Halo Reach: Review

Halo Reach, released on September 14th, 2010, is a perfect addition to the already great Halo series. Keep in mind, you do not play as Master Chief in this game; you play as the lesser known soldier known as "Noble 6". This game centers around the story and actions of Noble Team, a special group of UNSC super-soldiers known as Spartans. The campaign is typical of the Halo series as far as action and suspense go, but one major difference here is your connection to your main character, Noble 6. Noble 6 appears to be much more human than Master Chief. Master Chief was more of a loner, relying on his upgraded armor and brute force to combat the Covenant, while Noble 6 sticks with Noble Team and uses strategy and teamwork to fight. The campaign in Halo Reach heavily involves teamwork with your allies...

Online

Halo Reach has brilliantly upgraded the online portion of this game. Now, you can customize your armor much more than ever. You can have different knee pads, visor colors, utility belts, and the biggest addition yet, load-outs. There are many different load-outs for the different game types; you can have a basic load-out where you can sprint in battle, you can have a shield that locks your armor up to avoid damage and you can even have a jet pack! The load-outs change this game tremendously. There is also new credit system that allows you to purchase different types of armor and armor effects. Some effects are seen upon your death, while others appear around you the whole game. A nice addition, although armor doesn't give you any sort of armor bonus or anything, it does look good. There is also an improved veto system, which allows you to vote on one of the stages Bungie has put up, or skip all of them for a new selection of stages. There is also Firefight mode, which is different from Firefight in Halo ODST. In this Firefight mode, you have no limit on deaths, and they have new levels and mechanics for Firefight in Reach.

Graphics

Graphically, Halo Reach is grittier and more realistic than the cartoon-like graphics of Halo 3. Things are darker, and the textures are higher resolution. The physics also seem to be smoother. Everything just seems to have been polished well for this game all-around.

Game Play

The game play is innovative and a lot faster paced than Halo 3. With the addition of load-outs and custom armor choices and effects, there is a lot of variety in the online and offline game play. Reach has much more replay value than any game in the Halo series due to such variety and depth. Forge has been revamped and it is now much easier to build a great map in shorter time. There are new weapons as well, and all of them have been balanced perfectly. The levels could be a bit larger, and less cramped. If you were used to the large, open levels of Halo 3, don't expect much of the same here. The default button scheme has also been changed, but you do have the option to revert back to the controls of Halo 3 if you wish. I have had a lot more fun and quite a rich experience play Halo Reach thus far. I haven't noticed any real glitches or bugs yet in the campaign. Although there are some occasional issues while playing online, such as games disconnecting in quite strange ways, they happen so few and far between that I would not consider them game breaking.

Sound

As usual, the music and sound of Halo Reach is splendid. The sound for gunshots, echoes and vehicles are very realistic. The music fits perfectly into each mission, and helps to keep the monotonous sounds of war from getting too stale. The voice-acting is great here, and helps you connect with each character and care about them in a personal way.

Overall

Overall, this game has been a lot of fun to play around with. With all of the new additions and upgrades, coupled with the same quality that can be expected from Bungie, Halo Reach has proven to be a worthy addition to the Halo series. Master Chief would be proud.

Final Score: 9/10