It’ll be a week and a half before Halo: Reach’s multi-player beta shows up to claim the lives of shooter fans everywhere. With a plethora of old modes like Slayer and Team Slayer in the mix, Bungie ups the ante with all-new multi-player modes since there’s only so much we can take from one game type. Here’s our take and thoughts on the four new modes we manage to test out and see in action.
Headhunter
It’s every man for himself, as the objective of the game is to collect and deposit the most skulls. Each player starts off with one skull. When a player bites it, he/she drops a skull free for picking up. You can pick up as many as you can, with the catch being that there will be a number above your head indicating how many skulls you have on you. You deposit the skulls at a designated number of “deposit zones” that periodically move around as time passes. If you’re killed before you can cash the skulls in, you drop all of them. If some brave (or foolhardy) player has 10 skulls, he/she will be a massively highlighted target for all to see, but it’ll be an instant win for that player if he/she cashes it in.
There’s no huge penalties to carrying a lot of skulls apart from dying and turning over your hard-earned skulls to the enemy. All weapon loadouts will be available in this mode. Sprint and Jet Pack seem to be perfect getaway tools to nearby deposit zones.
Hot Or Not? Scorching Hot, without a doubt. The risk/rewards offered on this mode seem to be balanced and given much thought in its inception. There’s a certain kind of thrill to be had when you get all greedy with 10 skulls on you and actually making it back to the marked zone while hunted down by every Spartan on the block. I suspect that the free-for-all version will be played more than the team-based version.
Invasion
This mode consists of three rounds, with the Elites on the offensive and the Spartans on the defensive. For now, the mode takes place exclusively on the Boneyard. As far as real estate goes, the Boneyard is friggin’ huge and filled with lots of high ground, camping spots, and multiple entry points.
Here’s how a match will play out:
Round 1: The Elites have to make their way to claim one of two objectives. Spartans defend said objectives from their grubby hands. While the Elites are fast movement speed and regeneration, the Spartans have higher ground and can use their DMRs to pick off stragglers out in the open.
Round 2: The Elites will have to capture and destroy three new objectives. Spartans defend as usual, with the added bonus of extra cover and entry points to ambush the Elites.
Round 3: If the Elites made it this far, they have to capture a data core deep within the Spartan fortress and bring it back to the waiting Phantom ship on the side of the map. This is where all of the major weapon loadouts are unlocked and where all the bigger vehicles spawn in (Scorpion and Wraith tanks). The Boneyard is spacious enough to stage tank and Warthog duels.
If the Spartans manage to defend their objectives in a round up until the timer hits zero, they win. The Elites should do well to press on heavy with the advantage for Round 1 and Round 2 by moving from cover to cover while avoiding the exposed area of the map. Elite players should use the Assassin Loadout, since it comes with Active Camo that makes you invisible for a short period of time.
Round 3 is when everything will turn to hell; there’s no telling where the huge vehicles will spawn at (probably closer to the Spartan’s home base for the defensive advantage) and every sane player will scurry to buildings for cover and ambushing opportunities. The Spartans also have the added advantage at knowing where the Phantom ship will be waiting; since it doesn’t seem to move to different spots on multiple playthroughs, they can have one or two snipers securing the area from afar. This means that the Elites will have to find creative ways to deliver the data core (like, say, using a jet pack while carrying the core, or group huddle a core-carrying Elite using other Elites as moving “meat shields).
There’s actually a variant called Invasion Slayer; the rounds and weapon loadout/vehicle spawn progression system remains intact, but you now have to acquire a 100 points to win the game. How do you that? Simple; rack up kills and also capture random hotspots on the map.
Hot Or Not? Piping Hot. While it’s currently just on one map, it’s a pretty huge map with limitless opportunities and passages ripe for shooter fans to check out. The escalating tension and progressive nature helps make an Invasion playthrough much different than another person’s escapade. If you feel like taking a break from the objective-driven escapades, just try out Invasion Slayer instead.
![[CLOSED] WIN: Game of Thrones Collector's Bookmark Set](http://gameaxis.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/GOTSet.jpg)
![[CLOSED] WIN: Tekken Movie Poster + Tekken 6 for PS3!](http://img.youtube.com/vi/st6dHmDSkhY/0.jpg)
![[CLOSED] Cataclysm Beta Key Giveaway](http://gameaxis.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/catalogo.jpg)
![[CLOSED] Leading The Hax Life](http://img.youtube.com/vi/YCncvc3ASN8/0.jpg)
I was suggested this blog by my cousin. I am not sure whether this post is written by him as no one else know such detailed about my difficulty. You are incredible! Thanks!
Excellent information it is surely. I’ve been searching for this info.
Aw, this was a really nice post. In thought I wish to write like this – taking time and precise effort to make an excellent article is very rare…
Cool stuff! I really enjoyed reading this and with your permission would like to postsome of it on my blog (with a linkback of course).
Terrific review! This is truly the type of post that needs to be shared around the web. Sad on the Google for not positioning this article higher!
I would like to thank you for the efforts you’ve put in writing this web site. I’m hoping the same high-grade blog post from you in the upcoming as well. In fact your creative writing skills has inspired me to get my own blog now. Really the blogging is spreading its wings quickly. Your write up is a great example of it.
This is one of those couple of moments where you’re surfing the internet and by accident stumple across an excellent post. Thanks for Sharing it.
It’s hard to find knowledgeable individuals on this subject, however , you sound like guess what happens you’re talking about! Thanks
Interesting information, I will be recommending
I appreciate your take on this informative content. It’s immersing, certain, straightforward and really unique. I agree with a lot of your tips and thoughts. You are a brilliant writer with a lot of intelligence.
Thanks for a marvelous posting! I truly enjoyed reading it, you are a great author.I will be sure to bookmark your blog and will eventually come back in the future. I want to encourage that you continue your great writing, have a nice afternoon!
If I had to give a fantastic example of top high quality content, this write-up could be it. It’s a well-written commentary that holds your interest.
I know of the fact that currently, more and more people are being attracted to cams and the subject of images. However, being a photographer, you will need to first spend so much time deciding the model of digicam to buy and also moving out of store to store just so you could buy the most affordable camera of the brand you have decided to select. But it won’t end there. You also have to think about whether you should obtain a digital camera extended warranty. Many thanks for the good tips I obtained from your website.
And, the most important question is Would you recommend this one?
I just now wanted to thank you once more for the amazing web page you have developed here. Its full of ideas for those who are actually interested in that subject, primarily this very post. You really are all absolutely sweet plus thoughtful of others as well as reading the blog posts is a good delight to me. And what a generous gift! Jeff and I will certainly have fun making use of your guidelines in what we should instead do in the future. Our list is a distance long and simply put tips might be put to very good use. palm beach kennel club
Simply these days, I am considering establishing a small dwelling-primarily based biz. I still do now not easiest start so I’m fuelling myself with lots of informations from professional entrepreneurs, like you.
Thank you very much for writing a lot of this excellent info! Looking forward to reading more posts!
This is the best blog for anyone who needs to search out out about this topic. You notice a lot its nearly laborious to argue with you (not that I truly would need…HaHa). You positively put a brand new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just nice!
Different websites by chance on surfing in the internet.
[...] We’ve already seen Invasion, Generator Defense, Headhunter and Stockpile. Anything else I left [...]
Nice writing style you have, thanks for sharing