Remotes 'N' Dice

I’ve been trying to get my head wrapped around my own story arc here and yeah, you can probably guess it hasn’t been going to so well. Won’t bore you with excuses, just know that I am doing what I can to get the creative juices flowing again and part of that is doing little side projects like my parody cover art for Duke Nukem. I’ve included a smaller size version here but if you want a larger version for your desktop or such, head over to my deviantart gallery and you’ll find the full size there for your viewing pleasure!

As you are no doubt aware by a recent comic, I’ve been involved in the Halo Reach Beta along with every XBL gamer who purchased Halo ODST or you know.. won a raffle online. Being a fan of the Halo series in general (I enjoy sci-fi shooters) it wasn’t at all a difficult choice to try the beta. Now I’ll admit that whe I first heard about Reach I was skeptical, I really liked the story to ODST but I was worried that it was just going to be Halo3 all over again with no changes to how multiplayer is conducted… I was wrong.

I am very happy to say to those of you who have not been able to try the beta, that Halo Reach, should it maintain the course it is currently on will (in my own opinion) be the greatest thing to ever come out of the Halo Franchise and perhaps even the best of sci-fi shooters and yes I’m going to back up my hype.

To kick it off, Bungie has finally made GOOD use of the level up/ranking system in the Halo multiplayer. Instead of just gaining experience for wins and gets a pretty label, you now gain credits which can be put towards armour upgrades which change both the appearane of your Spartan and as well your effectiveness with given class types. Being only the Beta there are only a few options currently available but assuming they add more for the final release, I seriously think the days of the Skull hunt are out numbered.

As for the weapons of the Halo Universe? Many are seeing a return with the addition of new and rather dangerous ones as well. You’ll find that the Grav-Hammer is no longer as brutal as being hit by the super hero Thor but at at the same time, you’ll discover that the pistol is making a serious return with scope function and nasty head shot potential! What was once the Plasma Rifle and Battle Rifle got a serious over haul in both apperance and effectiveness. I find that the PR is extactly what I wanted in it, a rapid firing assault weapon, perfect for a charge in while the BR makes better use of its scope function and while I think packs a better punch! I do not recall the names of the weapons but there is also a charge up, lock on multi-shot missile launcher which is possibly the most bad ass looking thing when it fires AND there is also a gun which may not be as bad ass for the firing to see BUT seeing its beam of intense energy fly across the map and anhilate an enemy in mid leap? The Spartan Laser has nothing on this thing.

Another wonderful little tweak that has been put into the game is the new finisher melee moves. Unlock in past installments where to mele was simple a butt of a gun to the opponent. Now if you are behind the enemy you can shank them AvP style! And it’s not just one type of take down, depending on what is going on and what Spartan class you play seems to change the finisher. Knife in the back, snapping the neck, crushing under your boots and throwing to the ground from mid flight are ones I’ve come across!

Speaking of classes, while hopefully you’re already aware of the options by now, I’ll take a moment to quickly illustrate how awesome each one can be.

Scout: You gain the ability to back into a charge and cover ground real fast. Honestly this is something Master Chief should have had from the get go but I’m glad its finally available. Especially for games like capture the flag, being able to barrel past a fire fight and take the flag by surprise is a beautiful thing. It’s also incredibly useful for closing the gap should you wish to assasinate an opponent with the beam sword, grav-hammer or you know.. just to shank them with your combat knife.

Guard: The gain the ability to go into armour lock and protect yourself with an impenetrable shield. As time progresses it intensifies until overload and sends out a burst of energy knocking back and damaging all foolish to stay too close. It’s not always the most practical since you can’t hold a flag while using it (items drop) but it sure is useful for saving your life when you’re shields are down and a beam sword weilding enemy is charging at you! I’ve actually used this ability to knock back a foe and kill him because the energy blast wipes out the enemy shields, handy if used well!

Stealth: The cloaking device is now yours from the get go. Like all the class powers, it has a time limit for how long it can be used but recharges rather quickly AND acts as a scrambler when active, making it incredibly hard for enemies to find you via movement trackign on radar. Definitely a neat change of pace for those abilites.

Arial: The jet pack has come to Halo and it’s been so well done. For those who played Star Wars Battlefront 2, think of that jet pack. Its quick to use, easy in controls and provides a stable enough platform to reign death from above! It’s also good for hunting down flag carrying enemies and quickly escaping death from a grav-hammer! and yes… brings a whole new depth to tea bagging.

Over all, Reach so far has me really impressed. The new class options, weapon changes and finishers really breath new life into the franchise and it couldn’t happen at a better time. For those like myself who tire of the ‘realistic’ military FPS’s that are something of a plague these days, it’s reassuring to know that Sci-Fi’s shooters still have a place in the world of gaming and with any luck.. with come back with a vengence thanks to Bungie!