New Halo 3 footage and interview

[capncnut]

Just came in, the new Bungee pre-christmas showcase for Halo 3. In the second Bungie “Vidoc” we take a long hard look at the ferocious new antagonist for Master Chief, the Brute. Now that a tentative alliance has formed between Humans and Elites, the fighting focus of Halo 3 switches to the monstrous Brutes. These tenacious foes have improved graphically with the advent of the Halo 3 engine and the power of the Xbox 360, but more importantly, their tactics, weapons, vehicles and AI have all followed suit, making the Brutes the worthiest opponents the Chief has ever faced. See how the designers, artists and programmers set about the herculean task of replacing a fan favorite – the mighty Elite – with an unforgettably ferocious adversary. See how Brutes behave in packs and as individuals with brilliant new animation and AI. Take a first look at the new Brute graphics, weapon and armor designs and finally, get the first ever public glimpse at Halo’s legendary Campaign.

[capncnut]

Bungie Weekly Update - 2/9/2007 4:23 PM PST: "Oh, Cortana is here. Yup, her soft blue loveliness is recording dialog today in Jay’s booth. Jen Taylor, as she’s known outside the world of UNSC virtual AI projections, is an accomplished actress in her own right, with dozens of game, movie and theater roles under her belt (she’s also the voice of Princess Peach from the Mario series), but we love her best as Master Chief’s right hand girl. Her reprised role in Halo 3 will probably be a challenging one, since Cortana’s circumstances are considerably darker and more terrifying than in prior appearances. One thing you already know from Halo 2 – she’s not with the Chief now, but rather, in the clutches of the Gravemind on the ruinous High Charity. I got chills listening to some of her dialog, but not when she said, “The damn popper-stopper ruined everything!” Don’t worry, that’s not Cortana dialog. Actually, we asked Jen what she thought of the “new” state of Cortana in Halo 3 and she said, “There’s a lot more drama and a lot less technical jargon this time around. I actually just finished a couple of lines that nearly had me in tears. For an actor, more drama is always good.” Tom Doyle, 3D artist and Street Fighter cheapster extraordinaire, is finishing up work on a new weapon – a weapon which had previously consisted of a bent green box. That was the placeholder graphic. The new version is no longer a bent green box, and frankly is unlike any other Halo weapon ever, both in aesthetic influence and a couple of other ways I can’t go into yet. However, I have to say, it still looks “correct” to the universe and perhaps more importantly, it looks scary and powerful. And an old weapon looks significantly more powerful now, thanks to a couple of new animation and graphic effects. The trusty rocket launcher now features a fiery blowback from the exhaust port, and an accompanying Spartan animation that you’ll enjoy watching (or not) in Multiplayer games. It looks cool, as hot exhausts spews out in a cloud of flame, followed by wispy smoke. A subtle touch, but an important one – much like the inclusion of moving vegetation I just spotted in an early Campaign level – walk through a low-lying leafy plant and have it react physically to your presence. Radness." Seems like things are running along nicely.

[Danny]

that et tu brute vid is proper old news now, like maybe over a month, but that second article is new, i cant wait wonder if that new weapon is a forerunner one found at the ark in africa?

[capncnut]

I'm just hoping that all of this interactive background and living plantlife stuff is utilised fully. Imagine getting into a scrap with a Brute, only to have a tree grab you or a plant spit venom at you. Sounds awesome. I seriously hope they tweak the weapons too, I loved the pistol from the first Halo and the SMG from the second. That said, the shotgun was pretty nifty, ideal for wasting the Flood - I wonder how these weapons will change in the third installment? that et tu brute vid is proper old news now, like maybe over a month Yes, I posted it on the Dec 21.