Ok, so I just want to give my opinion on the beta since I'm playing it and I know some of you haven't gotten a chance but want to hear good things.
First off, the game plays like Halo:CE more than Halo 2, which is a very good thing. The equipment changes gameplay a little, but less than you would think. Can come in handy but as far as I can tell it wont make game changing outcomes. Weapon balance is A, not A+ but damn good, compared to Halo 2. Could use a few tweaks, but overall I wouldn't be dissapointed if it shipped as it is.
So, below I will give the good, then the bad.
THE GOOD!
Spartan Laser (yes I was wrong) is actually a perfect addition to the game. Its a good anti vehicle, but can be used on people. Its hard enough to control that you CAN get away from it, but easy enough to aim at a single person a pretty good distance away.
Assault Rifle. HELL YEAH! Not only am I happy to see this weapon back in the game, but I am extremely excited to see it as the starting weapon again. It is a medium range weapon with medium power and has a chance against just about every weapon. Unlike the SMG in Halo 2, you wont find you spawned with a severely nerfed weapon that can't even get close to that sniper... or can't even do damage to that shotty. Any weapon can beat it in a specific situation, but used correctly it is very versatile.
The ATV was actually very well done. It fits within the Halo atmosphere but isn't extremely annoying like the ghost. Actually, as far as vehicles go in Halo 3 they are far less annoying specifically cause they are less plentiful, which I am happy about. Vehicle whores sucked in Halo 2.
No proximity chat in ranked matches is a BLESSING! You don't hear the annoying people cause 90% of them only wanted to annoy the other team. Since they know they can't hear you, no one does it! Now, I have muted one person, but he was just excited about the game and I was tired. It was very nice having it so easy to mute him though.
The sniper is much better balanced, much less auto aim, and even has a slower time in between shots. It makes it so that you don't get a sniper kill unless they are out in the open, or you get a headshot. By the time you can get the second shot, they can already be hidden.
Grav Lift is a great item and I use it all the time, it helps you jump over walls, or you can set it up to launch you once you grab the flag. Really cool stuff.
Saving your videos is AMAZING. I can't wait for the final features cause it isn't a direct feed save, but rather a save of all info on the entire map. This way you can view all players, do slow-mo and everything. Also, its nice that Bungie allows you to upload some videos onto their server, so that you can share them with friends. Really cool stuff.
One amazing fix I noticed was the fact that in things like Territories, each territory has a fixed number. This way instead of saying "That one under the building, but inside the base!", you can say "Number 4!" Its a lot simpler to say, and it is a TON simpler to FIND. Makes game more competitive, cause even the noobies can figure out what you mean.
The number/letter system for your name (like J00, jk, T13) also helps a ton. Its way easier than trying to find someones name, or even worse, call them by their symbol. I was skeptical, but it seems to work rather well, I've seen tons using it.
THE BAD!
no I'm not going to say the graphics, its a BETA!
As far as I'm concerned, the other equipment is just not all that handy. The bubble shield is used a lot, but is easily overcome by simply walking in and meleeing. Only really works against a sniper or spartan laser, but even then its just a waiting game until it goes away. The power drainer can be ok in Snowbound inside the bases, but otherwise it is a completely useless thing as it takes away your shield also. The trip mine sounded cool, but is too obvious and no one ever runs over it, they just shoot it first.
A couple of weapons are STILL underpowered. The shotgun, the bruteshot, and oddly enough the plasma grenade are all underpowered. They all need to be increased if Bungie wants anyone to use them.
The new spiker gun is just the SMG... seriously. It sucks, I never see anyone use just one, and rarely see anyone dualing them. Even then its just in unranked games.
The MVP award thingy at the end of the game is pathetic. It never, ever chooses the person who did the best in the game. Its totally broken and needs to be fixed.
Font is really light in the game, and in bright areas (especially Snowbound) you can't see what the text says, or what weapon you are picking up.
I could have swore I read in an update that the controller would be customizable, but its not. Sucks cause having melee as B and jump as A is not really my cup of tea. I'd much rather have them on the bumpers but whatever, maybe this will change...
Team chat SUCKS! I did say I love it that there is no proximity chat in ranked play right? Well regardless of that for some reason they made it so that you still have to hit the d-pad to talk to your teammates... Why? This can make or break a game in many instances, cause a player is forced to choose to talk or shoot. If they talk, they could get killed and they lose their chance to kill the enemy, but at least they alerted their teammates. If they shoot they might die and then their teammates wont know the vital info on where the flag is... Team chat should ALWAYS be on, there should be no reason to push a button for that. You need to be able to talk AND shoot at the same time.
And last but not least... and maybe this is just me so I'll keep it short, but I really don't like Snowbound. Bad level.
Overall its much better than Halo 2, but Bungie still has some stupid mistakes in there. Probably stuff they never even noticed, which is why a beta is there, hopefully lists like this can help them decide what to keep, what to throw out, and what to fix. Either way it certainly appears that the multiplayer at least will be MUCH better than Halo 2, possibly even better than Halo:CE
First off, the game plays like Halo:CE more than Halo 2, which is a very good thing. The equipment changes gameplay a little, but less than you would think. Can come in handy but as far as I can tell it wont make game changing outcomes. Weapon balance is A, not A+ but damn good, compared to Halo 2. Could use a few tweaks, but overall I wouldn't be dissapointed if it shipped as it is.
So, below I will give the good, then the bad.
THE GOOD!
Spartan Laser (yes I was wrong) is actually a perfect addition to the game. Its a good anti vehicle, but can be used on people. Its hard enough to control that you CAN get away from it, but easy enough to aim at a single person a pretty good distance away.
Assault Rifle. HELL YEAH! Not only am I happy to see this weapon back in the game, but I am extremely excited to see it as the starting weapon again. It is a medium range weapon with medium power and has a chance against just about every weapon. Unlike the SMG in Halo 2, you wont find you spawned with a severely nerfed weapon that can't even get close to that sniper... or can't even do damage to that shotty. Any weapon can beat it in a specific situation, but used correctly it is very versatile.
The ATV was actually very well done. It fits within the Halo atmosphere but isn't extremely annoying like the ghost. Actually, as far as vehicles go in Halo 3 they are far less annoying specifically cause they are less plentiful, which I am happy about. Vehicle whores sucked in Halo 2.
No proximity chat in ranked matches is a BLESSING! You don't hear the annoying people cause 90% of them only wanted to annoy the other team. Since they know they can't hear you, no one does it! Now, I have muted one person, but he was just excited about the game and I was tired. It was very nice having it so easy to mute him though.
The sniper is much better balanced, much less auto aim, and even has a slower time in between shots. It makes it so that you don't get a sniper kill unless they are out in the open, or you get a headshot. By the time you can get the second shot, they can already be hidden.
Grav Lift is a great item and I use it all the time, it helps you jump over walls, or you can set it up to launch you once you grab the flag. Really cool stuff.
Saving your videos is AMAZING. I can't wait for the final features cause it isn't a direct feed save, but rather a save of all info on the entire map. This way you can view all players, do slow-mo and everything. Also, its nice that Bungie allows you to upload some videos onto their server, so that you can share them with friends. Really cool stuff.
One amazing fix I noticed was the fact that in things like Territories, each territory has a fixed number. This way instead of saying "That one under the building, but inside the base!", you can say "Number 4!" Its a lot simpler to say, and it is a TON simpler to FIND. Makes game more competitive, cause even the noobies can figure out what you mean.
The number/letter system for your name (like J00, jk, T13) also helps a ton. Its way easier than trying to find someones name, or even worse, call them by their symbol. I was skeptical, but it seems to work rather well, I've seen tons using it.
THE BAD!
no I'm not going to say the graphics, its a BETA!
As far as I'm concerned, the other equipment is just not all that handy. The bubble shield is used a lot, but is easily overcome by simply walking in and meleeing. Only really works against a sniper or spartan laser, but even then its just a waiting game until it goes away. The power drainer can be ok in Snowbound inside the bases, but otherwise it is a completely useless thing as it takes away your shield also. The trip mine sounded cool, but is too obvious and no one ever runs over it, they just shoot it first.
A couple of weapons are STILL underpowered. The shotgun, the bruteshot, and oddly enough the plasma grenade are all underpowered. They all need to be increased if Bungie wants anyone to use them.
The new spiker gun is just the SMG... seriously. It sucks, I never see anyone use just one, and rarely see anyone dualing them. Even then its just in unranked games.
The MVP award thingy at the end of the game is pathetic. It never, ever chooses the person who did the best in the game. Its totally broken and needs to be fixed.
Font is really light in the game, and in bright areas (especially Snowbound) you can't see what the text says, or what weapon you are picking up.
I could have swore I read in an update that the controller would be customizable, but its not. Sucks cause having melee as B and jump as A is not really my cup of tea. I'd much rather have them on the bumpers but whatever, maybe this will change...
Team chat SUCKS! I did say I love it that there is no proximity chat in ranked play right? Well regardless of that for some reason they made it so that you still have to hit the d-pad to talk to your teammates... Why? This can make or break a game in many instances, cause a player is forced to choose to talk or shoot. If they talk, they could get killed and they lose their chance to kill the enemy, but at least they alerted their teammates. If they shoot they might die and then their teammates wont know the vital info on where the flag is... Team chat should ALWAYS be on, there should be no reason to push a button for that. You need to be able to talk AND shoot at the same time.
And last but not least... and maybe this is just me so I'll keep it short, but I really don't like Snowbound. Bad level.
Overall its much better than Halo 2, but Bungie still has some stupid mistakes in there. Probably stuff they never even noticed, which is why a beta is there, hopefully lists like this can help them decide what to keep, what to throw out, and what to fix. Either way it certainly appears that the multiplayer at least will be MUCH better than Halo 2, possibly even better than Halo:CE
