Hands On: Halo: Reach Beta

Since 2001, I’ve been an avid Halo fan, and some might say, a little too addicted to the entire Halo franchise. Luckily, I’ve been fortunate enough to play the Halo: Reach beta before the general public gets access to it via Halo 3: ODST. Strap your boots on; it’s going to be a hell of a ride!

Character Customization

Once the Reach menu was shining in all of its glory on my TV, I couldn’t think straight what I immediately wanted to do. Customize my character? Matchmaking? The Arena? I needed to make myself a unique Spartan, so I first headed off to customize my Spartan III. The UI for customizing your Spartan has drastically changed and it’s very impressive. The old style of two different columns to select your emblem and then background is out. It’s been changed to a horizontal and vertical axis where you can see in real-time what your emblem will look like on a specific background. Changing your primary, secondary, and emblem colors still have the same UI. Now the biggest change to customization: Armor. Much like the armor customization of Halo 3, you can customize your helmet, left and right shoulders, and chest piece. With the helmet now though, you can purchase “accessories” for it such as visors. However, different armor pieces do not enhance your character whatsoever. They’re simply visual flair for the battlefield to distinguish you from someone else. I’ll touch more on the process of getting new armor in the next section about Matchmaking when I discuss Credits (cR).

Matchmaking

Matchmaking, arguable the system that Bungie created back in 2004 that led the way to the success of online multiplayer on Xbox LIVE, is back and better than ever! We’ve seen some improvements in Matchmaking over the years, but now it’s seemingly perfect. The search options we saw in Halo 3 such as finding a match based on language, connection speed, etc. have been greatly improved. This time your search options actually work! Even though there are only a few thousand people who have access to the beta right now, it’s never been longer than a minute to find a match. Now the greatest feature of Matchmaking is earning Credits (cR). Credits are earned on various factors such as individual performance, winning , etc. As you earn credits, you can purchase more armor for your Spartan. That’s really the gist of Matchmaking, you know and love its earlier versions, and you’ll sure love Halo: Reach’s Matchmaking.

Armor Loadouts and Weapons

When I first saw the Jetpack as an available Loadout, my first reaction was literally, “All of the noobs are going to be using this.” It turns out I use the Jetpack nearly every time I spawn! Bungie has once again created the magical formula of adding new features to multiplayer, but at its core is still the Halo gameplay that we’re familiar with. Every Loadout is useful , there’s not one that just seems pointless. Depending on the type of player you are, the gametype, and map, you’ll see every Loadout has a unique advantage to it. Invisibility is great for the gametype ‘3 Plot’ as you need to hold territories around the map. Sprint and the Jetpack are great for CTF for getting into the enemy base to take your prize. And lastly, Armor Lock is a great for those players who like more close-quarters action. Evade for the Elites has saved me countless times as I roll away from whoever is taking a shot at me.

Now time for a breakdown on some of the new weapons. If you expect to be as good with the DMR (Designated Marksman Rifle) as you were with the BR (Battle Rifle) from previous games, you are in for a rude awakening. While I’ve always used the BR as my primary weapon and have been a deadly force to be reckoned with when it’s in my hands, the DMR takes some time to adjust to. Don’t expect to be a master with it instantly, you’ll be surprised how much you’ll suck with it initially. The pistol is actually useful again in Halo and I find myself using it constantly, especially for mid-range situations. My only complaint with it is the sight is hard to see when you zoom in as it’s a light blue and very hard to tell where you’re aiming. Hopefully this will be changed for the retail game since it’s way too hard to see it at this point. There’s plenty of new weapons I could go over, but honestly, these two are the ones I find myself using the most so I have the most hands-on experience with them.

Overall

While there might be some minor adjustments that need to be made such as the sights on the good ole’ Pistol, this game delivers way more than I expected. I was skeptical of all the new changes to multiplayer, but they work so well it seems like we’ve been missing out far too long on these great features in Halo. They all flow into the core gameplay mechanics so well that it’s going to be difficult playing Halo 3 once the beta is over. If you have any specific questions about the beta, feel free to hit me up.