At X10 Bungie and Microsoft just announced a start date for the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta- May 3rd. You can enter the beta via the Halo 3: ODST (review) disc, provided you didn’t do what I did and get rid of it soon after beating it. Even then, you might regret missing out, because the game sure looks beautiful this time around. It almost looks like we’ve finally gotten a next-gen Halo!

Here’s a bunch of new screens for you to peruse. The game is being surrounded by fanbait buzzwords like “darker” and “grittier”, and is really more of a sidestory than anything. It tells the story of a squad of Spartan soldiers called Noble Team who makes a final stand on the planet Reach against the Covenant, who are on their way to Earth.
 
Much like with ODST you’ll fight alongside a squad of specific soldiers with different personalities, and even different abilities and custom gear. Take a look at our five heroes at the top of this page and make assumptions about who (or what) they might be!

 

As you can tell the game finally uses a new graphics engine, and will feature all the multiplayer goodness we’ve come to know and love… everything from four-player co-op campaign to tons of splitscreen and online multiplayer modes.

The full game will hit sometime this Fall. Is another Halo a Reach?