Halo 3 Beta, Part 1

Well, I'm here in my Bioinformatics (Bioinfo-whoooa?) ready to straight up ditch, but I'll hang around long enough to give you impressions on the Halo 3 Beta.

To start things off, you and I were part of what will become the darkest day in Bungie's history and that is the Beta Breakdown. Baiscally, folks like me who bought Crackdown to play the beta were unfortunate enough to not be able to download the beta at the pre-determined 5 AM release time. I actually had to wait till 730 PM until Microsoft fixed the bug and let me start my 3 and half hour download (I have a horrible connection). However, this is a beta so, as much as this was aggravating, it should have been expected. Anyways, here we go.

The first thing you'll notice is how good the game looks. Sure, Gears of War looks oh so much better, but Halo 3 is graphically solid and still looks damn good in HD. I can't wait to see the game at release. The game runs overall smooth but will lag only because of your internet connection. It's just great how the game runs silky smooth at this stage of development. The movements and animations of the chracters look good, and the water...good God the water looks great.

Okay, since I only played one game mode on one map, Ill tell you about that one now, and tommorrow I'll tell you about the rest. I played Territories on the map High Ground (excuse my mistake of the map if I get the name wrong), and it was a blast. The map is very asymetrical and perfect for CTF or Assault, not to say it was any less fun playing Territories here. The great things I noticed where the way grenades were thrown a lot faster, faster respawns of weapons, and the nice and balanced distribution of all the weapons. Not for a second did the map feel confusing or intimadating, which definitely accelerated the game from 0 to who-the-hell-just-fried-me-with-the-laser.

Of course, the weapons are alot cooler and better. The battle rifle, plasma pistol and rifle, shotgun, grenades, sniper rifle, and Covenant carbine are all back, but they all feel more powerful and easier to handle. The improved assault rifle now has a huge range as opposed to the AR from the first Halo. Not only that, it's alot more powerful. The Spartan Laser is the king of terror in Halo 3, thanks to its great range, extreme punch, and rather quick recharge time. However, what screams cool in this game are the Brute weapons. The Brute shot is back, but the Brute Spiker (the Brutes answer to the Human SMG) is what everybody wants to try out. Shooting little but powerful spikes at enemies with devastating effects, the Spiker is a death hose that can easily take down opponents when its either dual-wielded or used single handedly. Oh, the huge blades on the front...yeah, that kills people too. The Spike Grenade is kind of like a mine, except more brutal. It is able to stick to any surface and has a delay timer of about two seconds. Once it goes off, however, it launchs spikes in all directions that actually bounce and ricochet off of the walls and cielings, so don;t be anywhere near this once it detonates.

Once I play more of the Beta today, I'll give you the rest of my impressions tomorrow. And that thing at the top of the page...That's the Microsoft Halo 3 Zune. It's limited edition with a Halo 3 decal surface and already has various music and video clips, artwork, and pictures uploaded including an exclusive Red vs. Blue episode. Am I gonna get one even though I already have an iPod? I am seriously comtemplating it. Take care.