What would you do you in the face of demise? Would you cower…run away from it…flight or fight? Let it sink in for a split second… before you make the decision of your life… or someone else’s…
Would you sacrifice yourself?… for the good of mankind…
Will you fight for those around you and those that cannot fight for themselves…
Halo:Reach is the game that will make you feel all kinds of emotions…
This is the game that all of the other iterations of the franchise should have been. Detailed Graphics, easier use of armor abilities (Hologram, Drop Shield, Armor Lock, Active Camouflage, Jet Pack, and Sprint), great AI teammates, and more.
Please do not get me wrong. The first Halo for the original XBox was a good game and did present us with one of the most popular franchise heroes ever, the “Master Chief.”
The game is the prequel to the first Halo, “Halo: Combat Evolved.” The story of the fall of the Planet Reach, and the hardships that “Noble Team” will endure every step of the way. Bungie has done an excellent job of bringing your feelings in the game by making you feel a part of the team. The planet is facing demise after the covenant invasion, but soon enough, you will feel the “Fall of Reach” in all environments and interactions with all types of AI. There is only one glimmer of hope, Noble Team. You will be “Lieutenant S-312: Noble 6,” not much is known about your character, but you are an elite Spartan III soldier with a hyper-lethal skill set. You are thrown into the fray to assist Noble team. Your elite comrades are: Commander S-259, Carter; Lieutenant Commander S-320, Kat; Chief Warrant Officer S-052, Jorge; Warrant Officer S-239, Emile; and Warrant Officer S-266, Jun. All members of Noble Team are Spartan III Class soldiers, a.k.a. “expendable” Spartans that are used in the field of battle. The only exception of the team that is the same class of soldier as Master Chief is Chief Warrant Officer S-052…Jorge.
As many of your teammates are used throughout the story, you will definitely come to love Jorge during the single-player campaign. The Spartan II class soldier is quite literally – A TANK!! Jorge is in the Arse kicking business… and business IS BOOMING!! I am not sure how many times during the campaign that Jorge was able to draw enemy fire to allow me to flank, out-gun, and out-maneuver the enemy.
The game-play is absolutely excellent, the controls seem to have been modified for each game of the franchise, but this game really makes the controls simple to use. The addition of the armor abilities, especially sprint, makes the game seem faster, and more action packed than all the other Halo games. The armor abilities, vehicles, and new weapons bring many new tactics of dispatching enemies with extreme prejudice. And who does NOT love the assassinations that are always worth it when getting behind the enemy!
The visuals are great for this new Halo. It seems grittier, more defined and polished than the others for the 360. The graphics are excellent for the in-game graphic clips. Also, the animations of weapons, vehicles, characters, enemies, etc are all well made and flow nicely. The AI is also a nice addition to the visuals because the enemies of higher rank will evade, maneuver, and counter accordingly as you up the difficulty of this Halo. The addition of being able to customize your armor while playing is also excellent. The more credits you rack during game-play, by completing achievements, unlocks newer upgrades that will be a part of your character throughout the campaign.
I played this game with the optical link to my Logitech Z-5500 setup and it was AWESOME. Enemy fire, energizing of the shields, vehicle sounds, EVERYTHING just had great and distinct sounds. It made the environments come to life as well as the music lending the somber feel as the Planet Reach is fell… even with every move forward, there are two steps backward.
The controls for this game are smoother and polished for this last game of the franchise. The default button layout for the controller is well done. I was able to jump RIGHT into the action. Those with no experience playing would also be able to have a short learning curve to enjoy the game right away. Every other follower of the franchise will customize their layout accordingly to jump in and enjoy the game.
The game is EXCELLENT fun. With the great single-player comes the competitive multi-player. The fun factor is amped up very high with the multi-player. Firefight – the blend of campaign and multi-player, taking on hordes of enemies with online friends gives you credits, and the increase in Rank. The multi-player game modes – Assault, Capture the flag, Headhunter, Infection, Invasion, Juggernaut, King of the Hill, Race, Oddball, Slayer, Territories, and Stockpile will keep even kids busy until the wee hours of the morning.
If you are not addicted to this game after playing, something is definitely not right. The game is great overall, with a stellar storyline, excellent ending, and tons of different things to try… the replay value is OFF THE CHARTS!!
Overall, the game is excellent. It is definitely worth the $65 you will pay at the register. One of the things keeping this game from a perfect score is the VERY short amounts of frame loss I experienced while playing. I believe that this proves the Xbox 360 is in desperate need of an upgrade in processor and graphics to allow for no loss during game-play. Also, the games fog of war so to speak, which is how far you can see for the animations to come in, and also how far you can see down the map for your line of sight… is short. You can see how enemies will spawn up, and its just a nuisance to see this. Once again though, these are just some details that may have been avoided if the Xbox 360 could’ve been upgraded with better hardware.
I have one thing to say…
GET THIS GAME!!
*Thanks to Platformnation.com for the Title Picture*
*Thanks to Xbox.com for the in-game screenshots*
