Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Been there, done that"

Halo reach is a good game, only if you haven't played Halo 3 or ODST or are a die hard fan boy. The game play of Reach is very similar to Halo 3 with the addition of a few extra features, such as armour abilities, the game mode Invasion and a new ranking system. Reach also looks very similar to Halo 3 but with a new look to weapons that we have already been and used. Another new addition to the game is the re-introduction of health bars as well as your shield from the original Halo.

Armour abilities mix up combat by giving you the ability to perform certain tasks.

Armour lock - drops you into a shield making you invulnerable for a short amount of time.

Sprint - Allows you to run faster for a short amount of time.

Jet pack - probably the favourite of most Reach players, allows you to travel short distances at a hight, giving you the high ground where ever you are.

Drop Shield - similar to the bubble shield in Halo 3, drops a sphere around you protecting you from any shots or explosions outside of the shield.

Evade - allows the player to roll to avoid grenades and weapon fire.

The Invasion game mode features two opposing teams ( Spartans & Elites ) defending or attacking certain points on a map. You then progress further into the map to a point of having to pick up a core ( Similar to the flags purpose in CTF ) and taking it to a point to end the round. For each point captured you gain a point, after both teams have attacked and defended the points at the end of the game are added and the team with the largest amount of points wins the game.

The new ranking system is now a lot more similar to games such as Call of Duty. This is most likely due to Halo becoming left behind in popularity from its rival big names titles such as, Call of Duty series and the Gears of War series. Rather than the old Halo 3 style of 1xp for every game won, it now focuses on how you do in matches based on kills, assists and deaths etc..

Overall Halo Reach is very similar to the older Halo 3, but with a twist in game play due to the armour abilities. Reach is worth buying if you're new to the Halo series but may seem very familiar to previous players of fans of the series.