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'Halo: Reach' Review Roundup

by Jordan Yerman | September 14, 2010 at 09:12 am

262 views | 10 Recommendations | 1 comment

Halo: Reach Debuts on September 14- Reviews Are Positive

Halo: Reach, the final installment in the Halo series, was released on September 14 into the clutches of Xbox fans everywhere. Halo: Reach is a prequel to the main Halo series, and you play not as the Master Chief, but as Noble Six. Players can customize their character's appearance, as well as elements of the multiplayer modes.

John Funk at The Escapist was a fan, likening the doomed-marines scenario of the prequel to the Battle of Thermopylae. The supporting characters remained somewhat generic, but at least you can go into battle with a bunch of Spartans instead of the red-shirt-esque marines from previous Halo editions.

Of course, in battle, you're still a Spartan, and that means you still kick a bunch of ass. By Reach, Bungie has all but perfected its famed "thirty seconds of fun" philosophy, and with four Halo games behind them, the developer is able to pick and choose the best parts of each - in that way, Reach feels very much like a "Best Of: Halo" collection.

Destructoid's Hamza Aziz, however, liked the characterization:

There's more dialogue, cutscenes and story presented than in previous titles, and Reach easily has the most character development ever seen in a Halo title -- to the point that I grew attachments to the characters and genuinely felt sad at a number of events that happened over the course of the campaign. The very last mission will choke you up a bit.

Destrictoid gives Halo: Reach a perfect 10.

Lou Kesten stops just short of calling the Halo: Reach solo campaign "boring", and derides the still-atrocious Warthog controls and primitive take-cover options. Kesten says that the game comes into its own during multiplayer campaigns, saying, "If multiplayer mayhem is your thing, "Halo: Reach" is essential."

You are part of Noble Team, a group of elite Spartan troops whose missions largely involve evacuating humans and sabotaging Covenant installations. Most of the scenarios involve sustained, ground-based firefights against hordes of aliens whose aggressive artificial intelligence will torment even the most experienced "Halo" player.