'Halo Online' Trailer Showcases Graphics And Customisation

Console exclusives are usually videogames of the highest order engineered solely to sell the systems that carry them. Most consoles have at least one franchise developed and published by the console maker itself, which is tasked with the important responsibility of giving gamers a reason to plonk the 400-odd dollars for the console. "Halo" is one such franchise that saw the first two games release on the PC, but nothing else since "Halo 2" has made it out of the Xbox ecosystem.

That's why gamers were caught by surprise when "Halo Online" was announced earlier in the week as a PC exclusive. If that wasn't enough, the game ups the shock quotient by forsaking the all-important single player campaign for an online multiplayer only avatar. As it turns out, Microsoft's experimentation doesn't stop there, because the game will be available at the excellent price of free.

"Halo Online" is the veritable bag of surprises because it takes the free-to-play model and, in a move that would otherwise sound inconceivable, has no plans of a release for the western markets. The multiplayer-centric "Halo" instalment is currently being beta tested in Russia. As of now, the game is supposed to be restricted to the Russian territory, with no official confirmation (or denial, for that matter) of a North American or European release.

The recently announced "Halo Online" didn't offer much information the first time around, but now Microsoft has released a trailer that throws light on what makes this free-to-play online game tick, according to Polygon. The trailer gives an insight into the graphics, gameplay, weapons and also showcases the customisation potential.

The graphics seem to be comparable to an enhanced version of "Halo 3." The overall eye-candy quotient seems a bit too modest compared to what's seen in the last two games. This isn't surprising because "Halo Online" is powered by a highly modified "Halo 3" engine, as noted by Gamespot. The focus is on performance optimisation instead of graphical superiority, in order to make the free-to-play game more accessible to those with modest PC configurations.

The weapons showcased in the trailer are familiar ones, which have seemed to be cherry picked from different installments of the franchise. Some of the locations too seem to be direct recreations of familiar maps from the past games in series. The myriad customisation options depicted through a time-lapse sequence should form the integral component of the game's free-to-play model. It's safe to assume that "Halo Online" will include some form of microtransactions that will have gamers pay real money for weapons, gear and items within the game.

One of the reasons why "Halo Online" is restricted to Russia could be because Microsoft might not want to antagonise western gamers with microtransactions. Consumers in North America and Europe are particularly contentious about pay-to-win elements associated with microtransctions, which provide an option to simply purchase powerful weapons and in-game items.

Moreover, "Halo" isn't the first franchise to get the free-to-play treatment in the Russian and Asian territories. Large franchises such as "Counter-Strike," "Call of Duty" and "Borderlands" each have online versions catering to the Asian markets, where gamers prefer the free-to-play model.

Gamers in these regions see free-to-play games as a cheap means to get a slice of the action, whereas videogame makers appreciate the potential of such endeavours to make money off a region that would otherwise be lost to rampant piracy. Going by that logic, chances are that "Halo Online" might not be thrown open to the western market after all. However, it must be noted that Microsoft hasn't officially denied the possibility of a western release.

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Halo Online Announce Trailer (credit: Halo_4game YouTube channel)