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Halo 3 Beta Closes Up Shop
"Don't get attached to anything" is the message conveyed by Bungie, concerning the end of the public Halo 3 Beta. The event, which concluded yesterday, was the proving ground for multiplayer portion of the highly anticipated title. Halo 3 is due out this September. "The Beta has been a great success for us in terms of the sheer amount of data it allowed us to gather, for matchmaking, networking, general bug-bashing and of course some gameplay elements. As the Beta heads to the great software graveyard in the sky, it's vital to remember that things you got used to during these short few weeks, are almost certain to change. Some of those changes will be subtle, nuanced, perhaps even invisible. Others will be less subtle - with shifts in game types, weapon functionality, spawn points and map details."
The question that seems to be on everyone's mind about Bungie and Halo 3 is "What the hell have they been doing for the past three years?"
They didn't really do anything to the networking code. Same 16 player matches and the rumored dedicated servers turned out to be not true.
They didn't really do much in the way of graphics. Beta, multiplayer, blah,blah,blah...But the game looks very, very dated compared to what else is out there right now.
They didn't really do much with the gameplay. Yes there are quite a lot of changes but certainly not three years worth of changes.
I really don't myself picking up the game. There are just too many other fantastic online games out this year for both pcs and consoles. It will be interesting to see just how much Microsoft's gigantic marketing money for the game can generate sales for what would be a very mediocre effort if it was coming from any other company.
So, so far there are a bunch of "haters" out there... so need some positive energy or something here.
Halo 3 is the best Halo MP I've played. Every issue that I had with 1 and 2 has pretty much been dealt with with 3. The maps are laid out really well. The new game types are actually interesting, if not revolutionary. (The new territories makes for such a better game) The weapon balance is fantastic. I never felt like anything was "broken". In any match up if I was killed, it was because they had a skill or strategic advantage, not because they were using the "newb combo" or something. The graphics may not be Teh BomB0rz but they didn't detract from the game nor are they ugly. But by far, the most impressive thing is they fixed the "people".
With the 360's rep system, the easy to mute in game and the ability to turn off having to listen to the other team, I never once was called a racial or homosexual slur. I was amazed. When people drop out of a game, they lose RP (XP points basically?) and you can tell the 360 never to play with those people again. Now, if they can just keep the cheating out, they will have fixed the biggest problem with Halo 2. The People.
And that could make Halo 3 a bigger success than any other online FPS I've played yet.
Oh, and as to, "What have they been doing for 3 years?" It was 3 maps on a limited multiplayer to test their servers. Not three years worth of work. Fool.
..but I'm more interested in the single player. It's what kept the original alive for so long for me. The giant maps, huge battles, shitloads of Flood to feed shotgun pellets to.. Halo isn't really known for its fantastic graphics.. they are good but have never been at the top. Halo 2's storyline was a huge disappointment to me, so I'm hoping that they make up for it this time around. But it seems like they are focusing more on MP, as that is what kept Halo 2 alive for so long.
Assuming you never turned your xbox off or signed out before last night. You won't be able to get into matchmaking, either. But if a friend has a custom game, you can join up and play with him.