***

Name: Eric "rapture" Atkins

Outlet: The Hushed Casket

Title: Owner of the Hushed Casket network

Best New Feature: The deployable technology is a great new feature because it adds more tactics and enjoyment to the game. The new technology (like the Bubble Shield and portable Gravity Lift) are a joy to use. I only wish that they were more available while playing. Shadowrun, Live's first cross-platform game that connects Xbox 360 and PC players together in the same game, allows you to equip and play technology over and over while playing. It's addicting. I'm finding that I get to deploy technology in Halo 3 only once or twice a game. More tech please.

The saved films feature is a technical marvel. Being able to share saved films in a peer-to-peer type process on a console is amazing. Peer-to-peer file sharing on a console will inspire other game developers to think out of the box. However, I feel that I will only rarely use the feature in Halo 3.

Least Welcome Change: Having to press the D-pad for voice communication with your team is a minor annoyance. I would rather have each direction on the D-pad represent the button that selects a particular grenade (there are new grenades in Halo 3) and leave the left bumper to activate voice communication with your team. After all, our left index finger is usually idle. Our left thumb is usually active on the left thumbstick. You're probably going to talk more than switch your grenade type. Having to move your left thumb to the D-pad for voice comms is something that will happen frequently and I think it's unnecessary. Better yet, I'd rather team comms remain open and allow us to communicate without pressing any buttons (as in Gears of War).

Biggest Surprise: The biggest surprise in Halo 3 was the depth of the game customization menus which was not intended to be accessed by beta participants. (We broke the news here:  the menu is accessible if you join a party with someone with incompatible NAT router settings.) The ability to control the minute details in each game type will increase replay value and add many new layers to the game.

I would say that the second biggest surprise in the Halo 3 beta was how similar it was to Halo 2. In my opinion, there is very little gameplay change between Halo 2 and Halo 3. The changes in gameplay from Halo 1 to Halo 2 were quite large. I was expecting that drastic change again in Halo 3. I found that 90% of the time Halo 3 is played like Halo 2. That's not a bad thing because I certainly enjoyed Halo 2's gameplay. It is still the most popular console shooter and for good reasons. However, this is not what some were expecting or hoping for. I guess if it's not broke, why fix it?

Weapon of Choice: The Spartan Laser is my favorite new weapon. It has a cool firing animation and emits red laser beams when fired, possibly alerting the target to incoming fire. More importantly, it packs a serious punch--destroying any vehicle it hits. It can even pass through multiple enemies for multiple kills. Unfortunately, it can only be fired a maximum of five times. When the Spartan Laser is exhausted, I'll be packing Halo 2 and Halo 3's go to weapon--the Battle Rifle.

Preferred Game Type: You mean besides 50 percent gravity and 300 percent running speed with Spartan Lasers only and infinite ammo? Then it would have to be Capture the Flag. It has always been Capture the Flag. No major changes to this game type. It's just what I like and it's a game type that hasn't changed much from the first Halo title.

Favorite Map: My favorite map is Valhalla. It is a gorgeous outdoor and symmetric map. The symmetry balances gameplay regardless of your spawn location. Valhalla is great for gamers that like to snipe, drive vehicles, or fly through the man cannons. This map makes the gamer think about which path he wants to take to get into the heat of the battle with its four man cannons, four Mongoose ATV's, two Warthogs, and small canyons and protected pathways to the middle of the map. Gamers that enjoy close range battles can find plenty of action by using the man cannons or simply running toward the middle of the map. Those that like medium-to-long range action can pick up one of the many Battle Rifles and find action quickly. It also has a Pelican crash site that factors into gameplay.

The three maps in the Halo 3 beta were quite large. Here's hoping that Halo 3 also has plenty of medium to small sized maps for fast-paced action.

Rank 'Em:

1. Halo multiplayer

2. Halo 3 multiplayer beta

3. Halo 2 multiplayer

I would rather play Halo than Halo 3 or Halo 2 because I prefer to play with the lethal M6D Pistol (three shot kills), fall damage, and a health system (versus the rechargeable shields found in H2 and H3).

I would rather play Halo 3 than Halo 2. Halo 3 is an improved version of Halo 2 with bug fixes and a few new and occasionally useful elements (the technology, the ATV, the man cannon).

However, there is no Xbox Live support in the original Halo. Halo 2 and 3 have a huge advantage there. That's why the Hushed Casket holds regular LAN parties: so that Halo 1 gamers can get their fix.

Did the Halo 3 multiplayer beta live up to your expectations?

The Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta absolutely lived up to my expectations. However, I had set very realistic expectations, and I wasn't expecting Halo 3 to emerge as the perfect game I would like it to be. Most importantly, it provides a solid and social multiplayer experience. I can easily party up with my friends and get matched with other parties of similar skill and game type interest. The interface is both slick and intuitive and allows me to easily mute the multitudes of gamers that, well, need to be muted.

The gameplay is good, as I expected, but far short of perfect. Many of the weapon balancing changes were welcome additions and positively contributed to gameplay, such as the changes to the battle rifle, carbine, and assault rifle, but there are many changes left undone that I think would provide a superior game. Bungie still hasn't figured out that Halo gamers don't want to spawn with an underpowered weapon. Despite its changes the Assault Rifle is still an underpowered weapon. Just like Halo 2 we spawn and then everyone races to the better weapons. This is where I could go into a gripe about the lack of return of the Halo 1 pistol, but I've finally accepted that it's not going to happen. It's my perception that hardcore gamers want a dominating weapon like the H1 pistol where as casual gamers don't. Bungie is marketing Halo 3 to casual gamers. They outnumber us. Fair enough. I don't like it, but I suppose you do what lines your pockets.

The maps are good, especially High Ground, but display the tendency to "go large" which started in Halo 2. When combined with a starting weapon like the AR I'm left thinking, "4v4 Team Slayer at Valhalla? Spawn with an AR? WTF?" The geometry is solid and displays plenty of variety in cover and landscape. The downed Pelican at Valhalla is a really interesting addition. Overall, I'm very pleased with map design. I simply wish that for every Valhalla or Containment (Halo 2) there was a Chill Out.

Finally, I think the graphics are more than up to the challenge of satisfying gamers. They're not as excellent as Gears of War or GRAW 2, but they are good enough. Graphics is a fun metric to compare games with, and certainly no one wants to play Halo 3 with character models from Virtua Fighter 2, but the gameplay makes the game. As long as the graphics are satisfactory for this generation, and they are, it will not be a limiting factor for Halo 3.

How has Gears of War influenced what you want out of Halo 3?

Gears of War is a much different game than the Halo series. Infinite respawns creates a totally different playing style than a round-based system with only one spawn per player. GoW certainly raised the bar for graphics, but I think it's unreasonable to expect that from every Xbox 360 title. In short, GoW didn't really change my expectations of Halo 3. It gave every game developer a new measuring stick for polygons, lighting, and textures, but the gameplay is so different that I don't think it's comparable to Halo 3. The one thing GoW does that Halo 3 doesn't is allow me to talk to my teammates without pressing any buttons. I was seriously disappointed that I have to fumble with the D-pad to communicate in Halo 3.

What are you hoping to see in the finished game?

I am eagerly anticipating the Halo 3 campaign. I hope it doesn't leave us hanging like Halo 2 did. I hope it's well written and brings closure to the Halo story that we've all been following since 2001. I also hope the campaign is worth playing multiple times. Co-op in campaign over Xbox Live will achieve this for me. Others:

• Online co-operative during the campaign
• The ability to aim the man cannons so that I launch in any direction
• Additional playable races in multiplayer like the Grunts and Brutes (and even the Hunters)
• Matchmaking game types that spawn me with a weapon I won't be looking to immediately drop
• "Always-On" team comms that don't require me to use the D-pad to communicate

***

Name: Tyler Bleszinski

Outlet: Gearheads of War

Title: Founder

Best New Feature: The equipment, not a doubt. I love the bubble shield and how it can change the dynamic of a firefight. 'Course if you have the shotgun and the bubble shield, you're pretty much invincible. The close second is the reintroduction of the assault rifle.

Least Welcome Change: The Spartan Laser and the detachable turret guns, simply because they are waaaaay overpowered. The weapon balancing is nearly perfect outside of these weapons.

Biggest Surprise: The Needler. It's actually a really fun and effective weapon now whereas it used to be completely useless in multiplayer.

Weapon of Choice: I like the Brute Spiker because I like to shoot and then finish someone off with the melee with the blades on the gun.

Preferred Game Type: VIP. It's a really cool idea that Gears of War tried to pull off with Assassination, but Halo 3 really seems to have nailed with the extra overshield and the fact that it rotates between players.

Favorite Map: Valhalla because I love to run the turret on the Warthog.

Rank 'Em: I haven't played very much of the original Halo in multiplayer, but because of the ridiculous combos of Halo 2, I'd say:

1. Halo 3 multiplayer beta

2. Halo 2 multiplayer

3. Halo multiplayer

I'm anxious to see some more maps, though.

Did the Halo 3 multiplayer beta live up to your expectations?

Honestly, I've never been a big Halo multiplayer guy. I know that seems weird because I love Xbox gaming and there is nothing larger in the Xbox universe than Halo, but I always loved the campaign portions of the Halo games because I became enamored with the story. I'm more anxious than anything to see how the Bungie guys wrap up the Master Chief story arc. That being said, the beta is a lot of fun and pretty much met my expectations without blowing me away. It's basically Halo on a next gen system. It's fun, frenetic and as usual, it's full of a lot of immature people calling others names. They made some significant upgrades without changing the basic feel of Halo multiplayer. The equipment is a great change. I love the maps they gave us to play with over the three weeks of the beta and the ability to customize your Spartan is pretty cool.

I am a bit disappointed that they didn't change at least something more in terms of the gameplay. I wouldn't have minded seeing an adoption of the cover system from Rainbow Six: Vegas or Gears of War or even an active reload addition, but I can also understand why Bungie would feel if it isn't broken, why fix it? At the same time, adding elements to the already exceptional gameplay would've really blown me away ad surpassed my expectations. That also doesn't mean that Bungie doesn't have something special planned for the final game which I'm hoping they will.

How has Gears of War influenced what you want out of Halo 3?

Apparently a lot of people see fit to complain about the graphics when talking about Halo 3 versus Gears of War. I think that's doing a disservice to both games. Halo 3 is going to have better graphics when it's released in September. Will it blow us away the way that Gears of War did? No, but that's more because Gears has a different art style than Gears and Halo needs to remain somewhat traditional in the art style it created for the original Xbox.

As I mentioned above, I would've loved to see the Halo 3 beta implement some kind of cover system or adopt the active reload from Gears, although it might not have still felt like Halo, so I can understand why they didn't. But even more than that, I would've loved to see Bungie ratchet up the gore when you kill an opponent. Nothing is quite as rewarding as killing one of your friends in Gears multiplayer and seeing them blow to pieces with the shotgun or head pop like a pineapple with the sniper rifle. And I didn't even mention the satisfaction you get from sneaking up on an opponent and chainsawing them into pieces. Halo's kills, by comparison, feel empty and  unrewarding. The opponent just drops limp to the ground. It might be a bit morbid and get Jack Thompson all excited to be wishing for more gore in games, but post-Gears, the Halo kills just feel like a ragdoll going limp. I also hope that the co-op play over Live is as great and as fun as the co-op in Gears. Four player co-op to complete Legendary difficulty will be legendary.

What are you hoping to see in the finished game?

I'm mostly interested in a fantastic campaign that answers so many questions that it raised. Will all the Halos be activated? Will the Master Chief wind up dying? What part does the fractured Covenant play and will we see Elites fighting alongside the humans? What will happen to Cortana? This is why I have my Halo 3 copy reserved. That and the co-op. It will definitely be a new experience and that's what I most excited about.

***

Name: Brian Crecente

Outlet: Kotaku

Title: Managing Editor

Best New Feature: The inclusion of equipment like the bubble shield, trip mine and portable gravity lift.

Least Welcome Change: The lack of change, if that makes sense.

Biggest Surprise: Man cannons.

Weapon of Choice: Detached turret machine gun

Preferred Game Type: VIP

Favorite Map: Valhalla

Rank 'Em:

1. Halo 3 multiplayer beta

2. Halo 2 multiplayer

3. Halo multiplayer

Did the Halo 3 multiplayer beta live up to your expectations?

No, but I had unreasonably high expectations. It's easy to forget that a franchise with such a strong following will most likely not mess with the formula. I had hoped for something that perhaps redefined console first-person shooters, but that's really not for Halo to do. They have a fan base and there's no reason for them to step outside of their box. The only surprises that can really be expected to come from Halo 3 will be in the game's yet-to-be-seen campaign.

How has Gears of War influenced what you want out of Halo 3?

I think it set me up to expect something a bit more gritty, more graphically impressive then what we've seen so far in the beta. Gears of War changed, in many small ways, the way we play first-person shooters on a console, and it's easy to fall into the trap of expecting all the games that follow it to follow in its footsteps.

What are you hoping to see in the finished game?

Better graphics first and foremost. This should be the game that shows off why you want an HDMI-out Elite Xbox 360 and so far it doesn't. I'd also love for them to tweak their matchmaking, a personal pet peeve of me. I hate that I can literally bring a book with me to the couch and make use of it when I play Halo 3 online. Finally, I want a satisfying end to a storyline that has had its ups and downs over the franchise's history.

***

Name: Geoff Keighley

Outlet:  Entertainment Weekly, Spike TV's Game Head

Title: Writer/Host

Best New Feature: The user film system

Least Welcome Change: The graphics

Biggest Surprise: That the graphics aren't better

Weapon of Choice: Sniper Rifle

Preferred Game Type: Territories

Favorite Map: High Ground

Rank 'Em:

I'll rank them in terms of wow factor when I first played them, not what order I'd play them in today

1. Halo 2 multiplayer

2. Halo multiplayer

3. Halo 3 multiplayer beta

Did the Halo 3 multiplayer beta live up to your expectations?

It's really tough to say, since the "multiplayer beta" sort of took on a life of its own. It became more of a mini-Halo 3 launch as opposed to a real technical and gameplay test. You really have to wonder if the multiplayer beta did anything to boost pre-orders?  Did it bring any new players into the Halo universe?  My sense is that the beta catered to the hard-core Halo crowd and that was about it.  Sure other folks sampled the beta, but I was thoroughly under whelmed by game's accessibility (or lack thereof).  You really had to know your way around the menu system and the Halo gameplay style to get a lot out of the experience.  So on that business level I would say the Halo 3 didn't live up to my expectations.

For those of us that played the beta, I think the user experience is pretty evenly split down the middle.  The hard-core Halo fans I've spoken with seem to enjoy the game. The party system and the addition of equipment are both welcome changes and they don't seem to mind technical issues like the lack of anti-aliasing.  The more casual Halo players (of which I am one) seem to have a different take on the beta. I admire Bungie's devotion to ensuring that the game plays well and is perfectly balanced. But the beta was a bit of a buzz kill for me. Graphically I was unimpressed and gameplay wise I found myself seldom using the equipment during gameplay.  I was honestly expecting a lot more in terms of innovation. And I wanted the game to feel fresh and next-gen. It didn't: the experience definitely felt like Halo 2.5.

Halo 3 is obviously going to be a very polished title and miles better than most FPS games out there. But while playing the beta, I sort of felt like I was in the middle of some fierce competitive gaming tournament as opposed to just enjoying a rich and engrossing multiplayer experience. Everything felt tuned for the hard-core Halo player. And while those players are important to satisfy, last night there were about 25,000 of them playing the beta during the final hours before it was shut off.   Solid if not spectacular, as Peter Moore might say.

How has Gears of War influenced what you want out of Halo 3?

I don't know if Gears specifically influences anything I want out of Halo 3. Gears has a different graphical style than Halo (and one that I prefer) but I think the reception to Halo 3 would have been pretty similar with or without Gears. There are a lot of other first person shooters out there that look a lot better than Halo.  Wait until people see Call of Duty 4 multiplayer. But Gears and Halo are different styles of multiplayer games so I find it hard to compare the two.

What are you hoping to see in the finished game?

I have sort of resigned myself to the fact that the final multiplayer game will be pretty similar in scope and style to the beta--unless, of course, this beta is actually based off much older code than we think.  My hope is that the single player campaign story mode makes better use of the equipment, features better graphics, and hopefully elevates the storytelling to a new level. I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not a huge fan of Bungie's lengthy cutscenes and how the actual in-game experience features little storytelling. (I much prefer the Half-Life model where the story unfolds through the player's eyes). Halo 3 will be huge no matter what, but the onus is on Bungie to really wow us at E3 and prove why the game deserves to sit atop the sales charts this fall.  I think they have at least a few surprises up their green-armored sleeves...

***

Name: Ben Kuchera

Outlet: Ars Technica (Opposable Thumbs)

Title: Gaming Editor

Best New Feature: How easy it now is to mute players. Halo is a great game online, but many players feel the need to question the sexual exploits and let known their thoughts of the racial background of others a little too often.

Least Welcome Change: I don't want the beta telling me what map and game type to play. It sucks to fall in love with a certain game type and then spend hours waiting for it to come around again.

Biggest Surprise: How much the bubble shield and anti-grav lift can change the flow of battle. If you have firepower superiority and they bubble up, your next move isn't nearly as clear as it used to be.

Weapon of Choice: Spartan Laser! Often a bad tactical choice, but so much fun to use.

Preferred Game Type: Given that there's a random selection of game-type in the beta, it's hard to pin down a favorite. That said, Capture the Flag is always fun. I find that people are generally more enjoyable to play with when forced to work together on an objective; the Halo deathmatches have become trademarked for their "colorful" community, and I like to avoid them whenever possible

Favorite Map: Am I going to get hate for saying Snowbound? The players-can-pass-but-not-bullets force fields are fun to play with, and after how tense Higher Ground can be, the fun and action of Snowbound can be a good way to blow off steam.

Rank 'Em:

1. Halo 2 multiplayer

2. Halo 3 multiplayer beta

3. Halo multiplayer

Did the Halo 3 multiplayer beta live up to your expectations?

As much as it makes me sound shallow, I really did expect Halo 3 to look better. According to Bungie things will get better, but it's not as immediately impressive as I was hoping for. The play itself is more than enough to make it for it; I may feel "handled" by how the beta deals with matchmaking and the game modes, but I've been having a great time playing it, and the beta has me excited about the things we haven't yet seen. It's doing what it needs to do.

How has Gears of War influenced what you want out of Halo 3?

It raised the bar graphically, but Gears is such a tight game in terms of firefights and setting it may have inflated our idea of what can be done in a wide-open environment with more than a few enemies at a time. People seem to want Halo environments and action with Gears of War graphics, and that's a tall order.

What are you hoping to see in the finished game?

Well, as single-player fan I'm hoping to see a real ending. In terms of multiplayer, I'd like a little more polish on the graphics and the ability to control the maps and game modes with an iron fist. I want every aspect of the online play to be easily controlled and changed from round to round. The more malleable the online experience, the better for the gamer. Halo lives online, and everyone you can do to help people change the game to fit their taste, the more lasting an experience it will be.

***

Name: Matt McClard

Outlet: Halo Anyone?

Title: Lead Designer and administrator

Best New Feature: Detachable Turrets and Missile Pods. I personally love the detachable turret; I think it is a great new addition to an old favorite.

Least Welcome Change: Using the Xbox 360 software for friends and invites. Every time I want to invite my friends to a game I have to go out to the Xbox 360 Dashboard, which is annoying because it is slow and takes me out of the game. I liked the way in Halo 2 all of your friend information was in the game. I guess it would be OK if it worked faster, but this is something I wished they could have left the way it was.

Biggest Surprise: Spike Grenades. I knew they were coming, but I didn't know they would become my go to grenade. The really surprising thing is I like them better than the sticky grenade.

Weapon of Choice: Needler. I have always loved this weapon; even in Halo 2, I would pick it up sometime even though it was certain death. I am elated that Bungie was able to finally give this weapon the respect it deserves.

Preferred Game Type: VIP I think the truly great ideas are the ones that seem like "Why haven't we been doing this all along?" and VIP Is one of those ideas. It is so simple at first glance, but really has some depth to it. I am definitely a Slayer kind of guy and this is a great way to introduce some variety to Team Slayer.

Favorite Map: Snowbound. At first this was the most frustrating map to me, but the more I played it the more it really grew on me. It also for whatever reason seems like the most "Halo 3" map to me. Something about the shield doors and the turrets really seems innovative.

Rank 'Em:

1. Halo 2 multiplayer

2. Halo 3 multiplayer beta

3. Halo multiplayer

Honestly, I did not really play much multiplayer in Halo. Since there wasn't any online play it made it a little more difficult to play with other people. Halo 2 will always stand out in my mind as the coolest game I have ever played. I have no doubt Halo 3 will be better than Halo 2 in many ways, but Halo 2 was the game that got me online. I remember getting into my first match and thinking, "This is what video games have been missing." AI can be a lot of fun the first couple of times you play against it, but real people are impossible to predict. So, I ranked Halo 2 multiplayer first because it is what started everything for me. I will however say that Halo CE is heads above Halo 2 in single player.

Did the Halo 3 multiplayer beta live up to your expectations?

Yes, I was constantly surprised not only how well the game performed, but also how it looked. I did encounter some glitches and errors on occasion, but as far as game play it could be a finished game. There are a lot of games out there that don't even come close to being as well balanced.

The introduction of new weapons like the Spartan Laser and Spike Grenades were welcome additions to an already great group of weapons. The new equipment took some getting used to, but in the end proved to be very useful, but not too useful. I am very pleased that Bungie has been tweaking old game types like King Of The Hill and Territories. The new way the hill is highlighted adds some interesting game play and the way Territories seems to demand a little more finesse and team work is great. By far the best revision is giving you a decent weapon (Assault Rifle) from the start.

All in all I would have to say that I was very pleased with the Halo 3 Beta. It certainly did whet my appetite for the final release in September.

How has Gears of War influenced what you want out of Halo 3?

I might be the only person that says this, but I was not really that impressed with Gears of War. Don't get me wrong--the graphics were great, but I always felt like I was going down the exact path that the developer wanted me to go down. Halo is traditionally a very different game. I think this is an apples to oranges situation. The graphics in Gears of War were great, but the game play was more "focused". Halo 3 will make game play more epic therefore limiting the horsepower to needed to run the graphics. That said, however, I do think that the Halo 3 graphics will look amazing compared to most of what is out right now and certainly better than Halo 2.

What are you hoping to see in the finished game?

I think we have a good idea of what is coming in Halo 3 as far as the multiplayer is concerned. What I am looking forward to the most is new maps and the much hyped customizable armor. But there is a huge piece of the puzzle that we really know very little about, the single player campaign. Halo CE was incredible, still one of the best campaigns I have ever played. Halo 2 on the other hand just didn't measure up. My hope is that Halo 3 really brings a really great campaign (to round out the trilogy) with online co-op along with the already proven (with some minor tweaks) multiplayer.

***

Name: Renelly "Psyche" Morel

Outlet: Frag Dolls

Title: Professional Gamer

Best New Feature: One of my favorite new features in this game is the redesigned shooting system. It has a lot less auto-aim and makes the game require more accuracy.

Least Welcome Change: I'm not too fond of the communication button being the D-pad because its hard to reach when I have both thumbs on the joysticks. But then again it prevents annoying young kids from talking so that a plus.

Biggest Surprise: The feature in which you can record a game that you have played. Its awesome because when you have a good game, you can actually send the video of you playing to your friends.

Weapon of Choice: Needler. This time around it's much more powerful and worth picking up. That's why you can only carry one.

Preferred Game Type: VIP. This is not only fun but something fresh and new to the Halo series. It definitely requires a lot of teamwork.

Favorite Map: Valhalla. This map is not only fun but beautiful. It's also great for long distance and close range combat.

Rank 'Em:

1. Halo 3 multiplayer beta

2. Halo multiplayer

3. Halo 2 multiplayer

Did the Halo 3 multiplayer beta live up to your expectations?

I think the beta did live up to its expectations. I can see that Bungie really took their time to focus on every important aspect of the game. Graphics, gameplay (movement of the character) and multiplayer. I can see this game really taking off even more so then Halo 2 did.

How has Gears of War influenced what you want out of Halo 3?

Gears of War has influenced Halo 3 with its imersive sounds. The sounds in the Halo 3 game play remind me a bit of Gears of War. For example in Gears when you snipe someone in the head there is a pretty gruesome sounds effect for that action. This is also present in Halo 3. It makes the game more intense and exciting!

What are you hoping to see in the finished game?

I cannot wait to see the final product of theater mode in which you can record your game play. It's going to be fun to be able to move around the map viewing a video that I recorded of myself and my friends playing. Also knowing Bungie they most likely have a few more surprises up their sleeves for this feature of the game.