i got yer custom games right here.......

Holy crap, i just got off XBL after a marathon session in the Halo 3 beta. after getting together with a few other players, we managed to start a custom game lobby, and go through the options. first off, the menu for the game settings is shit. SHIT. it took me a while to get universal changes like gravity and movement speed. it's just not designed intuitively, so i hope they make some changes to the game setting screens. shit, at least make it like halo 1 or 2. On to the only 2 weapons not officially in the beta, the Plasma Sword and the Magnum Pistol. the Sword feels the same, although it discharges now like in Halo 2 campaign. the lunge distance seems shorter, and the switch to other weapons has a bit of a delay. nothing major. it was funny to see everyone swinging the sword like maniacs like the night Halo 2 came out. it takes awhile to learn the proper lock-on distance. the pistol was a huge letdown. i was expecting some kind of return to the Halo 1 pistol, but no, it's the same as Halo 2. if anything, it's even harder to aim with. anyways, the meat of the day was spent on the new gametypes that are included. a favorite was Mad Dash, a Juggernaut variant that has the Juggernaut running around the map hitting waypoints. 5 points to win, and you can only score as the juggernaut. We also played Crazy King on Valhalla with the new speed and gravity settings. it's fucking insane to play on a big map, because everyone is zipping along, and a running jump onto the mancannon sends you across about 70% of the map. the speed settings only affect player movement, not vehicle speed or banshee speed. it actually makes the game a shitload harder, because you really can't aim while going 200 mph. seriously, at the highest setting you can outrun a boosting Ghost. the gravity settings make you super-floaty, and more of a airborne target. check out my stats at Bungie.net for some new-ish medals i got.

I haven't' really gone into the MASSIVE amount of customisation available, Halo freaks are going to have a heartattack when they see the settings.... everything from infinite REGENERATING grenades, shield vampires, indestructible vehicles, the ability to define shield regeneration and speed, changing the carry count for grenades to 4 of each, totally separate values for respawning, ( you can start the game with one weapon and ability set, but respawn with at totally different set) expandable (up to 175ft!!!!) radar, and the before mentioned movement speed and gravity. and that's not even the final list........ Sep 25 can't come soon enough........