Patrick Joynt, Associate Editor: Our coverage of Halo 3 begins in earnest today, despite some issues with the Crackdown beta access. The 'Spys who managed to get early access spent most of the pre-Beta weekend playing the Friends & Family demo, and the whole office is jumping in for this. We'll be providing you with in-depth looks at the new maps, weapons, and tools; giving you the best HD clips; and giving you plenty of chances to play against us (and some special guests) in the coming weeks.



After a solid weekend with the Beta, I'm really feeling my long time away from Halo. As our regular 'SpyHunter readers know, the editorial staff isn't a group of professional-grade competitive gamers to begin with, but even with the low Friends & Family beta population, the aces are emerging. People with a firm grasp of effective ranges, the time it takes to bring that rifle butt around, and how long you've got after yelling "stielhandgranate!" to take cover are adapting to the changes the fastest and best. I keep struggling to find a "grab cover" button.


That admitted, the changes are invigorating. While it's easy to look at the Beta in its present state and say "Halo 2.5!", that really is a superficial, even ignorant, observation. The graphics don't look gasp-inducing yet, but even if the game ships looking like this, I'm not going to blast Bungie for putting gameplay ahead of graphics. Here's why what we've seen so far in the Beta promises to impress come September 25th.

  1. Better weapon spawns: Although the designer I spoke to was coy, we've already seen that the weapon spawn system has been updated. I'm excited to see what the final version is, but as long as weapons still spawn in some way even if someone is holding said weapon, excellent.


  2. The Assault Rifle: Every bit of design that we've heard to justify the Assault Rifle has come true. It's spawn weapon magic. Deadly enough to justify keeping, but not quite an ideal weapon in specific ranges compared to dedicated guns like the sniper rifle or the shotgun. Combined with the presence of items, not jumping immediately to a better gun or to duel-wielding is feasible again.

  3. The Items: Like the Assault Rifle, every reason that Bungie has discussed for the inclusion of items seems to be coming together 100%. Whether I'm popping a bubble shield to isolate a territory grab fight in Valhalla, or I'm dropping an energy drainer in one of that map's cramped underground bunkers to kick off an ambush, they open up tactical options but don't unbalance the game. I don't know what they'll look like in the final build, but I'm incredibly pleased with them at this point.