I'm on the home stretch of the Master Chief Collection. Let's talk about game 5 of 6. BACKGROUND:
I was actually kind of following Halo: Reach's pre-release marketing because my friend was showing me trailers and stuff back in high school. I never ended up absorbing much information at the time because I simply didn't know enough about Halo to really get into it. PLOT: Halo: Reach is the first game of the series timeline, taking place before Halo 1. As the name implies, it's set on the planet known as Reach, one of the worlds humanity has colonized, as well as the stronghold of the UNSC. By this point, the war between the humans and the Covenant have taken its toll, and Reach is one of the last bastions left standing. You follow the adventures of Noble Team, a special ops unit composed of Spartan super soldiers (you know, like Master Chief). Specifically, you're assuming the role of Noble Six, the newest recruit of the team. The game explores Noble Team's various missions as they discover the worst case scenario: the Covenant are on Reach, and they're planning an invasion. The events that transpired on Reach have been alluded to in previous games, so if you were paying attention, you know exactly how this story ends. Despite knowing this, I still found the game's narrative compelling. While I liked all the world-building in the original trilogy, Reach's story is a simple, straightforward war story where the protagonists are fighting a losing fight, and seeing them struggle to the bitter end made for a gripping tale. Although the characters aren't well developed, the drama of the events and the actions they take in response were still enough to make an impact. They don't quite have the team dynamic of the ODST team, and you don't get to play as the others, either (so you don't even get to know them in that sense), but I still thought Noble Team was cool. I just wish they had taken the time to build these characters so I cared about them more. Much like ODST, Reach is a more standalone affair, and I once again enjoyed the approach of exploring a separate corner of the Halo universe with new locales and characters. The tie-in to the main trilogy doesn't happen until close to the end, and the way it's handled adds a newfound gravitas to the opening minutes of Halo 1. There are even small references to ODST throughout the game, which I thought was cool. PRESENTATION: Like Halo 3 and ODST, Reach was released on Xbox 360, but the graphics are significantly better, with improved quality across the board (the faces on character models look much better now, for instance) and more cinematic flair with its cutscenes. The music is as fantastic as ever, with more epic tracks that retain the Halo theme motifs. Other than that, not much to say. GAMEPLAY: Reach's FPS gameplay is mostly the same as its predecessors, but of course, there are changes that differentiate it from the rest. The health mechanics return to that of Halo 1, where shields and HP are both tracked, and the latter can be healed back with health packs. Dual wielding is also notably absent in this game, and grenade types have been limited back to the classic frags and plasma grenades. This all seems like a step back, but none of it feels like a regression from Halo 2 or 3. Something that carries over from both Halo 3 and ODST is the improved UI. Stuff like the compass and better quest markers make a return, along with a clearer HUD and a helpful weapon info menu that shows you what things do. The flashlight mechanic (which has been around since Halo 1) has also been reworked into night vision, which feels better to use. Most of the weapons are returning from previous games, but a few have been reworked (like the Battle Rifle), and there are completely new ones as well (like the Plasma Repeater and the Focus Rifle). The new stuff was fun, but the older weapons still feel great. Vehicles are the same way, with most of the selection being from older games. There are a couple of new ones, like the Falcon and the Revenant. The most notable addition is the Sabre, which is a straight up starfighter that you control in the game's brand new dogfighting section. As someone who played a ton of classic Star Wars Battlefront 2, that section of the game scratched a particular itch. The equipment mechanic from Halo 3 makes a return, but instead of an assortment of single-use power-ups, Reach instead gives you armor modifications that you can use indefinitely (albeit with a cooldown). These mods range from a sprint (can you believe this game didn't have a sprint until now?), active camo, the Drop Shield (which is like the Bubble Shield from Halo 3 but it heals you), and the Armor Lock (which renders you immobile, but you're impervious to damage). There's even a jetpack! While I do like Halo 3's power-ups, these armor mods felt infinitely more useful, because I could use them whenever they're available (as opposed to having to make my single use count). Though I enjoyed all of the campaign missions, the one that stood out to me the most was the final one. It didn't stand out because it was a fun or innovative mission (it is very much neither), but because it has story impact. It's a rather powerful note to end the game on. VERDICT: Halo: Reach is probably my favorite Halo of the bunch, with a story that had me completely hooked, the most polished shooter gameplay the series has seen yet (despite only a few changes), and cool new additions like the armor equipment and the Sabre dogfights. I enjoy many aspects of the previous Halo games, but out of all of them, Reach is the one that feels like the total package to me, even with the few qualms I have. We shall see if Halo 4 changes my mind. - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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