 Halo 3 utilizes a proprietary , in @-@ house graphics engine . As detailed on the Bungie website , it employs advanced graphics technologies such as high dynamic range , global lighting and depth of field effects within cutscenes . Motion blurring was absent from the beta , but was added to the final game . Most of the dynamic objects in the game cast real @-@ time shadows on themselves and the environment around them , including the game 's plant life . Halo 3 uses normal , bump , and parallax mapping to give surfaces more detail without dramatically increasing the number of polygons . Players can see distances of up to ten miles ( 16 km ) away , all fully three @-@ dimensional . Real time reflections were written into the engine ; however , they are often unused as Bungie considered it a waste of resources . 
