It is important to note that I’m working with the information that is available to me right now. The reader should keep in mind that things can and most-likely will change, probably within the next week, because that’s just how game development is (or so I’ve been told by people inside the industry…I don’t develop games…yet).
New Weapons
Needler – In Halo 3, the Needler will not be dual-wieldable. Apparently it will also be something worth fearing. The following is from one of Bungie’s Halo 3 Humpdays:
…once the needles are flying you’re pretty much done unless you’ve got some cover to get behind before they reach you. Yeah, we’ve said it before, but this time we mean it. You will hear someone scream “OH SHEETS HE’S GOT A NEEDLER” at some point during your Halo 3 experience and for once, it will not be sarcasm.
That was written by KPaul of Bungie. I’m picturing one of two things as the Needler in Halo 3. Either it will be very fast, and fire out a stream of needles as if there were three or four needlers firing, or it will be very slow, but have a big clip size, like the Fuel Rod Cannon, except with a couple dozen rounds able to be fired before you have to reload.
Spartan Laser – For those of you who don’t know, the Spartan Laser is a big freaking gun that looks like a cross between a Fuel Rod Cannon, a Rocket Launcher, and a golden Sentinel Beam. It takes a few seconds to reload, and then shoots a wide beam that obliterates anything and everything in its path. It apparently is meant to be an anti-vehicle weapon.
Brute Spiker – Not much information has been released about this weapon, except that it shoots a superheated (thusly orange) metal spike. I’m going to assume that it is not dual-wieldable, since it sounds pretty possible. From what I’ve read, it may look like an orange Needler, but it’s not supposed to be considered an orange Needler. I picture an extra big Needler that has spikes on the sides and looks distorted that is more lethal. I would speculate that it would be a single-shot killer if you shot someone in the head with it, so who knows, it may have a 2x or 3x scope. I’m also thinking that the melee will be very powerful.
Brute Ghost – Almost no information has been release about this new vehicle, except that it exists. I’m imagining a red ghost that goes twice as fast, but then overheats 😉 Seriously, though, I honestly imagine it as either a slower version of the ghost that has a gauss-like cannon on the front, or a faster version of the ghost that has weaker guns, but has some sort of spike on the front, so that its speed will add to its purpose, which would be splattering or using the spike to ram other vehicles. For the slower version of the idea, I’m thinking that maybe it would have a weapon that would charge up for a few seconds and then fire a burst of the spikes that come from the Brute Spiker at a wide angle. For the faster version of the idea, I’m thinking that it would be the Brute version of the Mongoose. (more on the Mongoose in a moment).
Mongoose – Yes, it’s back. For those of you who don’t know, the Mongoose is a small, fast two-seater ATV with no weaponry. It was originally intended for Halo 2, but it kept interfering with the balance between the Ghost and Warthog, so Bungie was forced to remove it from the game due to time constraints. This is why I think that the small, fast version of the Brute Ghost is more likely than the other versions of the ideas I have about it, since it would solve the balance issue, just like the Plasma Rifle mirrored the SMG in Halo 2.
Spike Grenades – These are a third kind of grenade that will be introduced in Halo 3. While we’re on the subject of grenades, the maximum amount of stock per grenade that you’ll be able to carry has been reduced to two in Halo 3. Spike Grenades are apparently an instant kill if you throw one and it hits someone’s head. They send out a cone of (I’m guessing) spikes, and because they’ve been described as the perfect weapon to use against someone who’s right behind you by throwing one at the ground. I’m guessing that the explosion will be like a Christmas tree. Also, they stick to everything, including Shield Doors, and including those killed by hitting them in the head with one of them (more on Shield Doors in a moment).
Shield Doors – I guess you could kind of classify this as a weapon, since it is directly involved in what kind of damage they do. These doors will let people in, but explosions and bullets out. It’s not known if this effect is one-way, since being able to shoot at someone without them being able to shoot you would be an incredible advantage. It is also not known whether or not things like vehicles or grenades will be able to get through, or how big they are, whether or not they will all be the same size (I’m imagining a hangar bay of Banshees or something that you can’t destroy from afar with, as an example, the Spartan Laser). It has already been released that Spike Grenades will stick to them, possibly disabling them, at least for a few moments, so I’m thinking that maybe only Frag Grenades will be able to get through, and possibly that plasma grenades will bounce off or something.
New Multiplayer Features
Respawning Map Items – If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I mean barrels, fusion cores, (possibly Shield Doors if Spike Grenades totally destroy them) and things like that respawning just like weapons, grenades, turrets, and vehicles do. I like this idea, a lot, because I can only imagine what Lockout would be like if the exploding fusion cores respawned. Wow.
Automated Turrets – This is the idea that (at least this is my idea as to why these are being put into Halo 3…just to be clear, they do exist, the only speculation here is why they exist, not whether they do or not) instead of invisible walls that people can’t penetrate, there will be automated turrets that will kill a player if he goes past a certain point outside of a designated area. It is unknown as to whether or not these will be destructible, or if they will in fact be like the train on Terminal in Halo 2.
Gametype Customization – Apparently there is almost no limit to the detail of customization in Halo 3 multiplayer. I am very excited about this, because I posted repeatedly all over the Bungie forums asking for this in Halo 3, and started polls, threads, and even put my main suggestion, which was that it would be awesome if you could control the speed of non-juggernaut players in non-juggernaut games, in my signature for some time. My wish has been granted, since apparently in Halo 3 you will be able to do any and more than what is mentioned in the following list:
- Total speed control, regardless of gametype
- Settings and restrictions that are team-specific (for example, you could make a game of Zombies in which only the Red Team can pick up and use guns and only the Green Team can pick up and use Swords)
- Gravity control
- The ability to make players more visible by setting them on fire
Video – This is, by far, the feature that I am the most excited about. The only way to describe it is by using this scenario: It’s late at night; all of your friends are offline. You go into matchmaking, and something incredible happens. You’re more than in the zone, you’re playing like it’s your last game. You’re getting triple Kilimanjaros, and you only die twice. You pwn like you’ve never pwned before. After the game, you’ll not only be able to check out your stats, but you will be able to save video of the match to your hard drive. You can then invite people at any time afterwards, and open the video, playing it for everyone in the party to see. Viewers will be able to choose to either view the recorder’s point of view, one of the other player’s point of view, or roam around in third-person view and explore the map freely. The host will be able to control the video (and I’m not sure but I’m hoping that this would mean that it would be possible to pause the video, and maybe even rewind it, or maybe even play it in slow motion). This, my friends, is a priceless gift to anyone who ever wanted to create a Machinima. This is amazing, and I’m unbelievably excited for it.
Pure Speculation
Party Size Limit – Bungie, please make it larger than 16. I don’t care if it’s just raised to 20, or even 18, but please raise the limit, at least a little bit, at least over XboxLive if not in LAN multiplayer. I personally believe that it will be raised, but I’m worried that Bungie doesn’t think of it as a priority, since there was barely a whisper about it an the storm of recent news.
My Thoughts 
