Halo 3 beta notes

Some quick impressions from my limited beta play time:

Well, I uh, liked it... the maps are definitely cool, the graphics are already excellent (and likely to get better), the mongoose is a blast, the sentry guns keeping you inside the playing field is a fun touch, everything seems like "Halo"... all good.

The bubble shield is kinda gimmicky. it doesn't seem to be a big part of the game though.

The spiker gun is ok, basically a new needler but a little more powerful when dual wielding.  The needler is also back, so I guess they are supposed to be kinda different.  Dual spikers up close is pretty lethal.

I don't like the new assault rifle that much.  I am getting used to it though.  It's a lot better than spawning with an SMG and having to at least pick up a plasma rifle to dual wield with it to even have a prayer of survival.  Spawning with an assault rifle is much better.  Most of the maps so far have plentiful weapon spawns so you can always get a sniper, BR, or carbine if you know where to look.

The BR, carbine, sniper, brute shot, plasma pistol, plasma rifle, shotgun and rocket launcher are all back and about the same.

There are moveable turrets - ok, not great.  Hard to kill with and make you move very slowly.

There's a "missile pod" that I haven't figured out yet. it's big and should be powerful but I can't figure out how to kill anyone with it.

The man cannon is perfect for dropping you into the heat of the action.  It's a good touch to the game and useful for territories (more on that later).

The laser is awesome! I like this new weapon. I especially like when I am targeted, you get flashes of red "trace" on your screen so you are forewarned by about half a second to move the heck outta there!!!

my biggest complaints so far is that it is hard to see the weapon you run over to pick it up on your HUD. It is basically transparent (the indication to pick up a weapon, that is) so you have to know there is a weapon there or you may miss it. Hopefully it will be fixed soon.

New "X Button" devices:

Bubble Shield:  Fun to deploy, fun to look at, good for gaining just a couple extra seconds to heal.  But, beware of enemies camping outside your tent!  The bubble shield lasts a long time, so enemies with a sniper watching the bubble shield waiting for someone to emerge could have a long wait.  Also, there's not much point in waiting inside the shield once you deploy it. If you need to recharge your armor, you will likely be attacked inside the bubble shield if you were being followed. Or  you may just have an enemy pop his head in, drop a grenade, and wait to see what you do. I honestly think the shield is just a minor gimmick and not that big a deal.

Portable Gravity Lift: Now, the grav lift on the other hand, is way cool! You can storm a wall without having to go around the side of the base (on a map like High Ground). Very useful, very well executed imo, and a lot of fun to use.

New game types I have played:

Territories: Now there is a defending and an offending team (offensive? whatever...). You have like 7 territories to defend on defense, and the other team has a few minutes to steal as many of them as possible. Team multiplier is possible (default?) so get as many attackers on one territory as possible. The game is over when... well, I'm not really sure. The one time I played, we played 4 rounds I think. I guess you could end the game when one team gets a good enough lead though.

VIP: Sorta like Team Juggernaut. One guy on each team gets an automatic overshield and is the VIP. Each team tries to take out the other team's VIP while maintaining the safety of their own VIP. Good times.