So this is my first review and I wanted to kick it off with a triple 'A' title. Not exactly a new release I know but I can do what I want because this is my blog. I thought that this game was a sheer cash cow milking scheme by Bungie as this installment didn't add anything to the Halo universe other than explaning how Keyes, Cortana, et al. ended up looking at the first Halo ring. Not exactly a huge contribution. You could argue that the game followed the book's story line and how important it is to Sierra 117's story but I think any credibility that the game could have gained from that is lost on how many times it broke the canon that was set by the books first. I mean come on! Brutes? Really? They were not in conflict with the Covanent until the events of the second game so what are they doing here? And this isn't the only time that the time-line was broken by Bungie either. In fact the whole battle of the fall of Reach has been altered.
Another inconsistency is the whole Cortana story line. In Reach we see Cortana trusted to the rag-tag Noble team who eventually delivers her to the good captain Keyes at the cost of the teams death, oh ya *SPOILER* In the books however Cortana picks John over all the other spartans and he is the one to test the A.I. is he not? Not only that but in Reach we see the spartans using technology that is supposed to be less advanced than the other games as it happens first chronologically. However, while it does look less advanced, much of what we are able to do is far better than our capabilities the other games. I mean those armour abilities would have came in real handy during the previous Halo games. I realize that Bungie was trying to 1-up their game by making this instalment an exciting one, but from a hardcore nerd point of view I think that was a mistake. There are other ways they could have done that I think.
After the nerd rage subsides though this game is actually really good! The single player campaign was excellent. Just the image of a team of spartans running through a village or storming Sword Base is pure awesome incarnate. The fact that you aren't limited to John's pale green armour is one of the best features of the game. It's more immersive some how to have a spartan with armour you have come to identify yourself with in multiplayer going through the events of the story, and when you have your friends with their unique armour in the game with you it just gets better. When a team member dies this way you really feel it. I thought the Legendary difficulty may have been a touch too easy as there was only two spots that gave me any real trouble, both of which involved Hunters. In Halo 3 the Legendary was much harder and took me alot longer to get through solo. It was still enjoyable all in all though. A lot of people have been raging because of the way the game ends. Just in case someone han't completed it yet: *SPOILER* Everyone dies, including the player character. A lot of people wanted to see their character live and fight the good fight. I liked the ending though because, again, I'm a nerd and that's the way it's SUPPOSED to end. John is the last spartan alive. That has been set up since square one, and besides the last stand the player does is just badass. If you didn't see this coming it must have been heart breaking.
The multi-player in this game is vastly better and possibly the best in the series. The player customization is unbelievable and is going to keep players busy forever trying to perfect their armour collection, especially as Bungie is releasing more. I find that the game types are better organized than they were in Halo 3 with very specific catagories, including one for the infinitely annoying team snipers match. The new game types are a welcome relief to the usual kill other team or capture other flag type objectives. Also the forge game type is actually fun now. I'm not sure about everyone else but forge in Halo 3 was just to picky. It was hard to get a block exactly where you wanted it and 'floating' items was a hastle. Not any more! The fact that you can turn off collision detection with the items makes it so much easier to get what you want done. In fact I've created a whole racing tournament including a map where you drive underwater! I put the tracks on my file share if you want to grab them.
PROTIP:
- In the first mission on Legendary difficulty there is an invisible Elite running toward the first bridge. It's right in the beginning afer you touch down. If you are fast and kill him before he gets there you are rewarded with a data pad with extra backstory!
- There are other datapads with other backstory in the various houses scattered in the same level.
- I have also located a datapad on Exodus right after you get your jetpack and attack the Brutes (ugh) on the other side of the opening. After you clear the area look up and there should be a catwalk that is above the door you need to go through. Up there is the datapad.
- On the ONI: Sword Base mission after you have gone through the loop and activated the COM Array and the Anti-Airgun you will arrive back at the front gate to Sword Base. Here Hijack a Revenant and keep it safe. Make sure that both your Revenant and Gausshog are intact after the battle. This is easier with a friend with a good shot operating the gun. Then back the Revenant up so that its back end is touching the concrete barriers that block your Warthog's path. Normally you would have to proceed on foot but now you can use the Revenant as a ramp and jump over the barriers. This makes dealing with the Hunters that are in the base MUCH easier. Just don't try and take it in the elevator after. I did. It wasn't pretty.
Last Played: League of Legends
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