Halo: Reach Beta Day One Impressions

Let’s be perfectly clear, while I am very much looking forward to the release of Halo: Reach this fall, I did not have high expectations for the beta. Betas in general are disappointing, and by definition probably should be as, if they are proper betas and not a mere marketing ploy, the developers are looking to fine tune an experience that is not yet ready for release. For example, the first week of the Uncharted 2 beta was a crushing disappointment that I found frustrating and almost put me off that entire aspect of a title I was very anxious for. Luckily I revisited the beta later on in that cycle leading up the release, and was treated to an excellent product that was still taking form.

As for Reach, this just over one gig download accessible to all copies of Halo 3: ODST went live roughly mid-afternoon yesterday EST. Frankly I expected the download to be slow as molasses but it took less than 20 minutes with a DSL connection and was problem free. During that download I also decided to load up the introduction to the beta video. Let’s just leave it that the video was ridiculous and cringe-inducing, with Aisha Tyler detailing the beta’s features, maps, weapons, and loadouts. 

Note to Bungie Studios: I have had it with washed up ‘œB’ or ‘œC’ list celebrities being used as spokespersons for videogame content. They are awkward and insulting to me as a gamer. If you want to genuinely brief your target audience on the feature set of your product, hire either a chubby balding guy or an anorexic one with a goatee and glasses. I know I’m perpetuating a stereotype but honestly, I’d rather see a snotty unpolished gamer than some aging bimbo mugging for the camera and an easy paycheque.

Before I go any further, this point should not be overlooked, the Halo: Reach beta is a genuine beta. There are warts and issues but that is to be expected. That being said, my initial impressions are very positive. Bungie’s pedigree in online multiplayer is without question obviously, and this is going to be another successful title for them. Below, I’m going to briefly touch on game modes, maps, and the classes I played around with. I have some thoughts about visuals but again, this is a beta and my expectations are low to begin with in that area.

During my first few play sessions I was in some public lobbies, hosted a couple of private rooms, and played the Grab Bag Playlist; CTF, Stockpile, Team Slayer, and a variant of Zones. The maps available on Grab Bag seemed to just be Powerhouse and Sword Base. Sword Base is a multi-level map with narrow corridors on the upper floors and a wide open lower floor with a suped-up grav-lift in the centre. The art style of Sword Base is very consistent with previous iterations of the franchise and frankly reminded of a few of the interior maps from Combat Evolved. Powerhouse is very reminiscent of High Ground from Halo 3 with similar characteristics. It is primarily an outdoor map with an arena in the centre with an exposed roof and entrances on different levels. This is a good map for the jet packs.

It’s fair to say that Reach is not unlike any other online shooter at the moment. If you have a coordinated attack, are familiar with the maps, and are comfortable with shooters in general you can figure things out easily enough. It should come as no surprise to anyone that the core mechanics of shooting and aiming are unchanged. However, I am having problems adjusting to the new button layout. I keep forgetting that the right shoulder button is for melee and reload is mapped to the X button. The button layout can be altered, but out of stubbornness I’m sticking to the default.

I also made a point of playing around a little with some of the loudouts or ‘œArmories’. As for the classes I felt that Air Assault (jet pack) and Stalker (invisibility) were most useful with Guard (temporary shield with EMP burst) also having advantages. The Scout (speed dash) class was almost completely irrelevant to me but it is early in the beta and I have only experienced two of the maps. Kudos to Nukezilla writer and all round sexy beast, Aaron Wheaton, for working on combinations with weapons and armories. He discovered that a Guard class with the shield carrying a hammer is a lethal combination and almost unbeatable playing defence during stockpile.

My final thoughts are on the visuals. Pyroph, Aaron, Naughton and I were discussing this last night and we were unclear as to whether Reach is utilizing completely new tech, or an upgraded Halo 3 engine. I recall reading last year that Bungie stated that they built Reach from the ground up with new technology, but I can’t find that quote anywhere currently. I also recall a quote from the vid docs about Reach representing an upgraded Halo 3 engine. I will keep looking into this and should have an answer by my next Halo: Reach update. 

Regardless, this is an attractive game. I have a three year old Samsung 42′ LCD using the factory component cables from my Xbox 360 and this game is a clear improvement over ODST. Gone is the retina-straining bloom of ODST, it has been replaced by respectable textures and a more measured hand with respect to lighting. Neither Sword Base nor Powerhouse are particularly large maps so I have no comment on draw distance or tearing, though I will be keeping an eye on this in the upcoming weeks.

I’ll be updating my impressions of the Halo: Reach beta over the next month.  Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below or email me at philbart999@gmail.com.