Halo Mega Bloks: More Footage and Details Revealed
By Dalton Cooper 09 January 2017
Andrew Borman of Preserve Gaming History reveals more details about the cancelled Halo Mega Bloks project and releases raw gameplay footage of the game.
A few days ago, footage was posted online by Preserve Gaming History’s Andrew Borman of a cancelled Halo Mega Bloks game known by the codename Haggar. The cancelled project has piqued the interest of Halo fans, even garnering enough attention to elicit a response from 343 Industries head Bonnie Ross. Now Borman has revealed even more details about the cancelled project, and has released raw gameplay footage of the game.
According to Borman, the Halo Mega Bloks game was in development at n-Space for roughly 10 months before Microsoft pulled the plug on the project. It’s unclear why Microsoft decided to cancel the Halo Mega Bloks project, but the comments from Bonnie Ross seem to indicate that it was just an experimental idea, not necessarily something the company was dedicated to seeing through.
Thanks to the new footage posted by Borman, fans can judge for themselves whether or not the Halo Mega Bloks project was worthwhile. Based on the new gameplay footage, it seems like the game would have been very similar to the LEGO series from Traveller’s Tales, with players controlling a blocky Master Chief as they fought off blocky aliens in third-person combat. Players were also able to gather collectibles and construct structures, features also found in the LEGO games.
Perhaps the problem Microsoft had with the Halo Mega Bloks project was that it was too derivative of the LEGO games. Borman’s footage shows a game that is virtually identical to the LEGO games in terms of core gameplay mechanics, albeit with more of a focus on combat than exploration and puzzle-solving.
Even so, it would have been nice for fans to have the chance to experience a new Halo game that took risks with the franchise’s established formula. As it stands, the bulk of the games in the series are first-person shooters, with the occasional twin-stick shooter and real-time strategy game thrown in for a little variety. All of the games in the series are serious in tone, though, so Halo Mega Bloks could have been a serious departure from franchise norms with its lighthearted nature.
If fans continue to express interest in the cancelled Halo Mega Bloks game, maybe 343 will revive it, or maybe the studio will decide to move forward with one of its other “exploratory projects.” We know that there are multiple new Halo games in development, so it’s possible development on an experimental game in Xbox’s flagship series is already well underway.
The Halo Mega Bloks game was in development for Xbox 360.
