Halo Reach is a very enjoyable game, permitting you have Xbox Live Gold.
Cons: Uninteresting campaign; Unimpressive graphics all-around
Being Bungie's last Halo game, Halo Reach has a lot of weight to carry. It must simultaneously feel like an appropriate send-off for the original developer and usher in a new era of Halo games. Fortunately, the game is a great sendoff for Bungie-at least whereas multiplayer is concerned.
The Halo series has always had a good reputation with multiplayer: Halo 1 did awesome splitscreen modes, Halo 2 introduced matchmaking, and Halo 3 refined and added new features like the Theater. Halo Reach continues this great tradition and can easily be claimed as the best Halo experience online.
At this point, the experience is pretty well-defined: log into matchmaking and get paired up with opponents to play a standard array of modes. As with Halo 3 matches are recorded and can be viewed/edited in the theater. And as in Halo 3, Forge mode lets players customize maps and modes to their heart's content.
There have been some notable improvements in all areas. Matchmaking now has map voting as well as the option to choose your reason for playing (competition, just for fun, etc.) for better pairings. While I can't say how well the new option works, it at least provides a good excuse to play the way you want to without pressure. Forge mode has also received a major overhaul, with Forge World allowing for much more extensive customization than previously permitted.
Gameplay itself has been tweaked to allow for more tactics. Most notably, suit powers such as armor lockdown (which makes you temporarily invincible, but immobile) and jetpacks change combat dynamics in major ways. Halo matches in Reach are much more unpredictable when opponents can suddenly take off into the air or momentarily block damage, among other options. New modes have also been introduced to add a little variety, such as the objective based Invasion mode, though these are hit-and-miss.
On the cooperative multiplayer front, Firefight makes a revamped return after Halo 3 ODST. This new variation on the standard wave-defense formula is addicting, with weapon drops, destructible enemy spawns, and suit power-ups keeping things fresh. Playing split screen with a group of friends is a particularly great way to experience this mode, which itself is pure fun.
If you have Xbox Live Gold, Halo Reach is worth your time, since its multiplayer offering is once again among the best in class. Unfortunately for the rest of us, the single player is much less impressive. Taking place before the events of the first game, Halo Reach sees the downfall of Reach as a group of soldiers attempt to save what they can of the planet. The plot is simple, but lacks any identifiable characters to care about, or any new strong gameplay hooks.
The campaign in Halo Reach plays out much like Halo 3 just with a somehow less remarkable cast of characters. This isn't a bad thing, but it also means that Halo Reach just feels tired before you start it. The issue is that there's not a lot that stands out in the campaign. After playing the campaign a few days ago, only one scene-where you fly around a destroyed city-remains on my mind (and this level had its own pacing issues). Battles feel very by-the-numbers, and there's nothing to keep you from noticing this. No great story, no great characters…
..No great graphics. The graphics in Halo Reach are particularly disappointing, especially for a big-budget exclusive title. Even though they improve Halo 3's engine, the graphics in Reach still feel pretty bland, and the world design feels pretty uninspired (the aliens still look somewhat cool at least, but their designs are four games old at this point). Worse still, there are frame rate drops at various points in the campaign. While not every game needs to be a looker, and a frame rate drop here and there isn't annoying on a really pretty game, having both is just a poor showing, especially on such a flagship title.
Luckily, graphics don't make a game, and the campaign isn't the entire package. Whether or not Halo Reach is worth your time depends on whether or not you have a subscription to Xbox Live Gold. If you do, then definitely get the game and enjoy its strong multiplayer offering; Bungie has left with a bang. If you don't, then the routine campaign isn't likely to warrant a purchase; Bungie has left with a whimper.