First things first.  Watch this video.

Next, react to said video.


Now, read our reactions to previously stated video, and perhaps add some thoughts of your own:

Mike: That is pretty awesome!

Matt: Wow, that is incredibly huge.

Mike: That sort of map making and the ability to share is badass.

Matt: What’s up with the flying flock of mongeese?

Mike: I suppose my worry with a map that large is that 16 people will make for a pretty sparse game. I suppose you can build a large wall or structure to hold people in one area if you wanted.

Matt: Imagine maps with all the new loadouts and gametypes.  Invasion across a giant map!  I wonder if they’ll let us customize invasion maps, this one would be killer in so many different ways!

Mike: Well they said you can do all kinds of crazy stuff.  King of the hill where the hill is a vehicle and all that. It would be great to create a huge air-suspended tower in the middle of the map, with the new “fixed” feature, that spirals way into the sky, with the “hill” at the top.  Jet packs required, for sure!

Matt: Yeah, now imagine some “King of the Warthog” with nothing but fixed man-cannons!  Chasing it around mid-air!  This really, really makes me want to start forging.  I never really tried because I couldn’t get the hang of placing things, but the new system seems to make it really easy.

Mike
Outside of my conversation with Matt, I had some additional thoughts regarding Forge World. The effort the devs have put into this is clearly immense. It extends the replay value of Reach far beyond what any other game on the Xbox has even considered possible.

Any additional game content is always welcome. Free game content even more so. Additional, Free, user-generated game content is the crown jewel of replay value in my eyes. Sure Forge isn’t exactly new, but the level of accessibility now built in like the additional geometry “states” and geometry snapping makes it far more likely that we will see far more superbly executed maps and custom games in no time.

The only piece of the puzzle that I would say is missing would be the ability to play public games on Forge maps. I’m not suggesting that games on Forge maps should be ranked, but it would be awesome to see a public lobby that allows users to play matches against strangers. Bungie could allow users to vote on maps, and rotate through the top 10-15 user-generated maps to create an always-fluctuating playlist with years of replayability.

Regardless, this will no doubt be a game I pick up the day it is released.

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