You Quit=You Suck

Getting matched with players that suck or worse…small children in online games is aggravating in my life. Sucky players suck and small children suck and/or think they are the best and that everyone else is cheating…oh and most of the time they have the most vulgar dictionary I have ever seen.

That said, I would rather have a team full of little kids and/or crappy players then have them all QUIT at the beginning of the game. While some games allow join in progress, Halo Reach does not…damn.

Invasion, Boneyard, defensive side first…15 seconds into the game THREE of them quit. Now I don’t care if you suck, its Invasion not Slayer…just distract the enemy or weaken them so I can finish them off or capture an objective. So go figure things start going bad. Two Spartans against one Elite can be iffy for the Elite, two Elites against one Spartan is NOT GOOD! So we get pushed back to the final phase within like…5 minutes and I figure

“Ok ok…I’ll get my sniper rifle and pick off the guy with the core and keep them pinned…”
            Against my better judgment I let my teammate take the Spartan Laser because he told me he was pretty good with it. So I get to my spot and I see the enemy Banshee coming in…so I point it out to the guy…HE RUSHES THE BANSHEE (WHO IS GOING STRAIGHT FOR HIM BY THE WAY) AND GETS BLOWN UP BY THE BANSHEE BOMB!!! The entire time this is happening I’m sitting there staring at my television in UTTER shock at what was happening. So now the Laser is too far away for me to reach alive and there is a banshee flying around…then the Wraith comes around the corner. Oh and look here comes the guy with the core and another player for escort…so I make a snap (and somewhat rash) decision. I pivot and put two rounds into the back of the banshee, pivot again and snipe the core carrier and the escort and take off in a dead run for the laser…I don’t make it. The guy in the wraith (who by the way commended me for the shots after the game) sees me and bombs me to hell…and during my spawn they cap the core.

 I’m fuming because I KNOW that attacking will be useless because it is going to be a spawn-campfest and sure enough…it is. The moral of this tale is DON’T QUIT A GAME BECAUSE IT MAKES EVERYONE THINK YOU ARE A DICK... thank you.

Noble Map Pack Review

Well today is the day, that’s right the Noble map pack DLC has been released onto Xbox Live Marketplace for the public to download.  So today I’m strapping on my MJOLNIR armor, raising my DMR and charging into the masses to bring you this review.

First off is Tempest, a mid-sized asymmetrical map set at a Forerunner weather control station that feels somewhat like Valhalla in Halo 3. While at first the map feels small and confined due to the amount of cover, it only takes a few minutes to find that the map is much larger then it appears. Each base has a generous amount of large rocks in front for cover and a large open area that cuts between the two sides, perfect for warthog vs warthog fights.  With shotguns, snipers and rocket launchers tucked away on both sides of the map making team based games an even playing field. All in all this map is very fun to play on in Slayer, CTF, Assault and Territories.

Next is Breakpoint, the largest map included in the map pack. Set in a snowy ONI research station that is overshadowed by a massive Forerunner artifact this map is made primarily for Invasion, Invasion Slayer and BTB. While at the moment it isn’t possible to play the map on the Invasion playlist Big Team Slayer is in the DLC playlist so I jumped in there. While at first the map seems somewhat balanced for both teams it doesn’t take long to discover that whoever is spawning on the base-side has a significant advantage over those spawning on the ice-side. For one if one team manages to secure both banshees then it leads to massive amounts of spawn killing for the team on ice-side. However this is somewhat offset by the slew of anti-vehicle weapons on the map. Secondly if a skilled marksman manages to make it up the dividing ridge then they have easy one shot kills on whoever is spawning on the ice-side due to the lack of cover. Fortunately the ridge itself is pretty bare so it is relatively easy to pick off a sniper who is up there. As of right now the map is only available for the DLC grab bag playlist so it’s true calling in Invasion is not yet realized though I am definitely hoping it soon is.

Finally is the last and smallest map, Anchor 9. Set in space above Reach this map is small, symmetrical and mostly indoors. I say mostly indoors because a small portion of the map is out in space itself. Accessible through either two large shield doors or four smaller ones, it is a low gravity environment out there were ever jump can pose a risk due to the fact that its space and if you miss the landing then you  are in for a nice long spawn time to think about how you messed up. Both sides have needle rifles, DMRs, machine gun turrets and a bunch of other weapons. Shotgun and rocket launcher spawns in the middle area of the map making it easy for either side to reach them. Game play is definitely clustered in the center of the map but can break off into either base making it transition from a somewhat open fight to a CQB area so pairing a mid/close range weapon with a mid/long range weapon is advised.

As a whole the Noble map pack is definitely worth the money, it breaks out of the serious mapathy that plagued Reach from day one. It also gives players seven new achievements which can also give a clue to players on what they might be able to expect in the future. If looked at closely you will notice that before the description of each achievement it reads “Noble 1: (Description of achievement here)”. My best guess is that we MIGHT be able to see up to five other map packs to complete the Noble team of Noble 1- Noble 6. That’s MY guess so don’t take it as fact, stay tuned to http://www.bungie.net for new on the possibility.

(Yes I know this is a day late)