Monday, 10 a.m. PST, the essence of excellence itself unfolds. Behold, the official launch of the “Halo Reach” beta.
For players familiar with the previous games, such as “Halo 3” and “Halo 3: ODST,” this latest incarnation to the “Halo” universe adds new abilities, game types, and weapons.
Among some of the new additions is the Armor Ability where players get “Multi-use armor augmentations… that can alter any engagement on the fly. Each ability has its own unique effect upon your combat effectiveness, each has penalties for use, and each requires a short cooling-off period between subsequent uses.”
Another addition that has not been done in any of the prior “Halo” games is a Loadout. This new feature allows the player to choose between several different class equipment sets that “breeds… smarter combat,” said Bungie Sandbox Designer,Josh Hamerick.
Some of the classes include Air Assault, Expert Marksmen, Operator, and Grenadier. Bungie has said that Loadouts differ between game types, like what is found in Slayers, Arena and Grab Bag, and will add a new spin on how gamers will play.
The actual game play wasn’t without its own drama. Many players experienced problems finding matches, of which Bungie explained in their blog: “The backend servers are getting hammered.”
One gamer who experienced the issues said, “I expected this to happen, because this also happened in the ‘Halo 3’ beta.”
After the problem was fixed, gamers were able to use the beta at its full potential. They were excited about all the new goodies and the new look of some of the weapons.
“I thought it was a new attempt on the “Halo” series with good game play… the new armor stuff is pretty cool,” said gamer Crimthered.
As expected, most gamers have their own opinions of what should be done with the beta, which makes Bungie glow with satisfaction. For instance, gamers have left many comments expressing their critiques of the game.
“I think they should do something about the Stalker Loadout,” said one gamer, along with “Armor lock should be taken off some of the game types,” and even “They should go back to the old style of the game like ‘Halo 3.’”
The standout comment was from gamer Redeye, who said, “It’s a thousand times better than call of duty, but it still needs a little work.”
Bungie’s Senior UI Artist, David Candland, said, “The fans should never assume that what you see in the beta is set in stone.”
Based on past experience with the “Halo 3” beta, we know that something will have to change. Betas are betas for a reason; they are testing the waters, seeing what will break, burn, melt, glitch, you name it.
With the participating gamers of the Xbox Live community, “Halo Reach” could succeed its predecessor and become the next best selling game of the year.
“Reach,” coming in fall 2010, we know won’t fail, just like the “Halo 3” slogan, “Finish the fight.”