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Halo: Reach 'Pre-Beta' video walkthroughs, gameplay footage
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.
Halo: Reach 'Invasion' mode unveiled on latest GTTV
Aha! That's why no one's talking about it! The first video and details on Halo: Reach's "Invasion" mode were shown off exclusively in last night's episode of GameTrailers TV, with Bungie additionally dishing some deets about the game we'd yet to hear. As we already know, Invasion is a game mode that's only available in Boneyard (also scantly detailed until now) and, as promised, features a ton of vehicles. The multi-tiered level unlocks in "three phases (similar to Bad Company 2's "Rush" mode), with various weapon loadouts and vehicles becoming available alongside it. Among the smattering of new footage, Bungie reps introduce the human grenade launcher and plasma launcher, two exciting looking additions to the Halo arsenal. Unfortunately, when pressed on whether or not ODST's Firefight mode would be making a return appearance in Reach, Bungie's Chris Carney says that the mode "is not in the beta" and he's "not sure what those guys have planned." As you might expect, there's also a tease that we'll hear more about the game (campaign mode specifically) "in June."
More Halo: Reach beta screens and info than you can shake a jetpack at
click to Master Chief-size Considering how close we're getting to actually putting our hands on the Halo: Reach beta, it's not exactly surprising to see Bungie loosening the floodgates a bit on information and images from its last Halo game. Just below you'll find a handful of new images from three of the beta's four maps (Overlook, Swordbase, and Powerhouse), though the mysterious Boneyard still remains missing. In addition to these new screens, Bungie delves into the gruesome details regarding a few of the beta's gameplay modes, and even goes as far as to break down the weapon allocation for Powerhouse (only one rocket launcher, folks -- come on!) and Overlook. For instance, did you know that Powerhouse used to be named "Settlement?" Or that Swordbase is actually set in an Offiice of Naval Intelligence? That means we'll be spending our time getting one-hit killed from behind while trying to glean campaign information from the destructible computer monitors littered throughout the level. Damn you, Bungie! We are, however, quite partial to Swordbase's many levels (all the better for us to jetpack around!), but you could be all about those outdoor environments. Who knows?! One thing's for sure: you can peep both options in the gallery below. %Gallery-90309%
Halo: Reach beta maps revealed, detailed
[IGN] If you haven't been following along with the minutiae Halo: Reach development over at Bungie's website, you probably didn't know that the upcoming beta will feature four maps from the final product's full list. Today we finally got a look at what those maps will be -- "Swordbase" and "Powerhouse" (intended for "party game types"), "Overlook" (featuring the "Generator Defense" game type), and the sparsely detailed sandbox design of "Boneyard" (intended for the "Invasion" game type) -- as well as a smattering of new deets on the jetpack-enhanced Halo game. For instance, we probably won't be finding out too many major campaign secrets during the beta that we didn't already know. The devs at Bungie have only included human-themed maps in the beta as to ensure the secrecy of plot points, actually. "Several of the other maps have different themes that I think are really cool [outside of the beta]," says Bungie's Chris Carney. "I don't really want to talk about them because it would talk about things that are happening in the single-player story." There's a ton more really, really specific stuff (as well as several new screens) over on IGN, if you're into that kind of thing (and let's be honest, if you've made it this far in the post, you probably are).
