Halo: Reach beta has jetpacks

By Robert Purchese Published 3 March, 2010

New video shows modes, gameplay.

Hold on to your hats, because jetpacks are coming to Halo: Reach. And you'll be able to try them out in the multiplayer beta scheduled for 3rd May 2010.

They were spotted by VG247 during a video promoting the multiplayer beta. According to the clip, the modes on offer will be "Assassinations", "Invasion", "Headhunter", "Active Roster", "Spartans vs. Elites" and "The Arena".

Only owners of Halo 3: ODST are invited to take part.

Eurogamer flew out to Microsoft's US X10 event recently to get a look at Halo: Reach and to talk to Bungie about its next, grittier instalment in the iconic Halo series.

You can read what we discovered in our Halo: Reach preview.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (56) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Dizzy #1 2 years ago

    Crazy ;) and awesome video.

    Looks a bit like Tribes now.

  • TeaFiend #2 2 years ago

    Are there spinfusors?

  • tiny_Eggy #3 2 years ago

    Isn't it time for something alittle different Bungie. You know, something not Halo.

  • MaFlippinHeadHurts #4 2 years ago

    Sublime Halo game play but now with jet packs - looks fantastic

    Can't wait for this

  • lordofthedunce #5 2 years ago

    Am I imagining it or is the movement/action quite a bit faster than previous Halos in that vid?

  • bad09 #6 2 years ago

    I must admit even after the disappointing ODST the footage of Reach has me excited. Looks ace.

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #7 2 years ago

    It looks bonkers! In a good way.

  • Dizzy #8 2 years ago

    "Am I imagining it or is the movement/action quite a bit faster than previous Halos in that vid? "

    Looks like the same speed. Maybe it is the rolls and jetpacks that make it look a bit faster.

  • Beano #9 2 years ago

    Jetpacks is the "multiplayer bomb" ?

    Ok, it's interesting but hardly a new element for online shooters - Tribes and Warhawk has it.

    I hoped they finally would use dedicated servers instead of peer-to-peer.
    Edited by Beano at 03/03/10 @ 10:59

  • Batfink #10 2 years ago

    Eggy: They have a second, non-halo big project underway and have done for ages, they're just not talking about it. You'll notice several bigshots at Bungie who aren't showing up at all in anything Reach related - this is why.

  • Deckard1 #11 2 years ago

    Am I the only one kind of disappointed with the footage. After how great the single player videos were looking, this kind of just looks like halo 3.

  • MiniAmin #12 2 years ago

    Oh that video was bloody incredible I CANNOT wait for this game!

  • Razorus #13 2 years ago

    Looks so smooth and sexy!
    That was actually stunning. I found myself saying "shit!" (the good way) every few seconds.
    Everything's shaping up nicely, the animation is smooth, the graphics great, the speed, the modes, the jetpacks, the assassinations. Wow.

  • Sniper_007 #14 2 years ago

    Oh my god that looks crazy, and absolutely amazing.

    At first I thought jetpacks, that's not right... but then I remembered they've been a part of Halo anyway (with the brutes etc) and so why the hell not :)

    Massive changes, I might actually try this beta after all!!

  • irrelevanthuman #15 2 years ago

    Personally not sure about this change of direction(figurative and literal),watching this one develop with slight trepidation now.I hope in differentiating Reach from the Halo series,Bungie have not over-complicated things,it was the first games rendition of tight,crisp combat that elevated it above others in the genre for me.

  • Moonprince #16 2 years ago

    Love Halo single player but the multi never appealed.

    This sht doesn't look like its changed at all!

  • DirtyDubs #17 2 years ago

    Got ODST new myself (and am one of the few who thought it was really good) and a mate got it second hand. How will the Reach beta work. Would we both be able to play it? Is there a registration?

  • Markitron #18 2 years ago

    I have tried several times to get into halo online but I just cant, its community can be particularly immature (obviously not everybody that plays)

  • Markitron #19 2 years ago

    I agree with you adder........................:)

  • bushwod #20 2 years ago

    OMG! 7et9ack5 are the new m0t0r8ik3s!!!!

  • onyxbox #21 2 years ago

    This looks much better than previous Halo games, but the Jetpacks could spoil things a little. You can just see it now... everyone up in the air trying to shoot each other, it could end up like those Quake arenas with all those jump pads :-D


  • MiniAmin #22 2 years ago

    This is a trailer for the beta; the jetpacks won't necessarily be included in the final game. Bungie will experiment and acknowledge user feedback, the way they did with the Halo 3 beta.

  • rotmm #23 2 years ago

    @Von_Adder, "Yes i'm the only person on the planet that hates Halo, neg away.

    I don't have any particular love for Halo (haven't got anywhere near to completing ODST cos I got bored, and don't recall ever playing a a game of Halo in MP).

    However, you did ask us to neg and I'm not one for missing such a golden opportunity ;)

  • MasterNameless #24 2 years ago

    "This looks much better than previous Halo games, but the Jetpacks could spoil things a little. You can just see it now... everyone up in the air trying to shoot each other, it could end up like those Quake arenas with all those jump pads :-D"

    I doubt the jetpacks will be standard equipment (unless I've missed something somewhere). They are more likely to be additional equipment, like the bubble shield or flare, so I'd imagine the actual jetpacking to be sporadic at best.

    Looks good though, very much looking forward to it. :D

  • Skooch #25 2 years ago

    Whether you like it or not Bungie are the absolute king of console online multiplayers.The balancing, map design and ability to watch back entire multiplayer sessions and then cut the video in Halo 3 is incredible and still to be matched.

    I thought the MP portion of Halo: Reach could be more of the same, but it excites me that there is new stuff to play with. The game modes look like rehashes of existing game modes (Arena looks to be King of the the Hill) but the thing that really stands out is the graphical step up from Halo 3.

    Can't wait.

  • Yossarian #26 2 years ago

    My dick has never been this hard.

  • JahB #27 2 years ago

    why in the world does this still look like a launch game? you'd think by now Bungie would have hired some people to remedy that...

    halo 3 already looked dated for its time, but given the competition these days, the graphical quality in the video is laughable.
    Edited by JahB at 03/03/10 @ 11:55

  • gav_and_the_gavster #28 2 years ago

    Wonder what teabag anims gamers come up with when one of those are strapped to your back... :)

  • DrDamn #29 2 years ago

    Big change in there for me is the implication of "Loadouts". Halo 3 had the old skool method of all starting with the same weapon and set weapon pick-up points. As a preference I like to start a game with a gun I'm comfortable with rather than having to know where it is and hope someone else hasn't already nicked it. I suspect like most things Halo MP it will be configurable. The option to have a loadout is great though.

  • AphoticCosmos #30 2 years ago

    "This looks much better than previous Halo games, but the Jetpacks could spoil things a little. You can just see it now... everyone up in the air trying to shoot each other, it could end up like those Quake arenas with all those jump pads :-D "

    It is impossible to spoil anything with jetpacks. It is in fact a well known law of nature that an increase in jetpacks leads to a directly proportional increase in fun, shits'n'giggles, lulzery and awesome.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #31 2 years ago

    Groovy vid.

    Did I see some new guns in there? Not announced before? There looked like a sort of human-made Brute Shot type of thing, another beam weapon, and an unknown Covenant gun.

    I approve of jetpacks and possibly even forward rolls, too (I assume it's almost like a quick sprint forward or dodge).

  • metalmike25 #32 2 years ago

    Anything + Jetpacks = Ace!

    Especially sex

  • MiniAmin #33 2 years ago

    Also I doubt you'll spawn with Jetpacks in most modes - It's like to be a power up, like Active Camo or Shield Regen.

    It'll be a riot in custom games!

  • muscleblade #34 2 years ago

    That looked incredibly good. Its definently Halo and thats a good thing imo.

  • UKLL #35 2 years ago


    That does look good and multiplayer Halo isn't normally my thing even though I own all the games.

  • busboy33 #36 2 years ago

    @DirtyDubs:

    Assuming its like the Crackdown/Halo3Beta, there's no codes or registration. The only way to access the beta is thru the main menu of the ODST disc. There will be another option on the main menu -- "Campaign", "Multiplayer", "Halo:Reach Beta". You'll probably have to download some data, but otherwise it'll be like the beta is on the ODST disc itself.
    In terms of "registring" . . . having the ODST disc is being registered.

  • Negotiator #37 2 years ago

    Any HI DEF video of this?, that looks amazing and that is only the Alpha build.

  • des #38 2 years ago

    Not yet,this is a leak...Bungie not happy

  • Negotiator #39 2 years ago

    Another leak, Bungie just can't keep a secret.

  • Bravestinsane #40 2 years ago

    Interest level rising....

    Anything that makes the pace of a game rise is good in my books

    Last few seconds.... BR in single shot mode? Does that mean we can now change rate of fire about bloody time!
    Edited by Bravestinsane at 03/03/10 @ 13:36

  • Yossarian #41 2 years ago

    No.

    That isn't a BR.

  • mcmonkeyplc #42 2 years ago

    Oh, I'm moist.

  • Rich72 #43 2 years ago

    what is that energy bubble thing at about 00:28 that seems to flip the ghost? it looks like it surrounds the spartan!

  • Rich72 #44 2 years ago

    -1 for asking a question?

    .... and I have so many questions...

  • Yossarian #45 2 years ago

    Rich72, it's likely one of the new armour abilities, probably a small, localized bubble shield that's completely impervious.

    Its icon is the little lock in the bottom left (briefly visible before the camera pops into third person).

  • Rich72 #46 2 years ago

    thanks Yoss, a sensible answer, hadn't noticed it as there was so much to take in.

  • KilgoreTroutXL #47 2 years ago

    The minimap on the bottom left has area labels now. That's kind of a shame.

    I wonder if there'll be less "ok guys, I have the flag, I'm near the big fucking pillar in the back. No the other one, with the lift and the sniper. No no the _green_ one with the lift. Dude those are stairs. Do you even know what a pillar is? Ok fuck it i'm dead." Bip Bip Bip Biiiiiiiiip.

  • Yossarian #48 2 years ago

    Well, for people who play Halo a lot, the maps already have callouts for locations. This just helps.

  • Gearskin #49 2 years ago

    Ultimate Badass! Best game ever.

  • CaptainQuint #50 2 years ago

    MW2's reign shall be short. Xbox Live just doesn't seem right, without a Halo game ruling it.

    This looks fucking incredible.

  • KilgoreTroutXL #51 2 years ago

    @yoss: Exactly.

    I'll be interested to see whether Bungie brings back Terminal and, if so, if it correctly labels that asinine spawn room "the f*ck you attic".

  • Wolverfrog #52 2 years ago

    Looks great. I'm interested in the Spartans vs Elites game mode, I've always wanted something like that in Halo 3. It looks like Elites will have slightly different abilities to Spartans in Reach, namely being taller, perhaps more agile, and probably with different armour abilities.

    It looks very different to Halo 3, that's for sure. All you naysayers should at least give the multiplayer beta a go before making your final judgement.

    Also, remember that the game isn't even in Beta yet. It's in Alpha. Of course the graphics aren't going to look brilliant.

    [link url=http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/751/751900/halo-3-20061220042034961.jpg
    ]http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/imag...[/link]

    That's what Halo 3 looked like in Alpha.
    Edited by Wolverfrog at 03/03/10 @ 17:34

  • Climhazzard #53 2 years ago

    Well im officially excited about this game now,bungie with great trailers as always to build the hype. Weapon loadouts seem a great thing to do as its about time really and the new special items look a riot too. Hopefully the maps will turn out awesome instead of ruining the mp like in mw2.
    Actually looking forward to the campaign more than previous games in the series, doubt it will top halo itself though.

  • GooseUK #54 2 years ago

    Now if they could just PUT THE CROSSHAIR CENTRE IN THE SCREEN. I feel like im looking up just to aim forward when i play halo

  • balflear_pkt #55 2 years ago

    jetpacks like those in warhawk, invisible snipers like those in killzone 2, and stealth deaths like those in Uncharted 2, wooot Bungie, woot

  • Al_Swearengen #56 2 years ago

    I'm really hoping this game turns out as great as I'd like it to... but the whole jetpack thing really worries me. The last thing we need are jetpacks in the hands of the glitchers. I can just see it now... getting sniped from some clown playing at Johnny-Rocketpants from way up in the clouds. That's gonna be awesome!
    Bungie are terrible at maintaining closed maps. Glitchers always seems to find cracks in the boundaries of the maps and go running off doing evil deeds.

    Maybe I'm just being paranoid. If this works then fine, but if it ends up changing the game too much then I hope Bungie listen to the fans as to whether they should remain in the finished game or not. Either that or keep them out of the playlists. Just let people screw around with them in private matches.