Halo Reach

[Isildur´s Heir]

There is no "official" thread for this one, so, here it is.
And what better way to start if not with this:

The first in-game footage of Halo Reach will be shown at this year’s Video Game Awards. Geoff Keighley, one of the few people who got a chance to see the trailer before the debut, was very excited by what he saw. He made the following statement on the latest Major Nelson podcast:

At the VGAs, we actually go down on to the Planet Reach and see this game for the first time. It’s all going to be in-game stuff. This is not CG. This is not live-action like all the kids on twitter are speculating. You will get a first glimpse at the world of Reach, which is phenomenal. I think it’s going to be the biggest game of next year by far. Folks love ODST and though it was great but when people see the huge leap forward Bungie is taking with Reach, I don’t know if you seen it yet, but everyone that I talked to that’s been on the team and seen it is incredibly excited about that time.

Not only does Keighley claims it is going to be the biggest game next year, he says it is going to be the best BY FAR.
And the world of Reach is PHENOMENAL.
Better than Final Fantasy XIII, Mass Effect 2, Splinter Cell: Convicton, God of War 3, Heavy Rain, Alan Wake, Crackdown 2....
And we are talking about Geoff Keighley, the man that does GT TV and The Bonus Round....he knows games, and he has seen them all.
How´s that for hype?

 

[KALEL114]

Wait Major Nelson's Podcast? As in the Xbox Live's Major Nelson? Do think that may have influenced his choice of words? Maybe just a little bit? Has he seen all the games you just mentioned to make that type of statement? Just playing Devil's advocate.

Anyways. On topic. If Reach meets the hype building up around it, unlike 3, it will be a day one buy for me. The screens I posted in the other thread, although a bit out of focus, looked like a big step up. Looking forward to seeing what they show at the VGA's.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Wait Major Nelson's Podcast? As in the Xbox Live's Major Nelson? Do think that may have influenced his choice of words? Maybe just a little bit? Has he seen all the games you just mentioned to make that type of statement? Just playing Devil's advocate.

Anyways. On topic. If Reach meets the hype building up around it, unlike 3, it will be a day one buy for me. The screens I posted in the other thread, although a bit out of focus, looked like a big step up. Looking forward to seeing what they show at the VGA's.

Well its a full blown Halo title. Do you think it wont top those games he mentioned? I mean look how well an expansion Halo title did. I mean if this is truly an advancement in the Halo saga, this title is going to be massive.

Im looking forward to this, but i need something thats not Halo 1 - 3 or ODST, im tired of that gameplay the same way im tired of the CoD gameplay.

 

[KALEL114]

Well its a full blown Halo title. Do you think it wont top those games he mentioned? I mean look how well an expansion Halo title did. I mean if this is truly an advancement in the Halo saga, this title is going to be massive.

Im looking forward to this, but i need something thats not Halo 1 - 3 or ODST, im tired of that gameplay the same way im tired of the CoD gameplay.

Are you talking sales? In sales it will be huge, FFXIII will out sell it WW though IMO. Like you said, how different will it be from the first 4 games? It's being hyped as being a huge leap forward. I hope it is, because 3 wasn't a big enough leap from 2 for me.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Are you talking sales? In sales it will be huge, FFXIII will out sell it WW though IMO. Like you said, how different will it be from the first 4 games? It's being hyped as being a huge leap forward. I hope it is, because 3 wasn't a big enough leap from 2 for me.

Sales, hype, everything. If Halo: Reach is the definitive next step in the Halo franchise id bet it could be one of the biggest titles ever. It's possible itll do Modern Warfare-esq numbers. In terms of quality i wouldn't doubt if it topped those games as well. Halo 1 - 3 were high quality games, regardless if some ppl think they were "overrated".

 

[Ipodman]

I wonder if a Bluray Xbox is in development

 

[ProjectPat2280]

I wonder if a Bluray Xbox is in development

Um the answer to that is no. Also, what does that have to do with Halo: Reach exactly?

 

[KALEL114]

Sales, hype, everything. If Halo: Reach is the definitive next step in the Halo franchise id bet it will be one of the biggest titles ever. It's possible itll do Modern Warfare-esq numbers. In terms of quality i wouldn't doubt if it topped those games as well. Halo 1 - 3 were high quality games, regardless if some ppl think they were "overrated".

It will be huge, but don't underestimate the strength of a FF title especially since it is multi-plat now. I enjoyed Halo 1-3 and they did have a good level of quality to them, but they weren't perfect by any means. A lot of people out there will say otherwise. It's all subjective.

As Reach goes, what changes would you like to see that would separate it from the others in the series?

 

[ProjectPat2280]

It will be huge, but don't underestimate the strength of a FF title especially since it is multi-plat now. I enjoyed Halo 1-3 and they did have a good level of quality to them, but they weren't perfect by any means. A lot of people out there will say otherwise. It's all subjective.

As Reach goes, what changes would you like to see that would separate it from the others in the series?

And id say back to you dont underestimate the name Halo.

I agree with you tho, i mean i enjoy the Halo titles and i understand why they get the critical acclaim they do, but they are far from some of my favorite titles.

As for what id like to see in Reach? Well i think Halo needs a new graphics engine. With titles like Uncharted, Mass Effect, Killzone and Call of Duty, Halo needs to reestablish itself as a visual powerhouse. As for the gameplay, i know its Halo and all, but id like a much less run n gun style gameplay. Id like to see some really epic battles. Huge battlefields of Covenant and Marine forces. Id like to feel like im part of a war.

 

[Soapy]

For me, above all else, I would love to see Reach get away from that "empty an entire mag into a dude and he's still alive" BS style of gameplay*. But I'm not holding my breath. That's pretty much what Halo is and anything too different might alienate a huge portion of Halo's fanbase.

Having said that, I'm pretty excited to check out the trailer.

*Before anyone gets their panties in a twist; I'm not saying that style of shooter is bad, it's just not my cup of tea.

 

[Ipodman]

Um the answer to that is no. Also, what does that have to do with Halo: Reach exactly?

If theres a BD XBOX, i would have to buy a new Xbox to play Halo Reach

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

If theres a BD XBOX, i would have to buy a new Xbox to play Halo Reach

If there is a BD XBOX, it will be an add-on, so, you will not have to buy a new Xbox to play Halo Reach

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

Buck is on Halo Reach....or so it seems

G4: Have we seen the last of the ODSTs?

JS: I can’t comment on any future plans for our ODSTs. But it would be a shame if we made a game about the planet Reach -- a place where Buck, the ODST’s squad leader, was known to be -- and not have him appear in some way shape or form…

We all know that Buck is the second main character on the Halo universe after Master Chief, so, it´s cool.

 

[Coca Cola Duracell Franklin.]

If theres a BD XBOX, i would have to buy a new Xbox to play Halo Reach

There will never be a Blu Ray-only 360 game. It's extremely unlikely there will even be a Blu-Ray Xbox 360.

 

[Soapy]

I'm sure the Xbox 720 or whatever will have a Blu-ray player.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

Well, this is not really Halo Reach related, not directly anyway.

343 Industries has a new member, Sotaro Tojima, formerly of Kojima Productions and credited with Metal Gear Solid 4's sound direction, making it the second person to leave Kojima Production to the "Halo Team" after Ryan Payton, assistant producer on Metal Gear Solid 4.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

I hope Reach has a really engaging story.

 

[THE LIZARD#1]

I'm really pulling for Reach. I'm really hyped to see what the game looks like. I know Microsoft or Bungie made a statement a while back that Reach was going to have graphics that will possibly surpass Killzone 2. While I am skeptical...I'm hoping they somewhat meet their target.

If its anything like this I will be nothing short of floored.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmFRrfRgPkE

If I'm not mistaken, Bungie has yet to confirm if thats real or fake...I know they have been removing it from their website though.

Can’t wait for Saturday!

 

[daderade]

Im really excited for Reach, possibly more than even Mass Effect 2! I do have 1 thing to note though....before Sony fanboys start hollering "teh grafiks suxx" ....BUNGIE never said it was going to look better than Killzone 2. I hope it looks phenomenal, but im more psyched about it being an evolution of the series. Im sure it will look fantastic, and maybe it will be the graphical milestone of the generation. But dont flog Bungie for something they NEVER said.

 

[daderade]

...just to note, I never said anyone on here WAS flogging Bungie, but im sure, no matter how it looks....Saturday the fun-sucking-trolls will come out in droves.

 

[Coca Cola Duracell Franklin.]

I know Microsoft or Bungie made a statement a while back that Reach was going to have graphics that will possibly surpass Killzone 2.

Source?

 

[THE LIZARD#1]

I've been looking for it on N4G.com.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

I don´t think Bungie ever said that it is going to have graphics that will possibly surpass Killzone 2, but, the logic states that they are going to try to (if they actually achieve or not, that´s something to be seen).
What an Ex-Bungie developer, Christian Allen, said was...

"Oh yeah, Killzone 2 could totally be done on 360 if Guerrilla wanted to. The tech is there, if the team and the publishers were motivated, they could do it, just like Halo could come to PS3 if MS didn’t own it. It really comes down to console exclusivity. The tech differences between the PS3 and the 360 aren’t all that much; it’s really about the delivery of content."

And it does make sense...sort of, as the 360 has a better GPU, but the PS3 has a better CPU...and blu-ray (which, imo, it´s the big diference).

But there are several reasons why they can actually pull it off, and have Halo Reach up there with Crysis.
1- The logic angle: Microsoft will want to show that they can make PS3 like graphics, that they can make better games than Killzone 2 and Uncharted 2. They will want to show that the 360 is as good as the PS3 when it comes to raw power. And what better way than their flagship, Halo.
2- Already known fact: In March 09, Microsoft released an entirely new Xbox 360 development kit, with hardware containing twice as much memory as the original. The additional RAM will enable developers to run videogame assets along side debugging and optimisation tools. This new kit will be available alongside the older version and is intended for triple-A game development.
3- Already known fact(2): Microsoft has dropped the requirement put in place that demands developers' games made for the 360 feature 1280x720. It´s up to the developers to focus on what they think it´s important. Developers can make their own choices now and decide if they want to use a different resolution to get better image quality.
4- Already know fact(3): Microsoft and Bungie are making a new engine for Halo Reach
5- The rumor angle: Starting next year, all games are going to be optimized for installation, in the likes on the PC
6- The rumor angle(2): Microsoft has been working on a new internal Xbox 360 engine, which has been nick-named the X-Engine
7 - The rumor angle(3): 2010 is going to be the reborn of the 360. Not only Natal, but a huge upgrade, making it better than the PS3 and PC. There was the rumor that they would release an updated console with Natal (not a new generation, but in the likes of what portables do). That was debunked. Now, the rumor is that Natal will have an inside GPU, CPU, RAM and Flash Memory of 16Gb, making the 360 better than any gaming platform out there.

I know if this is true or not, but if the clip THE LIZRD #1 posts is accurated, i guess it is...

 

[THE LIZARD#1]

While it’s not the story I am looking for...here are a couple of interesting stories.

http://shabz666.wordpress.com/2009/07/16/aaron-greenberg-on-halo-reach/

There Araon Greenberg says "Wait until you see Halo: Reach." Now He has not confirmed nor denied that Halo: Reach will look graphically exceptional but I'm thinking the way it’s implied they are going to have a KZ2 game on their hands.

http://www.gameguru.in/first-person-shooters/2009/16/halo-reach-aaa-engine/

Talks about new A.I./the new Halo engine.

Then a little bit about the new engine and some other things.

http://www.skoar.com/features/games...-engine-legends-explores-reach.html?Itemid=48

I'm pretty sure it was Microsoft who made the statement that Halo: Reach is going to meet/surpass Killzone 2 in terms of visuals. Bungie never comes off that arrogant. I'll keep looking for the article.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Maybe its just MS saying that Halo: Reach wont be using the same graphics engine that Halo 3 used? Killzone visuals can be done on the 360, so its not that far fetched to think that Reach could look that good. My thing is, Bungie has never done that, visuals have never been something they really pushed so im not sure they'll start here.