Bungie shows us one more time what made Halo so fun to begin with
When you see the title "Halo Reach", you might be thinking that this is a game adaptation of the book "The Fall of Reach". Instead, Bungie decided to tell us their own story of the planet's demise from the perspective a Spartan team called "Noble Team" made up of Carter, Kat, Jun, Emile, and Jorge. Taking place before the events of the first Halo, Master Chief is absent this time but you assume the role of "Noble 6", the newest member of Noble team. You and your team have discovered the the Covenant have discovered and invaded Reach, a large planet that is very vital to the UNSC due to its large military presence. Noble Team is sent to mission after mission to discover what the Covenant want and draw back this invasion.
If you read the Fall of Reach, you probably know how it's going to end (hell, even the title of the book gives it away). I like where they were going with this story, showing the tragedy of the battle of Reach. The story isn't the greatest in the series but I do feel they pulled off the feel of a losing battle quite well, especially one mission in a city in which your job is to get everyone off the planet. I do have one complaint, however...
*spoilers, please skip this next paragraph if you haven't played the game yet*
I like the idea of killing off all the characters, but the problem here is the character development. They're not bad characters in any way, but the game doesn't give us enough time to really know any of them. They die off one by one but it is hard to feel sorry for them because of this. The best death of all is your own; on the last level, your goal is to survive as long as you can but it doesn't matter how long you last, you are going to die, but not before you take out as many elites as you can.
*end spoilers*
I would say the campaign is all around great. Like any other shooter, you just kill everything you see and get to the end, but it still has the opportunity for more than one tactic to try out in order to get passed like previous Halo titles. The missions do feel more varied this time like one where you're flying in the falcon, gunning on the side of the falcon, sniping, and even one where you go to space. Speaking of which, the space battle is well done too and one of the best new features. It feels like a mixture of Battlefront 2 and Crimson Skies (this was made by the same designer as Crimson Skies, and it really shows). It's just too bad that this is underused, it's only in one level and there's no multiplayer mode based on it. Other than that, this game is surprisingly quite challenging, the hardest game in the series since the first two I would say. There's no Flood, but the Elites are back as the main enemy (with Brutes joining in later) and they brought their recharging armor with them. The friendly A.I. hasn't changed but the enemy A.I. has improved; taking cover when weak, reacting to your shots, flanking you, etc. making the game harder. Overall, the campaign was great and even one of the best.
Now onto the graphics. This isn't the best looking game the 360 has to offer, but the environment and detail are beautiful and seem to take full advantage of the console. The environments are huge with so much going on; from looking out at the large landscape to seeing massive aerial battles up above. There's a nice use of color, too, other than the usual gray and brown like other shooters.
Now onto what made Halo so great in the first place, the multiplayer, and Bungie delivers on this aspect again. The usual weapons are back like the assault rifle, shotgun, sniper rifle, rocket launcher, needler, etc. but there are new weapons such as the new magnum pistol (in which the Halo 1 pistol has been returned to it's former glory), the DMR (replacement of the battle rifle, only single shot instead of burst), the needle rifle (basically a replacement of the carbine), grenade launchers, and the focus rifle. Although not every weapon is balanced, no weapon is unstoppable. The DMR has a little bloom to it but it's a nice replacement for the battle rifle and the needle rifle is a great new addition if used right. There's no dual wielding this time either but it's not as missed as you'd think.
One major new addition to Halo Reach is the selection of armor abilities. Before each match, or when you die and are waiting to respawn, you will be given the choice between sprint (makes you run faster for a short distance), hologram (send a hologram of yourself as a distraction), armor lock (stay invincible for a few seconds but you are immobile), jet pack (fly a short distance), cloak (go invisible, and mess up the enemy's radar) and drop shield (produce a shield around you for protection). All armor abilities have their own advantages that can be useful depending on game type or map. They're pretty balanced for the most part except for the possibility of armor lock, but even that can be stopped.
The game modes that everyone knows and loves are back like slayer, CTF, King of the Hill, Oddball, Race and more. Now, there are newer game types to be played as well such as Invasion (a team of Spartans must defend a core while the Elites try to capture it and vise verse, probably the biggest and best of the newer game modes), headhunter (kill opponents, collect as many skulls as you can and bring them to the marked checkpoints to score), Stockpile (capture flags and bring them to your own base to defend them, while stopping the other team from doing the same) and much more. Most of the game types are fun to play but not every game type is for everyone. It certainly helps that Reach as just as much, if not more, customizable options that the rest of the series has had. Firefight has returned from Halo 3: ODST too, but this time with matchmaking and a ton of customizable options for offline games, including changing who you fight in what round, how long each game will last (a few rounds or endless), what skulls turn on when, Spartan and Covenant traits (like normal custom games) and even one mode where players can take the role of the Covenant side. Matchmaking is one round only but maybe that's for the best. Either way, Firefight is as fun as ever.
The matchmaking is much improved from Halo 3. There are still a few bugs to work out but it seems to perform well. The only place I seem to experience lag is in Firefight, but this may just be my connection. Instead of showing them a map/game, giving them an option to veto only to be stuck with another, players in each pre-game lobby can vote between 3 maps/game types that they wish to play, or "none of the above" for a new round of voting. This can sometimes lead to playing a popular game type over and over (that you may or may not like) but it's better off that the players get to choose what they want this time rather than giving us a game that NOBODY wants to play. After each game, you will be given a certain amount of credits depending on how well you did, which you can use to rank up and purchase more items from the armory to customize your spartan. You can buy from a selection of helmets, shoulder pads, and chest pieces but you can also buy a Firefight voice based on other characters of the Halo universe, including the Master Chief himself, or you can buy armor effects like the birthday party or hearts (which go off when you die). Need more credits? There are also daily as well as weekly challenges for you to complete that can require any game mode, online or off. The credit system works great, even though some of the items in the armory seem a bit steep in price, but it definitely builds up replay value.
Lastly, Forge is back from Halo 3 and better than ever. Forge 2.0 has been made easier with the addition of a snap on feature, turning your objects exactly how you want them, and even having them phase through walls and float in mid air, just where you want it. Thanks to all this, the possibilities in forge are endless and is nowhere near as clunky as the forge in Halo 3. Any map allows this but the map you'll want to build in is, of course, Forge World; a large map with multiple locations to build your custom map.
I think if I had one complaint about this game I would say that it is the map selection. Most of them are alright but there are 9 maps total + 3 or 4 made in forge world, with quite a few remakes. My problem is that 2 of the maps are too specifically built for invasion and don't work with other game types. Any long time Halo fan will be glad to know that Blood Gulch has come back, though.
Bungie wanted to make sure their last Halo game counted, and boy does it ever. It's not perfect but it's jam packed with so many features to choose from such as a fun campaign, an even better multiplayer with many game types, firefight, credits to earn and a much improved forge, there is plenty of content here for anyone who plays online or offline and is an excellent addition to your 360 library. They have added plenty to the formula, but it's still the Halo you know and love. If you like Halo or are just looking for a great multiplayer game, look no further than Halo Reach.