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Halo 3 Beta

Reviewed on: Xbox 360
Available on: Xbox 360

With the impending release of Bungie’s blockbuster, Halo 3, I thought it was time to go through what the BETA had on offer, and look towards what we can expect from the finished product.

Players:
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Release: 2007-09-25

Developer: Bungie
Distributor: Microsoft

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When Microsoft announced that the game Crackdown would give the owner the chance to play the Halo 3 BETA, many saw this as Microsoft guaranteeing the sales of the new release. Indeed, the double edged sword must have had Real Time Worlds slightly disillusioned I would imagine, as the impressive sales of the game could not be construed as a true representation of the games popularity.

In any case, I managed to get away with playing through the entire BETA without paying full price for the game at all; Proverbally laughing all the way to the bank. Or in this case, my local Video Ezy. Not that they would have complained. 3 weeks later and an overdue fine of 17 dollars later, and I’m left anxiously awaiting September 25th.

With the impending release of Bungie’s blockbuster, Halo 3, I thought it was time to go through what the BETA had on offer, and look towards what we can expect from the finished product.

After playing through hour upon hours of the previous two games of Halo, I hold the yet-to-be-released game in an anxious, but exciting position. The BETA has left me with some amazing feelings, but at the same time I’m hoping Bungie make sure they know the ramifications of any further changes they end up making. Whilst it is fair to say that Halo 2 was one of the contributing reasons to the adoption of X-Box Live with it’s addictive and fun multiplayer, Bungie copped a lot of flak from hardcore Halo-ites for changes to the multiplayer.

Whilst I lean towards the argument of those who claim that Halo: Combat Evolved was the better installment, I have noticed that Bungie have also heard the rumblings of the fan base and sought to address these issues.

The reissue of the Assault Rifle (Albeit upgraded), the out of sight improvement to the Needler (It has been tweaked to make it quite useful and very versatile), the dropping of the Plasma Pistols tracking of enemy players, the lowering of auto aim (AKA Crosshair Magnetism) to make the game harder and the addition of slight leading to medium and long range weaponry are some of many major changes to the multiplayer aspect itself.

As a competitive player, my main focus on a game shifts almost immediately from ‘Well, this game is fun’ to ‘Hmm, is that really balanced?’ As Halo:CE and Halo 2 are the staple games of Major League Gaming in the U.S. (MLG is the biggest competitive console League in the world) it is fair to say Halo 3 will almost automatically walk straight into the line up upon its release.

Whilst it was difficult to judge whether the game itself was balanced as there was no custom game feature available, it was easy to see that Bungie have sought to bring back base elements of Halo:CE, combine them with the team work and improvements made in Halo 2, and roll them all in to Halo 3. Couple to this the improvement in graphics, the almost universal adoption rate of X-Box Live for 360 owners, and Bungie have a lot of people waiting on the final product.

Below is a quick run down of how the old weapons now perform, as well as the new weapons:

M6G Pistol – The pistol from the original Halo:CE is back, and although we didn’t get to play it in the BETA, much has been said on its return. The clip itself now houses 8 bullets, not 12, and it’s been rumoured to possess a 4 shot kill.
Battle Rifle – The staple gun of Halo 2 is back, and the BETA saw a surprising weaker variation. Resembling the BR pre-patch in Halo 2, the spray meant the gun didn’t hold the same effectiveness over longer distances as its previous incarnation. Bungie, however, have confirmed that they have tightened the ‘spread’ on the gun itself and it will be much better when the final release is made.
Carbine – The Carbine is the shock improvement; Now a weapon to rival (And in the BETA surpass) the usefulness of the Battle Rifle, it maintains its 6 headshot kill ability, as well as have a good reach over long distances.
Shotgun – Tweaked also, the shotty now only packs 8 rounds, reloads slower, but appears to actually work; A pleasant change from it’s Halo 2 equivalent that required you to deep throat the opponent with it in order to do any damage.
SMG – No longer the default weapon, the SMG now has a bark worse than its bite. Sounding like a gattling gun, but retaining it’s ‘popcorn gun’ usefulness, I still wonder why Bungie persist in itss inclusion.
Brute Spiker – A new addition to the multiplayer arsenal, this dual-wieldable weapon is slightly better looking than the SMG, sounds a lot cooler, but unfortunately only does a small amount more damage than its human equivalent.
Assault Rifle – Back and better than its original equivalent when used at a distance, the AR adequately fills the role of default weapon. Useful in the right circumstances, it is what the SMG should have been in Halo 2.
Brute Shot – Stronger than its predecessor, the Brute Shot is still a unique weapon that is more attractive to pick up. The rounds now do significantly more damage, but don’t bounce off a wall with the tennis ball like reaction they used to.
Sniper Rifle – Now with a much slower rate of fire and is a lot more difficult to use. No-scoping is tough, slight leading at long range is required and it is no longer a long range weapon that can be wielded with ease at short range.
Beam Rifle – Shots now take more charge, but otherwise the Beam Rifle has stayed the same. The changes to the human Sniper Rifle now accentuate the differences in both guns.
Rocket Launcher – Everyone’s favourite weapon now has a bigger blast radius, a slower rate of fire (Ala Halo CE), and no longer has tracking for vehicles. A good move in my opinion.
Missile Pod – Think a bigger rocket launcher, that fires quicker, locks on to vehicles, and is very deadly. They balance this weapon out with a 3rd person perspective when it is picked up (A first for this game) and a slower movement rate.
Turret – Now capable of picking up turrets or dismantling them from the Warthog, the turret is a stronger AR with bigger spread but deadlier. Works in the same fashion as the missile pod, but is a lot of fun to run around with.
Spartan Laser – The most interesting addition to the arsenal is this little baby. Shooting a giant red laser at a warthog with 3 people in it usually garners much satisfaction as you see them all explode and die fiery deaths. It has a 5 second recharge rate, and can kill a person (Or two if you line them up properly) with a well timed shot.
Sword – Not included in the BETA, but my sources tell me the Sword will have a drain on the energy source when used, similar to the way it depleted in the Halo 2 campaign.
Spike Grenade – Essentially the human equivalent of the Plasma Grenade, it’s an interesting, but not really necessary addition.
Plasma / Frag grenades – Both have retained their same functionality, but both need the radius of their explosions increased.
4th Grenade – Rumour has it there will be a 4th grenade included.

The BETA only included three vehicles; The Warthog, the Ghost and the Mongoose. Outside of some sporadic drink driving in the Warthog with fellow clan mates, I didn’t notice any real difference in the Warthog’s handling, however the Ghost seemed to be slightly slower without the boost, and slid around a little bit more, making it harder to control.

The Mongoose, one of the newer vehicles, is a two man quad that is useful for transporting the flag, getting from A to B quickly, or in the case of those who wish to have fun, try to jump over the wall in High Ground with a gravity jump.
A lot of fun, the little car was one of the developers tools used when creating Halo 2, and was set for inclusion in the second installment, before Bungie pulled the plug.
The three ‘Items of interest’ (Not their real name; They’re equipment really but I find them to be more items of interest) were an addition to the Halo multiplayer experience not seen before. The ability to drop a bubble shield, or use a gravity jump to launch your Mongoose over the wall on High Ground was something I was very wary of when I was made aware of its inclusion.

Bubble Shield – Operates as an impenetrable shield around a small radius. Nothing goes in, nothing comes out. Hand when you have a few spare grenades and the player you want to kill is inside. Not so handy when you’ve got a sniper and they’re camping it up in the hill.
Gravity Lift – Think a portable gravity lift found in the bases of Midship, or bottom of blue room for Lockout. Quite nifty.
Radar Jammer – Fairly self explanatory. It jams your radio.
Trip Mine – Again, fairly self explanatory. You can hear them beep as you get close too. So I you hear beeping, stop moving.
Power Drainer – Sucks the life out of your shield, rendering you very vulnerable. Will prove handy on small maps when playing Free For All.

The maps themselves were a reasonable variety.

Valhalla – Think Blood Gulch, except with more cover, bigger, and much greener. This map was not ideal for 4v4, but when 6 or 8 a team was included, it was mayhem. I believe this map will require a BR or Carbine start in most games, just so you can fight back when you’re pinned by a sniper, but otherwise it seemed a lot of fun.
High Ground - Reminded me a lot of Zanzibar in many ways. An attach/defend themed design, one team starts with possession of a sniper, the other team starts with possession of a Spartan Laser, and both have the opportunity to fight for the Rocket Launcher.
Snowbound - Probably my favourite map. Well designed, smaller than the other two and ripe for competitive play, I only wish some CTF was playable on it but the BETA did not offer it.

Overall, there are some good signs from the BETA itself. One thing a lot of purists will note is I didn’t mention any in game glitches. Well… That’s because I found none. No BXR, no Double Shot – Nothing of that sort was discovered. A few people rumored that that the BXR was still there in some small capacity, but after attempting to perform the move myself in many different and varied ways, I believe that the glitch, if present, is not performed in that manner.

The hardcore Halo fans only needed 2 weeks to crack the BETA, and the result was the opening of the custom game options in the lobby. A complete surprise and a glimpse into the final product, the custom options revealed a level of personalization that I don’t think any console FPS has experienced.

See here for a short look at what to expect

This little look here includes footage of the sword, dual wielded pistols and the Wraith.

Change in starting weapons, maps and game types was a feature of Halo 2 that many found enjoyable. Now, a change in gravity, jump height, adjustment of player damage according to their involvement in the game and many more options have been included. Add to this the newly customizable characters with different armours (As well as their advantages/disadvantages), new icon designs and the ability to save games are some fantastic features to the game and has rightfully seen positive feedback.

So, what are the negatives?

A few, to be honest. The King of the Hill game mode, has seen the hill change design, and those within the hill now have a more difficult time seeing outside.

The radar is woeful; It has a distance of half a foot in front of you, and really doesn’t help the user at all.

The blast radius on grenades needs to be made larger, and the BR spray needs to be tightened, but I mentioned this earlier.

The frame rate needs to be tweaked as it occasionally jerked and jammed in parts.

In any case, these negatives did not greatly detract from the experience itself. Whilst I want certain parts of the game to be tweaked for the benefit of competitive gaming, the enjoyment I gained from just having fun made me think that Bungie have sought to satisfy the entertainment needs of a player first. They have then given those with competitive desires as many interchangeable options as possible, ensuring balanced play can be created to fulfill the needs of the professional players. Overall, the BETA was an enjoyable way to spend 3 weeks, and it looks like Bungie have everything under control for what I’m sure will be the biggest 360 title to be released to date.

For those interested in viewing some of the Halo 3 BETA game play, my good mate Strangled Duck has a montage showing off his skills and the game play itself. Check it out here: http://useruploads.mythica.org/view/Duckys_H3_Beta_Montage.wmv.html

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