Well, E3 is officially here, and the first big night kicked off with a solid showing by Microsoft at their press conference, where they made some moderately big announcements before finishing the evening with a brand new Halo 3 trailer that showcased some of the game’s single-player moments. Once the event ended, the majority of the journalists on hand streamed into the warm Santa Monica night, heading back to their hotel rooms to write up what they saw. However, for a lucky handful the night was not over… it was just beginning. We strolled down the street to The Viceroy hotel, where Microsoft is showing off many of the year’s most anticipated titles behind closed doors, then proceeded to bum-rush said doors to get a glimpse of what the company has in store for the holiday season.
The first game on my plate? Halo 3, naturally! As I headed into the room where Bungie’s Frank O’Connor and Brian Jarrard were waiting, my fingers were crossed with the hope that I’d be seeing some single-player action. Not only did I get to see the campaign being played, I actually got to check out a sizable chunk of the game’s first level. Before the action began, we found ourselves in the “Campaign Lobby” where players will be able to set up the game, selecting both the levels and the individual segments that make them up. All of the game’s modes will start in a lobby of sorts, be it Campaign, Theater, or Multiplayer.
After a brief loading screen (during which particles come together to form a halo), we were thrown into the game’s first level, which will be called Sierra 117. Jarrard was playing on the Heroic difficulty, starting at what was being referred to as “Rally Point Alpha.” We were told that the part we were seeing was actually about a third of the way into the level, as they didn’t want to ruin the opening for us. What we did notice right off the bat was the fact that while we were playing as Master Chief, our old buddy the Arbiter was fighting right alongside us and had a green arrow above his head that allowed us to spot him at any time. We asked Frankie about the, ahem, possibility of playing with a friend who was controlling the Arbiter, and he mentioned that, yes, that sure would be cool. Damn you Frankie!
If you’ve got any qualms about the visual fidelity of the single-player game, let’s just put those to rest right off the bat. The segment we saw took place in a lush forest, where tall trees cut off a good deal of the sunlight and moss grew on just about every available surface. The foliage and textures looked excellent, as did the “god rays” that beamed down through gaps in the canopy. We came upon a number of napping Grunts, and Jarrard quickly and quietly beat them to death with the butt of his Battle Rifle (this was the starting weapon in this demo, with the pistol acting as the player’s secondary weapon).
Of course, sneaking around isn’t really necessary when you’re 7 foot hulk in some badass armor, so Jarrard decided to have a little fun by capping the nearest grunt from a few meters away. Suddenly, gunfire erupted from all around, as the rest of the Grunt, Jackals, and Brutes leapt into action and began attacking Master Chief and his crew. The fighting was intense, so it was no surprise that we took a few hits. We noticed that when Master Chief is hit by enemy fire, his shield briefly comes into view as a grid pattern before disappearing as it recharges.
Another thing that we noticed (it was pretty much impossible not to) was the amount of battlefield chatter going on around us. The Grunts and Jackals were obviously afraid, screaming in terror as “the demon” came for them. The Arbiter gave some instructions as we progressed through the level, offering Master Chief advice on how to best decimate the enemy’s ranks (Grenades? Oh, you think so, doctor?). The best chatter, however, came from the UNSC guys, who threw out classics like “Killing time, you punks!” and “We’re gonna send you back to Planet Jackass, Jackass!” Sure, the battlefield banter is totally ridiculous, but it’s also awesome.
After battle our way through literally dozens of Grunts and Jackals, we headed through a cave strewn with red flares to a riverbank, where a Pelican dropship fired on Covenant ground troops. The battle intensified, as Master Chief and The Arbiter had to fight off several Brutes. Suddenly, a Phantom appeared from between the trees, firing its plasma bolts at the Pelican, which crashed somewhere over a nearby ridge. Master Chief ran up to a nearby mounted chain gun, grabbing it and yanking it off of its moorings. The action then switched to third-person (just as it did during the multiplayer demo), and Master Chief blasted away until the Phantom finally hightailed it out of the battle zone.
With that, our all-too-brief Halo 3 single-player demo ended, and the lights were brought up. Nearly everyone in attendance agreed that this was the footage that Microsoft should have closed the press conference with, as it surely would have impressed just about everyone in attendance. The game is definitely shaping up nicely, and the single-player campaign looks much better than the multiplayer. We’ll be bringing you more information on Halo 3 later this afternoon, as we’ll be checking out some different elements during our E3 meeting with Microsoft. 作者: lesliex 时间: 2007-7-15 15:06
