Halo: Reach - Does it meet expectations?

[MercurySteam]

NOTE TO ALL TRYING TO BE FUNNY: I have found some threads about Reach hype, but they are no longer active and were all stared before Reach came out. Say 'Searchbar' once and I will find you. (Well, probably not but you have been warned)

So unless you've been living in Sony's basement for the last couple of days, I'm sure you've heard that Halo: Reach is out. For those of us who've played it I want to hear real opinions instead of what Gamespot and a few of my hyped up friends have to say.

In my opinion, the new engine looks beautiful and Noble Team is quite interesting to follow but there are plenty of things that Bungie have swung for and missed, or maybe haven't swung for at all. The point is Reach has both the good and some of the bad and I want to know what my fellow Escapist think now that it's finally out.

The Obvious: No flaming please.​

To Fanboys: I know it isn't always easy to control yourself, but anything is possible here on The Escapist. Please play nice.​

 

[Hap2]

It is much smoother in terms of control, and much more precise unlike Halo 3, thanks to hitscan. Everything is well balanced compared to the beta where some weapons were too godly, and some were not nearly enough. Grenades are still powerful, but they are no longer a be-all end-all solution. Pistol could use more ammo and cartridges, but that might be my personal preference. One can still double melee if lucky and the opponent is slow, but it is much slower than the beta where it was much too fast.

I have not played campaign yet, just the multiplayer, but so far, I have to admit, it is the best FPS online multiplayer gameplay I have encountered on the Xbox 360 so far. I really did not like Halo 3 and found it incredibly frustrating due to previous injuries hindering my playing ability, it was too clunky. Reach though, is such a streamlined experience, that I look forward to play it. I wish there was a couple of more maps for Team Slayer and Invasion, but there are plenty of possibilities through Forge World, and remakes of Blood Gulch by Bungie, and Halo 2 and 3 favourites like The Pit and Rat's Nest by the community are most welcome.

 

[Funkiest Monkey]

Had a few hours on it with two of my friends last night. It's a great game, and I love it.

Even one of my friends, who is a strictly Playstation dude and knows nothing about Halo, said it was great game.

 

[Azaraxzealot]

well, considering its trying to solely meet the expectations of people who LOVED Halo since its first iteration (i mean they thought anything with "Halo" attatched to it was solid gold) yeah, it met (perhaps surpassed) expectations

as to me, i have no expectation of the halo franchise, but for once firefight looks fun, but thats it

 

[Delock]

I'd say it is basically ODST but with most of the elements opposite of that game (ODST: Everyone is ok, Reach: Anyone can die is the rule, ODST: best cannon fodder around, Reach: part of the cheaper, lesser quality supersoldier batch, etc.). However, I liked ODST (not the price, but the game was just fine IMO), so Reach is everything I wanted. I also like that the customization carries over to single player. Gameplay is as fun as most FPSs get without giving you powers that make you the equivalent of a tank to mooks. Story was also better than most Halos (it isn't groundbreaking, and there's no real big twists, but given that its about a team of 6 very human individuals fighting a losing battle on humanity's last defense, it really has weight to it). That being said, the length dissappointed me, but once again, I grew up with JRPGs, so I can't imagine it being the proper length I would want and not overstaying its welcome.

Overall, it met my expectations, and exceeded thme slightly. I'd say this happens to be my favorite Halo so far, and I wish Bungie the best in whatever they're trying to do next. They seem to be a rather funloving company, but have been stuck with only one game, which was designed to appeal to everyone. It will be interesting to see what they come up with next (and it will most likely sell with the tagline: from the developers of Halo).

 

[Matt_LRR]

Really enjoying it so far. Still wondering what happened to mission 1.

-m

 

[Atmos Duality]

Well, the game certainly was hyped.

Was that hype worth it? Absolutely not. It wasn't necessary to annoy the fuck out of me for a solid month with this, and more from the fanboys who won't shut up about it for the next three months.

Does that make Reach a bad game? No. It's very well-made, at least on a technical and gameplay level.

Does it deserve all of those Best Game Evar entitles? Well...yes and no.

SUBJECTIVE/OPINION STUFF
In context: Best Game Ever? Oh fuck no. Not even close. It's an utterly generic shooter, that while improving on Halo's gameplay, still remains largely the same. Single player is still thrown to the ground in comparison to the effort put into multiplayer, and to me, relying on multiplayer is the current crutch of the gaming industry, and what makes every shooter so utterly forgettable.

Is it the best game of this year? Well, it's a contender in the broad sense and it will generate even more needless hype when it inevitably buys earns its GOTY. Though personally I won't spare it a thought (that's bias at work kids!).

 

[SalamanderJoe]

I think it needed more original maps. Out of twenty games so far I have only played on ForgeWorld and that bloody Spire level.

 

[Marowit]

It met my expectations. It's a fun Sci-Fi shooter that doesn't feel gimmick-y like Gears of War always did to me.

 

[L4hlborg]

Really enjoying it so far. Still wondering what happened to mission 1.

-m

I think that it was the part until you evacuate the local security dudes, but that would make the 2nd mission very short.

I'm playing it on Legendary and I'm glad to see it's actually legendary again and not that heroic-claiming-to-be-legendary legendary of Halo 3 and ODST. On the other hand, this makes playing it very frustrating. I've been stuck at the end of the seventh mission for a hour now.

The multiplayer is even better than I could have imagined (didn't follow hype, so literally), judging by a few matches. Firefight is good, especially rocket fight and team snipers is amazingly fun with the holograms. I managed to trick a whole team by creating a hologram at my spot and by walking away from my hiding spot myself like a hologram. Gave me a direct view on all of them.

 

[Matt_LRR]

Really enjoying it so far. Still wondering what happened to mission 1.

-m

I think that it was the part until you evacuate the local security dudes, but that would make the 2nd mission very short.

Nope. If you complete the evacuation without using a vehicle, you get the mission 2 no vehicle achievement.


According to the Gamefaqs walkthrough, the opening cutscene is mission 1. ...

That's weird.

-m

 

[Jasper Jeffs]

I felt little hype for this, I only watched the Forge video and saw the corny "we're so deep" trailer on TV. It's a decent enough game, the multiplayer is fun, and the single player is (honestly) pathetic, but I'm having a laugh playing online with friends, even if it feels exactly the same as Halo 3. It's a change to playing COD all of the time with them, and it was only £15, so I'm content with it.

 

[Geekosaurus]

I'll say this before I start: I haven't played it because I don't like Halo. But I've always found that hype is the biggest killer of games. Some of my favourite games have been ones I've just picked up off the shelves months after their release.

 

[scnj]

Say 'Searchbar' once and I will find you. (Well, probably not but you have been warned)

Would you search for me? Sorry.

It meets my expectations as a solid Halo game. Only four missions in though, so that could change by the end.

 

[Terminate421]

I think its perfect, when Im shooting I actually have to concentrate on the guy Im trying to kill rather than blind fire. All the weapons make me think about what I should take, no longer do I find myself dominating with a sniper and a shotgun, now I have to consider my other options, the pistol, assault rifle, DMR etc.

 

[masseyguy911]

Well I didn't really have any expectations for Reach, that being said I thought it was good.
I didn't play multiplayer yet, but some of the campaign. Its just as good as all the other Halo games.

 

[Discord]

I played it and loved it, love the new firefight and I really love forge. The mission could of been longer but also I felt like the Reach battles were lacking in force.

I remember reading the books and looking more into the story and I remember how there was these Huge Fleet battles over head, Entire armys clashing, and huge fights in every direction. But I kinda got like a small firefight feel; I mean I wanted a huge fight during ever mission and I felt alittle down, the only part where I think I got that feeling was the Very "Last" playable part in the game.

But its just my opinion thats all.

 

[Xorph]

I was pretty mad that they removed so many of the classic guns (the carbine, brute shot and beam rifle, to name a few), but the gameplay and fun-ness level meet (and in some parts, excedded) my expectations. The multiplayer levels arent that varied, but thats because Bungee broke the golden rule of DON'T HAVE THE MULTIPLAYER AND CAMPAIGN MAPS TAKE PLACE IN THE SAME AREAS rule. Because of that, all the multiplayer levels but Forge World have to fit into the campaign in some way, so they all get dumbed down.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Nope. If you complete the evacuation without using a vehicle, you get the mission 2 no vehicle achievement.


According to the Gamefaqs walkthrough, the opening cutscene is mission 1. ...

That's weird.

-m

That was the same as Halo 3. It's so if you want to start a new game quickly you can skip the first long cutscene.

Yes it is odd...

 

[MySoxSmell]

Well i beat the campaign pretty damn fast, only took about 5 hours, so its kinda short but very good absolutly worth the purchase, i have't looked at the multiplayer yet but if its an improved the beta then im sure i will love it, all in all , it meets if not surpases expectations