But it is news, nonetheless. I'll start with the obvious.
HALO DOESN'T SUCK ANYMORE!
Okay, I've never played H3, ODST, or the strategy Halo, but you all know how I joke about how the only good thing to come out of Halo was Red vs. Blue, right?
Well, it seems Bungie finally addressed my complaints.
Halo Reach is a great game. Great graphics, above-average soundtrack, and pretty good controls too, once you get used to it. Now, before I go on, it's not one of the best shooters ever. It still lacks the inventiveness and godly level design of the Half-Life games. However, it is a solid game. Why? Let's see why.
-Great weapons. One of my beefs with H1 and H2 was the lack of weapon balancing. In H1, all you needed was the pistol, assault rifle, and plasma rifle for about 90 percent of that game. Everything else was near-useless. In H2, well, I didn't play it that much, but many gamers claim that dual-wielding certain weapons makes the game too easy. Not in Reach, though. Nearly every weapon is useful. Even the needler and plasma pistol are useful! Halo has cool guns now! I'm amazed.
-The AI. The AI for the regular friendly soldiers is wonky at times, but the AI for the other Spartans is great. But what really takes the cake is the AI for the Covenant. I found the Covenant to be tactical dumbasses in H1 and H2, despite what the ads claimed. Well, uh, looks like I'm not the only one who noticed, because that's not an issue anymore. Elites behave like human opponents in multiplayer. I am not kidding. Even the Ewok-like Grunts will flank you and grenade spam you if you give them an opening. These guys are fucking lethal. And Angry Joe and Lordkat are right about one thing; play Halo Reach on Legendary, and you will die. A LOT. But Firefight on Legendary is a hoot.
-Firefight mode. Maybe it's because I don't multiplay, but I don't have much experience with Halo multiplayer,* so it's great that Firefight can be played alone. It's basically an arcade game: wave after wave of Covenants come after you. You kill them, earn points, then a stronger wave comes. Repeat until you run out of lives, the time is up, or you kill 'em all. This could've been packaged as a standalone game, and I would've had no complaints. (Out now: Halo: The Arcade Game! Presented by 343 Industries, since Bungie's too busy still trying to take over the world.)
-Level design. It's no longer repetitive. Okay, it's not godlike, but it is a cut above generic shooters as of late.
-Vehicles. The vehicles in H1 controlled like shit. Here, they're great. And great fun! They can really turn the tide of a battle. The helicopter-like vehicle and spaceship are amazing. And don't forget to attempt Grand Theft Ghost at some point!
-The armor abilities. Jetpack. Invulnerability. Sprinting. Shielding. Camouflage. These weren't just tacked in; they really do bring a new level of strategy to the table. And it's been so long since I used a jetpack!
The campaign is a little short, but it packs no dull moments; filler is non-existent, if you will. The story is, per Halo, a typical space opera war, and is nothing special. The voice-acting is nothing special. (stupid Disney and LucasArts really spoiled me as a child and teenager concerning voice production, and Bandai isn't helping!) However, most people don't play Halo for the story, (that's what the novels are for, or so I've heard) and action shooters aren't exactly renowned for brilliant writing and characterization. With that said, Halo Reach is at least worth a rental, and if you dig Halo multiplayer, it's a must buy.
Thanks, Bungie, for not disappointing me for once. And thanks, Microsoft, for having a good killer app besides Gears of War 2.
*I got my brother to play H2 deathmatch with me back in the day. He hated it more than I did! "Why does my guy move so slow?" "Why is there a time limit?" "The sniper rifle's too good! All the other guns suck." "The graphics are pretty good, but I'd rather play Red Faction 2 instead. Rent that again, okay?" I think even he might be surprised to find how much Halo Reach improves upon the formula.
