Halo 3 Launch date and Beta test impressions

Mike Bantick
Wednesday, 16 May 2007 12:40

Opinion and Analysis

The Halo 3 public Beta starts tonight (Australian time), we have already had a run around with the code.  Microsoft have also announced the launch date for the final Halo 3 code later this year.

September 25 is the street date for the final chapter in the record breaking Xbox and Xbox 360 exclusive trilogy.

Nick Segger, Group Product Marketing Manager, says, "'Halo 3' is much more than a video game release, it's potentially the biggest entertainment event of the year. For the fans though it's the chance to revisit the Halo legend and finish the fight in stunning high definition."

Well on-ya to Nick for building the hype, and on the back of US$125 million in sales in the first 24 hours for Halo 2, he has a lot to be confident about.

The announcement of the "Halo 3" launch date comes on the eve of the release of the "Halo 3" multiplayer beta, which will debut to audiences worldwide via Xbox LIVE* on 16 May at 10pm and run through to 7 June at 4:59pm (Sydney time). The "Halo 3" multiplayer beta will provide audiences worldwide with an exclusive, early look at some of the multiplayer elements of "Halo 3" on Xbox LIVE

I have had a brief look at the Halo 3 Beta; my first impression was the overwhelming beauty of the environment.  The original game knocked my socks off on the Xbox, and the move to HD with the Xbox 360 has notched up the graphics a quantum leap again.  (funny, we always think of Quantum leaps as big things, when the reality is that they are one of the smallest things in this universe.  Might need to reword that later)

Other changes evident in the new iteration of Halo include the new vechicles (the new speedy Mongoose) and weapons (Missile Pod, Brute Spiker to name a few).  All look great and are satisfying to use.

There are a number of changes to the control system, with reloading of dual weapons being easier to control, although I found jumping around whilst firing a tad difficult to master – this may not be a bad thing, as it can be a plague on multiplayer FPS’s

There seems to be a new matchmaking service that controls the lobby section of multiplayer games.  This is based on experience and skill levels translated to rating points and rank, enabling a better multiplayer experience.

Game-play was fluid and surprisingly polished for Beta code – you could argue that perhaps this first experiment into console Beta testing needed to have a bit more maturity to the experience.  The net-code was robust with no lag issues or mini-warping of player, the three new maps showed off a lot that Halo 3 potentially has to give.

Now if only I could play well, I was totally owned by the folks already joined onto the Beta, so perhaps I need to get back in there and practice more, or check out the excellent Beta test guide that Bungie have already posted up.  See you online to see who truly is the Master of all Master Chiefs.