Hailing Halo

by ERIK LEIJON

It might seem excessive to devote this week’s column to a demo, especially when there are plenty of real games to talk about, but Halo is the Lindsay Lohan of gaming—every little bit of news begs to be overanalyzed. After having two weeks to digest the Halo 3 multiplayer beta (X360/Microsoft, Bungie), I still feel like I’m hanging with a celebrity every time I boot it up. There’s a sense of cultural importance when playing the new Halo because when it finally comes out this September, the amount of revenue it will generate opening day will make Spider-Man 3’s first weekend look like a dud by comparison.

You’ll have to use your imagination when playing the skin-and-bones three-level multiplayer beta, but when the demo hints at greatness, one can’t help but get excited. It currently looks like a souped-up version of Halo 2, so expect the visuals to be tightened considerably in the upcoming months. On the High Ground stage, walking up from the beach reveals some beautiful lighting effects never before seen in a Halo title. Other tricks, such as the bubble shields and laser beams, demonstrate how Bungie is updating the classic Halo artistic style. The Spartan laser looks like a giant death ray and, after a healthy charge, unleashes an incredible light beam that instantly kills your enemy. The laser alone is reason to get pumped.

Since the demo only consists of multiplayer team and solo modes, jumping into a ranked contest was extremely convenient. Each player is ranked by an experience-level number and a military badge to indicate skill-level. The demo tries to match you with similarly ranked players, but invariably every game has its share of newbies and experts.

The reason Halo has become such a phenomenon is the multiplayer, specifically the painstaking detail that goes into level-design (at this time I shall direct you to the documentary on the making of the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack). The three levels here, High Ground, Snowbound and Valhalla, can amazingly play as both large and tight stages. On High Ground, one can sit in the bushes near the beach and snipe foes, or one can enter the bunker and blast away in close quarters. Valhalla has open green spaces with rocks to hide behind, but the best fights occur in the reservoir under the large rock.

The controls have also been revamped to better suit the 360 controller and truly make an intuitive system even more enjoyable. Different types of grenades can be chosen easily with the left bumper, and the right bumper handles reloading and vehicle boarding. New items can be picked up and used with the X button. The aforementioned bubble shield creates a half-domed force field capable of withstanding gunshots (although grenades appear to break through), and the portable grav lift provides a Lee Majors-type jump when needed. The power drainer and trip mines are the other available items.

I do have three problems with the demo. First, there aren’t enough items in each level; they add an exciting dynamic to the game that I wanted to explore further. Second, the mongoose ATV’s are completely useless on High Ground, and anyone who feels compelled to ride one is flirting with doom. Third, the fundamental gameplay change, which I didn’t mind too much (being a former Unreal Championship-junkie), is the over-exaggerated jumping physics. Jumping has always been an effective evasion technique, but now that Master Chief can hop 10 feet in the air, it’s seemingly the only useable strategy.

You’ll need a copy of Crackdown to participate in the beta, which runs until June 10.