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Last night a few of us had the chance to check out a preview of Halo: Reach thanks to Microsoft. Bungie developers, Buzz Aldrin and playable Reach firefight were all said to be there.
Upon arrival (before the doors opened) they had a Halo-esq miniature landscape setup on which they were having remote control car races around. Would have been better if they were warthogs, but I guess you could say if it was a Reach landscape it could have been a civilian car.
Ushered in we were sat down ready for the presentation. First up we had a Microsoft press guy showing us a bit of what Kinect can do in a tech demo, then a white water rafting game. This thing will do wonders for the social gaming market.
The there was a video/talk done by the Make-A-Wish foundation and they let us know that as part of a partnership, 100% of every Halo: Reach avatar customization purchase, and $5 of every Halo: Reach Wireless Headset purchased will go their foundation to help give kids their dreams.
Next up was the Bungie presentation, which was given by the MP producer Dave Allen and lead Campaign producer Chris (not sure of last name). After letting us know that no cameras or video recordings were allowed during their presentation, they took us through part of a “never seen before” campaign mission. Mission 4, titled “Tip of the Spear”. A few minor spoilers in there, but without going into detail, I can tell you it looks like its going to be a massive game, the scope, and depth of view is just insane.
After that we were treated to a talk by Buzz Aldrin (second man on the moon for those of you not in the know). He talked about what he has done and is continuing to do in the NASA space program. Very interesting stuff.
After buzz finished, we got the chance to jump into Reach Firefight. Queues were long (200+ people with only 8 stations) so Suspect, pyro and myself went to see the Bungie guys. Lined up (yeah, there was a line to see them) and eventually got on stage with them to have a photo done, and Suspect quizzed them about hosting, and demanded it not be like Halo 3.
With plenty more people in the Bungie queue we jumped off stage to get into a bit of Firefight. With people jumping in and out of games, and not starting games when they were host, it was all a bit of a shambles.
After a few minutes in game, I headed outside to see if I could catch Buzz. He had his own queue much like Bungies except it smelt nicer (or should I say not as bad). Only managed to get a hand shake in and since I was all in black (work shoes and trouser, plus ACL top) he suggested I be his bodyguard. Short and sweet meet, but moved on.
Back inside for a bit more Firefight, but instead I noticed the Bungie guys were almost on their own, so I went down for a bit more of a chat. Armed with a phone set to record, I asked them a few questions (on the way home I found out that the background noise made the recording useless as you couldn’t hear a thing) what follows is my recollection of said chat.
Cavey: What can you tell me about competitive multiplayer in Halo Reach?
Bungie: Every game will be competitive, and fun
C: I mean competitive as in MLG and the like (mentioned a plug here about ACL starting up in Australia)
B: We cannot confirm or deny anything to do with MLG at this point.
C: So no news on an MLG playlist?
B: Not from us.
C: What about all the news and talk we hear about it on the web?
B: Its not for us to discuss.
Etc…
So, as you can see, not a lot came out of our quick chat, nothing new at least. Big thanks to Microsoft for the invites, and thanks for all the guys that came along.
Not long till Reach now!
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