RATING: 4.5 out of 5 stars
More and More reviews are coming in on Halo: Reach and looks like it is a hit.
Reach, the planet, falls to the Covenant forces and is destroyed by aerial bombardment.
That can't be a spoiler at this point, can it? The 2001 Halo novel was called The Fall of Reach, for crying out loud. It's not a subtle reference in the world of Halo. We know that Master Chief is the last surviving Spartan throughout the other Halo games, making Reach something like the Star Wars prequels; we get to see other Spartans fight at the height of their power. Noble Team is ready for anything, eminently capable, and tough as nails. The game details their efforts on a planet we know is doomed. It feels like a tragedy from the beginning, and the ending scene... well, it's something you'll have to experience. People are going to talk about it.
This is Bungie saying goodbye to the Halo series, and handing things off to Microsoft and 343 Industries before moving onto whatever the next project is going to be. Reach may be a prequel to the existing games, but it brings everything to a close with grace and spirit. If ODST was a major stumble, Reach is the recovery.
These are Spartans
Halo Reach is the story of a group of Spartans called Noble Team, and you are the newest recruit. It follows these characters, each with personality and a face, through their adventure as we slowly learn how their story ties into the greater lore of Halo. Yes, this is a very important game in the timeline of the series, unlike the side-story nature of ODST. The game also features a much darker feel than the other entries in the series; while no one really thought that humanity would be wiped out while playing Halo 3, we know going into Reach that the Spartans have been wiped out, save Master Chief. This doesn't give us much hope for the characters we'll be spending time with.
This is a game about sacrifice and, by the time the game is over, that will have been hammered into your skull time and time again.
While past Halo games had regenerating armor and ODST had a standard health system, Reach mixes the two by having shields that regenerate if you can find a place to rest between firefights, as well as a health bar that requires health packs to repair. It's the best of both worlds, and works very well as a throwback to the classic Halo experience.
The weapons have also been re-worked, and they feel great: powerful and loud. The Plasma Launcher that shoots up to four sticky, explosive rounds is a personal favorite, as is the grenade launcher, which allows you to hold the trigger to choose when to detonate the grenade round. I'm not going to list all the weapons and what they do—part of the fun is exploring the ordnance and finding favorites as you play—but I was very happy with the selection of guns throughout the game. Some are only used once or twice, others pop up throughout the game, but everyone will find something to love.
The armor abilities also bring variety to the play. The game begins by giving you the ability to sprint by holding the left bumper, but soon you'll be given the option of using a holographic decoy, a jet pack, a portable energy shield, and more. Each one gives you different tactical options that change how you play through a section, and some (like the jet pack) are used for specific sections in the game.
These features also come to life in the different multiplayer modes, and it's thrilling to take to the skies and fire down on your opponents, or use the armor lock power to make yourself temporarily invincible, although you'll be locked in place.
The Halo series has always been about firefights, and how to approach a situation tactically. Do you throw a grenade? Use an ability? What weapon should you be carrying? You'll be asking yourself these questions constantly as you assess each situation and find the best way to move forward, and this is what gives the games so much lasting power.
I played through the game in one sitting with a friend, and I can't wait do it again; there are many other things I'd like to try. We left the game session with tons of great stories about what happened and why, and we often cursed the screen or cheered depending on how our strategy worked out. Some people hate Halo because it's popular or they don't like consoles or blah blah blah... tune out the whiners: Reach delivers finely tuned action with a very distinct look and feel. This series is successful for a reason.
The vehicles add an extra layer to the game play
We know Bungie knows how to make satisfying first-person shooter games, but Reach raises the bar with several long-form levels that take place in flying vehicles. One battle occurs in space, where you fly a secret craft called the Sabre. While the controls take some getting used to, you'll soon be flying with ease, dog-fighting Covenant ships, and finally attacking the capital ship before boarding it. It's a thrilling section and, while it wouldn't be strong enough to stand up as an independent game, you do get the sense you could have played for much longer; it doesn't overstay it's welcome by any stretch.
It's a classy move, reminiscent of how Nintendo plays with gaming mechanics and tropes in Super Mario Galaxy 2—Bungie proves it knows how to do space combat well, takes a quick bow, and then ends the section on a high note. A lesser developer would have dragged things out until you were ready to get back to the main game.
Another level has you piloting a helicopter-like craft called the Falcon, and it's just as good. You control your altitude, it handles well, and the AI-controlled soldiers on your turrets actually do their job, which is rare for non-human-controller characters in the Halo games. You'll be flying, shooting down Covenant ships, and then landing and fighting on foot to take down key strategic locations, all in the midst of a rainstorm that falls among towering buildings. It looks, feels, and plays very differently than what you're used to from the world of Halo, and it was a blast to play in two-player Co-op, with two Falcons patrolling the skies. The vehicle levels provide many of the moments that stand out after completing the game.
Multiplayer
There is no easy place to start here; the multiplayer features of Halo: Reach are vast. The main campaign now enjoys online matchmaking so you can always find a crew if you're into co-op play. Firefight is now greatly expanded with a large number of variables: how much gravity would you like, what vehicles and weapons, what enemies would you like to face, how effective would you like active camo? The list goes on. Firefight was fun in ODST, but here it's an adjustable feast. Hell, you can play versus in Firefight and bring Elites into the mix to challenge the Spartans.
Matchmaking seems quicker, but then again, at pre-launch, we're only playing with a few thousand people on the server. The game allows you to set up a "psych profile" to give the computer some guidance when setting you up with other players. How chatty are you? Are you a team player or a lone wolf? Do you want to have a good time, or are you focused on winning above all else? Once the servers are filled with players, we'll see how well this works, but it's certainly a step in the right direction when it comes to finding compatible players.
The Forge has been expanded and updated with more options, a much larger area to play with, and a much better ability to be creative with your work. Take a look at the included video to see what has been done; it's impressive stuff.
The addition of the Invasion mode, an objective-based battle between Spartans and Elites is a great nod to more "modern" multiplayer games. As the invasion progresses and you unlock more vehicles and abilities to use in combat, things begin to get crazy.
We explored some of the other additions and updates in our look at the beta content, and properly dissecting the multiplayer features of Reach would take a few dozen pages and about a month to explore all the options. The take-away is that, no matter how you play, you will find something to like—the game is very social and inviting, and custom games have what feel like limitless options. The campaign in Reach is very, very good, but the multiplayer is how this game is going to live for the next few years.
In conclusion
Here's what made me very happy with the campaign: the settings never felt pedestrian, the color schemes and industrial design changed in ways that made sense, and I was never stuck backtracking or slogging my way through firefights that seemed endless. The pacing is ideal, and just when you begin to get restless, the game shows you something neat or treats you to a satisfying set piece. This makes it very hard to find a place to walk away from the controls; you always feel like there's something cool right around the corner.
Because, you know, there is.
There is also the limitless tweaking and adjusting you can do to the variety of multiplayer modes, and... well, it would be very easy to devote pages and pages to all the things possible here. It would be a waste of our time though, so we'll just say that if you like playing online first-person shooters on a console, you need to buy this one. There is no way around it; this sets the bar for the genre very high.
It's interesting to see many of the multiplayer levels baked into the campaign, and see how they've been changed for online play. The whole package is very well designed, with a high level of cohesion.
The Good
• Satisfying end to the series (although we all know Halo is not over)
• Fun, high-quality vehicle levels
• Great selection of guns
• Varied and non-repeating settings and color-schemes
• Multiplayer that will keep you busy for years
• Satisfying story that fits in well with the Halo universe
• Hybrid health/armor system works well
• Armor abilities change things up
The Bad
• So many tracking shots of Spartans' rears. Seriously, it's all armored ass, all the time
• The voice acting could be a little much
• If you're not into multiplayer, or jacking up the difficulty for multiple playthroughs, the game is over rather quickly
• We already know how the story ends
• I still miss dual-wielding
• The graphics look great, but frame rates will often take a dive
• That weird prequel thing happens—events that take place before the other games feature weapons and technology more advanced than what comes later
• What the hell was up with the forklifts? They were everywhere, you could drive them, but they didn't actually do anything. We made it into a joke after a while: attack with the forklift.
• The weird creatures you see in the beginning sections as Bungie tries to add random wildlife to the game. They seem weirdly out of place every time you see them
The Ugly
• Halo is too profitable to let go, but the quality level is too high to keep pace. The next game with the Halo name, created by 343 Industries, is going to be dealing with intense scrutiny.
Verdict: Buy
