It is currently September 19th and this week I’ve pretty much been solidly playing Halo: Reach. I picked up the limited edition of the game and while I’m still waiting to dive into the extra curios bundled with it I’ve finished Reach itself and spent some time in the multiplayer. I’ve been a massive fan of the Halo games since sometime between Halo 2 and 3 and to actually have the final game in my hands after a decade of this video game phenomenon was somewhat unbelievable.

As everyone has said this is definitely a Halo game; if you like Halo chances are you’ll like this game and if you don’t like Halo then Reach is not for you. The game carries that same feel that has made the series so fun; the great weapon design, the balance between shooting, using grenades and using melee (and now also using armour abilities), as well as the improvisation and strategising based on your weapons and environment which so often come into play in the game. The graphics are certainly a jump-up from Halo 3 and the larger campaign maps with more AI on them give a greater sense that you’re part of an epic battle although it’s a shame that the framerate issues in the cutscenes are so noticeable. Although there are no particular standout or classic-feeling pieces of music in the game Martin O’Donnell has once again done a great job on the soundtrack and the sound design in general. I liked that the storyline was tied in closer to that of the Halo novels and when you ignore the aforementioned framerate issue the cutscenes are very good. (Note: Spoiler tag below contains spoilers for the ending of Halo: Reach).

 I’m sure I’ll have a lot more fun with the multiplayer yet, which may be even more addictive now there’s the constant reward of medals, commendations and credits. While I didn’t think there’d be any aesthetic upgrades from the armory I wanted that badly the high-priced items such as Master Chief’s voice in firefight mode or the armor effects made me grip my controller and say “Damn you Bungie”, they sure know how to push my buttons. I haven’t tried out firefight mode yet but considering how much fun that was with a friend in ODST I’m sure good things await me and while I’ve yet to set foot in forge mode I’ve been very impressed by what some people have managed to create with it in a relatively short space of time. Bungie have created a brilliant conclusion to the series with Reach and while I’m worried about what Microsoft may do next with the Halo IP I have a lot of respect for Bungie for leaving the series where it is, bravo guys.

Before the Halo madness set in this week I did manage to finish a game whose name was at one time upon everybody’s lips- Red Dead Redemption. This is a game I’m putting aside for now and will probably come back to later but wow, what an ending. (Note: Spoiler tag below contains spoilers for the ending of Red Dead Redemption).

All in all it’s been a hell of a week and it’s been great to see the forums awash with talk of Reach. Thank you all for reading, good luck, have piracy.

-Gamer_152

It is currently September 19th and this week I’ve pretty much been solidly playing Halo: Reach. I picked up the limited edition of the game and while I’m still waiting to dive into the extra curios bundled with it I’ve finished Reach itself and spent some time in the multiplayer. I’ve been a massive fan of the Halo games since sometime between Halo 2 and 3 and to actually have the final game in my hands after a decade of this video game phenomenon was somewhat unbelievable.

As everyone has said this is definitely a Halo game; if you like Halo chances are you’ll like this game and if you don’t like Halo then Reach is not for you. The game carries that same feel that has made the series so fun; the great weapon design, the balance between shooting, using grenades and using melee (and now also using armour abilities), as well as the improvisation and strategising based on your weapons and environment which so often come into play in the game. The graphics are certainly a jump-up from Halo 3 and the larger campaign maps with more AI on them give a greater sense that you’re part of an epic battle although it’s a shame that the framerate issues in the cutscenes are so noticeable. Although there are no particular standout or classic-feeling pieces of music in the game Martin O’Donnell has once again done a great job on the soundtrack and the sound design in general. I liked that the storyline was tied in closer to that of the Halo novels and when you ignore the aforementioned framerate issue the cutscenes are very good. (Note: Spoiler tag below contains spoilers for the ending of Halo: Reach).

 I’m sure I’ll have a lot more fun with the multiplayer yet, which may be even more addictive now there’s the constant reward of medals, commendations and credits. While I didn’t think there’d be any aesthetic upgrades from the armory I wanted that badly the high-priced items such as Master Chief’s voice in firefight mode or the armor effects made me grip my controller and say “Damn you Bungie”, they sure know how to push my buttons. I haven’t tried out firefight mode yet but considering how much fun that was with a friend in ODST I’m sure good things await me and while I’ve yet to set foot in forge mode I’ve been very impressed by what some people have managed to create with it in a relatively short space of time. Bungie have created a brilliant conclusion to the series with Reach and while I’m worried about what Microsoft may do next with the Halo IP I have a lot of respect for Bungie for leaving the series where it is, bravo guys.

Before the Halo madness set in this week I did manage to finish a game whose name was at one time upon everybody’s lips- Red Dead Redemption. This is a game I’m putting aside for now and will probably come back to later but wow, what an ending. (Note: Spoiler tag below contains spoilers for the ending of Red Dead Redemption).

All in all it’s been a hell of a week and it’s been great to see the forums awash with talk of Reach. Thank you all for reading, good luck, have piracy.

-Gamer_152

Halo Reach is great only gripe I have with it is that their seems to be very few multiplayer maps most of which aren't new. They are all remakes or successors to older Halo maps mainly from Halo 2, I mean they didn't even remake the Pit. 
 
RDR is such a good game I want to start it over again soon.

Will is the Master Chief, I knew it all along ;)

" Will is the Master Chief, I knew it all along ;) "

" Halo Reach is great only gripe I have with it is that their seems to be very few multiplayer maps most of which aren't new. They are all remakes or successors to older Halo maps mainly from Halo 2, I mean they didn't even remake the Pit.  RDR is such a good game I want to start it over again soon. "

A worthy end to a great run by Bungie. Hopefully Microsoft is able to follow their footsteps and produce a  worthy successor in a few years time.

Good blog man. I hope to see you in Multiplayer!

" Halo Reach is great only gripe I have with it is that their seems to be very few multiplayer maps most of which aren't new. They are all remakes or successors to older Halo maps mainly from Halo 2, I mean they didn't even remake the Pit.  RDR is such a good game I want to start it over again soon. "

" Halo Reach is great only gripe I have with it is that their seems to be very few multiplayer maps most of which aren't new. They are all remakes or successors to older Halo maps mainly from Halo 2, I mean they didn't even remake the Pit.  RDR is such a good game I want to start it over again soon. "

I really thought the ending was pretty fucking tired to be honest. If people didn't "get it" I cannot understand why at all. The fact that they were relics of a bygone age was absolutely hammered home during the last few chapters and became something of a cliche by the time the decidedly unsurprising ending came around. 

I just beat the game and was surprised when the credits rolled, but then the after credits sequence and cut-scene was awesome. 
 
The entire time while playing the game i really thought maybe i can save Reach, but at the end i knew everyone had to die. :(

" A worthy end to a great run by Bungie. Hopefully Microsoft is able to follow their footsteps and produce a  worth successor in a few years time. "

" Good blog man. I hope to see you in Multiplayer! "

" @ShaneDev said:

" Halo Reach is great only gripe I have with it is that their seems to be very few multiplayer maps most of which aren't new. They are all remakes or successors to older Halo maps mainly from Halo 2, I mean they didn't even remake the Pit.  RDR is such a good game I want to start it over again soon. "

There's quite a good reason behind that. The pit in halo 3 would no longer work because the DMR could hit anything from anywhere whereas the halo 3 BR couldn't. Same reason blood gulch is back in reach but wasn't in halo 3... the halo 2 BR had a range much like that of the DMR. "

" @ShaneDev said:

" Halo Reach is great only gripe I have with it is that their seems to be very few multiplayer maps most of which aren't new. They are all remakes or successors to older Halo maps mainly from Halo 2, I mean they didn't even remake the Pit.  RDR is such a good game I want to start it over again soon. "

I would not want them to remake the pit, or anything from H3 for that matter. I think they did this because gameplay wise Reach is more similar to H2/CE than H3 (reduced melee damage, more precision weapons, hitscan, etc.) "

" @Gamer_152 said:      

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

One major indication that the game had a really strong ending for me was that a lot of people didn’t seem to get it. I say that not because I want people to be excluded from enjoying video game narrative but rather that it shows Red Dead Redemption had an ending you really had to think about to understand in its entirety. For all of the game’s brilliant dialogue part of the brilliance of its closing came from the fact that there was no dialogue spoken when John stepped out into the crowd of gunmen. While video games can produce impactful stories we rarely see one which speaks on such a metaphorical level, not only was John’s death necessary so that the government would stop hounding his family but throughout the story John had represented the old west itself and as the game progressed more and more of the new world could be seen encroaching on the world John knew, John’s death was a representation of the death of the old ways. I felt like the post-ending story mission felt somewhat tacked on myself, it was an anti-climax that couldn’t have possibly matched up to John’s ending under the circumstances, although the music played over the credits somewhat helped me forgive it.

I really thought the ending was pretty fucking tired to be honest. If people didn't "get it" I cannot understand why at all. The fact that they were relics of a bygone age was absolutely hammered home during the last few chapters and became something of a cliche by the time the decidedly unsurprising ending came around. 

 Edit: Okay, I seem to have broken it, but I was quoting the section in which he called RDR's ending a "thinker" basically.  Which is wasn't.     At all. "

" I just beat the game and was surprised when the credits rolled, but then the after credits sequence and cut-scene was awesome.  The entire time while playing the game i really thought maybe i can save Reach, but at the end i knew everyone had to die. :( "

I'm normally one of those guys that hates Halo, and I've hated the series since I played Halo 1. That being said, I'm really interested in Reach, and if I wasn't planning on buying something else right now, I'd probably get it. 

" I'm normally one of those guys that hates Halo, and I've hated the series since I played Halo 1. That being said, I'm really interested in Reach, and if I wasn't planning on buying something else right now, I'd probably get it.  "