A minor miracle is in order here. Two blue Spartans are hustling toward my position, having whittled my shields down and leaving me with little health to spare.
So I call on my last defensive resort: Armor Lock. Slamming my fist into the ground, I conjure up an impenetrable force field that protects me just long enough for teammates to storm to my rescue and wipe out enemies in wait.
Armor Lock is among the interesting tweaks developers at Bungie have made in Halo: Reach, which officially launches its multiplayer beta today.
The beta features a solid mix of solo and team-based matches, available in playlists Grab Bag and Free-For-All. Players can adjust their settings based on their gaming habits or even how much conversation they prefer during matches.
Once matched up with a group of eight, players get three match types to choose from. After the vote is tallied, players then dive right into the action.
Before matches (except solo Slayer), players get to choose their loadouts. Players have four ability types to choose from: Scout, Guard, Stalker and Airborne. Using the left bumper, players can take advantage of their armor ability for a brief period. Scouts can sprint quickly, Guards use Armor Lock, Stalkers make regular use of Active Camo and Airborne players secure the jetpack. Weapons and grenades are consistent across all classes: a standard assault rifle and two frag grenades.
Since all players have one of four armor abilities to choose from, they won't see the standard array of items scattered around the landscape, such as Overshield and Bubble Shield.
Armor Lock and jetpacks in particular add some interesting new wrinkles in strategy. As mentioned earlier, Armor Lock is a solid option if players are low on health and they want to buy some time. Jetpacks are great for getting to higher points on a map quickly as well a means of escape.
Melee attacks have been updated to include stealthy assassinations. When players slip behind an opponent, they can hold down the melee button for a special up-close kill.
As for new weapons, there were two in particular that popped up most frequently. The Needler Rifle is a hybrid of the alien Needler and Spartan Battle Rifle, and works very well for longer range attacks. And the destructive Plasma Launcher is the Covenant's delightful answer to the rocket launcher.
Perhaps the highlight of the beta has been some of the new match types, which seem to freshen up the Halo experience. Stockpile requires teams to capture as many flags as possible. After certain periods of time, the flags snagged are tallied, with the first team to 10 winning. In Headhunter, every player that's killed drops a skull. Opponents can then pick up these skulls and take them to specific locations on a map to notch points. The more skulls you have (I saw one player carry nine), the larger the target on your back.
Outside of those changes, most of the combat is standard Halo. Players chuck grenades left and right, while others will leap to safety as piercing beeps signal the weakening of their shields. It's still entertaining and gratifying.
After each match, players earn credits which boost experience and allow them to upgrade their Spartan armor. Similar to Call of Duty, players can level up and receive new military ranks, starting as a Private and working up to Corporals and Sergeants.
Based on my time with the beta so far, Reach is another reminder of why Halo is still a fun shooter to play. And the rankings system gives users more incentives to continue playing for hours on end.
Readers, share your thoughts on the beta below.
By Brett Molina
Games Hunters
USA Today
