Joystiq's video analysis of the Halo 3, E3 trailer

by Jared Rea { Jul 11th 2007 at 9:35AM }

Microsoft may have finished the press conference fight with a new Halo 3 trailer, but that doesn't mean the war is over. That's right: live from E3, it's the up-all-night video analysis! Much like our Beta analysis, we've gone over the same two minutes and eight seconds of footage, frame-by-frame, over and over again to make sure that we got every single detail so that you don't have to.

Break out your Master Chief cosplay and prepare yourself to finish the trailer! There are a few items we gloss over in this video (do we really need to slam on the brakes for a slightly altered radar?), but let us know of any interesting moments that stuck out to you in the original.

Tags: e307, halo, halo3

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

The Wicker Man @ Jul 11th 2007 9:41AM

Did anyone notice how awful G4s coverage was last night? They went to commercial and missed Mass Effect and cut off the Halo 3 trailer! Not to mention all the all their other broadcast problems last night. ie technical problems, and Adam Sesslers mouth moving around like an old persons or cokeheads. What is wrong with that spastic and why is he on tv? Thanks Joystiq for letting me see the video they cut off. Anyone else notice the poor quality of G4 s broadcast?

FrankTheCrank @ Jul 11th 2007 9:47AM

Yeah, I was kinda embarrassed it was so aimed at 13 year olds. I snoozed while Tivo recorded the whole thing.

Those two chicks on that show are frigging HOT. That Munn chick is unbelievable, she makes Morgan Webb look like a guy.

Konny @ Jul 11th 2007 9:58AM

1up had a GREAT live cast.. no commercials at all.

synce @ Jul 11th 2007 12:37PM

I don't watch G4 (shitfest!) but I do know who Olivia Munn is by way of internets, and she's got nothing on Morgan Webb's huge titties. I want to stick my face in them and just blow!

Phranctoast @ Jul 11th 2007 9:51AM

layla kayleigh and olivia munn are hot. Kristin Holt is pretty hot as well. That would make a great video.

I thought the Halo 3 trailer looked impressive. A lot better than the mp beta, but with SP this was to be expected. I wish they showed more fps view instead of the cinematic view they seemed to favor. Overall pretty damn good.

Stupidiot @ Jul 11th 2007 9:52AM

You can download the Halo 3 trailer from the XBLM now in HD anyway.

The Truth @ Jul 11th 2007 9:56AM

This game looks sick!! Definitely the most anticipated 360 title this fall!!

Jason Axelrod @ Jul 11th 2007 9:55AM

I didnt like Halo2 at all... so I never went through the campaign mode... Is there a place I can "watch" the story mode movies so that I can catch up to the story?

smallfry @ Jul 11th 2007 12:40PM

There is.

http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/cutscenes/halo2.html

Berklee @ Jul 11th 2007 9:57AM

Ok, this is stupid, but: they don't shatter the earth like glass, they heat up the planet until the sand turns to glass...

Zeouterlimits @ Jul 11th 2007 4:21PM

Great Analysis guys,
nice to see ye gleaming so much from it.

Justin U @ Jul 11th 2007 9:59AM

Yeah, You missed the new warthog variant at the very end.

The troop carrier is back.

fm @ Jul 11th 2007 10:11AM

did anyone read the ign impressions of the show and said that halo 3 was same old? does that make sense to anyone? the only reason that they said it was becuase they have seen so much halo 3 coverage that anything short of the game itself is disappointing. does anyone feel that way also?

Freelancepimp @ Jul 11th 2007 10:12AM

Is it me or was that just "Queer Eye for the Halo Guy."

sheppy @ Jul 11th 2007 10:43AM

"Okay.. like, thisss isss really interessting."

Yeah, it was really starting to grate on my nerves. "Fabulous!"

jason @ Jul 11th 2007 10:12AM

The 1up website would't load up so I just watched the gamespot's live stream though there was a delay during g4tv live show and g4tv.com live stream was good.

It seemed like G4 had no idea what was going on during the e3live show there were quite a bit of times when they didn't know if they were going to commercial or if they weren't and had horrible timing going into a commercial cutting off the most important thing off the press conference which was the halo 3 trailer.

layla kayleigh is the hottest of the g4 crew and olivia has a big forehead but she would be second.

BNinjaC @ Jul 11th 2007 10:19AM

Freelancepimp = my hero

Squall @ Jul 11th 2007 10:20AM

The trailer gave me the impression of this being halo 2.5 more than halo 3, as apart from updated graphics and a little touch here and there it looks the same as halo 2. That said, it's just a trailer, and you can't really judge what halo 3 is going to be.

Stupidiot @ Jul 11th 2007 10:26AM

I suppose, but then when was the last time we saw anything really new and exciting in the FPS genre? As long as it's still Halo I'm sold on it. I'd prefer it if turns out more like the first game, there was something about Halo 2 that just sucked...

the_Brayn @ Jul 11th 2007 10:23AM

Just thought I'd throw out there that the new deployable looks like it may be one of the Covenant shields that could be found throughout Halo:CE and Halo2. Not sure if it is but the picture reminds me more of that than a shield door.

abermaelon @ Jul 11th 2007 10:29AM

@squall
I dont understand what you mean by Halo 2.5, please explain. Is it that you want it to be a platformer, or maybe turned into an RPG? Or are you just that jaded a gamer that you can't muster any excitement for anything?

Jason Axelrod @ Jul 11th 2007 11:17AM

Yeah... I dont want a Halo 2.5... I want a Halo 1.5... Halo 2 was just a horrible game on all accounts when you compare it to the original. The single player and multiplayer both were better in the original.

BTW... Is there a place I can "watch" the story mode movies so that I can catch up to the story?

Zaki @ Jul 11th 2007 11:45AM

http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/cutscenes/halo2.html

Matt @ Jul 11th 2007 10:40AM

Yep, last time I get excited about a G4 live press conference. I ended just checkin' out the live updates on Joystiq. That was abolute BS the way they cut into the event with very long commercial breaks.

Triforceowner @ Jul 11th 2007 10:43AM

That was awesome production value for one of these dissecting videos. I especially liked the part where you not only opened your Halo weapon manual, but the music played to signify basic learning.

G4 made me so pissed when they skipped the Mass Effect trailer, but they did show the end of the Halo 3 trailer. Listen, though, if you want G4 to actually talk about games, you have to show them that viewers will watch their crappy E3 footage if you want better footage down the road of better game discussions and what not.

Adam Sessler is the man. I was so glad to see him and Geoff actually talking about games, but there was a good amount of repetition in what they talked about.

Also, don't say things like, "That broadcast was totally for 13 year olds," and then "Morgan Webb is so @#$%^&* hot LOL." It makes you look like a twelve year old, especially when she isn't just on that channel because of how she looks.

In other off-topic-ness, BioShock will really be innovating the single player FPS experience this fall. But halo can't do what BioShock is doing or it would not be Halo.

Halo 3 looks more like Halo 2 than Halo 2 did. What does that mean? It means Halo 2 was too different from Halo 1, and Halo 3 looks more like the sequel (in terms of gameplay mechanics like the open battle seen at 0:52 to the end) than Halo 2 did.

Burritoclock @ Jul 11th 2007 11:36AM

So saying a woman is hot make a guy "immature" that's the stupidest thing I have ever heard. You should goto something awful and search for "Internet White Knight" because you sir fall into that category. Wow, Morgan Webb is not "Only on there for her looks" really? So you don't think there are about 100,000 women who know more about games but have an ass face?

Also Olivia Munn and Layla Kayleigh are hot as hell and if their hotness could be converted into pure energy their beams could tear through Morgan Webbs hotness beam and would leave a smoldering lump.

Diecast @ Jul 11th 2007 11:14AM

it's sad how fast they're starting to pump these things out now. it's been what 6 years and they're on the 3rd game. so i'm guessing we expect halo4 to be out 2009?

Vidikron @ Jul 11th 2007 11:09AM

It's been 3 years since the last game. That's perfectly fine. The problem with your calculation is that you're going from release date to release date... so you're not including the development time of the first game.

Diecast @ Jul 11th 2007 11:15AM

yeah but still it's way too much for an fps imo. the single player in these games are way too short and the online community is horrible. i've played crappy games that have had good communities that make the game fun, maybe the crappy community make me not enjoy the game. but it also might be the fact that when i say i don't like it i get told it's either "i must suck at it" or somehow i "haven't played the right map" most halo fans just can't grasp that some people don't like their game.

Zaki @ Jul 11th 2007 10:58AM

For Jason Axelrod:
http://halo.bungie.org/movies.html

Meanwhile, can the Joystiqqers here post the WMV or Quicktime version for us to download so that I don't have to call you that name again?

Zaki @ Jul 11th 2007 11:04AM

My mistake:
http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/cutscenes/halo2.html

Stevo @ Jul 11th 2007 10:57AM

Great analysis, Jared and Joystiq! Thanks!

Angelo @ Jul 11th 2007 11:05AM

Nice video! I think it's rather funny, but I found that Halo 2's detractors were split between it being not enough like Halo 1, and TOO MUCH like Halo 1, haha. Looks like the same is going to be true of Halo 3.

Some notes on the video:
Unless they decided to swap the voice actors (did they?), that voice at the beginning isn't the Prophet of Truth. I suspect it to be the new Brute Chieftain, myself.

"Glassing" a planet refers to heating the surface with hot plasma until it basically melts into that form--no "shattering" involved.

I don't expect "Traxus" to be anything more than a nod to Marathon.

I'm looking forward to future analysis vids.

The Wicker Man @ Jul 11th 2007 11:12AM

Hell yes it was the most amateur spectacle I have seen on television in a long time. Looks like their staff is all 12 year old basic cable public television employees. Munn is so goddamn charmming and Kayleigh is HOTTz. Webb is yeti with a living ovarian cyst called Sessler. FIRE THAT SPAZ DAMN! Get someone that can host and not grind my skull.Thanks to "teh internets" for good coverage. JOySiq FTW!

Evan @ Jul 11th 2007 11:27AM

Yes, for a multi-billion-dollar industry, much of the media that surrounds it seems very amateurish. Perhaps that's intentional, to appeal to the YouTube-generation. However, I think it holds gaming back from being perceived as a medium and industry on par with movies.

Davinche @ Jul 11th 2007 11:13AM

Good video and nice dissection, gave me lots of info I did not see/notice. Thanks!

DaveC @ Jul 11th 2007 11:15AM

Why does everybody assume that the structures first seen in last years E3 trailer are the ark. In the E3 trailer last year, the Chief was approaching one before it activated, in the CG trailer it looked like it was already active (leading me to believe there are more than one) and now we see the Chief and the Arbiter standing over one, which further leads me to believe there are more than one. I think we've only just seen the ark today. I think it's what the Chief is looking at in the last scene in the trailer.

The Wicker Man @ Jul 11th 2007 11:21AM

Are you actually defending hers and G4s integrity? They put her in maxim to advertise their network. She was the only attractive woman on tech and they put her on G4 to get the fanboy hearts (and fist) a-beating. Dont dare pretend that all of these women are not on here for eye candy. Munn in Playboy, Kayleigh in Maxim as well.(no munn was in the front hot chick feature not nude! dont start.)Do you claim to have some intimate knowledge as to why shes there then? And dont tell the guy he sounds like a 13 year old. You are no better than anyone else and making an easy attack on him. You sound like a snarky college freshman when you do that.

zwarrior @ Jul 11th 2007 11:22AM

Off Topic: Finally 36 minutes until Ninty's show, get ready for it Joystiq

tobin92 @ Jul 11th 2007 3:11PM

Can we assume the entire race of the Elites will be "helping" the humans but also fighting the brutes?

Didn't the Hunters ally with the Elites as well , I quote Wikipedia

"Hunters usually show nothing but opprobrium towards the lesser Covenant races (even purposefully killing them if they become an obstruction during battles) and rarely communicate with any other race (including the Prophets) apart from the Elites. They are believed to have their own religion; it has also been noted that some Hunters even recite poetry and meditate in their spare time"

So Hunter have a different Religon,So they don't believe the Covenant.

Also We have yet to see Covenant Engineer called Huragok. It appears they were friendly with the Forerunners.

Also What were the Forerunners preparing for?
Halo is deep in Religion. The "Forerunner" in the bible is John the Baptist who prepared people of the coming of Jesus. So we can assume the Forerunner were preparing for someone.....say Master Chief?

J.Goodwin @ Jul 11th 2007 12:31PM

Bungie has already said that Halo 3 is their last FPS in this storyline.

Given that Marathon and Halo are different stories in the same universe, that doesn't mean that there won't be yet another shooter series in that space, but it does mean that most likely it will be fundamentally different in various ways, enough so that you wouldn't call it "Halo" anyway.

I'd like to see Bungie go back into the fantasy space, personally. They're starting to get pigeonholed in the press as a one-franchise company, which is definitely not true, but may BECOME true, since companies tend to continue to do what they're good at, and tend to evolve into companies that specialize in what they have been successful at in the past.

In other words, if you make a lot of shooters, chances are, your staff is good at making shooters, and your next game is probably going to be a shooter. Every time you make a shooter, you reinforce that cycle.

The upside is that in a lot of ways, the vast majority of their staff is designers, artists, etc who can do all sorts of different games, they're not small shop that has a half dozen programmers who can only work one specific engine variant like iD.

Zaki @ Jul 11th 2007 1:12PM

If that is the case, it would cool to make a shooter in a fantasy setting. Sort of a counterpart to Myth as much Halo is to Marathon...

incrediblebulk92 @ Jul 12th 2007 2:15PM

Nothing wrong with producing a lot of games of the same type, never did bioware any harm hell they've made some of the best rpgs ever made, what can be the problem is if companies start making games without really improving much besides the graphics such as madden or final fantasy

arch @ Jul 11th 2007 11:38AM

At first, i was DISSAPOINTED with the graphics of halo 3. But then i reran the trailer myself and paused hundreds of times. I realised the the speed of the trailer itself gave the impression of bad graphics. when i took a a closer look at the lighting, the water (and dare i say that water rivals bioshock in realism) and the SCALE, it looked phenomenal.Even the foliage was so damn detailed. Usually folliage such as in COD4 is all static and lacks AA. I also noticed how they stayed very close to the art style. Miranda's model was hardly any different because of the art style. However the character models for the covenant have been upgraded to hell. they look amazing.

They even showed a scene from the Announcement trailer. It looked EXACTLY the same besides the chief model because the artists chose to change it.

i advise everyone to go look at the screenshots on bungie.com
http://www.bungie.net/projects/halo3/asset_thumb_viewer.aspx?at=59&cc=21

check out the screenshot with the water. its attention to detail liek this that makes this games graphics phenomenal.