Something went wrong. Try again later
    Follow

    Halo: Reach

    Game » consists of 13 releases. Released Sep 14, 2010

    A prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved, chronicling one of the most cataclysmic events of the Halo Universe through the eyes of a squad of Spartan super-soldiers known as Noble Team. It is also the last game in the series developed by Bungie.

    mikeinsc's Halo: Reach (Xbox 360) review

    Avatar image for mikeinsc

    Decent Ending to an Overrated Series

     Bungie's stewardship over their rather profitable Halo series comes to a close with Halo Reach, probably the pinnacle of this series. The storyline is abject crap (space marines repel the Covenant from Reach) and almost seems to contradict the mythos (Reach, if memory serves, went so poorly it got them to wake Master Chief up to fight the Covenant and the UNSC was basically routed and abandoned the planet).

    So, this is the prequel involving the Fall of Reach...and things aren't that bad. You are Noble Six, who apparently is not Master Chief. And you are trying to set up the defenses to fight off the Covenant...and, if the story holds true, your efforts were for naught as a massacre follows after you finish apparently. Has nobody realized that prequels are bad ideas, especially in "heroic" games? If things in the storyline start off bad, it does make happy endings in prequels hard...and not many people would play a game to face a final battle they cannot win.

    So, you traverse around Reach and Halo gameplay is evident. Enemies are bullet sponges and you can apparently punch harder than most guns fire. Its a weird gameplay decision and not one I adore, but I am apparently in the minority. Space combat makes its debut and is a fun 5 minute diversion, but is way too inconsequential for the mention it got in the hype-a-thon.

    The single player is, well, Halo. Lots of colors and explosions. I ignored Bungie's advice to play on Heroic as I don't find masochism fun. Normal is enough for me. Its basically every Halo game you ever played. You have to cover a lot and wait for shields to recharge (health will recharge somewhat, but you will need to use health packs). Its a decent game but has some issues.

    Mainly, you can simply run away from A LOT of fighs. If a fight is rough, hauling butt to the checkpoint (which usually isn't that far away) is a workable strategy. In the final full level, I ran away from all but two skirmishes with few problems.

    But the game is good and when you beat it, well, the ending feels better than Halo 2. Bungie crafted a well developed story and an enjoyable game.

    Halo's biggest shock, though, is technical prowess. I actually TRIED to gum up the framerate (Firefight on Legendary with unlimited rocket launcher ammo and a bottomless clip with invulnerability). Even with the screen full of multi-colored explosions, the frame rate didn't even dip. Its actually really impressive.

    The multiplayer is, as always, loaded. Bungie knows how to make a lot of game types. But the gameplay is less, well, visceral than a lot of games. CoD has better online play in my opinion, though both games' online is harmed by lots of jerks who make one weep for humanity. I'd love online gaming more if you didn't have to deal with online morons.

    Bungie is now leaving Halo behind and doing a new IP (I have concerns as Microsoft turned it down). So we need to look at their record and, to be honest, the hype these games get dwarf their actual quality. The closest example would be Goldeneye for the N64. Like Halo, it was a ground breaking title (first console FPS that wasn't shit while Halo was the first good console FPS) but one that has the rep of being amazing but isn't that hot.

    Halo isn't bad...but not the best out there. I look forward to the next developer (Gearbox?) and their take. And Bungie might be refreshed with something different.

    0 Comments

    Other reviews for Halo: Reach (Xbox 360)

      Reach for the stars 0

      Halo: Reach is kind of the Empire Stikes Back of the Halo franchise. I'm not saying it's the best one, because it's not. I'm saying this because of the tone. Halo: Reach is the story planet Reach, and the war that destroyed it. It's a story filled with death, depressive scenes and little hope. And yes, despite all this, this is a Halo game, and a pretty darn good one too.  Game is split into a variety of modes but three stand out the most: the Campagne, the gigantic, deeper than the ocean Multip...

      26 out of 30 found this review helpful.

      Welcome to Reach 0

      In November of 2001, a launch title for the original Xbox named Halo: Combat Evolved forever changed the controls and impact of the home console first-person shooter. Nine years later, developer Bungie had grown the series into one of the most successful and recognizable franchises in the entire industry, becoming a household name nearly rivaling Mario. 2010 saw Bungie's final game in the series that they will create, crafting an origin story to Combat Evolved; appropriately ending the developer...

      4 out of 4 found this review helpful.

    This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.