Other than that, I have to say that I really like the Beta so far. I used to not be a fan of class-based shooters, but in recent years, I've started to warm up to them. I really like Halo: Reach's class system, since it doesn't actually affect the weapons you start with (at least not at this point). Instead, it just determines which secondary abilities you have, something that I happen to love. There has never been anything in the Halo series as satisfying as cruising around on a jetpack while raining grenades down on the earth below. I can't say that the other classes are quite as exciting for me. The Stalker is fairly cool, as he can go mostly invisible, although Active Camo has never been all that useful in any Halo game. The other two classes strike me as being a little boring. Running is just passe at this point, and the Guard class confused me more than anything else.

Now, that's just the Spartan side of things. When playing as a Covenant character, it seemed that both classes have the same secondary action (a shoulder charge), but start with different guns. I suppose that this is okay, although after jet-packing around as the Airborne class, I really had no interest in staying grounded with as a Covenant. I hope that these sorts of balancing issues aren't a problem when the final game hits, as I can't imagine people choosing anything other than Airborne after the first few games. All in all, though I'm not the hugest Halo fan, I am a fan of jetpacks. I'm pretty much sold on Halo: Reach at this point.

Andre Segers, Co-Founder/Editor

Well, not to be contrary to the contrarian, but I actively detest most class-based shooters and was perplexed after hearing of their implementation in Reach. After playing around for a few hours with the Beta, though, I believe they instill a much needed breath of fresh air and depth to the aging Halo gameplay. Granted, my favorite class by now is, without question, Airborne (because of the jetpacks, you see) but I can imagine the others growing on me as I become more familiar with their nuances. Speaking of which, I just want to say that I really, really enjoy using the jetpack. It takes Halo's floaty jumps and physics to the logical extreme and is ridiculously fun as a result.

I'm a bit disappointed that only two levels are currently playable, particularly as neither features vehicles--a shame, as the vehicles are perhaps my favorite part of Halo. But it's clear that the core Halo gameplay is as fun as ever. The new weapons, such as the Covenant's Focus Rifle, feel unique and powerful. Perhaps my biggest complaint is that the default control-scheme actually mirrors Halo 1's controls instead of Halo 3's--luckily, this can be (mostly) remedied by switching them to "Recon."

Micah

Yeah, I had trouble with the default control scheme as well. Initially, I thought that I wouldn't have trouble just because I've played so much Borderlands over the past 6 months, that I've forgotten how Halo 3 controlled anyway. Imagine my surprise when the alteration of a few simple button presses threw me for a complete loop. I also found myself switching the controls to "Recon" in order to actually pull off a successful melee attack. Oh, and I still don't know what button changes grenade types...

I definitely agree with your assertion, Eduardo, that adding classes to shooters makes for more well-defined roles in any given match, although there is so little strategy employed in your average Halo match-up that it almost feels like wasted effort. People aren't communicating mid-match about the optimal class to respawn as. Instead they're throwing the same racial epithets that they have been for years, and reveling in their ignorance. I almost feel like if Bungie had just seen fit to add the jetpacks and none of the other classes, that I would have been just as happy with the title ultimately. Let that be a lesson to you, everyone. Jetpacks are awesome.

I think that folks are just playing around and figuring things out before they start coordinating and creating a team that works best for them. Nothing here has been thrown in haphazardly. There's a lot of thought put into these new elements, and they're bringing a whole slew of options to the game whether you like it or not, and it's a great move. While playing the game, I found myself taking different roles based on the class I was using, and if I didn't like it, I would switch it up until I found something that worked for me, and that's not a phenomenon that happened in past Halo titles. Just based on my time with the game thus far, I'm pretty sure there's a lot more going on here than meets the eye, and once folks delve deeper into what's there and learn the nuances to the new elements, it's going to be a whole new experience. At least to the Halo universe.

And yes, jetpacks are awesome.

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