Bungie has done it again and showed the world why Halo isn't stepping off the throne of the console FPS anytime soon.
Bungie makes Halo games to be played for years on end. That is literally the design goal for them. That goal has been achieved with every main series entry of Halo, and people will be playing Reach a long time from now. On the first day alone, 9 million games were played online. The changes to the ranking system allows players to enjoy the game and keep playing no matter what playlist or mode they are active in. The Commendations give those extra little goals to strive for, and the Challenges, weekly and daily, give players a reason to check in on the game whenever they can and always have something new to do. It's all the little things that count in making the online experience much deeper. Things like the Active Roster, things like being able to take three friends online with me for the ride, and things like sending out a Hologram that someone shoots at for three seconds before he realizes he's made an oops, and then I come behind him with my shotgun and deliver my fantastic chiropractic abilities at the end of the barrel.
The campaign is great. Personally, I expected a bit more based around the events of the Fall of Reach, but what we got was good. Reach tells a story of war, and the sacrifice that comes with it. It starts out feeling very cookie cutter to be honest, but as it progresses, the overlying feeling of intensity increases. The set pieces aren't as epic as people who played the original trilogy may be used to. I remember so many moments from the campaigns in Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3, and the only real lasting memories of Reach's campaign are the space battle (which was like another game in itself) and the ending. The last half of that campaign is gripping. The way it closes out is touching.
But as always, what makes Halo above and beyond many other games and the king of it's genre, is the gameplay. The foundation Bungie struck gold with, a fusion of traditional shooter elements fighting over map control and fixed weapon spawns, combined with the unique weapons, physics, vehicles, map design, and new armor abilities. All the fixes the game needed from the beta have been made. Reach is every bit as accessible as the past Halo games. Bungie loads this game up with so much content. There is something for everyone if you are willing to take the time to find it, and everything for someone open-minded enough to appreciate quality game design. All of the new modes are fun. Team Stockpile and Team Headhunter is surprisingly intense and enjoyable. The new Arena playlist is groundbreaking and a genius idea. They have taken Halo, taken a few little qualities from other series and fused them without compromising the core of the game and the roots it was built upon. Halo: Reach is a fantastic example of how to keep something going. It isn't a franchise, it's a phenomenon.