Before Microsoft and Bungie roll out the Halo 3 multiplayer beta on May 16, both parties invaded New York City to give the press a first look, and yes, it's excellent. The developers took the already enjoyable Halo 2 experience and tweaked it, pumping numerous improvements into the game, ones that will impress long time fans and curious newcomers.

The third person camera proves the most striking feature. Select weapons automatically launch this over the shoulder perspective, giving players a better view of the battlefield in exchange for moving slower. Thus far, two new weapons allow people to do this, the Missile Pod and the gatling gun turret. The latter fires missiles one after the other, making the trusty Rocket Launcher look aged by comparison. The second proves especially cool, because gamers walk up to the stationary turret and remove it from the station, recreating the classic scene in Predator, when Bill Duke (Mac in the movie) lifts the machine gun from Jesse Ventura's bleeding carcass and unloads thousands of rounds of ammunition. Just keep speed in mind. Slowly walking about with a large gun will leave players wide open to bloodthirsty snipers.

Other new weapons include the Brute Grenade, Spiker and Trip Mine. The Brute Grenade contains all sorts of nasty objects such as nails and bits of metal, compacted into a deadly device that sends shrapnel in all directions. It is without question one of Halo 3's most devious weapons, producing a neat effect while at the same time stabbing opponents.

The Spiker, a crude looking handgun, fires (as its name implies) spikes at its enemies. The gun can be dual wielded, and like all dual wielded weapons can be reloaded independently using the Left and Right bumpers.

As for the Trip Mine, gamers will delight in surprising their opponents with these nasty weapons, which excel at taking out ground-based vehicles. At the same time, their blast radius may also kill the offending player, so people should toss the mine and then run away. Or, if they're about to die, they can take the enemy with them.

Other weapons will be familiar to Halo veterans. Classics, like the Plasma Rifle, Covenant Carbine, S2 AM Sniper Rifle, M90 Shotgun, MA5B Assault Rifle (the primary machine gun in the original Halo), Plasma Grenade, Fragmentation Grenade and the Battle Rifle make an appearance.

To use weapons, players press the right trigger, and if they're dual wielding, the left and right one for each respective hand. Instead of reloading with X, players press the right bumper, a design change that takes some getting used to.

This time around, the X button activates equipment. Devices include, but are not limited to the Bubble Shield, Grav Lift and the Power Drain. The Bubble Shield encases the player in a temporary shield, protecting them from damage but forbidding them from returning fire (only vehicles can pass through). The Grav Lift (a portable version of the Man Cannon) gives people a boost about the map, offering a quick getaway. Finally, the Power Drain depletes other players' energy shields within an undisclosed radius, giving the thrower a great advantage over the opposition.

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