Short Changed?

When Halo 3 was released there was such an uproar on the internet about the fact that it only runs at 640p and not what is regarded as a minimum for HD, 720p. The reason given for this by Bungie is that they made a trade off on the resolution to incorporate full range HDR lighting. Sounds like a bit of a cop out is what seemed to be the general opinion. Some comments suggested it's not a true next generation game because of it. Suddenly every man and his dog knew about developing a game and called Bungie lazy and untalented for short changing them 80p.

Having never played a Halo game before I didn't get swept up in the hype and kept clear of all the arguments... until last week. Being available for around £15 - £20 now I finally decided to pick up a copy and I'm glad I did. While it was a short run through in single player I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and I was very impressed with the graphics. What makes it look so good? The lighting. Simple as that. It reacts absolutely perfectly and gives everything a believable solid feeling the likes of which I've felt in very few games. It seems maybe, just maybe, the developers really do know what they're doing. So for those still feeling like they're owed 80p here's my 2 penneth towards it (and this goes for any game using similar techniques)... try just enjoying the game and stop worrying that somebody with too much time on their hands decided to count the pixels.

Visit the GAMEOV3R Forum in full HD although sadly fancy lighting effects are not included