Halo: Reach is a sad game in many ways, and it saddens me to be writing this review today. An over the top good, very enjoyable one, as you'll see if you keep reading my review; it also represents an end of an era, the final Halo game made by the studio that started them all: Bungie. They are now off to newer and better things, (multiplatform titles for Activision), but for the time being, Halo: Reach is their final touch on the franchise. They could have made a smaller title like ODST, and it probably would have sold millions of copies. Instead, they decided to end things proper, expanding upon the universe and making a game that rivals any of their previous products, if not expands beyond it. It's that good. As a swan song for Bungie, this is a fitting way to end the franchise: right where it started. It is no surprise that the game ends at the beginning of the Halo: Combat Evolved, and from first turning the game on to putting down the controller, it is clear that Halo: Reach is a love letter to their fans. Even the closing credits are prefaced with a specific thank you note to fans of the franchise. While a crowded room of games journalists is not the best place to experience the narrative unfold, the story carries much more personal weight than the rough and tumble of Master Chief. Noble-6, your mostly silent Spartan that you design and personalize, can be male or female, an option that is surprisingly thoughtful. Playing through as a character that better represents yourself makes the plot much more interesting, and the plot twists all that more relevant. Those expecting a remake of the Eric Nylund's novel “Fall of Reach” will be in for a sore disappointment, not only does Master Chief not make an appearance, he is barely alluded to throughout the game. Other major characters show in the story, and say their piece, but Halo: Reach is all about the overwhelming odds against the one and only Noble team.
While some may find this to play out much like ODST and its somewhat “me too” storyline, the plot or Reach feeds right into Combat Evolved in a thoughtful manner, telling a story of sacrifice, duty, and honor. Sure, some elements of Reach seem way too contrived, but this is just being picky about a game where the story does what it needs to do and we are just along for the ride (think Summer action movie). It seems to be fairly standard sci-fi stuff, and that's ok. The plot and narrative of the Halo universe has always been a source of contention for fans. While many find the mythos of the series to be grand and spectacular, there is a strong argument that the game fits a fairly typical space marine narrative that has been beaten to the ground. However, that's a little unfair to leverage at Halo. After all, Bungie was one of the first to really make the first person shooter experience right on consoles, and the Halo franchise has always been very distinct. When Bungie first started talking about Reach, they made it clear that they wanted to make an open-world feel for the game. Applied to ODST, where the main character rookie would find missing equipment from his teammates in a somewhat more flexible order, Reach tightens down the focus. No longer is there a centralized world like New Mombasa, and no, the levels don't exactly deviate from linear, but the addition of explorable elements makes the planet Reach feel like a lived in world. Interacting for Hungarian farmers taking refuge from Covenant forces, stopping in numerous homesteads along the main path to explore and find new weapons, being slightly more tactful about how you rush into a battle, all of these things are a part of the levels. Can you blast right through and ignore these things? Sure, and that's how I spent most of the game. However, it's a little something extra for patient players who dig the Halo universe.
It is probably a good time to mention this, but I for one have never been a big fan of the graphical direction of the Halo series. One can numerously say that the franchise is not afraid to embrace shades of bright purples and greens, but everything has had a decidedly unrealistic touch. However, Bungie has done things with this game that brings the title to one of the best looking games on the Xbox 360. Is it the best-looking thing out there? Nope, however Bungie has taken great liberties to make the world look that much more like a lived in, realistic environment. After a few years of drab grays and browns, a return the sparkling colors of Halo: Reach is refreshing. Between the rich cities, the vernal mountainsides, and the opulent hues of desert levels recreating underground canyons the game is beautiful, and a treat to explore. It's hard to say if this is the most difficult Halo game ever made, but there is one thing to say, levels are certainly broken down in a better manner. There are no Library experiences, and Bungie is constantly figuring out new ways to throw new and more dynamic environments at you. Starting out in cool mountainous farms, the Noble team will find themselves journeying into attacked human bases, night-time defense of river dams, the streets of New Alexandria in the midst of an active Covenant attack, with NPC civilians running everywhere, the dock yard of Pillar of Autumn, even hospitals and dance clubs. There are many more environments with plenty of dynamism, however the final level feels like an attempt to force emotional weight upon the player, during which it made me wonder how long I can withstand this?” While many of these zones can easily fall into the “ice level/jungle level/desert level” dichotomy, Bungie breaks these up with plenty of different objectives, such as blowing up covenant anti-air cannons and spires, defending against a hoard of attacking Elites, or driving around in the new hot rod-esque Revenant ship.
Many of these gameplay occurrences provide the foundation for multiplayer modes and modifications, so once again there is fantastic cross-over between the single and multiplayer modes. Unfortunately, a random space based interlude breaks up the game about two thirds of the way through. While it fits the narrative fine, in a somewhat odd way that evokes elements from the book, though neither recreates those elements or builds upon it, these play out like the now-dead Factor 5's Rogue Squadron series. While fans of the franchise's somewhat convoluted tale might dig the change, players who, for the last five hours have been shooting Covenant with occasional driving breaks will find this shift jarring. It's like being told to play a really good racing game, then to be told that now is the puzzle game time, and to get back to the racing, you have to complete these puzzles. Thankfully, these flight areas are neither hard nor repetitive, and while it is nice to see another element of the universe, space combat is not a welcome addition when one just wants to shoot aliens. Enemies are smarter than ever, leaping and dodging around grenades and other explosives, and rocket-launching forces have never been more of a hindrance. Yep, I'll admit it, I found the game more enjoyable (and easier) with co-op, and while some purists may not like blasting through the game with a buddy (or three), but Reach has been built with this element in mind. And let me tell you, the game rewards communication between players. Having your buddy man a turret while you walk around and take out the brand new white-garbed Elite is satisfying, and a great way to smartly deal with problems. Reach also lives up to tradition with up to 4-player couch play, and any combination of online play. It's flexible and the only problem I had with the co-op was missing achievements due to bringing a partner in the middle of a level; nit-picky feature for a fan of achievements.
This feature review concludes on the next page, please click below to see our final thoughts on Halo: Reach.
