Bungie Doesn't Consider Halo: Reach to be "Halo 4"

[Tom Goldman]

Bungie Doesn't Consider Halo: Reach to be "Halo 4"

Halo: Reach [http://www.amazon.com/Halo-Reach-Xbox-360/dp/B002BSA20M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278968624&sr=1-1] will not be just another flash-in-the-pan action shooter if Bungie has a say in the matter, and it does.

Bungie really seems to want to distance Halo: Reach as far as possible from previous entries in the Halo series. The company has already said that the story of Halo was holding them back [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/97638-Bungie-Story-of-Halo-Held-Them-Back], and more details in the latest issue of Edge Magazine drive home the fact that Halo: Reach is being created as its own completely separate entity.

Halo: Reach executive producer Joseph Tung told Edge: "Halo: Reach for us is not Halo 4. It's not a continuation of the Master Chief story, nor is it the start of a new trilogy. For us, it's a completely standalone game." Bungie has been saying that Reach is a standalone project for a while, but that's a pretty definitive quote. As for Bungie's reasoning, creative director Marcus Lehto adds that Halo: Reach is meant to be "a culmination of a decade of our efforts building Halo titles."

One key difference in Halo: Reach will be the enemies — such as the Elite which is being "built from the ground up" — that are designed to be more nightmarish and less like action figures. This is in addition to the new design of the game's weaponry, which will be more brutal and even leave burning residue on armor.

Squeezing more power out of the Xbox 360 is another of Bungie's focuses for Reach. Bungie says it's "bending the Xbox as far as it'll bend," and Lehto confirms the company is "taking every advantage of everything on the CPU and GPU, and every bit of memory in order to produce the look of Reach beyond anything of Halo 3." Community director Brian Jarrard says the AI has improved as well and is "super robust." Lehto agrees, hitting Uncharted with a zinger in the process: "The difference between the fully scripted experience, like Uncharted, or the organic experience you can receive in a Halo game speaks to its longevity. You can keep playing single-player missions over and over again and get a different experience." Oh exclusive IPs, can't you just get along?

There will also be an as of yet unrevealed reason to replay Halo: Reach's single player missions, according to Tung. "Without giving anything away, there's certainly some cool stuff we're doing in Reach that will encourage people to replay the campaign. There are going to be some big surprises in the campaign," he says. Halo: Reach's single-player mode may hold more secrets than simply collecting skulls.

Sources: Edge [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/bungie-halo-reach-for-us-is-not-halo-4]

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[Trivun]

See, sometimes I think that I'm the only person on this site who actually thought that the Halo games got better each time. Halo 1 was great, Halo 2 was better, and Halo 3 was even better. And I think that Halo Wars just about managed to do a console RTS well. But nevertheless, as both a Halo fan and an advocate of better story and gameplay for all games, I think this is pretty good. I still want to see somewhere down the line a continuation of the Master Chief's story, because that isn't done yet, especially with the cliffhanger in Halo 3. But seeing Reach, I think Bungie are making a real effort to avoid the problems that some people keep claiming were part of the second and third games. And that can only be a good thing. Personally, I reckon Reach will end up being very different to anything we've already seen in the Halo universe, while still sticking to all the things that made the series so good and still pleasing those of us who care about the story of Halo. And that excites me somewhat .

 

[Truly-A-Lie]

So, I've played both Uncharted games through a couple of times each now. And I've played Halo 3 through about four times. And I don't understand his point. Is Reach's single player different? Because I seem to remember Halo 3 being pretty linear in the same ways as the Uncharted games.

 

[PseudoDuck]

As much as I'm trying not to get too excited about Halo: Reach, I am. I managed to avoid quite a bit about ODST so I found it a load of fun. Halo 2 was the only disappointment for me because it had been hyped up too much. Halo 3, I feel, had a lot more substance to go with it's hype so I rate that above 2 and only slightly below 1.

I was never truly convinced that a RTS on a console could work, but the Halo Universe made me give Halo Wars a try and I feel that the controls are as good as they could be considering you don't have a mouse to select units or a keyboard to set up groups and waypoints.

Anyway, Reach: everything I am hearing about it makes me excited. I'm not going out of my way to learn about it (I learned my lesson with Halo 2) so it can only be better than my expectations of it. From what I have read about it, it has the things that I have always wanted (being able to be properly stealthy, and the ability to sprint) in Halo games - not major things, just niggles that always ate away at my love for the games.

Also, a group of Spartans need to work together so I am quietly hoping that there will be an actual squad mechanic in this as well.

 

[Irridium]

Well, this game seems to be more interesting with every piece of news.

 

[ffxfriek]

I hope it keeps ot the book fall of reach. You all MUST read the book before the game comes out. WEll im off to re read the series (excluding comics)

 

[Sporky111]

I'm going to have to make sure I own a 360 by the time this comes out, because it just keeps getting more and more exciting. I'm especially excited to see what they plan for the story, because since the original it hasn't really been a strong point. Since I've already read The Fall of Reach I know that there is plenty of potential for gameplay and story to fit together.

 

[Jared]

Well, this game seems to be more interesting with every piece of news.

As long as it stays positive and shows its going to be a more creative and original piece. Im all down for it!

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

I look forward to this, but I do find some of the things they say pretty funny. For one thing, a promise to make the elites moe scary and the guns more real sounds sspiciously like they're aiming more for realism, which means generic brown action shooter etc. Given that one of the few things that sets the original Halo apart was the fact that everything was brightly coloured, in making it more 'real' they are in fact making it more like the generic FPS everyone accusses it of being.

My second giggle was had over the claim of pushing the 360 'to its limits'. I remember when FFVII was pushing the PS1 'to its limits' and Metal Gear Solid did he same, but there was still a lot to get out of the engine. They may be pushing it to what people assume are its limits, but I'm sure it will turn out there is still more to be gotten.

 

[Thaius]

I hope Master Chief's role in the battle for Reach is acknowledged in some way. But this game just looks better and better as it develops. I'm pretty freaking excited. Of course I'll have more energy to devote to said excitement once Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2, and Final Fantasy XIII are out of the way.

 

[Scott2210]

i dont think the game has any thing to do with the book its ment to be 100 years or something befor the "fall of reach" back in the 1st set of spartens, master chief was in the 2ed set of spartens if it was on the book or round about that we would end up as master chief again trying to flee reach cause they had just gotten away from reach in halo1

so im thinking it will be that we are playing as someone fighting the coveys on one part of reach someone whom dies ofc.

 

[dommyuk]

See, sometimes I think that I'm the only person on this site who actually thought that the Halo games got better each time. Halo 1 was great, Halo 2 was better, and Halo 3 was even better.

No, I think the same thing. I don't get why people say the first was the best, with it's repetitive level design.

 

[GrinningManiac]

and more details in the latest issue of Edge Magazine drive home the fact that Halo: Reach is being created as its own completely separate entity.

I have that very issue sitting next to me in its wrapping

I was wondering what they'd feature in this issue

Huh, guess I know now

 

[SantoUno]

Well I guess that is good because at least Halo: Reach might gain more respect than it's predecessors.

 

[Pimppeter2]

God this is bringing back the Halo fanboy in me.

Must retain composure or the forums will think less of me! XD

 

[Outlaw Torn]

Well it is obviously not 'Halo 4', it's not the fourth game in the franchise and it is set before Halo 1. Silly Bungie, next they'll have to announce that they don't consider Master Chief to be 'Jebus 2'.

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

i dont think the game has any thing to do with the book its ment to be 100 years or something befor the "fall of reach" back in the 1st set of spartens, master chief was in the 2ed set of spartens if it was on the book or round about that we would end up as master chief again trying to flee reach cause they had just gotten away from reach in halo1

so im thinking it will be that we are playing as someone fighting the coveys on one part of reach someone whom dies ofc.

Where the frak did you come up with that?

 

[kibayasu]

There will also be an as of yet unrevealed reason to replay Halo: Reach's single player missions, according to Tung. "Without giving anything away, there's certainly some cool stuff we're doing in Reach that will encourage people to replay the campaign. There are going to be some big surprises in the campaign," he says. Halo: Reach's single-player mode may hold more secrets than simply collecting skulls.

Translation: Yet another developer who thinks they're going to be the first one to make "moral" choices in a game the best ever.

 

[rockingnic]

I hope it keeps ot the book fall of reach. You all MUST read the book before the game comes out. WEll im off to re read the series (excluding comics)

I think that this story isn't even hinted at in Fall of Reach but I'm sure they'll keep all the details true.