My Spartan on Halo Reach

‘The beta went live this past Monday and after after a few days of playing it, I can comfortably say this is the biggest jump forward in Halo since it made the jump to online over 5 years ago. Nearly every aspect of this game’s multiplayer has been improved in some way, everything from the matchmaker to the weapons, and the game is much better for it.

The First thing you will notice when you boot up the beta is the matchmaking home screen. This screen will show all your friends online, what they are doing, who they are partied with and give you access to all their stats and file shares, all completely free from the Xbox dash. This new system makes it a piece of cake to join up with friends and get right into the game without having to herd people around like cats.

Once you get into the game, the matchmaker can be customized to pair you with people you may like to play with based on how they play and communicate. It’s obvious however more then anything else that this part of the system needs work. I find it kind of weird to tell the game I want to be matched up with chatty team players only to get paired with a team where I am the only one with a mic. I would otherwise write it off a glitch if it happened once or twice, but it seems like I am always getting paired in a room with only one or two microphones (including myself) or be the only one in a group of 4 who is not in a party chat being completely cut off from the rest of the team. I am starting to understand why Infinity Wards made the decision to remove party chat from Modern Warfare 2.

The beta itself featured 2 maps, [2 more went live today] Swordbase and Powerhouse with a combination of classic and new game modes. Swordbase is an enclosed map with a large sense of verticality similar to the old Halo CE maps Prisoner or Boarding Action. Powerhouse is an asymmetrical map that similar to Zanzibar and High Ground. Both Maps are classic Halo in design but the new weapons and armor abilities.

The new weapons and armor abilities are where the beta shines and separates itself from the rest of the Halos. Dual wielding is gone now, and weapons which would be hurt by this has either been improved or replaces like the scoped pistol and plasma repeater.

Armor abilities are the biggest change to Halo Reach like jet packs, armor lock, sprint and invisibility, replacing deployables. Each skill changes the effectiveness and usage of the weapons. Sprinting with a needler? Not the best of ideas… jet pack and needler? Bring on the purple rain!

The Beta will continue to release new content for testing beginning with two new maps like Boneyard and Overlook along with vehicles and new weapons. I will report back one I get adequate game time to try all this new stuff out. Check back for updates and in the mean time, enjoy the beta.