My Halo Reach Beta Review- First Impression

My first impressions are… Meh. Just more of the same and not this Halo revolution that the developers want you to think it is.

I’m sure the super Halo fans will love it, but is it really much of an advance from Halo 3, or even Halo 2? (No, and that is why they will love it). The class system is what I was looking forward to, but it is rather weak. So you get to choose your “item”, that is it? No weapons load outs? The game is still about hording the power weapons as always. You spawn with crap guns, that if you have to go head to head with someone else that has a power weapon you are going to loose. If Halo is all about skill (as the Fanboys protest) how is spawning with a weak assault rifle that cannot kill anyone with a full clip going to protect you from some noob beginner with a power weapon? I’m really disappointed that you do not get to customize your character with any weapons. And it doesn’t all have to be rockets and Spartan lasers, but at least have the option to start with plasma rifles, needlers, a sniper or something other than a POS rifle. Let it be at least customizable to your style of play. Heck, I started switching right off the bat from the assault rifle to the pistol. To me the pistol is much better than the default rifle. I unloaded an entire clip of the rifle into an enemy at fairly close range while running behind him, and did not kill him. At the same time I seem to kill most people if I unload a complete pistol clip in them. I’m sorry, but that is weak and broken. The game doesn’t have to be like COD, but a full clip of any normal weapon should kill. Hell, I had 3 head shots in a row with the battle rifle and that only dropped the enemies shield so I could then get a head shot. Again, weak. With all that said, it’s Halo and that is the way it has always been. It’s aggravating at times, but fun when you are the one who controls the power weapons and you can hit the kill streaks and multikills. I just do not see it as a balanced game, relying more on the Tru-Skill ranking to keep the game balanced than on balancing the weapons or allowing people to play to their strengths and play styles. Giving the gadget or ability is a weak and shallow attempt, as it will still mostly come down to what weapons you pick up and hold on the battlefield.

One of the biggest problems I’ve always had with Halo are the play lists, and the way it chooses the game types. This is only the beta, so I’m hoping all the choices have not been revealed, but the way the vote system is seems to be a better way that it was previously. Still, I want to see a ton of choices like the COD games have, and not just a couple that throw you in crappy territories or king of the hill games, 20 times before you get a Team Slayer game if that is what you want to play. If I want to play CTF, I want to play CTF, and not have to filter through an hour of other modes to land one CTF match. Stuff like that has always turned me off of Halo multiplayer. I’ll have the mindset of “Hey, I got 30 minutes to play, I’ll get some [insert game type] games in.” You might just waste your entire time, and not ever get the game mode you wanted to play. Yea, that’s fun and will keep me coming back.

Not that the game itself isn’t fun, it’s just that it’s not better than any of the other installments. All these other games from Rainbow Six, to COD, feel like that have all progressed in the last 5 years, but Halo seems to be too much the same as it was on the original Xbox. One thing is true of Reach, the graphics took a nice upgrade. This is only the demo, and I think it looks much better than before with H3.

Of course I’ll give it more time and update my review after more than 2-3 hours of play. It’s just my initial impression is that it didn’t excite me from the start, and actually under whelmed me not living up to my expectations.

~mrmiller

i love this game

Pros

-the class are a nice add on (jetpack stoker and so on)
-new game modes are fun (love head hunter)
-maps are nice and clean even for just a beta
-party/invt system is epic win
-assassinations are fun to use if you have the time
-new weapons like the DMR are so win
-flaming oddball skull


Cons

-starting with same guns in every class is weak
-server are a little bitchy right now (but i know thats only because they are being hit hard)
-still about power guns (but then again isnt every game about that!!!)
--- like take cod you get to pick your starting gun and people will pick the power ones be it noob tube m16 and so on.. this game who ever gets to it first has it and you dont respawn with it so i think thats more far to every one


over all i was very happy with the beta !!! and cant wait to play the full game the co op has got to be an epic win !!!and i hope we support this game !

I understand your feelings Miller, as well as Sticky's.
I'm torn. I like the improvements a little, but was also looking for a bit more. That said, I had fun-- but at times this doesn't really feel like Halo to me. More like what COD would trying to be Halo, or vice-versa. It's odd, but I've played well over 7,000 games of Halo (the carnage report tells me daily on H3 ) so I know the feeling...and this really isn't it. May take some getting used to.

Still getting the game, but initial impression in one word... different
haven't decided it it's a good or bad different yet.

I will add that Miller you should play SWAT on this one. Played that last night...TOTAL WIN!

No stupid shields, just hit and die. No hiding around the corner watching the radar w/ shotty..NO GRENADES..just you, a rifle, your team and abundant head shots !

Totally agree with everything mrmiller said, not being able to pick your loadout weapons is a total fail. Not all wepons sould be available for load out, but some should, assult rifle is worthless. Halo used to be called " combat evolved" not anymore. The new modes I played were cool, but I still had to spend most my running around looking for weapons or camping with the pistol which took me away from the action and was a buzz kill. Used the sprint and malae combo = commando cod style and was the only way to kill anybody with pos assult rifle. I'll play it little more but I'm pretty disapointed so far

i think since yall really dont play that much halo i can see were u feel this game has gone bad .. but again you are compare alot of it to COD
with kill cam loads out and so on.

Dude I think every multiplayer game should have some kind of loadout system. The days of running around looking for the power weapons is dead. I mean come on it would be way better

I played all 3 and I love the beta so far. Halo has always been about map control and fighting for the power weapons, I would not have it any other way. I love the pistol its awesome and you spawn with it on some play lists, the assault rifle I never used much anyway. I think the load outs are really cool and add another aspect to the game, kind of Shadowrun-ish if anybody played that game.

I don't know maybe its because I'm a halo fan boy or what not, but I think it takes a little more skill to shoot and thanks to the bloom, you have to steady and aim your shots, which is another skill in itself. This game feels "different", but it is still Halo, and it has really good potential for competitive play.

I lanned Halo:CE a lot back in the day so maybe that is why I enjoy this game more than H3, but it does take some time to get used to it. Either way, Miller respect your opinions, and hopefully you give it a rent at least when the final version comes out, so we can pwn some peeps

Slate wrote:I played all 3 and I love the beta so far. Halo has always been about map control and fighting for the power weapons, I would not have it any other way. I love the pistol its awesome and you spawn with it on some play lists, the assault rifle I never used much anyway. I think the load outs are really cool and add another aspect to the game, kind of Shadowrun-ish if anybody played that game.

I don't know maybe its because I'm a halo fan boy or what not, but I think it takes a little more skill to shoot and thanks to the bloom, you have to steady and aim your shots, which is another skill in itself. This game feels "different", but it is still Halo, and it has really good potential for competitive play.

I lanned Halo:CE a lot back in the day so maybe that is why I enjoy this game more than H3, but it does take some time to get used to it. Either way, Miller respect your opinions, and hopefully you give it a rent at least when the final version comes out, so we can pwn some peeps

well said

I got to go with Miller's, Zak's, and Klowns views, like the game isn't bad at all people just figured there would be more to it than it is. I mean you can't blame anyone for not wanting to shoot a few clips for a kill that's old skool or rush for a gun that you like, or fits your gaming style and instead being reduced to something your not comfortable with cause the other team or team member grabbed it first. Stuff like that kills the experience with that said it's still fun to pwn in public matches let's just hope more gets asdded and tweaked before release.

again it really just comes down to player skill its a different game with a different style

I played a few rounds tonight with miller. My view,
they added a few minor things to a hugely played multiplayer game. The graphics are expected and not much more the game play is good and they threw in a few twists with the new classes. As a person who has played all the halo games but is not a huge fan of the game play it still lacks that new spark and appeal to draw non Halo fans. It was fun like Halo always is but for some of us who are not in the hard core group we were expecting a bit of something more. But it is a beta

I'm going to tend to agree with Slate and Sticky. Reach feels more like what Halo was before Halo 3. Rather, it feels like What the series should have evolved into while Halo 3 was a little side trip.

The more I see the more I feel like coming back to competitive Halo is a likely option.

Yeah I can definetly see that.

It's not Counter Strike. Booo!

MP has been fun but Halo MP has never been my strong point. Much more interested in the campaign.

co op FTW lol

The class loadouts will be different for diff playlists, including different starting weapons optional. They have already said they'll have playlists with a big variety of starting weapons for weaker players (ala CoD).

I like the game so far. Haven't played it much yet though. The DMR seems pointless for the most part. Pistol owns once again. Grenades are ridiculously strong. I'll post more when I get to play it more.

Not really Atrum, I found the DMR quite nice and relatively close to the B/R. At least it's what I like of all weapons.

The point most are making here is the "running to grab" problem.
They fixed some of this by letting everyone get invisibility, etc. in the load out, but running for the launcher or trying desperately to find a DMR or needler etc. still is what Miller is talking about. He thought you'd be able to choose while in lobby or just before the game what you start with. Of course Halo has always been this way, but I understand...if you want to always run around with the shotty for example (die and respawn with it) and get shotgun sprees all day...you should be able to.

Power to the people!

go play cod lol JK

Honestly, the MP is cool after a second night...but I expected it to be.
I'm looking forward mostly to the campaign.

Should be really cool .

time to achievement whore another halo game FTW

Same here I like it better than all the other halo's I just wish we had more innovation with Natal coming out and all, it would've been nice. With that said the game does come out in December so many changes can still be made, all in all I will still pwn nwbs with you guys any day of the week lol.

I am looking forward to seeing the new big team battle gamemode too... I think it's called Invasion. It sounds pretty awesome. I think the new gammode gets added to the beta in a few days.