Halo: Reach

A PS3 Gamers Totally Biased Review of: "Halo: Reach"

Not much was expected from the release of Halo: Reach. Halo 3 was much like Halo 2, and seeing videos and screenshots, Reach seemed a lot like Halo 3, which was like Halo 2. I went into this game know what I was playing, was Halo. And I wasn't even close to being wrong. It has the same game play, same enemies, just a new prequel story. I really don't see the appeal of the Halo lore. Should we really care about these characters and the Halo story line? Does anybody actually remember what happened in Halo 1? I guess Master Chief has become a huge poster child for Xbox and anybody who plays the system is supposed to automatically love anything related to the "Halo" franchise.

The combat hasn't changed much in the newest version of Halo. I was hoping we could move on in the series and they would try and follow some things that other developers have implemented in their shooters. It was tough to adjust to the zooming feature in Reach after using "down the irons" style in so many other games like ModernWarfare 2 or Killzone 2. Reach's new standard weapon is a single-shot assault rifle called the DMR which would have absolutely benefited from "down the irons" style shooting. Instead the game still uses the thumb stick click to lock-zoom for long range shots, and if you are hit by another attacker, you zoom out. I find this extremely aggravating. The other issue I have always had with the thumb stick click in Halo, is I grip the controller tightly while playing and find myself zooming in during close combat fights when I am only trying to turn my character, usually resulting in my death because I get so disoriented. Weapon shots are solid, but lock-zoom is outdated. The main change to combat is the introduction of space combat, allowing you to pilot one of the "A-Wing" like ships to blast Banshees and other spacecrafts out of the air. This part was pretty good, flight mechanics worked well.

The story of Reach is told through the eyes of the newest Spartan, know as "Six". You're character has just joined Noble Team, which is sort of a special ops group that pulls off the toughest jobs. The team has some interesting characters. Each has their own personality and skill set. You're team is trying to find some artifact that is the key to winning the war against the covenant. Very exciting.

Multiplayer is the real main draw of any Halo game, as well as most FPS games. You will find a lot of things to do in the multiplayer portion of this game. Bungie has finally implemented matchmaking for Firefight mode, which was introduced in ODST. This makes things a lot easier when trying to find some teammates to run around and blast waves of bad guys with. The online can be fun. There are plenty of different game modes. The new maps are nothing to get excited for though, hopefully we see some new DLC shortly, its already rumored to be releasing soon. If you loved the online component of Halo 2 or 3 then you will love this, as not a lot has changed. Is that good or bad? That's up to you.

In the end, Halo: Reach doesn't bring much new to the series other than being close to the same game as its predecessors. If you've played the other games, and love them, then you will be sure to enjoy Reach. If you're looking to upgrade from the Halo 3 online experience then there isn't much I can say here, you'll be playing the same game almost, with some different maps and some new, though not that great, weapons. Reach will hold my interest probably until Medal of Honor releases on PS3, and then I probably won't play this game again for a while.

Story: 5/10

Graphics: 8/10

Gameplay: 7/10

Replayability: 8/10

Final Score: 7 out of 10

written by FoxTodd

• VideoGameHollywood.com

Pros:

A good story that isn't difficult to follow.

Fun Gameplay

Good multiplayer with great modes.

You can create and play a variety of games within the forge mode I think; and probably have a good time with friends.

Cons:

Friendly fire. I know, Halo is about precision, but some team mates get too trigger happy, and that could be bad for the team and drive the unit apart. Instead of playing a game of Halo, depending on who you or your team members are, your group will be playing a game of revenge seeking until someone is kicked from the match.

Short Summary:

This is probably one of the best games I've played with a strong campaign, enjoyable gameplay, fun multiplayer and a variety of modes I believe you can play. The only thing about it is friendly fire; but I think you can disable that in the single player section of Reach, or you can play with friends who are serious about the game; and won't kill you unless it was by accident.

This is probably one of the most addictive first person shooters out there... My buddies and I spent countless nights up in the midst of firefights. In my opinion, this is the best in the franchise. Still holds up incredibly well!

"Halo Reach" takes place about a month before the events of "Halo Combat Evolved" where the planet Reach is under attack by the Covenant Empire.

I've played other Halo games before (Halo CE, Halo 2, and Halo 3), but this is the only Halo game I own. And it's awesome. The campaign is good. I like how it shows what happened before the first game and shows you how those events led to the defeat of the Covenant (as we see in Halo 3).

The graphics are great, the A.I. is actually really good, and the voice actors are pretty good. Also, multiplayer and Firefight are awesome, especially with being able to drive warthogs, ghosts, etc.

Also, no Halo game is complete without its amazing music. The theme music delivers that "war tone" feeling you would want in a game like this and the other games in the series. I also liked playing co-op campaign with either other people or just with a buddy.

Overall, "Halo Reach" is a great game, one of my favorites, and I give it an "A+". By the way, I also play "Call of Duty". I'm saying this, because I know there are a lot of people who play Halo and don't like COD, or vice versa.

Well, wow, i'm doing a review of this game... and i don't like it. At all. No matter what anyone says, the critically acclaimed Halo series only had 2 good games , Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo O.D.S.T. If you want to know why i like those games and none of the other games of the series, just check those out on I.M.D.B for my review on those games. Really, i think they got too full of themselves, and wanted to give the player, TOO MUCH. That's the HUGE issue with this game. Too much unnecessary bullshit that pubescent boys like to use online. The campaign is just downright awful, really, one of the worst storyline that an acclaimed title can give. Really? Did they just think that going online is the only thing that matters to gamers? Well, for the most part, yes and no. You complete things like beating the game on legendary to unlock some armor, but that's it. but my point is, even if i wanted to, i still couldn't grasp the meaning of the game. Overall, i think that this is once again a ridiculous add-on to the series of games. 5/10