Equipment

Probably the biggest addition to the multiplayer (and we can assume the single player) aspect of the game is the equipment. After Bungie released information about the left and right bumpers being the reload buttons, speculation about what the X button, the former reload button, would do in Halo 3. When the “Starry Night” TV spot was shown during Monday Night Football on December 4th of last year, speculation pretty much died down as we got a first glimpse at a piece of equipment being used in the field by none other than, the Chief himself. These rare items add a new level of depth to the game as players now can deploy something onto the field of play and really turn the tides in their favor. In the beta, we only got to see the following four in action.

Grav Lift

The Grav Lift is used to be like a portable version of the Grav Lifts placed in the actual maps. Need to get over a wall or to the flag? Just throw one of these down on the ground below and in no time at all you’ll find yourself hurdling towards your target.

Bubble Shield

The world was given its first glance at the bubble shield on the “Starry Night” spot. The Bubble Shield works just like it did in “Starry Night”, where it is thrown down like a grenade and then a large transparent bubble forms around the player and anyone within the vicinity. Yet it just doesn’t look pretty. The Bubble Shield stops anyone from shooting into or out of it. However, that doesn’t mean that enemies can’t walk into the shield.

Power Drainer

The Power Drainer works by emitting a blue sphere that drains all power from the shields of anyone in range, making them easy pickings. It also has the ability to disable any vehicles that happen to get too close to it, leaving the people inside to become sitting ducks as they all try to scramble out of whatever they were just speeding around in.

Trip Mine

The Trip Mine is just what you’d think it is. Plop this sucker down on the ground and anyone that gets within a certain proximity of the mine, friend or foe, gets a very rude surprise. This is especially useful for base defense against vehicles, although you can use this for just about anything or anyone.

With new game types, new weapons, better graphics and a beefed up multiplayer, Halo 3 looks like it could be the perfect sequel to one of the well-received video games of recent memory. Bungie knows they’ve struck gold with the first two and look to capitalize on the apparently final installment.

Looking at how the second Halo fared, Halo 3 has the potential to be one of the most anticipated games as well as one of the biggest releases, making Halo 2 look small in comparison. Whether or not it will happen is yet to be seen. With Halo 3 being the constant rebuttal to almost anything, Sony’s been mounting against Microsoft for the Xbox 360’s sake. It better be the blockbuster everyone believes it will be. Come September 25th, everything will be made clear, and finally, we, along with Master Chief, can finish the fight.