Microsoft showcases full version of Halo game
Bangalore: Microsoft has shown off the full version of the long-awaited follow-up to the first person shooter, Halo 3, reports BBC. The Halo series is among the most popular video games of all time selling millions of units worldwide.
In accordance to the events in the last game, the Halo 3: ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers) allows the gamers to take control of a human soldier to fight alien invaders. The game will be available for sales from September 22.
"We expect it to sell well and the chart track data - which looks at what gamers intend to purchase - has Halo 3: ODST pretty high up. The last version of Halo 3 sold more than eight million copies worldwide, although it is difficult to say whether it will be as big as the last one," said Piers Harding-Rolls, Senior Analyst, Screen Digest.
Set towards the end of this millennium, Halo 3: ODST ascertains that the human race is engaged in a life-or-death struggle with a coalition of alien races called the "Covenant".
"Players would notice a big difference from previous Halo titles. There is no Master Chief (the main character in previous Halo games), instead players are going to be more ordinary," said Alex Cutting, Associate Producer, Microsoft Games.
There are a number of game play changes, as the players are regular troopers rather than the turbo charged super soldier Master Chief.
"This means they are going to take damage if they fall off buildings and are not nearly as fast as Master Chief," said Cutting.
"The absence of Master Chief would not be a problem. There might be those who miss him, but I'm expecting they'll be in the minority. Everything else is pure Halo - the weapons, the vehicles, the setting - and it's engineered into the existing world and storyline in a way that even the biggest fans will fully appreciate," said Jon Hicks, Editor of the Official Xbox Magazine, U.K.
The most significant change is how characters' health is affected by events in the game, as Master Chief regenerated health and he could not be shot, the ODST squaddies have a limited supply, which can be topped up from only a few health packs scattered across the map.
The developers, Bungie, have intentionally made the combat location as an African city called New Mombasa in a dark environment. They have added a visor system that has night vision and identifies enemy troopers with a red outline.
Alike the previous versions, fallen enemy soldiers can be looted for weapons and ammo. The version also has silenced pistol which made its debut in the first Halo.
"The pistol is quite a throwback to the Halo 1 pistol, of which people were really big fans," said Cutting.
Various items scattered throughout the game that belonged to fellow troopers, as it is not having a single eyed playing system. Picking up the item will trigger a flashback, putting the gamer in the combat boots of the lost teammate and allow replaying the events that lead up to the item being dropped.
"You find out what your team has been up to during the time you were unconscious after your crash landing on New Mombasa," said Cutting.
The developers have also added a new mode to multiplayer called Firefight. The game sees up to four players defending themselves from successive waves of alien attackers with each group being progressively harder than the last.
"You have to constantly adjust your strategy and work as a team, otherwise you won't last long. As a co-operative game, it is basically a score game and your team is trying to get the highest score possible," said Cutting. The scores are then logged on a tournament ladder on the Bungie website.
According to Hicks, the new Firefight feature gave the game a new dimension, compared with previous titles.
"Fighting off endless waves of enemies has been around since Space Invaders and given some excellent updates in Gears of War 2 and Call of Duty: World at War, but this adds a much brighter and more varied element to Halo. You really feel like you're facing a genuine threat, rather than a simple onrushing horde," said Hicks.
Cutting also informed that the developers are now focusing on the next installment of the Halo franchise - Halo Reach, which is due for release late next year.
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