Post by dlux on Apr 18, 2006 23:26:05 GMT 1
While Sony and Nintendo toil away on their new systems, Microsoft and its software partners are well under way creating the second wave of Xbox 360 games. The most notorious of these partners is Microsoft's first-party developer Bungie, once known for its first-person shooter, Marathon, and the PC Myth series, but needless to say, far better known for the mega-blockbuster Halo. Not much has been said about the next Halo these days, though the occasional rumor pops up here and there. The plain facts are these: Aside from Bill Gates' un-official statement and subsequent retraction that the next Halo will appear when PlayStation 3 does, there ain't nothing.
Following Microsoft's unfortunate, rumor-ridden E3 2005 efforts, in which every single surprise appeared on the Web before it was officially announced, the Xbox 360 manufacturer has taken a different tact: keeping its mouth shut tight. Thus far, they're doing a pretty good job, too. In a way, that's good. Real surprise generates real excitement. And after last year's E3, we could use some real excitement. So, what have we learned thus far about the next Halo? Microsoft is making it difficult for us. All of it is speculation, but we have been able to separate fact from fiction regarding the following rumors, and we've created our own wish list for Bungie to use cost free.
First and foremost: Halo is not coming out this year. Microsoft hasn't announced it, but Bungie is notoriously slow and Microsoft is willing to give their most prominent developer the time to slow-cook their ideas to perfection. That's old news. From what we have gathered, Bungie is still working on fleshing out its engine, fleshing out story details, and figuring out how to work along with those folks from Hollywood. Count on Gears of War, Mass Effect, Too Human and a few other internally-developed games from Microsoft in fall 2006. Just don't count on Halo 3.
Halo 3 is not called Halo 3, nor is it called Halo: Forerunners, as Game Informer suggested. The next Halo doesn't have a full, official name yet. It's just Halo for now. Game Informer's suggested title was speculative, based on a previous name for the game that had long been discarded. When contacted on the subject, Microsoft declined to mention a thing, confirming only that the GI idea was incorrect.
Microsoft and Bungie will show Halo in some form at E3 this year, almost assuredly in video form. Don't count on any playable Halo games at E3 2006 (unless it's Halo 2 running on Xbox 360).
That's it for the rumors. On to our top 10 wishlist. We admit it, we're not game designers. We're gamers. Having played thousands of games, and not just the good ones, hundreds of bad ones too, we've formed some opinions on what makes games good and what makes them bad. We know that Bungie wouldn't hire us as game designers, and honestly, being a designer there is actually one of the hardest jobs in the world right now. We're not jealous. We have, however, played a hell of a lot of Halo and Halo 2, and we all have opinions about how we'd like to see the game's next iteration improve.
Following Microsoft's unfortunate, rumor-ridden E3 2005 efforts, in which every single surprise appeared on the Web before it was officially announced, the Xbox 360 manufacturer has taken a different tact: keeping its mouth shut tight. Thus far, they're doing a pretty good job, too. In a way, that's good. Real surprise generates real excitement. And after last year's E3, we could use some real excitement. So, what have we learned thus far about the next Halo? Microsoft is making it difficult for us. All of it is speculation, but we have been able to separate fact from fiction regarding the following rumors, and we've created our own wish list for Bungie to use cost free.
First and foremost: Halo is not coming out this year. Microsoft hasn't announced it, but Bungie is notoriously slow and Microsoft is willing to give their most prominent developer the time to slow-cook their ideas to perfection. That's old news. From what we have gathered, Bungie is still working on fleshing out its engine, fleshing out story details, and figuring out how to work along with those folks from Hollywood. Count on Gears of War, Mass Effect, Too Human and a few other internally-developed games from Microsoft in fall 2006. Just don't count on Halo 3.
Halo 3 is not called Halo 3, nor is it called Halo: Forerunners, as Game Informer suggested. The next Halo doesn't have a full, official name yet. It's just Halo for now. Game Informer's suggested title was speculative, based on a previous name for the game that had long been discarded. When contacted on the subject, Microsoft declined to mention a thing, confirming only that the GI idea was incorrect.
Microsoft and Bungie will show Halo in some form at E3 this year, almost assuredly in video form. Don't count on any playable Halo games at E3 2006 (unless it's Halo 2 running on Xbox 360).
That's it for the rumors. On to our top 10 wishlist. We admit it, we're not game designers. We're gamers. Having played thousands of games, and not just the good ones, hundreds of bad ones too, we've formed some opinions on what makes games good and what makes them bad. We know that Bungie wouldn't hire us as game designers, and honestly, being a designer there is actually one of the hardest jobs in the world right now. We're not jealous. We have, however, played a hell of a lot of Halo and Halo 2, and we all have opinions about how we'd like to see the game's next iteration improve.