Patrick Joynt, Associate Console Editor: Well, at this point, I'm not sure any real tactical calls are fit to be made. The Spikers are interesting, but I don't really know how they fit into the tool kit of Halo yet. I will note that whether you like the Assault Rifle or not, its impact is more than just what you spawn with. Since you don't spawn with a brokenly powerful gun (hello, pistol!) or a gun that makes both grenades and melee underpowered (hello, SMG!), you have more reason to actually try out all the other tools out there. You don't have to sprint for a triple-A weapon or a second gun, and you don't have to just switch to that pistol and hold onto it for dear life. Having a bearable but not overpowered gun at spawn by default is awesome, and I was pleased as could be to see so many people not duel-wielding. It helped that all these neat items were there to be played with, begging you to have a hand free. Finally, filthy snipers can set trip mines behind themselves for defense! Dirty, filthy, Spartan laser using snipers...


Matchmaking, to address Sterling's issue, is one of those backend things that you don't really learn how to appreciate until you've had a really good experience with it. Then, the cheap stuff you used to like suddenly feels like the boxed wine-equivilent it always has been. Matchmaking is really hard to get right, and I can't say how happy I am to be back in a Halo interface -- it's good stuff. Honestly, there isn't a better way to get people together to play with or to find people to play with on Live, period.




That's relevant because there isn't any reason to be afraid of the fifteen-year-olds or the racists or what not in Halo 3. Want to play with some friends? Form a friends group, close it, and go from map to map. Call a truce and explore until everyone knows where the weapons are, the equivalent of saying "Hey, let's both back up to the edge of the screen so I can see this guy's moves" in a fighting game. With Halo 3, muting problem players is as easy as bringing up the scoreboard screen, and clicking their name with the mute button. There -- suddenly, they aren't racist anymore. Heck, they're oddly quiet. After tonight's event, I'm more excited than ever about spending the next three-and-a-half weeks doing nothing but playing Halo 3.

This is just the beginning. Get ready for three weeks of massive coverage from the frontlines of Xbox Live, including video, pile-ons, and our takes on some of the greatest moments from three weeks -- and three maps -- of gaming madness!