Translated Halo Article from GAMEZ online Translated & Transcribed by Harry Al-Shakarchi, FCA (tomeone@bungie.org) Original Article can be found here. HALO Chicago is known for a couple of things: Michael Jordan or some Mafia boss like Al Capone. But who would think about Bungie? This could change very soon, because Bungie is set to release one of the most stunning games you have ever seen, Halo. Lord of the Rings All the happenings of this game are on a huge ring that is orbiting a giant body of gas, it is a third-person game where humans battle the alien Covenant. Both these races found the ring at the same time, and want to both name it their possession. But the ring is in danger, it is drifting ever so close towards a nearby planet and will surely crash into it. Eye Candy The plot may not be spectacular, but it's good enough. What will take you away though are the breath-taking visuals of this game. You find yourself on a very organic world which offers mountains and rivers. Your sight reaches a couple of hundred metres and you can see the ring looming upwards towards the horizon. There are also trees, grass and even small butterflies that flutter around. Everything looks to real to be a game, an this is what the developers of Halo wanted to achieve; you really feel like you're put into this virtual world, also thanks to the amazing physics of the game. Here's an example for the love of detail the designers have: When driving the jeep, the marine will get pushed forward if braking abruptly. Or, if you do a curve at high speed then the marine will lean out slightly. These are just a few examples of the many different possibilities that the designers of Halo used to make this game as realistic as possible. The weapons for this world So that you just don't walk around aimlessly in this amazing virtual world, Bungie are working on a non-linear solo player mode, in which you can play with the humans or the aliens. Depending on who you choose also decides what kind of weapons you will get. From the simple pistol to the much-loved rocket launcher to a laser (aliens use these). You will also get vehicles in this game; the humans having a jeep on which 3 people can ride and a huge machine gun that is used for "defense". The aliens on the other hand only have flying vehicles, which float approx. 1 metre over the ground and glow lilac in the cockpit. The bot is my friend So that Halo doesn't become yet another silly shooter, you will have teamates when playing solo, whom you can give orders and have a very intelligent AI. An example: you're running from aliens, and you see your jeep ahead with two teamates; these will give you cover by shooting at the pursuing aliens whilst you jump into the jeep and start it. You give a hand signal, and the one teamate will instantaneously use the mounted machine gun to fire at the aliens whilst the other teamate jumps into the passenger seat. Now you make a retreat with the jeep and try to lose the aliens, which are following you with their flying craft. Such an example shows that Bungie relies heavily on teamplay. Halo (Hello) Tribes Bungie is going with the current trend, and wants to make clever multiplayer games like Tribes, Team Fortress 2 and Unreal Tournament look weak. There's something for any type of gamer in Halo; a good racing gamer should take control of vehicles, whilst someone who can shoot very well and aim perfectly should take control of the mounted machine gun, and a player with quick reactions and good deathmatch experiences should use the shotgun. Really everything was thought about in this game, and so it doesn't all become a simple carnage fest, the weapons in Halo have their pros and cons. A rocket launcher for example has a great impact, but is not easy to aim with and reloading time takes a little longer. Through a point system a player can achieve fame, and currently leagues are being thought out. If Bungie only holds a small portion of what they promised then we can see the next king of multiplayer games coming towards us! home

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