Bungie sends out its flagship series with a bang.
Which brings us to Halo: Reach, the final Halo bearing Bungie's name. Ever since its revelation at E3 2009, Bungie has paraded the game as the Halo fan's Halo, the entry that is fan service to the highest degree and fits everything in on one disc. After so much hype, can Halo: Reach hold up to the standards of millions of fans? The answer is a resounding, "Yes."
The first point I'd like to make involves the scope of the game. It is amazing that Bungie was able to cram so much game on to a single disc. There are six main modes: Campaign, Matchmaking, Custom Games, Firefight, Forge, and Theater. As the Theater mode remains largely unchanged for Reach, focus will be put on the first five.
First up: Campaign mode. Bungie has crafted what is easily the best campaign between all five entries. The plot begins shortly before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved on the human-occupied planet of Reach, which houses a large part of the human military. Thanks to Halo lore, everyone knows that by the end of the campaign, Reach will fall to the Covenant. However, the player never feels bored because they know the ending--Bungie does a great job of engaging the player in the events leading up to Reach's destruction. The player is cast as Noble Six, a Spartan who carries on the Halo tradition of not showing his face and having only a few choice words. He named thus because has been assigned as the sixth member of the all-Spartan Noble Team. Noble Team is first dispatched to locate a distress beacon believed to have been activated by soldiers attacked by a rebel group. It is soon learned that the Covenant have actually managed to sneak in to Reach and have begun to deploy a massive army. The variety in Noble Team's missions is great, ranging from space combat to flying around a burning city in the helicopter-like Falcon. In between, we meet the other Spartans of Noble Team. The voice work of these Spartans is good quality, and they certainly have more of an impact than Master Chief ever did. I felt sorrow as the team inevitably began to dwindle in size, even if the characters were sometimes corny. One of the greatest parts of the game is its final scene. No matter what difficulty you play on, you end on the same note. More casual players don't lose out on extra tidbits of story. I won't spoil the final scene here--it's just too fantastic--but let's just say that on a list of epic scenes in games, this is there with Call of Duty 4's nuclear bomb and BioShock's Andrew Ryan scene. Overall, Reach connects with the rest of the series well while telling an inspiring story of sacrifice along the way.
In terms of gameplay, no series has been more consistently perfect or nearly so than Halo, and Reach is no different. Dual-wielding is out now, along with many of Halo 3's weapons. The most significant weapon change is the switch from the 3-round burst battle rifle to the one-shot Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR), a change that is very welcome. Reticle bloom is now present as well--if you spam the DMR's trigger, expect to use far more ammo than if you had waited for your accuracy to return to normal. The best part of Reach's weapons is how every weapon has a purpose. In Halo 3, there were some weapons that weren't used frequently or barely at all, such as the Brute Shot, Spiker, or Sentinel Beam, because they just didn't have good roles. Every one of Reach's weapons is useful and have a good place in strategy from the EMP-capable Grenade Launcher to the splash damage-heavy Concussion Rifle. Reach's new Armor Abilities form the backbone of Reach's new gameplay components. These abilities replace the Halo 3's equipment, instead giving players recharging abilities that range from jetpacks to creating holograms to becoming briefly invulnerable but immobile. All of the new elements complement Halo's style nicely, creating a solid playing experience.
During the campaign, one comment will frequently spring to mind: "Jeez, they made this game hard!" Indeed, the return of the Elites and the rest of the Covenant has prompted a more frightening image--all species now speak native languages rather than English--and a tendency to mop the floor with you. Heroic difficulty is challenging and Legendary is punishing. Battles are often huge affairs now to compensate for the addition of other Spartans fighting side-by-side and never get old. Reach also breaks the curse of the "Library" level--the one level that no one wants to play again. ("The Library" in Halo: CE, "Cortana" in Halo 3, etc.) Every mission in Reach is enjoyable.
There are a few gripes with the Campaign. First, there are points when the action gets so intense that the framerate dips slightly, though these are few and far between. Also, while the enemy AI is much improved, friendly AI could still use some work. (Do not let the NPC's drive!)
If the Campaign is the birthday dinner for Halo fans, then the Multiplayer is the amazing triple-layer cake. Every weapon is balanced, every armor ability useful in battle. The maps are all at the very least very good, some of them excellent. Several of the on-disc maps were created in the heavily upgraded Forge 2.0. While Halo 3's Forge was originally created for modding-lite, crafty users began to create whole new maps. Bungie has heard the calls of fans, and Forge now has all the features for fine tuning and map-making that the community called for. Firefight returns with matchmaking and game customization in tow, creating limitless Firefight options. Custom Games still have huge amounts of tweaking available allowing for even the craziest gametypes to be thought up.
There are also smaller touches that help the whole experience. Players have huge amounts of armor available for purchase with currency earned in-game, allowing for greater customization (customized appearances are also showcased during all parts of the Campaign, including cutscenes.) A tag and search system has been implemented to find the best new games and maps. Daily and Weekly Challenges provide extra longevity.
It's a shame that Gamespot doesn't allow for 9.75 ratings, because Reach deserves one. While there are a few problems, none of them are very substantial. Halo: Reach definitely serves as an example of dedication to a brand, a community, and a style of play. Game of the Year? Quite possibly. One of the best of the year? Definitely. A must-buy for anyone remotely interested in shooters? Absolutely. A perfect swan-song for Bungie to part with its franchise? None better.