IGN Video: Halo: Reach Xbox

Bungie's latest multiplayer effort is gonna be epic to say the least. This blog is courtesy of IGN.

By Ryan Geddes April 21, 2010 - A public videogame beta is a beautiful and powerful thin the point when a development studio blows the airlock on a multi-million dollar years-long project and delivers it for testing to a fan base both ravenous and skeptical. Part demo and part research project, a beta brings players and creators in closer contact than at any point in a project's development cycle. I'm a big believer in public betas as the best way to create a stellar multiplay experience, and Bungie is planning to go big when it opens Halo:Reach up for public testing next month. IGN Video: Halo: Reach Xbox 360 Trailer - Multiplayer Trailer

I recently dropped by Bungie Studios to take an early look at what's in store for Halo fans next month, and I'll fill you in on what I've seen in just a bit. But first, a quick primer on what Reach is and what's involved in the beta. The madness starts on May 3 for those with a copy of Halo 3: ODST, the standalone Halo 3 expansion that was released in September 2009. When the magic date rolls around, you'll see the Halo: Reach beta option pop up in ODST's extras menu. Download it, launch it through ODST, and you're in. Through matchmaking, custom games or system link, you'll have four multiplayer maps to explore when the beta launches. In addition to classic Halo multiplayer game types including Slayer and Free-for-all, Reach introduces a number of new modes, four of which will be playable in the beta. Some of what you'll see will be instantly familiar, but make no mistake,  a lot has changed.

The world of Reach is brutal and unforgiving. Just ask the millions of people who died there when the Covenant attacked it in 2552. Actually, you can't ask them, because they're dead. And fake. But you get the idea. In the Halo universe, Reach was humanity's most important colonial outpost. In some ways it had, in fact, become more important than Earth itself. The Spartan program was born there, and Master Chief John-117 grew up there. When it fell, it fell hard, under gargantuan glowing spirals of overheated plasma. At the end, Reach was a mean, dangerous place. And so is the Halo: Reach beta. the end, Reach was a mean, dangerous place. And so is the Halo: Reach beta. Consider the Covenant Plasma Launcher, one of the new power weapons available in Halo: Reach. Picture a hammerhead shark, squeezed and molded into a streamlined armful of metallic alien polymer. Its cartilaginous protuberances have been repurposed into trigger, stock, scope and muzzle. It's missing the shark's organic glisten, but it's just as dangerous. protuberances have been repurposed into trigger, stock, scope and muzzle. It's missing the shark's organic glisten, but it's just as dangerous. Fire the trigger once and it launches a sticky plasma grenade at its target. Hold the trigger down, and more grenades (up to four) will be added to the launch queue. Let them fly, and they'll gently track to the poor sap caught between its crosshairs. It's a gun you'll want to keep your eye on. And it's not the only one. The Covenant Focus Rifle is equally nightmarish. A cross between the Beam Rifle and a Forerunner Sentinel laser beam, it fires a stream of pink death across the map, slicing and dicing as it goes. the only one. The Covenant Focus Rifle is equally nightmarish. A cross between the Beam Rifle and a Forerunner Sentinel laser beam, it fires a stream of pink death across the map, slicing and dicing as it goes. But the Covenant aren't the only ones with deadly new toys. Spartans go into battle with the Grenade Launcher, a new addition to the UNSC arsenal that hurls, well, grenades. But there's a twist. Hold down the trigger and the projectile will stay dormant where it lies, primed for explosion. Release the trigger at an opportune moment and it goes blammo at your beck and call, throwing out an electromagnetic pulse blast for good measure.

In addition to new weapons like these, the Needle Rifle, and others, there are also re-tooled blasts from the Halo past making their appearance in Reach. The Designated Marksman Rifle is the UNSC replacement for the Battle Rifle(thank the Ancients), and it's a headshot magnet in experienced hands. The Magnum is also back, and it's better than ever. Five steady, well-timed body shots with this little hand cannon will get you a satisfying kill. It's deadlier than it looks. Respect it. than it looks. Respect it. With all these new boomsticks lying about, you're going to need some protection. But rather than armor your Spartan up even more than he was in Halo 3, Bungie has gone back in the Halo: Combat Evolved direction. That's right, health packs are back. In Halo: Reach, when your shields get whittled down to nothing, your health bar will start to chip away. The only way to restore it is to find a wall-mounted health pack (similar to Halo 3: ODST) and shake it off, Marine. There are two bright spots in the health-and-wellness realm. First, your shields are still regenerative and they're a bit heartier against melee attacks than in Halo 3. A smack from behind will still net a kill so long as your target's shields are down. Second, the armor you take into battle is imbued with special characteristics, depending on which loadout you choose.

Ok is anyone else drooling yet, I'm is!! Check out the article in full here>  Halo:Reach

Also smell the Multiplayer trailer here>  Reach!!