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Denver, 10:41 PM
Mon Dec 14
44 posts in the last 24 hours
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09/17/09
"Halo 3: ODST provides a new campaign from the point of view of an entirely new character. Combine that with three new multiplayer maps, the entirely new cooperative mode called Firefight, and the complete Halo 3 multiplayer collection on a standalone disc, we feel this is a good value and tremendous addition to the Halo franchise."
$60 for an expansion. Not surprising from a company that charges people for Gamer Pics.
09/17/09
It's basically a numbers game. And honestly, co-op modes like Firefight sounds awesome to me.
IMO it's better than GTA4 stories being sold for $40. I'd rather download for $20.
09/17/09
Anyway, looks to be shaping up better than I had hoped. Glad I got it preordered the other day along with Brutal Legend.
09/17/09
That would be an Engineer. They appeared in some of the novels. Engineers figure into the Firefight mode as a way to grant shields to nearby enemies. They also provide an elegant point of failure for you to attack.
09/17/09
Thanks guys. I didn't recognize the Engie because it had a full suit of armor on. After taking a peak at some of the concept art at the Halopedia, I understand now.
09/17/09
09/17/09
The Engineers were found by the Covenant and incorporated into the Covenant with the Covenant thinking they were just another alien race that happened to be able to completely take apart and reassemble almost anything mechinical including Forerunner tech. It turns out that the engineers only appear to be biological creatures and if you go down to a level so small that it's undectable to anyone in the Halo universe, they are actually artificial. They are mechanical beings created by the Forerunners themselves to do more complicated yet menial mantenence that thier robotic AI's can't do. At least that's the gist of it.
They almost made it in as background characters in Halo 2 but due to time constraints and such they had to focus on more important things.
09/17/09
09/17/09
Still though, better than what I thought it was going to be.
09/17/09
Check out the other ViDoc.
09/17/09
From what I gather it is Halo 3 with med packs instead of Auto Health Regen. The Horde mode if that makes it into the final game will probably be awesome.
From what I understand this is just an expansion.
Bungie and MS are justifying the full price of this title by including all of the map pack DLC with the game. Something PC FPS fans typically get for free.
09/17/09
09/18/09
09/17/09
09/17/09
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09/17/09
we're talking about Bungie and ValvE here.
I expect no less from the two premiere names in game development today.
09/17/09
09/17/09
09/17/09
It'll most likely be 80 pixels short of a "official" HD resolution... again. But if by "sacrificing" 80 pixels to get a better experience, who cares?
09/17/09
I'm not sure it is sacrificing with their budget, and since it has been an issue since before halo 3 came out.
09/17/09
A lot of games don't run on the "official" HD resolutions. If I recall correctly, they were running Halo 3 on a sub-HD resolution because of "High Dynamic Range" lighting. The choice between 80 more pixels or that, isn't a hard decision to make really.
09/17/09
And yet lots of other developers haven't had to make that choice. For their budget and time they should, by this time, be able to get around that.
09/17/09
That might be so, but the amount of games that are running on 60fps and being rendered on 720p or higher are quite hard to find. For example CoD 4 and 5 run on 60fps but on a sub-HD resolution. GoW2 is rendered at 720p, but capped at 30fps. Same for Killzone 2.
It just doesn't seem to be that easy of a thing to do.
09/17/09
30 fps is fine for me. I've played those games, they work fine.
Loads of games are in HD.
Actual HD.
A number of them in Full HD
Flagship titles not being in hd is seemingly lazy.
09/17/09
09/17/09
Sub HD content having to be upscaled doesn't exactly scream quality in person.
Full HD being 1080p, not 720 which is what these games haven't been able to hit.
09/17/09
I never said 30fps wasn't fine. I was using it as an example that running a First-person shooter at 60fps and rendering it at 720p or higher is hard.
So choices have to be made, and reducing the framerate to be a "HD" game sounds like something a marketeer would do. It sounds nice, but it's just stupid.
The sub-HD resolution isn't noticeable at all, but the difference between a 30fps cap and a 60fps cap is.
The lazy part is rather odd remark to make. I think you shouldn't cling to the HD resolutions that much. They don't say a thing about quality, just the amount of pixels.
ODST wouldn't be a better game if it was rendered at 720p.
09/17/09
I can really picture, sometime in the distant future, Gears' Horde & ODST's Firefight becoming a DLC game that we can download straight to our HDD.
09/17/09
Epic vs Bungie: Firefight of the Hordes
09/17/09
09/17/09
08/27/09
08/27/09
08/27/09
08/27/09
Too bad he dies. He was one of the best if not the best character in Halo.
08/27/09
PS - No response in 60 seconds? Dids not expect that, haha...
08/27/09
08/27/09
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08/27/09
I don't like to play online, it's a fucking nightmare. I guess that's the only reason I've been a Halo hater.
08/27/09
Just...ignore it.
08/27/09
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08/27/09
i think a lot of people are in your boat. halo's multiplayer is pretty complex and frustrating..but once you get good, you're hooked.