New Halo 3 Flamethrower and Fire Grenade

IGN has posted a new weapon that can be wielded by the Master Chief. The flamethrower! After 7 years, Bungie has decided to throw this weapon back into the growing array of lethals objects. The flamethrower while probably awkward to use against Brutes will probably prove invaluable for keeping the Flood at bay.
The chief holds the flamer like the detached turret gun. Here's the bad ass pic:

Another incendiary device is the fire grenade. More commonly known as the flash grenade, it allows you to set up a wall of fire around yourself and an opponent. daze opponents(and yourself) for a limited amount of time. This opens up new strategic options, especially when working in 4 player co-op.

Both weapons can be seen as really good defensive weapons both against the Flood and the Baby Kongs.

Power-Ups in the MasterChief-Beta

IMO, takes a bit getting used to really recognize the benefit of this. On the other hand, if a player were to get really good at handling these power-ups, I can see them being prized in a team setting. In the long-run, this feature adds a lot of value to this franchise.
I had a bit of trouble getting used to the "power-up" weapons and the X button mechanism for all about three seconds. Impressive as it looks, the Bubble Shield only gives you a short breather for long-range combat - completely useless for melee action. The Shield Drainer is a really nice way to deplete your enemy's shields if you want to even out the odds a bit. Throw it down and even if you get blown up, you set your buddy up the hill a really nice position to frag 2 or 3 reds at the same time.
My favorite power-up of all though is the trip mine. I cannot express how much joy I felt when I would wait for a warthog with three baddies in it to come hurtling toward me, offering myself as a sacrifice for the good of the team and throwing down that trip mine. KABOOM! Oh so satisfying! Be careful with this though, timing is everything with this power-up. Another great application of the trip mine is when playing CTF or bombs. Just rig it up in the flag/detonation area, alert your teammates about the active bomb(very important) and watch an impatient kid just totally wipe!
Here's hoping for more Bungie!