We first got our hands on the Halo 3 Beta last Friday. After a few hours of fragging, the IGN editors came to the same conclusions: The Needler kicks ass, the rocket launcher is too slow, and the Brute Shot is crap. A weekend of play later and opinions are slowly changing at IGN. It turns out that while the Needler does indeed dominate and, yeah, the rocket launcher is slower than in Halo 2, the Brute Shot may not actually suck.

The Brute Shot holds six grenades in a clip, which can be fired rapidly. You can unload six grenades in just a few seconds. While a single grenade by itself is weak, four grenades (which offer decent splash damage) can ace an opponent. Sure, it's not the most effective method to kill people, but the Brute Shot is an excellent secondary weapon. Fire down into a fracas to quickly kill multiple targets, then switch to your primary weapon to pick off any survivors.



The Brute Shot is an effect tool for knocking out a Mongoose. It's true that an overcharged blast from the Plasma Pistol will kill the engine of any vehicle it hits, but the Brute Shot kills a vehicle with far more flair. Tag a vehicle with a full clip of grenades and you'll toss it like a salad.



Use the Brute Shot at first encounter, especially from medium range. As you close in, switch to your primary gun. If you go around thinking the Brute Shot is some BFG that owns everything, you are likely to get popped quickly. As with any tool, used wisely, the Brute Shot can be a devastating assistant in dealing death.