Noble Team, we’re into the final countdown. The Halo: Reach public multiplayer beta goes live and loud on Monday at some time that hasn’t actually been specified yet, but expect it around midday or so. That gives you the entire morning to call in sick, stock up on Red Bull, chips, and original insults, and get your quads all oiled up for two weeks of furious teabagging. And maybe get some Vaseline on your face for the same reason.
ZOMG, so how do I get in on this, because it’s obviously going to be totally awesome?
A copy of Halo: ODST is your ticket to ride my Focus Rifle beam, baby. On Monday, the Halo: Reach beta will become available as a download from the game’s main menu. Conveniently enough, Take2 is currently pushing Halo: ODST at a negligible R354. Go go go!
How big is this download going to be?
Apparently around 1.15 GB.
Does it have split-screen?
Why, yes it does. Although the beta won’t include support for offline custom games or system link play, you’ll be able to go 4-way split-screen in all online matchmaking game types except for Generator Defense, which is locked at two players per box for some reason. But whyyyyyyy no local multiplayer?
“We’re working with software that’s in an unfinished state and to ensure that we’ll be getting the right data and the best feedback, we need to make sure that you and all your friends are deployed right where we need you,” say the guys who know what they’re talking about over at Bungie. “So, we’ll be rolling out different playlists in accordance with those needs and making the necessary adjustments on the fly.”
Like Halo 3, your chums won’t be needing LIVE Gold subs either. Take the opportunity to convert the heretics, unbelievers, and other entirely undeserving friends you have, and keep assassinating them without telling them how it’s done.
What about the Theater?
Oh, that’s in too. Don’t forget to take snaps of you assassinating your friends, and mailing them over.
So what’s going down?
Most of the regular Halo 3 fare – Slayer, Crazy King, Oddball – as well as a returning Halo 2 favourite, Three Plots. Then there’s the new stuff – Headhunter, Invasion, and Generator Defense. Bungie’s expecting something stupid like three million players, so there should be no shortage of available games in any of the playlists.
Oh, and it’s a beta, remember
“Since we’re still all kinds of work in progress, it also means that in the most recent batch of screenshots, and in the Public Beta, you might come across a few rough edges here and there. For example, in current builds there’s a subtle application of Ambient Occlusion being layered into the scene that adds a nice touch of depth into each map’s nooks and crannies, but it’s not something that made the grade in time for the Beta or for our recent batch of screenshots.”
First person to fall through the map wins a prize! Maybe. Probably not.
See you rabble on the other end of my scope.
Also read Everything you need to know about the Halo: Reach beta
Team up with MyGaming forumites in our Halo Reach signup thread
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