Gearheads of War

As MDK knows I was selected in the Friends and Family early release beta.  I've just got to say, whatever reservations any of you may have had about the game, you can now completely blow them away.  This game is GREAT!  From just playing the multiplayer you can see that the additions in the multiplayer will add to the campaign as well.  As for the Beta itself, you can read about it all over the place and I would say that it lives up to the hype so far.  It really doesn't feel anything like Halo 2.  It definitely has more of a Halo 1 feel.  The auto-aim is decreased which will take some time to get used to if you've played a lot of H2.  Also, the Carbine is where it's at.  The BR is good but the Carbine is better.  Just wait until you get hit by it.  It also seems more accurate and easier to aim.  I love the spike grenades and the portable lifts.  The equipment adds an exciting new element with many tactical options involved.  The bubble shield is the hyped up one (rightfully so) but the portable lifts and turrets are extremely useful.  I do like the AR though it tends to go into reserve once I've grabbed a good ranged rifle.  I think they've really worked a good deal on the balance of the game in terms of the weapons and vehicles.  Something I noted which is very different from the second one is boarding vehicles.  The turret can now damage you while you are boarding.  It is not a scott free ticket to medal land.  You can actually be killed by the turret whether you are jacking the driver/passenger or turret positions so be careful there.  There really is too much to go over but I just get the sense that this game will be extremely polished and really still Halo.  As much as Halo 2 maybe moved away from the original game Halo 3 seems to have closed the gap and expanded the Universe even further all at the same time.  I really think you'll all really like the game and appreciate the subtle changes they've made to balance it.