New Halo 3 info(spoiler free, for those who care)

[Cuddly Knife]

Halo 3 Details Revealed
New weapons, rides and it comes with a Spartan helmet. Enough said.
by Jonathan Miller
October 27, 2006 - Spike Grenades.



Yes, the new vehicles, new weapons and a Legendary edition that comes packaged with a Spartan helmet all make us giggle in anticipation of Halo 3, Bungie's upcoming epic sequel on the Xbox 360. But of all the new details swirling from multiple online sites today, it's the new Brutish Spike Grenade that has us trigger-happy. "Spike Grenade." We are not sure what it is, but the images it conjures in our minds mean that someone is going to get hurt. Hurt bad.

In the December issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Swedish mag LEVEL, Bungie will reveal a host of new gameplay details, as well as the news that Halo 3 will have not only a collector's edition but a legendary edition as well. Along with bonus DVDs of content, the package will come with a replica Spartan helmet. Starting to sweat? We haven't even started on the weapons.

The Brutes will be armed with Spike Grenades and Spike Rifles. The grenades are said to stick to walls and explode into a vicious blast of sharp projectiles. There's also word on a new Spartan Laser, a difficult-to-control but powerful attack that can disable vehicles in a single hit. Pwned!

The Mongoose will also be included, the two-man vehicle that was originally slated to be included in Halo 2. The Mongoose has no weapons, reportedly, and it is designed for speed. That doesn't mean the passenger can't wreak havoc with the newly designed assault rifle, though. Or maybe it does.

Halo 3 will obviously feature new multiplayer maps. New maps Valhalla, Snowbound and High Ground are being compared to Blood Gulch, Zanzibar and Frostbite, respectively. Halo and Halo 2 enabled 16 players to vie on System Link and Xbox Live, respectively. But we still don't know how many players will be able to jump online at one time. We're hoping Bungie has plans to compete with the PS3's Resistance and 40-player action. Just imagine.

In terms of control, the X button is said to change the way you play Halo. Mum is the word from Bungie. We only know that the bumpers are now used to reload, and the left bumper will reload a secondary weapon, if equipped.

There is also said to be a kind of cannon that will shoot players across the map. You can shoot enemies in the air and they can shoot you. This should put to work the new movie maker that allows you to capture clips of you shooting newbs in the head. We'll have more details on Halo 3 soon.Looks like they are trying to re-invent their gameplay. I'm thinking the X button will be like Gears of War context sensitive action.

[Cuddly Knife]

From Gamespot:
It appears that Swedish mailboxes are plum stuffed with Halo 3 news, as purported scans of the latest issue of LEVEL have hit the Internet with gobs of info about Bungie's highly anticipated first-person shooter. The multiplayer-focused sneak peek dished out details on new weapons, vehicles, and features for the game, some of it expected, some not so much.

First, the bad news for hermitic gamers: According to the magazine article, Halo 3 won't have bots. If Halo 2 is any indicator, there shouldn't be any shortage of human opponents to frag online, but antisocial players or those who tire of powergaming play styles won't be able to fake their multiplayer fix. According to a translation on GAF, LEVEL quotes a Bungie rep as explaining that the developers would rather spend that time working on the weapons, levels, and netcode for the game.

Speaking of weapons, Halo 3 will apparently feature a few new ways to off opponents. The Spartan Laser should help players open up vehicles like so many sardine cans, while the self-explanatory nail grenade should be a real hit at parties. There's also a Brute spiker to play with.

As for new vehicles, the Mongoose ATV that was once intended for Halo 2 will be available. Although it lacks firepower of any kind, the Mongoose seats two and should be good for getting Spartans where they need to be ASAP. And while it isn't quite a vehicle, the "Man Cannon" will launch players across the map unprotected on air streams. Gamers launched by the cannon will be vulnerable to enemy fire, but they'll also be able to fire back.

Bungie's also switching up some of the familiar Halo gameplay, according to the scans. For one thing, the X button will no longer reload. Instead, players will use the left and right bumpers on the Xbox 360 controller to independently reload their primary and secondary weapons. As for what the X button will do, Bungie is keeping that under wraps for now. In another tweak, players' secondary weapons will be visibly slung over their backs at all times, so players will no longer be able to conceal the fact that they're carrying around four-foot plasma swords in their pockets.

Finally, the scan indicates that the limited-edition release of Halo 3 will be called the "Legendary Edition" and will come packed in a replica of the Master Chief's helmet. The four-disc set will include the game, documentaries and developer interviews, Red vs. Blue content along with other Halo tie-ins, and HD cutscenes from the whole Halo trilogy.

[ilnadmy]

Spike grenades? Ehrm, Resistance: Fall of Man anyone?

[Cuddly Knife]

Nah, I'll stick with Halo.

[ilnadmy]

Yeah well they ripped off the spike grenades from Resistance, although I feel you understood that part. I really hope that's not the biggest improvement in the series though, because that would really suck. Normally enemies using new weapons isn't a selling point in a game.

[joquito]

Spike grenades? Ehrm, Resistance: Fall of Man anyone?

Nail grenades? Team Fortress Classic anyone?

I'm sure its been done before that and many times in between. Thats like knocking every FPS that uses a vehicle; good games always add on features from other good games. Now a portal gun would be nice.

[Glockstar]

Making the bumpers the reload buttons? Hmmm...

I guess that'd be okay. But the bumpers are essentially the "black" and "white" buttons of yore... so where are they going to assign the "switch grenades" and "flashlight" controls?

Hopefully "switch grenades" will move to "X". Not only would I be okay with that, but I think that might actually be pretty sweet.

As long as they keep the "Y" button the same ("switch weapons").

Gawd I hope they don't move the "switch weapon" controls to the d-pad - I hate that scheme. Especially for multi-player.

Still, the absolute best thing they could do is let us customize the control scheme completely ourselves. I don't understand why more games/developers don't do do that; I don't understand what's so hard about it?!

As for the flashlight... it'd be okay with me if they left it out entirely. That is to say, that there wouldn't be a need for it. Yeah, it'd be a complete departure from the previous two games... but I think everybody would be fine with it. I mean, fighting The Flood in the dark... been there, done that, you know?

Back to the d-pad... I was hoping that they'd use it for rudimentary squad commands. No, I don't want Halo to turn into a squad-based sim-like shooter... I'm just saying that I always wished I could tell the NPC's you come across to do things like: "Follow"; "Wait"; "Move to that position"; and "Cover me/Lay down a suppressing fire".

[Cuddly Knife]

I'm thinking that the X button will be a context-sensitive button like in Gears. In the latest Halo 3 trailer, MC is shown sprinting after he throws down the shield grenade. Maybe a quick-dash function?

And is anyone going to try and get on the mp beta? If I get it with Crackdown, then coolies, but if I don't, then no biggie. I can always watch videos of gameplay online.