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| Halo: Reach Finally Arrives |
Bungie is at it again. The folks behind the coveted Halo universe are delivering their final swan song before they move on to their future developments with Activision. Halo: Reach is the latest foray in the sci-fi first person shooter series, that once again pits players behind the helmet of someone other than the iconic Master Chie. Instead, we assume the role of the man who played a pivotal role in the Chief’s survival, and he’s got some tricks up his sleeve that’ll make John-117 jealous. But is this latest game the epitome of Halo we’ve all been waiting for?
Story & Presentation (9)
Reach’s story puts you in control of Noble Six, the unnamed, newest member of the elite “Noble” team, who is the soft spoken rookie newcomer. Halo fans will finally grow a bond with the characters in the game, as Halo finally delivers some fully fleshed out characters. The Noble team resembles a trigger-happy ensemble found in an 80’s action flick, but offers unique personality traits for each member. For example, Carter is the fearless, quick thinking leader of the team who cares about his troop’s well-being, while Jorge is the towering gattling-gun enthusiast with a big heart. It sounds cliché on paper, but the voice acting in Reach is superb and each character is presented effectively.
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| Noble Six vs. The Covenant. It actually works well. |
Since this is a prequel, fans familiar with the Halo universe ultimately know the fate of everyone on the planet Reach, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any surprises in store. The build-up leading to the confrontation with the Covenant definitely gets your paws sweating as the Covenant finally reclaims its ruthless swagger. Since Halo 3, I felt that the Covenant was losing its brutality and luster, but Reach completely sucker punches players with an unkempt ferocity we’ve never seen before. The Covenant employs new tactics, and commits atrocious, vile acts against both the human race, and the genetically superior Spartans.
With Reach being Bungie’s final Halo game, many fans are hoping for a neat little bow-tie when it comes to wrapping up the Halo story, and for the most part, they’ll get it…mostly. If you’ve never played a Halo game before, Reach works well as a standalone game that doesn’t require any prior knowledge of the series, although it does drive a deeper emotional resonance for longtime fans. The game does a good job of connecting the dots with the rest of the Halo games, and is actually easier to follow compared to some of the other games in the series. And SPOILER ALERT…there are no Flood in the game. Thank God.
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| The level design in Reach is unrivaled. |
Of course Halo wouldn’t be as epic without the sound and music and luckily, it’s as epic as ever. Composer Marty O’Donnell delivers a score that elevates the franchise into blockbuster status once again, adding an extra emotional layer in the more dramatic parts of the game. Complementing the sound, the game is a treat for your eyeballs. The color palettes are riveting, and the vistas are something you need to see to believe. The world of Reach is brought to life with stunning backdrops and detailed landscapes that makes it insanely difficult not to be fully engrossed in the environment your in.
Gameplay (9)
In terms of gameplay, Halo: Reach doesn’t re-invent the wheel, but it definitely adds some nice chrome rims to its tires. The gameplay is pure Halo with the usual run and gun we remember. Among the major changes comes with the drastic improvement in the weapons and level design. Dual-wielding is gone and in replacement we get a complex variety of weapons for every combat need. Needlers are actually effective, and the pistol regains its zooming capabilities with a considerable destructive firepower that we haven’t seen since the first Halo. Each weapon handles differently, offering a nice balance in how players will handle each enemy encounter. Bungie has also upped the ante by increasing the scope of the levels, which is something that was missing in Halo 3. You’ll be overwhelmed at certain points, but there is a good amount of variety in each battlefield that offers you different strategic approaches to each Covenant encounter.
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| One of the new weapons, Needler Rifle, and it IS glorious! |
Matching the improvement in your weaponry is the improvement to enemy AI. As I said above the Covenant is now a ruthless adversary with a thirst for combat. Enemies WILL flank you, and WILL fire at will. I found it difficult to actually get behind some of the elites in the game because their ability to adapt to their surrounding was acute. Many of the enemies from the older games return, but each has received a minor upgrade. Elites are much more difficult to take down compared to the brutes, and no longer are the grunts seen as fodder for your pistol whips. Instead, every enemy you encounter must be dealt with strategically. Grunts now carry explosive plasma canons, while elites and jackals have pinpoint accuracy with their medium to long range plasma rifles and needlers. On top of that, since this is the prequel where Elites are considered the Generals of the battlefield, they’re much harder to take down thanks to the addition of the new armor abilities such as the dodge and the armor lock.
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| Armor Lock Ability. |
Arguably the biggest change in Halo: Reach comes with the addition of armor abilities. In exchange for the equipment that was first seen in Halo 3, players can now choose between one of seven different abilities that are rechargeable on the battlefield. These abilities include sprint, armor lock (which grants you temporary invulnerability), Evade (an Elite specific dodge), Jetpack, Active Camo, Drop Shield, and Hologram. Each ability handles differently and allows players to experiment with different approaches to each battle. Personally I found the drop shield useful in the single player game, while the Hologram came in handy in distracting my multiplayer adversaries. There’s an armor ability for every play style, and Bungie has done a stellar job at balancing each of these to allow for a unique game every time you play.
Multiplayer (10)
This is THE reason you buy Halo. The multiplayer on Halo: Reach is without question the best in the series. Matchmaking works like a charm and Bungie has added minor tweaks to its multiplayer formula, giving players a much needed breath of fresh air. Finally you can customize your matchmaking searches by setting a preference to what kind of people you want play with. So here’s to hoping its goodbye to all those racist, incoherent 12 year-olds who scream into the microphone.
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| What the Rocketeer wishes he could be. |
With 13 multiplayer maps, insane amounts of stat tracking, customizable online characters, and more than a dozen different gameplay modes, Halo: Reach offers the essential competitive multiplayer experience. You have the usual assortments of Team Slayer, Capture the Flag, etc., but the interesting addition is the arena mode. Similar to what you find in World of Warcraft, Arena mode allows players to compete against each other for a weekly ratings challenge. The better you do, the higher rating you achieve, and the more gear you can unlock for your character. The other big addition comes in the new Invasion mode, which is basically an objective based big team battle of Elites vs. Spartans.
Firefight also makes a comeback and now you can use matchmaking to pair you up with other players, allowing you to tackle daily and weekly challenges that Bungie sets up. CO-OP also gets a major tweak by adjusting the difficulty of the campaign depending on how many players are with you. So if you’re brave enough, you and 3 other buddies can try and tackle the legendary campaign together. But be warned…playing Legendary with just one other person already adds a rotten flavor of insane that has never been seen in a Halo game.
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| Forge is more robust than you remember |
Another subtle, yet welcomed addition is the active roster. This allows you to track in real time anyone on your friend’s list that’s currently playing Reach. But the granddaddy of the multiplayer modes will be the forge theater. Making its triumphant return from Halo 3, Forge allows players to create unique multiplayer levels that can be played with other friends, or to just show off your design skills. Now players can flaunt their version of blood gulch that has three bases and Scorpion tanks galore. Players can also upload their favorite multiplayer screenshots and videos to share with, or embarrass, their friends, and the list goes on and on.
Final Thoughts
Halo: Reach is the ultimate Halo experience. This is Bungie’s last Halo outing before moving onto a new IP (Intellectual Property) with Activision, and they go out with the proverbial rocket launching bang. Reach is the most polished, beautiful looking Halo to date, offering a great single player campaign that is perfectly complemented with a robust multiplayer. Whether you want to play alone, with or against friends, or against a ruthless AI, Halo: Reach is a game that is worth the $60 purchase that’ll keep you on XBOX Live for months to come. Just make sure to get some sunlight every once in a while otherwise you’ll end up like the WoW freakout kid.
- The Good -
- Multiplayer, Multiplayer, and some more Multiplayer.
- A satisfying single player that is presented the most effectively of all the Halos.
- Armor abilities add a new layer of depth to the gameplay.
- The Bad -
- Only 13 Multiplayer maps, meaning we may get nickel and dimed with DLC.
- The Ugly -
- Knowing that this is the last Halo made by Bungie
My Epic Score of Epicness: 9.4 out of 10
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| Grunts...Finally a formidable foe to deal with. |
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