by Silverhaze on Wed May 30, 2007 1:17 pm
I've been playing the Beta on and off for a while now and while fundamentally its just Halo with better graphics....again, it does play rather well online.
If selecting a ranked match then players are matched according to their skill level. The more kill in matches the more your rank increases. Im currently right at the start of the second rank which is pretty poor by most people's standards. If joining a match with a friend who is ranked much higher the game will balance the teams with other high ranked players as well as some other rubbish people like myself.
Again, most fun is to be had when using the warthog with a friend or two but they have almost spoiled the fun by adding a rocket launcher to the game that will lock onto vehicles removing any skill involved in nailing one. To their credit bungee have included a beeping lockon warning system to vehicles which notifies the occupants of an impending explosion.
There are some more weapons in the game to add to the classics. The new hip-launched rocket launcher and minigun both take the player into 3rd person when in use and theres a new very powerful laser weapon that fires an almighty blast taking out pretty much anything in its path but it fires very slowly taking a while to charge the blast.
Theres one or two new pistol style weapons that can be dual weilded but from what I've seen, nobody rates them as worthwhile multiplayer weapons. I certainly dont as kills seem to take an eternity even with both guns firing. Obviously you cant throw grenades while using them either.
Some new other weapons have been added like the bubble shield which protects anybody within the sphere of hexagons from projectiles and explosions. You can only run inside and melee them to death to counter its effects. Theres some sort of energy drainer which I havent really figured out yet and a mobile grav lift which sends anything passing over it (human or vehicle) catapulting upwards. This is most entertaining while driving. Bases on some levels are equipped with Man Cannons which do pretty much the same thing and launch players or vehicles in the direction the cannon is pointing.
Theres also a trip mine which I havent really used yet.
As for vehicles.....things in the beta at least have barely changed. We still have the ghosts, banshees and warthogs but now have been graced with one of the most pointless vehicles in Halo history!! The Mongoose is a quad bike made for two and the song springs to mind:
Mongoose, Mongoose, give me your answer do
Im half crazy over the thought of you
You dont have any weapons, but have a seat for two
It would look so pretty, me getting shot off you!!
And thats exactly what does happen. You have no extra armour other than your own and if you are the driver you cant shoot. So, alone on one you are slightly quicker than somebody on foot but just as much of a target. Screams of 'This thing is a bloody death trap!!' are heard over the comms. Perhaps it will come into its own when we get to play the single player campaign in multiplayer for that is what I am really looking forward too, especially with rumours of a 4 player co-op circulating the internet.
Im hoping more vehicles will be in the final release but this is just a taster. Against the ghost (Covenant hover bike with dual plasma cannons) its next to useless other than its 2 man capacity.
But back to the multiplayer beta. Graphically from a distance you could be forgiven for mistaking this for Halo 2 especially on a CRT screen. Closer inspection reveals a certain amount of next gen flare but nothing too outstanding. The water looks lovely but doesnt really react to much. A little splash but no ripples or anything.
There is an improved HUD but its nothing more than one would expect. Rocks still appear angular and there are lots of straight edges all over the place and not enough anti-aliasing. Theres more foliage and the grass is better but its still Halo. The level design is still Halo classic as are all the structures and scenery. I suppose it makes sense since its still set on one of the Halo rings but a nice Earth based level would have been nice to show off.
That said, there is a very noticable improvement in a lot of places and the in game characters and objects look very nice indeed. Vehicles can now be destroyed with bits flying off them and the bump mapping is nicely implemented. Textures are generally sharp and clear.
Animations sadly look like they have been ripped right out of any other Halo game with the flailing Master Cheif flying skyward after a grenade blast and ragdolling on the ground afterwards in a way that appears stiff and doesnt respond to the surrounding objects in the environment. Next to some of the ragdoll physics we see in games currently, this looks tired and has no place in a 'next gen' game. Even Max Payne 2 had superior ragdolls.
Controls are pretty much the same as Halo 2 with some improvements. X will not reload anymore, that function has been moves to the shoulder bumper buttons which seems to feel natural. Grenades are still thrown with the left and guns fired with the right. The game is responsive without being over the top and obviously, sensitivity can be tweaked to players desires. Default is good enough for me. X now lays a bubble shield or mobile grav lift or whatever you happen to have selected.
Nothing else much appears to have changed. Gameplay is almost identical to what you would expect which is what Bungee were aiming for I suppose. Dont change the core gameplay mechanics and just sweeten and tweak everything else. It appears they have put a lot of work into maintaining the Halo feel of everything.
Players on the whole are pretty good. Practice matches line you up against more players than ranked matches and allow the use of Warthogs and Banshees that are not in ranked matches. 12 players is not unusual in practice mode which makes for a frantic experience but even 3 to a side ranked matches are fun. With only 3 maps there isnt a lot of variety and people mainly go for the 2 favourites Higher Ground and Valhalla. Both are outdoor green levels whereas the snow level is a hilly outdoor level with 2 bases at either end and some underground tunnels. It gets vetoed more than any other level. It would be great fun with the warthog but sadly theres just one hidden ghost and nothing else.
I have varied while playing this game from rank bottom with a total of ZERO kills after a 10 minute match right up to the winning team and indeed winning player on that team with somewhere in the region of 16-20 kills. This is probably due to being placed up against people even worse than myself but Im not complaing....although that big fat ZERO was a bit humiliating.
You are limited in your choice of match. Theres capture the flag and a control zones match, team death match and standard death matches are there too. Im more of a team deathmatch man but Im hoping some interesting vehicle modes are included in the full game. No weapons allowed, warthogs only was one we used to play over and over on the PC version of Halo. 4 warthogs going at it with no weapons allowed is hilarous and players knocked out of their cars scramble to get back in before being run down.
So overall its great fun! A worthy sequel from what we've seen so far but its the single player game Im looking forward to most and will hopefully post more about it when its released.
Anybody with an invite to the multiplaer beta should certainly give it a try!!
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