27% complete as of 2248 EST.
Update: A few thoughts on the beta before I pass out.
The Good: It feels like a Halo game, to a tee. The maps are very detailed and seem to be well balanced. The new weapons are a hoot. The new vehicle, the ATV is a blast to drive. Plays tight and quick.
The Bad: It feels like a Halo game. I guess I went in with expectations higher than I should have, but there didn’t seem to be anything that struck me as novel or innovative. That may have been unfair to expect from a beta, but I was hoping for something to wow me. The graphics aren’t bad but certainly could look better. I think Bungie dropped the ball here. They could have blown everyone’s socks off with some amazing visuals and left everyone wanting more. As it stands now, they look good and will probably look great in the finished product, but I was hoping for amazing.
The Ugly: Bungie and Microsoft’s preparedness. They have known for months that a lot of people would be joining the beta via their Crackdown discs. The fact that it took over half a day to figure out what the problem was and correct it was very disappointing.
Overall, Halo 3 is going to be a great game that has a long shelf life and is going to sell a lot of 360’s.
I’ve sunk maybe 5 hrs into the beta and I agree for the most part. Play with the new equipment which I think is a great addition to the standard guns-grenades-melee mix.
@ARogan – that’s the problem I had initially — since it’s the multiplayer, you don’t really have time to play around with the new stuff without getting fragged instantly.