Halo 3 Beta - Live Impressions

7:05 PM:Okay. The new weapons, vehicles and equipment are crazy, but the biggest buzz circulating around the room is about something else. The graphics. Hate to say it, but we honestly feel like we’re playing Halo 2 here. The gameplay has been tweaked quite a bit (so much that we’re totally confused right now), but the look hasn’t changed. Yes, everything’s a bit cleaner, a bit crisper, but… the character models look pretty much the same. The vehicles look pretty much the same. The guns definitely look the same.

Even the environments feel like retreads. High Ground is laid out a lot differently from stuff like Blood Gulch, but the desert / military complex motif hasn’t changed a bit. And we could swear that Valhalla is just the second level of Halo 1 (the one where you first crash land on the ring world) turned into a multiplayer arena. These are a nice homage, but where’s the innovation? People whispering “Halo 2.5” all around us.

7:15 PM:Dual wielding no more! Yeah, it’s still an option, but hardly ever a smart one. Why? Because of all the new equipment that’s been added. Pick up two weapons and, like before, you give up grenades. But now you also give up the bubble shield, the portable gravity lift, the power drain, etc. Based on our first impressions, you do NOT want to give that stuff up. The result is a nice return to the original Halo’s multiplayer – mixing the use of one weapon with grenades or, in this case, equipment.

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7:30 PM:Remember the teleport stations? They’ve been replaced, as you no doubt have heard by now, with man cannons. On the Valhalla map, these air vents were situated around the edge of our base. Running or jumping into one sends you soaring in a beautiful, exhilarating arc across the battlefield. Plus side? It’s a mini thrill ride built right into the match. And guess what? You can even drive Warthogs or Mongooses into them and achieve lift off. Down side? You rarely hit the ground alive. Most of the times we’ve used one, we’ve been sniped out of mid air or Spartan lasered as soon as our feet hit the dirt. But when the man cannon is sitting right in front of your spawn point, it’s almost impossible to resist jumping in.

7:40 PM: Speaking of the Mongoose? We’re a little unsure what the point of this thing is. It’s basically just a miniature Warthog. It’s more maneuverable, we guess. But just like the Warthog, if you’re driving alone, you’re defenseless. Why not add a weapon like the similarly small and mobile Ghost? Also, when you do have someone riding with you, he’s always standing behind you and rubbing his crotch on your head. Are we the only ones who notice this kind of stuff?

Even the environments feel like retreads. High Ground is laid out a lot differently from stuff like Blood Gulch, but the desert / military complex motif hasn’t changed a bit. And we could swear that Valhalla is just the second level of Halo 1 (the one where you first crash land on the ring world) turned into a multiplayer arena. These are a nice homage, but where’s the innovation? People whispering “Halo 2.5” all around us.

7:15 PM:Dual wielding no more! Yeah, it’s still an option, but hardly ever a smart one. Why? Because of all the new equipment that’s been added. Pick up two weapons and, like before, you give up grenades. But now you also give up the bubble shield, the portable gravity lift, the power drain, etc. Based on our first impressions, you do NOT want to give that stuff up. The result is a nice return to the original Halo’s multiplayer – mixing the use of one weapon with grenades or, in this case, equipment.

7:30 PM:Remember the teleport stations? They’ve been replaced, as you no doubt have heard by now, with man cannons. On the Valhalla map, these air vents were situated around the edge of our base. Running or jumping into one sends you soaring in a beautiful, exhilarating arc across the battlefield. Plus side? It’s a mini thrill ride built right into the match. And guess what? You can even drive Warthogs or Mongooses into them and achieve lift off. Down side? You rarely hit the ground alive. Most of the times we’ve used one, we’ve been sniped out of mid air or Spartan lasered as soon as our feet hit the dirt. But when the man cannon is sitting right in front of your spawn point, it’s almost impossible to resist jumping in.

7:40 PM: Speaking of the Mongoose? We’re a little unsure what the point of this thing is. It’s basically just a miniature Warthog. It’s more maneuverable, we guess. But just like the Warthog, if you’re driving alone, you’re defenseless. Why not add a weapon like the similarly small and mobile Ghost? Also, when you do have someone riding with you, he’s always standing behind you and rubbing his crotch on your head. Are we the only ones who notice this kind of stuff?