Halo 3 - now coming to Xbox One. MC Collection.

[BeeJay]

Bungie have hinted that you can play as the Arbiter alongside every one's favourite Chief in campaign

http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3161000

Quite a while back I said that I would assume that co-op would be integrated with the story just like it is in gears regardless of if you are playing single player or co-op.

I can't see the link at work but is that what they are saying? That while not in co-op the arbiter will be played by the AI.

[Lerschumbo]

I wonder what happens if arbiter dies, like does he respawn after some time or does Master Chief go all "game over" having a RE4-like "oh no"-moment?

EDIT: Or how is it in Gears?

[Mr. Gerbik]

I wonder what happens if arbiter dies

You get an Achievement worth 100 points.

[Snowman]

I wonder what happens if arbiter dies, like does he respawn after some time or does Master Chief go all "game over" having a RE4-like "oh no"-moment?

EDIT: Or how is it in Gears?

Your coop buddy is sorta "knocked unconscious" until a. you revive him, b. the current firefight ends and he picks himself up or c. you die as well and it's back to the last checkpoint.

[Poop who?]

Quite a while back I said that I would assume that co-op would be integrated with the story just like it is in gears regardless of if you are playing single player or co-op.

I can't see the link at work but is that what they are saying? That while not in co-op the arbiter will be played by the AI.

For you!

What's new for E3: Developer Bungie gave us our first glimpse of the single-player Campaign mode, as well as a more detailed look at the "saved films" feature.

The Campaign walkthrough starts in the lush jungle of new location Sierra 117 and shows series protagonist Master Chief fighting as part of a larger military unit that includes a squad of Marines, along with the Arbiter, the disenfranchised Covenant Holy Warrior from Halo 2 (Note: Bungie kinda-sorta hinted that you can play as the Arbiter in two-player co-op). After fighting through wave after wave of Brutes, Grunts, and Jackals, the demo ends with a huge set piece where the jungle environment gives way to a large, flowing river and Covenant troops attack a Pelican dropship as it tries to deliver fresh troops to the battle. Overwhelmed by enemy fire, and despite the Master Chief's best efforts to pick off the Covenant aggressors with a minigun turret, the ship fails to pull away and falls from the sky, in a spectacular display of the game's physics system and new graphical engine.

We picked up a few more things on our second viewing of the middle third of Sierra 117. Several small scripted events took place, which you could definitely miss if you were going through guns blazing. Happening quietly upon an open forest glade, an enormous brute warrior held a marine high on the edge of a fallen log, his fate resting in your hands. If you notice it in time you can save your terrified teammate, or watch him hurled to his death.

During a demo of the saved films feature, we got to see a hint of a new multiplayer map called Sandtrap -- an expansive, wide-open desert with half-buried ruins and lots of sandy real estate on which to drive around. On this map, we got to see the new Chopper. This one-man vehicle is the Brutes' answer to the Covenant Ghost, only it drives on huge gearlike wheels that tear into the ground (more like a motorcycle), and doesn't have the side-to-side strafing ability of the purple hovercraft. True to the Brutes' physical tendencies, the Chopper rapidly fires hot concussion rounds, and boosts to ram other vehicles with its deadly, reinforced grill.

The saved films feature is fully functional now and has a lot more bells 'n' whistles than we saw in the Halo 3 beta. Similar to replays in sports games, Halo 3 lets you pause the action, fast-forward, watch from different players' perspectives, watch from a third-person floating-camera view, take a screenshot, or cut out a more manageable, smaller clip from the larger movie file. From there, you can upload videos to your file share for others to view.

As Bungie has said before, all of the multiplayer elements of Halo 3 carry over to the single player campaign -- some presentational, like saved films and the ability to snap screenshots from them, as well as those that directly gameplay, like equipment. Watching a crafty Brute drop a bubble shield at his feet to protect himself definitely mixes up the holy Halo trifecta of combat -- weapons, grandes, and melee -- but goes a long towards making each engagement feel even more unpredictable.

We caught a brief glimpse of a menu option called "Forge," but Bungie wouldn't comment on what that is. But keep an eye out for EGM's September issue (on sale August 7th), where they reveal this feature -- plus a whole lot more exclusive details on single-player, multiplayer, and co-op.

What we like: The Marines feel like a more cohesive unit now, and much less like cannon fodder. They don't just wander into battle and get immediately mowed down, plus they're constantly shouting feedback about the battle as it ensues. "Go back to planet jackass, jackass," was a particular favorite. Similarly, the Covenant troops are very vocal too, and as the firefights erupt, you can hear them shouting abuse, while cursing the "invincible demon" (that would be you).

The lighting is really beautiful. The jungle is convincingly dark and oppressive, and the shadows cast by the foliage are remarkably realistic. It's particularly effective when the jungle cover breaks, and the whole feel of the environment changes as it's saturated in sunlight.

To be filed under "subtle, but effective" is the new effect you see when the Chief's shield erodes. A flash of the iconic hexagon pattern gives you just enough visible feedback to see that bad things are happening, and it helps affirm the fact that you are really inside that helmet.

What we dislike: The new Brute units look kinda silly. EGM editor-in-chief Dan "Shoe" Hsu says he thinks it makes them look like Marvel's Galactus

[K]

I like the idea of saving single-player films. In fact, that could well turn out to be comedy platinum.

[Lerschumbo]

You get an Achievement worth 100 points.

I can already see it before my eyes:

Arbitrayer - kill Arbiter in any level on any difficulty.

Your coop buddy is sorta "knocked unconscious" until a. you revive him, b. the current firefight ends and he picks himself up or c. you die as well and it's back to the last checkpoint.

Damn, what if he gets his arms chopped off? do I have to carry them back to him and, maybe burn them back in place with a plasma pistol? What if I can't find them, could I perhaps attach, say, two rocket launchers in their stead?

[Harmunt]

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=79592

Eurogamers take on the single player campaign.

[BeeJay]

So in summary, it appears that co-op will be integrated into the story. Time to dig out all those quotes of abuse I got for suggesting this will be the case.

I don't see anything wrong with this to be honest, I think it's far more convincing this way than like in Halo 2 where a second Spartan just appears from nowhere.

[dan_tm]

There is NO-WAY that the Arbiter is going to be following you around everywhere. That would just make the game instantly shit before its even started.

Bungie aren't that stupid. I hope.

[BeeJay]

There is NO-WAY that the Arbiter is going to be following you around everywhere. That would just make the game instantly shit before its even started.

Bungie aren't that stupid. I hope.

They have basically admitted it.

[dan_tm]

Show me.

[K]

I don't see why having the Arbiter covering your back would be a bad thing. It'd be pretty badass having Keith David following you around, periodically making wisecracks.

[BeeJay]

Seriously, can't you read the quote for yourself:

The Campaign walkthrough starts in the lush jungle of new location Sierra 117 and shows series protagonist Master Chief fighting as part of a larger military unit that includes a squad of Marines, along with the Arbiter, the disenfranchised Covenant Holy Warrior from Halo 2 (Note: Bungie kinda-sorta hinted that you can play as the Arbiter in two-player co-op).

That's pretty clear to me. The arbiter is not there as an integral part of that particular mission, he's just there, fighting alongside the chief, they have the same goals and purpose. That indicates to me that the rest of the game will be similar. It's no different to having the commander playing alongside you in Halo 2 apart from the fact that it's much easier to implement co-op if you are using the arbiter.

[Mr.Crowley]

I don't see why having the Arbiter covering your back would be a bad thing. It'd be pretty badass having Keith David following you around, periodically making wisecracks.

Aargh, sounds like last years vacation,

[dan_tm]

Seriously, can't you read the quote for yourself:

That's pretty clear to me. The arbiter is not there as an integral part of that particular mission, he's just there, fighting alongside the chief, they have the same goals and purpose. That indicates to me that the rest of the game will be similar. It's no different to having the commander playing alongside you in Halo 2 apart from the fact that it's much easier to implement co-op if you are using the arbiter.

I had read that quote, I just didn't assume what you have.

It's a bit of a leap to suggest that he's constantly following you around for the entire game because he features in a battle on the first level, no?

[Lorfarius]

I just hope we have the war we were all promised back in Halo 2.

[BeeJay]

It's a bit of a leap to suggest that he's constantly following you around for the entire game because he features in a battle on the first level, no?

No, it really isn't. Where does it say that the arbiter is on that particular level for a very particular reason? It doesn't. I'm not saying that they won't get more creative with the co-op at other points but we can be pretty certain of these:

There will be co-op

It will be part of the story, not tacked on like Halo 2

Add to that, that the chances of letting the player control another new character are slim and it's seemed pretty obvious to me.

EDIT: Blame gears or whatever you want but co-op single player gaming is the buzz right now and was one of the things that made Halo and Halo 2 the games they were.

[Rev]

I had read that quote, I just didn't assume what you have.

It's a bit of a leap to suggest that he's constantly following you around for the entire game because he features in a battle on the first level, no?

If it is one single level that he features in, why would they demo that one and not any of the others for the first time anyone sees the campaign mode? And it never says it is the first level btw.

[dan_tm]

Halo (the original) wouldn't have been half as good if you had some random AI character following your around all the time.

Halo was good because it felt as though you were on a one-man mission to save the universe, what about bits where you want to be sneaky like the indoor bits on AotCR with all the sleeping Grunts? That wouldn't be very good if the Arbiter just started shooting the shit out of everyone.

If it is one single level that he features in, why would they demo that one and not any of the others for the first time anyone sees the campaign mode? And it never says it is the first level btw.

It does, it's about a third of the way into the first level apparently.

[dan_tm]

EDIT: Blame gears or whatever you want but co-op single player gaming is the buzz right now and was one of the things that made Halo and Halo 2 the games they were.

I'm not blaming anything, co-op is brilliant in pretty much every game I've ever played in which it featured. That doesn't mean they have to ruin (imo) the single player portion of the game just so that you don't find it jarring when a 2nd Master Chief suddenly appears when someone else is playing with you.

[Mr. Gerbik]

Halo (the original) wouldn't have been half as good if you had some random AI character following your around all the time.

Halo was good because it felt as though you were on a one-man mission to save the universe, what about bits where you want to be sneaky like the indoor bits on AotCR with all the sleeping Grunts? That wouldn't be very good if the Arbiter just started shooting the shit out of everyone.

This. Pre-order cancelled.

[K]

Presumably they would programme the AI so the Arbiter doesn't just run around shooting the fuck out everything when you enter one of the 'sleeping enemy' bits.

[dan_tm]

Presumably they would programme the AI so the Arbiter doesn't just run around shooting the fuck out everything when you enter one of the 'sleeping enemy' bits.

Co-op is only good because when something amazingly cool happens you can talk about it, I can't see what an AI sidekick is going to add.

Well, except getting in the way of things more often than not, presumably.

[BeeJay]

Halo (the original) wouldn't have been half as good if you had some random AI character following your around all the time.

Halo was good because it felt as though you were on a one-man mission to save the universe, what about bits where you want to be sneaky like the indoor bits on AotCR with all the sleeping Grunts? That wouldn't be very good if the Arbiter just started shooting the shit out of everyone.

While I'm making a leap of faith, you are making a leap of distrust that bungie aren't capable of doing this well. It won't just be a random AI loon, it'll be a proper, scripted existence that has purpose (in the bigger picture) in the game.

If they are going to do co-op then they must do better than having a random extra Spartan running around with no storyline purpose. They will be crucified by the critics if that happens. Like I said, the idea of co-op and story integration has come a long way since the previous 2 halo games.

[Snowman]

I'm not blaming anything, co-op is brilliant in pretty much every game I've ever played in which it featured. That doesn't mean they have to ruin (imo) the single player portion of the game just so that you don't find it jarring when a 2nd Master Chief suddenly appears when someone else is playing with you.

Agreed. After playing Gears exclusively in coop for hours on end, I gave single player a quick go and within minutes found myself wishing that Dom would disappear. By all means have the arbiter standing by for coop. Giving one player the ability to cloak himself could lead to some interesting gameplay dynamics. But I'd much rather have just the chief in single player.

Although...Alyx was awesome in Episode One...but I can't see the arbiter measuring up to her somehow.

[Jumble Jumble]

Let's have a big argument based entirely on our own uninformed speculation!

[Snowman]

Let's have a big argument based entirely on our own uninformed speculation!

Welcome to the forum

[Rockboy]

There is no way the arbiter will be with you the whole game, I'm guessing it will be restricted to a few levels. I mean what happens if you suddenly decide to jump in a banshee or a ghost or something and burn off, it'd be a logistical nightmare to try and write the whole game like that around the ai always being around you, or being able to find you.

[K]

Co-op is only good because when something amazingly cool happens you can talk about it, I can't see what an AI sidekick is going to add.

Well, except getting in the way of things more often than not, presumably.

Eh? I imagine it'll be like playing alongside the marines in the first two games. You couldn't talk to them either, and that wasn't rubbish.