Halo: Reach launched exclusively for the Xbox 360 on September 14, and before the week was out, Microsoft and Bungie already had a significant win to tout. During its first 24 hours on the market, Halo: Reach logged sales to the tune of $200 million in the US and Europe alone. That figure easily bested Halo 3's $170 million day-one sales, though it also came up well shy of the $310 million high-water mark set by the multiplatform Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Today, Bungie has returned to offer a more granular look at the performance of its final entrant in the Halo franchise before shifting focus to its Activision project. Though Bungie didn't offer a specific player count, the Washington-based developer said that Reach's number of online unique users during the first week of availability was equivalent to that of Halo 3's unique online users over the past 45 days.
Halo: Reach's opening week figures easily bested Halo 3's.
As far as concurrent users go, Halo: Reach's first-week numbers surpassed Halo 3's all-time high by more than 65 percent, Bungie said. The studio went on to note that more than 70 million games were played from September 13-20, with more than 2 million files uploaded to the File Shares server. In terms of playtime, gamers have spent more than 5,901 years combined in online games.
Despite the solid performance, Halo: Reach was not the top Xbox Live title for the week of September 13 in terms of unique users. After some confusion, Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2 retained its seat atop the play chart, still going strong since its November 2009 launch. Bungie noted today, though, that its "sources" indicate that Halo: Reach has managed to unseat Modern Warfare 2 into week two.
Above: Halo Reach! Finish the fight! Oh… wait a minute…
In case you missed the marketing blurb posted up by every single gaming publication on the planet, Halo: Reach introduces a brand new mechanic into the series with armor abilities. Each of these perks adds quite a bit more bang to your run-of-the-mill Halo multiplayer match. While advanced strategies regarding each armor ability are still in their fledgling stages, online play has already demonstrated quite a few “do’s” and “don’ts.”
Sprint
Above: Haul ass in Halo: Reach
What is it?
The Sprint armor ability is exactly as it sounds: you run faster when it’s activated. Halo fans have been begging for a sprint feature since Halo: Combat Evolved. Well, it only took around 9 years to get the coding right, but Bungie has finally delivered.
Do’s
Me First! Me First!!
Sprint affords you a much higher mobility than anyone else on the battlefield (you know; assuming that they aren’t also using Sprint). Take advantage of that to snatch up your favorite startup weapons and vehicles.
Sure, your team of Major League Gaming hopefuls will probably be bitching the entire match about how you don’t know what the hell you’re doing. F#$@ those guys. You’re the one who gets to drive the Scorpion Tank while equipped with the rocket launcher and sniper rifle; not them.
Peace Out
Above: RUN!!!
While fighting to your last breath over and over again is all heroic and whatnot, living looks much better on the scoreboards. Should an enemy get the drop on you and take out half your shields before you even know what’s going on, don’t turn to face your assailant. Show everybody what a skittish little bunny rabbit you are by hauling ass out of there. Seriously. Leg it to somewhere safe to recover and counterattack.
Melee Marathon Man
The Sprint armor ability is a godsend for all of you plasma sword-wielding sociopaths. The technique is simple enough. Run like Hell towards the person you want to plasma shank. Make sure to stop sprinting once you are within close proximity of your prey, as you cannot attack while sprinting.
Don’ts
The One-Man Army
Being the first one to get a kill is awesome; rushing ahead of your team to engage the enemy is not. You’re fast, not invincible. There’s nothing special about being the first to get a bunch of enemy ordinance lodged in your teeth.
Stick with your team, chief.
Above: Halo Reach! Finish the fight! Oh… wait a minute…
In case you missed the marketing blurb posted up by every single gaming publication on the planet, Halo: Reach introduces a brand new mechanic into the series with armor abilities. Each of these perks adds quite a bit more bang to your run-of-the-mill Halo multiplayer match. While advanced strategies regarding each armor ability are still in their fledgling stages, online play has already demonstrated quite a few “do’s” and “don’ts.”
Sprint
Above: Haul ass in Halo: Reach
What is it?
The Sprint armor ability is exactly as it sounds: you run faster when it’s activated. Halo fans have been begging for a sprint feature since Halo: Combat Evolved. Well, it only took around 9 years to get the coding right, but Bungie has finally delivered.
Do’s
Me First! Me First!!
Sprint affords you a much higher mobility than anyone else on the battlefield (you know; assuming that they aren’t also using Sprint). Take advantage of that to snatch up your favorite startup weapons and vehicles.
Sure, your team of Major League Gaming hopefuls will probably be bitching the entire match about how you don’t know what the hell you’re doing. F#$@ those guys. You’re the one who gets to drive the Scorpion Tank while equipped with the rocket launcher and sniper rifle; not them.
Peace Out
Above: RUN!!!
While fighting to your last breath over and over again is all heroic and whatnot, living looks much better on the scoreboards. Should an enemy get the drop on you and take out half your shields before you even know what’s going on, don’t turn to face your assailant. Show everybody what a skittish little bunny rabbit you are by hauling ass out of there. Seriously. Leg it to somewhere safe to recover and counterattack.
Melee Marathon Man
The Sprint armor ability is a godsend for all of you plasma sword-wielding sociopaths. The technique is simple enough. Run like Hell towards the person you want to plasma shank. Make sure to stop sprinting once you are within close proximity of your prey, as you cannot attack while sprinting.
Don’ts
The One-Man Army
Being the first one to get a kill is awesome; rushing ahead of your team to engage the enemy is not. You’re fast, not invincible. There’s nothing special about being the first to get a bunch of enemy ordinance lodged in your teeth.
Stick with your team, chief.
The do's and don'ts of Halo: Reach's armor abilities
An online idiot's guide to how not to get murdered in multiplayer with Reach's snazzy new armor abilities
Words: Jordan Baughman, GamesRadar US
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Above: Halo Reach! Finish the fight! Oh… wait a minute…
In case you missed the marketing blurb posted up by every single gaming publication on the planet, Halo: Reach introduces a brand new mechanic into the series with armor abilities. Each of these perks adds quite a bit more bang to your run-of-the-mill Halo multiplayer match. While advanced strategies regarding each armor ability are still in their fledgling stages, online play has already demonstrated quite a few “do’s” and “don’ts.”
Sprint
Above: Haul ass in Halo: Reach
What is it?
The Sprint armor ability is exactly as it sounds: you run faster when it’s activated. Halo fans have been begging for a sprint feature since Halo: Combat Evolved. Well, it only took around 9 years to get the coding right, but Bungie has finally delivered.
Do’s
Me First! Me First!!
Sprint affords you a much higher mobility than anyone else on the battlefield (you know; assuming that they aren’t also using Sprint). Take advantage of that to snatch up your favorite startup weapons and vehicles.
Sure, your team of Major League Gaming hopefuls will probably be bitching the entire match about how you don’t know what the hell you’re doing. F#$@ those guys. You’re the one who gets to drive the Scorpion Tank while equipped with the rocket launcher and sniper rifle; not them.
Peace Out
Above: RUN!!!
While fighting to your last breath over and over again is all heroic and whatnot, living looks much better on the scoreboards. Should an enemy get the drop on you and take out half your shields before you even know what’s going on, don’t turn to face your assailant. Show everybody what a skittish little bunny rabbit you are by hauling ass out of there. Seriously. Leg it to somewhere safe to recover and counterattack.
Melee Marathon Man
The Sprint armor ability is a godsend for all of you plasma sword-wielding sociopaths. The technique is simple enough. Run like Hell towards the person you want to plasma shank. Make sure to stop sprinting once you are within close proximity of your prey, as you cannot attack while sprinting.
Don’ts
The One-Man Army
Being the first one to get a kill is awesome; rushing ahead of your team to engage the enemy is not. You’re fast, not invincible. There’s nothing special about being the first to get a bunch of enemy ordinance lodged in your teeth.
Stick with your team, chief.
Above: Mr. Blue Guy thought he was a badass. Now look at him. LOOK AT HIM!
Another do of JetPack, hijacking an air vehicle, especially an UNSC helicopter and dropping it off a cliff then jetpacking away, but not after hovering away from the battlefield with two helpless enemy Spartans onboard.
I alo have to say that active camo is my fav.... another do is sorta camping but its fun for awhile in the beginning, rush a power weapon and leave it there, go camo and just wait, when u get ur first bite kill that sucka
The Don't for the Drop Shield reminds me of a team who was seriously overusing the thing, so I charged into the shield they were hiding in a fired a rocket inside it. Sure, it was a suicide, but I got an Overkill out of it.
Halo Reach is awesome in every way and we all know it!! If you haven't witnessed the best game of 2010 Halo Reach yet, buy it below for only $50.00 Dollars:
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Halo Reach Price Reduced
In the game, you meet Noble Team and for the first time, players will fight alongside a squad of iconic Spartan soldiers. Each one with deadly talents as unique as their individual personalities and customized gear. It is an intense campaign that lets you live the events that set the stage for the Halo trilogy as the UNSC and Covenant clash at the height of their military power. Halo Reach takes a massive leap forward through all-new engine technology designed to take full advantage of next-generation graphics, audio, special effects, AI and animation. This game is the definitive multiplayer experience. It builds on the success of its predecessors, setting a new standard for competitive gameplay, customization, variety, and community integration. There is no question this is a great game. The only question left is why you have not bought it yet. It would make a great gift also.
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Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Halo: Reach Makes You A Better Employee, A Better Person
 |
| This Guy Has Taken Halo Reach Too Seriously! |
September 15, 2010, 07:40 AM — Today's post is for all the Xbox gamers out there. How are you feeling this morning? A little blurry-eyed? Did that alarm seem to go off an hour too soon? Are you regretting staying up for one last match (several times in a row)? Yeah, a new Halo game will do that to you.
Yesterday's release of Halo: Reach was something of a momentous occasion. After all, it's the last (well, for now; these decisions have a way of reversing themselves) Halo game from Bungie. Plus it felt like the start of the holiday gaming season for this year. And running up to the release we all read the early reviews, most of which were quite favorable (and rightly so, in my opinion). The die-hard fans hit a Midnight Launch party Monday night, of course (by the time I woke up Tuesday morning I saw at least one person claiming to have finished the campaign already) but most of us had to wait until we got home from work yesterday to immerse ourselves into the Halo universe once again.
So we stayed up much too late, and some of us might be feeling a little guilty about that. But don't! You weren't up late playing a video game. No sir! You were up honing your decision making skills. Trust me on this, it's a scientific fact! A post over at Gamasutra yesterday detailed a study that demonstrated that people who played a first person shooter completed tasks more quickly, and just as accurately, as a control group who played some boring Sims 2 game. So if the boss comments on your haggard look this morning, just tell him you were training to be a better employee.
And tonight, remember that science is on your side. You owe it to your employer, to your friends and family, and to yourself, to play more Halo: Reach. You never know when that extra speed in coming to a decision will mean the difference between life and death! Or at least help snag a big sales contract or troubleshoot a systems problem more quickly. Heck, all things considered, it'd be irresponsible for you not to play tonight!
And if you're thinking this blog post seems pretty light on content, and that maybe this blogger was also up too late playing, well, guilty as charged. The adventures of Noble Team and number 6 had me glued to the Xbox. So I want to leave you with something a bit meatier to sink your teeth into over your morning coffee. Let's head back to Gamasutra again for a great piece on the Halo: Reach launch event that was held Monday night in New York City. It's a nice 'feel good' piece for fans of Halo. Enjoy!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Halo: Reach And Modern Warfare 2 Vie For Most Online Play
 |
| Halo Reach Gets Beat Out By MW2 In 1st Week |
According to statistics released yesterday by Microsoft's Major Nelson, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 , but the statistics only cover the dates between September 13 and 19. Reach came out on September 14, so next week will be the true test of whether MW2 will be toppled from its spot on the top of the "charts" it's held for nearly a year.
Interestingly, online platform Raptr has released its own statistics that show that Halo: Reach has beaten MW 2, and that Modern Warfare 2's playtime has dropped by 50 percent since Reach was released. Raptr's numbers reflect Raptr users as opposed to the general population of Live users, though.
Anyway, the weekly top online titles from Major Nelson are below:
Xbox 360 Top LIVE Titles
1 Modern Warfare 2
2 Halo: Reach
3 Halo 3
4 Call of Duty: WaW
5 FIFA Soccer 11 Dem
6 FIFA 10
7 Call of Duty 4 (Purchase the full game for direct download)
8 Madden NFL 11
9 GTA IV (Purchase the full game for direct download)
10 Battlefield Bad Co. 2
11 Gears of War 2
12 Red Dead Redemption
13 Halo 3: ODST
14 Forza Motorsport 3 (Download the demo)
15 Left 4 Dead 2
16 NBA 2K11 Demo
17 NHL 11
18 NCAA Football 11
19 Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 Demo
20 Madden NFL 10
So, what do you guys think? Is next week going to be the first in which Halo: Reach is in the top Live spot?
Get Your Halo Gaming Gear Below:
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Halo Reach Out-Sells COD Modern Warfare
 |
| Halo Reach Surpasses Sales Of COD In Fist Two Weeks |
The Halo series has seen a lot of ups and downs.
The original "Halo" was a bland first-person-shooter that was saved by its multiplayer mode.
"Halo 2" was given a fantastic redesign and was one of the most beautiful games to come out on the original Xbox, and, even though the ending was non-existent, the story until that point was top notch, especially with the introduction of the alien Brutes.
Its online playability brought opponents together online in a way that had been unheard of on consoles at the time.
While "Halo 3" didn't lose any of the excellence from its predecessor, it didn't really add anything to the series, and things started to go downhill there, with the less than stellar reception of "Halo Wars" and the criticism aimed at "Halo 3: ODST's" short story mode and lack of real multiplayer update.
I am proud to say that "Halo: Reach" is the best entry in the series yet.
The game tells the story of Reach, the colony previously featured in the book "Halo: Fall of Reach," a bastion of humanity in a universe where the religious Covenant have wiped out almost all Earth colonies.
Anyone who has read the book knows it doesn't end too well for humanity, and the events of Reach will lead directly into the tail-whooping that the Covenant will receive from Master Chief in the original "Halo."
Unlike the book though, "Halo: Reach" follows the story of six new characters, Noble Team, a group of super-soldiers who, when sent to quell what is thought to be a rebellion, instead first encounter the alien enemy.
Each member of Noble Team is an unique individual with a fully fleshed-out personality, which is interesting in a FPS where typically all characters are pretty gung ho about shooting things in the face.
My personal favorite is the tranquil giant Jorge, but there are also skull-emblazoned, tough guy Emile, leader Carter, tech-savy tough girl Kat, talkative sniper Jun and the player's character.
What's nice is that the player can fully design their in-game avatar, choosing from sets of various armors, emblems and colors.
As players earn points in multiplayer and go up in rank, more armor types become available to them to create a truly unique character.
Unique character voices can also be purchased using the collectibles points, featuring the game's original characters and series favorites like Sgt. Johnson, Gunnery Sergeant Buck and Master Chief himself.
It is the little things that make the game go a long way.
While the story mode is fantastic, and by the end you will care for your teammates, it is the multiplayer that makes this game worth it.
It allows players to play just about any mode featured in a previous Halo.
For those who didn't care for the new abilities granted in "Halo: Reach's" beta earlier this year, more classic game modes are accessible as well.
The matchmaking is great too, with players offered a vote before each match as to what level they will be fighting on, using what game mode and what kind of abilities players will have access to.
My personal favorite is Swat Mode on Team Slayer, where players are only given a rifle and a pistol and they have no shields.
Every head shot is an instant kill and it is glorious.
However, my favorite addition to the game comes in the form of a so called "psychiatric analysis."
It is the online settings the player would like to use, whether or not they want to play for fun or to win or with a mature or childish crowd.
It is this addition that may diminish the stigma with playing video games on Xbox Live.
Those with an Xbox 360 should already have this game, but, for those who think they're too cool or don't want to be disappointed again, trust me on this and go out and buy it.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Halo Reach Leaves Some Fans Hanging
Halo had a great series, but is Halo Reach the end to the series? Many people say no, that some other game studio will pick up the Halo series again. Bungie has set up for a game studio to make Halo 4, the end cut scene for Halo 3 (Only Legendary ending) showed the ship Master Chief and Cortana on, flew though another Halo ring. One question is, will the game be good, if Bungie is not making it? That is a good question, but Ensemble Studios made Halo Wars, and that was an OK game. There are rumors going around already about another Halo game being in production. Some rumors are that the next Halo game will be called Halo Forerunner. Those rumors are just rumors so anything can happen. This is the last game for Bungie, but is it the last game for the Halo Series?
And so it comes to this. Bungie has left the Microsoft stable and joined up with Activision to start an entirely new franchise. After the success of Halo, you can bet on Bungie coming up with a formidable title for Activision to add to its stable. However, before then we need to finish the Halo story.
Halo: Reach is a love letter from Bungie to the fans; this much is clear. It takes everything learned over the past 10 years since Halo 1 and puts it into one of the most value packed games around. Halo was getting a bit old and stale, especially with ODST, but Reach reminds us of just why Halo is as big as it is.
In what is becoming a popular trend with video game sequels, Halo: Reach is a prequel to the original game. That’s right, no master chief and no guilty spark to tear your hair out over. Instead, the game feels like a reboot of the franchise. By doing this, Bungie has been able to experiment with the series and it has paid off in spades. Halo: Reach includes some of the best gameplay you are likely to encounter this year and takes the series to the next level.
Reach is the home planet of the UNSC. Reach must be defended. With that in mind, you begin the campaign in a squadron tasked with defending Reach from the rapidly advancing enemy. The defence of Reach is where the game revolves, but as you would expect, the storyline contains many twists and turns before the absolute epic conclusion that is fitting for such a popular series. Halo: Reach will have you begging Bungie for more. They say that going out on top is the best way to go when you are popular, and this is exactly what Bungie has managed with this title.
The Halo gameplay itself remains much the same, so if you haven’t liked Halo in the past, it is unlikely that you will warm to Reach. It still remains a case of moving from A to B while taking down a few enemies. There are no puzzles in the game with the action purely focused on the combat. Considering the advancements in technology and gameplay we have seen in the past decade, it is somewhat surprising that Halo can remain so compelling, but it does and you will find it very hard to put the controller down before finishing the game.
One thing that is clear during the campaign, however, is that the war in Halo has changed. No longer are you in small battles; sometimes lots of enemies are present on screen which brings home the epic nature of each battle. The cut scenes have also taken this to the next level with five or ten pelicans being displayed rather than just one. This goes hand in hand with Bungies new engine that has allowed them to make the biggest maps ever seen in a Halo game, and just increases the vast feel of the campaign mode.
If we had to offer one knock against the campaign, it would have to be the length. It is quite short and sweet, but from minute one to the end you are enthralled. ‘Just one more mission’ you will be uttering as the clock strikes three in the morning. The campaign also wraps up the series properly. Many times we see franchises end with lots of cliffhangers that are never solved and people argue on internet forums for no good reason about them. Halo: Reach does not do this.
Some Complaints and criticism has been planted on Bungies New Launch Of Halo Reach because of the dramatic changes that we ere made form Halo 3. These changes were made to acclimate the mass of gamers, taking out the opinions and wishes of some hardcore Halo 3 fans. In my opinion, Halo Reach was mass- marketed for all gamers not just the Halo fans which has left some legends in Halo 3 relinquished form playing Halo Reach. I talked to Social BTB great Crazycrackhead, and he told me, "This game is now for nubs, the game has become too strategic and not enough about skill." I agree on his behalf in part, because the sprint and sword combination is mega cheap and the maps don't have a surplus of mid-range and long-range weapons making close-combat the norm. So, this leaves me to say, did Bungie go too far in creating Halo Reach? Or Is The new versatility and flexibility for other gamers good for the franchise? In all honest, I believe that the fundamentals of Halo Was too recklessly stripped and not enough to allow for Halo Reach to be better Than Halo 3 or 2. When we see that a new game in a series is coming out we are expecting better game play but with the same basic components only ostracized to acclimate a better game. In Halo Reach' case, the game was changed too dramatically causing Halo 3 Fans to fall of the bandwagon for the Halo series. So, sorry those of you who feel that Halo Reach pails in comparison to the previous halos but until Halo 4 [expected in 2011] than you have to play Halo Reach or venture off into RPG's/ COD. Halo Reach has drastically changed the main components but have added in many new elements that make the game a whole lot fairer, intense, fast-paced, and attractive to all gamers.
Many things within the actual gameplay have been improved. There are new weapons on offer and not being Master Chief means that you are more vulnerable on the battlefield. Recharging health is gone with health packs littered throughout the world, and the shields are not as powerful as the green Spartans. You still can just run up to enemies and shoot them rather than take cover and hide, but nowhere near as much as you would with Chief.
Some of the new weapons are not used enough in our opinion, such as the option to call in airstrikes. It is clear that Bungie has looked at another of the most popular franchises around; Modern Warfare, and built what makes that game so good into its own megastar engine. Epic cut scenes, huge explosions, emotional stories and fast, quick gunplay is the order of the day in Halo: Reach and you will definitely want more than one helping.
However, perhaps the biggest improvement you will notice to Halo straight up is the graphics engine. Rebuilt from scratch, the engine allows the battles to seem more epic and a lot more graphic fidelity. In a word for Halo players, Reach is gorgeous. Gone are the blocky style textures that have no place in today's High Definition world. They have been replaced with crisp, improved textures and weapons models. The world just feels bigger and better and the graphics engine has a lot to do with this. Another key point is that Bungie has mixed up the gameplay this time around with space combat and flying levels. To take a risk with the last game they will produce in a series is a risk, especially with so many fans, but this risk has paid off.
Once you move past the campaign mode, the rest of the game is also just as jam packed. Firefight returns from ODST with more weapons and maps than ever before. Firefight is a survival mode where wave after wave of enemies are thrown at you individually or in a group and until you succumb to the forces, you fight for survival. This is one of the more popular game modes on Xbox Live due to the fast paced nature of the format.
Aside from Firefight, the game modes previously seen in Halo 3 make a welcome return. Bungies award winning party system has been retained as well, allowing you to pair up quickly for games, and it still remains the standard in the industry for how multiplayer gaming on Xbox Live should be done. You can play capture the flag, death match, slayer etc. just like the previous games and of course with modifiers that allow you to customise the games even further.
Halo has always been known for its multiplayer and this is no exception. Reach also heralds the return of the Forge game mode. Forge for those who didn’t play Halo 3, allows you to build your own levels and then play those maps amongst friends. The feature has been refined even further allowing you to build bigger and better maps in Bungies new Halo engine.
Halo: Reach is a game that any Xbox 360 owner really needs to own. It represents one of the best value titles to be released in 2010 with the content available and takes Halo to a status where as a gaming franchise it will probably not be forgotten. Bungie has managed something that few entertainment artists manage to do. They have gone out on a high and delivered what amounts to be the best game in the franchise to date. There will be more Halo games no doubt, but it won’t be the same. Bungie had the magic touch on this franchise and like Call of Duty, when built by someone else it most likely won’t feel the same. Goodbye (Bungie) Halo, we’ll miss you, but at least you went out on top.
 |
| Halo Reach Disappoints Some Halo Fans |
And so it comes to this. Bungie has left the Microsoft stable and joined up with Activision to start an entirely new franchise. After the success of Halo, you can bet on Bungie coming up with a formidable title for Activision to add to its stable. However, before then we need to finish the Halo story.
Halo: Reach is a love letter from Bungie to the fans; this much is clear. It takes everything learned over the past 10 years since Halo 1 and puts it into one of the most value packed games around. Halo was getting a bit old and stale, especially with ODST, but Reach reminds us of just why Halo is as big as it is.
In what is becoming a popular trend with video game sequels, Halo: Reach is a prequel to the original game. That’s right, no master chief and no guilty spark to tear your hair out over. Instead, the game feels like a reboot of the franchise. By doing this, Bungie has been able to experiment with the series and it has paid off in spades. Halo: Reach includes some of the best gameplay you are likely to encounter this year and takes the series to the next level.
Reach is the home planet of the UNSC. Reach must be defended. With that in mind, you begin the campaign in a squadron tasked with defending Reach from the rapidly advancing enemy. The defence of Reach is where the game revolves, but as you would expect, the storyline contains many twists and turns before the absolute epic conclusion that is fitting for such a popular series. Halo: Reach will have you begging Bungie for more. They say that going out on top is the best way to go when you are popular, and this is exactly what Bungie has managed with this title.
The Halo gameplay itself remains much the same, so if you haven’t liked Halo in the past, it is unlikely that you will warm to Reach. It still remains a case of moving from A to B while taking down a few enemies. There are no puzzles in the game with the action purely focused on the combat. Considering the advancements in technology and gameplay we have seen in the past decade, it is somewhat surprising that Halo can remain so compelling, but it does and you will find it very hard to put the controller down before finishing the game.
One thing that is clear during the campaign, however, is that the war in Halo has changed. No longer are you in small battles; sometimes lots of enemies are present on screen which brings home the epic nature of each battle. The cut scenes have also taken this to the next level with five or ten pelicans being displayed rather than just one. This goes hand in hand with Bungies new engine that has allowed them to make the biggest maps ever seen in a Halo game, and just increases the vast feel of the campaign mode.
If we had to offer one knock against the campaign, it would have to be the length. It is quite short and sweet, but from minute one to the end you are enthralled. ‘Just one more mission’ you will be uttering as the clock strikes three in the morning. The campaign also wraps up the series properly. Many times we see franchises end with lots of cliffhangers that are never solved and people argue on internet forums for no good reason about them. Halo: Reach does not do this.
Some Complaints and criticism has been planted on Bungies New Launch Of Halo Reach because of the dramatic changes that we ere made form Halo 3. These changes were made to acclimate the mass of gamers, taking out the opinions and wishes of some hardcore Halo 3 fans. In my opinion, Halo Reach was mass- marketed for all gamers not just the Halo fans which has left some legends in Halo 3 relinquished form playing Halo Reach. I talked to Social BTB great Crazycrackhead, and he told me, "This game is now for nubs, the game has become too strategic and not enough about skill." I agree on his behalf in part, because the sprint and sword combination is mega cheap and the maps don't have a surplus of mid-range and long-range weapons making close-combat the norm. So, this leaves me to say, did Bungie go too far in creating Halo Reach? Or Is The new versatility and flexibility for other gamers good for the franchise? In all honest, I believe that the fundamentals of Halo Was too recklessly stripped and not enough to allow for Halo Reach to be better Than Halo 3 or 2. When we see that a new game in a series is coming out we are expecting better game play but with the same basic components only ostracized to acclimate a better game. In Halo Reach' case, the game was changed too dramatically causing Halo 3 Fans to fall of the bandwagon for the Halo series. So, sorry those of you who feel that Halo Reach pails in comparison to the previous halos but until Halo 4 [expected in 2011] than you have to play Halo Reach or venture off into RPG's/ COD. Halo Reach has drastically changed the main components but have added in many new elements that make the game a whole lot fairer, intense, fast-paced, and attractive to all gamers.
Many things within the actual gameplay have been improved. There are new weapons on offer and not being Master Chief means that you are more vulnerable on the battlefield. Recharging health is gone with health packs littered throughout the world, and the shields are not as powerful as the green Spartans. You still can just run up to enemies and shoot them rather than take cover and hide, but nowhere near as much as you would with Chief.
Some of the new weapons are not used enough in our opinion, such as the option to call in airstrikes. It is clear that Bungie has looked at another of the most popular franchises around; Modern Warfare, and built what makes that game so good into its own megastar engine. Epic cut scenes, huge explosions, emotional stories and fast, quick gunplay is the order of the day in Halo: Reach and you will definitely want more than one helping.
However, perhaps the biggest improvement you will notice to Halo straight up is the graphics engine. Rebuilt from scratch, the engine allows the battles to seem more epic and a lot more graphic fidelity. In a word for Halo players, Reach is gorgeous. Gone are the blocky style textures that have no place in today's High Definition world. They have been replaced with crisp, improved textures and weapons models. The world just feels bigger and better and the graphics engine has a lot to do with this. Another key point is that Bungie has mixed up the gameplay this time around with space combat and flying levels. To take a risk with the last game they will produce in a series is a risk, especially with so many fans, but this risk has paid off.
Once you move past the campaign mode, the rest of the game is also just as jam packed. Firefight returns from ODST with more weapons and maps than ever before. Firefight is a survival mode where wave after wave of enemies are thrown at you individually or in a group and until you succumb to the forces, you fight for survival. This is one of the more popular game modes on Xbox Live due to the fast paced nature of the format.
Aside from Firefight, the game modes previously seen in Halo 3 make a welcome return. Bungies award winning party system has been retained as well, allowing you to pair up quickly for games, and it still remains the standard in the industry for how multiplayer gaming on Xbox Live should be done. You can play capture the flag, death match, slayer etc. just like the previous games and of course with modifiers that allow you to customise the games even further.
Halo has always been known for its multiplayer and this is no exception. Reach also heralds the return of the Forge game mode. Forge for those who didn’t play Halo 3, allows you to build your own levels and then play those maps amongst friends. The feature has been refined even further allowing you to build bigger and better maps in Bungies new Halo engine.
Halo: Reach is a game that any Xbox 360 owner really needs to own. It represents one of the best value titles to be released in 2010 with the content available and takes Halo to a status where as a gaming franchise it will probably not be forgotten. Bungie has managed something that few entertainment artists manage to do. They have gone out on a high and delivered what amounts to be the best game in the franchise to date. There will be more Halo games no doubt, but it won’t be the same. Bungie had the magic touch on this franchise and like Call of Duty, when built by someone else it most likely won’t feel the same. Goodbye (Bungie) Halo, we’ll miss you, but at least you went out on top.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Reach For The Halo Newbie
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| Halo Reach' Campaign Rocked But Was Too Short |
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| Halo Reach Campaign Was Too Easy For Most Gamers |
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| The Sniper Rifle Brings Head-Shot Haven In Halo Reach |
Halo's online community is a phenomenon, breaking gameplay records with every new release.
With the enjoyable but problematic Halo: Reach single player campaign behind me, I decided I was ready for Halo’s main event: online multiplayer.
The entire Halo franchise has been responsible for selling millions of Xbox Live gold memberships, as legions of wannabe Spartans swarm online to blow each other away in a variety of game modes. Reach has been no exception, with Halo developer Bungie’s playing statistics for the title including some staggering numbers.
In a news update last Friday, Bungie unveiled such figures as 31 million games played, tallying up to 953 years of automatic matchmaking games if they were played end-to-end. The peak on launch day was 700,000 players logged in and playing Reach simultaneously. Even more incredible is that these figures were released before the game’s first weekend, only three days after its Tuesday release.
Halo: Reach was played by a huge number of fans in its first days of release.
Clearly, this is one seriously popular game online, so I had to get into it.
My first step was to play through part of the story co-operatively with some friends, in this case my GameTaco co-conspirators Smoolander, Wall, and Mr Ak. Despite my lack of confidence, we kicked off in the second-highest difficulty mode, “Heroic”.
Immediately, the game was vastly improved. On higher difficulty and with four human players, the game throws far more enemies at your team, making the battlefield feel far more dynamic and chaotic. We blasted through the first few levels, taking turns driving the Warthog jeeps and operating turrets (except for Smoolander, who walked the whole way in order to get an Xbox achievement).
The cooperative campaign provides some of the chaotic intensity missing from the single-player experience.
We crashed through those levels so quickly that some in the group suggested we crank the difficulty to maximum, the dreaded “Legendary”. Sadly, this was where some very simplistic game design became glaringly obvious. On this difficulty level, rather than becoming smarter or more accurate with their weapons, the alien enemies simply became nearly impervious to damage. While the added challenge was enjoyable, there is something very unsatisfying about sniping a Elite warrior with eight headshots, only to have him shrug off every one of them and kill you with a single returned shot.
This was nothing, though, compared to the experience we had trying to fly helicopters through a city skyline, dogfighting with enemy craft and landing on rooftops to launch raids against hostile infantry. This section was, in a word, broken. Despite the game assuring us that certain checkpoints had been recorded, after our frequent deaths we found ourselves respawning in apparently random positions on the very large map. Far too often one or two players would be stranded at the start of the level with no helicopter to carry them to the action, and at least once a player respawned without having died first. It was extremely frustrating, and cast a momentary dark cloud over our otherwise fun gaming session.
Of course, the Halo experience cannot be considered complete without engaging in some random matchmaking battles with strangers on Xbox Live, so that was to be the final stage in my Halo baptism. Online Halo players have something of a reputation in the wider gaming community, being notorious for obscene trash-talking and poor sportsmanship. I braced myself for sharp questions about my sexual orientation and baseless claims about my mother’s sexual proclivities and logged in.
Sadly, Halo: Reach's customisable matchmaking doesn't always provide the desired results.
As it happened, my worry was groundless. Despite my preconceived notions, I never received a single word of abuse. I was never even called a “noob” (even though that is what I undoubtedly was). In those initial deathmatch rounds, the worst thing that was done to me was to kill me, over and over again. It was humiliating.
To me, this highlighted one of the issues with an entrenched gaming community like the one that has formed around Halo. Many of these players have been Halo fans for years, some of them going right back to the inaugural Halo: Combat Evolved, released on the original Xbox in 2001. When a large core of the playing community is extremely good at the online game, newcomers can feel locked out, because they keep dying before they can learn anything. How can you develop skills and learn the map layouts when you’re always being killed within seconds of spawning?
Thankfully, Bungie took that into account, building a “similar skill level” filter into Reach’s matchmaking. I switched it on and set the game looking for someone for me to play against. It timed out, returning no matches. Oh well, I thought, the game has only been out for a bit over a week, so there must be some other newbies online. I told the game to search again, and a minute or so later I got the same result: no matches.
As a beginning player wanting to learn the ropes of the competitive online game modes, this frustrated the hell out of me. I know there must be other new players out there, but for some reason the game could not find any of them for me, at least on that occasion.
Disillusioned by deathmatch, I decided to try some random matchmaking on a cooperative game mode. Reach’s Firefight mode is similar to Gears of War’s Horde mode, with wave after wave of increasingly tough enemies mobbing the players’ defensive position. The difference in Firefight is that you can win: only a particular number of enemies will attack, and killing all of them within the time limit will win the game for the human team and award a score bonus.
It was in Firefight that I found my online Halo home. I was lucky enough to be matched with some pleasant and cooperative fellow players who were happy to chat with me as we fought, giving me pointers and sympathising with my many deaths. Perhaps I am just not psychological made up for deathmatch, as I found playing the campaign with my friends or engaging in co-op firefights with random strangers on Xbox Live far more enjoyable.
That was my epic Halo: Reach experience. I still prefer my keyboard and mouse, with the twin analogue sticks being most irritating to me when trying to use a zoomed-in sniper rifle, but I got reasonably good with the controls eventually and had quite a lot of fun.
Even so, my overall goal was to try to find out what all the fuss is about. Halo: Reach had one of the biggest launches in entertainment history, earning $us200 million in its first day of sales, three times the first day box office of cinematic record-holder The Dark Knight. Bungie must be doing something right to capture and retain such a massive audience.
Halo: Reach, online and off, struck me as a good shooter with some clever design features, but never outstanding in any way. Perhaps I am just too much of an outsider to understand its enduing appeal; maybe I am just a noob after all.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
With Latest Launch, Halo Could Reach New Heights
This special Halo: Reach kit consists of a metal briefcase that opens to revel a series of Halo-related items.
(Credit: Matt Fitzgerald/CNET) There's probably no better way to determine who's a hard-core Xbox player and who's not than this: do they play Halo?
On November 15, 2001, the then relatively low-profile video game development studio Bungie, which at the time was owned by Microsoft, released what would become one of the most significant game titles ever--Halo: Combat Evolved.
No one knew it at the time, but this storyline, spelled out in the game's manual--for Microsoft's original Xbox, not the Xbox 360--ushered in what is now nine years and the six titles of what is easily one of the most successful franchises in entertainment:
The year is 2552. Planet Earth still exists, but overpopulation has forced many of her former residents to colonize other worlds. Faster-than-light travel is now a reality, and Earth's unified government, through the United Nations Space Command, has put its full weight behind the colonization effort. Millions of humans now live on habitable planets in other solar systems. A keystone of humanity's colonization efforts is the planet Reach, an interstellar naval yard that builds colony ships for civilians and warships for the UNSC's armed forces. Conveniently close to Earth, Reach is also a hub of scientific and military activity.
Thirty-two years ago, contact with the outer colony Harvest was lost. A battlegroup sent to investigate was almost completely destroyed; only one badly damaged ship returned to Reach. Its crew told of a seemingly unstoppable alien warship that had effortlessly annihilated their forces.
This was humankind's first encounter with a group of aliens they eventually came to know as the Covenant, a collective of alien races united in their fanatical religious devotion. Covenant religious elders declared humanity an affront to the gods, and the Covenant warrior caste waged a holy war upon humanity with gruesome diligence. After a series of crushing defeats and obliterated colonies, UNSC Admiral Preston Cole established the Cole Protocol: no vessel may inadvertently lead the Covenant to Earth. When forced to withdraw, ships must avoid Earth-bound vectors--even if that means jumping without proper navigational calculations. Vessels in danger of capture must self-destruct.
On Reach, a secret military project to create cyborg super-soldiers takes on newfound importance. The soldiers of the Spartan-II project rack up an impressive record against the Covenant in test deployments, but there are too few of them to turn the tide of the war.
Existing Spartan-II soldiers are recalled to Reach for further augmentation. The plan: board a Covenant vessel with the improved Spartan-IIs and learn the location of the Covenant home world. Two days before the mission begins, Covenant forces strike Reach and annihilate the colony. The Covenant are now on Earth's doorstep. One ship, the Pillar of Autumn, escapes with the last Spartan-II and makes a blind jump into deep space, hoping to lead the Covenant away from Earth.
In the worlds of video games, there are many developers and publishers that herald their franchises as among the most successful of all time. Of course, it can be hard to measure which are actually the most successful of all time, since there are many different metrics--unit sales, revenues, number of users, hours of play, and so on. But there is no doubt that Halo counts among the top tier, joining the likes of Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, The Sims, and so on. According to VGChartz, which tracks sales, the five existing Halo titles--Halo, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo Wars, and Halo 3: ODST--have sold a total of 33.5 million units for the Xbox, and that doesn't include additional versions of some of those titles that were released for Windows and other platforms.
Of course, among console players, no one has played any Halo title on any of Sony's PlayStations, or Nintendo's Wii, given that the franchise has always been an Xbox exclusive. And while Bungie developed four of the five existing titles, there was a brief moment in 2009 (Halo Wars) when Ensemble Studios took over for Bungie, which had severed official ties with Microsoft in 2007. But with Halo 3: ODST and now, Halo: Reach, he now independent Bungie stepped right back into the breach and took back the Halo reins--and returned it to the top of the charts after Halo Wars' less than stellar sales performance.
And while it's been years since Microsoft released its Xbox 360 and moved the Halo franchise onto that platform with the massively successful Halo 3, it was only recently that the very last players were forced to step away from playing Halo 2 on Xbox Live via their original Xboxes.
Over the years, Halo has become such a cultural touchstone that not only is there a movie version in the works--it is scheduled for a 2012 release--but "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson is on board as its executive producer, and actor Kevin James is said to be slated to play Master Chief.
Now, with Halo: Reach finally in stores--and likely on millions of players' Xboxes--the franchise has taken its next step. Last February, Bungie let the cat out of the bag, revealing that the game is a standalone prequel to the franchise, offering fans a fully original story and a number of new characters, as well as a scale beyond what the developer has done with any previous Halo title. At the time the company said that the new game will have a much darker story line than its predecessors and is centered around "a key turning point in the Human-Covenant War," said Bungie creative director Marcus Lehto.
In the game, which takes place in 2552, the planet Reach is mankind's final line of defense against the Covenant, as well as home to the human military, the Spartan program. Halo: Reach focuses on the Noble Team, a single group of Spartans, led by a character called Carter 259.
But, if you're reading this, you're no doubt one of the hard core. And you already knew all this.
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Wednesday, September 22, 2010
The Best And Worst Of THe Halo Maps
We all know that maps make the multiplayer experience and most Halo fans would concur with me that Halo 2 had the best multiplayer experience because of the quality maps available for gameplay. If you have great maps in a game, then everything is more enjoyable and the action is non-stop!! We all remember Headlong, Valhalla, And Sanctuary and the awesome moments that we shared with our friends on those maps. Then we frown at the maps Epitaph, Snowbound, And Backwash because of their cheap design or outlandish design. So , what makes a good map. A good map has to have two bases; one for each team, it has to have strategic weapon spawns that bring out the battle from the beginning, and they have to evoke open, combative game play that has certain characteristics fitting for team play. Well, for starters I give you the worst maps of Halo Through Halo 3 and then move on to categorizing the new maps of Halo Reach.
Backwash
Elongation
Epitaph [Worst]
Isolation
Snowbound
Guardian
Assembly
Foundry
Rat's Nest
Gemini
Desolation
Chiron TL34
Sandtrap
Best maps in Halo series:
Beaver Creek
Hang em' high
Midship
Burial Mounds
Lockout
Coagulation
Warlock
Ascension
Sidewinder
Ivory Tower
Relic
Containment
Halo Reach Maps
The Good:
Boneyard
Paradiso
Countdown
Boardwalk
Hemorrage
The Cage
Pinnacle
Swordbase
Powerhouse
The Bad
Reflection
Halo Reach Gaming Gear Below!!! Sale!!
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| Hemmorhage |
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| Swordbase |
Worst maps in Halo series:
Backwash
Elongation
Epitaph [Worst]
Isolation
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| Powerhouse |
Snowbound
Guardian
Assembly
Foundry
Rat's Nest
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| Reflection |
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| Boneyard |
Desolation
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| Spire |
Sandtrap
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| Paradiso |
Best maps in Halo series:
Beaver Creek
Hang em' high
Midship
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| Zealot |
Burial Mounds
Lockout
Coagulation
Warlock
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| Pinnacle |
Sanctuary
Sidewinder
Ivory Tower
Relic
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| The Cage |
Halo Reach Maps
The Good:
Boneyard
Paradiso
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| Asylum |
Boardwalk
Hemorrage
The Cage
Pinnacle
Swordbase
Powerhouse
The Bad
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| Boardwalk |
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| Countdown |
Asylum
Zealot
Spire
Halo Reach Gaming Gear Below!!! Sale!!
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| Hemmorhage |
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
'Halo: Reach' To Add Campaign Matchmaking
Bungie's community content writer Eric Osborne said that the feature was held back so that players would not spoil the story by playing missions out of order.
"The main reason for its omission is simple: we don't want your very first experience in campaign to occur on the very last level," he said.
"Like all our matchmaking playlists, Campaign Matchmaking will offer all players in the party a vote as to which mission they'll end up tackling together.
"Democracy is totally sweet, but in this case, the majority might overrule your No Spoilers Doctrine."
The October update will also add bug fixes, balance issues, new game types and additional Forge maps.
Halo: Reach was released last week for Xbox 360.
IN OTHER NEWS......
Halo: Reach has topped the Xbox 360 chart.
It is followed by Mafia II and Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands in second and third.
Elsewhere, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions slips to ninth while Need For Speed: Shift climbs to fifth.
The top ten in full:
1. (-) Halo: Reach (Microsoft Game Studios)
2. (1) Mafia II (2K Games)
3. (6) Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (Ubisoft)
4. (4) Mass Effect 2 (Electronic Arts)
5. (8) Need For Speed: Shift (Electronic Arts)
6. (3) Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (Square Enix)
7. (9) Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar)
8. (5) Sniper: Ghost Warrior (City Interactive)
9. (7) Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (Activision)
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| Those Elites Are Tricky In The Campign |
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| Halo Reach Wil Include The Optin For Campign In Matchmaking |
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| Halo Reach Sniping Level |
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| Halo Reach Has Interesting Shades For The Campaign |
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| You won't Get Tired Of THis Installment |
Bungie's community content writer Eric Osborne said that the feature was held back so that players would not spoil the story by playing missions out of order.
"The main reason for its omission is simple: we don't want your very first experience in campaign to occur on the very last level," he said.
"Like all our matchmaking playlists, Campaign Matchmaking will offer all players in the party a vote as to which mission they'll end up tackling together.
"Democracy is totally sweet, but in this case, the majority might overrule your No Spoilers Doctrine."
The October update will also add bug fixes, balance issues, new game types and additional Forge maps.
Halo: Reach was released last week for Xbox 360.
IN OTHER NEWS......
Halo: Reach has topped the Xbox 360 chart.
It is followed by Mafia II and Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands in second and third.
Elsewhere, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions slips to ninth while Need For Speed: Shift climbs to fifth.
The top ten in full:
1. (-) Halo: Reach (Microsoft Game Studios)
2. (1) Mafia II (2K Games)
3. (6) Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (Ubisoft)
4. (4) Mass Effect 2 (Electronic Arts)
5. (8) Need For Speed: Shift (Electronic Arts)
6. (3) Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (Square Enix)
7. (9) Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar)
8. (5) Sniper: Ghost Warrior (City Interactive)
9. (7) Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (Activision)
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| The Vehicle Level In The Campaign Takes The Cake |
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| It Gets Enjoyably Dark In The Campaign |
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| Halo Reach Looks To Be The Best Game Of 2010 |
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