Halo 3 ViDoc Analysis (Update)
Wednesday
Posted in Xbox 360 News, Halo 3 at 11:56 am by UNSCleric
If you haven’t already, go watch the new seven minute Halo 3 video up on Xbox Live Marketplace (Update: Or at the bottom of this entry!). There’s nothing I will be spoiling from the video, since there’s nothing really in the area of spoilers contained in the video, but seeing it first will make this easier to follow.
To the left is what the Brutes looked like in Halo 2. Most people didn’t think fighting the Brutes was nearly as fun as the other species of Covenant, something I agree with. Ever since Halo 2 ended over two years ago, I have wondered how Halo 3 was going to play out with the revelation that the Elites are no longer going to be fighting for the Covenant, and that it was obvious the Brutes would now become the main enemy.
Bungie also agrees that fighting the Brutes is not as fun as they were hoping. In the new video they refer to Brutes as “damage sponges”, referring to the fact that they had no reactions to your bullets until they finally just died. They also say that in order for the Brutes to take the place of the Elites and behave more like them for the sake of gameplay, they have to be completely redone. The video then shows the new look of the Brutes, which we saw a very quick glimpse of in the Halo 3 commercial that released a coupe weeks ago. They explain that this new look is to give the Brutes a more menacing look as the main enemy in Halo 3, and less of a gorilla-type look. They certainly do look very different.
Another thing you will see in the trailer is footage of some new attacks the Brutes will be doing in Halo 3. One scene shows a Brute actually pulling off the arms of a human while standing behind him/her. Halo 3 is truely going to have a darker feel is things like that are going to be common. There was also several shots of a Brute chieftain striking a human in the head with the spiked Brute hammer. Things like this prove that Bungie is trying its hardest to make you hate the Brutes more than you ever hated the Elites. They also showed alpha footage of a Brute crushing a person against a wall, and also slamming into and tipping over a Warthog.
One of the more interesting alpha scenes showed an Elite, who was dual weilding plasma swords, taking down a Brute (by slicing off both its legs), and then stabbing it in the chest with one of the swords. It was reminiscent of scenes from both the Halo Wars trailer and the Halo Graphic Novel. From this footage alone, you can tell that the combat in Halo 3 is going to be absolutely brutal.
I had always been concerned how Halo 3 was going to be play with the Elites seemingly not being an enemy. I had always figured that the Elites that were already at Earth at the end of Halo 2 would not be aware of the Prophet’s betrayal of their race, and continue to be a main enemy in Halo 3, but it seems that with this new focus on the Brutes, that this will not tbe the case, at least not for most of the game.
The video also showed quite a bit of Halo 3 campaign footage, there was footage of the assault rifle, the rocket launcher, the SMG, the shotgun, and maybe one or two more weapons. The first area they showed seemed to be a Brute ambush on what looked like some kind of camp for the soldiers. The second area they showed was an indoor level, and it almost looked like a parking garage or tunnel or some kind. The graphics were good, but nowhere near final quality, since this was all from an alpha build of the game.
Another interesting bit that may not mean anything, but is worth mentioning, is the title of this video. ‘Et Tu, Brute? This may just be a clever way of slipping in one of the most famous lines, or it may mean something more deep. As I said in the entry below,
“Et tu, Brute?” were, according to legend, the last words of Julius Caesar.
On March 15, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was attacked by a group of senators, including Marcus Junius Brutus, a senator and Caesar’s close friend. Caesar initially resisted his attackers, but when he saw Brutus, he supposedly spoke those words and resigned himself to his fate.
Probably the most famous 3 words uttered, “Et tu, Brute?”, this expression has come to mean ultimate betrayal by one’s closest friend(s).
The ultimate betrayal of a close friend? Is this referring to Prophets betraying the Elites? Or could it be more sinister, and be referring to Cortana? Anything regarding this would be pure speculation however, and there’s not much to go on. It’s an interesting title to pick either way.
Due to this video, I now believe that fighting the Brutes will be a lot more enjoyable this time around. Another thing Bungie mentioned was how they’ve programmed the Brute AI to be aware of what other Brutes or Covenant are doing (like Grunts) and can order them all to throw a grenade all at once for example. It’s interesting that the Grunts are with the Brutes in the video, since they had seemed to be on the side of the Elites at the end of Halo 2. It’s possible that the Grunts will be on whatever side they’re forced to be on though, so there may be Grunts on both sides of the Covenant civil war.
The fate of the Grunts is just one of the many interesting things that will be played out in Halo 3 this coming year.
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posted by Wasted Rage @ 12/20/2006 04:48:00 PM,
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The Authors
Brock Raybon - Wasted Rage
Brock is a business owner by day and avid gamer and blogger by night. He writes about console and pc gaming, hdtv and technology news. Definitely a "CONSOLE FANBOY" born with a 2600 joystick in his hand.
Chris Lugo - Master Sinwave
Chris works in customer services by day and moonlights as a hardcore techie by night. He started gaming as a young lad with his trusty Atari and now plays it all from console to hardcore pc games. HE GIVES CONSOLE AND PC GAMES A FAIR SHAKE.
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