Note: This footage is best viewed in high definition. Click 'HD' to enable it.
Halo fanatics will finally get their hands on Halo: Reach when the multiplayer beta, included with the purchase of Halo 3: ODST, is activated next week. You've already read our impressions but now you get to see some of the action, with hours of Halo: Reach Pre-Beta footage carefully trimmed down to the essentials.
By showing the new armor customization options, control changes, comparisons to Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST and full gameplay matches in high definition, we're hoping to answer as many of your questions as we can before you get your own quality time with Reach on May 3.
Note: This footage is best viewed in high definition. Click 'HD' to enable it.
Like Halo 3 before it, Halo: Reach changes the the default controls players have grown accustomed to. Melee is pushed to the Right Bumper while reload has been returned to the 'X' button. We walk you through it all, and take a peek at Theater Mode.
Note: This footage is best viewed in high definition. Click 'HD' to enable it.
With equipment years away from development (within the Halo timeline, that is), Reach includes special armor abilities that players can select during multiplayer matches. Here we walk you through the abilities we played with during the Pre-Beta and give you a quick montage of the weaponry found in the upcoming online test.
Note: This footage is best viewed in high definition. Click 'HD' to enable it.
At first glance, Halo: Reach might not appear to be a visual upgrade from previous entries in the series but put side-by-side and you'll notice the changes immediately. To show off some of these changes, we've compiled a video comparing HD footage of Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST to Halo: Reach.
Note: Footage of 'Boneyard' is best viewed in high definition. Click 'HD' to enable it.
Note: Footage of 'Powerhouse' is best viewed in high definition. Click 'HD' to enable it.
Note: Footage of 'Sword Base' is best viewed in high definition. Click 'HD' to enable it.
One thing I always hated about Halo 3 was the battle rifle, it was too multi purpose and matches with it basically just involved people running towards each other firing randomly.
It's nice to see its replacement requires a bit more timing and finese, and doesn't seem to be as effective at close range.
Are the assassination animations avoidable? You say assassinationas are done by "holding" down the melee button as if it's a choice but I've yet to see a video of anyone be assassinated from behind without the animation (or I've just missed it).
I hated AvP multiplayer for this alone so I just hope I don't have to end force myself to avoid hitting someone in the back so as not to give someone a free kill.
No animation, no assassination. It's a risk/reward system like the chainsaw in Gears. If you don't want the animation, just hit B for a regular melee, but then no assassination for you.
You can press the button for a regular melee or choose to hold it down for an assassination. Like Gears 1's chainsaw, it sometimes turns into a train of people waiting to kill you.
Your effort is appreciated. I haven't had a chance to watch every vid yet, but I think you did a great job and for a casual Halo fan, what I've seen already has me excited :)
gah i was hoping there would be Multicam pattern for the armor color customization, that or a small amount of ghillie attached over the armor (maybe just an upper portion of head/shoulder). i thought it would fit well with the the different roles of the spartans in the campaign, some being snipers etc
Is anybody else enormously frustrated by the lack of sprinting in the powerhouse vid? The part where he's chasing with the Grav Hammer and not sprinting is agonizing to me!
They should retitle this game, "Halo: Not Much of a Reach."
It's the same crap rebundled, different year, different package. This is why I sold my 360, Microsoft thinks their customers are stupid. It's such a shame, because the first game was amazing, and I thought it was the start of something amazing.
Halo is really like the Windows of the videogame industry.
Armor lock is looking like a favorite. Love the new depth being added and it's great to see a developer not being afraid to switch up the balance so that you can play to your strengths
From the first video, I believe the actual comparison on topic of the model detail was that the Reach assault rifle has a higher polygon count that an entire Halo 3 marine. Either way, expect everything to be insanely detailed!
I'm not really an xbox person but I think this game has kinda made me interested in investing in one. I mean of course it's other games that in the past made me want an xbox but the whole subscription thing was just a major turn off, but now that I really think about it the psn is free so all I'm doing is just paying for one subsciption so I think I may get an xbox after I see some more footage and the actual product comes out.
actually their are alot of games that are good on the xbox, even if reach under preforms their are many many great games such as: GoW, ME, Halo, Crackdown, and many more that are on the tip of my tongue, but cant remember at this time
Not to mention the many many Great Arcade games that have sucked hours of my life away.
But do some research first, and if you do decide to get one try to get the new jasper model of consoles as they almost entirely got rid of RRoD (nothing is 100% bug free)
@ oneman same here. I use southpaw for all dual analog games so sometimes I get the shaft on games that don't allow for it. halo has never been a problem and I don't think this one will be either. My hand look really crazy if you watch em while I play. I find that I can push just about any button while never take my thumbs off the stiqs.
This looks a lot better than Halo 3. Hopefully there's no connection time outs or crappy point-rank system. Losing rank just because my internet connection is bad is so stupid; part of the reason I stopped playing.
Also I love that artwork on the video splash-screen. I set it to my desktop background. What's the biggest size available? The file I found was about 1600x900.
Why not just add the Spy from TF2? Active camo, "backstabbing" (assassinations from behind). I also see some Bioshock 2 MP in there with the loadout system.
