I can honestly say that about a week before Halo Reach was to be released I was not very excited.  When I think of planet Reach, I already know exactly what happened,  I played the beta, and I have spent many a weekend on Halo 3.  So about a week before Bungie’s swan song to their Halo series was to be released I was left asking myself, “What are they going to do to impress me?”  The answer:  A lot.

Backround / Setting
I suppose it is understandable if you do not know the story of planet Reach before the game itself (despite its infamy as possibly the greatest storyline ever written in the Halo universe), but it was no secret what was going to happen if you knew anything about the Halo universe at all.  Reach is the birthplace of the Spartan II and Spartan III programs, and as such was one of the most defended colonies possessed by the human race. The Covenant, wanting to show off their massive fleet, landed a surprise attack and glassed the place (yes, they put enough fire power out to actually turn the surface of the planet into a burning ocean of molten lava).  So of course I thought the entire story must have been told but Bungie decided to prove me wrong.

Story
You step into the shoes of lone wolf “Noble 6” as he (as the name would imply) joins Noble team, an elite group of Spartans sent on many suicide missions in which there are only 2 of the original 6 left (the others are replacements, including you).  After being sent to stop what was thought to be a rebel uprising, you quickly learn that the covenant have landed on Reach, and now it’s your job to stop them.  On the way, you are consistently informed of just how grim the situation is.  Without spoiling much, you quickly realize that by the end, this likely will be the true “suicide mission” for Noble.  Although I liked the story, I was disappointed at how much the original novel “Fall of Reach” was ignored.  Bungie more or less decided it was not worth their time to pay attention to the book at all.  While Reach is a good game, its story telling is no where near the level of “Fall of Reach”, and I am sad that Bungie decided to throw out the book that literally made Reach.

Characters
I immediately knew Noble 6 was going to be the silent type so that did not bother me at all.  What did, however, was just how lifeless most of the characters in Reach seemed to be.  Looking back, I can honestly say I only liked one character, and that was Jorge.  Jorge is the Spartan II of the team, and the demolitions / heavy guns expert.  So it seemed fairly ironic that the big “tough guy” of the team ended up being the most emotional. Jorge seemed to bring life into the cut scenes he was in, and there were hints at his back story from time to time.  Overall making you somewhat attached to the character.  I would love to say the same about another member of noble, but due to them being the stereotypical “soldier type”, I cannot.

Graphics
Reach looked good.  The visuals were a step up from Halo 3 and ODST and look good compared to other console games this year.  That is all I need to say unless you honestly want the stretched out BS you get from regular reviewers that would go something like, “When I first saw a grenade bounce down a staircase it brought a big smirk across my face, almost like I was actually there in the world that looks and feels almost nothing like real life. It almost made me feel for a second as If every one of of my reviews wasn’t paid off, and I actually thought this extremely hyped up game deserves the 10 I am about to give it.” but if you really want to hear something like that, you should look for them elsewhere *cough*ign*cough*.

Sound
The music in Reach was superb.  The songs play at just the right time, lasting just long enough for you to not even realize they were there unless you were waiting for them.  When it comes to the sound effects though, Reach is a whole level higher.  Everything has a unique sound in Reach, from the grenades to the Needler you will always have a good idea what you’re up against, and just how threatening it may be.

Gameplay
As many have said before me, “If you’ve played one halo, you’ve played them all” still seems to hold true in Halo Reach.  Is this a bad thing? Not at all!  The gameplay in Halo games are what really bring in the fun times, as in this modern age it seems to still hold that general shooter feel that seems to have a little bit of everything.  Every gun and vehicles play differently on Reach, and if there was a weapon that was basically a copy of another weapon I definitely missed it.  The AI is top notch in Reach, the Elites and Jackels seem to take things carefully from a distance, while the grunts and brutes will run straight at you hoping to get a kill as one would expect from them.

Multiplayer
This is the part that I can probably say 90% of people pick up Reach for.  The multiplayer is amazing.  With the new introduction of “armor abilities”  (an ability that you can activate at any time, allowing you to temporarily drop a shield, use a jet pack etc) in place of the equipment that was in Halo 3, one can assume that the multiplayer has changed drastically.  And it has for the better.  All of the guns have a use, and with power weapons on a respawn time of a few minutes most games come down to sheer teamwork and personal skill.  As one would expect Reach plays like every other halo multiplayer, and if it was not for the constant grenade spam, I could say it plays even better.

Overall
Reach is a great game… a REALLY great game. To say Reach is generic would be true, but it is more of a compliment than an insult when that is the exact thing each Halo game has tried to be.  Reach sets the bar this fall for games and I’m happy to have experienced this great game.  I tip my hat to Bungie for their fantastic finale to halo, and when I finished the campaign I felt a bit sad that Bungie had passed their torch, but all good things have to come to an end eventually.  Reach is an extremely polished game that plays like any AAA title should. Although the lack of innovation (or inventions) and the destruction of Reach’s (original) story holds it back from a higher score, Bungie had good reason to not take chances on this game and I think they made an excellent choice.

My thanks to Bungie for making such an excellent game.

Final Score: 8.3/10

If you have any questions, you can email me at my school email (because I’m not stupid enough to give my real email to some people who are just going to send me hate mail) at…
Jche1201@mpsedu.org
I’m fine with any questions about the score or the review itself, but I will not change the score.

To those who are going to send me angry rants and demand a different score…