Halo: Reach Review

 Make it count.

And so, by my own perspective, do we finally come full circle all the way around with Halo: Reach; the story at the end and the beginning. For Bungie, this would mark the very last Halo game they would make before the company would move on from the series altogether in order to pursue Destiny, which they're still trucking away at to this day. 343 were created after Halo 3, the original end of the series, in order to make other Halo projects such as the 'Halo: Legends' anime, whilst Bungie finished up their tenure with the series with two stellar spin-off games, 'Halo: ODST' and 'Halo: Reach'. As this was the last go around, I can only guess it made sense within the studio to go back to where it all started; neatly bookending the narrative into a cyclical nature and leading right into the beginning act of 'Halo: Combat Evolved'. Few can deny the poetic nature of such a sentiment.

For me, coming around to play this game again was something of a nostalgic twist to this journey into previously untested waters. I mean I had played ODST before, but so briefly that there wasn't a single shade of the game I remembered on the second go-around. Reach, however, was my entire Halo world before this adventure. The only Halo game I ever owned, and the only one that I would go onto complete. My history started with the canonical first entry in the series and it would eventually end with the first entry in the series. Well, actually I fully intend on playing Halo 4, but that's kind of like a new separate branch of the franchise, original Halo dies here. And with that added layer of nostalgia and a little better understanding of the significance of this entry, (most of the overt lead-ins were fairly obvious even for a newbie back in the day) I come to this spoiler laden review here today. Those who don't wish to spoil things can congregate in the summary at the bottom of this post.

Gameplay

Halo Reach has always served as something of the gold standard for what Halo games should play like for the longest time in my head. Which is why when I was praising the gunplay all the way back in Combat Evolved when I commented on it's similarities to Reach. Now I'm here, I can honestly say that in raw content things feel as responsive and satisfying as Halo 2 Anniversary Edition; which is to say they're pretty much peerless. The feel of the weapons, the sounds, the impact; everything sings with a smoothness that makes you just want to keep playing for hours, and that satisfying 'pop' of kicking down the enemies shields is magical. I didn't even realise that was something I was missing from fighting exclusively Brute-led Covenant for so long now, but I was. Sure, Brutes had shields too in Halo 3 and ODST; but it just doesn't feel quite the same. There's not that special moment where the clouds clear and you go "ping, the next one is going in your skull", you know? 

Speaking of; wow, does it feel nostalgic to enter the battlefield with Elites again! I didn't realise how separated we'd been until the achievement popped up for slaying 1000 Elites and I suddenly realised how I'd received the equivalent Jackal, Grunt and Brute achievements beforehand. Only this time marks the first time in the series they share the battlefield with Brutes, and that marks one the many reasons why I consider Reach to be one of the most challenging Halo's I've played (Probably mixed with the bullet-sponge half of Halo 2) and a lot of that comes down to great enemy variety empowered by noticeably tough AI. Enemies seem to know to press the advantage on me once they've knocked my shields down and have sought cover, use splash damage with their explosives in order to ward me away from a shooting position, and even put headshot-foiling helmets on their Grunts. Wait- someone cared enough about Grunts to give them protection? And it only happens in the Prequel game? Who did the Grunt race piss off so badly that they got their life saving protection withdrawn for the entire rest of the war?

These enemy combinations, married with the glorious selection of weapons that harken back to the first Halo titles (such as the single-shot DMR and original Magnum pistol) made moment-to-moment combat both engaging and so rewarding. Bonus points goes to the whole 'health bar under the shields that needs to be maintained with health packs' gimmick that the team bought back with Reach which hasn't been with their series since Combat Evolved. (And it makes canonical sense too; because this is an earlier generation of Spartan armour to the one introduced at the beginning of Halo 2. Geez, the amount of lore I just had to shift through to confirm that one fact is ungodly.) I say this with a little bit of bias but also a lot of confidence, but I think that this is the best feeling Halo in the entire series so far. Just as smooth as 2's remaster, but with a more satisfying spread of aliens to shoot. The best of all worlds.

Narrative

Even if you've never picked up a Halo book or comic or anime in your life, having played through the series in order up to this point it's impossible not to have heard of Reach. It's the planet that The Pillar of Autumn just escaped from at the beginning of Halo CE, the invasion that Earth's is compared to during 2 (pointedly commenting how that huge attack is nothing compared to what happened on Reach), and appears to be something of a dog whistle rallying cry for civilians across the universe as ODST features several 'Remember Reach' graffiti scrawls across the ruined streets of New Mombasa. It's clear that Reach is important, just as it's clear that it was once the sight of a great defeat for humanity. Meaning that in choosing to tell this story, Bungie not just picked up the idea of telling the origin story of the Halo games, but of telling a story that's has a predetermined 'loss' built into it that audience is very likely to be expecting going in. So how did they do in balancing that and still delivering a satisfying narrative?

I actually think they did a bang up job. From it's heart, the doom driven plot of Reach conveys the desperation of a people slowly coming to terms with the fact that everyone here is going to die, and Reach helps wrap the player up in this thinking with the use of Noble Squad. For the first time in a Halo game, you are enrolled in a squad of Spartans that you stick with for the majority of the game, Noble Squad, and your every operation is conducted with them at your side. (Carter even mentions how this posting will be different to the Lone Wolf antics you'd apparently performed before meeting them, subtly acknowledging the solitude hero of the main Halo games.) Noble are your backbone, your strong arm and a symbol of your unity as you start to investigate the new Covenant attacks popping up all across Reach. Thus, when the attacks start to build up into the biggest invasion that humanity has ever faced and sorties slip from dire to deadly, it makes sense that members of Noble start being picked off one by one, representing how battered and bruised the whole of Reach is becoming and the slow break of humanities frontline. It's supremely well pulled off.

Behind the chaos is the narrative delving into what Reach's secret military research was exploring, an inevitable story branch designed to further justify this story as a prequel to everything to come in Halo; even more than the setting already does. No matter in what direction you approach it, there would be something unescapably dour about playing a game which is destined to end in total failure for the protagonists throughout the story progression, so Bungie tied in this secondary goal to show how the actions of Noble Team, and specifically you, lead to the torch that Master Chief would pick up to eventually defeat the Covenant. It's a little bit contrived, but the emotionally correct choice to make in order to frame this story neatly into the wider narrative. Honestly, I think that even after my play around the whole series, Halo Reach might remain my favourite narrative in the series with some of the best stand-out set-piece moments colouring the story in. The cinematic drop from just beyond the orbit, the fall chaotic of New Alexandria, that iconic final post-epilogue last stand- it's all tonally on-point for a story about being on the losing side, but not suffering total, unrecoverable, defeat. 

Characters

With the characters of Noble team I think Bungie wanted to give another shot at doing the ODST group mechanic but with a better swing at more memorable people. Not only are their personalities certainly distinct and a little bit more nuanced, but their designs carry the instantly recognisable colour scheme and silhouette you need in order to create a cover-worthy team. Carter strikes a more serious leader of the team then Bungie's last attempt, neatly selling the act of a man carrying the responsibility of a team coming against insurmountable threats with a believable heft. Kat marks the intelligent second-in-command with the reliable tactician pluck, and knack for out-of-the-box solutions which the team needs to rely on in a fight so helpless. Jun is the quiet sniper type, characterised by stoicism and the occasional thoughtful observation. Emile is the shotgun wielding edgelord with the aggressive combat-lust you'd expect, and require, from the assault specialist. And Jorge is the large humanitarian with a heart swollen with empathy and a permanent role as mother of the group. Honestly, I liked all of them and appreciate the fact that the game gives us the chance to spend time with each of them one-on-one before the end (Except Carter) and fight alongside the whole squad as a unit for a couple missions.

They make up a great team with just enough intricacies and character to them for you to become attached. Even Noble Six, the protagonist, feels like they have a purpose to their intentionally neutral lines that you can feel in their delivery. Now none of these characters are hugely fleshed out, of course, this is still a Halo game where the focus is less on character driven drama and more the action- but for what bonding time we did have with the team, I think Bungie spent each second very well for building that all important rapport that made each's death ring with appropriate sadness. You won't bawl your eyes out about any of them, but that hollowness as another body hits the floor always hits home. (Oh, and Kat's death was especially clever with it's shocking, intentionally non-cinematic abruptness; ensuring the audience is just as emotionally battered by the war as the team are.)

The only other major characters from this game would be Colonel Holland, whom is more of the floating voice on the end of the radio, and Doctor Halsey; an eminently important character in Halo lore that is only showing up in person now. Halsey doesn't get much screentime, but still she does a great job in establishing that hard-shelled and emotionally dim edifice of a woman who orchestrated some truly messed up operations during her career in order to get results. It's never explored explicitly in this game, but you can pick up on the morally-dubious-scientist vibe coming off her from the very first encounter, and I love the ability to exude personality like that. I found her mere aura enthralling. Cameo shout-outs go to Captain Keyes, glad to see his small appearance and not-at-all surprised to see him fly down in an active war zone, in person, just to make a drop-off; and Cortana, who says literally nothing. (Her only voice line is recycled words from the beginning of Halo Combat Evolved.) At least we get to see an example of why she, in Halo 3's ponderous introduction scene, said the defining factor for the Spartan she picked is 'luck'; cool way to call back to that line by making the player character of Reach the unlucky last Spartan who had to stay behind.

Level Design

Reach's levels are designed to a standard just above what was established in Halo ODST and 3, which is to say that they are grand with at least one set-piece moment or iconic battle for all of them often with a little extra spice. Some missions have a lot more verticality in their design to them then we're typically used to, 'Oni: Sword Base' in particular, and some levels capture that sprawling wide-open, almost free-form, design we haven't seen too much of in this series since Combat Evolved. (Like both levels set in 'New Alexandria'.) There's even a series-first thrown in there where we get to blast off from the confines of terrestrial gravity and have a duel in space! Followed by your prototypical Covenant-ship assault mission- but with boarding and execution happening in space! It's another adventure with twists and turns at every moment to keep us hooked and never bored.

Whatsmore, the enemy spread throughout these levels are some of the toughest I think the series has ever put together, which I think was probably due both to conscious effort from the team to represent the fall of Reach alongside a genuine side-effect of improved enemy AI and design. The slight buff to Grunts alone really shakes up the balance of the battle just enough to make you more susceptible to Elites and their flanking strategies, Jackals simply slay with their roaming packs of sniper killers baring down on you with deadly efficiency, Hunters have taken a bunch of painkillers before deployment because they are absolutely hell to take down with typical methods (shotgun to the back is no longer a one-shot) and Brutes- actually the Brutes were a total push over in Reach. Maybe that was the tradeoff for everything else the game was throwing at us, they made Brutes the teddy bears of the Covenant army.

And of course, I can hardly talk about Reach without mentioning that iconic swan song of a final level. Where Noble Six, last of his team on Reach, finds themselves in a Spartan graveyard where they are forced to fight until the endless waves of Covenant forces overwhelms them. It's a great way to portray a player character death, putting the power in the hands of the player, and an opportunity to go down fighting. The mission is tiny in actuality, but as one long set-piece it sells it's dramatism flawlessly- particularly with the damage received finally cracking the helmet of the hero and distorting the HUD, showing wear and tear, until a stray explosive finally takes you down and the final cutscene of the last stand plays. As far as cinematic gameplay goes in AAA games- this is the way to pull it off and make the player and the story synchronise for one glorious moment. Truly a series-highlight moment.

Music

Reach marks the return of the series to the grander scores of Halo mainline entries, and whilst I enjoyed the oddball musical cues of ODST, Reach brings back the power-house scores that I remembered from Halo CE Anniversary Edition. Soaring scores at the beginning of the game which give way to quieter, but no-less noticeable, pieces during more ponderous moments during the fall of Reach. It's undoubtedly a different musical language to what Halo 2 was attempting, but one which sells the world of this game just as well in my opinion. Maybe Halo 2's best scores will stay with me for longer, but Reach still gave me chills in it's best moments, just from playing the right tracks at the right time. Definitely better then the slightly too bombastic lean of Halo 3. 

Summary

Halo Reach is Bungie's last Halo game, and in my opinion it soars as one of their best. Painting one of the most important and formative moments in Halo lore was always going to be a tall ask, and I think Bungie took that task as seriously as they could to make a game that would stand the test of time. Characters, Music and gameplay reach that level of mastery which Bungie had been eking at for so long and I have trouble deciding at the greater experience between this game and the stellar Halo 2: Anniversary Edition. This was my second playthrough, and I'd loved to play through again someday, because this is the sort of title I would return to time and time again to relive those lingering gameplay heights and echoing story lows. As such it's hard to give a game like this any less than an A Grade, with an easy recommendation to anyone, not just fans of Halo or FPS heads. Reach serves as a perfect in-road to the Halo franchise, just as it was for me, as well as a satisfying bookend to the Halo narrative. Having not made another Halo since, it's gratifying that Bungie went out on such a clear high. But it doesn't end here and next, for the rounding out of the Master Chief collection, I move onto the great waking of the big green man himself in Halo 4. So fingers crossed for 343's first Halo game. (Reach is going to be a tough act to follow.)