Halo: Reach - Does it meet expectations?

[Space Spoons]

I love the game so far. I'm waiting until I've finshed the campaign at least once before I jump into multiplayer and take a crack at that sweet, sweet Forgeworld.

My only complaint is this; Why oh why is there not a multiplayer version of that space battle? It handles almost identically to Star Wars: Battlefront II's space battles, and that's a game I've been wanting online play in since forever. Having it in Reach would have been the next best thing.

 

[MercurySteam]

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD IT IS FUCKING AWESOME OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD

Wow. Overreaction much?

 

[Armored Prayer]

For me, yes it definitely did.

If I had a top 5 best game list it would definitely be on it. Everything in it is just pure fun.

 

[Srkkl]

It beat my expectations to death, in a good way. After Halo 3 I was expecting the worst, this game really surprised me, I even have fun on matchmaking.

 

[Vrex360]

I think it met a lot of expectations. Forge World is amazing, the campaign was great fun and had some chilling memorable moments and the multiplayer component is good and solid and has a lasting appeal. I also like how I can remain an elite in custom games, that's a nice touch.

That said there are some glaring problems like a small number of multiplayer maps and very limited forge options on all but the main Forge World itself plus I have terrible connection from time to time and it can be very hard to find enough playlists that allow for Elite Slayer... but in the end I think it's still great fun.

So yeah, I reckon Reach is a pretty good game and all the thing promised are featured within.

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

Personally I love it. Everything Bungie promised has been delivered expertly. IMO it lives up to the hype.

My single critisim is the default multiplayer maps are a bit cheap since they are all ripped almost directly from single player, they certainly dont play as well as its predecessors. IF DLC was released that adds unique maps, I would buy without a doubt.

 

[wooty]

I played it through with a friend and I dont really know, it just feels like Halo.....its neither good or bad, but just a 5 or so hour timesink really. Tried the MP afterwards but got screwed with connection problems, so little to report on that front.

Probably wont try the MP again after the first two weeks of release, the mass migration of smack talkers and racism will of fully kicked in by then.

 

[Lost In The Void]

Well the campaign was better than both Halo 2's and 3's, still not making it a masterpiece but better none the less. Haven't tried Firefight yet, but pissed around on Forge for a while and had a lot of fun. The multiplayer feels balanced and streamlined and fun. I have yet to enjoy another game's MP before this one so I can say that in my case this is one of the best MP games I've played. All and all good game, not a 10, but maybe an 8.5 for being slightly above average.

 

[TPiddy]

Halo 3, three years after launch, is still in the top 5 most played games on XBox Live. Reach will replace that and likely knock MW 2 out of the top spot.

Reach is the perfect send-off for Bungie and has one of the best online multiplayer experiences out there.

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

The social filtering options make all the difference. Having the game search for other people who are wanting a polite quiet match is awesome. So I'm actually enjoying an online shooter for the first time since... ever. Good show Bungie.

 

[Totenkopf]

I enjoy it very much. A great game in my opinion.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I was greatly surprised by the multi-player. I normally skip it but for Reach, firefight is almost all I've been doing. I went through the campaign on easy to watch the videos and have done some levels on higher difficulties. Glad to see the flood were absent from this game. It was different from what I was expecting but overall, I am pleased with it.

 

[team star pug]

I played a bit of the campaign, matchmaking fire fight triangle and I must say they are as good as I was exspecting, But I havent gotten around to using forge. But I have an Idea for a map, (rocket hog infection)

 

[dehavid]

I'll admit, I was taken in by all the hype. Untill a couple of days before it came out that is. I think part of it was a gameplay video that looked a bit disappointing and an IGN review (I think) that gave it 10/10 even though it said the story wasn't well written.

For me, the gameplay is fun but the story is a bit weak at times. I felt no attachement to the rest of Noble and there were too many contradictions to canon. I haven't read the books but, assuming the AI you take to the Pillar is Cortana, it totally contradicts what she says to the Cheif in Halo 3.

 

[Runding]

I have not been disappointed in a game to this degree in a while. After hearing from several sources of how good the game was, I took the plunge and purchased the game along with 2 of my buddies.

Having played through Halo 3 coop when it was first released, I could not shake the feeling that this was not a sequel but merely an expansion pack to some degree. I do not feel like there were any jaw dropping moments anywhere in the game- like when you had to fight off the 1st Scarab in Halo 3, and was very disappointed that there were no boss battles what-so-ever. You end up fighting the same enemies from start to finish without any meaningful climax to the game.

With that being said, I have been spending time enjoying firefight mode along with friends and have to agree that the improved forge mode is very well made and will offer hours of fun whether you want to build your own maps or download from other top builders online.

I'm not saying that the game is bad. It is actually a pretty decent game, just feel the game is overall simply mediocre.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Having spent a few days on the multi, I must just accept I will never enjoy the slower, more patient style of Halo as much as I do the speedy, frantic chaos of COD.

 

[Yarkaz]

This was the first Halo game with, I believe, a better campaign than multiplayer (ODST doesn't count, it hardly had its own multiplayer). The story, although not too amazingly twisty or outrageous, was very emotionally gripping, and the final part was extremely chilling and eerie, while still giving the player a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. I won't post spoilers of course, but I will say that you got to play through the kind of stuff we usually only see in cutscenes.

The multiplayer, however, was pretty much what we've come to expect from Halo, except all the maps were torn right out of campaign. The only ones that weren't, matter of fact, were the remakes of old Halo maps. Even then, a few (the ivory tower remake, for example) were both of the above, used in the campaign AND torn from previous games!
That being said it's all still good fun, but it felt like much less effort was put into it.