04.10.2007 NEW HALO 3 VIDEO DOCUMENTARY

Bungie has new footage and news for fans awaiting Halo 3 patiently. The multiplayer beta is now set to go live on May 16th and run through June 6th, letting the 'rule of three' people, and those who purchased the specially marked copies of Crackdown in on the action. It's not too late though, if you can still get your hands on a specially marked copy of Crackdown you'll get to join in on the fun too.

You can see the new Bungie video documentary above, it's seven minutes of commentary and footage from the three new maps Valhalla, High Ground, and Snowbound. They stress how much attention they've given to asymmetrical map making, and changing level design angles to make every aspect of multiplayer balanced. The trip mines and bubble shields look great, although everything we see in the video is actually outdated alpha material, and Bungie's got even more secrets we won't be made aware of during beta gameplay. One of the team members summed up traditional Halo gameplay as "weapons, grenades, and melee" and you'll hear the Bungie team talk about how each of those will work into the third game.

It's good to hear a game team so focused on making their game fun for more than just a few hours, or even a few months - it's obvious they're constantly thinking about how this game will hold up years from now. For me, maps are what make or break FPS multiplayer, and I'm already liking what I've seen so far of Halo 3. I won't use the added replay options much, but it's still nice to have them. With the amount of polishing they're doing, and the amount of fan feedback that'll be coming soon, I don't see this game disappointing in any way.