The public multiplayer beta test period for Halo: Reach has now come to an end.  I’m just going to share my (brief) thoughts on it in terms of game play, originality, graphics, maps, and sound.

I am aware that it was a beta, and that (hopefully) some things will be changed/fixed before the game’s final release.[more]

Game Play

From what I played, it all seemed very Halo-ish… like I’d already played the game before.  Most of the game was spent emptying clips into the opponent’s shields, although grenades seem to do a lot more damage than before.  Of course, in Team Swat games, this was different as there were no shields, but the maps caused issues in this area (see below).

Originality

None at all.  Yes, you could argue that it’s part of a series of similar games, but there could at least have some innovation between them.  The biggest change in how you play is probably the power-ups/abilities your armour can carry, such as sprinting, camouflage, or the jet pack.  Yeh, pretty original!  Apart from that, this is pretty much the same Halo you’ve been playing since the system link days on the first Xbox, just with better graphics… or so you’d think…

Graphics

While the graphics are smooth and clear, and the frame rate is also smooth, something makes it look bad.  I think it’s the lighting.  Again, it doesn’t seem to have improved at all since Halo 3, and even that was a small leap from Halo 2.  It seems that the game has been designed to ‘look good bad’ – where some games try to get curves and end up with the occasional square edge, Bungie seem to have designed their models with square edges already, but made sure they were very well defined edges, bringing me on to…

Maps

Not since Halo 2’s Headlong, Waterworks, or Containment has the Halo series seen a really good map.  The maps offered up in the Reach beta have done nothing to change that.  They were far too small, and as such resulted in every game being a run-and-gun game, whether it was Slayer or not.  Even the largest map used for Invasion (the name escapes me) was poorly designed.  There was hardly any cover, meaning attacking any section meant gunning down anyone who saw you, while they were also gunning you down.  This process was fairly repetitive as it was usually whoever started shooting first that got the kill, unless they missed a shot while taking down their opponent’s shields.

Sound

Now, this is where Reach really shone!  The sound of the weapons and especially the grenades has been much improved.  Grenade explosions have a lot more ‘oomph’ and sound a lot more dangerous than the little pops we had before.  I think Bungie have just turned up the bass a bit, but it certainly made a difference.  Ambient sounds, however, are still lacking slightly.

Conclusion

Apart from the fact that I’m a crap reviewer, I think the Reach beta deserves a pretty solid “meh”.  Unfortunately, the title starts with “Halo”, so it’ll sell like sex and you’ll have to buy it because all your friends have.  Even if they hate it too, you’ll all have to play it because everyone else is, and that’s where the action will be on Xbox Live… until the new Call of Duty comes along… which is another ‘seen it all before’ game now, which is a shame.