On May 3, owners of Halo 3: ODST will get a chance to participate in the multiplayer beta for Bungie's next big game, Halo: Reach--a game that focuses on events that transpire before those that occur in Halo: Combat Evolved. We had the opportunity to get an early look at the beta to check out some of its features and match types that will be available when it goes live. But one thing we didn't get to experience was the improved matchmaking system that powers the beta (matches were set up manually at the event). "We tried to give players more control over having the best experience possible," says Brian Jarrard, community director at Bungie. "On the matchmaking side, you'll have the ability to toggle different types of criteria that will allow you to find the types of games that are most important to you. You'll be able to decide if connection speed is more important to you than anything else--if you want to find the best game possible. Or perhaps you're more concerned with finding someone that speaks the same language as you."
Bungie sheds more light on the upcoming Halo: Reach beta.
Another big change for matchmaking has to do with deciding what kind of matches you want to play. "If you recall in Halo 3, we throw you into a random map and a game type comes up," Jarrard explains. "If you don't like it, the majority can vote to veto that and then you'll get something mysteriously picked from the blue that you may or may not like that might be better or worse than what you just vetoed. In Reach, we're going to be a little more transparent about that. We're going to give people four voting options and you'll be able to pick right from the menu which map and [game] the majority of your group would like to play. So you'll be able to control what you like to play."
After a little more briefing about the matchmaking services, we jumped into some of the finer points of the beta's multiplayer combatants, Elites and Spartans. As you might suspect, the Elites in the Halo: Reach beta are quite formidable--not only are they physically larger than Spartans, but they're also slightly faster and can regenerate health by hiding behind cover. But both sides have access to one very important new feature called armor abilities. These special abilities are built into preset loadouts that you can select from at the beginning of a match or when you respawn. Elites and Spartans have race-specific armor abilities called evade and sprint, respectively. The Elites' evade armor ability functions pretty much as described as it allows them to do a quick tumble to get out of the line of fire or to move in quickly for a melee kill. Conversely, the Spartans' sprint armor ability gives them a quick boost of speed, but they can't fire while sprinting. Both are incredibly useful for getting out of a jam, but it's worth mentioning that all armor abilities can only function for a short amount of time (as indicated by a meter near the armor ability icon) and have a short cooldown period before you can use them again.
It is especially worthwhile to keep this in mind for the other armor abilities that are available to either side. A particular favorite--and one that changes Halo's gameplay more than any other ability--is the jetpack. For a brief amount of time, you can take to the skies and reign destruction down on those below you. At the same time, however, you can inadvertently make yourself a target for snipers if you try to fly straight up into the air and drain the jetpack high above ground because you'll run the risk of fall damage. We found that the jetpack is best suited as a superjump ability, making quick leaps to ledges and rooftops when the situation calls for it.
Another favorite is the active camo armor ability. This functions much like the active camo power-up found in previous Halo games, only your level of camo corresponds directly to how quickly you're moving. In other words, if you're running like you normally would with active camo turned on, then most of the other players on the map can easily see the distortion it causes on your character. But if you move slowly and stalk other players, it's much easier to remain undetected to eventually move in for an assassination, which pulls the camera out to a third-person perspective so you can get a good look at your character performing a special kill animation. The loadout that includes active camo and swords for Elites can be an incredibly effective combination for these kinds of situations.
The last of the armor abilities--called armor lock--can be useful but takes a little more skill to use effectively than the others. Armor lock makes you a stationary target, but it also grants you temporary invincibility. Of course, if you have three or four enemies firing on you at once, it may not seem all that useful, but the armor lock also charges an EMP blast, so it'll take out the shields of those around you, giving you a small chance to take some opponents down with you.
