Halo 3 Beta

It's just H2 with fresh makeup and more guns.
based on the H3 Beta: June 2007 on 360

If hype were air we'd suffocate because Bungie's got all of it. Are they really that good? Well, yeah, actually they are.

When it comes to shooters, this studio has been a true innovator. They expanded multiplayer and were the first with dual-wielding. They brought us practical grenades, vehicles, and melee attacks. They hire fantastic creative talent to write great stories and design gorgeous worlds for us to demolish.

The multiplayer we saw in H3 Beta _feels_ exactly like H2. This is good because Bungie nailed the gameplay and controller layout in H2. It's also bad because it raises the question: why didn't they just do an expansion for H2 a year and a half ago? Yes, H3 has smoother this, more detailed that, and new shiny toys, but the H3 Beta was H2 with fresh makeup and more guns.

What is Bungie holding back? We know about the Equipment, the fightable Scarab, and the online 4-person Co-Op. We assume we'll play as the MC and the Arbiter. Any other playable characters? Do we meet the Forerunner? Who (and what) is The Gravemind? My guess is that whatever Bungie hasn't told us will be worth the price of the game by itself.

UPDATE (9/19/07): Man, that "Believe" ad is really lame. Six days to go.

UPDATE (9/22/07): The "Cinema Paradiso" video shows me what these magnificent bastards have been doing for three years. Video replays in full 3-D, real-time in-match level editing with the Forge (yes, I remember the original Forge, nice touch Bungie). Plus: Flamethrowers! I hadn't realized how much I missed flamethrowers until I played Marathon on 360. Three days to go.

UPDATE (9/27/07): Well, the game is out and I've already finished. It turns out that Bungie wasn't holding back anything significant. Overall, I'm disappointed.