Halo: Reach (beta)

Developer: Bungie

Publisher: Microsoft

Release Date: May 3, 2010 (public beta)

System: Xbox 360

ESRB Rating: NR

Official Web site

In a nutshell: Getting into it wouldn't be much of a reach.

0:00 The Halo 3 beta was actually my very first game for lunch back in 2007.I haven't exactly become an avid player since then -- give me a Left 4 Dead or a Borderlands any day -- but I'm still interested to see what all the fuss is about.

0:01 A very short introductory trailer shows a Spartan putting on a helmet and some sort of flying vehicle crash-landing amidst a firefight. Then a quick cut to a black screen with blue text. "Welcome to the Beta... the experience you are about to enjoy is a delicious sampler platter of multiplayer modes from Halo: Reach." Delicious! They want honest feedback at bungie.net. I'll provide it here instead.

0:03 I don't have any "credits" yet, so I can't buy any of the cool armor on display in the armory. I can change my service tag to any four-letter combination of letters, numbers and symbols, though. I choose "@_@*" because that's what I expect to look like after sucking it up in this beta.

0:05 I'm playing this at ten in the morning the day after I got my code. This is partly because that's when I finally found the time, but it's partly because I really suck at Halo and didn't want to go up against all the good people with super-early access. Then again, if you're still playing at 10am the next day, you're probably pretty good too.

***-->CONTINUE READING AT<--***

***-->JOYSTICK DIVISION<-***

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Halo 3

Developer: Bungie
Publisher: Microsoft
Release Date: Sept. 25, 2007
System: Xbox 360

In a nutshell: Shoot people. Don't get shot.

0:01 Aw, the development team signed the loading screen "Love, Bungie." I think I'm tearing up.
0:10 I freaking hate sniper rifles! I almost got a single kill during an intense firefight around an ice pillar. Then some guy kills me from miles away. Story of my life. Also, looking at your own shadow is freaking awesome!
0:20 Match 2 over. Four kills. NOT LAST place! Aiming seems kind of important. Maybe I should work on that. Stop calling me a killjoy, game!
0:30 It occurs to me that the other people playing this game in the middle of the day probably have enough free time to put in a lot more practice than I have. Thus I rationalize yet another crappy performance.
0:40 The feeling of zooming in on a guys face and putting a sniper bullet between his eyes as he charges blindly towards you is not to be undersold.
0:50 My singular goal in life is now to kill someone with the spartan laser.
1:00 After years in the dark, I finally understand the big deal about dual wielding. It got me three freaking kills in a row, and six total! I'm almost a pro!

Would I play this game for more than an hour: Maybe.
Why? Still gotta get that laser kill, but I can't see myself putting in the hours to actually become good enough to hold my own at multiplayer.

This review is based on an early multiplayer public beta version of the game.