Xbox Gaming in South Africa

Talking to 1UP, Halo: Reach multiplayer designers Lars Bakken and Derek Carroll have let loose all sorts of information about the game's new multiplayer game modes debuting in the beta next month. Look out Shotty Snipers, it's...

Headhunter

Get frags, get skulls, get skulls to designated skull drop-off. Get fragged out on the way, and get your skulls gone. Simple, brutal, potentially the stuff of legend. "You have a nice navpoint over your head showing everyone in the game how many skulls you are carrying," elaborates Carroll. "When you have ten, then that actually shows up as a flashing star or VIP waypoint, to let everybody know you're the one guy to go after."

Stockpile

"Territories meets Capture The Flag," apparently. Four neutral flags spawn at any of about ten locations on the map, and teams must grab and return these to their own designated scoring points. And there's a catch - "Every 60 seconds, any flag inside the capture point will be scored for that team -- even ones being carried by enemies," says Carroll.

Generator Defense

This one's a bit like Modern Warfare's Sabotage mode. Three Spartans, three Elites, three generators. The Elites must trash the generators, while the Spartans defend. The Spartans have the added bonus of being able to lock down generators, rendering them invulnerable for 60 seconds. Teams swap after each round, with the game comprising two rounds of five minutes each. The beta includes the Overlook map exclusively for this.

Invasion

Actually, they wouldn't drop any information on this one, outside of "it's a vehicle-full frenzy!". The beta includes the Boneyard map exclusively for this mode.

The Halo: Reach beta kicks off exclusively for Halo 3: ODST owners on 3 May.