So the time has come for Bungie to hang up their controllers, pack away their computers and head off home for the last time. We all knew the day would come when Bungie would leave Halo but we never expected it so soon. For 9 years we have been astounded by the Halo universe, for 9 years we have battled the flood and for 9 years we have won our encounters with the Covenant. Now the time has come to go back to the beginning, where it all began, where we will loose everything and where a hero is born.
Halo: Reach is set just before Halo Combat Evolved on the humble Earth like planet Reach. You play as Noble 6, sent in to replace the previous Noble 6 in the famous Noble team. Carter, Kat, Jun, Jorge, Emile and now you. You are sent to investigate some strange goings on and find out that the Covenant are invading and in a force bigger than the humans have ever seen. Your job is to stop them.
The story to Reach is deep and satisfying. It brings about emotions rarely seen in games today, anger, love, hope and failure.
The cast of characters vary. You have Jorge the gentle giant, Jun the silent intelligent type, Carter and Kat the strong leaders and Emile being the one that’s more important than you first think. You can be whoever you want to be due to your unknown status and your fully customisable armour.
The gameplay is the same as every Halo game bar a couple of additions. Armour abilities enhance the way you play. You can sprint, fly and turn invisible with these whenever you want to making the game that much more tactical and bringing about a new experience every time you play. The other main addition is low gravity areas, there are several sections where you will be near weightless in Reach depending on the setting. There is even a level where you fly up to a Covenant cruiser in a spaceship and blow the bastard to smitheries.
The graphics ans sound have been vastly improved from the previous titles, not to mention the awe inspiring soundtrack and backdrops to levels. Everything is smoother and more textureised, a wider variety of colours have been used (even if they are on the darker side of the shade scale) making Reach feel alive yet moody.
The firefight and multiplayer modes have been vastly improved, with the addition of armour abilities making each experience different you know get to personalise your search types and how you play the game on the multiplayer menu. Firefight now includes skulls and custom settings meaning you can create your own personal firefight mode. The XP system is better too, you earn credits as XP which you can spend in the armoury on armour items to really personalise yourself.
Forge now has its own specially designed level, completely bare (bar beautiful scenery) and yours to create with. Improved interface in forge helps too, not to mention better block usage making it easy to make things hover, go into scenery and snap into a certain position. Theatre has been tweaked to make it easier to use yet more advanced, the only thing its missing is youtube integration.
In short Halo: Reach is the definitive Halo, it takes the best bits of every Halo and puts them together in one big pot, this isn’t a game its a collection of 9 years of excellence. Well done Bungie, feel proud and let the series rest...complete.
Halo: Reach – 9/10
+The Ballsiest Halo Yet
+Excellent Story
+Great Gameplay
+The Most Complete Halo Experience To Date
