Review: Halo: Reach

[Clockwork Scarecrow.]

Potential spoilers

I just got it today and played for a couple of hours or so, I'm really digging it. I managed to avoid all the trailers etc. until I saw them on TV a few days ago and finally reserved a copy. I'm glad I did, the slow start was interesting and the way it was going I had been expecting a human-on-human battle. Playing on Heroic I've been finding it much more challenging than Halo 3, particularly the first encounter with the white armoured Elites. One of the highlights so far was the cinematic after the team lock themselves into the Outpost and get ambushed by sword Elites, it was just great, from the Elites jumping down and then its right up in your face roaring and trying to stab you and make a quick exit out of the room with a hostage.
It's nice to see the dropships from combat Evolved back too. I wondered why they took them out.

 

[Jumplion]

Bungie created the generic soldier and the generic story?

Wouldn't that make them the original, and everyone else the generic ripoff?

In the Halo series, three games have health packs: Halo 1, Halo 3: ODST and now Halo: Reach.

Two games have only regenerating shields, but lack a way to recharge health: Halo 2 and Halo 3.

The two weapon pickup may be a trend you hate, but I don't. Forcing the player to make tough choices and change tactics makes for a more challenging and more interesting experience.

I was speaking in general terms, not in personal terms. Maybe "hated" was the wrong word, but there were definitely more "Generic (Space) Soldiers" before Halo. Halo just made them really, really popular.

And you know what I mean with regenerating health, Halo 1 had it close enough.

I'm not hating on Bungie, again, I'm applauding them for making such an impactful franchise. After Halo, nearly every FPS game was (and still is) sought out for the position of the "Halo Killer". So the easiest way to do that was to just be Halo.

 

[Levitas1234]

thrusters would burn through the energy shields...

I wont be using them any time in the future because they feel like a dues ex machina for fun multiplayer gaming, also i don't have a 360 or plan to get one.

Looks like a sick game though

 

[Zarthek]

After playing this at my friends house last night I can tell you that if I finally buy a 360, this will be the game that brought me to it.. Still doesn't seem likely as I have friends in walking distance that are easy to leach game time off of, but who knows, might be adding an Xbox Live account to my profile.

 

[Mr. Sparzy]

I give it a 5/10

Isn't that maybe a little harsh?

that maybe a lot harsh?

Not harsh at all. To actually pay full price for something that's already been done "and better I might add" is ridiculous. Don't get me wrong I love Bungie. Have many fond memories of the Marathon trilogy, Pathways Into Darkness, Myth, but that was a long time ago. Somewhere along the way Bungie lost what it meant to be an independent innovator. To celebrate that in anyway only shows what's wrong with the industry. So to the Halo series good riddance. Now maybe Bungie can get their act together.

*edit*

Bring on the hate.

It's not Bungie's fault for being unoriginal. Microsoft bought them out, had them make Halo for Xbox, forced them to make Halo games by a deadline (which is why Halo 2 and 3 sucked because Bungie had to rush them). And when Bungie asked to work on another video game series, Microsoft disapproved and had them continue work on their "golden child".

You can't blame Bungie, it's Microsoft's fault. Microsoft fault for rushing Halo and not having it lie up it's expectations. Microsofts fault that they took the best Macintosh Video Game company in history away for Apple fans. And Microsoft's fault for getting Bungie stuck in this Halo trend. The only reason I bought the Xbox 360 was for Halo. Granted there are games I like that I have on the Xbox 360 such as Fallout 3, Republic Commando, Star Wars: Battlefront II, Left 4 Dead, Castle Crashers and the Orange Box, but nether the less, I could still just get all those games on the PS3 (or Mac).

So, Microsoft made the smart decision in buying out Bungie for Halo so people can buy there product, but they made the dumb decision to put there greedy hands and rush the damn thing to ruin it for everyone.

*sigh*

 

[BloodSquirrel]

Just finished the campaign.

Bungie obviously put a ton of effort into the game. The level design is easily the best I've ever seen in a shooter. It really makes you feel like you're moving around in an open world instead of down a corridor. Like you're fighting a battle, not just proceeding through a level. There's an incredible amount of detail all around, and it really makes the areas you're fighting in come alive.

The story isn't very strong from a narrative standpoint, but it does a good job of setting the mood, and has a few really somber moments.

 

[duchaked]

I thought I was gonna have an issue with the lack of super gigantic epic scale battles...but nah
as I played through the first level, I was tense. I mean, familiar everything...but something was different
warmed up as I made my way through but at the end...man that was fun. no trudging through a 'swamp' level where you just wanna get it over with
length might be my only gripe, it's on the short side...but I'll have to see if that's a problem on Legendary...

 

[Frostbite3789]

I'm pretty sure that you could increase that average IQ for any gaming forum by 50 points by just insta-banning anybody who bashed Halo.

So...anyone who has a differing opinion on a game than you is a troll? God forbid anybody think something isn't as good as you do. I mean, why bash the clear highest point and hallmark of all gaming culture? There is no better game. The perfect game shouldn't have detractors. Ever.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

I'll always find it funny that an army of Spartans couldn't hold one planet, yet one (the Chief) could take care of so many overwhelming odds missions in Halo's one to three.

When does Master Chief ever hold an entire planet by himself?

In Halo 1-3 he's just the guy who can fight his way to the most important places at the most important times.

I never said he held a planet, I'm just saying, these guys are supposedly the same deal right? Yet only one makes it out of this whole thing and accomplishes more then any.

 

[tamerman]

makes me want to buy an Xbox just for this one game.

 

[Phoenixlight]

I wrote a one sentence statement to get in for first place...

You should be put on probation for that like the people who do it for Zero Punctuation videos, anyway I?ve reported you. In regards to halo, I haven't played reach yet but I?m not really a fan of the series so probably won't bother.

 

[Bat Vader]

Nice review, I could feel the epic wind of Reach blowing. I just cannot wait to coop through the campaign.

As a side note, how is the music? I always enjoyed the Halo theme and how it fits perfectly with the action.

It was one of the things that I didn't like, actually. Not to say that it was bad by any stretch of the matter - Marty O'donnell is a great composer - but that it just didn't have a really memorable track for me until the very end.

If Halo is such a multiplayer centric franchise, why is there no multiplayer review? Are they going to release one?

Yes. Traditionally, our reviews for all games focus on the singleplayer, since different players will have wholly different experiences online, but we'll have a multiplayer segment coming sometime soon from EIC Russ Pitts

The music in Halo: Reach seemed almost like a remix of the music from the other Halo games. I agree with you that the music did not seem as epic like it did in the other Halo games. For me I thought ODST had the best soundtrack out of all of them.

 

[Pilkingtube]

Nice review, I could feel the epic wind of Reach blowing. I just cannot wait to coop through the campaign.

As a side note, how is the music? I always enjoyed the Halo theme and how it fits perfectly with the action.

It was one of the things that I didn't like, actually. Not to say that it was bad by any stretch of the matter - Marty O'donnell is a great composer - but that it just didn't have a really memorable track for me until the very end.

If Halo is such a multiplayer centric franchise, why is there no multiplayer review? Are they going to release one?

Yes. Traditionally, our reviews for all games focus on the singleplayer, since different players will have wholly different experiences online, but we'll have a multiplayer segment coming sometime soon from EIC Russ Pitts

I believe Sir.Funk just broke the space time continuum.

 

[BloodSquirrel]

So...anyone who has a differing opinion on a game than you is a troll? God forbid anybody think something isn't as good as you do. I mean, why bash the clear highest point and hallmark of all gaming culture? There is no better game. The perfect game shouldn't have detractors. Ever.

The above comment demonstrates the disturbing tend of people not even being able to tell the difference between "a differeing opinion" and "trolling" anymore. If you consider comments like the one a mere two posts above yours "a differeing opinion", then it's time you get off the internet and seek out some more normal social interaction because your perspective has been seriously warped.

I never said he held a planet, I'm just saying, these guys are supposedly the same deal right? Yet only one makes it out of this whole thing and accomplishes more then any.

Well, first off, only one of them is a Spartan II. The rest are Spartan IIIs, the not-as-good, mass produced version.

Second off- the battle for Reach is a doomed effort. By the end, the planet has been overrun. I don't want to put spoilers here so I won't be specific, but the Spartans are basically sacrificing themselves to give more people time to get off the planet. They could have gotten off, if they had wanted to, but they stayed behind to fight instead.

 

[k-ossuburb]

Damnit, now I've got to buy this game. I like the series, but I tried to move onto other things and I was trying my hardest not to get hyped up about "Reach". But this review has gone and ruined it, now I'm all hyped again and I've got to go out and buy it. Thanks a lot John, I hope a puppy licks your face and you get snuggled by an extremely adorable kitten.

 

[daavisb]

haha, im playing halo 1

 

[OneOfTheMichael's]

I perosnly loved it in every way (so far).
Haven't beat the whole game yet so don't spoil anything yet.
Found that god mode on firefight was extremely fun and that the campaign is actually a bit awesome indeed. The way you can unlock items in the armory without haveing to play multiplayer and how you can change the looks of the main character is pretty neat. 8.5/10

 

[Flying Dagger]

I'd probably check this out if it came out on pc, but it doesn't look enough to make me buy an xbox.

 

[Frostbite3789]

The above comment demonstrates the disturbing tend of people not even being able to tell the difference between "a differeing opinion" and "trolling" anymore. If you consider comments like the one a mere two posts above yours "a differeing opinion", then it's time you get off the internet and seek out some more normal social interaction because your perspective has been seriously warped.

\

I'm not talking about what they're saying. I'm talking about what you said. You said anyone bashing Halo should be banned. So every single person who has something negative to say about it is a troll in your eyes? You're the one with the warped view sir, if you think every single opinion that isn't yours is trolling, which is what your first post implied if you re-read it.

OT: Reach is pretty fun. Just more riprolling FPS action. If you liked other Halo games, you'll like this. If not, stay the course on not playing them, this one won't change your perspective.

 

[Airsoftslayer93]

Should have stopped commenting at 117, seems fitting