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Halo 3

Added May 25th, 2007 by James Bolan

The following takes place between 5:00 AM and 7:05 PM on May 16th. Events occur in real time.

4:58 AM – I start my 360 like a child on Christmas day. I’m ready to play one of the most anticipated games of the year. The slick 360 interface cuts through the blur of sleep deprivation, my profile signs in.

4:59 AM - Crackdown begins to come to life in what feels like an eternity of loading and logo screens. The in-game downloader opens, my heart suddenly stops.

5:00 AM – The ‘Download the Halo 3 Beta’ option isn’t selectable. Thousands of Halo fans cry out in pain.

5:01 AM – Ken Kutaragi gets a hard-on that he cannot explain.

7:05 PM – Crackdown issue is fixed, Frankie blows up the Death Star.

Despite issues with the Crackdown downloader, the highly anticipated beta is finally here! With your first Halo 3 match you will notice Bungie is returning to the Halo 1 roots. Grenade placement and efficient melees are once again viable options. Drop that SMG and pick up an assault rifle soldier. Halo is back.

The assault rifle (AR) has replaced the SMG as the new starting weapon. Therefore, you will no longer need to dash for a dual wield combo to stay alive; the new AR and a couple of grenades will always give you a chance to survive. Before you scratch your head with confusion over how to pick up a weapon, X has now been mapped to equipment items. With the new equipment items you can instantly protect yourself in a bubble shield, lay a proximity mine, set down a portable gravity lift, or drain enemy shields with an EMP device. These items aren’t just flashy gimmicks; they are powerful tools if used by a skilled player. The right shoulder button is now your primary interaction button and reload. The left and right shoulder buttons each control the reload of the corresponding player hand, which is extremely intuitive while dual wielding.

Yes, dual wielding is still in the game but no longer can players just spray their weapons and pray for a kill. Bungie has taken steps to return skill to the franchise. The aim help from Halo 2 has been significantly toned down as a result. Halo 1 devotees, rejoice. Support weapons have been added to the game as well. When picked up, the player view switches from first to third person. You seem to slow down a bit but the new view gives the player a better sense of what’s around them. The missile pod is one of the two support weapons. It locks on to vehicles instantly and delivers a small amount of missiles. Chain-gun turrets can now be picked up and used on the go. It’s extremely useful at the medium range when you’re facing multiple opponents and need some serious stopping power.

The matchmaking system from Halo 2 returns, but it seems to be extremely broken in the beta. Sometimes it can take forever just to find a game and when you do, just hope the game doesn’t kick you out and your 360 doesn’t freeze. The new rank badges look great and actually add a sense of pride when you’re the guy in the room with the best one. The saved film feature is amazing. From a carnage report (post game lobby) you can save the whole match to your hard drive. You can later watch the film or share it with friends for strategy or pure entertainment purposes. Expect view controls and a lot more custom options in the future for these films. There are 3 maps included in the Halo 3 Beta, over 10 weapons to humiliate your friends with, and 4 vehicles. Let’s start with the maps.

Maps:

Snowbound is an excellent slayer map for Rumble Pit or small Team Slayer/Team Skirmish game-types. The terrain is snow covered with two massive covenant structures protruding from the ground. Inside these two structures you will find equipment items and an entrance to the underground tunnels. Each doorway inside these structures has a shield wall. These walls prevent any arms fire or grenades from passing through. These shield doors can provide some interesting cat and mouse battles between players, and are a fantastic addition. Combat outside the structures is a different beast. You have two choices, grab a ranged weapon, or get inside. When on the beautiful footprint ridden snow, you’re an open target from almost anywhere on the map. A Covenant ghost could be roaming or a Spartan laser could be warming up across from you. On this map, you really need to be on your toes outside. Automated turrets line the borders of the map, so watch where you step. The difference between the combat underground and the combat outside makes every match extremely dynamic.

High-Ground is an asymmetrical map designed for attack and defend game-types. The attacking team will start on a beach-head and attempt to make their way to the fortified base at the hill top. A turret is included as part of the base defense and can lead to some great firefights. A bunker is located right outside the main wall of the base. A hatch can be blown open from the top of the bunker for quick infiltration of the base underground. Most of the action on this map takes place by the turret or inside the stairwell leading to the bunker. Like Zanzibar, there is a closed gate that can be opened from a panel inside the base; this will leave it open to rapid Mongoose attacks. The attack and defend nature of this map and the inclusion of the new ATV makes it an obvious choice for 1 flag CTF.

Valhalla is an absolutely huge outdoor map with a gigantic forerunner base on each side that serve as starting points. Like High-Ground this is an excellent map for attack and defend game-types. With that said, not once have I played capture the flag on Valhalla. For a map which is so close in nature to Blood Gulch, this is absolutely unacceptable. Perhaps with more big-team-battle play, my prayers will be answered. One of the huge features on this map in the introduction of the “Man cannon”. The man cannons are located on the second floor of each base, it’s basically a high powered gravity lift reversed. They’re designed to get you out into the map as fast as possible and make for hilarious sniping or laser opportunities. Ranged weapons rule Valhalla. Grab your battle rifle, sniper rifle, or Spartan laser before you leave home, you’ll need them. This is hands-down my favorite map in the beta. The open ground is perfect for warthog assaults and long range combat. No other map in the beta feels this close to the Halo 1 multiplayer experience.

Weapons:

Assault Rifle – Your new starting weapon. The new assault rifle has a shallower clip than the Halo 1 version, but still packs a punch at close range. Burst fire and a well timed melee are recommended to finish a fight with the least amount of damage taken as possible.

Shotgun – The shotgun returns from Halo 1. It actually does damage at close range now, no need to melee unless you didn’t get a clean shot. The go-to weapon for base raiding and close quarter battles. Battle Rifle – Slightly less powerful than the Halo 2 version. Burst fire is still intact but the sound seems less intimidating. Regardless, the battle rifle still gets the job done relatively quickly with headshots.

Covenant Carbine – I didn’t notice a single difference from its Halo 2 version. Sadly it still doesn’t feel very satisfying to fire or kill an opponent with. Missile Pod – (Support weapon) Lock-on vehicle killer. Delivers homing missiles without asking for a license and registration.

Turret – (Support weapon) When you need lots and lots of lead, fast. My only complaint is that you can’t setup the turret in a new position after you’ve picked it up.

Sniper Rifle – Oh how I love you. Just as brutal as the original. Beta lag and hitbox issues may make you scratch your head about that headshot you somehow missed.

Spartan Laser – New anti-everything super weapon. This charged beam will take out infantry and any kind of vehicle. The laser will even cut through multiple opponents if someone is unlucky enough to be directly behind your target. Be careful, as soon as you hold down the trigger a targeting laser appears and can be seen by your target. Oh and don’t miss, you only have a few shots. Rocket Launcher – Old faithful has returned. The rocket launcher can’t lock onto vehicles anymore but still spanks the competition with a well placed shot.

Plasma pistol – The Covenant shield popper is just as effective as its past versions. However, Halo 2 players should be advised; you cannot run around with it charged and expect no consequence. The plasma pistol ammo will deplete when charged. The ability to temporarily disable a vehicle with a charged shot has been added, but with the less accurate tracking, it’s tricky.

Plasma rifle – It’s back and just as powerful. Coupled with a projectile dual wieldable weapon, it’s extremely dangerous at close range. Two plasma rifles will work, but they don’t appear to get the job done as quickly.

Needler – The humiliating pink gun is back. The needler is no longer dual wieldable and that’s actually a good thing. The new version will put your opponent down in a matter of seconds if you can track him/her well enough. Absolutely deadly at close range.

Brute Spiker – Dual wieldable Brute weapon. The brute spiker is known for its very high rate of fire, and is extremely dangerous at close range when you have 2.

Sub-machine gun (SMG) – Absolutely worthless in my opinion. The new brute spiker replaces the SMG in the dual wield role and the assault rifle has recovered its rightful place as the starting weapon. There’s a reason you won’t see many players with one of these in their hands.

Spike Grenade – Just like a plasma grenade but it sticks to EVERYTHING. Explodes with hundreds of spikes that ricochet in confined areas. Perfect for most indoor environments.

Frag Grenade – Just as useful as the Halo 1 version. A perfect toss can still save your life.

Plasma Grenade – Updated with a brand new visual effect. Makes a great sound when you stick someone. Just as fun to tag an enemy with.

Equipment:

Bubble shield – Works just like the shield doors on Snowbound accept portable. Very useful for objective based games or turning the tide when you’re caught off guard.

Shield drainer (EMP) – This device knocks out shields in a matter of seconds. When the device explodes, an unshielded player in immediate area will most likely die. If you hear this device go off, run.

Portable gravity lift – Works well when you need to reach an elevated position quickly or when you need to avoid enemy fire and don’t have a bubble shield.

Trip mine – Detonates when a player or vehicle enters a close proximity with the mine. Can be shot to defuse or to injure a fleeing opponent.

Vehicles:

Warthog – The classic is back. The handling is just as slippery and the chain-gun is just as effective.

Mongoose – Agile and speedy ATV. Excellent for CTF or just getting to a certain part of the map fast. Someone can jump on the back of the ATV and fire their weapon or hold an objective item.

Banshee – Recently added via big-team-battle. Evasive maneuvers and the mortar round are back. Good luck trying to board one from a man cannon jump, I know you’ll try.

Ghost – Still has its boost ability and trademark sound. The ghost feels pretty tired and unexciting. Snowbound is a strange map to put it on but I hope the final version makes better use of this classic.

The Outlook:

Overall the Halo 3 beta is an absolute blast. The three included maps are different enough to keep games fresh along with the amount of team game-types. The recently added big-team-battle playlist adds even more frantic fun. There hasn’t been a better multiplayer experience yet on the Xbox 360 in my opinion. When you have a party full of friends ready to dive into a match on Halo 3, get ready to have a great time.