Lessons have been learned by Bungie from the success of other shooters and how the competition has implemented stat tracking and leaderboards. While the team took Halo 2 in this direction with excellent results, Halo 3 will once again strive to provide the benchmark for skill-based online competition and competitive gaming on consoles. Competitive play and tournament play are most definitely in store for Halo 3, as evidenced by the player's ability to capture a replay of every match, which can then be shared via Xbox Live for those all-important bragging rights. Inclusion of this simple-to-use tool is a product of the Bungie team clearly thinking ahead to the longevity of Halo 3, as long after everyone has completed the single player campaign and learned the ins and outs of each map, people will still be capturing their greatest battlefield accomplishments on virtual film. It shouldn't take long at all for a thriving community of Halo 3 video directors to make their debut on YouTube.
Spartans! What is your profession?
Making the game more accessible to more casual gamers is also part of the strategy. Part of this goal is achieved by putting systems in place to temper the abusive nature of the Xbox Live community. Now, whenever a player can't seem to stop spewing ethnic slurs or profanities, you can easily bring up the player list and simply slap them down with a mute button, making things far more enjoyable for all those involved. However long it takes before this becomes a standard feature in all Xbox Live games will be far too long.
Part of the problem with taking a game like Halo 3 and predicting its effect on the more casual gaming market is that the game's approach to multiplayer plays to its strengths, which may not necessarily have room for many outside the hardcore gamer segment. Halo as a franchise succeeds because it rewards skill, and satisfies players who grow better at the game with practice. Providing support for clans and friends-only matches like Halo 2 is a good start, but it's really taken to the next level here. You'll have a persistent character for starters, bringing a bit of the massively multiplayer online flavor to the Halo universe. If the matchmaking system can follow through on its purported ability to match players of equal skill levels together, it's not impossible that even those who have never picked up a shooter can enjoy the online multiplayer aspect of Halo 3.
When you think about all the effort that has been put into making Halo 3 such a multiplayer focused package, the competitive gamer in you won't be able to help but want to jump into the beta and practice, honing your skills to a razor sharp edge in anticipation of what may well be the biggest thing in competitive online gaming since Counter-Strike. So when Shane Kim tells me that the driving force behind Halo 3's assured success is, in one word, multiplayer, I can't help but smile. But of course it is. How could it be anything else?
