Halo Reach: The Review Part 1

I don’t do too many of these because of the type of gamer I am nowadays, but with Halo Reach I will make an exception. Quite possibly for the other games I am currently playing also. But on to Reach:

Honestly, when I first heard this was coming I had little to no interest in it and thought I would end of buying it later. The reason because I heard the main people behind Halo 1-3 weren’t going to be behind this. It was some other team at Bungie. My initial thought was it could be the same Bungie or they may screw this up. The original Halo team always made good Halo games. I don’t want it to be ruined by another team. But then the gameplay videos came and my mind was quickly changing. I regretted ever doubting Bungie. My guilt was soon gone after watching the final moments of those videos.

Now as you can see I am going to separate the review only because I also have not finished completely exploring everything. I have beaten the Campaign along with my brother in Co-op mode. I have played through some of matchmaking, but I haven’t done enough exploring with Forge World, Firefight, or Arena. I would also put Invasion into a category since it is a separate gaming element from matchmaking technically, but Bungie decided it was part of it, therefore, it will be reviewed with matchmaking. Some of Forge World will be reviewed here, but the rest will be in part 2 when I get to know it more as well as Firefight and when I actually play Arena. I also like to mention Firefight was in Halo 3: ODST, but there have been changes made in the Halo: Reach version which I will mention in the next part of the review. (By the way firefight is pretty addicting)

Now on to the story, playing mechanics and overall graphic detailing of the game. Well, the story is pretty amazing. Its also the most beautiful Halo game I am ever played as well as the hardest out of the 4 or 5…or 6…6th one doesn’t count by the way. (Halo Wars) There is some amazing detail here. I have heard somewhere its like playing art and that is very true in most levels and cut scenes. This will look epic on a 1080p widescreen TV. I couldn’t have wanted one more than I do right now.

The story holds together very well. If you have read The Fall of Reach you most likely will know what will happen, and if you have played any other Halo game you already know what will happen. There’s not really much I can tell you about the story. It does end abruptly though. Wait, scratch that. It does not.

Also I may have, on facebook earlier, spoiled a little something. Probably because of the title flub (cameo was in the title), but it is in all not really a spoiler. The reason for that it is essentially an easter egg which totally doesn’t require using theater right after. Only if you missed it the first time though. It requires to move the right thumb stick towards the right, like you would another cutscenes, and then you would see a certain person you have witnessed in other games. The only spoiler is in the manner in which you see him in and in the level. I never mentioned the level or the manner in which you see him in and yet outrage ensued against me. For a few minutes. Its not a spoiler. Its an Easter Egg. Just want to clear this up. Its Master Chief.

Now on to Matchmaking. One thing I didn’t mention before is that the buttons are rearranged. Forget almost everything you knew about Halo 1-3 for this one. I’m still getting used to this which gets me killed plenty in matches. But once I get warmed up I get a good amount of kills in.

Matchmaking is pretty much the same this time. But there is now a credit system to get new customizations for your armor. You get credits from either playing campaign or by getting a certain amount of kills in for matches. You can also only unlock things based on your skill level. Or by visiting Halo Waypoint. Another way is by getting a certain edition of Halo Reach. Limited gets you a special Elite Armor and Legendary gets you a flame helmet. Store exclusives were also distributed for pre-order through various retail locations. Not sure if those can be achieved anymore.

Anyways, because of the few glitches it does and can affect game play. It can also be mistaken for lag. There’s also lag. Buts that's normal and there's an option to only play with people with a good connection. That is what’s combined with the new filter for matchmaking. You can pick certain filters for various things in order to achieve the best game play when playing online. It works. There are just times when jerks will leave in the middle of the game and it has to reconnect to a server which diminishes game play unfortunately.

We also need more maps, Bungie. I just hope now that your with Activision that you don’t release maps that are $15…

Well those are out of the way. Now on to Forge world. Again I haven’t played enough with Forge World, so here’s a video that explains how people with big imaginations will have fun in Forge World:

For now Story receives a 4 out of 5 and Multiplayer 4.5 out of 5. Rest of the stuff is still being looked through thoroughly. Oh, and also coming soon is Campaign Matchmaking!