Played that Halo 3 Beta today...

Switch Kicker · Post by **Switch Kicker** » 24 May 2007 20:15

Ok, so I went over to my friend, John's house today. He's got the Halo 3 Beta for the 360. We played 6 online 6 vs 6 slayer/ctf/territories matches. All I could utter at the time, was 'wow'.

The game is... amazing to say the least. It's got the Halo 1 "feel", yet, the advanced awesomeness of Halo 2, and a whole category of Halo awesomeness never seen before.

Rebalanced weapons, new weapons, and well balanced maps really made the game play a lot better. There's a nice selection of new gadgets you can use to create new tactical scenarios, such as portable grav-lifts, mine-drops, spike grenades, EMP bubbles, and more. And you can't forget the ATVs and the "Man-Cannons." Creates a whole new way to play the game.

You can be chasing an enemy as he takes a man-cannon halfway accross the map, and all you have to do is toss a grenade in with him, and follow him. No shield, and you come down on him with a redone Assault Rifle. The Assault Rifle, by the way, brought back from Halo 1, has a much smaller clip, is more accurate, has a higher damaging round, and sounds much more deadly, and more like a rifle. I believe the clip is now 30 rounds instead of 60.

The Needler, no longer sucks, at all. Doesn't take much to kill someone, and the needles actually fallow people now. Can't dual wield it anymore though, but you don't even need to.

SMGs, well, they don't have the recoil anymore. I mean, why would you recoil? You're a Spartan in a metric ton of MJOLNIR armor, who can lift several tons. lol. Dual wielding SMGs is the deadliest thing I saw all day today. And they sound wicked too. Much better than the popcorn poppers from Halo 2.

The Battle Rifle really needs a new skin. They made it look... really skittish and small, and just... weak. It's still 4-shot kill with a shot to the head on the 4th shot, but it's more accurate, and sounds better now. Definitely needs a new skin though.

Grenades... oh yes grenades. Plasmas look so much better when you throw them. The explosion needs some touching up though before it's gorgeous, however. Frags are basically the same. You have the throwing power from Halo 1 grenades, but the awesomeness of having bounce activated Frags. Hellz yeah. And the new grenade, the Spike Grenade. Very useful. Sticks to every surface, and blows up with the power of a Frag, and launches spikes in all direction. Can stick to enemies and vehicles too. But better for trying to damage several people quickly. Just look at the wall, throw, and shoot whoever it damages. With Plasmas, you gotta aim, or wait for the fuse to burn and blow up, and Frags bounce away. Spike Grenades = accurate, powerful, and able to stick. Awesome.

The Spartan Laser. Dubbed to be the new "newb stick" for Halo 3. Not true. There's a cool down time, limited ammo, and it's difficult to aim at close to mid range. Can pierce through as many enemies as you can line up. Very good for long range, as it's easier to keep the reticule on your target as it moves while the weapon charges it's attack. Must charge your weapon to attack (Like charging up the Plasma Pistol, but it autofires once it reaches full charge), and then let it cool after you fire. Very balance, and not a major dominating weapon. Best used in tactical game types when you really need to take out the 'Hog or the ATV that's taking the 'Flag Guy' back to the base.

Basically, everything has had something new added to it. Nothing is the same in any way or form. Even the Spartan's MJOLNIR armor has different looking gloves, lol.

I for one, am very impressed with what Bungie's got in store for Halo 3. And they didn't even reveal everything. The pistol was not released with the beta, nor other rumored, and confirmed aspects of the game.

Halo 3 Beta, has convinced me to buy the new XBox 360 (The black one with the 120GB HD.), and Halo 3, for sure. They've got my money in their pockets on this one. Way to go Bungie.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 24 May 2007 21:17

Video game topics go in Arts and Leisure. I don't know how much clearer this can be. -Ken

BainbridgeShred · Post by **BainbridgeShred** » 24 May 2007 21:45

Does anyone have Madden who plays on XBox Live?

habitat · Post by **habitat** » 24 May 2007 23:24

BainbridgeShred wrote:Does anyone have Madden who plays on XBox Live?

My friend and his brother both play often online. Add "h86" and try to start a game with them. They are pretty good.

They also have the 360 with the Halo 3 Beta!! I totally forget about it. I'm definitely going to go to their house very soon to try it out. Especially on their nice huge HDTV.

sanuke okumatzu · Post by **sanuke okumatzu** » 25 May 2007 08:04

I can't wait for this game... I'm not going to cash out the money for a 360... I'll just crash a friend's house who has one

Spawn · Post by **Spawn** » 28 May 2007 14:12

yeah Halo 3 is friggen awesome.

Switch Kicker wrote:Can pierce through as many enemies as you can line up.

me and some of my friends tried this... it can only go through three.

but its still super-deadly.

Switch Kicker · Post by **Switch Kicker** » 29 May 2007 07:43

Spawn wrote:yeah Halo 3 is friggen awesome.

Switch Kicker wrote:Can pierce through as many enemies as you can line up.
me and some of my friends tried this... it can only go through three. but its still super-deadly.

Wonder if you can shoot through multiple people with the sniper like from Halo 1 again. It would make up for the sniper's new ridiculous pause between shots.

My friend and I love doing this little combination on the canyon map with the man cannons. I'll take the hog and drive towards the enemy base, while John takes an Assault Rifle and Battle Rifle and goes out towards the middle of the map, and will usually grab the sniper on the way there. But he'll be towards the middle, and I"ll drive up through the back of the base, and get out of the 'hog and let it coast into the man cannon. Then I'll grab the flag and follow the 'hog, he'll flip it, get in, and I'll get in and we'll speed off.

It doesn't always work perfectly. Sometimes I'll have to drop the flag and help fend of enemies. But it's a pretty effective plan. Especially if you've got two other people who know what they're doing. Such as having a person on either side of the cannon backing you up with BR/Sniper fire.

This game kicks absolute ass. Can't wait for the completed version.

Switch Kicker · Post by **Switch Kicker** » 29 May 2007 07:49

Oh, a nifty trick I discovered. Throw a spike grenade at the ceiling rather than the wall. If smoked in the head by one of the spike projectiles, it'll kill that person as though you shot them in the head with a sniper. And I'd say throwing a spike grenade at the ceiling, and letting it explode above them, kills them instantly 75% of the time. Versus less than 10% of the time when thrown at the ground or wall.

Colin · Post by **Colin** » 29 May 2007 09:12

Shooters on consoles are stupid. They're stupider than footbag in Vans.

sanuke okumatzu · Post by **sanuke okumatzu** » 29 May 2007 14:57

Colin wrote:Shooters on consoles are stupid. They're stupider than footbag in Vans.

[/opinion]

Switch Kicker · Post by **Switch Kicker** » 29 May 2007 18:45

Colin wrote:Shooters on consoles are stupid. They're stupider than footbag in Vans.

Real intelligent.

And yes, footbag in Vans is, very stupid, but shooters on consoles require more precise aiming that on computers. That's a fact. Computers are harder to play on because of keyboards, but the aiming with a mouse is so much easier on a computer. Consoles are better anyway, because you don't have to keep updating your fucking computer, blah. Stupid. And consoles don't' get hacked like computers do all the time.

IMO, computers are a dying system for games. They're just so easily broken and prone to viruses and such. Consoles are so much more secure and less likely to break. Example, my Atari still works. And so do my 2 NES's, my 2 SNES's, my 3 N64's, my GCN, my PS, my PS 1 (Don't actually remember how that came into my possession.), my PS2 (Barely still works, but it works.), my two XBoxs, my Sega Genesis, and my DreamCast. Oh, and of course my Wii. But , why wouldn't that work, lol.

I've never had a console go bad on me. I've gone through 3 computers in the past 4 years though.

Disturbedboy365 · Post by **Disturbedboy365** » 30 May 2007 00:00

I've never had a console go bad on me. I've gone through 3 computers in the past 4 years though

sounds like you need to learn how to use firewall, antivirus, and spyware sweepers.

Colin · Post by **Colin** » 30 May 2007 03:57

Stupider isn't a word!!??! Get outta here!

Switch Kicker · Post by **Switch Kicker** » 30 May 2007 06:23

Disturbedboy365 wrote:
I've never had a console go bad on me. I've gone through 3 computers in the past 4 years though
sounds like you need to learn how to use firewall, antivirus, and spyware sweepers.

Oh, I do. My mom doesn't though. And I tend to use the family computer more than my own. My room is unpleasantly darker than the study room.

Jimpenske · Post by **Jimpenske** » 03 Jun 2007 11:45

I've been playing the beta version for a couple weeks now. It is awesome and it seems to have that great "halo" balance that they've never lost. I like how you start with the old machine gun from halo 1. If you're at the right range the machine gun crosshairs turn red and you can smoke people. I also love the bubble shield. It's such a cool idea and when you're in trouble you can throw it down and help your team out too. I also love the gravity launch pad. It's cool you can pick one up. I usually pick it up and lay it by the wall on high ground. Jump off it and throw a couple grenades right where the laser gun is. The Laser gun is really cool. It's hard to get used to, but once you get it, it's almost better than sniper. You kind of have to charge it against the wall then aim at someone quick before it shoots. The new needler is a lot more powerful. But I used to love dual-wielding them on Beaver creek. And I thought they locked on even more in halo 2. But now it is a really powerful weapon. The brute shot is good, now instead of bouncing and blowing up, the bombs blow up on contact. I like that they changed the plasma pistol. Now it freezes vehicles for a few seconds. Which makes it really handy when someone is owning in the new and improved warthog. And it's a lot harder for people to noob combo now. Cause the plasma pistol doesn't lock on like it used to. I've still been noobed a couple times but not near as much as halo 2. I really like the three levels they let you play. The snow bound one is really fun. I like how it's small and has an outdoor area and an underground area. All in all I really like Halo 3. They seem to always have the perfect balance. It's too bad this beta won't be around for too much longer. But hopefully they release an actual demo disc soon.

Switch Kicker · Post by **Switch Kicker** » 03 Jun 2007 13:56

There's already moded shit on Halo 3 Beta. Some dude mod'd into custom mode. Put on Pistols and Energy Swords. The sword' hella fuckin' hard to use now. Hard to lock on. Pistol still kills in 3 shots, but it's got no zoom, and shoots slower now, which creates a nice balance compared to the ridiculousness of Halo 1.

There's also versions of Halo 3 Beta with modified settings so that you can play on LAN and whatnot in some areas already. Getting one is probably really hard... I think you just download them onto a memory card or something like that. But you have to have mods to play them.

I love having a vehicle flyin' at me guns-a-blazin. Then 5 feet before he hits me, I throw down a bubble shield and he just deflect off like a fly. Then you run out toss a grenade at their rolled vehicle, jump back in your bubble shield. Then when they run towards you, right before they jump into your bubble to kill you, throw a grenade while inside the bubble, while running backwards. By this time, the shield wears off, and they just took a full blast of grenade, then just mow em down with Assault Rifle fire. I love you Halo 3.

Spawn · Post by **Spawn** » 04 Jun 2007 15:54

yeah its really easy to get into a custom matches my friends and I usually mess around in them.
You just have to get a party of 6 people than invite a party of 2 (which means someone in the 6 party gets kicked.) than you invite the person you kicked out of 6 party back. and thats how you get a custom match.

Or something like that I'm usually am the one that gets kicked and invited back again.

You can than continue to change everything from jump height to walking speed. Its awesome.
EDIT: http://youtube.com/watch?v=JpfLnF0-iTc

Switch Kicker · Post by **Switch Kicker** » 04 Jun 2007 20:08

Yeah, moon physics with speed is really hard for playing... but soo much fun.