Jagged Halo 3
Hey guys, just a quick observation & question. I am playing the Halo 3 beta on my 63" Mitsubishi 1080p DLP set. I understand the graphics are not final & not to expect Gears of War quality due to the size of the arenas & number of players but the main thing really bugging me is the jaggies. Do they have any anti-aliasing turned on now & do you know if this is something that will be addressed before the actual release on 9/25 (2-days before my birthday)

There is likely some level of anti-aliasing going on, but not enough passes that it can smooth things out much. You have to remember that visual quality is typically lower for online games because they have a lot of things to be concerned with other than just rendering one person's experience. I'd guess the single-player will look considerably better. And if you look at Halo 2 single-player versus multiplayer side-by-side you can see the difference. Will it look much better in the retail version? Probably a little bit, but it's more important for a solid framerate online and reduced latency than smooth lines.

I will say that having played the Halo 3 beta on three different TVs, it certainly looks better on a smaller screen. A big screen like your 63" beast is just going to magnify the flaws.

--Hil

Lifetime Achievement Award
When 360 first came out, I played every game and was #4 in achievement points in the world for about 6 months. But about a year ago I gave up that pursuit. I still love achivements, only now - I won't play a game if I think it's achivements are unreasonable to obtain. I am a completionist at heart, and I want that 1000/1000 where ever possible. Originally I got all the games to milk them for points, but now I avoid them if I think I can't get at least 75 - 80 percent of them. I got College Hoops 2k7 from gamefly, then looked up the achivements and sent it right back without ever putting it in becuase I thought the heavy emphasis on MP games would suck.

Am I the only one whose like this? I know achivements help sell many games (i.e. King Kong), but I think they may hurt sales for others if the developers make the achivements really crappy. For example, I hate achievements that require me to play X number of hours in online Multiplayer (Command and Conquer!!!). If Multiplayer is fun, people will play - if it is not they won't. But feeling compelled to play due to achievements really takes the fun out of gaming. Anyone that tired for all the MP achivements in the Outfit of Quake 4 knows how miserable it can be.

And what about Tiger Woods '06? EA just flat out stops supporting the title's tournaments when '07comes out, but they have a number of achivements tied to those tournaments. Shouldn't all achievments be obtainable for the life of the console?

Anyway, this is probably too long for a mailbag, but I think a roundtable on this might be good. Most of the 360 gamers I know are addicted to achievements, so it would be nice to see more discussion of them on your site. It would be nice if there were some type of forum where MS and developers could see what the community thinks about achivement points and how they should be setup.

Maybe you should worry first about a good gameplay experience and then consider Achievement-grabbing as a secondary goal. I play a game to enjoy it and go after Achievements only to help extend my playtime. Few games are designed with Achievements in mind. They are often an afterthought. Some are handled well, but most feel tacked on. I'd love for MS to offer more guidance to developers for crafting good Achievements, but I'll still take fun gameplay over some points any day.

--Hil


The Price of Shenmue
If we all pitched in 10 bucks, think we could help finance Shenmue 3?

You'd need a lot of people to get Shenmue 3 financed. Consider that the game will need to get retooled for next-gen and that the first two chapters weren't exactly blockbusters. It just isn't financially sensible to continue to pursue this series. However, Yu Suzuki has stated in the past that Shenmue 3 will come, but hinted that it might not be in game form. We'll see, but I have a feeling Shenmue 3 is vaporware.

--Hil


Indiana Jones and the Lost Videogame
Hey IGN; where's LucasArt's Indiana Jones 2007 game? After the Sony Gamer's Day trailer for Uncharted, it really got me wondering about Indy's return to gaming (though I honestly believe it won't be anywhere near as good, no offense to Lucasarts. They're just no Naughty Dog is all). It looked neat, if a little underdeveloped. Hopefully the black out means it's gone through a major overhaul and should be looking hot now, right? Why was it in blackout mode? And more importantly, when will we see it again? Will Indiana Jones 2007 even come out in 2007?

Indiana Jones fell off the radar. We know it's still being made, but it will likely stay under wraps until at least E3 (if not the end of '07). I would expect this game will be delayed into 2008 so it can be released along with the fourth Indiana Jones film. That doesn't mean the story will match the movie, but it will allow the two to build on one another's marketing. Nothing is official, but if Indy comes out in '07, I'll be pretty shocked.

--Hil

Microsoft's Response?
After seeing my eternal enemies, Sony, show off their expensive little box at gamers day, i simply cant wait to see what Microsoft has up their sleeve to counter these really cool games.

So my question to you, Hil or Erik, is, what do you think the huge announcements and happenings at X07 be? Personally, I am hoping for KOTOR3.

Microsoft countered Sony's Gamers Day by announcing the release date for Halo 3 and releasing the beta. Seems to have worked, because the Halo 3 beta is getting all the buzz. As for and MS showcase, I doubt KOTOR 3 would be announced by MS. If anything, I'd expect KOTOR 3 (if announced at all) to be part of the Star Wars anniversary hooplah in L.A. next week.

--Hil

No One Expects... a Witty Response!
Thanks for the new details on the upcoming Colin game. I really like the line which mentions the Spanish Inquisition. Is this a reference to Monty Python?

No, it was in reference to the Spanish Inquisition, which no one expects.

--Hil