My Only Problem with Reach

[Naota_391]

Also, don't play First Person Shooters.

The only real conclusion I can draw here is that you are, for whatever reason, forcing yourself upon a genre that you don't actually like. To say that the levels in Reach, or even Halo 3, lacked polish is asinine at best. I just...

No, I'm not getting into this. Find a different genre. You're probably better suited to sandbox games. Red Faction: Guerilla is fun. Red Dead Redemption. Play those.

games should do what they do well. but they shouldn't compromise the single player or the story to do so.
Halo's 1 through 3 had really short shrift story modes that you could plow through in 8 or 9 hours, ODST in 5 or 6

Reach had a better story that takes about 18 hours and the gun play is better than it was in any of the other games.

but FPS developers don't seem to care about anything but their stupid online multyplayer,
and they leave single player hanging

I think Halo: Reach took what the franchise has always done well, or tried to do well, and took it all to a higher level. Every part of this package seems full polished and ready for use. It's incredibly unique in that it literally has something for everyone who is even remotely interested in Halo, or even just in first person shooters.

It's got a great, compelling story for people to play through if you're into the fiction. It's got some of the most remarkable multiplayer for those with a competitive edge, and there is a TON of modes and game types to sink your teeth into. Not to mention a large, thriving community that will always be there. If you're looking for more of a team effort style of play, there's co-op and firefight (local and online). The Halo games have been the only reason I'm still interested in LAN on a console. If you're the creative type for machinema or creating levels, Forge is great and there are all types of settings you can change for creating custom games.

I don't know, man. There's a lot of value in this game. If there was ever a game worth $60, I'd say that this one has to be it.

 

[IBlackKiteI]

Well, Halo games have never been good at making you like their characters.

Lies, everyone loved johnson

Yeah...ten years ago.

 

[Miles Tormani]

@Whomever mentioned Cat's death - It was the massive EMP shockwave from the nearby plasma impact that disrupted and torn down the shield network power in the armor for a time. She got shot just moments after running from the explosion with the others. There was no time to try to fix her shields, allow them time to regenerate, etc. A single needle from a needle gun in the books is enough to stab through metal thinner than general vehicle armor and human flesh at the same time with little effort. If it had been the original needler gun, and not the rifle version, her head would have just.. exploded instead.

Spoiler: Should probably start spoiler tagging these like everyone else has.

Just moments is incorrect. After the explosion, they had time to get to an elevator, ride said (still working despite the suggested EMP) elevator down from the top of the huge ONI building to ground level, put on her helmet, yell at Carter, and then get shot mid-sentence.

I'm pretty sure that's more than a few moments, and more than enough time for shields to regenerate fully.

Even without all that other stuff. They rode down an elevator from the top of a building that reached above the clouds, to ground level. That alone is plenty of time for shield regeneration. Besides, the elevator definitely would've been rendered non-functional if there was an EMP in the first place.

 

[RUINER ACTUAL]

It's difficult to develop characters in a single campaign. I don't really see them as needing attachment. They are more like story pieces that change the tone of the story. Jorge made you feel tough and confident, and made you understand the sacrifices of the war. Kat brought comfort, as most female characters do, and her death signified the end of this comfort. Carter was a leader who would do anything to make sure the mission was accomplished, and he did. Emile showed the desperation of humans vs. covenant. I don't think you were suppose to get attached to the characters.

 

[The Rockerfly]

The worst bit is that all the time, all they are talking about is galactic law

Look game developers, I don't know what you have done to your writers but galactic law is about the single most uninteresting lines of dialogue in any of your games. If someone does start talking about galactic law, the characters can use their personalities which will show the player they have more depth and avoid a boring cut scene

I can't remember the last FPS I've played where the main character actually had a personality, Half life maybe but only because he's a good guy, a scientist and everyone's monkey.

I've not got any confirmed ideas but I think the problem lies in with poor communication within the developer. The voice actors, writers and animators need to be in the same room when writing up dialogue, have a separate writer for each character, knowing what role that character plays due to the animators and then seeing what the voice actor can do to improve the quality

 

[Canid117]

Thanks for the spoiler warning by the way

 

[ShadowsofHope]

@Whomever mentioned Cat's death - It was the massive EMP shockwave from the nearby plasma impact that disrupted and torn down the shield network power in the armor for a time. She got shot just moments after running from the explosion with the others. There was no time to try to fix her shields, allow them time to regenerate, etc. A single needle from a needle gun in the books is enough to stab through metal thinner than general vehicle armor and human flesh at the same time with little effort. If it had been the original needler gun, and not the rifle version, her head would have just.. exploded instead.

Spoiler: Should probably start spoiler tagging these like everyone else has.

Just moments is incorrect. After the explosion, they had time to get to an elevator, ride said (still working despite the suggested EMP) elevator down from the top of the huge ONI building to ground level, put on her helmet, yell at Carter, and then get shot mid-sentence.

I'm pretty sure that's more than a few moments, and more than enough time for shields to regenerate fully.

Even without all that other stuff. They rode down an elevator from the top of a building that reached above the clouds, to ground level. That alone is plenty of time for shield regeneration. Besides, the elevator definitely would've been rendered non-functional if there was an EMP in the first place.

Damned, forgot the spoiler, sorry. Though I really can't say either way about the situation. Has Bungie said anything, or? *Shrug*

Does it really matter either way in said case, on second thought? It was a symbolic death to show to easily, quickly, and randomly anyone could have died on Reach, or the war in general. And how lucky anyone remaining alive actually is. That was the real purpose behind the scene.

 

[Miles Tormani]

Does it really matter either way in said case, on second thought? It was a symbolic death to show to easily, quickly, and randomly anyone could have died on Reach, or the war in general. And how lucky anyone remaining alive actually is. That was the real purpose behind the scene.

It shouldn't matter. I know what the point of the scene is, and I applaud the effort.

Spoiler: More real spoilery stuff.

The problem for me is that the exact cause of death threw me out of the experience, because intimate knowledge with the guns, especially at that point in the game, caused me to get so caught up with the disconnect between game mechanics and that one singular cutscene that it was hard to get back into the experience for awhile. Especially since game mechanics kicked in for any other "action" cutscene, like the aforementioned "Emile and Six jump out of Pelican" scene.

The real problem, however, lies in the fact that we even have to argue about it in the first place. It doesn't matter if people can come up with rationalizations. If the player has to think about why a single Needle Rifle round was enough to kill Kat, the cutscene has failed to serve its purpose.

The solution, in my opinion, would've been to use a different weapon that is capable of one-hit-kills. Have the Elite use a stolen sniper rifle. Use a plasma launcher. Hell, have a fucking cameo of the beam rifle. No one would think about whether her shields were up, whether there was some EMP, or anything. They would see Kat getting abruptly killed by a weapon that can kill someone abruptly, and not question a damn thing. Then they could take in the actual scene for what it's supposed to be.

EDIT: Before anyone gives me the "Ooh, well if the Beam Rifle was in, then people would be wondering why you the player can't use it," I'd like to point out that the Elites, especially later in the game, have a tendency to dual-wield Plasma Rifles, and still use melee attacks. You can't dual-wield, but no one's questioning an Elite's ability to.

 

[Mikeyfell]

Also, don't play First Person Shooters.

The only real conclusion I can draw here is that you are, for whatever reason, forcing yourself upon a genre that you don't actually like. To say that the levels in Reach, or even Halo 3, lacked polish is asinine at best. I just...

No, I'm not getting into this. Find a different genre. You're probably better suited to sandbox games. Red Faction: Guerilla is fun. Red Dead Redemption. Play those.

games should do what they do well. but they shouldn't compromise the single player or the story to do so.
Halo's 1 through 3 had really short shrift story modes that you could plow through in 8 or 9 hours, ODST in 5 or 6

Reach had a better story that takes about 18 hours and the gun play is better than it was in any of the other games.

but FPS developers don't seem to care about anything but their stupid online multyplayer,
and they leave single player hanging

I think Halo: Reach took what the franchise has always done well, or tried to do well, and took it all to a higher level. Every part of this package seems full polished and ready for use. It's incredibly unique in that it literally has something for everyone who is even remotely interested in Halo, or even just in first person shooters.

It's got a great, compelling story for people to play through if you're into the fiction. It's got some of the most remarkable multiplayer for those with a competitive edge, and there is a TON of modes and game types to sink your teeth into. Not to mention a large, thriving community that will always be there. If you're looking for more of a team effort style of play, there's co-op and firefight (local and online). The Halo games have been the only reason I'm still interested in LAN on a console. If you're the creative type for machinema or creating levels, Forge is great and there are all types of settings you can change for creating custom games.

I don't know, man. There's a lot of value in this game. If there was ever a game worth $60, I'd say that this one has to be it.

Reach is easily the best of the Halo games
and the best FPS that isn't Half Life 2 (in my opinion)

and even though I hate the entire concept of ON-line Multyplayer the Halo games are the only ones that I think did it well.

it's all done really well. except "Nightfall" I thought that would be an awesome stealth mission. but after you take your first shot it just became another action level.

but lets face it, the other Halo games sold for their multyplayer alone, and Cortana she's the only one who kept the story floating. the only reason I gave a shit about anything that happened in Halo 3 was that I knew that eventual you'd rescue Cortana .

that's why it's shocking that Bungie's last Halo Game had such an excellent story mode (for an FPS, still damn good for a game.)
so yes...I think Halo Reach deserves the perfect 10's it's getting. it's just undermined some what by those being the exact same perfect 10's they gave the other 4 Halo games. they all got free rides because "the multyplayer excuses the pathetic story mode"


[sub]actually I don't know if ODST got a perfect score, I hope it didn't[/sub]

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

You cared about kats death?

It was pathetic.

Spoiler

I mean, where the fuck were her shields?

Spoiler

I believe the explosions and collapsing building they were trying to get out of disabled all their shields. It isn't explicitly said.

Spoiler

in which case, i'll just laugh about the fact that she had /just/ put on her helmet when that happened. Those things never do work do they? XD

Spoiler

That's a good point, for all we know, her suit hadn't powered up her shields because it was still re-sealing after putting the helmet back on

Pure speculation mind you.

Spoiler: Just to add to the Nerdromicon rapidly developing here...

It's always been possible to kill a Spartan with a well-aimed head shot. It happens in multiplayer/Legendary mode all the time. And the reason she dies as soon as she puts on her helmet is because Bungie wanted to hide the gore. Blood and guts had never really been their style, after all. That's my best guess, anyway.

 

[Mikeyfell]

Does it really matter either way in said case, on second thought? It was a symbolic death to show to easily, quickly, and randomly anyone could have died on Reach, or the war in general. And how lucky anyone remaining alive actually is. That was the real purpose behind the scene.

It shouldn't matter. I know what the point of the scene is, and I applaud the effort.

Spoiler: More real spoilery stuff.

The problem for me is that the exact cause of death threw me out of the experience, because intimate knowledge with the guns, especially at that point in the game, caused me to get so caught up with the disconnect between game mechanics and that one singular cutscene that it was hard to get back into the experience for awhile. Especially since game mechanics kicked in for any other "action" cutscene, like the aforementioned "Emile and Six jump out of Pelican" scene.

The real problem, however, lies in the fact that we even have to argue about it in the first place. It doesn't matter if people can come up with rationalizations. If the player has to think about why a single Needle Rifle round was enough to kill Kat, the cutscene has failed to serve its purpose.

The solution, in my opinion, would've been to use a different weapon that is capable of one-hit-kills. Have the Elite use a stolen sniper rifle. Use a plasma launcher. Hell, have a fucking cameo of the beam rifle. No one would think about whether her shields were up, whether there was some EMP, or anything. They would see Kat getting abruptly killed by a weapon that can kill someone abruptly, and not question a damn thing. Then they could take in the actual scene for what it's supposed to be.

EDIT: Before anyone gives me the "Ooh, well if the Beam Rifle was in, then people would be wondering why you the player can't use it," I'd like to point out that the Elites, especially later in the game, have a tendency to dual-wield Plasma Rifles, and still use melee attacks. You can't dual-wield, but no one's questioning an Elite's ability to.

I agree with you there. I wondered why my needle rifle shots took 5 or 6 shots to kill from that point on.
there's actually a weak rationalization I heard about this: maybe she used the battery that powered her shield to boost the radio signal enough to pick up the transmission.
a needle rifle can one hit you if your shield is down
Hearing that didn't make me happy.


but still the reason her death pissed me off is that she was my favorite one who was left.

it wouldn't have been so bad if Emile got shot.
I didn't give a fuck about him. I gave even less of a fuck about him after he did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to help me finish the last mission on legendary.

 

[Miles Tormani]

Spoiler: For the sake of anyone who has actually not managed to be spoiled at this point.

I agree with you there. I wondered why my needle rifle shots took 5 or 6 shots to kill from that point on.
there's actually a weak rationalization I heard about this: maybe she used the battery that powered her shield to boost the radio signal enough to pick up the transmission.
a needle rifle can one hit you if your shield is down

Hearing that didn't make me happy.

Wow, that's just... what?

Spoiler

If that's the case, wouldn't there be a fucking wire connecting the communicator to her armor? I seriously doubt those suits have induction coils to power external devices.

That's the worst rationalization I've ever heard for this. I can at least understand some of the others, like the EMP one, as much as I fight it.

 

[ShadowsofHope]

Does it really matter either way in said case, on second thought? It was a symbolic death to show to easily, quickly, and randomly anyone could have died on Reach, or the war in general. And how lucky anyone remaining alive actually is. That was the real purpose behind the scene.

It shouldn't matter. I know what the point of the scene is, and I applaud the effort.

Spoiler: More real spoilery stuff.

The problem for me is that the exact cause of death threw me out of the experience, because intimate knowledge with the guns, especially at that point in the game, caused me to get so caught up with the disconnect between game mechanics and that one singular cutscene that it was hard to get back into the experience for awhile. Especially since game mechanics kicked in for any other "action" cutscene, like the aforementioned "Emile and Six jump out of Pelican" scene.

The real problem, however, lies in the fact that we even have to argue about it in the first place. It doesn't matter if people can come up with rationalizations. If the player has to think about why a single Needle Rifle round was enough to kill Kat, the cutscene has failed to serve its purpose.

The solution, in my opinion, would've been to use a different weapon that is capable of one-hit-kills. Have the Elite use a stolen sniper rifle. Use a plasma launcher. Hell, have a fucking cameo of the beam rifle. No one would think about whether her shields were up, whether there was some EMP, or anything. They would see Kat getting abruptly killed by a weapon that can kill someone abruptly, and not question a damn thing. Then they could take in the actual scene for what it's supposed to be.

EDIT: Before anyone gives me the "Ooh, well if the Beam Rifle was in, then people would be wondering why you the player can't use it," I'd like to point out that the Elites, especially later in the game, have a tendency to dual-wield Plasma Rifles, and still use melee attacks. You can't dual-wield, but no one's questioning an Elite's ability to.

I know, yeah. Halo has never been a perfect game at everything, nonetheless. Heck, I didn't even notice something out of place my first playthrough, I was just enjoying the game for the game's sake. Only when I came onto the Escapist, did I have any idea people were noticing something out of place.

 

[RaZor921]

He was Hungarian, not British

Wait what? I clicked on Quote goddamnit

 

[RaZor921]

The only Halo character I gave a crap about was Jorge because he was british and had chain gun.

Spoiler

R.I.P. big guy

He was Hungarian, not British

NOW it works

 

[Fenolio]

Jun actually does die. if you beat the last mission on Legendary you can find his body on the "lone Wolf" mission.

Negative.
They are just sparten corpses that are randomised with different armor / color.
Because its rally point Omega, meaning that little hill is the place to go to when everything else has gone to hell. 6 didnt just end up there for no reason

Edit:
About Kats death....

Spoiler

I too agree that it was a disconnect from the drama, emp is disproved by the fact the goddamn elevator still works. It should have shown everyones shield being popped at the top of the building so that you were chanting in your head "ohshitnosheildsrunrunrunrun*shot*GODDAMMITYOUBAS****S"
Other than, "Hot damn the covenent started glassi-WTF?! WHAT HAPPENED TO HER SHEILDS? WAS THAT A GODDAMN NEEDLE RIFLE?! HOW IN ALL THAT IS HOLY, 5 SPARTENS COULDNT SEE / HEAR THE GODDAMN PHANTOM HOVERING 5 FEET ABOVE THEM IF THAT JACKEL COULD KILL KAT THAT EASILY WHY NOT 6?! HE'S STOOD RIGHT THERE!"
/Rant

Remember kids, Caps lock is cruise control for cool.

 

[joemegson94]

Why don't you just spoil theplot for people who haven't bought it yet?

 

[RaZor921]

Spoiler: Should probably start spoiler tagging these like everyone else has.

Just moments is incorrect. After the explosion, they had time to get to an elevator, ride said (still working despite the suggested EMP) elevator down from the top of the huge ONI building to ground level, put on her helmet, yell at Carter, and then get shot mid-sentence.

I'm pretty sure that's more than a few moments, and more than enough time for shields to regenerate fully.

Even without all that other stuff. They rode down an elevator from the top of a building that reached above the clouds, to ground level. That alone is plenty of time for shield regeneration. Besides, the elevator definitely would've been rendered non-functional if there was an EMP in the first place.

[/quote]
I remember reading in the novels (BEFORE the game came out) that standard UNSC tech is EMP-Resistant, this however, does NOT apply to the shielding technology used by the MJOLNIR armor, thus it makes perfect sense that the shields would be down, but not the elevator.

 

[LightspeedJack]

The only Halo character I gave a crap about was Jorge because he was british and had chain gun.

Spoiler

R.I.P. big guy

He was Hungarian, not British

NOW it works

Oh I never really paid much attention to the story but his voice did sound kind of English.

 

[Dogstile]

Well, Halo games have never been good at making you like their characters.

Lies, everyone loved johnson

Yeah...ten years ago.

first halo came out 9 years ago, insult fail.