E3 2007 - Halo 3, BioShock & Killzone 2

Halo 3

In the preview Gamespot was shown, the first level of the game was played, titled Sierra 117. None of the plot developments revealed at the beginning were spoilt as the action picked up about one-third of the way through the level.

The opening level also lacks the large-scale vehicle battles of later levels, but it still packed intense action. Also, the combat looks to be as wild and dynamic as in other Halo games. The artificial intelligence of both the enemies and your allies are also pretty smart.

The amount of intelligent chatter going on also adds atmosphere and humor to the game. You hear the alien grunts cry, “What a world!” before a grenade explodes next to them, or another remark “I’ll revenge my brother!” as he throws a plasma grenade at you.

Also, GameSpot exlained that the graphics in Halo 3 were better and more advanced than those seen in the beta. The visuals saw on the demo were clear and crisp, as well as bright and colorful. The most noticeable thing is the almost lifelike sunlight poring through the forest canopy as it makes considerable use of high-dynamic range lighting so that shadows look dark, but at the same time, sunlight looks almost saturated.

The GameSpot article also explained that that they were showed one of the multiplayer features of Halo 3, which was the ability to record and play back gameplay movies of both multiplayer and the single-player campaign.

To demonstrate, a recorded five-versus-five multiplayer match was shown. You can also take screens or movies and upload them to a special shared space on Xbox Live so you can show off. This is going to be a great feature because it has implications for everyone, from whether you want to rub it in to your friend about a certain kill or you want to make machinima to or user-created movies.

And all these action will be in the Box on 25th September, about eleven weeks from now.

BioShock

Yes, we know that many great games will be released by Take 2 later this year and earlier next year, including Grand Theft Auto IV, All Pro Football 2K8 and Manhunt 2. BioShock is also going to be a great game, as always.

It is a horror-slash-sci-fi-slash-first-person-shooter game. During a 30-minute demo of the game during an E3 press appointment that GameSpot was invited to, we got a quick overview of the myriad of ways you can take down enemies in the game, as well as a chance to play its opening level.

In the level shown off during the demo, you’re tasked with restoring life to an underwater forest with a mysterious device known as the Lazarus Vector, which by that point in the game you will have created using the BioShock’s invention system. Once the Vector is in place, you’re tasked with defending the perimeter around the station from an invading horde of bad guys intent on messing you up.

You’ll also have plenty of methods for taking down foes. There are proximity mines, which can turn your foes into mincemeat. A electrified trip wire can also used to anger them to the point that they will attack the first thing that gets in their way, be it friend of foe.

The environment can also be a weapon when combined with your abilities. Find a pool of water which your enemies are running through and you can immediately electrify the water and shock your opponents.

A burning corpse can also be lifted with your telekinetic powers and tossed at enemies. You’ll also have the ability to freeze foes and smash them with hammers. And if you’re not up for using an innate power, you can always dispatch them the old-fashioned way–with the various weapons the game, such as revolvers, shotguns, and more.

The game design behind BioShock should challenge your creativity and intelligence, leaving a relatively open-ended approach to uncovering the game’s many mysteries, and dealing with the nasty consequences. More on this game will emerge soon, so stay tuned!

Killzone 2

Journalists assembled at a local eatery in Santa Monica and were broken up into smaller groups, which were shuttled into a small theater. Once inside, those in attendance were treated to about 15 minutes of a controlled demo through a level in the game, which kicked off with the air sequence shown in the first trailer. The frenzied tear through the streets and buildings of a war-torn city was a slick showcase of what Guerrilla’s been up to all this time.

The mission began with a military maneuver that gets off to a shaky start when airborne troop carriers take some hits and crash into a war-torn city. The level then focuses on you and the remainder of your squad as you make your way up to an arc tower, which is essentially a lightning-based weapon that is currently blasting all of your friendly aircraft out of the sky with an extremely satisfying zap.

Rather than give every weapon a scope, the game has an aim function, which causes you to look down the sights of your weapon while of the guns have standard rifle sights.

The game’s graphics are coming together in spectacular fashion. The characters models were high-poly, offering sharp detail and promising animation, with a lot of really nice gun movement for reloading and aiming.

The environment was equally sharp with an impressive sense of scale and interactivity and you can blow the hell out of a variety of objects in the game, and depending on what the objects made out of, the damage will vary. There was also stellar lighting, which was shown off in a variety of ways.

The game’s audio was also amazing. The weapons fire was satisfying with a winning variety of tones that pulled you in to the experience. Better still were the various gradients of sound that were affected by various elements in the level, such as distance and debris.

Audio? Check. Graphics? Check. Gameplay? Check. Awesome shooter? Nevertheless. It will certainately make a wise purchase when it comes out. Getting an Xbox 360? A PC? A Playstation 3? Make the tough choice - it’s going to be hurtful and saddening whichever you choose.

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