Halo: Reach Debut Trailer and Details

[DoctorFinger]

gJxCm11zPH4

I have something to tell you which may come as a shock. They're making another Halo game. I know, I know, never in a million years did you think it would happen, but here we are watching the debut cinematic trailer for Halo: Reach.

Before you ask, no there's no gameplay shown. But it's Halo, so I think most of you can guess what it will look like and play like. Reach is actually a prequel to the 4 previous Halo games, and the title refers to the fortress planet which is besieged by Covenant forces (events chronicled in Eric Nylund's Fall of the Reach novel). You're the new recruit in a six-person Spartan unit, cybernetic uber-warriors like Master Chief, called Noble Squad. A source speaking to Gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6242904.html?part=rss&tag=gs_news&subj=6242904) calls the game much grittier and violent than previous Halo games.

A multiplayer beta for the game - which will be open to buyers of Halo: ODST - is expected to begin in the Spring, with the game itself tentatively slated to be released in the Fall of 2010.

Source - Gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6242904.html?part=rss&tag=gs_news&subj=6242904).

[SpacemanSpiff757]

please follow the book, please follow the book, please follow the book....

[Yeti2005]

That cinematic is rendered in the in-game engine so that's a good sign. I'm glad they fixed they way they render human faces because ODST was not impressive on that front. I'm guessing we'll have 6 player co-op based on the "So this is our 6th man?" comment.

I'm ready for a new Halo with a new engine. The Reach story is by far the best part in the series.

[Karak]

That cinematic is rendered in the in-game engine so that's a good sign.
We have seen how that ends:(
But I am with you. I hope that it does indeed look something like they showed. I am in the minority thinking that Halo 3 looked awesome, but this, especially the lighting, looks amazing.
That drawn out shot of the warthog driving away was awesome. At first I was like...looks sort of bad and then it slowly grew and grew into that large vista.

[rahsoul]

I'm just hoping there arn't many scenes with everyone talking with helmets on, like Power Rangers.

[Zanzibar]

Human facial animation has been Bungie's most clearly-defined groan-inducing visual weakness from the very beginning. While it looks better, it still doesn't look great.

I thought Halo Wars' prerendered stuff was kickass.

[Shadowstorm]

please follow the book, please follow the book, please follow the book....

This is my only wish. Fall of Reach was a farking fantastic book.

[OldJadedGamer]

Halo 3 left a bad taste in my mouth after they pretty much changed the game to only cater to the super hardcore and made it not fun anymore. There is a reason why more people play COD now than Halo.

I skipped on ODST as did many of my friends and I'm not sure about Reach. We'll see but I don't think they can ever get back their previous glory where they peaked with Halo 2.

It's time for Bungie to move on to a new IP.

[miah]

I plan on eventually playing ODST, and Reach, I am getting Halo Wars soon through Goozex and I look forward to playing it, then trading it back out =) I've been a fan of the Halo games, but the Multiplayer aspect of it is total garbage. Not because their MP sucks, but because of the crowd.

[Karak]

Halo 3 left a bad taste in my mouth after they pretty much changed the game to only cater to the super hardcore and made it not fun anymore. There is a reason why more people play COD now than Halo.

I skipped on ODST as did many of my friends and I'm not sure about Reach. We'll see but I don't think they can ever get back their previous glory where they peaked with Halo 2.

It's time for Bungie to move on to a new IP.

Please.
Give ODST a chance. I was with you man. I had barely any passable interest concerning even turning it on. And once I did I was pretty damn impressed. It was solid fun. I enjoy the new ways to play, and the primary weapon I loved.
To me its all about the fun. And ODST seemed to really deliver it.
Check it out...even if just to prove me wrong.

[DoctorFinger]

I plan on eventually playing ODST, and Reach, I am getting Halo Wars soon through Goozex and I look forward to playing it, then trading it back out =) I've been a fan of the Halo games, but the Multiplayer aspect of it is total garbage. Not because their MP sucks, but because of the crowd.As with just about every other console MP game, your experience depends on whom you're playing with. Playing with the CoG crowd is worlds better than slumming with the Pubbies.

[OldJadedGamer]

Please.
Give ODST a chance. I was with you man. I had barely any passable interest concerning even turning it on. And once I did I was pretty damn impressed. It was solid fun. I enjoy the new ways to play, and the primary weapon I loved.
To me its all about the fun. And ODST seemed to really deliver it.
Check it out...even if just to prove me wrong.

My friends who bought it said it was fun but felt ripped off by the $60 price tag. Don't get me wrong, I'll go through the game. I've beaten all Halo games on Legendary but ODST will be a rental at best.

I just think it's time to move on to something new. I personally feel that the Halo IP has run it's course.

As with just about every other console MP game, your experience depends on whom you're playing with. Playing with the CoG crowd is worlds better than slumming with the Pubbies.

Actually, the MP matchmaking is very broken. I'm a level 25 in MP because there were so many people playing at launch. Now when I go back I get my ass handed to me because a level 25 now isn't what a level 25 was at launch. It was very easy to rank up but hard to rank down now that the skill set of players have changed... yet I'm still a 25 when I log in. Plus, the biggest flaw of Halo is that I can't pick my gun. Basically the game is all about rushing to weapons and controlling them. That's it. I wonder just how different Halo would be if you could pick any gun you wanted like most FPS's out there. While this works for some, I'm just not a fan anymore.

[Primus]

If this is infact 6 player co-op, this will own me and my friends for a long time. Alose very excited to be a squad of Spartans. The whole 4 player posse of Spartan 117, the Arbiter... and Frick from Frack... of Halo 3 was kind of lame. Those two guys weren't even worthy enough to sniff John's farts.

[Shadowstorm]

Halo 2 MP > Halo 3 MP.

[Poewan]

please follow the book, please follow the book, please follow the book....

Its been a long time since I read fall of reach, but I dont remember them getting "recruits" like what is shown in that trailer. Were not all the spartans spirited away as children and replaced with clones under the nose of their families, and then raised/trained, genetically/chirurgically enhanced to be the perfect soldiers? I dont think there were any more spartans produced, and there were only about 100 of them no? Prehaps I need to read that book again.

Actually, one of my biggest "dissapointments" with the Halo series is that the surrounding fiction is usually far more enjoyable than the actual games ( advertisement campains included ). I only read the first 2 Eric Nylund books, but the games never even came close to doing them justice. And I keep feeling like what goes on in the games often contradicts the fiction of the books.

[JRR006]

I'm waiting on a price drop for ODST, but I loved The Fall of Reach. I'll just echo others hoping that it follows the book.

[MrBibbz]

Its been a long time since I read fall of reach, but I dont remember them getting "recruits" like what is shown in that trailer. Were not all the spartans spirited away as children and replaced with clones under the nose of their families, and then raised/trained, genetically/chirurgically enhanced to be the perfect soldiers? I dont think there were any more spartans produced, and there were only about 100 of them no? Prehaps I need to read that book again.

Actually, one of my biggest "dissapointments" with the Halo series is that the surrounding fiction is usually far more enjoyable than the actual games ( advertisement campains included ). I only read the first 2 Eric Nylund books, but the games never even came close to doing them justice. And I keep feeling like what goes on in the games often contradicts the fiction of the books.


All spartans were spirited away and replaced with clones, but there were almost a few hundred (I believe it was close to two hundred), but after the augmentation process, it was thinned out to less than that. And in the end, a large portion of the SPARTAN IIs were killed in action on Reach, several others fell in combat against the Covenant forces over several skirmish spanning several years. And as the trailer states a SPARTAN is never killed in action, only listed as missing in action.

I'm lead to believe that HALO: Reach tells the story of the SPARTAN IIs that were the last line of defense for Reach, as if I remember correctly the Chief was already on the Pillar of Autumn at the time, or he was tasked with retrieving Cortana and getting to the Pillar.

It's been a while since I've read the book. And to give the whole thing justice, everything that was written had to follow the HALO bible, so it's not like the authors created the fiction from their own imagination(not trying to sound like a dick).

[wyeast]

6 player co-op? Sign me the heck up! :D

[Church42]

Halo 3 left a bad taste in my mouth after they pretty much changed the game to only cater to the super hardcore and made it not fun anymore. There is a reason why more people play COD now than Halo.

I skipped on ODST as did many of my friends and I'm not sure about Reach. We'll see but I don't think they can ever get back their previous glory where they peaked with Halo 2.

It's time for Bungie to move on to a new IP.

Pretty much summed up how I feel about Halo now. Hell, they peaked in the original Halo...I didn't find 2 to be much better than 3. I think what killed any feelings for Halo was that level in H3 where you're trying to locate Cortana in a maze of intestines painted the color 'puke'.

[DeathtollWRX]

Dear Bungie,

Please use the Unreal III engine. Please add meaningful six player co-op where you are more than just an unnamed cloned (see Gears of War). I would also like to see higher resolution graphics and please don't make them so darn dark like in ODST. I would also like to be able to copy the game to my hard drive for faster loading. I would also like to see larger troop carriers, There is no reason why we can't all fit into a large vehicle of some sort, I mean really.. Didn't we do that in Tribes 2?

Last of all Bungie, please release it on PC like six months later so I can really see what Halo SHOULD look like!

Oh and it's not up to Bungie maybe Microsoft can do what I asked.


Either way I'll buy it!

P.S

The Spartan with the skull on his helmet is pretty beastly!

[miah]

As with just about every other console MP game, your experience depends on whom you're playing with. Playing with the CoG crowd is worlds better than slumming with the Pubbies.

My problem is I like to play in online Ranked games. Can't really do that with private parties.

[Squidbot]

Looking forward to this, quite a bit, I think ODST was a great improvement for the franchise and I really hope this builds on that.

[BLeeP]

Bah, the game seems like it might be completely different than what I was hoping for, and although that is my fault it is extremely disappointing.

[fatefodder]

I'm sure most of what's in the trailer is possible in real time, but some of the lighting is a little too magical--specifically the moments from when the new guy steps off the warthog to when the EVA skull suit guy shaving his knife is shown.

The trailer reminded me of the first Halo 2 teaser that was supposedly running on an Xbox, with the Master Chief leaping out of the cargo hold out toward a Covenant cruiser via a gravity vacuum. The final product's actual scene (release two years later) lacked much of the lighting and reflections the trailer demoed. On the same note, even the first Halo 3 trailer looked a little touched up compared to the final game.

Still, I'd like to believe it could happen. Gameplay-wise, all I'd really like is a sprint function. Guess I'll only have to wait until the beta to see how I feel about that.

[H.Bogard]

There's a detailed article over at Digital Foundry about the trailer's visuals. The assets are indeed the same as they're using in game, but tough chance you'll get to see the game with the same quality of lighting and anti-aliasing.

[Xerxes]

I don't know if most of you get Game Informer, but mines just arrive. I think this one adds a little bit more character to the Haloverse finally. No more sterile environments. The in game shots look like what Bungie tried to make people think would be in Halo 3. Also after seeing all these Spartans with so much character, I'm left wondering why the fuck John was so fucking plain. These guys have out fit mods, war paint, other helmets. O_o

[DeathtollWRX]

please follow the book, please follow the book, please follow the book....

Sorry after reading my GameInformer it looks like it's about Spartan never mentioned in the book.


In other Halo news.

The graphics look fantastic and now you will be a part of epic battles with up to 40 AI attacking you at once.

[Lance Uppercut]

The graphics look fantastic

I'm gonna need some hi res screens and more vids. Halo 3 had serviceable graphics, but not anything I would consider jaw-dropping.

[DeathtollWRX]

I'm gonna need some hi res screens and more vids. Halo 3 had serviceable graphics, but not anything I would consider jaw-dropping.

Check out the latest issue of Gameinformer...

Looks good so far... then again those could all be concept art.

[Xerxes]

Its been a long time since I read fall of reach, but I dont remember them getting "recruits" like what is shown in that trailer. Were not all the spartans spirited away as children and replaced with clones under the nose of their families, and then raised/trained, genetically/chirurgically enhanced to be the perfect soldiers? I dont think there were any more spartans produced, and there were only about 100 of them no? Prehaps I need to read that book again.

Actually, one of my biggest "dissapointments" with the Halo series is that the surrounding fiction is usually far more enjoyable than the actual games ( advertisement campains included ). I only read the first 2 Eric Nylund books, but the games never even came close to doing them justice. And I keep feeling like what goes on in the games often contradicts the fiction of the books.

This game put you in the shoes of Spartan IIIs and the biggest Spartan in the trailer was a Spartan II. It was a lot more of them but I'm not sure of the real difference. I think the survival rate of making a III was much higher, but I don't know how bad ass they are in relation to a II.

[Wolvie]

Halo 2 MP > Halo 3 MP.

:eek:

I'll just say I disagree completely and leave it at that.

Anyways, that's a cool little teaser trailer Bungie put out. Nothing special, just a taste of what's to come. In true Bungie form they give us just enough to wet our appetites and leave us starving in the desert while we await the next morsel of info.

Oddly, I'm not really excited about Reach... yet. I need more info before I go all giddy. I can't wait for my next GI to get here.

[Dag-Sabot]

Wasn't there a huge difference in the odst teaser/trailer and actual odst graphics?
-The trailer was great.

[Xerxes]

Wasn't there a huge difference in the odst teaser/trailer and actual odst graphics?
-The trailer was great.

Don't think so. I think that trick only worked for Halo 3.

[Wolvie]

Just got my GI today. I had a total fanboy-gasm. I want this game, nay, I need it!

[Xerxes]

Just got my GI today. I had a total fanboy-gasm. I want this game, nay, I need it!

That was my thoughts, and really, they were still more tight lipped than they could of been.

[Karak]

That was my thoughts, and really, they were still more tight lipped than they could of been.

Ya but the talked about it more than I thought they would with some good info.
As for the graphics they look great. Not perfect but for me its the art design and colors that I like when it comes to Halo. And they seem to have really got it handled well.

I have found that despite getting hyped for games, most if not all let me down. Halo is the single one that has not done that to me.