Players will notice quite quickly that first-person shooter mechanics not far removed from Call of Duty have drawn the competitive game just a little closer to the kind of quick reflexes and accuracy normally associated with aiming down sights religiously. Both mobility and persistent zooming, if you will, have received a range of enhancements that greatly speed gameplay with a new boost ability adding to the player’s options for escape in a difficult situation.

From the main menu, we could select from three maps each offering three different game modes. Standard team death match or Team Slayer, as its known in the Halo universe, set us down in a Covenant-looking and circular arena with a central bridge leading to a beam sword. Limited power weapons waited in the outer reaches. This map focused the group of eight Spartans we had into head-to-head battles with assault rifles, DMR rifles, and Halo’s ever-popular pistol. Using the Smart Scope with the DMR meant headshots, and lots of them, though return fire now brings players back out of the scope as it did in previous Halo games. With the added accuracy availed to players with Smart Scope, it can be panic-inducing to lose that extra sight even as you’re dealing damage and wearing down an opponent’s shield.