Greetings all Elite and Spartans alike, welcome to the new Halo Reach Beta which some of you might have been playing a lot longer then the release date. I, myself just like some of you are a real Halo veteran, since the very beginning, dealing with the flood and wishing that freaking floating orb could be destroyed. If you have a beta key or obtained a copy of “Halo 3: ODST” then you are right now testing out the new features that should of been implemented a long time ago, but sometimes good things come to those that wait.

Check my first impressions after jump….

First question that came to many of you was, “What is the big difference in this game versus the others?”. Very simple, you will be able to have a much more enhanced form of combat which should be easier to get into for someone who hasn’t played all the Halos. In my opinion, this should have been a patch or some form of upgrade from Bungie. Granted the new game is based off the stories of the other Spartans and if they are following the books, it might be their last battle too (sorry for the spoiler). However for your viewing pleasure here is a video on one of my skirmishes, enjoy.

Here are the new features involved with Halo Reach Beta:

• Special Abilities: Armor Lock, Stalker, Rocket Pack, Dodge and Sprint
• Melee Takedowns: Sneak up on someone and give them a unique stealth kill.
• Modes: Stockpile, Invasion, Headhunter, and Generator Defense
• Veto System: Players now pick which map they want out of predetermine choices.
• “Credits” System: Earning Currency players will buy armor customization.
• Weapons: Needle Rifle, Plasma Launcher, Grenade Launcher,
• “Load outs” feature: A predefined choice of weapons at spawn.
• Maps: Powerhouse, Sword Base, Bone Yard & Overlook.

The list goes on but you’ll get the idea once you are in the beta. If you are a Halo Veteran, you can upload your videos and take snapshots of your battles if you are connected to Bungie.net to show off to your friends or just for fun.