Let us not forget the new and improved Warthog. Not including the glossier finish, the turret on the back is much more accurate and isn’t difficult to negotiate around targets. Previous games in the series saw a turret that was difficult to operate because of the slow turn radius and mediocre accuracy. With the improvements it’s now possible to easily and efficiently take out an enemy target.

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Turrets in general have had the same issue solved, as well as a bonus feature, one which was also planned for Halo 2: detachable turrets. Yes, now it is possible to carry a turret and fire it for a short period, although the rate of fire is slower and it will run out of ammunition to fire. It also uses the third person POV.

The real tickler though for the beta are the three maps. Valhalla, High Ground, and Snowbound really bring to life the surroundings beyond any other multiplayer game around. The landscapes are textured beautifully and just from looking at the beta, it looks like a finished project.

Another huge improvement is the matchmaking screen, which allows players to do basically whatever they want without returning to the main screen. They can stay in a room and change their settings, colors, and do whatever they like. It’s possible to even use a room as a theater and play saved games for those in the room.

The theater itself is lacking many things, most likely because the functionality just wasn’t put in yet, but it is still possible to save games completely and upload them to other people. Currently, it isn’t possible to upload recorded games to the 360 dashboard, but the full game is expected to have that functionality.

There are some issues to deal with though, all of which should be posted on the Halo 3 beta forum on Bungie.net. It is expected that thousands of people will be participating in the beta in the following week, so please make sure that anything you see wrong is documented somewhere on that forum. It isn’t often that such a large group of people get to beta test a game, and even though there isn’t payment for this, there really is. Playing in itself is enough. So make sure to keep a pad and paper nearby to help make Halo 3 the best it possibly can.

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