These were my initial impressions and they still hold true [quote]I've played 4 matches so far and from what I've I can tell is that there are many new aspects to take into account that raise the skill gap and tactical element that I haven't made up my mind about yet but for the most part I'm enjoying them. I just want to see how people are going to abuse it when they get the hang of it. I really like the equal starts as well so everybody has to kind of fight for the weapons they want. I also really like how the really powerful weapons are announced drawing everybody to the same location but the power weapons don't suit the maps well (ex: sniper rifle as the power weapon on a map with almost no long range engagements). The weapons all look and sound great as well (the new SMG is beautiful). Oh and the beta is polished to a level that I would accept in a full release and this makes me feel like they are serious about molding the game to what the consumers want because it seems as if they won't have to start fighting bugs and server issue and instead are going to listen to what we balance wise. There are some issues I have with it as well. There is a noticeable acceleration when looking around which the worst the in the world for any game. I want consistency in the speed I look around with not so I don't have to constantly adjust what I need to do to aim at the fukin enemy! Bad 343i baaaaad! >:/)/ There is this annoying flinch when hip firing the Magnum, BR, and DMR while a full auto weapon is hitting you at close range which really makes the Assault Rifle and SMG superior for fighting in close range and really kills the use of skill in those specific instances. The menus are absolute tosh and whoever designed them should be fired (yes they are that bad)[/quote]

Dang. How does it measure up against your favorite Halo game, whichever that might be?

I'm not going to decide until I've had more time to get adjusted and experience more maps during the full beta but from my initial impression I think that this has the potential to become the best one

How's the aiming down sights coming into play, useful?

It's mostly aesthetic. The BR and DMR are more close to the Bungie era of Halo and it doesn't come into play all that often with the SMG and Assault Rifle unless you're in a position to where you can shoot the enemy without taking damage because descope has been put back into halo but when you can use it the damage you'll lay into the enemy is ridiculous which is another good balancing factor for the sprint mechanic.