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Can Halo Reach The Cookie Jar?
I bought Halo Reach, knowing I would buy it later anyway. It has had a lot of positive feedback. That did not make me want to play it anymore than I already did, so those are moot. I decided not to watch or read anything about Reach for the past month, and in this the game surprised me.
The Campaign is very well done. In comparison with the Halo Trilogy, it is more dynamic and provoking: both in dialogue and events. The narrative is relatively straight forward and has the same structure as the other games (excluding ODST). You have your token sniping at night level, your vehicle level, and your flying level. This is the basis for the Halo level design, which is cool, except they add on new additions to the structure that were enjoyable. The level in the higher atmosphere of Reach is fantastic. Flying the saber, boarding the Covenant cruiser, the escape, and the final heart wrenching drop to Reach accompanied by a beautiful soundtrack and an overall lack of sound. There were some issues though. I wanted to be able to roll, spin, and stop on a dime. I am in space: why can I not have banshee maneuvers? I am in space: I do not need to move if I do not want to. Other than that, it was great.
The big point in the campaign for me is the tragedy. Instead of the epic scientific romance that the Halo Trilogy is and the mystery military science fiction that Halo ODST is, Reach gave a wonderful sense of tragedy, dramatic irony, and down right cold blood. Jorge's death is full of dramatic irony. Once the armada came I could not believe that he died in vain. The death of Kat was by far the most wonderful in the game. Where Carter, Jorge, and Emile are sacrificial, Kat is just unlucky. I gaped when the spike ran through her head and said, "What the fuck?" I did not truly expect such a devastating death of a Spartan. She just happened to die. No final hurrah, no destroying a cruiser or stabbing an elite, or ramming a scarab. Kat is my favorite character, for her contribution during her life in the campaign, and her humble end that accents the tragedy in the narrative.
Firefight rocks. I was worried when it was not announced for the longest time. I would have not bought Reach if there was no firefight. Matchmaking firefight is wonderful, and the infinite lives is a good choice. I would have hated to lose because an ally kept dying. Overall, best part of the game for me.
Matchmaking is still the solid Halo experience. With sprint as a basic AA for classic variants, I am loving it. The maps Asylum and Paradiso are my favorites out of Forge world, but I have not played enough on the other maps to have a firm opinion of them. Driving the warthog is better than before, and it is definitely worth doing now because of commendations (not that it was not before, but the game did not put value on you doing it). I do have two issues. I do not want to play Team SWAT or BTB Snipers when I join Team Slayer and BTB respectively. Those variations of the game reduce Reach to a lesser game that takes less <i>skill</i> - as the kids call it - than a normal game of Reach. It should have its own play list.
Challenges and the Armoury are what will keep me playing. The are addictive and I keep pushing to grab the stuff I want. I have planned out my wants and desires, allowing me to continue engaging with the game until the next one comes out.
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