New Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta Modes Detailed

16 Apr 2010 at 12:26:45 by Tim McDonald

Details on the new multiplayer modes that will appear in the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta have emerged.

1UP has a breakdown of the four new modes - Headhunter, Stockpile, Generator Defense, and Invasion - via their interview with Reach multiplayer designers Lars Bakken and Derek Carroll.

The first of the new modes is Headhunter, which is "a new 'party' game [...] where the goal is to collect and capture the most skulls," according to the official Bungie description. Every time a player is killed, they drop a skull; collecting the skulls and depositing them in a zone (which moves around the map) gets you points. The twist comes in that you can carry more than one skull at a time but, upon death, you drop all of them. Expect opportunistic scavenging. There will, however, also be a Team Headhunter mode.

The second is Stockpile, described as "another 'party' gametype that is sort of like Territories meets with Capture the Flag." Four neutral flags spawn, with both teams trying to get them back to their flag capture zones - but simply getting them there doesn't earn you points. Points, instead, are scored for each flag in your capture zone at the end of every minute of game time.

Next up is Generator Defense, pitting three Spartans against three Elites, with the Spartans trying to defend three generators from the Elites. Spartans have the ability to "lock down" generators and make them temporarily invulnerable, but this has a cooldown period. Each round lasts five minutes, with the teams swapping over at the end to experience the map from the other perspective. This one'll be fast and frenetic, we suspect.

Finally, Invasion. Little is known, save that "it's a vehicle-full frenzy" to quote Carroll. It's a 6v6 that will take place on a huge map - which will be on the only map in the beta that contains vehicles. According to 1UP, it's likely to be a multi-stage gametype with heavy weapons coming into play towards the end.

So there you have it. The Halo: Reach multiplayer beta opens on 3 May - assuming you have Halo: ODST, which is required to take part. And did you know we have a bit of info on the four maps appearing in the beta? Because we do.

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