When you first heard the words “free to play” and “Halo 3 engine”, you might have dismissed that weird Russia-only Halo shooter for the PC. You might also have been a little too hasty.
Despite attempts by Microsoft to shut down outsider access to the game’s beta, folks in the English-speaking world have been playing their own version of the game and capturing footage, and...it doesn’t look terrible!
When Microsoft said the version of the Halo 3 engine this game was running on was “heavily modified”, they weren’t kidding; this looks pretty nice, especially ticking along at 60fps like it is in this clip.
GamingPranks, who filmed the footage, say the stuttering you see in the clip isn’t a result of their PC or the capturing process; rather it’s the lag Westerners are experiencing as they’re forced to play the game through third-party services.
The main thing you’ll notice in the video is the speed; there’s a sprint button there, in keeping with more recent Halo games, and it’s pretty quick!
Aside from looking at the game itself, there’s a story in the efforts modders are going to in order to get the game running in the West (and their battles with Microsoft over it) which you can read up over at TorrentFreak.