Halo 3 weapons questions answered

It's been a little while but Bungie has finally opened its big mouth to talk more about that Xbox 360 shooter it's working on - and not on the usual stage of its weekly community update either.

Speaking in the latest issue of Gamepro, Bungie fields a few of the mag's questions on the Halo 3's arsenal, including what's happened to Halo 2's SMGs now that the good old assault rifle is back in the spotlight.

"SMGs are still there, tweaked slightly, but not dramatically," says Bungie.net content producer Frank O'Connor. "The purpose of the AR is to fill a void, or rather, a vital role. A weapon that is not only useful to spawn with, but is flexible and powerful enough that you might stick with it rather than favoring another type of weapon."

"That weapon will be honed to a glossy sheen by launch, but bluntly, it's about perfect right now. That of course is an opinion, but believe me, it's balanced by knowing what our audience wants."

O'Connor also reveals there are changes ahead for the Chief's grenades: "Players will have plentiful grenade options. More on that soon. But grenades have an added layer of strategy this time around. Picking role-specific 'nades is important, but silkily natural."

The Brute Spiker rifle meanwhile can apparently be dual-wielded by the Chief and the Brute Shot is "almost certain" to make a return.

"The Needler has gone through significant changes," the Bungie man continues. "I'll call them improvements. The instant death attack - filling your opponent with a certain number of consecutive crystal-shards - is being tuned. But yes, it will still assplode your face."

All this talk of guns and 'nades has got us itching for the multiplayer beta again - so where is it, Mr. Bungie? "The file will be exactly 873.46 megs and... I'm kidding. Still being figured out, but we'll keep you posted." And the wait goes on...

April 5, 2007