Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta

Beyond the game modes and the new loadouts, the latest maps are a nice bunch. Besides Invasion's Boneyard, there's Swordbase, a chic scribble of sterile corridors giving way to a multi-level atrium with an incredibly ugly piece of corporate artwork in the middle. (A first for Halo? There's probably a Starbucks tucked in there as well.)

Then there's Overlook, which, due to the vagaries of game voting, I, uh, overlooked, and Powerhouse, a great party game map split between a cluster of indoor chambers and a snug nest of outdoor courtyards surrounded by bleached orange rock.

Desert terrain and epic skybox aside, it looks so much like you've been dumped into a 1960s university campus that you'll half expect to see Malcolm Bradbury pottering around wondering where he left his favourite jumper. More importantly, it's perfect for staging ambushes - and even better for being on the receiving end of one. Sorry, Malcolm.

New weapons round out the package, the best of which, for my money, is the Designated Marksman Rifle, a retooled Assault Rifle that fires in bursts of just one bullet, but has a Magnum's force over much greater range, and the Needle Rifle, which spits out those familiar disco crystals at a far more stately pace, but feels a lot more satisfying with it.

As for the others - a new grenade launcher, a plasma repeater and a new Covenant sniper gun - I was only on the receiving end, if I'm being honest.

It's hard to get an idea of how the revamped reward system will work from just a few hours' play - you earn credits to improve your rank, giving you access to better customisation stuff, and there's an armoury to open up and commendations to take into account too, making it sound like a bit of a clutter - but it's safe to assume at this point that Bungie knows what it's up to, and the new Carnage Report screen that greets you at the end of each battle is already a joyous mini-wonder of whirling stat counters, medal tables and other breakdowns.

What is clear, however, is that, even seen through the lens of a multiplayer beta, Reach already feels like a significant new instalment in the series. The engine's noticeably beefed up, for instance, with nicer textures, after-effects like motion blur and beautiful, airy lighting.

There's also a heft and weight and seriousness of intent to the way the developer has revamped both the game types and infrastructure, with an active roster that makes it easier to find any friends who are playing Reach, and improved social settings that allow you to mute everybody really, really quickly, so that you can stick Mantovani on the Victrola, brush the dust off your velvet jacket, and snipe Elites with little obvious intrusion from the outside world, perhaps while your intimate friend whips up a nice White Russian.

All change and no change: the game's been refined, but the core is intact. Halo's always been a safe bet in multiplayer, obviously, but it's just as obvious that recent years have seen smart rivals put a few dents in its bright green armour.