the Hushed Casket

Here is how I am describing the HALO 3 beta:
it's a pretty HALO 2
it's a big HALO 2
it's HALO 2 with more H2-ish features
The vague descriptions above aren't a knock on the game. HALO 2 was a good game. It was fun. We all know how we felt about HALO 1 and HALO 2. But, who would have thought that the HALO 1 that we played for years would eventually lead to this?
From HALO 1 to HALO 2, there were some big changes that happened that affected gameplay (interactive content, destructible content, the energy sword, no pistol, round-based play, no fall damage, a new health system, the n00b combo, dual wielding, air lifts, etc.). In HALO 3, I'm not yet seeing the big change in gameplay that happened from H1 to H2. The gap between H1 and H2 is MUCH larger than the gap between H2 and H3. I am saying that the gap between H2 and H3 is small.
People that liked H2 will definitely like H3 unless they have high expectations. I actually expect some members of the media to knock on H3 and give it bad ratings. Bungie has made a well polished game. There will be no game out there like it for a while. It is a great work of art and a work of technical achievements. But, I suspect that some people will see it as HALO 2.
If you had reasons to not like HALO 2, I don't see how HALO 3 will be that much different.
If only Bungie would have done something similar to HALO 1 (take previous game, add better graphics, and improve online play). A HALO 1 with better graphics and an online party system would have caused me to lose a lot of sleep. I guess it kind of already did that (HALO PC).
I do have high expectations for the campaign. The story had better be amazing. It should take a longer amount of time to play than the H2 campaign. It had better have online co-op.
I don't think THX has found a LAN replacement for HALO 1. I think we'll LAN HALO 3 as much as we LAN'd HALO 2, which wasn't that much. Long live the HALO 1 LAN.