Halo 3 [X360]

Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta Gameplay Footage

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Microsoft held press events in both New York and San Francisco, allowing members of the press to play online against hordes of people handpicked for the game's beta testing trials. In San Francisco, the game writers packed in to a fashionable theater in the city's Mission district to play one of about 20 Xbox 360s linked to giant screen TVs.

It was a wonderful first look, but anyone expecting a revolution will be sorely disappointed. "We made a lot of refinements," Bungie's level designer Lars Bakken says. "But we're not going to reinvent Halo."

The first-person shooter's look and feel will be instantly recognizable to players. For the beta testing, three maps are included for play. The first, Snowbound, offers a cheery white hell for players to wreck; this map is dominated by two alien superstructures connected via a series of underground tubes. Translucent shield barriers guard the entrances to these structures, allowing combatants passage into and out of them, but preventing both gunfire and explosions from harming players on the other side. On this stage it's also possible to note automated gun turrets lining the perimeter of the battlefield. The message here is clear: Pass beyond these guns and it's very likely game over...

A second map, called High Ground, offers a more compact experience set amid the ruins of an ancient human installation. Here, choke points dominate the terrain, making it essential to use grenades and close-combat weaponry against the opposition. In this stage, players can drive the new Mongoose All-Terrain Vehicle, an undersized and weaponless four-wheeler whose sole virtue seems to be its zippiness. Already the sour pundits have derisively dubbed this "the deathcycle" as its rider seems destined for little more than a pine box -- especially in such a close-quarters as High Ground.

The last map is known as Valhalla, and perhaps its coolest feature is a jet-powered lift that can propel soldiers and vehicles up and out across great distances. Developer Bungie calls these "Man Cannons," and it's extremely cool to use one to vault up and over the battlefield, quickly zoom in with a sniper rifle and, while airborne, potshot some sucker. Valhalla is perfect for these cannons; it's a rather wide open space with a huge river cutting the land mass in two. There's plenty of room to maneuver here, and vehicles largely dominated the play on this particular stage.

Loads of new weapons and tools littered the battlefields, such as spike grenades which stick to walls and send out powerful blasts; and bubble shields, which surround the player in a barrier for a short period of time. Bakken says Bungie's also added a whole new class of weapons to the mix, too. He refers to these as support weapons, and they can be taken from fixed batteries; players use a melee attack to rip these weapons from their bases and can use them to tear hell out of anyone unlucky enough to come into range. The drawback is, of course, these weapons slow a player down, and prevent him from using either melee attacks or grenades.

Multiplayer games support up to 16 players, and Bungie's included a host of modes for the beta testing including deathmatches and capture-the-flag-contests.

Sadly, none of the designers at Bungie were able to comment on the game's single-player campaign. Bakken would only note that Halo 3 marks the conclusion of the well-loved hero Master Chief's three-part story arc. "This is Halo's Return of the King," Bakken says.

But no matter. Multiplayer will satisfy the masses for the time being -- and then some.

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