Halo 3

[dvdmike]

Its mostly graphics that H3 is getting knocked on

[Concept]

Bugger, just realised that my Limited Edition was supposed to come with a bonus disc. It didn't. Got it from Gamestation this morning and it wasn't sealed. Where do you guys think I stand on this one?
My word against theirs etc..

I thought that too until I realised the case opens from the opposite side. Have you checked?

I had ordered the Legendary Edition but 600 people at my local game had pre-ordered it and they had 20 in, so it was 'if you'd pre-ordered in 2006'.

[EvilBoris]

I think it is fairly individual as to whether a game feels a satisfying length or not, for instance I found Metroid Prime to be too short when it clocked in at 15 hours, but then Metroid Prime 2 felt like a chore to play , I had over 22 hours when I gave up on it.
Maybe it is down to the pacing of it?

[dvdmike]

Thats odd we got all our cat hats in

[Concept]

Its mostly graphics that H3 is getting knocked on

That's another thing though, while I think the character models are very last gen, I actually think it's a beautiful looking game full of obsessive detail. The opening level was certainly better than I was expecting after all the downplaying, and it went on from there. Shows what good art design can do to sidestep a few missing technical bells and whistles.

[Jebus]

I really don't mind a game being short. BioShock was great but it started to drag near the end, it was a bit too long.

Halo 3 seems short, but it's SO entertaining and has so much longevity I don't see it as a problem. Not every game has to be 20+ hours in my opinion.

Just look at recent LIVE Marketplace games, Sonic, Sonic 2, Streets of rage. They can all be completed in under an hour but at the time they were excellent and you'd play them over and over again. I hate to think how many times my mates and I completed Sonic!!

[JP]

I'd rather finish a game, or anything else, thinking that I had enjoyed it but that I wanted more rather than thinking that I'd had enough of it!

I really don't understand why game length has become such a big issue recently.

I certainly don't have the time to play a game for 100+ hours like I would have done in the past...

[EvilBoris]

I think they have really worn the engine down to it's bare knuckles, I think it looks lovely, but from a technical point of view the visuals are somewhat weak.
I guess you can only expect so much from an engine over 6 years old.

The way that the timing will work out means we could well see Halo 4 as a launch title with a new engine on the next xbox.

[dvdmike]

There are some great moments but someting is just lacking imoh, maybe its because we are in the year of Crysis and I expect more from a studio that released their last game the same year as Crytec's last game.
I know they have the 360 to work to and not a 50k pc but with the same amount of time they have made a very nice looking 360 game and not much more, why did it take so long if we didn't get a new engine.
One thing that stands out as plain ugly are the humans they just can't model women or their hair, but on the flipside there is some beautiful lighting in the game

[Jebus]

I'd rather finish a game, or anything else, thinking that I had enjoyed it but that I wanted more rather than thinking that I'd had enough of it!

I really don't understand why game length has become such a big issue recently.

I certainly don't have the time to play a game for 100+ hours like I would have done in the past...

Indeed mate...when I was younger and single (or at least not married with children) I had time for games like Final Fantasy VII (or whatever), completing it numerous times. Shorter bursts are absolutely fine by me because I just don't have the hours I used to.

My wife goes back to work after her maternity in a week and a bit, so I'll get about 1 hour of gaming a day if I'm lucky or on our days off.

As you say, I'd rather actually finish a game because I've SOOOOO many games on my shelf I've not finished and probably never will.

I'm baffled by the complaints about the graphics...we're spoiled with BioShock and Gears, but this doesn't look "bad" by any stretch of the imagination. Go into theatre mode and there's a lot of love put into the game.

I think it stands to reason that I was really not a Halo fan at all, but this game has pretty much wowed me with all it has to offer. I fail to see how a gamer couldn't enjoy this. I haven't played it today, but all I've been able to think about is "Shotty Snipers" and despite how **** I was, how much fun it was. Straight from spawn I got two sniper kills, one dude bouncing like monkey****er and so I sniped him out of the sky, needless to say I saved that as a clip

[Concept]

I think they have really worn the engine down to it's bare knuckles, I think it looks lovely, but from a technical point of view the visuals are somewhat weak.
I guess you can only expect so much from an engine over 6 years old.

The way that the timing will work out means we could well see Halo 4 as a launch title with a new engine on the next xbox.

I'm sure there are going to be be spin-offs, but will there be a Halo 4?

It'll be interesting to see what engine Halo Chronicles uses though considering it's supposed to be more cinematic/character-based.

[Concept]

There are some great moments but someting is just lacking imoh, maybe its because we are in the year of Crysis and I expect more from a studio that released their last game the same year as Crytec's last game.
I know they have the 360 to work to and not a 50k pc but with the same amount of time they have made a very nice looking 360 game and not much more, why did it take so long if we didn't get a new engine.
One thing that stands out as plain ugly are the humans they just can't model women or their hair, but on the flipside there is some beautiful lighting in the game

The story was certainly lacking something until it got to the half-way point. Without spoiling anything, the first half of the game barely has any characterisation to it at all. Halo 2 might have been weak structurally, but you got more of a sense of who the characters were. 3 does eventually come together in last four hours though, thankfully.

[Stakers]

I thought that too until I realised the case opens from the opposite side. Have you checked?

I had ordered the Legendary Edition but 600 people at my local game had pre-ordered it and they had 20 in, so it was 'if you'd pre-ordered in 2006'.

What a plum pudding! Thanks for that. Could have looked like a right fool tomorrow morning otherwise. Mental note: Never post on forum in haste!

[Jebus]

That's true, until you get that cut scene, I think we're talking about the same one, there's very little in the way of story. It's very fun and engaging but no story. Then it all kicks off

[Concept]

Yup. It must be confusing if you're new to Halo. It literally demands you have intimate knowledge of the first two games (which let's face it, is going to make up for probably 80% of the audience).