Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta for Xbox 360 Review

This is the big one, folks. For gamers, the Halo franchise is like Windows Vista, the Godfather movies, and the Kennedy assassination all rolled up into one: Endlessly fascinating to fans of these games, Halo 3 is the latest and, some say, last entry in the vaunted Halo series, and it’s coming out on September 25, 2007. But this week, we got the next best thing: A semi-public beta of three Halo 3 multiplayer maps. These maps showcase new graphics capabilities, weapons, and other game features, and they’re only available for a short time. Depending on your take on this beta, your reaction is either a very muted, “well, that looks an awful
lot like Halo 2 to me” or a decidedly less muted, “OHMYGOD OHMYGOD OHMYGOD OHMYGOD OHMYGOD!!!” Frankly, it’s really just somewhere between those two extremes, but far more positive than negative.

What’s going on?

Not clear on the Halo 3 multiplayer beta? Here’s the scoop. Some months ago, Microsoft announced that it would be launching a semi-public beta test for three Halo 3 multiplayer maps on May 16, 2007. This would mark the first time that non-Microsofties could play the beta out on the public Xbox Live network. Now closed to the public, there were three ways to get into the beta: You could know someone on the Xbox team at Microsoft and snag an invite. You could logon to the Bungie Web site on a specific date and sign up for the beta, hoping you’d be one of the lucky few randomly selected to join. Or, you could buy a specially-marked copy of Crackdown for $60; these copies of the game include a link to the beta in their menus.

I tried the second approach, and after failing at that, I bought Crackdown. Frankly, I didn’t expect much from the game, but was pleasantly surprised. (In fact, Crackdown is a fantastic game, which makes me wonder why they didn’t tie the Halo 3 multiplayer beta to a weaker title.)

On May 16, 2007, eager Crackdown owners booted up the game and waited for the “Download Halo 3 Beta” link to appear on the game’s menu. They waited. And waited. They complained in forums and other online feedback sites. And finally, the word from Bungie came down from on high: There was a screwup, and Halo 3 wouldn’t be made available to Crackdown owners until the next day, May 17.

Frankly, that was just fine with me. I was in Los Angeles last week for WinHEC 2007 through last Thursday anyway, and thus wouldn’t be able to check out Halo 3 until Thursday night at the earliest. And sure enough, after a long day of flying, I kissed my wife and kids, raced into my office, and booted up Crackdown. I clicked the “Download Halo 3 Beta” link and waited. And waited. And waited. The thing is, there were about a million people trying to access this beta that day. And Microsoft’s servers just couldn’t keep up. Despondent, I went to bed.

The next morning, however, I met with immediate success. The beta downloaded and is now playable. (Irritatingly, I must boot into Crackdown to access it, however. I don’t see the link from within the Xbox 360 Dashboard, which would be much quicker and more convenient.) No matter. I have the Halo 3 multiplayer beta. I’ve been playing it for three days straight. This is what I’ve discovered.

Halo 3 beta screw up?

It seems that Bungie and Microsoft had a few issues with their limited beta for Halo 3 last week. According to 1up,

5:00 a.m. on that appointed date came and went, though, and the beta didn’t launch for Crackdown owners. It wasn’t until some 14 hours later — 7:00 p.m. PST — that Microsoft issued a patch for Crackdown…yes, Crackdown. There wasn’t an issue with the beta — Halo 3 downloaded and played fine for press and those involved in the Friends and Family program — so how did Microsoft’s biggest promotion of 2007 blow up in its face after months of hype?

After a lot of finger pointing Microsoft fessed up that the issue was with Xbox Live.

“This is the first time that we’ve tried to interface downloading of a beta through Xbox LIVE with a previously-shipped game. It’s a complicated process, made even more significant by the huge interest in this beta,” said the company [Microsoft] in a statement.

Given all the effort (hype?) that has gone into marketing this launch which is after all just a beta release and a limited one at that, you think Microsoft would have thoroughly tested the process. You get the feeling the first user to download the beta was the VERY first person to download it. People had taken time off work and school to be some of the first to play test this beta so the lack of QA by Bungie and Microsoft is pitiful. Hopefully a bit more effort will be put into the final release – the marketing machine has already stepped up a gear with this press release announcing the launch date of September 25th.

For those of us who weren’t involved in the beta screw-up, err, test here’s a great Halo video with a smattering of Alien vs Predator to feed our Halo need.

‘Halo 3′ fans await chance to take up arms on Sept. 25

Master Chief fans: Mark your calendar for Sept. 25. That’s when “Halo 3,” the newest sci-fi video game saga and the first specifically designed for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console, is expected to arrive in stores.

The first-person shooter is the latest addition to the company’s popular science fiction franchise in which an armor-clad human space soldier fights alien hordes in sprawling single-player and online multiplayer battles.

Shane Kim, corporate vice president for Microsoft Game Studios, predicted sales would surpass those of “Halo 2,” which the company says reached $125 million within the first 24 hours in 2004.

“In terms of great exclusive content, this is the biggest weapon that we have,” he said.

The announcement comes as a “beta,” or test version, of “Halo 3″ is being offered to consumers through June 6, allowing players to test some of the game’s multiplayer features ahead of schedule.

The beta shows only the game’s multiplayer online aspects, however. Details of the single-player story remain a secret, Kim said.

“Halo 3″ will be available in three versions: a “standard” edition for $59.99, a “limited edition” that includes features about the making of the game for $69.99, and a $129.99 “legendary edition” that is packaged with a large metal helmet that looks like the one worn by the game’s protagonist, Master Chief.

Source

Halo 3 Launches September 25/26

Well, now it’s official. Microsoft has confirmed that Halo 3 will launch in the US on Sept 25, followed by Europe on Sept 26. This is earlier than predicted and points to Microsoft making an early dash to snag as many Christmas Xbox 360 console sales as possible.

The company claims that the game will ‘shatter’ one-day entertainment sales records and it’s probably right, considering 2.5m copies of Halo 2 sold in the first 24 hours. So far, over 14m copies of Halo games are in the wild. The multiplayer beta kicked off yesterday and already the signs are good.

Microsoft will be also flogging a special Halo 3 edition of the Zune music player sporting Halo music and artwork – after all, it needs all the help it can get. There will be three versions of the game on offer and I’ve only got US pricing so far: basic game $59.99 (£30), a Limited Edition for $69.99 (£35) and a Legendary Edition for $129.99 (£65). Just add around £20+ to each.

Jump now for a photo of the Legendary Edition. -Martin Lynch

Halo 3 Beta Impressions

At long last the Halo 3 public beta has begun, and with only a few hiccups along the way. Like most people who are participating in the beta, I am using Crackdown as my ticket to the party. When the public beta officially launched at 12am PDT May 16th, owners of Crackdown were left in the dark so to speak, as we were unable to play until hours later when a patch was released to resolve the issue. Bungie, hearing the cries of millions of nerds all at once, silenced all the whiners by extending the beta end date from June 6th to June 10th. Even though the beta is only running for about three weeks, that is plenty of time to get reacquainted with Master Chief before the full games hits stores on September 25, 2007. Remember, this beta is a work in progress and may not represent the quality of the final game. With that said, here are my impressions gathered thus far from hours of playing the beta.

The beta is multiplayer only and features three maps and many different matchmaking play lists. Unfortunately, it is also limited to 8 players total in a match (sorry, big team battle fans). The largest map, Valhalla, is a spiritual successor to Blood Gulch. It features gravity lifts at each base that will shoot you across the map, multiple high points and caves, and a warthog and two mongooses (mongeese?). The mongoose is an all-new vehicle that resembles an ATV and can speedily carry two chiefs across the map. A beautifully crafted waterfall pours into a stream that flows across the map and empties into an enormous lake on the other side.

Snowbound, the smallest of the three maps, features a snow-covered landscape with two alien structures in the middle and only one vehicle, a ghost. Turrets mark the edges of the map, so if you wander to far from the battlefield you will be in for a nasty surprise.

The last map, High Ground, is an asymmetrical map where one team must fight uphill through a canyon to a base where the other team is positioned. There are multiple game modes for each map including rumble pit, team slayer, CTF, bombing run, territories, king of the hill, and more weapon specific types like shotguns and sniper rifles only.

The art style is reminiscent of classic Halo but the graphics are Xbox 360 worthy. The textures have high resolution and the color palettes are vibrant. Additionally, the sound design has received a very noticeable improvement over the last game. Now when your teammates are in a firefight on the other side of a map you will hear the chatter of their gunfire echoing in the distance.

The controls have been tweaked considerably as well. The X button is now a gadget button used to deploy bubble shields, trip mines, and power drainers. The right bumper is used to reload, pick up weapons, or enter vehicles. Also new to Halo 3 is the ability to rip a turret from its stationary housing and carry it with you, the only catch is you move much slower and the perspective changes to third person.

The beta features some new weapons, some returning favorites, and some noticeable absences. New is a one hit kill Spartan laser, a missile pod holding 8 rockets, dual wieldable spiker pistols and the spike grenade. The battle rifle, sniper rifle, needler, rocket launcher, plasma pistol and the assault rifle from the first Halo are back with some noticeable differences. The needler is now a two handed weapon, but it is much more powerful, perhaps even useful this time around. Missing are the pistol and sword, but Bungie can’t give us everything in the beta.

Halo 3’s lobby system has been refined from the previous game. Friends can still stay in the same room surfing from match to match but there are some additions. Now if you don’t like the match making play list you receive you can veto it. If enough vetoes are cast you’ll receive a new map and game type. Brand new to Halo 3 is the ability to save a film of a match and then upload it to your profile for friends to easily find and watch. While in the lobby you can change your character’s symbol and colors, but instead of showing a colored icon above a teammates head while in a match the game shows a letter and number designation.

It isn’t too late to get in on the fun, the beta runs until June 10th so there is plenty of time to jump in by picking up a copy of Crackdown, but you must be an Xbox Live Gold member to participate. On September 25th it will be time to finish the fight, but for now the fight is just getting warmed up on Xbox Live.

Source

Midway to release PS3 game with John Woo movie

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Midway Games Inc. said on Wednesday it will release an upcoming action game made in collaboration with action film director John Woo in a special version for Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 that includes a high-definition copy of one of Woo’s movies.

The collector’s edition of Midway’s “Stranglehold” will take advantage of Sony’s Blu-ray technology that stores about five times more data than regular DVDs, allowing more content to fit on a single disc.

Sony is counting on Blu-ray to help drive sales of the PS3, which faces competition from Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s Wii.

The special edition of “Stranglehold” will include “Hard Boiled”, Woo’s 1992 classic film starring Chow Yun-Fat as a Hong Kong detective. Its slow-motion scene of Chow blasting away with a pistol in each hand inspired homages in movies such as “The Matrix” and in video games like “Max Payne.”

“Stranglehold” was written as a sequel to “Hard Boiled” and Midway said Woo has been involved in the storyline and reviewing progress of the game’s creation. The game is expected to be released for the PS3, PC and Xbox 360 this summer.