Sunday, May 20, 2007

This is the big one, folks. For gamers, the Halo franchise is like Windows Vista, the Godfather movies, and the Kennedy assassination all rolled up into one: Endlessly fascinating to fans of these games, Halo 3 is the latest and, some say, last entry in the vaunted Halo series, and it's coming out on September 25, 2007. But this week, we got the next best thing: A semi-public beta of three Halo 3 multiplayer maps. These maps showcase new graphics capabilities, weapons, and other game features, and they're only available for a short time. Depending on your take on this beta, your reaction is either a very muted, "well, that looks an awful lot like Halo 2 to me" or a decidedly less muted, "OHMYGOD OHMYGOD OHMYGOD OHMYGOD OHMYGOD!!!" Frankly, it's really just somewhere between those two extremes, but far more positive than negative.

If there's a serious problem with the multiplayer beta, it's that we can only play the game temporarily: The beta is set to end June 10. I better keep going then. Highly recommended.

Labels: Video games, Xbox 360