Bungie defends Halo 3 visuals

Not lacklustre, just subtle...

Speaking to UK games site Pro-G.co.uk, Bungie have defended the slight criticisms made in some circles about Halo 3's visual flair. The game's graphics have at times been described as "Halo 2 HD," with even gushing reviews noting the occasionally average character models and water effects.

"It's completely immersive. The art direction is immaculate. It's not trying to be incredibly photo realistic or painting this grimy world. It's vibrant and it's fun and it's accessible," cinematic designer Lee Wilson told the website.

Multiplayer producer Joe Tung added: "Stuff like the water, stuff like our HDR (high dynamic range or next-gen lighting) model, I think that stuff is so beautiful and so subtle and over time I hope people will appreciate that stuff as much as we do right now.

"Folks who have complained about the graphics in the large part have said 'I don't like the way it looks' then they pick it up and they play it for half-an-hour and then four hours later they're still playing and that's the last time you hear them saying anything about the game."

Visually average or not, the game is going to sell by the bucketload, and with the game breaking review score records as well as sales records it appears that any visual disappointments are likely to be quickly forgotten.

By Luke Guttridge