Halo 3 Doesn't Play in HD

Ever wondered why Halo 3 has so many jaggies? The anti-aliasing may be off, but the game’s been upscaled from a rather unusual resolution – 1152x640 (640p!) to the HD 720p resolution of 1280x720. Here’s Bungie’s statement on the same:

The reason we chose this slightly unorthodox resolution and this very complex use of two buffers is simple enough to see – lighting. We wanted to preserve as much dynamic range as possible – so we use one for the high dynamic range and one for the low dynamic range values. Both are combined to create the finished on screen image.

In fact, if you do a comparison shot between the native 1152x640 image and the scaled 1280x720, it’s practically impossible to discern the difference. We would ignore it entirely were it not for the internet’s propensity for drama where none exists. In fact the reason we haven’t mentioned this before in weekly updates, is the simple fact that it would have distracted conversation away from more important aspects of the game, and given tinfoil hats some new gristle to chew on as they catalogued their toenail clippings.

The game’s lighting is in fact remarkable, but the jaggies are also really apparent which makes you cringe during a few scenes in the single player campaign. The multiplayer on the whole seems a lot better, and the gameplay in both modes more than make up for the visual flaws in the game. Nash and I have been hooked on to the Halo 3 MP since while now, and we love every bit of it. Stay tuned to Tech2.com for a review of the same.