Halo 3 at E3, Microsoft to preview at news conference [update 1]

So I can download the Hi-Def trailer directly to my 360 right?

"I need a weapon... again."

For me the graphical eye candy they'll show will take a back seat to finding out exactly how the game will play out. I'll personally be disappointed if it's just a pretty Halo 2.

Does this really matter in a post-wii world?

Am I bothered?

"The next Halo is far from complete and won't be out until 2007."

Neither will the PS3.

Come on, you know someone HAD to say it.

How many times can Microsoft play the Halo card? They need something else big or the 360 will be in trouble this fall.

I have a 360, and have never understood the appeal of Halo. I don't want to flame here, I earnestly want to know what the attraction is. With all the quality FPS' available now, why does the gaming public sit on pins and needles for Halo?

/would like answer

Halo 2 has aged alot... but still kicks PDZ's ass!

With the excitement of Wii and PS3 to be unveiled at ps3 - who really gives a shit about Halo or anything to do with 360 for that matter...

Number 8 - I think a lot of the appeal for Halo lies within the story. I mean, it's a pretty rich sci-fi tale, with three lengthy novels out and another on the way. That's a big selling point for me.

Plus, and probably more importantly, it's just fun as hell to play. Sure, not everyone thinks so, but a substantial amount of people do.

With the excitement of Wii and PS3 to be unveiled at E3 - who really gives a shit about Halo or anything to do with 360 for that matter...

I'll be sitting with Mr. Rogers and Dr. Phil by my side. They'll help me handle any possible bad news.

http://soundspoof.com/index.php?cat=thebest

It's ok, Halo 2 was far from finished when it shipped. I'm sure the Halo fanboys won't mind if Halo 3 is also incomplete.

Because halo is an all around good game. the graphics are always good, the gameplay is solid, and the story is decent. but to answer you question pickypants, there are 2 reasons people love halo.
1.) Halo brought co-op gameplay back from the dead. Its fun to take on a game with your buddy and before halo it hadnt been done well on the xbox.
2.) MULTIPLAYER. why because bungie used the time tested method of K.I.S.S (keep it simple stupid) easy to pick up and play and yet took time to master. I know UT does a great multiplayer game but the learning curb is too high.

"I have a 360, and have never understood the appeal of Halo. I don't want to flame here, I earnestly want to know what the attraction is. With all the quality FPS' available now, why does the gaming public sit on pins and needles for Halo?"


multiplayer.

#8, Halo puts the camera onto a body with legs. The body reacts realistically. When you look left or right, at some point your body has to move in order for you to keep turning. It is one of the few games that if you look down you can see your legs. Most other FPSs just have a gun on the screen. It adds a greater sense of realism and the feel of movement to the game.

Start a multiplayer game by yourself and move one Spartan in front of the other. Move it around so you can see it. The walking, crouching, running are all different. If you pause long enough and your character looks at his gun, his body does it in the game. It's just f'ing sweet!

You are controlling an existing avatar in the game, not simple manipulating a view of a gun and a reticle.

Halo 3 is not going to be simply a "nice looking Halo 2". Are you crazy!?!?!

Oh yeah, and Gears of War will be incredible this fall. MS won't be in trouble once that hits.

PS, not a MS Fanboy, just love games. I can't wait for MGS4 either.

ozymandias. LMAO...it's learning curve, not curb.

Halo 2 on Xbox Live was nothing less than amazing! It was well balanced with Vehicles and gunplacements as well as the different weapons. The sword was awesome and there were some really great maps. Still today there isn't a FPS on Xbox Live that is as easy to get to the action as Halo2 with such a huge amount of options to choose from. It all just works an multiplayer is a heck of allot of fun.

Halo3 has the potential to be everything Halo2 could not be. Truly next gen graphics, much better AI and with all the lessons they learned with Halo 2 Xbox Live multiplayer...the online experience should be much more refined this time. For example...they have found that 6 on 6 team matches were allot of fun without all the lag of having much more players. So Bungie eliminated the Big Team battle for the much smoother and fun experience of 6 on 6 team matches.
This time around bungie could design maps accordingly to accomodate for these ideals that they had to find out the hard way with Halo2.

Halo 1 figured out the best controller scheme for FPS and has been mimicked by almost every FPS ever since.

There will also be a Halo movie coming...so yes...Halo is a very big deal... not just for MS but Gaming in general.

PS3 boys:

Ready...........
Set..............
Start mindless flaming!

Yeah, and I wonder if this two minute video only E3 teaser will be of footage that won't be part of the finished game, just like the first Halo 2 E3 teaser...

Halo is still my favourite FPS. I still hate Halo 2. I don't know how to feel about Halo 3.

They should have just named it "Halo Player" instead of 360. That's all Microsoft seems to care about. The system is capable of some great things, don't limit it to "alright" games while everyone is waiting for the next Halo to come around. Give us the great games now!

7. How many times can Microsoft play the Halo card? They need something else big or the 360 will be in trouble this fall.


Riiiiiiiiiiiiight, 'cause no one's looking forward to the next iteration of Metal Gear on the PS3. It's fine if you're not interested in any or all of the Halo franchise. Personally, I'm not interested in a lot of games out there, however, the huge success of these games means SOMEONE is interested in them and having fun playing them. Why is that a problem for people? I'm sorry if I'm misreading the tone of your response, it's pretty easy to do with this medium. I'm just a little tired of all the fanboyism. Why do fanboys of any ilk have a problem with people liking other systems?????? Again, I apologize if I'm misreading you.

One of the biggest compliments that Halo, and it's franzise earns is that it is hands down the best FPS , espcially online for it's time on the home console. No it does not stack up against pc FPS, but the xbox doesn't cost $2000 either. In fact, oddly enough, Halo made a crappy PC game, it's controls were to simple and it just didn't flow well. It has been a bench mark for console fps, however.

This comes from someone who actaully hates FPS. I have never enjoyed their play style, I am a 3rd person action/adventure or role-play type myself. But will still give credit where credit is due. Lan parties were condsidered a joke on a console years ago, then Halo came out and changed that. They deserve their credit.

BTW not a M$oft fanboy at all. i own all the last gen systems, and a lot of post last gen systems that I will still drag out an play every once in a while. But to say that Halo is a poor game is really a bias and not based on actual game play or fun factor.

While I know almost every Xbox/Halo fan is super excited about this, it's sad that a lot of my friends will only buy a 360 when the next Halo comes out even with all the other awesome games available or coming out this year (Oblivion, Gears of War, Too Human, etc, etc). But I guess that makes sense, because they have no other gaming tastes other than Halo. So sad.

After the let down that was Halo 2 (single player/co-op). Does anyone care. I am with Z. Doe this matter in a post Wii World. Lets talk about Metroid Prime 3.

"With the excitement of Wii and PS3 to be unveiled at ps3 - who really gives a shit about Halo or anything to do with 360 for that matter..."

People who like games? People who aren't a fan of just one or two systems? People who care to see what one of the biggest franchises in games is going to come up with next?

To #7: How about Gears of War? How about Too Human? How about Mass Effect? All 1st/3rd person shooters that are going to redefine the genre(s). New OXM arrived yesterday and the article on Gears is amazing. They compared the visuals of Too Human to the lush forestry of Oblivion. And think of it this way: Too Human is a, get this, Trilogy. Based somewhat on Norse mythology at that. It's got "gameplay that combines Devil May Cry with Diablo." (Loosely the quite; those are the games it was compared to, play wise.) I personally think it's going to be amazing. Go scour the web for trailers.

Also, "Alan Wake" and "The Darkness" will be damn good games as well. The Darkness (from OXM pictures) looks a-frickin-mazing...

Can't wait for the trailer. I hope it doesn't take Bungie 2 years to finally start working on a PC port for that game though. Can't stand console FPS's, using those sticks on a console game is really annoying. But currently in my mind, there is only 3 reasons to get an X360 - Gears of War, Halo, and Project Gotham.

Could we please stop referring to Halo as the only thing Xbox/360 have. It is fact that it is a moneymaker and the biggest franchise for Xbox, but that's also true from things like Zelda for nintendo and GTA for PS2. If you went to several random Xbox owners, it's not like Halo/2 would be the only game(s) on their shelves, well at least not for most. There are tons of great franchises, the only difference is they are younger than some of the Nintendo/Sony ones. I can list some such as NINJA GAIDEN, Forza Motorsport, it has been the best platform for the Tom Clancy series in the past few years, Jet Set Radio, Fable, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Project Gotham series, a good Half Life 2 port, a good Doom 3 port, Xbox got the GTA series, it also got MGS 2, the list goes on.

In any case, its all about value for your dollar. Last time around I think Xbox was the best value, considering an excellent Live system, a hard drive for caching, best graphics, and a solid game lineup. I won't say that is true this time, as Nintendo and Sony are also making very good cases, so time will tell. Point is, stop bashing Halo for being successful, if you don't like it, who cares. I for one don't care for the GTA games or Final Fantasy, doesn't make them bad games.

It's been said already but it's true: Halo is both easy to pick up and hard to master. Mix that with a rich backstory (even if it did lead to the stupid cliffhanger of Halo 2)and Bungie's ability to tweak multiplayer better than anyone and you have the juggernaut that is Halo. I personally haven't played FPSs since Doom 2 and Duke Nuke 'Em. Halo got me back into them.

Regarding E3: Why would they release this trailer at before E3 though? Why not wait till the LAST day and drop the bomb so that no one talks about anything but Halo when the show concludes? /my2cents

@ Tyler;I bought my original Xbox just to play
Halo: CE (I was
tired of losing to my brothers-in-law whenever I would visit). I now
own a 360 and 2 fps games, NFSMW and Oblivion (which is remarkable for me, as I had given up on RPG's years ago). In the next year, in addition to anything else that strikes my fancy, I will be buying Too Human, Mass Effect, Gears of War, Viva Pinata, Splinter Cell Double Agent and Test Drive Unlimited.Don't knock your friends for Halocentrism. Halo is the
Gatekeeper to a whole lot of gaming on the 360.

I didn't buy my 360 for Halo 3, I bought it for the many other games that are coming (see #24). Halo 3 will certainly be a bonus. Quite honestly I think Halo 2, has the best multiplayer of any game I have ever played. It's addicting, it's fun, it's well balanced, to me it's near flawless. Other people I'm sure will disagree, and you're entitled to your own opinions. But this constant flogging of the 360 by the PS3 and Wii, is rediculous. No one even knows what the final system specs are. I just don't understand it, can anyone please enlighten me?

I WANT NINJA GAIDEN 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

can't wait.

Once Halo comes out, I'll finally feel good about buying a 360.

Oh yeah and Blue Dragon is going to rule too.

In my opinion people who bash Halo and/or Halo 2 either

a. never played the game
b. dislike the FPS genre
c. didn't get a chance to play either on a LAN or Live with friends
d. can't adjust to using a analog controller
e. just aren't very good at Halo

I have to admit that the cheaters, "de-levelers", obnoxious and frequently offensive idiots (I'll usually just mute them) have contributed to me playing quite a bit less Halo 2 these days, I still have yet to find a game that is as exciting, balanced, well thought out as the multiplayer portion of these two titles.

The joys of meeting with your friends online (we have a clan of 80+ local area friends who all know each and have played together for years either Halo/Goldeneye/Unreal ect.) then procede to destroy little "timmies" and other opponents is priceless. We have weathered some tough losses but the good ones outweigh the bad.

I also have to admit Bungie, even though they haven't stopped cheaters, they have kept the playlists updated regularly since 11/04, added 9 new maps, and provide a foster a large online community of fans and since they took the leaderboards off bungie.net the cheating isn't as bad as it once was. And I now swear by the dual analog FPS control (can't stand mouse/keyboard especially on my laptops).

Before you call me a fanboy, I am the owner of a wide range of systems from Sony (PS,PSP), Nintendo (N64, DS) and Sega (MS,Genesis,DC) and I use both Mac & Windows based PC's in my office and at home.

My personal preference to the Halo series are based on my experiences online and offline, the rock solid gameplay, top notch audio/visual and great replayability I have enjoyed with both titles - not to mention bungie is not exactly a newcomer to the FPS scene, with their excellent Marathon titles (popular on the Mac platform) they have some deep roots in this genre.

And give me a break, Halo 2 sold how many copies during it's first week of sales. Saying Halo 3 is no big deal post Wii is childish, but typical of that systems user targeted demographic.

I'm all for listening to others differing opinions and I find the humor of joystiq and most of the commenters refreshing, but guys who just seem troll the comments to flame and rarely contribute anything positive and/or worthwhile are quite pathetic and lack credibility, I don't think many would consider them true gamers anyway.

And for the record this E3 is going to be one of the best ever, exciting news on every platform is expected (that includes Halo 3), and since there are 3 platforms competing for our wallets we will have the benefit of many different games across all the platforms we all can find entertainment in (at least the majority of us will). Thanks for listening.

Halo 3 will be amazing,including gears of war too human,etc...I forsee an amazing lineup of games from microsoft at e3.Oh yea killzone 2 take a hike your maker is on his way.

It's sad that so many people here have to make obvious they aren't so-and-so fanboys. I don't mean that as a dis, I do the same thing sometimes, and I just hate that the 'cool' thing to do now it seems is hate on others and call them a 'fanboy'.

Anywho, I thought Halo 2 single player was horrendous, but the multiplayer was fantastic - superbly well done. As a gamer, I don't see how you CAN'T be interested in a game like Halo 3, simply because of its scope. I don't even know if I'd buy it, but it's just cool to follow it and see what it does.

Oh and Steve, excellent post, though I disagree with some. Your list of why people wouldn't like Halo doesn't necessarily hold true. It's okay for people to not like games that are otherwise extremely popular/critically acclaimed! And your 'Wii demographic' comment is also kinda unfair :P Otherwise, good post, I enjoyed reading it.

THE PLAYSTATION FANBOYS AND THE XBOX FAN BOYS ARE ALOT LIKE THE REPULICAN PARTY AND DEMOCRATIC PARTY AT THIS POINT THERE BOTH THE SAME. HOPE HALO3 WILL BE GOOD GEARS OF WAR CAN KISS MY ASS THAT GAME IS A RIP OFF OF KILLSWITCH LIKE HARDCORE RIPOFF. AND IT DOESN'T LOOK ALL THAT GREAT IT'S THE FREAKING UNREAL ENGINE PEOPLE ALL THE GAMES LOOK LIKE THAT WITH THE NEW UNREAL ENGINE.

I'm looking forward to finishing the story. A BIG part of Halo is the story, I know that's why I'm hooked! So many gamers focus on graphics, gameplay and innovation until they forget a intriguing story is just as important. The online multiplayer aspect of Halo 2 is unmatched. If you play online you will never get rid of the game.

(I'll preface this by saying that I stood outside for a 360, and I love it.)

I don't like Halo's gameplay much, I don't find it innovative whatsoever, it's a very tried-and-true formula, but that doesn't mean it's bad. I also don't find anything spectacular in Halo's multiplayer. Hell, it's tiny(sub in 'intimate' if you'd like) and there's a convuluted mess of different game types(granted, only two are actually_played_).

However, I find Halo's storytelling and production value to be ASTRONOMICAL. I have never been so drawn in to the characters in a video game before. When Cortana stayed behind to talk to the giant Octopus, it (cheesy as it sounds) broke my heart. When the Breaking Benjamin song kicked in while you're on the Covenenat ship, it felt totally BADASS.

People might feel the story in H2 sucked ass. Maybe to someone who doesn't appreciate a continuous story arc. Think about what would happen if the Chief went down to Earth and killed the Covenant... So many loose strands would be cut right there. It's almost as if Hamlet had killed the King when the King was praying. It would have murdered the flow of the story/play.

That said, here's hoping that the trailer is downloadble in hi-def on XBL marketplace.

Yesss, The Halo 2 with better graphics is coming!!!

I can´t wait to play the same game again, but now in HD, wich makes the game totally new and awesome!!!

Battlefield, Metroid, Black, and Half-life are for losers!!!

I'm very, very happy with my 360. I'll buy Halo 3 because every Halo game has been *FUN*.

C´mon, does anybody that say that Halo is the best FPS actually played an FPS Multiplayer for the PC???

Almost any FPS in the PC looks better, plays better and is more fun to play, gun emplacements, cars and stuff that fly were on the PC way before the first Halo came out, stupid things like look down and see your legs(hahaha how lame is that!) even that we have on the PC, play Fear and Behold your own body!!!

Say that Halo is the best FPS really IS MSFT fanboyism, because you either didn´t try others or refuse to accept that there are better options.

It's time for a favorite activity of mine... punching holes in people's arguments!

"a. never played the game"
-- I've played through Halo 1 and Halo 2. And have played the multiplayer portions extensively.

"b. dislike the FPS genre"
-- First Person Shooters are my genre of choice. I have spent several hundreds of hours playing Counterstrike, Unreal Tournament, Quake, etc.

"c. didn't get a chance to play either on a LAN or Live with friends"
-- As stated above, I have played the multiplayer of both Halo 1 and Halo 2 extensively. I have around 50+ hours of multiplayer logged between the two games.

"d. can't adjust to using a analog controller"
-- Although it is inferior to the PC's Mouse and Keyboard combo, I have mastered the two analog stick combo system that is present in Halo.

"e. just aren't very good at Halo"
-- I'm almost always #1 or #2 when playing on a LAN; in the single-player campaign, I have beaten it on Hard mode. I'll never play it on Legendary because frustration never equals fun.


Halo 1 multiplayer was fantastic at first... but as soon as the 'wow' factor wears off, it boils down to who can find the sniper rifle or rocket launcher. That and the unbalanced pistol made the whole experience rather lackluster. There are really only 3 maps worth playing, but with the customization it added some replayability.

Halo 2 multiplayer was more of the same. I honestly did not feel that the multiplayer was any different than Halo 1 other than the overpowered melee weapon and new craptacular map design.

Halo 1 single player was fun in co-op, but after beating it once, there is no reason to return. The level design is some of the worst in any game I've played and the Flood are annoying as hell.

Halo 2 single player was fun until you get to about the half way point. The plot is non-sensical, the enemies are the same as the previous game, the weapons are the same, they even tacked on the Flood just to annoy me. The one thing it had going for it was very creative level design. But the ending was a joke, just as the game was ramping up to an epic finale, they end the game.


I am a big Xbox fan and I do salute Halo for what it did right, but I simply do not like the game.

I'm very, very happy with my 360. I'll buy Halo 3 because "ALL OF MY FRIENDS HAVE AND THEY SAY IT´S HOT"

Z, your comments are spot on. Things are different now in this strange and unfamiliar post-Wii environment.

Easy Bake Troll

1 cup of Just Made This Account Today
3 tbsp Bad Grammar
2 sticks of "PS3 excites me even though I haven't seen.....
1 ounce of gameplay

"While the exact details of the footage are unknown, expect a doctored in-game sequence."

doctored sequence? that belongs in the KZ forums joystiq not with bungie.