US gaming website IGN got an advanced preview of the upcoming Halo: Reach beta. While it describes the beta as a “generous taste” of Halo: Reach’s multiplayer, it claims that the ‘Headhunter’ mode is “worth the price of admission alone”.

IGN’s coverage outlines the premise of the mode, a new addition to the Halo series’ multiplayer repertoire. Essentially, players drop a skull each time they are killed, which can be collected by other players. These skulls can be banked at two scoring zones that occasionally move around the map, and the player with the most skulls banked at the end of the game wins. However, the game can be ended instantly if any one player manages to bank 10 skulls at once.

However, if you’re killed you’ll drop any skulls that you’ve collected thus far, resulting in a mad dash and/or firefight over those skulls.

IGN also points out that, because the scoring zones move on a timer, you could be a short distance away from victory only to have your hopes scuttled by a teleporting scoring zone.