Halo: Reach looks...

[obedai]

if you have even a passing interest in user generated content, get this game. I literally built a complete, and pretty good map, in 5 hours in the new forge. In the old forge it would've taken 20-30 times longer.

 

[AgentNein]

I never get excited for a new Halo till it's out, and then I'm like 'oh holy shit how did this slip under my radar?'. I've never been a huge fan of "Let's get shot in the face" AKA Halo multiplayer, but the campaign, on legendary with a co-op friend is one of the most fun things ever. In any Halo game.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

I watched The Escapist review today and from the sound of things, the direction is more in line with Halo 1 which I am happy about. I won't buy the game because I would not play it enough to justify the cost and don't have Live, so this Friday I'll give it a rent. I like the attention towards story and characters (that I don't want to choke) because it looks like the game will provide motivation to continue along and follow the events with some level of interest. Single Player has always been priority for me, so I find about any progress taken by Reach to improve upon Halo 2 and 3. The health and weapon changes to fit more into the Halo 1 style are also a plus!

The character development and story are what swung it for me. Halo has always been a fun series, no doubt, but I wouldn't play the online and the campaign just didn't hold the game up in 2 and 3. I haven't played ODST so I can't comment.

But yeah, Halo 1 was good and it bodes well for me that Reach is closer to CE than its sequels.

 

[SelectivelyEvil13]

The character development and story are what swung it for me. Halo has always been a fun series, no doubt, but I wouldn't play the online and the campaign just didn't hold the game up in 2 and 3. I haven't played ODST so I can't comment.

But yeah, Halo 1 was good and it bodes well for me that Reach is closer to CE than its sequels.

I think that the narrative focus, no matter how strong it ends up being, is a great shift to strengthen its appeal. Not everyone has a Gold account or even enjoys online play that much, so Halo 2 and 3 were a bit shallow of a play-through for those like myself. Reach gets more attention from me just through the incorporation of some half-characterization beyond Sgt. Johnson acting like a walking cliche.

 

[Outcast107]

I'm playing on Legendary and the invisble Elites with the Beam rifle ( I think that's what it called) PISS ME THE FUCK OFF!. I still LOVE the game. Just two shots from that things and I'm dead. I can't snipe him as soon as I get him in my sights (I barely see a movement as they stays perfectly still at times.) he fires and I lose sight of him. And I can't near him as he goes a quick shot which kill my shields and then he falco punches me in the face.

But all in all i'm almost done with Legendary by myself. Which I'm hoping I can beat so I won't have to EVER BEAT THIS AGAIN BY MYSELF! lol.

 

[SteveeVader]

GGGGrrrrrrrrrrrr Heroic is so fucking hard I actually had to change it was making me nerdrage. Overall though the game is fab bungie really have a way with the narrative in which it does not force feed you pointless facts etc etc. The game feels very much like Halo 1 which is better because it made me fall in love with this wonderful series. I am currently on the 8th mission and the change of sceneries is amazing from desert to city to mountains; you really feel like you are exploring reach. However the great bungie tidbit is that you feel completely insignificant and overwhelmed.

 

[Sacman]

I got it today it's good, better than the other Halos but no where near my top 10 list...

 

[tendo82]

The campaign seems on par with or superior to the previous Halos thus far, however I think the multiplayer might fall flat for a lot of newcomers. Halo multiplayer isn't nearly as accessible or as immediately addictive as the MW or BF series.

The learning curve feels quite steep in comparison to MW2, given how difficult it is to kill other players. Also the lack of any immediate gameplay customization(map creation not withstanding) makes it feel kind of antiquated in the post MW era of perks and highly customizable loadouts. Granted there's no way Halo could accommodate those kinds of changes within the template fans all know and love. The gameplay is proven, but its a far cry from the extremely popular and very satisfying formula Infinity Ward established.

There are plenty of die hard fans to make the game a huge hit, but I wouldn't be surprised if Halo Reach multiplayer sees a shorter than expected run as FPS king of the hill.

 

[L4hlborg]

Ah the campaign, I beat that today on normal and died 20 times, mostly in a corridor with suicide grunts and their grenades bouncing everywhere, and against a wraith, which actually tries to run you over now(I had no big guns). That said, I can't imagine how hard legendary is.

It's actually the hardest legendary campaign since Halo 2. It's not like the "legedary" in Halo 3 but actual legendary, where you die 5 times between each chekpoint. Causes lots of frustration but also great pleasure, when you survive. Everything the enemy has pretty much instakills you and the only guns you can use are plasma pistol, DMR and Needle rifle. Everything else is useless. The only flaw I can think of is that the weapons are absolutely useless, apart from those three.

 

[MagicMouse]

I just got done with the campaign, took 6 hours.

It was a well put together game, felt like halo, showed some signs of an aging engine. Multiplayer is a blast, this game will steal many hours of my life I can tell.

 

[Benoist]

I loved everything single Halo game. Got really involved on Bungie.net with Halo 3, and then, I sort of grew tired of the uber-competitive crowd, the hate about Halo 3: ODST, and a whole lot of BS there, so I just enjoy my games on my own now. I haven't played multiplayer or checked previews for Halo: Reach for ages.

Yet. Yet I preordered Reach, and I CANNOT wait to play it. It's all going to be a surprise to me. It's going to be awesome. *grins*

 

[DustyDrB]

Yea, I'm even thinking about giving it a try. That has to be all the hype, though. I've never been a FPS fan, have played the Halo series for all about 30 minutes, and am pretty much a single-player only kind of guy.

So if I do get it, I'll wait until it's dirt cheap. And with everyone buying it so quickly now, there's going to be a bunch of cheap resells pretty soon. And I'm a vulture for that stuff.

 

[Gardenclaw]

Well i have now finished it and will say this. If you liked the first one you will like this one. It has more in common with combat evolved than than halo 2 or 3. Played through on heroic and found it pretty challenging in places, but they have added some great touches and got rid of some crap stuff that had sneaked into halo 3. (wont go into too much depth as i dont want to spoil the suprise)

ALSO IF YOU DO PLAY IT WAIT TILL AFTER THE END CREDITS, THERE IS A BIT TAGGED ON THE END!!!!!!

 

[Talon Julius]

Beat the campaign a bit ago (never stopped playing since I got it). Out of all the shooters I've ever played Half-life 2 was the only one I consider able to really compete with it.

To the Halo flamers out there insult me all you want for liking a brilliant game, but remember that's my opinion. Just because it's not yours doesn't mean I'm wrong or I'm stupid. I just have a different perception of the world.

 

[Vigormortis]

Unlike most people, I've tried my damnedest to not listen to the monster of a "hype machine" Microsoft unleashed prior to the games release. (I mean, seriously, I'd wager damn near 80% of the games budget is in advertising) All I've heard is it's supposed to be the "best and most epic" Halo to date. Therefore, I went into the game relatively unbiased. Well, mostly. I set out to judge the game based on the previous games and my overall gaming experience/history.

Having said that, I've found the game to be somewhat underwhelming. In relation to the story, anyway. Not interested in the multiplayer much. Never was beyond CE.

The campaign is leagues better than two or three's horrendous campaigns. However, it really didn't fill me with that same sense of awe, mystery, and intensity that I had when first playing Halo: CE back in the day. The Covenant are still far too goofy and cartoonish for me to really perceive them as a real threat. That was always something that bugged me in the first game as well.

All in all, it's still fun. A lot of fun. It's definitely the second best game in the series. The art direction, though a bit too colorful for a "dark" story, is still fantastic. The engine has come a long way as well. But, I've yet to be "blown away". I'm just glad (hoping) this really is Bungie's last foray into the Halo universe. I'm anticipating more greatness from them, just not in Halo form.

A final thought. I haven't delved much into the new Forge, but I plan to remedy that soon. I fear, though, that I'll be too biased going in because of my extensive play-time in Garry's Mod. That game has ruined me on all sand-box games.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

even the pissy Covenant drop ships have a cannon that blows the crap out of you.

God, that thing's a *****.
Only played about 6 hours so far, but I'm lovign it. The Covenant are challenging and tough to fight in a good way, especially the ELites. They're my favourite videogame enemy by far. I'm playing on heroic difficulty, and I actually feel like the Elites are my equal, not just a slightly tougher grunt.

Multiplayer is unsurprisingly fantastic as well. There's just something so satisfying about Halo's gameplay that I can't put my finger on.

can agree to this. its slightly annoying in that case, they fucking stalk the shadows and shoot at me with that annoying ass rifle and slowly pick away the shield till i am able to chase down just one of them =\ fuckers are annoying as shit. smart AI keeping their distance.

multi = alot of fun as always, no game has made it easier to hop on with some friends and destroy in firefight/multiplayer/forgeworld, its all good stuff

 

[Danzaivar]

Best Halo game yet, the armour abilities rock (Armor Lock looks awesome when you use it too). It's also refreshing to create "your" spartan and actually see them in the cutscenes. And yeah, the campaign is really good tho a bit short; knowing how it ends sort of leaves you playing through hoping against hope but doesn't kill the experience.

The art style is a lot more gritty too. Tried playing Halo 3 after spending 3 or 4 hours on reach and it feels like everythings made out of bubblegum or something, lol.