Halo: Reach Preview

“The definitive Halo made by the people who created Halo.” Those are some pretty big words, but so far it looks like to be just that. Yesterday, the world got it’s first in-depth look at Halo: Reach and you cannot help but be impressed by their improvements over the previous installments.

Looking back at the past two Halo’s, Halo 3 and ODST, there was a noticeable amount of gamers disappointed in the titles. They were upset because they felt the titles we’re just “more of the same.” While I personally disagree with any hate directed towards Halo 3, I can see the frustration with ODST. The same engine, no Master Chief, the same multiplayer maps included in Halo 3, and a $60 price point. I think we can all agree though that Reach is a brand new Halo made to appease fans of the series, and maybe even those new to the series.

In the vidoc, the guys at Bungie talked about how this is going to be the most character driven Halo yet. In the game, you will be playing as Noble 6, a Spartan III, coming in to replace a fallen Spartan for Noble Team. Noble Team is the name of the team you’ll be fighting along with while on Reach. The team includes you, four Spartan-III’s, and a Spartan II. For those of you who don’t know, a Spartan-II is the same type of Spartan as Master Chief. Spartan-III’s are cheaper and more expendable Spartans to produce. Only two of the original members of Noble Team are still alive, Carter and Kat. The rest were replacements for other fallen Spartans. Noble 6 has a impressive track record filled with “dark secrets”, and he is known for doing things his way. Other members of the team include Jorge (The only Spartan II), Emile (the man with the skull painted on his helmet), and Jun (the Sniper).

The story of Reach is well known in the gaming community; Reach falls. Even though we know this we have no idea what happens to Noble Team or Noble 6 yet. This is a brand new story in the story of Reach, so expect a lot of twists and turns even if you’ve read the book.

Some have complained about that the game is a prequel, but in reality that seems to be a good thing for the series. We are going to get a great story about probably the most pivotal battle in Halo lore, and we are going to create a backstory for future games. By creating new characters, we are expanding the universe for potential storylines involving Master Chief in the future.

Graphically, Bungie has remade their engine from the bottom up. This is a huge improvement over Halo 3 and Halo 3 ODST. They are able to put more enemies on the screen, increase particles from a couple hundred on the screen to a couple thousand, and have improved the look of the game overall. The game is still in Alpha so I hope they improve the lighting and shadowing when it comes to the environment; like off of buildings and trees. Character models seem to be the strongest part of the game graphically at the moment. With a lot details in the main characters facial expressions and appearance. The game is still in Alpha stage though, so they can only move up as time goes on.

Another change for Reach from previous Halo games is to make enemies (Covenant) scary. In Halo: Combat Evolved, enemies were more intimidating, but as the series went on they started to talk English and some were actually humorous. They lost their edge. Bungie wants to bring that edge back by making them look and sound more intimidating. Bungie has stated that they want this to be like you are the Spartans and you are fighting these enemies that you know little about and can’t understand. The Elites are also back in charge at this time, so prepare for some epic Spartan vs. Elite battles in the game. Also, included in the game are new enemies all together. Some may wonder why we don’t see these new enemies later in the Halo timeline? Well, let’s just say that it appears not a lot of them make it off Reach.

Bungie wants this game to feel a lot like Combat Evolved. They want Reach to be filled with open environments filled with enemies and allow you to figure out how you want to deal with the situation. There will be corridor battles like what we’ve seen in past Halos, but that will be balanced with the terrain of Reach. Reach will have a full weather system as well as Bungie saying they will have “40 AI and 20 vehicles” on screen at a time.

There are also changes to weapons and grenades. Some of these new weapons include a medium range needler and one shot DRM. The changes to previous Halo weapons are noticeable in visual quality, sound quality, and effect. Gone are the spike and flame grenades from Halo 3. Now all you got are the classic frag and sticky grenades. They are also working to get the pistol back to the beloved Halo: CE pistol level. Equipment upgrades will be available depending on how you want to play at certain moments. The two known equipment upgrades include sprint and camouflage. Both of them are available whenever they are equipped, but after using them there will be a down time so you can recharge them. The downtime will be short, but is in place to stop players from abusing them.

There is no word specifically on multiplayer besides the fact that the beta will be coming May 3rd. To participate in the beta you need to have Halo 3: ODST. Sucks, but what can ya do.

The game is coming out this Fall for the Xbox 360, and it might be the last Halo ever made by Bungie. The game is looking great. It’s a new start visually and storywise, but it also returns to what made Combat Evolved great. While some have been hating on Halo recently, remember that Spartans never die.