KEY POINTS:
Halo maker Bungie has given the game's millions of global players what they had hoped for in providing online co-op play for the forthcoming Halo 3.
And the good news for us Kiwis is that we will be the first to get our gaming mits on the beloved unit thanks to the time zone.
We'll be able to buy it at one minute past midnight on September 25, assuming stores stay open for the launch as they no doubt will.
Bungie announced up to four players can join up and play through the campaign mode online. You will also be able to tackle all the missions using Xbox Live or a system link LAN connection.
But that won't mean you have have four players using your 360 - just two players, the others using Xbox Live or System Link.
One player will control the Master Chief, another the Arbiter, while the remaining players will take control of two brand new Elite characters, each with their own backstory.
Here's Bungie's description of the new characters:
Player 3 (Sangheili)
Name: N'tho 'Sraom
Affiliation: Fleet of Retribution/Special Warfare Group/Special Operations
History: N'tho 'Sraom is the youngest member of his Special Operations unit and is one of a growing number of human sympathizers amongst the Sangheili youth. He is a fairly typical young male adult Sangheili-he began compulsory military service at the end of adolescence, and remains unmarried with no close, non-familial relationships outside of his martial order. N'tho Sraom refused to stand idly by while the Prophets replaced Sangheili units with Jiralhanae packs, and now bears deep resentment toward those Sangheili politicians who landed his kind in their current predicament.
Although N'tho 'Sraom's romanticized nationalism is emblematic of all Sangheili, he has developed a healthy respect for humanity-not for their physical abilities or martial prowess, but for their audacity and resolve.
Player 4 (Sangheili):
Name: Usze 'Taham
Affiliation: Fleet of Retribution/Special Warfare Group/Fleet Security
History: Although Usze 'Taham was born into a respected merchant family he was fathered by Toha 'Sumai-one of the preeminent swordfighters of this age. Usze graduated with honors from the top War College in the Iruiru region of Yermo, Sanghelios (a distinction he shares with Rtas 'Vadum). Shortly after receiving his first post within the Covenant Navy he was offered a place on the Prophets' Honor Guard but he declined citing "lack of practical experience". In truth, he had no desire to be part of a largely ceremonial unit, and at the end of his third combat tour, Usze 'Taham again refused the post-even though his superiors warned him such behavior could be misinterpreted as apostasy. Since that time Usze has evaded countless punitive actions, at least two assassination attempts, and served with distinction for two additional tours before the Schism. Following the dissolution of the Covenant, he was approached by the Ascetics to become one of their liaisons within the Navy.
Every player will have identical abilities - only their appearance and weapon starts are different (Elites will start with Carbines versus Battle Rifles for example, depending on the mission).
So there you have it. Mystery solved. internet dramas ended. Four player online co-op it is.
The release of Halo 3 is over two months away and already the predictions are going wild online with a common one that the Master Chief will die.
It's hard to believe Microsoft would be happy to allow this to happen and threaten an ongoing windfall for Xbox 360. There better be a rebirth soon after.
Bungie - the mighty studio that is responsible for the title - will no doubt keep its wall of silence up on that one until we fork out the money for a copy but it's great they are drip feeding some of the details through..
Here are some of the other predictions doing the rounds and my take on them:
- the story will be much darker than before. (no doubt, it's the way such games are going)
- there will be both a map maker and a movie maker in which you can send them over Xbox live. (rather ambitious but sounds like RedVSBlue over again!)
- Halo 4 will be set up as a presequel - or 3 maybe.
- a multiplayer mode will let you team up with friends against enemy bots on multi-player maps (fun but no great loss if it's not there)
- you'll be able to play against 50-70 players (that would require some massive networking)
- you'll be able to use a wireless keyboard and mouse for control over the joypad (that would rock)
- lots of unlockable objectives
And the death theory? Master Chief will either die in a tragic way or sacrifice himself to save humankind from the rogue A.I. Cortana who will attempt to activate the Halos (you wouldn't think so although there will have to be a cliffhanger to make us hang out for Halo 4!).
There are already rumours that four million Halo 3 pre-orders have been taken in the US alone. Easy to believe numbers as the hype builds up.
What do you think of the rumours? What are you hanging out to see in Halo 3?
