Halo: Reach Campaign Review

Another Halo, another explosion of hyperbole, headshots, and fanboy hatred. Like it or not, Halo is a big deal. It made the Xbox what it is, it showed that console shooters are the real-deal, popularized console LAN-parties, and eventually set the need for Xbox live. So how does Bungie's final Halo game stand up? Well, I'm here to give you my opinion.

First, I will tackle the new additions, mainly the loadouts. While I didn't use every one of them extensively, I will say that some seem a lot more helpful than others. I found myself favoring sprint above most, though (which tells me sprinting might have been a good idea to implement as a normal ability a long time ago). If that sounds boring to you, then you also have the choices of a jet-pack, bubble shield, armor lock, ect which you can switch between when given the opportunity. You're never presented with all of the choices at once, though, which makes sense. It would make things too easy if you could just jet-pack everywhere. Scribblenauts learned that the hard way. Where the loadouts really shine is multiplayer, but my co-blogger will cover that.

Another welcome addition is the new engine. Not only is everything a bit prettier, but things seem more dynamic. Look above you during a mission and you can see an air battle raging overhead. Not only does it look cool, but it reminds you that you are not the only person risking your life for the well-being of Reach. And speaking of the air, I'm sure you all know about the space combat mission and the mission where you go from area to area in a falcon (it's a flying vehicle, not the bird). They are a bit too simplistic, but overall a good change in pace, especially the falcon mission. My real issue was they didn't last long enough, once again, especially the falcon mission.

Not the falcon...

But, the thing I was probably looking forward to the most (and you will know this if you read my impressions over the one of the trailers) was the addition of a team. Yes, I know that ODST had team elements in it, but you were separated from them most of the time. Way to defeat the purpose. The reason I was excited was because I love getting to know characters in games, and the more the better. I thought Halo: Reach might actually attempt some of this, and they did... to an extent. This is where I get into spoiler territory. I normally try to avoid this, but the game is a prequel and if you can't guess that everyone dies then you are a fool. So this time, I break my rule. Anyway, yes they did attempt to throw in characters you could get to know. The problem is they all die way to quickly for you to care. Yes, it's one at a time, but when one spartan's personality really starts to show, you know they are about to bite it. The problem is the one who is supposed to be the most troubled by all of this (AKA the most interesting one) dies first. I believe I mentioned defeating the purpose at some point in this review earlier.

Want to get to know this guy a little more? Too bad. You see, there are these things called explosions...

The weapons are a mix of old weapons, different versions of old weapons, and some really cool new ones. My favorites are probably the needle rifle and the one that shoots a bunch of plasma grenades (it makes things go boom!). Pretty much the same could be said for the vehicles. Besides the aforementioned stuff, the main new vehicle is like a mini version of the Covenant's Wraith. Fun stuff.

As for combat, well, it's a Halo game. Expect the same plus all the stuff I mentioned before. If you don't like the main way Halo works, then you won't like this game. It might have awesome additions, but it's still Halo. Some of the enemies are thrown at you a little differently, though. While all the enemies you love to hate are present, you'll meet ones with new armor and even small arm-shield wielding Jackals. Trust me, those bastards are a lot faster without a body shield to hold up.

The hardest part of all of this for me was comparing it to past Halo titles. The campaign is good and different, but I couldn't figure out if I preferred it over 3. The thing is, the campaign seems shorter. Whereas it took me about 8 hours to get through the others, this one felt like it took around 6. Not a terrible thing, but I wish it had gone on longer. The ending is what gave me the most trouble. At first I was pissed because there wasn't some epic moment on par with the escape at the end of Halo 1 or 3. Sure, there was a pretty big fight, but it didn't have my heart racing. Then, the credits rolled and the game throws one last thing at you. I won't tell you what it is, but it's a really cool way of dealing with the end. That moment made all the difference. It made me realize, that story wise, this game would have been the lesser if it tried to emulate Halo 3's ending. Reach isn't about escape or finishing the fight. It's a lot more somber and more about the darkness before the light. You aren't suppose to survive to fight again. You are supposed to die so that others may live. You set the grounds for the future fight. To put it bluntly, Reach is about sacrifice.


Bungie's final Halo is ultimately successful. No, not everything met it's full potential, and it is too much like other Halo title's to feel totally new. However, it serves as a terrific cap to the franchise under Bungie. Great job guys, good luck in your future endeavors.

9 out of 10 Covenant taken out with you.