HALO: Reach – Campaign Review

I am not a Halo fanboy by any means.  My first experience with this franchise was Halo 3 match making and it almost destroyed any chance of me EVER being an online gamer.  But I figured I would try the SP and see what it was all about…and it was fun.  Not earth shattering fun, but fun.  Then came ODST and I saw some improvements but just as many failures.  The game was beautiful and the voice acting was solid…but it was very short and I got the impression that it was filler for something bigger and better…and that something was Halo: Reach.  Bungie’s swan song is an epic story filled with everything a gamer could want and then some.

The first improvement with Reach is its storytelling. Halo has always felt like quantum physics for me. The science behind the game, while cool wasn’t why I was playing.  I’m a shooter fan and I just wanted to kill things with my power armored Spartan.  But for many fans, the allure was the techno babble and the Halo universe ( which has been fleshed out in fan fiction,  forums, fan sites, comics, cartoons and possibly a feature length movie if rumors are accurate ) to the point of rivaling Star Trek in geekyness.   But Reach doesn’t require knowing tons of Halo terminology beforehand like in past installments, it is visceral and dark and even if you know nothing about Halo, you can immerse yourself in the game and empathize with the story and the soldiers who fight and die by your side.

The campaign focuses on  a Spec Ops team of Spartan super soldiers, designated NOBLE.  You take on the role of Noble Six and jump right into the fight by accompanying your fellow squadmates in investigating a communications relay that has mysteriouslystopped working.  And so it begins, no preamble, no long intro filled with tidbits from past events, just pick up your rifle and get to work with your AI controlled team.  You can skip the cut scenes in Reach, but I strongly discourage this becuase you will be cheating yourself of the experience.

Speaking of AI control, Bungie did almost everything right with it.  No longer just cannon fodder, Grunts will flank you, they will harass you and if not dealt with the WILL kill you.  Now apply that logic to every class of badie and you have one tough fight.  Playing solo on Heroic, I found that my usual tactic of running in and smashing and shooting everything in site was a no-go.  I died.  A lot.  I also killed my AI battle buddies ( who have also been given a virtual face lift )  with random grenades and sporadic fire or I simply lead them into a room full of enemies to be mowed down like so many meatbags.    Gone are the days of Master Chief and his unstoppable super powers, in Reach you must be crafty, you need to use tactics and lay off the trigger or you could find yourself weaponless and facing a horde of Elites.

That leads me to my next observation, weapons.  Like everything else in Reach, weapons have been retooled and revamped.  They are all formidable when used correctly, even the Grunts plasma pistol ( killed by them enough to know ).  Weapons are found at critical points along with health and armor upgrades, but given the sheer volume of enemies, I often found myself running the gauntlet of a firefight just to get ammo or a new weapon to continue the fight.  While I found this to be a pain in the ass, it did ratchet up the urgency and the feeling of being on the wrong side of the fight.

Lastly Space combat has been included in this installment, and it is AWESOME.  My only complaint is that it is a very short sequence when compared with the rest of the game.  While not as grand as say the beginning of Star Wars Episode II, it was still great to see UNSC frigates and Covenant Cruisers slugging it out.  Again, the size and scope of Reach never ceases to amaze.  All of the other usual vehicles are back and better than ever and you have your chance at using them all.

So without spoiling the game further or revealing the ending let me close by summing up – the campaign tells the story of Reach and those who fought on her, about its destruction and the sacrifices made during that last stand against the Covenant, and how a defeated UNSC did everything it could to keep Earth safe.  Of all the Halo games, the connection you feel towards your character and the AI comrades you do battle with is truly amazing so do not be surprised if you feel saddened by a particular death or sudden joy at seeing an enemy ship burst into flames as reinforcements arrive. This is how Halo should be remembered, as an experience that we all shared and not just another game we played.  Good bye Halo and thank you for the memories!