Halo 3 Beta impressions

[Silent-XBA]

Post all of your Halo 3 Beta impressions here

[Silent-XBA]

May 11th, Friday

Here's what I done so far: I've played three games so far, two on Snowbound which were both team slayer games. Played very much like Halo 2, Snowbound is short of a small map with a lot of tunnels but that makes it perfect for slayer matches. You're never out of the action for very long.

As for my other game, it was on Valhalla which is a pretty big map with 2 bases one on each side and a long distance in between the two with many different side passages to take and a few vehicles including the new ATV and the Man Cannon. The only game so far I played on this map is VIP. VIP is pretty fun, your team gets points by taking out the other teams VIP and the VIP is actually stronger than the normal player.

The only real difference I've noticed so far between Halo 2 and Halo 3 is the controls, the main difference is the addition of the X button and reloading with the LB and RB buttons which take a little to get used to at first.

Those are my impressions so far, feel free to ask any questions I'll try to answer them the best I can. You can also check out the Halo 3 stats by clicking on my sig.

Added: May 12th, Saturday.

I played a few more games today, I played some rumble pit today. First game was on Valhalla and was snipers only. Valhalla is a good snipers only map, has plenty of areas to hide and snipe from but I suck at sniping so I didn't fair to well. I really liked the night vision type screen on the sniper rifle though.

I also played two slayer games on High Ground, so far High Ground is my favorite map out of the 3. I checked out the new Brute Spiker and I like it a lot, its a pretty powerful weapon which is also great for meleeing. I also checked out the Spike Grenade which is awesome. It works great weather you are throwing it at a person or on the ground, as it stays right where it hits. I rode around the ATV for a little bit, I like it but I wish you could still fire a weapon while driving it.

I also checked out the save film feature, love the idea of it for sure. You can also invite friends into watch the film and upload for anyone to see, however there doesn't seem to be a way to control the camera. It follows you the hole time, I'm still playing around with it though. Well thats it for now, I wish I could stay home and play all day but I have to go somewhere. Should be back around 6pm or so and I'll probably play until midnight so look for more impressions of the beta later tonight!

[ScorpionX]

Is sniping in the game similar to H2, or did they tone down the AA to make it more like H1?

Are the personal jump pads power-up or the temporary shield useful in the game?

[mattgame]

I saw the clips on Gamespot and the game looks like Halo 2. What are your thoughts on that?

[Silent-XBA]

Is sniping in the game similar to H2, or did they tone down the AA to make it more like H1?

It is similar to Halo 2, however it has been toned down some.

Are the personal jump pads power-up or the temporary shield useful in the game?

The shields are very useful, has saved me from dieing a couple of times. The jump pads are useful, I've used them a couple of times. Perfect for when you are coming up to a wall in the ATV, if there is a pad there you can actually jump over the wall.

I saw the clips on Gamespot and the game looks like Halo 2. What are your thoughts on that?

Yes, it is very similar to Halo 2 but that isn't a bad thing. I haven't been playing that long but you will notice some pretty good improvements to the graphics, nothing mind blowing but it is much more smooth this time around.

I have noticed one thing so far, it seems like the all the weapons are more powerful this time around which makes you getting off the first shot very important.

Keep the questions coming :)

[mattgame]

It is similar to Halo 2, however it has been toned down some.



The shields are very useful, has saved me from dieing a couple of times. The jump pads are useful, I've used them a couple of times. Perfect for when you are coming up to a wall in the ATV, if there is a pad there you can actually jump over the wall.



Yes, it is very similar to Halo 2 but that isn't a bad thing. I haven't been playing that long but you will notice some pretty good improvements to the graphics, nothing mind blowing but it is much more smooth this time around.

I have noticed one thing so far, it seems like the all the weapons are more powerful this time around which makes you getting off the first shot very important.

Keep the questions coming :)

That's disappointing for me. It did look a little faster. Do you think the framerate is faster?

[Silent-XBA]

That's disappointing for me. It did look a little faster. Do you think the framerate is faster?

The framerate is much improved, there is little to no slow down at all even when there's a lot going on at once. There is also no lag while playing, but that could be due to the fact there is only about 1200 or so on at any given time.

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I've been playing some more games and VIP is getting funner and funner. I played VIP on Snowbound which is a pretty difficult map because its small and there's so many tunnels and not that much open space. Makes it really hard to track down the VIP and take em out.

I played Land Grab on Snowbound after that, Land Grab is short of like territories on Halo 2 only its not timed. There are three rounds, each round has 7 territories on it, the first team to 4 wins the round. The team with the most territories after 3 rounds wins.

I then played a game of Territories on Valhalla. Territories has been changed a little this time around, there is offense and defense. The rounds are 5 mins a piece. Obviously on defense you would defend your territories making sure the other team didn't capture any and on offense you would capture as many as you could. The real difference is there is no longer a time associated with the territories, the team with the most territories wins.

I also played a game of One Bomb on Valhalla, which is another 5 min round game with offense and defense. Nothing different from the Halo 2 counterpart.

I've played 12 games so far and it seems like you rank up pretty fast, I'm now a Private. I do like the new ranking system better than the numbers from Halo 2. The stats on Bungie.net are also a little more in depth, they show your kills by type, weather you killed a person using Weapons, Grenades, Melee, Vehicle or Other.

[mattgame]

I want to play damnit!!

[Silent-XBA]

May 13th, Sunday

I played some more games today. All the games I played today were rumble pit. The first game I played was Crazy King on Snowbound. Nothing has really changed, that I noticed from its Halo 2 counterpart. For anyone who doesn't know about the game type here's a little rundown: There is a hill that you must control, that hill moves about every 30 seconds or so and the player that scores 100 first is the winner. This is one of my favorite game types, very fun to play.

The second game I played was Oddball on Highground, another really fun game type. In this game there is a skull you must pick up, the location of the skull is indicated on your HUD. The player who scores 50 first wins.

The next two games were Slayer on Snowbound.

I have noticed that Snowbound comes up a lot, I would like to see a better variation of maps. I would like to see all the maps equally. There is also some medals that were added:

"Killjoy" - You get this when you stop a players killing spree

"Death from the grave" - You get this when you kill a player after you died, I personally really like this addition

"Laser Kill" - You get this when you kill a person with the Spartan Laser. This is one heck of a weapon, very powerful and very fun to use.

I also checked out the Power Drainer which is an amazing weapon. You drop it by an opponent and its an easy one shot kill. It also has a grenade that detonates about 20-30 seconds after you deploy it. I also checked out the Bubble Shied a little more today, this is a very nice and important tool. Great addition to the gameplay. Umm, the Trip Mines I don't really care for, they make this load beeping sound so everyone knows thats it there. It would be better if it didn't have that beeping sound but still great to take a warthog.

The shotgun has also been modified a little bit from its Halo 2 counterpart, now it only holds 6 cartridges instead of 12. Doesn't change the gameplay much, seems like less players are using the shotgun though. And it seems as if a lot of players are not duel wielding as much anymore. I've only noticed a couple of players duel wielding.

[ll Mista GT ll]

The spartan laser will probably wreck Halo 3.

[Silent-XBA]

The spartan laser will probably wreck Halo 3.
Yeah, I can say that it works very well against vehicles but against just spartans there is a really slim chance you can kill a person with the laser, you pretty much have to gang up to that player to take em out before he takes you out.

[FatBox]

I've seen a bunch of videos now and the spartan laser looks pretty overpowered, I hope there is only 1 laser per map kinda like rockets because it looks too overpowered to be a normal weapon. And I have one question, whatever happened to the pistol? I haven't seen any pistol in any of the videos I've seen.

[Kyle Static]

Why hasn't anyone asked about the pistol? Is it lame, does it have a zoom, how is the damage, etc etc.

[Silent-XBA]

I've seen a bunch of videos now and the spartan laser looks pretty overpowered, I hope there is only 1 laser per map kinda like rockets because it looks too overpowered to be a normal weapon.

Yes, there is only one spartan laser per map. And I agree it is pretty overpowered, you don't even have to be a good shot as long as your close its pretty much a guaranteed kill. I have yet to use the spartan laser because it takes the fun out of it, IMO.

And I have one question, whatever happened to the pistol? I haven't seen any pistol in any of the videos I've seen.
Why hasn't anyone asked about the pistol? Is it lame, does it have a zoom, how is the damage, etc etc.
To answer the above 2 questions you will be disappointed to hear that the pistol is not in the beta at all.

[FatBox]

To answer the above 2 questions you will be disappointed to hear that the pistol is not in the beta at all.

That's pretty lame. Hopefully they didn't just completely take it out, that would be stupid. I remember seeing in the first Halo 3 video that Bungie ever released that the MC was holding a pistol that resembled the Halo 1 pistol when he deployed that shield thingy on the ground.

[Silent-XBA]

That's pretty lame. Hopefully they didn't just completely take it out, that would be stupid. I remember seeing in the first Halo 3 video that Bungie ever released that the MC was holding a pistol that resembled the Halo 1 pistol when he deployed that shield thingy on the ground.
Yeah, I remember that video and it did have master chief holding a pistol. Don't know why its not included in the beta, but I doubt they took it out of the game all together at least I hope they didn't.

[SPARTAN 0841992]

Please read my thread to find out my views on the beta.

[l Maximus l]

I actually saw a video that had the pistol.

A few things I noticed right off the bat:

1. It looks and sounds just like the Halo 1 Pistol (bigger in size compared to Halo 2's version)

2. It is dual wieldable.

3. You can zoom with it, but, I noticed you can zoom any weapon because I think it's because of the Spartan's helmet zoom...so, I'm not 100% sure if it's the weapon or the helmet.

4. It fires like the Halo 1 Pistol - in other words, it has pauses between shots rather than reacting like the Halo 2 version in which you can rapid fire your trigger and it will shoot. On the same note, the Carbon seems to react in a similar fashion - with pauses between shots rather than reacting to how fast you can pull the trigger.

5. In the video I saw (which was extremely poor quality and the player sucked bad), he wasn't able to demonstrate how powerful or weak it was - so, I didn't see any confirmation of any sort regarding it's potential for damage.

I'll see if I can find it again on Youtube...I wish I posted it in the other thread. The quality of the video was so poor and you can hear the idiot talking...and the video camera wasn't always centered on his TV, which was frusterating, so, I decided not to post it. I figured other ones would have shown it. He was playing a map that I didn't recognize from the beta, so, I'm a little confused to how he was able to play this map. I wasn't impressed by the map at all - seemed very confusing the first time I saw it.

[TheCovenant]

omg, the halo 3 beta was DAMN FUN. i played on one of the PMS clans consoles (that all girl clan), and i was on that all day. i had a blast. reminded me what was so awesome about halo. I cant wait till Monday when i get my live account back, i cant wait to spend an entire weekend with a 12 pack of newcastle and halo 3 =)

[ghost 009]

The game is amazing. BTW.............. T-4 months Look at my avatar and you'll get a hint. I changed my avatar motto everyday before halo 2 came out.

[m4oH]

Dude, the new needler owns.

[l Maximus l]

Dude, the new needler owns.

You know, I actually saw it in action by watching those videos...It actually seemed like a very decent close up weapon now...I guess the third time is the charm :)

[Reclaimer]

I'm playing it it right now and I've noticed that it does feel a lot faster and more spastic than H2 or H1. But then again, I'm a very methodical player and I am more comfortable in games like Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon where strategy and techniques rain supreme over jumping around and circle straffing everyone to death.

I think the chain gun on the Warthog has become more powerful, it takes far fewer shots to mow people down and I saw some team on a 'hog practically own the entire Valhalla map because nobody could really find anything to stop them quickly.

I'm still trying new things out and trying to figure out what weapon does what now. It looks just like Halo 2 but with more details and graphical goodness here and there. There are some detail niceties like your dead body and shrapnel floating in the water and the sound effects definitely got improved. Distant gun battles sound like the barrio on Cinco de Mayo, which is a nice touch.

That damn Spartan laser will be the new sword. At least it depletes, but it really gets annoying when somebody digs in with it and he has the higher ground.

The hand carried chain gun is neat, I like the perspective change when you arm it.
Plasma pistol shots faster and tracks less I think.

I don't care for the SMG's now that we start with the assault rifle.

I think the "death from the grave" is funny, that seems like the defacto way to kill somebody now out of spite.

Anyway, it's Halo 2 with some improvements and I'm finding new things here and there I haven't seen before.

[Silent-XBA]

Bungie has added big team battle and a vehicle to the halo 3 beta, find out more here:
http://www.xboxaddict.com/news/view.php?News_ID=8148 (http://www.xboxaddict.com/forums/../news/view.php?News_ID=8148)

[FatBox]

BTB is reallly fun. I don't like how the Banshee can't look straight down though, makes it a lot harder to kill people, it has it's bomb back from H1 though, which is pretty cool. The game is basically a mix of H1 and H2, which isn't a bad thing. I'm going to say that this is probably my favorite Halo game of the series as of right now, I hope they don't change the beta much because it's almost perfect.

[mattgame]

I think so too Fats, I think we're looking at perfection.

[wulkar]

the pistol is in the beta. but you have to glitch to get it. and it has no scope and i think its power is dumbed down. i havent gotten it but you have to be in a custom game by glitching the beta and then play escort

[l Maximus l]

the pistol is in the beta. but you have to glitch to get it. and it has no scope and i think its power is dumbed down. i havent gotten it but you have to be in a custom game by glitching the beta and then play escort

I noticed on a video (I can't find it for the life of me...which sucks) that it shoots like the Halo 1 Pistol in that there is a pause between shots instead of rapidly hitting the trigger to shoot faster. It even looked like the Halo 1 Pistol.

No scope, though? Awwww, man...oh well, I guess there's the Battle Rifle still......

[wulkar]

I noticed on a video (I can't find it for the life of me...which sucks) that it shoots like the Halo 1 Pistol in that there is a pause between shots instead of rapidly hitting the trigger to shoot faster. It even looked like the Halo 1 Pistol.

No scope, though? Awwww, man...oh well, I guess there's the Battle Rifle still......

yes, there is a delay between shots.

and i personally like how we have both the H1 AR and the the battle rifle, and my favorite guns are dual spiker's, i just love how that looks.

[Sam-XBA]

I played it for the last couple of days... the spartan lazer is insane. It seems to shoot regardless of line of site in some situations.

Battle rifle seems a little dumbed down I think

Needler is much better. Dual needlers will be insane.

The bubble shield is a great idea, makes for strategic play .haven't tried the other specials though

[Silent-XBA]

Here's some videos of custom games:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6Qi-Dzdm4r8

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MffGzsZrr_Q

http://youtube.com/watch?v=40DviH4WbgE

[FatBox]

Seems like custom games are huge now, a lot of people figured out how to start them. There is also a glitch with the pistol, you can do BXR with it... If I find the video I'll post it.

:EDIT: I found the video. Check it out. http://www.halownage.com/beta-videos/1348-bxr-beta.html#post18314

[l Maximus l]

Seems like custom games are huge now, a lot of people figured out how to start them. There is also a glitch with the pistol, you can do BXR with it... If I find the video I'll post it.

:EDIT: I found the video. Check it out. http://www.halownage.com/beta-videos/1348-bxr-beta.html#post18314

Bummer - he didn't even shoot it or try to scope with it... :(

[FatBox]

Bummer - he didn't even shoot it or try to scope with it... :(

Well theres quite a few videos out there now with the pistol. It has no scope and the shot sounds exactly the same as the Magnum from Halo 2. It also kills in 5 headshots and is dual-wieldable.