Hail to the Master Chief…
Well, the chatter of battle rifles and the hiss of needlers has faded once more into the background, and would be flying in the face of popular opinion to open this blog with anything other than my opinions on the Halo 3 beta.
There’s something we ought to establish right from the off: the beta didn’t bring anything startlingly, jaw-droppingly new to the multiplayer table. What it did offer, however, was a gaming experience buffed to such a high level of sheen you could see your face in it. A number of small improvements, notably an enhanced lobby/matchmaking system (unexciting but essential) and some extremely well thought out maps made it a joy to play. Best of the new arenas was Valhalla, a team game exclusive map which is highly reminiscent of Blood Gultch, but on a massive scale and with a some rather nice terrain, such a a crashed pelican and central canyon, breaking matches down into a series of close-range firefights with empty killzones in between, rather than the out-and-out sniper’s paradise that was Blood Gultch.
The original Halo’s assault rifle makes a very welcome return as an effective short-to-medium range weapon. It makes a nice change of pace from the battle rifle, which encourages backing away whilst lining up those headshots. The assault rifle, in contrast, is a boon to all of us who prefer to charge screaming at our foe in a balls to the wall, death or glory assault, and then smack them in the face after emptying the clip into their shields. Satisfying in the extreme.
There were a few brand new implements of destruction on hand as well: the spartan laser, which fires a huge, red beam of death, but is slow to operate, and the brute spiker (my personal favourite). Think an SMG with a scythe strapped to the front and you’re pretty much there.
There was also a smattering a ‘equipment’, handily activated by a press of the X button, which serve to jazz the matches up some. The bubble shield, of TV ad fame, is the most impressive to look at, but surprisingly tricky to use well. Standing around inside after throwing it down is a quick way to get your head smashed in with a rifle butt. The mobile grav lift is less glamours, but far more practical, particularly in team matches, allowing some ninja-like attacks from unexpected quarters.
Some pleasingly solid net code rounds out the package: only once did I encounter a spot of lag, and it was swiftly gone. And indeed, only once did I get called a ‘gay faggot fuck-boy’, which is pretty good going during any extended time on Xbox Live.
In short, role on September.
Gaming Wisdom of the Crafty Banana 