Halo: Reach BETA starts May 3rd

First and foremost, the Microsoft Xbox 360's public face announced that the Halo: Reach beta will begin on May 3. The multiplayer beta can be accessed only via the Halo 3: ODST disc, much like the Halo 3 beta was opened up only to Crackdown players in 2007. Halo: Reach itself is not due out until the fall.

Halo: Reach will depict some of the same events that took place in the novel Halo: The Fall of Reach by Eric Nylund. The book portrays both the siege of the titular fortress planet by the Covenant and the origins of the Spartan program, which developed dozens of supersoldiers like Halo series hero Master Chief. It will follow a squad of six Master Chief-like Spartan soldiers as they try to protect Reach's human inhabitants from the Covenant's relentless onslaught.

Bungie's been busy remaking the Halo engine, drastically altering the tech behind the upcoming Halo: Reach and making it look far better than anything it's done previously. If you want to see where all the hard work's been going, check out this new Vidoc, which details just how different the visuals of Reach will be. The planet Reach is going to fall, but it's going to look good while it does.

STAY TUNED FOR BETA NEWS AND OPINIONS WHEN IT COMES OUT IN A FEW MONTHS!!!