With the Halo: Reach beta just around the corner, the latest video released by Bungie gets this fan excited. Speaking as a fan and someone who has clocked too many hours on Halo 3 (check the Bungie records yo), I thought I would share some of my concerns based on the information from the Carnàge Carnivàle video. So, if you haven't seen it click here for the video on YouTube.

All good competitive multiplayer games are theoretically giant games of rock-paper-scissor. Not one element, or in this case weapon, should dominates the rest. There is always something that cancels out something else. Halo: Reach is introducing new guns and variations of old guns. With that said, the issue now is can they keep these weapons well-balanced. I believe they can and in the video they address that they are working hard to do so.

What has me worried is the new element of selecting armor abilities. Each player would be able to choose a weapon paired up with an armor ability. This has me worried because it might somehow be throwing in the element of luck. In Halo 3, on certain maps players would race to the middle for a map controlling weapon. We all know how devastating it is when you don't have control of a weapon on certain maps. What if I chose the armor that is weaker compared to the armor my fellow racer has chosen. It seems like I'm taking a chance, unlike Halo 3 where we all start off the same and it's about being the better player. Also, I wonder if you can switch mid-game to other armor abilities.

The new ranking system looks great to me, but the division system sounds just about the same as any other ranking system. What is the difference between being put into a division in Halo: Reach and the ranks in Halo 3? Maybe somebody can pinpoint that for me. What I am skeptical about is the whole deal about being matched up on things like "team player." How will they measure that and how would they make sure it happens? Some games I play like a team player and some games I don't. I don't want to upset people who wanted a team player on nights where I am feeling particularly Rambo-ish. Sounds like a broken system to me, but we'll see what happens.

Not much else to say here. It was a great video and I can't wait for the beta. I hope to see each and every one of you there May 3.