Reach may be screwed, but thes Spartans aren't going down without a fight.
User Rating: 9.5 | Halo: Reach X360
Halo:Reach was one of the most hyped games this year. With expectacions at an all time high, Halo:Reach had little room for error. Luckily, the final Halo game of Bungies creation is everything we hoped. Halo:Reach's campaign immediately makes one thing clear. Reach's screwed, and your attempts to stop that are futile. This is quickly conveyed though an ominous beginning cutscene; the helmet of Noble 6(the protagonist) with a bullet hole through it. Watching the USS Savanah explode while you stand helplessly on the sidelines is another great example. Campaing is also very engaging. Starting you with a weapon that fits the basis of a mission(like a sniper rifle for a stealth mission) help keep you engaged. The game also invests you in certain moments. While a large covenant force fires at you while a door closes to seal them off, I didn't have to waste ammo firing at forces that would soon be meaningless. But I nonetheless poked my head out to fire a few DMR rounds, simply because I was invested in a conflict bigger tha myself. Add an awesome soundtrack that really pumps you up, and these moments become really exhilirating. Gameplay is just as good. A few buttons have been reassinged, most changes are for the better. Assassination animations are quite good, and thankfully replace the silly looking art of tebbaging. All guns pack an appropriate punch, and are mostly balanced. Dual-wielding is still gone, but weapons that were elegible for dual-wield are now more powerful, except for the SMG, which has been removed. The new weapons are all also very cool. Multiplayer, however, hit it's high point. There are plenty of fun new modes, and voting on the map/mode is much less frusturating than being randomly assingned one. Credits also provide a much better way to track your promotion progress and aquire new armors. Add tons of different armours to purchase and multiplayer will keep you playing Reach for years on end. Best game of all time? Probably not. A few levels bored me to tears, and having your whole team quit on you to leave you to your fate is immensly frusturating. And while Armor abilities are an awesome addition(much better than the vague and useless equipment), Hologram feels very useless, especialy in wide open maps. Despite this, Halo:Reach will leave Halo junkies immensly satisfied. It's the perfect way to end the Halo-Bungie relationship with a bang. 
