Halo Reach

Halo: Reach

Rating: M

Score: 8.5/10

                Microsoft and Halo are like a shark and a remora: both benefit from the other but one is almost completely dependent on the other. In this case, Microsoft is most likely the remora, sucking the money through a straw named Halo. The fans crave it, and as long as it's in the title of the game they will buy it and fool themselves into thinking its a treasure. My review of Halo 3: ODST was...harsh and my opinion of Halo Wars never even made it to the papers (make of that what you will), so it's a poor jump off the starting gate. Does this game impress enough or is it another pitiful rehash of the Halo series? This game is, of course, Xbox 360 exclusive.

                Just like in my ODST review, something needs to be addressed first: I like the Halo series, but the series after Halo 3 just seemed to get worse and worse. I hoped Halo Reach wouldn't simply a pitiful attempt to reach out to the remaining fans and leave them one final touchbefore dying completely, but I honestly expected as much. ODST was not even released and hype for Reach started; saying that "worried me" would be an incredible understatement. Hyping something upcoming and ignoring the current spells trouble in every way: not being able to fix what's broken in the current, an obvious love to cash in and along with that love, an oblivious dismissive attitude to fans, and a look into the future is always foggy if you ignore that which is directly ahead. Not being unreasonable (and considering myself an unbiased gamer reviewing for the good of all), I was ready to enjoy Reach for what it added: if it added little I would enjoy little and this review would reflect it. If it could make the franchise feel fresh again, the review would reflect that. Now, let's move on.

                The story deals with all the typical nonsense: aliens are attacking and they are clearly bad so a group of elite warriors are sent to stop them. Space marines, aliens aiming for world domination, all those story elements you'd expect a Halo game to have – they’re all here. It doesn't recap the previous games in the series, so any non-fans or fans that are somewhat unfamiliar have the option to ignore the story or at least try to piece together the sometimes hilariously-overdramatic cutscenes. It's not boring, or uninteresting; it just seems a little too typical or silly, depending on your view. It stays interesting enough to hold your attention, which is a plus.

                There's a lot more customization in Reach than any other Halo game. Reach being a first-person shooter, you don't see your customization often, but it is featured in cutscenes (and is honestly probably the only way you can differ one space-suit-wearing deep-voiced man from your own character).

                Fans expecting more or less the same run-and-gun action are in for a treat, because there is plenty. From taking out a base espionage-style and removing guards from your teammate's way one at a time or going Rambo-style with guns blazing in all directions, there's variety to play around. With the new ability system, you can hold one special attribute you can use mid-battle to help out. The default is Sprint (which isn't the most useful in all situations), but it can be changed to abilities such as camouflage, shield-bubbles, and jetpacks. These abilities have infinite use, but need to recharge after each use.

                Dual wield is still MIA, which is why they shouldn't have rushed this game after they pumped out ODST (they must've not known in time fans wanted dual wielding again, and it was too late to program it in). I don't understand why it's gone, since the only weapons that do decent damage to be overpowered under dual-wielding you could never dual-wield anyway.

                The A.I. got another boost in intelligence, mainly when driving (there's still not amazing shots, which is a little weird for "elite spartans: master of all" they're made out to be in the story). Another thing that got a boost was the lighting (although honestly if it got any darker from ODST it would've been unplayable). The lighting is actually bright, and the visuals were always impressive to be able to show off under such lighting.

                Multiplayer returns, as was completely expected. Added to multiplayer is story-mode in Co-Op play, adding a fellow friendly marine while you run through the story. Other than multiplayer, you have theater and Fire Fights returning.

                For a game that doesn't add a lot, it still feels oddly fresh and fun. Although it's still unbelievably overrated by the fans that play it, it's very fun in its own right. Fights are fast-paced and frantic, but are broken up often enough to not get terribly repetitive. Honestly, if there's still a gamer out there that hasn't tried the Halo series, Halo Reach is undoubtedly the one to try.