Halo Reach Revisited

I really do love the Halo franchise, every single game has been part of some milestone in my life and Halo Reach was another great yet different entry into the series. This was Bungie's last release in the franchise before heading off to different horizons and what was provided is a game that holds up well as its own unique story. The game is a prequel to the Halo franchise that follows a group of Spartans on what's basically a suicide mission to defend critical UNSC positions, personnel and humanity's future in the way against the Covenant. Reach is a key position for humanity in the time being the main shipyard and while the attack was a surprise, the right forces were sent to resist.

The game released in 2010 developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft as an exclusive for Xbox 360. The game was also later available on Xbox One through the backwards compatibility program. This was the ultimate iteration of Halo from Bungie with every mode that has made the franchise distinct. It had a strong campaign with scoring modes; robust competitive multiplayer, intense Firefight, a gigantic Forge environment and challenges that kept you coming back every week. It was certainly a complete package and was the pinnacle of Bungie's work on the franchise.


The story has you taking the role of this extra Lone Wolf addition to a battle hardened squad of Spartans called Noble. This group had been through some harsh things and each meet terrible fates at the hands of the Covenant as the story unfolds. The key members that stick out in the campaign were Jorge and Emile for obvious reasons once you play it. The scenes were beautiful, Reach was a lovely planet to visit and the story was sorrowing. This was supported by Firefight, a mode where groups of players would work together to take on Covenant waves of enemies and you could play this for hours. There were tons of variations to the mode and it was constantly kept fresh.

The multiplayer was outstanding for Reach featuring tons of great maps across many locations. There was also amazing support after launch with great map packs and tons of Forge maps put into matchmaking later on. Online play supported many classic Halo objectives and had many created after using custom Forge variations. The editing system was truly amazing with the Forge World being a massive playground of creation. There were so many incredible things that came out of this and you could spend hours just playing custom creations from it.

The challenges kept you coming back to Reach as did the constantly fresh updates to the game. The multiplayer was great whether you wanted competitive or casual play with tons of options. There was some discussion about the game featuring the DMR instead of the BR, but that weapon had its own skill to it. The armor abilities were questionable, but helped build the foundation of the smooth gameplay we have in the series now. Halo Reach was a full Halo experience and one I spent many hours with friends on in a game that always improved over its lifespan.

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