Halo 2 Announced (w/ screenshots!)

[Asher]

http://www.bungie.net/perlbin/blam.p...announced.html

Highlights include:

a completely new and much more powerful graphics engine (the existing Halo engine was ported to the Xbox in under a year, this new one was designed with the Xbox completely in mind and also is a 2nd generation game, so they're more familiar with the hardware).

Cooperative gaming (through the single player game) via split screen, system link cable (LAN), and Xbox Live. Of course you can also play it in single player mode, but everyone knows cooperative play is much more fun. And now you can cooperatively play with your friends across the street, using the voice headset with Xbox Live, and having the whole TV to yourself.

Slew of other online/LAN/splitscreen play modes (Deathmatches and more)

Here's the story:

After Halo shipped, a lot of people assumed they knew what Bungie would do next. "Of course they'll do a sequel to Halo," went the prevailing wisdom. "They'd be stupid not to capitalize on the success of the first game. And there are so many loose ends to tie up. Yeah, there's definitely a sequel in the works." So it may not come as a surprise to you, dear readers, that we formally announced Halo 2 at X02 in New York City this morning.

I think I can assume that anyone reading about Halo 2 on Bungie's own Halo site probably knows the basics already. You already know Halo 2 is the sequel to Halo. You already know Halo walked off with a ton of rave reviews and Game-of-the-Year awards. You already know the bar has been raised and expectations for a sequel are high. You already know Bungie has no intention of disappointing anyone.

What you really want to know is: "What does it look like? What's new? What's the solo campaign all about? What about multiplayer?" And of course the all-important "When can I get my hands on it?"

The game itself is everything you loved about the original Halo, but with all the knobs turned up to 11 this time round. This is not a quickie "Halo 1.5" follow-up using the same engine. We are using a completely rewritten graphics engine which allows our artists to work in previously unimaginable complexity and detail. Anyone who thinks the original Halo stretched the Xbox's graphical abilities to the limit is mistaken. There are gorgeous new realms to be explored, and Halo 2 will take you there. There will be several new weapons in addition to the reliable old standards from the first game. Not to mention the new vehicles you'll ride into battle. Or the many new enemies you'll face. If you had a hard time with the handful of Covenant races you met in the first game, you may wish to start practicing now; you'll need it when they unleash the rest of their army.

Halo 2 returns you to the role of the Master Chief - still humanity's best weapon against the Covenant. Their defeat at Halo was only temporary, and they are pursuing their goal - the complete obliteration of humankind - with renewed zeal. Human military forces are exhausted and unable to stave off the Covenant's rapid advance toward Earth. Even with the Master Chief back in action, the situation looks dire - and this is at the beginning of the game, before things get a lot worse. In true Bungie tradition, the solo campaign in Halo 2 deepens and expands upon the story that began in the first game: old questions will be answered, new mysteries will unfold, and the truly epic nature of the story will finally be revealed.

Multiplayer is an entirely different kettle of fish. Halo 2 is designed from the ground up to support internet multiplayer games over Xbox Live™. You're no longer limited to playing LAN games against friends who live nearby. What's more, the multiplayer experience is being completely redesigned. The first Halo offered just a glimpse of what we originally had in mind; now, in Halo 2, our designers' vision will come to glorious, explosive fruition.

And the glorious in-game screenshots from an extremely early build (not even close to being alpha yet!):








The video of it in motion (these are screen captures) is going to be released shortly. This was all rendered in real time on actual Xbox hardware at 60fps at the press event according to spectators, and the graphics engine isn't even finished.

[Wiglaf]

Two things: first off, the plot in the first one was a huge letdown for anyone who's played through the Marathon series and this one probably won't be better. Second, it's absurd to look at pre-alpha screenshots and drool about the final. All the xbox tech demos had movie-like images too, and those still haven't materialized after all this time. It's hype and it'll disappoint.

Really...with every single console (and hell, even with the human brain) you've got people saying "we've only tapped 10% of its true power" or whatever when in fact you've damn neared full blast. Let's come back to earth for a second.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Wiglaf
Two things: first off, the plot in the first one was a huge letdown for anyone who's played through the Marathon series and this one probably won't be better.

Plot was more than fine for me. Plot twists and competent cutscenes.

Second, it's absurd to look at pre-alpha screenshots and drool about the final. All the xbox tech demos had movie-like images too, and those still haven't materialized after all this time. It's hype and it'll disappoint.

Ah, wiggy, you haven't a clue what you're talking about.
The Xbox tech demos were done in 3DS Max as pre-renders since the hardware did not exist yet. And they are quite possible on the Xbox, in fact the Raven character from the robot fight scene is a playable hidden character in Amped. It's the exact same model, they exported it from 3DS into the game like the other boarders.

Secondly, this was running on a standard commercial Xbox at the press briefing. Not a developer's kit, not a simulation computer, not pre-rendered hardware -- it was a realtime demo on standard hardware. You seem to think that as the graphics engine is developed more its quality will DROP on fixed hardware?

Really...with every single console (and hell, even with the human brain) you've got people saying "we've only tapped 10% of its true power" or whatever when in fact you've damn neared full blast. Let's come back to earth for a second.

I know, and I love how they say that, but it's obvious Halo didn't use the full potential. The engine was up to four years old, originally written for the Mac, then Mac + PC, and in the last year ported to Xbox.

It's also obvious, looking at any modern 3D console, that image quality improves dramatically from generation to generation of games on the consoles as developers learn how to use it. Compare Tekken Tag Tournament on the PS2 to Metal Gear Solid 2...

[November Adam]

Oh this game looks sooo good.

Hey Asher have you heard anything about X-Box live in Canada?

[Asher]

Xbox Live in Canada won't be any different from the US'. It'll launch at the same day (November 5th), both starter kits will be 1 year subscription + headset + Acclaim's "Revolt" as a game, and both kits will be the price of a typical game (50 US, 70-75CDN).

I actually made it into the second phase of the Xbox Live beta selection, they're going to reply in a week or so if I got a beta spot. 10,000 people get to betatest starting in a couple weeks until it launches.

[November Adam]

Sweet deal... make a thread if you do get a spot. I would be interested in hearing about it.

So do you think the X-Box will suffer slow down from other cable useres in your neighbour hood. I heard the X-Box will only use about 65kb, which means little to me cause I don't know how much my cable connection uses. I think its around 1mb.

[Asher]

Nah, it'll be just like all other online games. Shaw has a pretty awesome infrastructure, it doesn't slow down very much at all even in peak usage.

BTW, here's the press release with more info:

NEW YORK — Aug. 8, 2002 — Bungie Studios, Microsoft Game Studios' premiere 1st party game-development studio, today ended rampant speculation by officially announcing "Halo 2" for the Xbox™ video game system. Members of the press were treated to their first look at this sequel to Bungie's award-winning "Halo: Combat Evolved™", Electronic Gaming Magazine's "Game of the Year", game during "X02", a Microsoft press event held in New York City.

"Halo 2" continues the story of the Master Chief, a genetically enhanced super-soldier who is the only human ever to successfully defy the Covenant—a coalition of alien races on a murderous march toward Earth. To the mysterious leaders of the Covenant, the human victory at the ancient ring structure known as Halo was an unacceptable failure. They will not fail again.

"Halo 2" surpasses its predecessor in graphical beauty and combat intensity. "'Halo 2' is a lot like 'Halo', only it's 'Halo' on fire, going 130 miles per hour through a hospital zone, being chased by helicopters and ninjas," explained Jason Jones, the head of Bungie Studios, "and the ninjas are all on fire, too." The Master Chief and his marine allies return to battle the full complement of Covenant forces, as well as as-of-yet-unrevealed foes.

"Halo 2" expands the Master Chief's already substantial arsenal with powerful new weapons, many pried from the twitching claws of his defeated enemies. This sequel also increases Halo's number of drivable vehicles giving players many more ways to speed into battle or explore the game's vast landscapes.

"Halo 2" is powered by a completely new graphics engine designed specifically for the Xbox hardware. "Our code squeezes every drop of power out of the Xbox," said Chris Butcher, one of "Halo 2's" engineering leads. "We're doing dynamic lighting and shadows, per-pixel everything, rendering gigantic, lush environments. The graphical features we're using are so advanced we don't even have buzzwords for them yet."

In addition to an epic single-player campaign, "Halo 2" has support for multiplayer action via split-screen, Xbox "System-Link" and online through Microsoft's "Xbox Live™" service. "We still have the multiplayer game-types that people loved in 'Halo', but we're planning something special for multiplayer in 'Halo 2,'" hinted Jaime Griesemer, "Halo 2's" lead designer. "I don't want to ruin the surprise, but imagine the essential 'Halo' single-player experience: pitched battles between the humans and the Covenant, massive vehicle and infantry engagements. Now imagine that every combatant is an actual person playing over Xbox Live!" "Halo 2's" online multiplayer will feature squad-oriented team-play, real-time voice chat and extensive community support when it ships at the end of next year.

An official, downloadable version of the "Halo 2" announcement trailer will be available soon. This is the same trailer shown to the press at Microsoft's X02 event, and features two-and-a-half minutes of in-engine footage as well as an original musical score by Bungie's award-winning composer, Martin O'Donnell. For now, please head to http://www.bungie.net or click the links on the left for exclusive screenshots from the trailer.

[Asher]

Project Gotham Racing 2 was also unveiled today.

50 fully licensed/damagable cars including the brand new Ferrari supercare "Enzo"(?), bunch more tracks, better graphics, and Xbox Live support.

[DarthVeda]

So whatever happened to Halo 1 for the PC?

[Asher]

It's coming out in Summer 2003. A couple months before Halo 2 comes out for the Xbox.

I think it's a trap to get PC gamers addicted to Halo, then wave Halo 2 infront of them as an Xbox exclusive a couple months later.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by DarthVeda
So whatever happened to Halo 1 for the PC?

It is taking awhile because it isn't going to be a straight port.

[Asher]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
It is taking awhile because it isn't going to be a straight port.

It's taking a while because MS has a 1.5 year Xbox exclusive contract.

Seriously, a straight port itself from PC <-> Xbox takes only a couple of weeks. What they're adding to the PC version is a couple more multiplayer modes and support for the Zone, nothing to take more than a month to add, max. Support for additional hardware isn't much of an issue -- this game is powered by DirectX.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

I am wandering will Halo for PC be sooo good. So what happens Halo 2 for Christmas 2004

By than DX9 games will be the norm.