Re: HALO 2 8/24 release, rumors, etc
Here's some news on the beta version of Halo 2 courtesy of the Xbox forums.
Halo 2 Beta
Maps
The build only had four maps. They were:
ZANZIBAR- The same as it was at E3. Really a well thought out and balanced map, and, to be brutally honest, puts maps like Blood Gulch to shame. Not much to say about it because we all already saw it at E3. The one thing is, getting the plasma sword isn't as hard as they make it seem.
MID SHIP- A level taking place on a covenant battle ship. Mostly a round map, it has plenty of different height elevations that allow for sneaky tactics, especially in CTF. A main platform in the middle holds a new weapon, witch I will get to later.
IVORY TOWER- I don't really get Ivory Tower, it seems to be some sort of an enclosed greenhouse or park. It has elevator type platforms, something that was missing from Halo:CE MP maps. It also has powerful air vents that if you walk over will send you soaring through the air to the level above. Those are an excellent way for avoiding death and turning the tables on your attacker.
WATERWORKS- You can all see the waterworks screenshots, and it is really, really huge. It has all of the known vehicles: Tanks, 'Hogs, Ghosts, and Banshees. This map truly is gigantic, and you need at least 10 people. In the middle of the map is a giant crevice that you can fall down (and die) and fly banshees down (and live, but nothing is there). The bases have an assortment of weapons and a stationary gun turret with a good field of fire.
Weapons
SMG- Not as bad as it looks. It will definitely satisfy people who are missing the ol' assault rifle because of its large clip size, but that little baby packs a punch. Two SMGs can take kill a person in about one or two seconds. Watch out for that one.
SHOTGUN- Back and badder then ever. It has a slightly new look, very sexy if you ask me. The reload rate is a little slower, but it makes up for it with it's powerful attack.
SNIPER RIFLE- Guess what it has? RECOIL WOOT WOOT! There is a slight recoil when you shoot it, making it difficult to kill people as easily. Finally, sniping in that game will take a little more skill then before. The bullet trail is still there, and it sports a new, slicker look. It's scope is round instead of square, and the rifle itself is more streamlined.
ROCKET LAUNCHER- Not much to be said here. It's a little bigger then it was before, and fires slightly faster. Target tracking isn't as unfair as it seemed, it actually adds more balance.
BATTLE RIFLE- A fun and cool looking weapon. Much deadlier when it is scoped. Because it fires bursts unscoped, it can be more difficult to hit your target and I prefer the SMG for close quarters stuff.
NEEDLER- Fast. Deadly. Awesome. This gun will become a favorite very quickly. The needles are lightning quick and it fires much faster. SMG and Needler duel wielded is really really deadly.
PLASMA RIFLE- Not much to say, sports a new look and sound and doesn't freeze you as much when you are hit with it.
PLASMA PISTOL- Once again, not much has changed. New look and sound, still pretty useless.
BEAM RIFLE- OMG OMG OMG new weapon! The covenant Beam Rifle is the equivalent to the human Sniper Rifle. It has the same scope power, two times and ten times scope. The main difference is that like all other Covie weapons, it does not have to reload. This allows you to stay scoped as long as you want. It has 100 charges and drains 4 charges with each shot, so you do the math. However, it does overheat, and will do so after two rapid succession shots. If you have patience though, you can keep up a steady stream of shots without overheating.
BRUTE SHOT- Another new weapon, it is the Brute rifle. Not really a rifle though, more of a grenade launcher. I didn't use it that much, the only map it was on was Mid Ship. That, and it wasn't very good. It fires grenades that bounce around, so it is hard to hit your target. Still cool though.
ENERGY SWORD- Don't mess with the best 'cause the best don't mess. That pretty sums up the energy sword. If you see someone coming at you with it, back away and empty every clip of every weapon you have into them, because it is deadly. Once they get a good lock on you, pressing R will do the lunge attack and one hit kill you back to Halo 1. I have lovingly dubbed it the "n00b stick" to go along with it's other n00bish partner, the n00b cannon, or rocket launcher.
Differences and new stuff
-You can jump higher
-You seem to throw grenades a little shorter
-You can see your feet
-You see your shields spark and crackle when they are taken down, and you see a ring similar to the one at the beginning of PoA when they recharge
-All weapons have more than one melee attack
-When scoped in with any weapon, it has an ammo count in the scope to tell you how much is left.
-All weapons aside from scoped weapons have binoculars.
-Hijacking vehicles is hard but awesome. And I mean awesome. It's like knifing some one on Counter Strike.
-When in the warthog passenger seat, it is a third person view instead of FP, making it much easier to aim.
-The warthog handles better, and the right trigger is a horn and the left is a brake. It DOES NOT have a boost.
-The Ghost is still awesome and has unlimited boost.
-One strange thing I noticed was that there is no fall damage, but that is probably just the beta.
-The HUD is completely different. The health bar is now vertical, and is above your radar in the lower left hand corner. Your right-handed weapon has taken the health bars previous spot, and the left-handed weapons info is in the upper left hand corner. You also can see what your reserve weapon is. In the bottom right hand corner is a score keeper, a red bar and a blue bar that show the difference between kills, flag captures, etc. This allows you to quickly check the score without having to press back.
-There is no more health. Once your shields go out, you can take three or four more shots, but there is nothing to indicate how much health you have left.
-Frag grenades don't look like pineapples anymore.
-You move slower while carrying the bomb or flag, and must hold x to pick them up.
-Spartans and Elites grunt in pain when they are it with no shields up.
-Halo 2 will support four people on one Xbox for LIVE play. All at the same time. In case you didn't hear me, I just said FOUR PEOPLE ON LIVE AT THE SAME TIME ON THE SAME BOX! How awesome is that?
-There is no flashlight button. It is now a teamspeak button.
New Gametypes
SWORDS- Yes, there is a swords only game type. 'Nuff said.
ASSUALT- This is not like the assault with flags. This one is done with bombs. It is a lot like bomb maps on CS. One team is on defense, while the other is on offense. Some one on the offensive team must pick up the bomb, which is like flag in that you can melee with it but can't carry it and use guns at the same time. The offensive team must then escort the bomb bearer to the defensive teams base, plant the bomb, and prevent the enemy from defusing it. You defuse by simply standing on the bomb. After the round is over, the teams switch roles, like one flag CTF. It is really an awesome gametype.
Rumors killed or confirmed
-You CANNOT drive any vehicles while carrying the flag or bomb.
-You CANNOT duel wield plasma swords.
-The flag and bomb DO slow you down.
-There IS NO DIFFERENCE aside from appearance between Spartans and elites in MP.
-There is NO health meter.
Weapons
COVENANT CARBINE- I never found this before because it is hidden on both Midship and Ivory Tower. Why is it hidden? Well, I'll tell you. It is probably the best gun in the game. It basically is the equivalent to the battle rifle, only better. It always fire single shot, but you can hold down the trigger. This way it is like shooting a machine gun with a decent rate of fire through a scope. Also, it doesn't overheat, it fire cartridges. That little flower thing on top is the clip. It has a 20 shot clip.
MAGNUM- So there it is. The pistol. I hope all you pistol crazy people are happy, it's there. Honestly though, what game doesn't have a pistol? It HAS been toned down though. I couldn't tell about the amount of damage it did, but it only has a ten shot clip and no scope. It still has the same shape as before, but it is completely black.
Vehicles
SCORPION TANK- There it is, it also is back. It is the exact same thing as before, except it's main weapon has a faster rate of fire, and cooler explosion effects. It also moves on an independent axis from it's turret. Now you can "strafe" so to speak with a tank. Also, it doesn't take any vehicle damage. I spent 5 minutes shooting it with every weapon, including another tank and it didn't leave a scratch.
BANSHEE- The Banshee also is the same, except for a few minor performance upgrades. It can strafe, that is a big improvement. It also doesn't have a fuel rod god, that was replaced with the boost. It CAN be hijacked.
Stuff to note
-Vehicles damage is highly case sensitive, and you can't shoot out the tires of a warthog
-The SMG target reticle is the same as the AR from Halo:CE.
-Elite hands look funny, our clan HAS to be Spartans.
-The Elite HUD is purple.
-No melee while duel wielding.
Kruza
(Edit: Hard to read in Cyan color)
Here's some news on the beta version of Halo 2 courtesy of the Xbox forums.
Halo 2 Beta
Maps
The build only had four maps. They were:
ZANZIBAR- The same as it was at E3. Really a well thought out and balanced map, and, to be brutally honest, puts maps like Blood Gulch to shame. Not much to say about it because we all already saw it at E3. The one thing is, getting the plasma sword isn't as hard as they make it seem.
MID SHIP- A level taking place on a covenant battle ship. Mostly a round map, it has plenty of different height elevations that allow for sneaky tactics, especially in CTF. A main platform in the middle holds a new weapon, witch I will get to later.
IVORY TOWER- I don't really get Ivory Tower, it seems to be some sort of an enclosed greenhouse or park. It has elevator type platforms, something that was missing from Halo:CE MP maps. It also has powerful air vents that if you walk over will send you soaring through the air to the level above. Those are an excellent way for avoiding death and turning the tables on your attacker.
WATERWORKS- You can all see the waterworks screenshots, and it is really, really huge. It has all of the known vehicles: Tanks, 'Hogs, Ghosts, and Banshees. This map truly is gigantic, and you need at least 10 people. In the middle of the map is a giant crevice that you can fall down (and die) and fly banshees down (and live, but nothing is there). The bases have an assortment of weapons and a stationary gun turret with a good field of fire.
Weapons
SMG- Not as bad as it looks. It will definitely satisfy people who are missing the ol' assault rifle because of its large clip size, but that little baby packs a punch. Two SMGs can take kill a person in about one or two seconds. Watch out for that one.
SHOTGUN- Back and badder then ever. It has a slightly new look, very sexy if you ask me. The reload rate is a little slower, but it makes up for it with it's powerful attack.
SNIPER RIFLE- Guess what it has? RECOIL WOOT WOOT! There is a slight recoil when you shoot it, making it difficult to kill people as easily. Finally, sniping in that game will take a little more skill then before. The bullet trail is still there, and it sports a new, slicker look. It's scope is round instead of square, and the rifle itself is more streamlined.
ROCKET LAUNCHER- Not much to be said here. It's a little bigger then it was before, and fires slightly faster. Target tracking isn't as unfair as it seemed, it actually adds more balance.
BATTLE RIFLE- A fun and cool looking weapon. Much deadlier when it is scoped. Because it fires bursts unscoped, it can be more difficult to hit your target and I prefer the SMG for close quarters stuff.
NEEDLER- Fast. Deadly. Awesome. This gun will become a favorite very quickly. The needles are lightning quick and it fires much faster. SMG and Needler duel wielded is really really deadly.
PLASMA RIFLE- Not much to say, sports a new look and sound and doesn't freeze you as much when you are hit with it.
PLASMA PISTOL- Once again, not much has changed. New look and sound, still pretty useless.
BEAM RIFLE- OMG OMG OMG new weapon! The covenant Beam Rifle is the equivalent to the human Sniper Rifle. It has the same scope power, two times and ten times scope. The main difference is that like all other Covie weapons, it does not have to reload. This allows you to stay scoped as long as you want. It has 100 charges and drains 4 charges with each shot, so you do the math. However, it does overheat, and will do so after two rapid succession shots. If you have patience though, you can keep up a steady stream of shots without overheating.
BRUTE SHOT- Another new weapon, it is the Brute rifle. Not really a rifle though, more of a grenade launcher. I didn't use it that much, the only map it was on was Mid Ship. That, and it wasn't very good. It fires grenades that bounce around, so it is hard to hit your target. Still cool though.
ENERGY SWORD- Don't mess with the best 'cause the best don't mess. That pretty sums up the energy sword. If you see someone coming at you with it, back away and empty every clip of every weapon you have into them, because it is deadly. Once they get a good lock on you, pressing R will do the lunge attack and one hit kill you back to Halo 1. I have lovingly dubbed it the "n00b stick" to go along with it's other n00bish partner, the n00b cannon, or rocket launcher.
Differences and new stuff
-You can jump higher
-You seem to throw grenades a little shorter
-You can see your feet
-You see your shields spark and crackle when they are taken down, and you see a ring similar to the one at the beginning of PoA when they recharge
-All weapons have more than one melee attack
-When scoped in with any weapon, it has an ammo count in the scope to tell you how much is left.
-All weapons aside from scoped weapons have binoculars.
-Hijacking vehicles is hard but awesome. And I mean awesome. It's like knifing some one on Counter Strike.
-When in the warthog passenger seat, it is a third person view instead of FP, making it much easier to aim.
-The warthog handles better, and the right trigger is a horn and the left is a brake. It DOES NOT have a boost.
-The Ghost is still awesome and has unlimited boost.
-One strange thing I noticed was that there is no fall damage, but that is probably just the beta.
-The HUD is completely different. The health bar is now vertical, and is above your radar in the lower left hand corner. Your right-handed weapon has taken the health bars previous spot, and the left-handed weapons info is in the upper left hand corner. You also can see what your reserve weapon is. In the bottom right hand corner is a score keeper, a red bar and a blue bar that show the difference between kills, flag captures, etc. This allows you to quickly check the score without having to press back.
-There is no more health. Once your shields go out, you can take three or four more shots, but there is nothing to indicate how much health you have left.
-Frag grenades don't look like pineapples anymore.
-You move slower while carrying the bomb or flag, and must hold x to pick them up.
-Spartans and Elites grunt in pain when they are it with no shields up.
-Halo 2 will support four people on one Xbox for LIVE play. All at the same time. In case you didn't hear me, I just said FOUR PEOPLE ON LIVE AT THE SAME TIME ON THE SAME BOX! How awesome is that?
-There is no flashlight button. It is now a teamspeak button.
New Gametypes
SWORDS- Yes, there is a swords only game type. 'Nuff said.
ASSUALT- This is not like the assault with flags. This one is done with bombs. It is a lot like bomb maps on CS. One team is on defense, while the other is on offense. Some one on the offensive team must pick up the bomb, which is like flag in that you can melee with it but can't carry it and use guns at the same time. The offensive team must then escort the bomb bearer to the defensive teams base, plant the bomb, and prevent the enemy from defusing it. You defuse by simply standing on the bomb. After the round is over, the teams switch roles, like one flag CTF. It is really an awesome gametype.
Rumors killed or confirmed
-You CANNOT drive any vehicles while carrying the flag or bomb.
-You CANNOT duel wield plasma swords.
-The flag and bomb DO slow you down.
-There IS NO DIFFERENCE aside from appearance between Spartans and elites in MP.
-There is NO health meter.
Weapons
COVENANT CARBINE- I never found this before because it is hidden on both Midship and Ivory Tower. Why is it hidden? Well, I'll tell you. It is probably the best gun in the game. It basically is the equivalent to the battle rifle, only better. It always fire single shot, but you can hold down the trigger. This way it is like shooting a machine gun with a decent rate of fire through a scope. Also, it doesn't overheat, it fire cartridges. That little flower thing on top is the clip. It has a 20 shot clip.
MAGNUM- So there it is. The pistol. I hope all you pistol crazy people are happy, it's there. Honestly though, what game doesn't have a pistol? It HAS been toned down though. I couldn't tell about the amount of damage it did, but it only has a ten shot clip and no scope. It still has the same shape as before, but it is completely black.
Vehicles
SCORPION TANK- There it is, it also is back. It is the exact same thing as before, except it's main weapon has a faster rate of fire, and cooler explosion effects. It also moves on an independent axis from it's turret. Now you can "strafe" so to speak with a tank. Also, it doesn't take any vehicle damage. I spent 5 minutes shooting it with every weapon, including another tank and it didn't leave a scratch.
BANSHEE- The Banshee also is the same, except for a few minor performance upgrades. It can strafe, that is a big improvement. It also doesn't have a fuel rod god, that was replaced with the boost. It CAN be hijacked.
Stuff to note
-Vehicles damage is highly case sensitive, and you can't shoot out the tires of a warthog
-The SMG target reticle is the same as the AR from Halo:CE.
-Elite hands look funny, our clan HAS to be Spartans.
-The Elite HUD is purple.
-No melee while duel wielding.
Kruza
(Edit: Hard to read in Cyan color)
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