September 27th, 2010
Posted in 
“Every Legend Has a Beginning”
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| Publisher: Microsoft | + Halo’s Graphics have never looked better. + Nonlinear huge environments. + Soundtrack. |
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| Developer: Bungie | ||
| Genre: FPS | ||
| Release: 09/15/10 | ||
| ESRB: Mature | - Not playing as Master Chief. - Occasional frame-rate dips. - Duel Weilding is gone. |
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| Platforms: Xbox 360 | ||
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Halo: Reach Video Length: 04:40 Halo Reach had so many epic battles capturing them all would’ve been impossible, but here’s a glimpse of some of the action we’ve capture along the way. |
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Microsoft’s juggernaut franchise has returned, bringing us one of the most highly anticipated titles of this generation; Halo Reach. This title is actually a prequel to the entire Halo franchise that we’ve all come to know, but one thing is for sure, Halo Reach pushes the Xbox 360 to heights never expected to “Reach”. Come join us as we take you through one of the greatest first person shooters this universe has ever known.
It has been a while since we’ve published a review here at the Lens of Truth and due to recent events, we’ve been very shorthanded and really busy behind the scenes. One thing is for sure, Halo: Reach is one title that can’t be ignored. We put this master franchise through our scope to bring you our full in-depth review of Halo Reach. So, without feather adieu, we bring you our Halo Reach review.
Shawn Writes; “I still remember the day when I walked into my local Gamestop and heard the most amazing sound coming from a big black box sitting out of view in the far left coroner of the store. My ears lead me to one of the greatest introduction cinematics created, Halo: Combat Evolved or simply Halo 1. Right then and there, I was hooked. At the time Microsoft’s first console was struggling, competing with Nintendo Gamecube, and Gamecube was dominating the market share. Microsoft needed a killer app to survive, and the Halo universe was born. Now, nine years later five titles have been launched, a slew of novels published and Bungie’s final installment to the Halo franchise is finally here with Halo Reach. From the get-go Halo Reach was expected to exceed its predecessors in every aspect, but the question remained; “to what extent?” Well, your questions have been answered because Bungie has done exactly what we were expecting with Halo Reach, bringing us another masterpiece and proving to the world Halo is still the King of the FPS.
Halo: Reach is actually a prequel to the series, which exposes the events leading up to the exact second where Halo 1 starts. This time around you take the roll of a SPARTAN-III, simply known as Noble Six. Like Master Chief, your character is a generically engineered super shoulder whose main objective is to obliterate the covenant (an advanced alien race sworn to exterminate the human race) and regain control over the planet Reach. As you battle your way through the countless waves of covenant it becomes clear Bungie has raised the bar once again with their super advanced A.I. Some battles could easily take 10 to 20 minutes to complete especially when playing on Legendary mode. Furthermore, environments in Halo Reach look spectacular, utilizing the industry’s latest rendering achievements. Halo: Reach was a superb game in so many ways, but the one thing that could have been improved on, was the choppy frame-rate I encountered. Oddly enough, this wasn’t just found when in the midst of battle, but I witnessed this throughout in-game cut-scenes. Regardless, Halo: Reach was phenomenal and anyone without this gem is missing out on something special.
Aaron Writes; “For me, Halo: Reach is the culmination of everything that is great about the Halo franchise. By far, Reach showcases the most intense battles and the smartest A.I. in the entire series. Besides the incredible Star Wars-like firefight my favorite addition has to be the Jetpack, and this is especially so, in multiplayer. There’s nothing like meeting your opponent 30 feet in the air to engage him in battle. At that point, I can’t help but feel like I’m Wang Chi from Big Trouble in Little China in his final battle against Lightning…just awesome! I feel, the only thing missing from Halo: Reach is of course, the Master Chief. Even knowing the games’ story beforehand and, that Planet Reach will fall, not having The Chief around is still a bit of a downer. Should that stop you from playing Halo: Reach? Absolutely not.”
Jason Writes; “After ODST, I was a bit more reserved then the rest of the staff while waiting for Reach. But after the time that I have spent on this game, it is without a doubt, the best way for Bungie to bow out. I still feel awkward about not playing as Master Chief, but the campaign is what has set Halo apart from other FPS titles, and Reach’s campaign is arguably the best in the series. The decimation of Reach by the Covenant is an epic event and Bungie told the tale perfectly. On the multiplayer side of things the new loadouts add a feel of “Call of Halo” to the game, but the gameplay and maps are the best out there. Those on the staff know I usually never hang around for too long on most FPS titles, but I will be playing Reach for a very long time. This tile is not to be missed, not only for the quality of the game, but for being a piece of gaming history. Reach may be the final installment in the most revolutionary FPS series ever”.
Multiplayer\Forge: The Halo multiplayer experience has always been top notch. Besides the Jetpack, which is awesome, being able to switch your style of play in multiplayer by way of the “Loadout” menu is a fantastic addition to the series. Although we weren’t really interested in the new “armor lock” ability (which makes a player invincible at the expense of moving), or the hologram (which spawns a clone of yourself sending enemies chasing after your decoy), they could both be very helpful to the players who favor them. If building your own levels in the Forge level creator is more your style, Bungie has added a number of options. The main addition is “Forge World”, which allows players a canvas to create any kind of map they desire. Objects can now be phased into other objects giving players almost endless possibilities of creation.
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| PRESENTATION / STORY | GRAPHICS | ||
| A new graphics engine and another outstanding soundtrack make this the most polished Halo of all time. As for the story, it loses a few points by fans already knowing the outcome. |  |
Bungie’s new rendering engine has improved on every graphical aspect of its’ predecessors and then some, by including top notch HDR lighting, enhanced physics, and legendary AI enemies. |  |
| GAMEPLAY / CONTROLS | REPLAY VALUE | ||
| Halo: Combat Evolved revolutionized controls for the entire FPS genre, and in Halo: Reach, thankfully, they stay the same…perfect. |  |
The campaign should take you around 10 hours on Legendary. As for the Multiplayer, we’re talking about one of the most popular online series of all time, replay value is HIGH. | |
| OVERALL (NOT AN AVERAGE) | |||
| There’s no doubt about it, Bungie’s farewell to the Halo franchise is the most robust entry in the series. Halo: Reach offers players an epic campaign, fantastic audio & visuals, and a multiplayer that is so addictive, you may need to seek counseling in a few months to stop playing it. Nevermind being a Halo fan, if you’re at all interested in First Person Shooters, you owe it to yourself to pick-up and play Reach. Now that Bungie is leaving the series, chances are you won’t play another FPS quite this good for a long time. |  |
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- Releated Post – Halo Evolution
- Releated Post – Head2Head: Halo 3 – Halo: Reach Screenshot Comparison
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I understand that this is just a opinion, but this is one of my favorite FPS and is my favorite HALO game, so I would have given it at least a 9.5, but hey thats just me.
Nice review! I agree with MyNunchuck and I’d give it at least a 9.5. Great game! Man, it’s gonna take forever to get all the items in the armory and all of those commendations lol
I agree with most of the things.. but in presentation/story i would give a 9, and this is why:
I haven’t been like a halo fan and because of that i was never aware of the story things, but ever since i played halo reach, this whole thing changed.. i was very intrigued by the story and without me knowing a lot of things of the story, the game made me be interested on it.. so maybe for old fans it’s not that good, but for us the ones who have never played halo like other people.. gives us a very pleasant aproach to the saga
Thanks for the review, and for all the ones who hasn’t play halo reach, U MUST, the game is a FPS but it is definetly not like any FPS, that’s what makes halo reach so special between the others halo.
To keep the fan boy’s happy it’s a solid 9.
lol metacritic 92, and halo reach is better than the first then the real halo reach vote is more than 96 or i think that a lot of rewiews are written with fanboysm
i know this is very old. but story 8? no way. this story, not just for a halo game, but for any. the whole mood, the music the feeling of hopelessness. the struggle. it was a tug of war, you were slowly losing. i thought the story deserved at least a 9. graphics coulda been an 8. the whole story and situation is much like what we are going to see in resistance 3, so i have much to look forward to.
story absolutley captivating and amazing. and i have played bioshock and the darkness, so i know what a good story is. nevertheless, very good review.
this was all just my opinion. (except for the part of it being a great review)
honestly, I found this game to be very underwhelming and rather disappointing. And if it weren’t for ODST I would say its the worst halo game.
I found the campaign to be mundane, phoned in, and mediocre at best.
It is lacking in presentation. for example, compare the invasion scene in halo reach to the San Fransisco invasion scene in resistance 2. resistance 2 delivers one of the most epic and jaw dropping scenes I have seen in a game and insomniac has about a mere percentage of the funding behind them as bungie. for a game that capitalizes on a planetary invasion, you dont really get alot of epic encounters built around that theme in halo reach. in fact, you dont get very many epic encounters at all. most of the battles are relatively small scaled and they offer little intensity or a true warlike atmosphere.
The story is terrible. I can accept that. but the problem is that it is terrible in a boring way. It seems like the voice actors and writers arent even attempting to make it entertaining or interesting. There are plotholes everywhere in this game. I dont usually bring up that sort of thing, but they are so pervasive in this game, especially surrounding the deaths of main characters. I read the book “fall of reach” and it actually fleshed out the universe of “halo” and made master chief a much more interesting character. It also showed the spartans, earlier in their training program, going on missions against human insurgents and pirates. that would have been an interesting thing to see in the game. but halo reach doesn’t take any chances and it doesn’t offer anything as a prequel.
the gunplay mechanics, in my eyes, are unforgivably primitive, especially for a big budget current gen title. There is no reason why halo games shouldn’t incorporate ironsights by now. I dont think there is any other FPS franchise that could still get away with such a thing and be well received in the reviewing community. The gunplay overall has very little kickback or power behind it. the only weapon I found to have even a semblance of impact was the pistol. perhaps bungie was afraid to make significant changes to the gunplay because given the fact that this is a prequel, it would affect the continuity of the series. but I think that is really just a weak excuse.
No matter what features they add to the multiplayer, it doesnt cover up the sub-par mechanics and gunplay, which are truly the core aspects of an FPS game.
overall, halo reach isnt the worst FPS game out there, but I would definitely say its not a “great” game. if I were to judge it by the campaign alone, I would give it a 7/10. however, I think that due to the competent multiplayer (where clearly most of the effort has gone) I can give it an extra star, bringing it to an 8/10. honestly though I couldnt imagine giving it anything higher.
Halo Reach’s campaign doesn’t live up the standards set by the first 2 entries in the series or even the third. Halo should be blazing ahead and creating campaigns that are a cut above the standard, but instead they are trailing half a gen behind game franchises like Killzone, Crysis, and Resistance to name a few. Hell, even Call of Duty, despite its stagnation, still has a far more sophisticated engine, more dynamic campaigns, and far better gunplay than any of the current gen halo games.
its a shame this game has received so much undeserved praise. people are just so excited to have a game with “halo” in the name, that they dont stop to critically analyze it. I didnt go into this game wanting to hate it. as I said, I read the halo books. I was the biggest halo fan out there. at least up the halo 3. I honestly found this game lacking in every single aspect that matters to me in an FPS. And you dont even want to get me started on ODST