Halo: Reach doesn't reach far enough for me :(
Graphics: 8/10
Yes an 8, and that's being nice in my opinion! To me after seeing games like Uncharted 2 or Killzone 2 Halo at least has to live up to that being a tier 1 franchise game. But sadly it doesn't. The graphics are good but not great. I'm not sure if it's because of the limitations of the Xbox or the production value put into it? Each environment was full of color but not full of life. Pretty much the only things you see are your characters and covenant the entire game. There are a few ostriches here and there in the beginning but.....seriously. The environments are void of life, now you can say "it's because of it being a war zone." If you say that your missing my point. I'm talking about tumble weeds rolling by. Water drops falling from the sealing into a puddle of water in a cave. Water reflection of rippling water on the cave walls. Wind effects with dust coming up from the ground. Halo: Reach has non of that. It has weather effects like rain, but even that is a sad excuse of a rain shower. I didn't know it could down pour but the rain doesn't run down windows, your helmet or barely drip on the ground?!? If you don't know what I'm talking about play the games I mentioned above. That's what I mean with the environments lacking life. There was never a moment of my mouth dropping on the floor and thinking....wow!
Story: 7/10
This is by far the weakest Halo storyline. SPOILER ALERT!!! You can skip this if you wish. Basically if you want to sum up the story it goes like this. Kill covenant, next kill more covenant, save people, fly helicopters and rockets in space (which is kinda cool) while you kill covenant, kill covenant again, main characters begin to drop like flies, kill more covenant, find Cortana (if your memory is hazy she's the AI that helps Master Chief in previous Halos), once you get Cortana you must get her off the planet Reach (this literally happens in one level. it's more like a cameo appearance), once again kill more covenant, then you die.....game over. There is hardly any connection to the characters. Mainly because you don't really get to know them for very long. Kat (one of your fellow spartans) you'll get to know her the most since she's the most talkative. But sadly that's short lived. It lacked depth and emotion. When someone gets killed your like oh crap there dead....then you have to stop and think, what was there name again??? Sadly this could have been soooooo much better. Call me mushy but throwing in a love story while all hell is breaking loose and having to decide on saving your loved one or the planet of Reach and Cortana would have created a much better story. It would have at least created a value of honor or drama that is much need here.
Gameplay: 9/10
One thing Halo has always done right is gameplay. Really I don't have to explain this if you have played Halo before...it's solid. Following the same formula as they should it stays true to previous Halo games, but taking it a bit further with extras like Holograms, Shield, Sprinting etc. Also, in this Halo there are or at least feels like a lot of variations in vehicles. Pretty much anything that is on screen you can either ride or use in some way. AI is good, but at times dumb. I didn't give it a perfect 10 since your computer controlled AI still can't drive! Past Haloers will know what I'm talking about, lol.
Online: 9/10
Obviously this is where Bungie put most of its focus. Online play is great! Take the campaign gameplay and put it into an online environment. It's fun and for some addicting. The overall attention to detail for the revamped old maps and new ones is done in a grand Halo fashion. The addition of leveling up your character for new upgrades is fun, but pretty much pointless since they really don't do anything for you other than show everyone else what you've been able to unlock. Adding the new gameplay elements mention before like Sprinting, Shields, Holograms, etc bring a little bit different variation to the online play, but all in all it still holds true the old Halo formula. The addition or should I say the expansion of Forge is excellent. You can spend endless hours creating your own custom maps and sharing them with the online world of Halo. This personally to me is the greatest achievement in Halo: Reach. But with all these great things online has to offer, it just didn't do enough for me. Sadly it feels like that same ole thing. I may play online from time to time, but it's really starting to show it's age compared to other online games.
Conclusion: 8.5/10
Halo: Reach is a fun game that any Halo fan should take part in, but it suffers from the same problem they all have. The storyline is way to short. And for me I was expecting more in the graphics department with Halo: Reach. Seeing the current games on the market and seeing what they have achieved I would have thought Halo: Reach would try to match or exceed those. Another disappointment for me is the storyline. It just was to blain and didn't have that suck you in kinda story that kept you wanting more. I play games mainly for there storyline and Halo was one that sucked me in from the start. Sadly Halo: Reach left me thinking they rushed it together just to capitalize off a retiring series. Now on the other hand online Halo lovers will be in Heaven. There is much to do and create. And most anyone that has played Halo before will feel right at home. So, to sum it all up in a nut shell. If you are a Halo fan, buy it! If your a fan of FPS online shooters, buy it! If your a person who likes story driven adventures with cutting edge graphics, you may want to spent your money elsewhere.