HALO: REACH Multiplayer Beta Impressions (PG. 1/2)
By Mike Baggley (05.27.10)

Since the 'Halo Reach Multiplayer Beta' has come to a close, I thought it would be prudent to post some overall impressions and thoughts on the game. Since all of the new weapons, maps, game modes, and abilites have been explained to death over the past month, this article will not waste time in re-explaining them. I’ll simply be giving you my thoughts on what I think of them and where I see room for improvement, as well as where I think things are just right.

Just to give you a little bit of history on my Halo experience, I’ve been a big fan of Halo since its initial release on the Xbox in 2001. My friends and I played the heck out of that game, and I was constantly practicing my pistol skills to make sure I could down them all. I even went as far as starting games with no one else controlling the other characters so I could figure out the exact size of the hit boxes, how many shots it would take to down someone based on where I was hitting them, and the furthest distance I could place a grenade from someone and still get a kill. I couldn’t wait for the day when I would be able to take my pistol skills online, and then 'Halo 2' came out. 'Halo 2' and 'Halo 3' have both been games that I continue to go back to when I need my shooter fix. In my opinion, Halo is the best multiplayer experience out there. Well... thats not entirely true. I think it could be, but I’ll get to that a little later on. Needless to say, I was pretty pumped for the start of the Beta. I’m gonna break down my thoughts into 5 sections: Weapons, Abilites, Maps, Modes, and Matchmaking.

When I first heard that 'Halo: Reach' would be doing away with dual-wielding I was overjoyed! Not because I dislike dual-wielding - in fact I thought it was fantastic. It was the idea that I might be finally able to take the 'Halo 1' experience online that was getting me all giddy. I have to say that I have really enjoyed being able to wipe the floor with the Magnum again. The problem with the weapons at this stage in the development is balance. Right now there is no better gun than the Magnum. Looking at my stats online, my kill/death ratio ended up being fairly even for most weapons, with a few exceptions that make sense, like the plasma launcher and rocket launcher. When you then look at my Magnum ratio its insane - its way too high. When I am using that weapon I kill way more often than I get killed. Some of you are probably just rolling your eyes saying “Dude, you are just weak noobsauce that doesn’t know how to use weapons.” Well, it appears I’m not the only one, as nearly every time I faced someone with a different weapon than a magnum, it just wasn’t a fair fight for them.

I also really wanted to like the new DMR (Designated Marksman Rifle), but its just not ready at this point in the beta. I was a big fan of the 'Battle Rifle' from Halo 2 and 3. I racked up most of my kills with that thing, and I was certainly missing it throughout the beta period. I understand and welcome the new recticle blooming that they’ve added. I really like making the game about skill instead of spamming, but I think the bloom delay is a little too long, because even when making all my shots accurate and as quick as possible, I was still getting beaten before I could land that 5th kill shot. I think the new weapons are all great and are welcome additions, but a lot of balancing needs to happen before this game is ready.

I’d first just like to say bon voyage to the equipment from 'Halo 3.' I wasn’t a big fan because I honestly didn’t find it useful. I got along just fine without using any of the equipment for most matches I took part in. Bungie apparently felt the same way because the equipment has been replaced with 5 abilites, 2 of which are exclusive to the two factions (Sprint for the Spartans and Evade for the Elites). My first impulse was to grab Sprint. I’m just so used to being able to run in other shooters that it seemed like the natural choice. It would allow me to come to someones aid faster, or to quickly flee a bad situation and move to a spot where I could regain the advantage. It’s certainly a much better choice than the Jet Pack. The jet pack is probably what most people under the age of 18 are going to use. I doubt you’ll see anyone in the MLS using this unless they are a sniper trying to quickly get to good positions. Even then, I would never use it. The problem is that as soon as anyone spots you, you’re finished. You’re a slowly ascending or descending target that anyone with half-decent aim will annihilate.

Active Camo is back and it works for those that like to sneak around and humiliate people with melee kills from behind. A lot of people have been complaining because of the way it jams the radar, saying that it makes the camo useless since you know someone’ s nearby using it. I can see why some might think this, but in my opinion you need some way of knowing there’s someone with active camo on around you or it’s going to be too over-powered. It’s one thing when it’s just a power-up that randomly spawns, but its another thing completely when its an ability that can be re-applied every few seconds. I think it works great as it is. It’s not my style of play, but someone who uses it well will be a great asset to your team.

The ability that I think is most useful is Armor Lock. I’ve been reading lots of peoples impressions and checking out forums and I can’t believe how many people hate this ability. It has so many great applications. Did someone just throw a grenade at you and you can’t get away? Pop the armor lock. Is there a rocket on its way to sending you to kingdom come? Pop the armor lock. Are you stuck in a one on one fight and losing, but have a buddy just a few seconds away? Pop the armor lock, wait until your buddy arrives, and now you’ve got the advantage. Is a sword lunging in your direction? Once again, just pop that armor lock. I could go on and on - there are just so many useful applications for this. I think the reason that its not popular is that most team matches turn into free-for-all-who-can-rack-up-the-most-kills-even-though-its-a-team-game frenzies, that abilities like this that benefit from teamwork are seen as throw aways. I’ll get into that a little bit more in the Modes and Matchmaking sections. Ultimately, if I was head of the multiplayer at Bungie, I’d get rid of the Jet pack completely. I’d add sprint and evade as regular abilities for all to use at anytime, and I’d just let people choose between using active camo or armor lock.