Lame title I kow, but given that this game has had me doing that, I thought it was appropriate. I got Halo Reach pretty much when it came out. I'm a Halo fan from way back, loving the first game, pretty much loving the second game, kinda loving the third, hating ODST (Don't start...) and now, even when I said I'd hold off from buying it, Halo Reach has not left my console yet.
The first thing I played was the game's campaign. I think the campaigns in Halo's franchise really waned sometime between the end of Halo 2 and the end of ODST. It had become very much "New world and excitement, fight Covenant, drive some, snipe some, NIGHT LEVEL, scorpion level, find Flood or hive mind of some sort, destroy some sh*t, end". I'm very glad that Reach moved away from this formula in some respects.
The campaign has a lot more to do and feels a bit longer than the previous ones. I'm happy to see my favourite adversaries the Elites return as ACTUAL adversaries. The sections of space flight and the like do esxpand on the experience and don't feel too out of place. Fortunately, Reach's storyline isn't actually that bad either. You really do get immersed in the story of Noble Team and I genuinely felt for them when they die. And that's not really a spoiler, since everyone knows, the planet Reach falls.
Some adjustments to the gameplay are annoying. The expanding crosshair is a really challenge for me. With all the loadouts and the return of health packs and more action etc, the game really does feel like it's a rip-off from Modern Warfare 2 at times. That said, it is very much easier to snipe and get headshots in Reach than in Halo 3's multiplayer. But alas, my poor BR resigned and the stupid DMR evolves. I'm still not a fan of this weapon, especially with the aiming bloom - and for some reason the assault rifle really has been pushed to the background (but luckily the magnum is more profound now). Armour abilities however are a great addition to the game and really add some interesting moments to the game.
The multiplayer really is where the game lets itself down. The ranking system is far superior now, as well as the playlists and matchmaking servers, but there is quite a lot of disappointment to be found here. Foremost, THE MAPS! There are hardly any and most of those are small, annoying mash ups, or very large, expansive drawn out games. Where are the likes of Last Resort? High Ground? Stand Off? Isolation? These maps were my favourites - they were small enough to never step in a vehicle, but large enough to use one if you wanted. That's the shame with the maps, there's only two kinds. Medium maps really need to make a comeback. Soon.
Other than that, and that quitting still hasn't been truly fixed, the multiplayer is a very addictive affair. The challenges are very entertaining and with credits now being accrued from Campaign and Firefight now, it's also far better than playing horrible ranked games to level up. Speaking of Firefight, from ODST, it certainly has stepped up its game. Gruntpocalypse is hilarious and the maps for firefight are actually very good. Some might even be okay for multiplayer...
The only other feature worth mentioning in this review is Forge. I'm still not fully versed in all the features and controls, but my gosh, the Forge has had quite an upgrade! Being able to fuse and fix objects in space, as well as having many more objects and effects, is amazing. It is still very annoying that there are limits on some categories of objects, such as buildings and rocks, but overall, you'll never run out of stuff to build with. The ability to shift a building a tiny bit through the options menu is great and really does help getting everything lined up.
So overall? Reach is flawed, but not enough to make it a bad game. Quite the opposite, Reach is a good, solid game. It's a shame that some features which were favourites didn't make it through, while others that weren't (or are new and terrible) made it instead. However, I don't doubt that Halo Reach will continue to provide entertainment for screaming 13 year olds for years to come and that it is a superb way for Bungie to send off their reign as kings of the console.
