Halo 3 multiplayer looking good

By Ellie Gibson Published 23 May, 2006

Bungie's already testing it.

An update on the Bungie website has revealed that the multiplayer element of Halo 3 is coming along nicely - in fact, they've already started testing it.

"Lars, one of the new(er) multiplayer designers, has a regular multiplayer test in session now - that happens every day - and with surprisingly polished-looking graphics, although I'm told a lot of the textures and decorator objects are just placeholder at the moment. Could have fooled me," the update reads.

And there's good news for those of you who aren't planning to invest in one of those fancy new televisions any time soon - Bungie has been trying out Halo 3 on "old-school 4:3 480i NTSC TV sets, which tells you two things.

"One is that we're making sure this game looks awesome on non-HD sets, and two, that there is always a crazy rush to get to the sets that are HD during those sessions." So good news if you have got a fancy telly too, then.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (45) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • killyourtv #1 6 years ago

    yeah

  • Lothar Hex #2 6 years ago

    What a waste of a first post. HANG YOU HEAD IN SHAME!

  • gingerlink #3 6 years ago

    cahnces are it shoudl've been good after halo 2, hope the storyline line keeps up this thime as well though

  • #4 6 years ago

    So what's the eta on this game? 2007 Q3? Later?
    Suddup already. This Halo fixation has to stop. Just look at all the quality titles coming before!
    I can guess Halo 3 will be a FPS with a 2 weapon limit, dual weilding etc etc.
    No info on how H3 will in any way be different than 2 on in MP.
    The real seller for me will be the single player campaign. Halo 2 let me down of this element, and 3 better be better.

  • morriss #5 6 years ago

    This was up early Saturday morning on their site along with the new screenie posted in EG's News yesterday.....

  • dsmx #6 6 years ago

    mabye this time they will get it balanced

  • The-Bodybuilder #7 6 years ago

    Let the halo-bashing commence......

  • nickthegun #8 6 years ago

    Am I the only one in the world who comes into Halo threads just to tell everybody how much I dont like Halo?

  • gizmo #9 6 years ago

    Wow, do you come into threads of EVERY SINGLE game you don't like? Thats dedication.

    Or is it just Halo?

  • lambtron #10 6 years ago

    lol

    Halo 2 MP was awesomo. Just awesomo.

    Just hope they spend a bit more time on the SP element this time.

  • Salubrious_K #11 6 years ago

    I'm most interested in where they take the whole matchmaking thing in MP. Halo 2 is still the only game I've played with such a system, and it would be great if they ironed out all the problems with it

  • Pogle #12 6 years ago

    Nothing wrong with them saying their game is good, I'd be amazed if they said it was looking a bit shit, sorry lads, or something. But EG's headline implied they'd actually seen it themselves and I thought this was an "eyes on" comment about something EG had seen.

    Scary idea that everytime Bungie says HALO3 is good its going to get headlines reporting it as fact. Its PR, not fact. Learntoreportffsnewbs.

  • reality_cheque #13 6 years ago

    @Pogle: It's a fact - it might be an incorrect fact, but it's still a fact :p

    @Lothar: You're rather he put "FIRST!!!!!"?

    Re-reading the Halo books atm, this had better be superawesome or me and Bungie will be having fisticuffs. (preferably on DOA4, because I can't fight irl)

  • Bitkari #14 6 years ago

    Let the halo-bashing commence.....

    I'll just say that split-screen multiplayer is awful.

    Yes, that includes Goldeneye.

  • Steroyd #15 6 years ago

    aren't making next gen games looking pretty on SD supposed to be common practice?

    does Xbox 360 games in general look ugly in SD or something?

  • Yossarian #16 6 years ago

    hopefully they start with the current state of H2 multiplayer as a platform and don't tinker with it too much. it took a few autoupdates etc. before H2's multiplayer felt right

  • Darkedge #17 6 years ago

    "I'll just say that split-screen multiplayer is awful.

    Yes, that includes Goldeneye."

    Ditto. Goldeneye just gave doom style play to consoles years after PC's were doing it and meant you had to labotomise yourself for multiplayer by not looking at their parts of the screen. Dumb.

  • Yossarian #18 6 years ago

    I always looked at their parts of the screen, it's fair game

  • t8yman #19 6 years ago

    this is only going to sound like a troll post, but I genuinely found H2 to feel sluggish, heavy, slow and everything I dislike about a good FPS. I never ever got it. There seems to be so many H2 fanboys and the game just passed me by. Maybe I am weird.
    And the fact that when I got online, I couldnt manage 2 steps without being spawn camped.

  • Skooch #20 6 years ago

    Pointless article...followed by even more pointless comments.

    If you don't like Halo then f*ck off and play something else. If you do, then f*ck off and play it - but reading the same damn posts EVERY SINGLE TIME a Halo article is submitted is boring.

    EDIT: /rant ends. Sorry, but really get bored with the whole Halo Fanboys vs. Halo Bashers debate.
    Edited by Skooch at 23/05/06 @ 13:48

  • Carrybagma #21 6 years ago

    drip
    drip
    drip
    the
    slow
    but
    sure
    drip
    feeding
    of
    Halo
    3
    information
    continues
    in
    the
    months
    leading
    up
    to
    release
    drip
    drip
    cannot
    wait
    for
    another
    screen
    shot
    mmm
    drip
    drip

  • Triggerhappytel #22 6 years ago

    That's great news. Really, I'm ecstatic.

    Now could you please add a half-decent Campaign mode this time Bungie?!
    Edited by Triggerhappytel at 23/05/06 @ 14:03

  • saysomething #23 6 years ago

    ...And make that Flood-thing go away. Please.

  • #24 6 years ago

    Oh God the flood. I'd almost blotted that one out!
    Flood = excuse for not needing to implement half-decent AI in game.
    The satisfaction from killing a single elite in legendary mode was so much greater than wave upon wave of flood.
    /Wonders if I've ever seen better AI than that of the soldiers in HL

  • thinktank #25 6 years ago

    The individual AI in HL can't be beat, but neither can the team Al H2.

  • peterfll #26 6 years ago

    Ooo, what a load of old whingers.

    \must be the weather or some'mink.

  • Xerx3s #27 6 years ago

    Rereading the books & replaying the games atm. Still as brilliant as ever. \0/

  • #28 6 years ago

    thinktank - did you mean the other way round?

  • The-Bodybuilder #29 6 years ago

    >"Yes, that includes Goldeneye."

    Poor lonely PC gamer. Never understanding the joys of having mutliple friends (as in tangible human beings) play on the same console with you all at the same time, whilst other friends pack the room and cheer on like a football match.
    Beats being in a dingy room playing quake with other losers.

    /cough

    :-)

    Yep, I went there.

  • AtomicBanana Verified Level Designer, Playground Games #30 6 years ago

    'Poor lonely PC gamer. Never understanding the joys of having mutliple friends (as in tangible human beings) play on the same console with you all at the same time, whilst other friends pack the room and cheer on like a football match.
    Beats being in a dingy room playing quake with other losers. '

    Evidently there's a lot about PC gaming you don't know :)

  • The-Bodybuilder #31 6 years ago

    >"Evidently there's a lot about PC gaming you don't know :)"

    I know one thing for sure, it doesn't beat having a bunch of your friends over playinh halo/goldeneye/pro evo/mario kart on a massive screen, that's for sure.

  • crozon #32 6 years ago

    >I know one thing for sure, it doesn't beat having a bunch of your friends over playinh halo/goldeneye/pro evo/mario kart on a massive screen, that's for sure.

    No it involves playing Half-life 2, X3, Rome Total War, Oblivion, Battlefield 2 on a big screen (You know you can plug a PC in) while people on the sofa look at it amazment................

    Poor console gamers must kicking themselfs cause the best graphics award for games featured in E3 went to PC exclusive Crysis (according to gamespot and ign).......christ i thought the PS3 was going to give us killer graphics.........:)) (i know i am been cheeky and starting a new pc vs console war. couldn't help it..........sorry)

  • Pogle #33 6 years ago

    You see EG, you see what happens when you post shit articles that bring nothing of real value to our lives?
    PC Gamers vs Console Gamers bitching. (I'm an old school quake style gamer that also loves the mates around a big screen sharing the experience thing too).

    Really EG, and I'm saying this for your own benefit, if you've got nothing to add to the world fuck off back to bed and dont post this drivel.

  • #34 6 years ago

    When I have mates around it takes about 10 minutes of me 'showing off' the 360/newest game etc. while they look on until I feela bit awkward and we break out monkeyball/bomberman/GRAW 4-P/Something more fun.
    I seriously cringe when I think of the image of my friends round my house huddled around the computer screen watching me play the latest and greatest graphics wank-fest that I may have gotten.
    /Totally agrees with BodyBuilder
    /Totally agrees with Pogle and lovin the Big Lebouski reference.

    BTW Crozon of the 5 games you mentioned, 3 are available for consoles, and watching a friend play Rome: Total War is about as good as that TV show based around it.
    Half Life 2 - on xbox.
    Oblivion - you seen the 360 version right?
    BF2 - ditto.

    Now give me 5 good 'party' games for the PC, I'll give you 5 for consoles:
    Bomberman
    Super Monkeyball
    Kung Fu Chaos
    Powerstone
    Mariocart
    Edited by at 23/05/06 @ 17:16

  • tengu #35 6 years ago

    Here's hoping the single player sounds as good when they decide to tack it on as well :)

  • The-Bodybuilder #36 6 years ago

    >"No it involves playing Half-life 2, X3, Rome Total War, Oblivion, Battlefield 2 on a big screen (You know you can plug a PC in) while people on the sofa look at it amazment................"

    As james said, 3 of those games are on consoles.
    Horses for courses, I would rather my friend join me on a great game (halo, goldeneye, GT, Forza, Powerstone, numerous fighting games, mokey ball, e.t.c) than sit thier and go, "everyone look at this crysis games, with amazing graphics, cuz we all know graphics mean great gameplay. Isn't it great? Pity you sit thier bored out of your skull whilst I have all the fun playing with AI instead of real people".

    But like I said, some people are social, some are more, PC gamers. :-D

    /agrees with pogle.
    /starts PC vs console war anyways.

  • Jowiddaflo #37 6 years ago

    i hope its good....

  • NegativeZero #38 6 years ago

    I'll be happy as long as they overhaul the fudgey dual wielding system, and drop the SMG as the default weapon.

    "One is that we're making sure this game looks awesome on non-HD sets, and two, that there is always a crazy rush to get to the sets that are HD during those sessions."

    Am I the only one who took this to mean that it looks pretty shitty on non-HD sets? If there's a mad scramble to get on HD sets then the standard TV version must be pretty bad.

  • morriss #39 6 years ago

    "Oh God the flood. I'd almost blotted that one out!
    Flood = excuse for not needing to implement half-decent AI in game.
    The satisfaction from killing a single elite in legendary mode was so much greater than wave upon wave of flood.
    /Wonders if I've ever seen better AI than that of the soldiers in HL"

    The Flood are the very reason Halo's exist you moron. You can't just get rid of them. They're the whole game.

    /shakes head

    Edited by morriss at 24/05/06 @ 01:06

  • Yossarian #40 6 years ago

    also, popping the Flood with the shotgun is more satisfying than picking scabs

  • reality_cheque #41 6 years ago

    "Am I the only one who took this to mean that it looks pretty shitty on non-HD sets? If there's a mad scramble to get on HD sets then the standard TV version must be pretty bad."

    Hmm, do I want to play on a big posh hidef tv, or shall I play on this standard one? Just because people want to play on the nice tellys, doesn't mean it's shit on the standard models, it just means it's not as good as the HD version! Which tbh I would have thought was fucking obvious...

  • Triggerhappytel #42 6 years ago

    "The Flood are the very reason Halo's exist you moron. You can't just get rid of them. They're the whole game." - morriss

    I think you can have a Halo game without the Flood. I think you can have a Halo game without a Halo.

    It's like, everything in the build-up to Halo 2 told us we were going to be battling the Covenant on Earth. So we finally get to play the game, play 2 short & rather rubbish levels on Earth and are then transported to another Halo. It's like Bungie wanted to try something new, but whimped out and thought there had to be a Halo in the game.

    As long as you are battling the Covies in good level design, I don't really care where it is set.

  • AtomicBanana Verified Level Designer, Playground Games #43 6 years ago

    'But like I said, some people are social, some are more, PC gamers. :-D'

    heh, it's amusing you don't realise it's easily possible to be both :p I play with all the major consoles and my PC as well - I'd not give either one up as they're both great. Slagging off the PC just because don't like it and insulting it's users for the same reason only makes you look bad.

  • The-Bodybuilder #44 6 years ago

    >"only makes you look bad."

    I'm bad to da bone, baby.

  • #45 6 years ago

    Ah morriss, thank you so much for calling me a moron.
    Personally I remember all the previews for Halo back in, god knows, like, 1997, when it looked to be a squad-based PC shooter. In not one of those videos did I see any mention of the flood. Also the covenant were strictly religious and were hell-bent of the destruction of mankind. A lot changed when MS picked up the studio it seemed.
    I was very excited at the prospect of being a marine as part of a team working together to out-fox and out-flank some covenant elites (they weren't even named the as I recall).
    My guess is you've only known Halo as the xbox game it was, are a true addict of it, and will defend it to the hilt no matter what. Get some perspective - play Half Life 2 and tell me it isn't better than Halo 2.