Controls get a new look in Halo 3

by Kevin Kelly { Sep 19th 2006 at 5:55PM }

Bungie's Frankie reports in their latest weekly update about a few new things players will see in Halo 3, including: a graphically enhanced Warthog (pimp it!); dumbed-down AI (wha?); and a new control scheme (oh boy).

Anyone who has spent the last five years playing either of the Halo games has the control setup permanently welded into their heads. In fact, scads of other games have specifically tried to emulate the Halo setup, so a change in controls is practically sacrilege, and sure to result in a fair number of fanboy seizures.

While it is highly doubtful that the scheme will have players pulling the right trigger to crouch, and pushing the left thumbstick to jump, doesn't Bungie know that we fear change?

Thankfully, they include the option to go back to the "classic" control scheme. Although at this point, they could release the game only in Chinese, require the massive Steel Battalion controller, and light it on fire -- and it would still sell a trillion copies.

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Tags: 3, Halo, Bungie, Xbox 360, controls, Halo,Bungie,Xbox360,Controls

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

pete @ Sep 19th 2006 6:01PM

this new control scheme will probably make use of the 2 new shoulder buttons to switch weapons or throw a grenade. It will only be an improvement

Mike @ Sep 19th 2006 6:05PM

Sometimes change is good. I'd be interested to see what they've got in mind.

Mike @ Sep 19th 2006 6:06PM

Oh, one thing I'd like to see is the ability to holster your second weapon, throw a grenade, then pull it back out to continue your dual welding action.

Kevin @ Sep 19th 2006 6:07PM

dual wielding? please die

Zo� K. @ Sep 19th 2006 6:13PM

The controls are the one thing about Halo that I never liked.

I welcome the change.

Robert @ Sep 19th 2006 6:14PM

3. Oh, one thing I'd like to see is the ability to holster your second weapon, throw a grenade, then pull it back out to continue your dual welding action.

I agree, dual welding is awesome! You can fasten a metal structure in half the time this way - just remember not to look directly into the arc!

jharr @ Sep 19th 2006 6:17PM

"dual wielding? please die"

I never was a real fan of duel wielding either. I was glas to hear that Halo 3 is going to be more like the original Halo. I hope they do away with duel wielding and bring back the real pistol.

qbix @ Sep 19th 2006 6:19PM

Perhaps this is in line with the rumors of a new controller for the 360. It could also be due to the fact that white and black buttons are now shoulder buttons as pete pointed out. I welcome this change since I'll have the option of reverting to classic mode.

Zo� K. @ Sep 19th 2006 6:24PM

If it something akin to a keyboard and mouse or the Wii remote, I can finally get fully onboard with a Halo title.

Zo� K. @ Sep 19th 2006 6:24PM

it's*

GREATking54 @ Sep 19th 2006 6:26PM

dude duel weilding will stay if you've seen the new magazine about it their talking about duel weild swords

Chris @ Sep 19th 2006 6:29PM

I'm sure it's for the best with new features that they've implimented. If not, well, you can still use 'classic'.

Pat @ Sep 19th 2006 6:31PM

Now, I'm no Halo fan by any means, but I have to say that this blog entry was awfully written. It almost completely misrepresents the original article and, after reading the original, I get the notion that you didn't even bother to read it thoroughly, focusing instead on coming up with a sensationalized story.

The "dumb" AI that you refer to sounds like the gunner at this point is too accurate right now and they'll have to dumb down that specific aspect of AI to balance the game. And the control changes sound simple enough to me: the black and white buttons were awful, and now they're glad because they can remap the functions of those buttons to the much better place shoulder bumpers up top. There might be a few changes, but I doubt they'll do anything that makes even less sense than the controls from before.

I don't know if the unprofessional attitude of a couple of other writers here is becoming contagious or not, but I've definitely seen an increase in shoddy and shady writing here on Joystiq. Please tighten up the place because I love it here.

Jay @ Sep 19th 2006 6:32PM

Dual wielding is so last eon. Halo 3 will have Tri-wielding ... 2 hands and your mouth. You know, hold a knife Rambo style and twist back and forth to cut ... hold a grenade in your teeth and spit to throw it.

This is the future, guys!

Wil @ Sep 19th 2006 6:35PM

"The Real Pistol" -- You mean the pistol that if you disabled it in a gametype on XBA people would join, see their pistol missing, curse you out in the XBA lobby, and then leave? That pistol? Oh.

Also, dual weilding is find. What I want to see is a less newb - newb combo. Remove the ability to switch weapons right after you fire an overloaded plasma bolt and all is fine with the world. Newb comboing is no longer viable and equality is restored to the force.

Chris @ Sep 19th 2006 6:43PM

@13

I just read the article, and yeah... the Joystiq summary is a bit misleading.

Corban @ Sep 19th 2006 6:46PM

believe when halo 3 comes out it will be the game of the year!!!!! It has the potential to be the best game ever. Better than any Playstation game. The controls are going to be outragous. When bungie releases halo3 they will have put 110% effort into it. Its going to be perfect. I cant wait!!!!!

Kevin @ Sep 19th 2006 6:47PM

Pat,

Thanks for the comments. According to Frankie's own update, "the slightest change caused me to spaz out for about three minutes." To me, when a person who works at Bungie flipped out about the new control scheme, even briefly, that can be newsworthy. It sounds like it's more than just a black/white button adjustment, and he hints at further new in-game control actions. At any rate, it sounds like more than just a trivial change to the control scheme.

I read and linked to Frankie's own update in the post. Sorry you didn't like it, but I hope you will continue reading!

Robert @ Sep 19th 2006 6:52PM

There's no more that 100% - giving more than that makes no sense.

Grindstone @ Sep 19th 2006 7:00PM

11. dude duel weilding will stay if you've seen the new magazine about it their talking about duel weild swords

Posted at 6:25PM on Sep 19th 2006 by GREATking54 0 stars

That has got to be one of the most assinine ideas ever. Why do you need 2 swords when one does the job on it's own? Seriously, a sword already kills in one hit, would two facilitate a double kill? Pfft.

Yeah, the article does need a little work, the AI was not "dumbed-down", but made more efficient so it recognizes the greater need rather than persisting on a grunt behind a rock, as I believe Frankie put it.

Also, I highly doubt any major control changes have been made as the Halo controls are hardwired into many minds thus far. Probably moved simple functions such as 'grenade change' to the D-pad or something else relatively benign to overall gameplay.

I also doubt dual wielding has been removed, as this would be a step backwards in the gaming evolution. However, Frankie did mention 2 weeks ago (or more) that Halo 3 had more of a Halo 1 feel to it. So we'll see on that department, but I have my doubts on no more dual-welding.

Finally, they should bring back the Halo 1 pistol. With the newer armor upgrade in Halo 2 (in the beginning of the game), the 3 head-shot rule can be negated to maybe 4 or 5. Still would require skill, but would not be as annoying for a spawn kill.

P.S. Love the pics.

Shadowstorm @ Sep 19th 2006 7:02PM

The humor in this post made me think it was Ludwig that was posting.

Amir @ Sep 19th 2006 7:02PM

They should have a new control setting, where when you press the right trigger, The Xbox 360 eats your Halo 3 DVD and never gives it back.

Amir @ Sep 19th 2006 7:03PM

Hey Corban, look in the mirror... Now would you like to committ suicide?

qbix @ Sep 19th 2006 7:07PM

@Grindstone

I don't think we absolutely need to have the Halo 1 pistol in Halo 3 but I would love it if they brought it back. Instead, I think Halo 3 should come bundled with an extra disc containing the original Halo with new maps and Live multiplayer. Dude, I would pay an extra 50 bucks just for that.

vadermaggot @ Sep 19th 2006 7:20PM

"If it something akin to a keyboard and mouse or the Wii remote, I can finally get fully onboard with a Halo title."

Your going to use a Wii-mote for Halo 3? That's ridiculous. And theres a thing called Halo PC. You can use a keyboard and mouse there.

ivanjrn @ Sep 19th 2006 7:34PM

In response to comment #11, OXM was the only magazine to even mention dual-wielding energy swords and that was in an article with their Halo 3 wishlist. Dual-wielding will be in the next game, and you won't be able to dual-wield energy swords. Although dual-wielding swords does exist in the Halo Universe as seen in the Halo Graphic Novel, Bungie has commented that they specifically put it into the graphic novel because it would never work in the actual game.

I also have to agree with comment #13 by Pat. The Weekly Update specifically states that the new AI is so effective that they might have to intentionally tone it down for balancing. Kevin, although you quoted Frankie as saying he "spazzed" you didn't take into account the beginning of the quote which states "the slightest change" indicating that the change is not major yet causes him to spaz because he's probably so used to playing with the same control that's been in use for almost 5 years. I love joystiq, and being a Halo enthusiast I appreciate when a blog reports on interesting points on the Bungie Weekly Update regarding gameplay because I feel gameplay is outshined by the hype on all other things Halo, at the same time I was very disappointed with this blog entry. I feel it was sensationalized as previously stated, inaccurate, and what especially disappoints me is that I've seen it done before with other entries.

Regarding the new control scheme, anything can happen but you can bet if the control had remained the same for the 360 the scheme would have remained the same. The ONLY reason it's changing is because of the 360 bumper controls and it will change for the better. The biggest problem with the Halo controls on the xbox is that you had to take your thumb off the right thumbstick in order to melee which means you couldn't aim your melee. Contrary to popular belief, this is the reason the default Halo control scheme is not as standard as people imagine, many skilled players prefer the Boxer scheme in both games in order to accurately attack with their melees.

Sorry for the long comment, check out the above URL for extensive coverage of all Halo 3 information in my clan's blog.

ivanjrn @ Sep 19th 2006 7:36PM

Halo 3 Blog

http://h3da.ascendantjustice.com

wolfchanger89 @ Sep 19th 2006 7:44PM

anyone else think that the pictures for this post are awesome. I thought they were great. just putting that little tidbit out there

Matthew @ Sep 19th 2006 7:45PM

I wouldn't jump to too many conclusions, if I were you guys. Frankie said the old control scheme would still be available, so I don't see what the big deal is, here. It's only going to give more options. As for the AI, he said it would only be dumbed-down enough so as to not give you too much of an advantage. He did also say that the AI seemed better than in Halo 2. Nothing too important here, but it is good to hear something from Bungie about it.

Scott @ Sep 19th 2006 7:51PM

"Dual wield swords"
please die, seriously

Note to Bungie:
BRING BACK THE ORIGIONAL PISTOL or
make "Halo 1.5" -Halo 1 with the only changes being 720P widescreen and XboxLive play.

MyraLuva @ Sep 19th 2006 8:13PM

20: "Finally, they should bring back the Halo 1 pistol. With the newer armor upgrade in Halo 2 (in the beginning of the game), the 3 head-shot rule can be negated to maybe 4 or 5. Still would require skill, but would not be as annoying for a spawn kill."

4 shot kills? you mean the battle rifle that people have been using in halo 2 since day one?

people complain about losing the pistol because they don't start with the BR, well fine, just play hardcore in matchmaking. but why is it this mantra that people want to bring back the pistol? in the weapon spread it makes no sense for the pistol to be the most powerful, and for gameplay pretty much the exact same thing already exists in the battle rifle.

moofree @ Sep 19th 2006 8:20PM

Come on USB keyboard+mouse support (pipe dream)
Dual analog control for an FPS totally ruins the gameplay.
The fun factor disappears when I'm forced to "deal with it" (as my friends always tell me).

Substandard controls with slow gameplay. Same old Halo.

32_footsteps @ Sep 19th 2006 9:08PM

Personally, the only thing I can think to add is that Master Chief looks great in that slimming turtleneck.

Nushio @ Sep 19th 2006 9:31PM

I'd rather dual Wii-ld.

Dual Wii-lding FTW!

Jonn @ Sep 19th 2006 9:46PM

I feel a great disturbance in the fandom. As if millions of fanboys suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.

Also, the Magnum was cheap, as well as unbalanced. A scope and explosive bullets on a handgun? Are you guys listening to yourself?

#32: So you want PC controls on a console. Got it.

moofree @ Sep 19th 2006 9:54PM

Jonn: Why not! The 360 has usb ports. Hell, even some PS2 games have native keyboard+mouse control.

Scott @ Sep 19th 2006 10:01PM

The magnum was unbalanced, however, it was not cheap. It was what made Halo, "Halo". It required tremendous skill to hit those three headshots. Go back and try and play Halo 1 now and see what I mean. The people who whine about the pistol being cheap are the ones who couldn't master it.

AndrewNeo @ Sep 19th 2006 10:19PM

My friend owns Steel Batallion. He loves it.

bearattack79 @ Sep 19th 2006 10:43PM

I LOVE DOOL WELLDING

Dereck from Chamboultout.com @ Sep 20th 2006 7:31AM

I'm glad you people like the pic. :))
This one is my very photoshopping production. I made it for an article on our VG Blog, Chamboultout, 'bout the new Master Chief Costume.

Link Here :
http://jeuxvideo.fluctuat.net/blog/7579-master-chief-ouvre-la-collection-automne-hiver.html

I'm sure you Joystiq People will credit us/me... ;)

Eric @ Sep 20th 2006 8:57AM

Give us FASTLOOK!!!

you know like in Counter-strike, you push down on the right thumbstick and while pushing down your look sensitivity is much faster, making quick turn arounds, and turns muhc faster and more efficient.

letting go of fastlook returns your look sens back to normal for accurate shooting.

EVERY CONSOLE FPS should have this!!!!!

Tom @ Sep 20th 2006 9:00AM

Why is it that console games rarely allow people to choose their own control scheme? You could always give the player a bunch of different default schemes and if they don't like those they can choose their own!

00 @ Sep 20th 2006 9:49AM

Hands down the best ever console FPS control scheme was for GoldenEye on the N64. Here's to Bungie creating a control scheme that mimics the original console FPS behemoth.

Both PS2 and Xbox(360 included) control sticks are significantly less accurate in my opinion. I can't flick the control stick on either of these like I could on the N64 with any accuracy.

Long live GoldenEye.

??? @ Sep 20th 2006 10:31AM

Betcha dollars to donuts Bungie is going to introduce some type of wave motion controller [a la Wii and Ps3] for the Chief! It may be somewhat obligatory [jumping on the bandwagon] and only work occasionaly and in a minor fashion; but what better way to introduce such a control feature than the world class Halo game? A small motion bar receiver for the tv could be included with each game package. Wild,huh? lol!

Trent @ Sep 20th 2006 12:39PM

This just in from Bungy:

In Halo 3, Master Chief will be able to shoot plasma swords out of the rocket launchers. MC will be able to dual wield the launchers.

Soundtrack to be performed by Motorhead.

Reg19 @ Sep 20th 2006 2:13PM

Bungie needs to allow players to make their own weapons,vehicles,and choices in the world of HALO. Even thought it sounds like their ripping off GTA, who cares alot of video game companies are ripping off GTA.

Steve @ Sep 20th 2006 4:05PM

By "new controls", they actually mean "new controller". Just so you know.

slowerpig81 @ Sep 21st 2006 5:36PM

What I think would be nice is dual-wielding melee. It would be less powerful, but fun. Also, the homing rocket launcher should have the option to be turned off in multiplayer, so you just get the classic rocket launcher, which you could dodge in a 'hog. It's so annoying to not be able to drive around blood gulch for more than 2 seconds without being killed. And the dustructible vehicles should be able to be turned off to get that awesome Halo 1 feel!