
Halo 2 implemented a physic engine that created more unique death animations, but not nearly as deep as what is in Halo 3. If you played the beta then you have most likely experienced this. Movement, angle of impact, speed, direction and other factors effect your animations. Say you are moving forward and you are killed by a Carbine round to the head, due to your movement forward and the high velocity of the plasma around you will either fall straight back onto your back, or complete either half or full backflip depending on height and speed.
Everything in Halo 3 has an animation. If Brute is running towards you then you will see his weapon bobbing up and down, maybe armor shifting, and he will open and close his mouth when he gives an order or yells. Brutes will even laugh if another kills and plays with a Marine, along with any sign of superiority they show over humans. The same goes for everyone and everything. There are now civilians in Halo 3, if they run away from the Covenant they could loose there hats from the movement. Much more interesting though is how the bodies of Marines and civilians are affected by Covenant, Bungie has redone the melee system for the Covenant now allowing them, and believe me they will use it, to pick up and throw, kick,and break humans.
Audio
The sound is "a bit above and beyond" what has been has done in the two previous titles. As seen (or more likely heard) in the E3 announcement trailer, a real-life orchestra will be used to convey the emotion and feeling from the different parts of the game. The orchestra in the announcement trailer featured a 60-piece orchestra with a 24-piece choir.
There are more behaviours to accommodate for combat dialog, mostly because of the sheer number of characters on screen at once. Marines will be yelling over gunfire, Brutes will be shouting orders, Banshees, Phantoms, Hornets, and Pelicans will be roaring overhead, andGrunts will scream as they charge you. All of this affects the flavor of combat greatly and gives the game a much greater feel that you are actually in a war and not just another skirmish.
Marty O'Donnell has a new music layering system that makes music come in soft, blast in, fade gently away, and then have another piece of score blast in as the former piece dissipates. Music doesn't just start and stop, what you hear is influenced depending on the situation and were you are in the world.
http://www.gamersyde.com/stream_4117_en.html
Halo 3 is like a Big Achievement for me , its more like a lifetime achievement award :P, its something that i just cant describe, i am very emotional when its comes to the name Halo , and Halo 3 will be remebered by me throughout my life , playing such an awesome franchise is itself an honor for a hardcore gamer like me , hats off to bungie and ms for bringing The Awesomness known as Halo 3 :)
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Finish The Fight September 25
, thats right guys , i finally got my own copy of Bioshock :)
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