Halo 3 Gets Mixed Reviews At Sneek Peek

CNET reports that gamers at the invitation-only preview of Halo 3 on Friday had mixed feelings about the game. One complaint was that the graphics weren't as impressive as hoped for and were "not much different than the previous Halo."

Microsoft Game Studios head, Shane Kim, had high hopes though. He believed that it will be bigger than Halo 2 and that along with Spider-Man 3 and the new Harry Potter book, will "be one of the three biggest consumer entertainment events of the year ... This is going to be a huge competitive advantage for us. Sony has nothing like it."

Craig Davison, Microsoft's Director of Marketing, added that, "the publicity surrounding Halo 3 should also spur some consumers to run out and buy an Xbox 360."

[Babylonian]

Hahahaha, Halo 3 will be good. But don't exagerate.

[BIadestarX]

Maybe he was refering to the time when halo will be release. Metal Gear just got pushed back (Delayed). Name the PS3 game that it's guaranteed to sell more copies than Halo3. Can you?

[Babylonian]

Symply because Halo is the most overhyped game ever made. I hear there are pre orders of 4 million or so, just for that game.

Being overhyped is something else than being an amazing game. The game is quite ok, it's not too shabby but it doesn't blow your mind either. But by so many people overhyping the sh!t out of it, then it's going to sell crazy.

I'd rather have something amazing, like MGS4 and FF XII. Bet you think different, but everybody has his own opinions. I just don't think they should say Sony doesn't have anything like it.

Many other people don't like this game and many do, so unless everybody likes it than it isn't something Sony doens't have.

[cuco33]

you mean overhyped like the ps3? and how sony overhyped the system?
and anyone who's not a fanbot will admits that even the overhyped ps3, it's still a good system. halo series was great. not everyone is into a scifi shooter. i am all about realism and the closer it has to today the better. with that said i still found halo 1 and 2 to be a ton of fun.

i'm not a fan of the ff series and even though i do think mgs4 will be great, it'll most likely be over done with cinematics more than anything like the previous titles. halo 3 should be great in terms of online multiplayer. it has a big following so long as it expands the gameplay and visuals it'll be better than halo 2 online

[TheXgamerLive]

It's easy to say b/c it's true. Common sence will show and tell you that. Open your eyes to the world of Xbox 360 and Xbox "Live".

[Saint Sony]

Mixed reviews?.. and THAT IS NEWS? ffs.. everything in this world will get mixed reviews. Some like coffee some don't why isn't that news?

[techie]

the title isn't news. The article is...so read it...the title actually goes through everything that has been said of Halo 3

[DirtyRat]

After seeing the recent multiplayer video of Halo 3 I am not surprised about some of the mixed feelings...I thought the graphics were pretty bland, and indeed comparable to Halo 2.

Halo is an overhyped brand mainly because at the time it was one of the first decent FPS games on a console...but nowadays it no longer holds that title, and I am not seeing anything innovative or new with Halo 3 so far to make it stand out.

[hellraiser501]

halo is like sony right?

[MoonDust]

Seriously. If this looks last yen then everything for the PS3 is last gen too.
http://www.eurogamer.net/vi...

[xfrgtr]

Halo 3 graphics are horrible,it looks "old gen"

[Bathyj]

I agree the graphics look the same but better, but does it matter? This game is going to be a hit no matter what. There's lots of better looking games out now or in developement but none of them are called Halo. Pre-ordaned success.

With everything we're hearing about the Beta, I just hope they're not forgetting about the single player game. I dont give a crap about online, I want good single player.

[FirstknighT]

Once again, for the millionth time...Halo is not about graphics. Gears of war is about graphics, than gameplay. Halo on the other hand is gameplay first, graphics second. And no FPS can beat Halo in terms of gameplay. But from the last gameplay video I see, you can clearly see the improvement over Halo 2 and it is still in its beta stage.

[Annihilator]

But I have to change my mind regarding that ?

[InMyOpinion]

Halo 3 graphics are BETA. Get it? BETA = not done yet. The final build will probably blow everything else away.

[techie]

And yet I thought the graphics looked pretty good...and that's from not very good quality videos? Should I be shot for thinking the Halo character models and grass etc looks good?

[Capt CHAOS]

I have to agree, the graphics do look great, and that's on low res videos, the landscaping (trees, grass, water), is so much better, the animations and movement is more fluid and faster. The physics are better.

I think it'll be a great game. This year is going to be amazing once I get my hands on Halo 3 (oh, and Counterstrike Source).

[gnothe1]

would you PLEASE BUY a console. because it really bothers me how much you post about each system an dont own either!! you ALWAYS have to put you 2 cents in, but when are you gonna put you 2 cents into a system!!

[techie]

WHen I win this month. :)

You can have an opinion on games even though you don't yet own the system. I have opinions on Crysis...but I don't have a system capable of running it.

I have opinions on different car models....but I don't own a car.

I have opinions about the bible, but I don't own a bible.

I have views about the Pope, but I don't own the Pope... ;)

SO you have opinions about Halo3, but you don't yet own Halo3. Ps. I was nice about the game...and didn't take fx35's route and bash it since he doesn't own the system. Which do you prefer?

[THAMMER1]

In other words. DEEPBROWN IS an @ss hole. Yep For sure.

DEEP you should at least buy a used PS3. I mean come on you are on here the most out of any other member, and this site is news for gamers. You can not even really meet girls on this site. Come on Deep... when you gona get a PS3?

[techie]

back off. I play Halo2 on my PC. And is it like I've never owned a console? I play loads of games. Me more than anyone wants a nextgen console, but I'm in the middle of my exams. And you can't just go out and buy a PS3 now can you...they cost money

[FeralPhoenix]

Come on, what's wrong with you guys? I don't always agree with Deep but I don't see why you guys would bash him at all in this particular case, his comments (a compliment) didn't seem to warrant in any way the response he got. I agree, Halo3 looks great, right NOW -even in this Beta stage it looks damm close or just as good as most next gen games, right NOW, yeah it needs a little more to match Gears or some of the top AAA's that are coming soon, but why do people downplay the fact that this is meant to be a test of the multiplayer/online experience? http://www.gamesradar.com/g...

They are going out of their way to garuantee the best possible gameplay/online multiplayer possible, nothing more, and its going to PAY OFF in the FUTURE(when its released), but why the hell would Bungie show all their cards NOW? I mean common sense tells me that they just want to put out something that looks very good now for the Beta and save the polish and added textures for the final build....dammm, its still 5 months to work on the game, obviously by showing so much of the game NOW they have to save something to WOW, fans later. -Personaly I hope after the Beta is over that they "go dark" let everyone "speculate", I mean seriously at this point anybody's who's interested or not knows about Halo3, they don't need to show anything more after the Beta until maybe a month or two before launch with a few pics and a few "near final build" trailers.

[THAMMER1]

Now that I see DEEP is on the war path to win this months contest. I say Do the D@MN thing DEEP. I hope you win so you can get your PS3 with the prize money.

[P4KY B]

quote "They've got five, six months until release, so they'll add some polish...When I compare it to other things in the platform, it's not standout"

So when he compares the BETA to other games on the 360 it doesn't stand out as being better. But he doesn't say its worse. Therefore he must mean its about the same as current 360 games.

Well for a BETA to be similar to current finished games (i don't have to list them, you all know what they are) is pretty damn impressive.

The new screenshots posted today are very nice indeed.

[_insane_cobra]

The visuals are actually quite nice and very sharp, but they still retain the stylized flair of previous Halo games. That's putting some people off, even though they should have known that would be the case. If you look at the actual frame buffer grabs (as opposed to blurry video grabs), the game does look rather nice.

People are also forgetting three things. First of all, this is a *beta* version. Secondly, it's a *multiplayer* *beta* version so everything is tuned for providing a smooth and fun multiplayer experience. I don't doubt the single player portion will look at least somewhat better. Finally, both Halo and Halo 2 were very beautiful looking games, but they weren't necessarily the most graphically advanced titles on the platform. The outdoor environments were always colorful and expansive, but a bit blocky and not terribly detailed. Likewise, the indoor environments were rather simplistic (although beautifully textured) and repetitive. The visuals have never been the biggest draw of the series.

[dalectrics]

...and it's pretty evident to me that about 60%-70% of the textures are placeholder. How can I tell - mainly because if you compare Snowbound to the other two levels you can see that that map has had so much more work done to it than the others. There are some beautiful textures - worthy of Gears comparison, such as the golden tops of the snow bases - but then you go look at some rocks in Valhalla and you realise that they are the same Halo 2 rock textures you've been staring at for 3 years.

All the haters - eat it, this game will be huge and there's nothing you'll do to stop that

All the Halo lovers - prepare for the most fun experience when this Beta goes public on Wednesday

[Skizelli]

Agreed. Halo is fun. You either love it or hate it. I've put over 4,000 online matches into Halo 2 alone, and I can say that Halo 3 looks leaps and bounds better than Halo 2. Those that are saying it looks similar to Halo 2 are either a) blind or b) haven't come to terms with Halo's artistic style. Not once have I played the Halo series thinking, "Wow, this looks great", but rather, "This plays great."

[Xi]

Because they've never played through the game. I remember when I had a friend that said halo was an overrated pos game, just another alien shooter, and there was nothing new or interesting about the game. I then asked him what the flood was, and he didn't know what that was. I let him borrow my xbox and halo, 2 weeks later he bought an xbox and halo, and now he still plays halo2.

[BIadestarX]

I hope that eventually people will get used to betas... For the most part the last thing developers work on is graphics and looks... They first try to get the gameplay, maps, etc. After that they take a few moths to make it look pretty... This game is about to enter BETA. which means it no optimization nor any of the cosmetic stuff have being done... and we have a bunch of people talking about graphics? Many of you sure dont understand the word Beta. There is a reason why this is a beta version you know... expect bugs and the game to not look as the final product will. It's common sense.

[Trickedbullet]

Why is everyong so hyped about a BETA? People are treating it as if it were gold. I would much rather play the final version of the game rather than be spoiled by a beta that is not quite finished. The huge amount of placeholders in the beta are obvious, but the new textures here and there are true jaw droppers. I am already somewhat spoiled because of all the video and pics of the game, but what about the final game? So many people give me the impression that the beta is more important than the game itself and critique the game as if it were done and in stores now.
Have graphics destroyed gaming? I am starting to think so.

[DirtyRat]

Firstly because people (like me) have a critical opinion about the videos and graphics, it does NOT mean we hate the game, and on the contrary all the people who love the game blindly and dont wish to listen to any criticism are not doing themselves or Bungie any favours.

People comment on the graphics because as a next gen title they expect to see next gen visuals, as well as great gameplay.

I really enjoyed Halo on xbox, but I am not yet convinced about Halo 3 - so shoot me! There are just so many other great titles out there which offer great gameplay in multiplayer... look at Quake Wars or Unreal Tournament 3 for example, and nobody can disupte that their graphics aren't superb.

I know its still in Beta but at this stage you normally dont see a huge amount of new additions to the art, but perhaps with some polishing and particularly work on the lighting it will look much fresher.

[MoonDust]

Nothing more. They are not showing all the feature, secrets, weapons and other things still not revealed. They are definitely not showing the final graphics. Judge when the final game comes out, it will nothing short of extraordinary.

[Keyser]

The graphics on Halo 3 look good and to me on par with what Halo brings to the table, more of an emphasis on gameplay.

That's where the problem lies for me. I play Halo 2 a lot to this day. I don't see a lot different in the gameplay except for new maps, and a few new weapons.

Maybe Bungie is hiding the goodies but I would have assumed that a large budgeted Halo would have had something like a thunderstorm roll in while your in the midst of a match and the weather effect the gameplay. Why is it always a sunny day on Halo mulitplayer? Why can't the wind blow or it rain, or an earthquake? (Something truly next gen.)

Why when you blow something up with a rocket or a grenade it only effects the surface with a smudge? Where are the ground deformations. I'm playing Shadow of the Colossus and when a Colussus walks it deforms the ground.

I'm not saying its a bad game and it will sell like birth control pills but I guess I was expecting more.

[PS360PCROCKS]

Ok three words! ITS-A-BETA

[Keyser]

I can appreciate the fact that its a Beta but adding ground and buiding deformation or weather doesn't even seem like the direction they're headed in.

I have both previous Halo's and the collector's edition of H2, what about Halo 3 make's you go "Wow, that's amazing?" It looks like the fun game I've been playing with new maps and new guns.

In November when the game hits I hope I'm terribly wrong.

[PS360PCROCKS]

dude I understand your misguided ideas. But honestly please read their weekly updates they talk about some pretty amazing things their implementing. Like flocks of seagulls...are you serious? Just running through a war torn battle field and all of a sudden seagulls fly over gawking? lol that's hilarious. Dude the grass, the water, the textures, the sound, the ability to see everything even in a very vast distance. It's THEIR! They talk about how their doing it and how it's amazing and they talk about how large it will all be. Dude jump on the hype train man, if you think their going to let a triple core CPU and Xenos and make a game look like ass you got another thing coming. Dude it's Halo and Bungie have their games ever looked like sh*T?

[Keyser]

Who said anything about sea gulls? I'm talking about a hurricane with hurricane physics applied to a battle. No birds. Grass is great but whats so bad about throwing a grenade and the earth opening up like it would in real life? Same for a ROCKET!

I know you're on the hype train but I'm not. A game has to come hard or don't come at all. Halo 3, from the betas appears to be Halo 2.5. Not Halo 3 on a next gen system.