Halo: Reach Multiplayer Preview

28 Apr 2010 at 10:16:38 by Lauren Wainwright

Two hours was all it took to assure me that Halo: Reach was on the right path. Reach wasn't just another ticket into the Halo universe, but a surprisingly addictive and satisfying addition to the 360 catalogue. With fans gearing up for the launch of the multiplayer beta, launching May 3rd, Microsoft invited press to get an early sneak peak at the beta.

Within 10 minutes of playing, everyone had menacing grins sprawled across their faces. We were playing Head Hunter, a free-for-all mode where you collect the skulls of other players. Once you've collected a skull (or five!), you must drop it off at the base point to gain points. If you get killed on your way to the base then your head explodes out skulls, kind of like a really creepy party popper. It's frantic, enjoyable and hilarious. Some players ended up running around farming the skulls and jumping into easy battles, others hunted the top players wishing for some easy loot.

Head Hunter is one of four new multiplayer modes bundled together with several classic Halo multiplayer types in Reach. The other new modes included are Invasion, Stockpile and Generator Defence. It's a comfortable change and not one that overwhelms, but something that offers enough to warrant a return.

Invasion reminded me of Battlefield: Bad Company 2's Rush mode, with a large map that opens up in chunks after capturing a point. Huge Spartan versus Elite battles that became more manic as the maps opened up and more weapons and vehicles became available. It always ended in an insane rush to protect the core from the Elites, with Spartans throwing down grenades, running over elites or beating them down. It forces players to work as a team, something which I'm sure players have yearned for.

Another subtle change during this mode was the choice of load-outs, where one can select a specific set of weapons, abilities and equipment to start with. While during the early stages of Invasion, you'd switch between long-range and mid-range weapons, near the end you'd switch to more close-range or explosive weapon sets.

Abilities are also thrown onto the table, but these are pre-selectable for each match type. Every time you die you can change your armour ability which can be a jet-pack, sprinting, active camo and even an ability to make you temporarily invulnerable. While this may sound like Reach could be gearing towards a more Call of Duty styled lobby, it doesn't feel or look like that at all. This could be because of the lack of customising options with loadouts but it seems that it is more likely to encourage players to try out all the abilities and switch between them as they play.

The last mode we got hands on time with was Stockpile, a revision of capture the flag where there are several flags to grab and horde in your home base. Each team will try to grab as many flags as they can and even try to steal flags from the other base and take them back to their own. This is a great time to utilise that jet-pack ability or even sprinting. It was oddly satisfying to bash oncoming flag thieves with a flag in their face and even more so by sneaking up behind their base and pinching one.

The new maps had their moments but it didn't feel different enough visually. Sure, Halo has a very specific style to keep to but sometimes it'd be nice to really play around with it. There was the level with two bases, one with a large set piece in the middle and water areas and another inside a giant building. Sometimes I felt that a casual Halo player would have issues differentiating between these new maps and old ones. While none of the maps felt immediately fresh, they were all laid out well and offered plenty of strategic opportunity for the more strategic gamer.

There are a few new weapons to take note of as well, specifically that Halo 3's Battle Rifle has been replaced by a Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR). There is also a timed-detonation grenade launcher, an anti-vehicle Plasma Launcher and a Covenant Focus Rifle to play around with.

The biggest changes come from the more refined matchmaking service. You can now queue-join your friend's matches meaning you no longer have to keep demanding invites from your friend while their match is ending. It automatically pops you into the match once their game has finished up. The Active Rosters menu is back which lets you see who is playing Halo: Reach from the menu, much like Halo 2 and Gears of War 2. This saves you having to play about with the dashboard and keeps you in game as much as possible. One of the coolest tweaks is probably the social settings, which lets you optimise matchmaking via chattiness, motivation, tone and teamwork. Say you want to have a vocal team, who are polite, want to win and work as a team? Well, now you can link other with others who feel the same.

Additionally a new Arena mode that groups you with players of your skill, season rankings, find competition and adds instant bragging rights via the type of arena player you end up ranking as. Also everything you do in Reach offers player rewards which pays out with credits used to customise the appearance of your Spartan and new armour types to play around with, much like Halo 3 did with unlocking armour styles after completing the story mode on different difficulties.

All I can say is that there are so many new changes and features; a two hour session can't begin to scratch the surface of what Reach seems to have on offer. The beta starts soon, so you can have some quality hands on impressions of your own. All I know is that Reach is certainly one to look out for.

Comment