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
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