Halo: Reach is not just a nostalgic return to the familiar, it's the most refined and engaging game in the series.
Through the second and third installments Bungie veered off course to cater to the idiotic frat boy fan base that is far too concerned with grinding their crotches on fallen enemies to be bothered to notice a stellar campaign, interesting mythology, and involving characters.
Halo 3 easily had the most poorly written and incompetent campaign of the series, and stands as the most disappointing blockbuster release I've played this generation. The multiplayer was the cream of the crop, or so I'm told; the gameplay honestly felt out of date-Bungie really hasn't changed much since the original game, and as a result Halo 3 felt horribly out of date for a blockbuster 2007 release, so despite the ridiculously complete package of different modes and features, I could never really appreciate the game's stellar multiplayer.
What Bungie has found with Halo: Reach is that the best Halo game is one that marries a stellar campaign and phenomenal multiplayer, a formula which worked to make Halo 2 easily the best game of the series so far, but seemingly Bungie wasn't observant enough to repeat it with Halo 3. It's a fact that humans are incapable of identifying a peak in real time, realizing it only after we've begun to descend.
Halo: Reach only confirms my suspicion that Bungie just didn't care about the campaign in Halo 3, because Reach's campaign moves above and beyond not just Halo 3, but any other game on the console so far. It's just that good. Where was the excellent cinematography? Where were the superbly directed cut scenes, wonderfully emotive characters, and top notch voice acting in Halo 3? But I digress, I'm not here to cast blame, but to admire that all of these qualities, which were on par with a SyFy channel original in the last game, are absolutely top notch from beginning to end in Reach, which begs you to fall in love with the Halo universe and mythology all over again.
Halo: Combat Evolved fans are a tough crowd. It's hard to bring back the wonder of discovering a brand new mythology, an engrossing universe, dutifully married to excellent game play and top-notch production values. Most of us are convinced that the original will never be topped. Bungie took note and brought us back to that time, before we knew anything about the Halo Array, back to just after the war with the Covenant began, and has rekindled the sense of wonderment we felt when we first landed on Halo back in 2001.
But this is not homage to Halo: CE, this is a brand new entry, and easily the most improved Halo to date. From the opening seconds of the first mission onward, you'll notice the refined combat, the more tactile and interesting weapons, and the believable characters. The combat is tight and refined, and popping off headshots on grunts with the M6G pistol is more satisfying than ever.
At first it feels like all Bungie did was tune the game a little, but as the game progresses the action sequences show off a level of refinement I've never seen. Covenant weapons feel less silly to shoot, and the new UNSC firearm the DMR will probably replace the pistol as the most cherished Halo weapon.
Everyone already knows that the game depicts the events leading up to the fall of the planet Reach, a human colony and the crown jewel of human military might, to the Covenant. The premise sets up a tension akin to the first few minutes of the movie Jurassic Park, where you're just waiting for everything to go sour and dinosaurs to pop out and start devouring people. All's quiet when the game starts, but you know the worst is around the corner. "Covenant... on Reach?"
It's through these motifs that the game speaks the most. The entire campaign carries the stigma that we're on the ass-end of the Titanic as it dips into the sea, making every scene all the more important and emotive, and sprinkling in a sense of urgency that makes the campaign addictive and enthralling.
The game is also beautiful. Bungie had an entire planet of new ideas to work with. More concept art went into Reach than the first three games in the series... combined. The new art direction is wonderful, and helps catapult the game from Sci-Fi shooter to space opera, something only Mass Effect has managed to do successfully so far. The amazing vista of the Reach sky, the expanse of space during the Corvette mission, and the awesome geography of the planet surface make Reach one of the most enthralling locations to set a game since giant floating ring worlds.
It also certainly helps that this is easily the most beautifully directed game in the series. The cut scenes are worth all the work you put in between them. They communicate the scale of the game. While Halo 2 and 3 purportedly depicted the climax of all out war between billions of people and Covenant, the war was seemingly won through small pockets of fighting between a handful of Covenant forces up against just a few marines and of course the cybernetic Jesus, Master Chief. Reach makes no such fault, with amazing scenes impressing on us the immense scale and power of the Covenant, rolling the entire planet over in such a short period of time.
But given the premise, lesser games would fail to hand any importance to the events leading up to such a tragedy, but that's where Halo: Reach succeeds-everything you do feels significant, and what Noble Team accomplishes through the Reach campaign ultimately decided the outcome of the war against the covenant by the end of Halo 3. Don't mistake this game for an historical account of a brave but failed team of Spartans, but a depiction of the true heroes of the series, possibly more so than Master Chief himself.
The multiplayer is what we've come to expect from Halo, and it's better than ever. The same old is even more fun in Reach than it was in the past, thanks largely to the refinement of the game play mechanics. Gun play is extremely satisfying, and the new abilities you can acquire add a strategic twist to the old game modes.
There's really too much to cover to go into any detail, but I'd like to mention that Blood Gulch from the original Halo is back and better than, disguised as Hemorrhage, one of the maps that collectively make up the Forge World. Despite the fact that absolutely none of Halo: Reach takes place on an actual Halo installation, the map is still set on Halo, and it's just that sprinkling of nostalgia that strikes the right chord with long time fans of the series. Its touches like this that show us Bungie really did craft the game as a fond farewell to the series and its fans, in a sort of "greatest hits" kind of way.
The new Invasion mode is a lot of fun and highly addictive. It pits Spartans against Elites, where one team attempts to hold capture points and the other tries very hard to stop them from doing just that. It mixes up the tried and true Halo multiplayer experience up just a bit and the game is better for it.
Bungie managed to do almost nothing unique with the two sequels to the original Halo, making the game feel extremely outdated by the time Halo 3 made it onto store shelves, leaving me to question their status as one of the most coveted developers in the business. Bungie's future projects will be based on a completely new IP, it I had serious doubts about their ability to embark on something new an innovative while retaining their triple-A status. The Halo formula dates all the way back to Marathon, a game that is over 15 years old.
With Halo: Reach, however, it's clear that there is still talent at Bungie, and that they'll do well with their future endeavors. It's too bad that the game that marks their return to greatness will also be their last game in the series, making the farewell bittersweet, but I'm proud that they'll leave it on a high note. Unfortunately for 343 Industries, which picks up the baton from here, they've got just about the biggest shoes in the industry to fill.