To get me in the mood, I’m listening to the original Halo soundtrack. That’s one of the things that set Halo apart for me. The ghostly choir on the title screen. The epic, sweeping orchestra as you explore an unique world. The “we’re gonna go fuck shit up” Halo driving music.
It looks pretty, that’s for sure. If this is any indication of how Halo 4 will look, then we are in for a visual treat. While it looks pretty, the frame rate is pretty bad – despite the overhauled textures, the stutters do give the game away at times. Gameplay-wise, it is Halo as it was ten years ago. The purest version of the “Golden Tripod” – Shooting, melee, grenades. Am I going to say the most boring version of the “Golden Tripod”? I think I just did. Halo 2 tightened everything up, especially multiplayer, and brought in some essential new weapons. Halo 3 brought in equipment, livened things up even more. I think Armour Abilities and Loadouts in Halo: Reach are my favourite addition though – being able to play Halo your way seems to me to be the principle behind the series from day one. Plasma Pistol and Battle Rifle? Rockets and Sniper Rifle? Gravity Hammer and Sprint? Jetpack and Concussion Rifle? Active Camo and a good view of the map? Play it your way. The changes and additions Bungie made over the years were for the better – Reach is my personal pinnacle of Halo.
We’ll stay with that general thought, but we’ll go back Anniversary. While the three way battles were good, they felt a little underpopulated. Battles that I remember being massive were quite standard by todays standards. Set pieces that seemed epic ten years ago just felt slightly shallow. I’m still unsure what has caused this feeling. Is it just because modern games throw more stuff at you? Or that the original Halo was a bit basic? Did Bungie somehow improve the set pieces ten-fold yet with an incredibly subtle, barely noticeable touch? Reach is my pinnacle.
The story made much more sense to me this time around. I didn’t feel like I’d missed out on an explanatory cut-scene this time – The first time I played Halo I felt it was pretty unclear as to who was doing what and why. This time around, thanks to the story being a bit easier to follow in further games, and reading up on the compelling fiction, I felt myself being more immersed in the events taking place. Even though I’d lived through them before, they seemed better defined this time around, although it was my perspective that had changed rather than the games. I did notice an incongruity or two though – the Master Chief was referred to as a cyborg at one point. Ret-con required.
The Terminals were nice touches, giving us a glimpse of 343 Guilty Sparks’ perspective on matters, as well as some mysterious non-contact with a race unknown to the Forerunners, and an ominous reference or two to “The Didact”, and “Prometheans”. Halo 4 references, I’m guessing. 343 Industries do like to tie stuff together nowadays.
I’ll say one thing – the new (old) maps that came bundled with Anniversary were excellent, some of my all-time favourites. They really got me back into Reach. That they came in two flavours really set them apart as well; Beaver Creek for example had a traditional version with teleporters directly behind the bases, and an updated version with passageways housing the teleporters in the back wall behind the bases, and tunnels where originally there were only nooks. Also, it brought Headlong back. Such a good map. The only downside with the DLC maps for Reach is that the only way to definitely play them is to do custom games or go into dedicated playlists, which is a shame. The DLC playlists tend to be quieter, and it can take significantly longer to find a match.
