Contrarian Corner is a feature meant to take a critical look at some recently-released games, a place for a more holistic discussion of titles which have been the recipient of either an abundance of single-minded praise, or an undue amount of criticism. Our intent is not to contradict or undercut our own reviews, but rather to expand the spectrum of discussion on some of the most important games of each year. If you're interested in joining that discussion, keep reading.
Make sure to read Erik Brudvig's Halo: Reach review for IGN's official thoughts on the game. And be forewarned -- if you haven't finished the game, massive spoilers will be discussed below.
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I didn't play Halo in full until 2006. I'd just come back to Los Angeles after two years in Madagascar. I'd moved into a spare bedroom a friend from college had at his apartment in Hollywood. I'd just quit a job at a small movie company after three days because I realized my boss was full of shit, though well-intentioned shit. I was out of money and totally unsure of what I was supposed to do next. I had slowly depleted my savings with the occasional relief of working as an extra and reading scripts for IFC. I had downloaded the Halo demo on the used iMac I'd bought to send resumes and search for job listings. After playing through the demo three times I finally decided to get a full version to catch up with the game that had so dramatically moved shooters forward.
Halo reminded me of the The Wizard of Oz. I'd shot through the feco-viscera of Quake, DOOM, Hexen, and Heretic in college, but I wasn't expecting to start a first person shooter whose main enemy was a furry midget with a conch on it's head. I thought a musical sequence might be about to come to life the first time I heard one of these grunts put his hands up and wobble away from me screaming, "He's a monster!" It was a lovely compliment to the snortling baritone of the Elites' surprised exclamations, "What, what, whaaaaat?!" With a few coordinated pirouettes the game could just as naturally become The Wiz in Space. The sense of exaggeration extended to the gameplay, requiring a literal hosing of bullets to short an enemy's shield before you could do any bodily damage. Levels were built around arenas in which you'd go from hosing to hosing rather than headshot to headshot.
It's been nine years since Bungie released the first game, and in the interim they've worked on nothing else, refining this absurd world of munchkins, purple armor, and elastic bullet streams. Halo: Reach is the end of all that. The neon theatricality has become a memento mori set against a perpetual sunset lowering itself over hardscrabble mountains. There are still moments of wonder, like the sense of scale in the launch sequence preceding the space combat mission, or the moments of jet pack platforming around the white towers of New Alexandria. But the pleasures are put in the uncomfortably tight spaces between the colony's collapsing architecture. Most of the story missions pivot on a point of failure. The fighting in New Alexandria isn't to turn back the invaders, but stall them long enough to evacuate the innocents. Likewise, the extreme gamble of going into space and docking on a Covenant ship is a strategic hail mary that succeeds but the scale of its success is quickly put into minuscule context when a new armada of Covenant ships subsequently come into orbit.
Reach likewise plays a game of Six Little Spartans with Noble Team, fingering each squad member for death as the story sinks downward. You don't play as Master Chief, but you might as well be. Noble Six isn't quite as dexterous as Johnny Halo, but the differences are marginal. You might be able to absorb one less bullet or not jump quite as high, but you've still basically wearing a super hero armor suit. Six isn't outspoken either, which is a vapid choice for the story being told. Gordon Freeman can get away with not talking because he's surrounded with spastics who react to him in such identifiable ways that you can at least begin to read personality traits into him. When Master Chief played the strong and quiet type it felt like a tactical dodge, not wanting to tempt audience disbelief by giving him the wrong voice.
Reach is specifically focused on squad personality, and appropriately so. Killing off six main characters is an utter waste if there aren't any personality traits through which their losses can be measured. Lose the funny guy and suddenly the group doesn't laugh so much any more. Lose the fearless leader and everyone squabbles about what to do next. The gang in Noble Team isn't as dramatically fanned out as that, they're more variations on the self-assured alpha gunner. And at their center is another mute. In the real world stoicism is a bad sign. Sociability is a sign of self-confidence and recognition of how vital close friendships can be. The quiet ones are, we fear, the sociopaths. The brooding poops who one day snap and go on a stabbing spree when someone says "margarine" one time too many. I suppose it's apt that you play a silent lurker given the volume of killing you'll have to do, but it still feels unnecessarily dull. Bungie had the courage to introduce lustrous purples and greens into the video game color palate, I don't understand why giving a character a powerful voice both in and out of combat remains such a risk.
It's especially conspicuous after ODST so effectively used its colorful characterizations and coupled with subtle links to gameplay. Gone is the labored wheeze that signaled damage in ODST. I'd think a subtle reinforcement of genuine pain running beneath the gunfights would enhance the power of the story and its myriad sacrifices. After a decade working on the same essential game concept, Bungie might have done more to intensify its themes in gameplay, rather than leaving them marooned to the cutscenes and the smoky orange sadness of the skybox.
There are a lot of fantastically dramatic moments in the story. Scenes of someone realizing hope is lost but deciding to stay behind and die so the group can continue a little further occur again and again. The ending scene after the credits is great as far as it goes, the game finally leaves players in an arena they won't be able to get out of. The Pillar of Autumn has Cortana's AI kernel safely cruising towards Halo and Noble Six is now officially expendable. You get control of her for another few minutes as waves of Covenant come for you. There's only enough ammo and health to prolong death, but not prevent it. Before you're completely overrun the game shows your visor cracked permanently, giving you a literally shattered view of the world as you scramble for just another few minutes.
A few missions earlier, one of your squadmates dies in a nearly identical scenario on a covenant ship. Later another character takes a plane on a suicide run into a Scarab to create a small opening. One teammate is sniped just at the moment where everything seemed like it might have been okay. If you're interested in emotional gameplay these scenarios are over-ripe. And in Reach they're all cutscenes. The lone example of theme and feeling trumping competitive interest happens after the end credits have finished. The only way this could have been a bigger cop out is if they'd reserved that five minute section for DLC. If a game is supposed to be about tragedy and loss, it ought to be about that in the moment to moment gameplay. Reach should have been built around 30 seconds of failure and pain instead of 30 seconds of fun. It's still the same 30 seconds of fun but the art team has been given a huskier color palate, which is somehow intended to transform the system into something it's not.
Reach is the most feature-rich and varied Halo game, but it's hard not to wonder if the difference between it and the original is enough to merit a decade of tinkering. There's Forge, Firefight, 4 person co-op, a leveling system that ties to character customization, and a big array of multiplayer maps and options. It makes the small list of bullet points from the first game seem tragically incomplete. Reach is as much a perpetual environment as it is an individual experience. It's not an escapist story, but an escapist world that aims to be habitable in perpetuity. It's a magical fishbowl that's always rearranging itself, rewarding loyal players with a simultaneous sense of familiarity and newness.
I finished Reach in two sittings, led from one compulsive pleasure-puzzle to the next. There were no easy places to step away, each lull put some suggestive variation of shooting just over the next ridge. When I thought about starting the game again the next day, trying a harder difficulty of dipping into one of the other modes I couldn't imagine what else there would be to get from the game. I've circle-straffed, tossed grenades and rushed enemies for a finishing melee attack, hidden nervously behind boxes waiting for my shields to regenerate. Thinking of doing it all again, in a slightly different order, and with slightly different objectives and rewards didn't seem like much of an escape. It was starting to feel constrictive, discovery was becoming repetition. Experimentation with new ideas was instead becoming confirmation that most of the old ideas still work.
More Halo: Reach Opinions
Optimism is at the heart of escapism. All great works of escapism are about self-affirmation, which is central to Halo and the idea of Master Chief. It's a big, gaudy, interactive "Yes we can." This was hypnotic when I was broke, out of work, and had no idea what I would do next in my life. It was an irresistible experience, being cut off on a strange planet, with its indifferent sprawl and inscrutable alien architecture, fighting against enemies who seemed genuinely alive and unpredictable. I knew I'd win in the end, but I didn't know how. So I kept coming back, chipping away at the story, learning a new tactic with each arena and its different arrangement of enemies, weapons, and vehicles.
I often think about what I get in return for my time with video games. I've found the most compulsively playable games are also the ones that leave me feeling the most used and hollow afterward. When I think back on what I did in Reach, it's hard to know why I did any of it. Nothing connects, the patterns that emerge from one arena to the next don't build towards a grand confrontation. Nor do they truthfully connect to an emotional idea other than the laughing gas giggle of winning at something for 30 seconds and then repeating it again in a slightly different context. The alien wonder and elastic heroism of the original have become rote, a formula of Greek symbols without a hypothesis to prove.
I hate playing games with other people. Board games, card games, word games--they all seem like a waste of time, an exploitation of our competitive distractibility. It's built into the names we have for them, they're pastimes categorized by their efficiency in distracting us. When this ethos comes in video game form, built as a persistent playroom that continually refreshes itself, it feels uncomfortably like jumping into oblivion. There's something sinister about Reach and its repetition of the now wheezing theme of heroism and self-sacrifice. It's become an elaborate delusion that makes it possible for an excitable and creative group of millions to yoke themselves into a virtual community for the primary purpose of accelerating the passage of time. It's a neon prison so perfectly constructed its prisoners come to their cells with pleasure and don't need to be locked in. And make no mistake, this prison is getting hungrier. It wants you too. One more round. One more mission. One more imperative to play the hero in a fishbowl, so you won't think about how much oxygen is left in the water. They might change the water and add a castle, but you'll eventually notice you're still swimming in circles.
Showing posts with label halo reach latest news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label halo reach latest news. Show all posts
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Halo Reach Sales Top Out At 358 Million
Sales of console up 38 percent year-over-year, cited as a factor in company's record first fiscal quarter performance; Entertainment and Devices Division sales tally $1.8 billion.
Microsoft has been banking on the motion-sensing Kinect peripheral to boost sales of the Xbox 360 this holiday season, but it turns out the system has had no trouble selling in advance of the camera system's November 4 launch. The company today announced a record performance for its first fiscal quarter (the three months ended September 30), with Xbox 360 sales up 38 percent year-over-year.
Microsoft's revenues Reach-ed for the stars.
The Entertainment and Devices division, which handles Microsoft's gaming business, as well as projects like the Zune and ill-fated Kin phone, posted nearly $1.8 billion in sales. Microsoft claims that number is up 27 percent year-over-year, but only since it has "recast" previous results "to conform to the way [Microsoft] internally managed and monitored segment performance during the current fiscal year." In last year's first fiscal quarter results, Microsoft reported Entertainment and Devices division revenues of nearly $1.9 billion, essentially flat from the prior year.
The Xbox division's operating profits were also affected by the aforementioned recasting. For the recently concluded quarter, Microsoft posted a divisional operating profit of $382 million, claiming that was up from the previous year's $260 million operating profit. The original number Microsoft reported for its first quarter last year was $312 million.
Companywide, Microsoft touted its all-time best first fiscal quarter performance. Every business unit in the company showed sales growth, and revenues for the three months ended September 30 totaled $16.2 billion, up 25 percent from the prior year. Net income surged even more, jumping 51 percent to $5.41 billion.
Microsoft cited strong consumer demand for the Xbox 360 and its games, as well as Office 2010 and Windows 7, as contributing factors to the growth. While Microsoft didn't break down the numbers, it bears noting that the quarter saw the debut of Halo: Reach, which was credited with bringing in $200 million in sales in its first day on sale. According to the industry-tracking NPD Group, Halo: Reach was also the top game for the month of September, selling 3.3 million units at US retailers.
[UPDATE]: In a post-earnings conference call, Microsoft revealed that Halo: Reach had totaled approximately $350 million in revenues to date and helped drive strong growth in the Xbox Live service.
The company expects to retain its momentum with the help of Kinect. Microsoft is projecting roughly 30 percent year-over-year revenue growth for the current quarter, with a jump of about 20 percent for the full year ending June 30, 2011.
Microsoft has been banking on the motion-sensing Kinect peripheral to boost sales of the Xbox 360 this holiday season, but it turns out the system has had no trouble selling in advance of the camera system's November 4 launch. The company today announced a record performance for its first fiscal quarter (the three months ended September 30), with Xbox 360 sales up 38 percent year-over-year.
Microsoft's revenues Reach-ed for the stars.
The Entertainment and Devices division, which handles Microsoft's gaming business, as well as projects like the Zune and ill-fated Kin phone, posted nearly $1.8 billion in sales. Microsoft claims that number is up 27 percent year-over-year, but only since it has "recast" previous results "to conform to the way [Microsoft] internally managed and monitored segment performance during the current fiscal year." In last year's first fiscal quarter results, Microsoft reported Entertainment and Devices division revenues of nearly $1.9 billion, essentially flat from the prior year.
The Xbox division's operating profits were also affected by the aforementioned recasting. For the recently concluded quarter, Microsoft posted a divisional operating profit of $382 million, claiming that was up from the previous year's $260 million operating profit. The original number Microsoft reported for its first quarter last year was $312 million.
Companywide, Microsoft touted its all-time best first fiscal quarter performance. Every business unit in the company showed sales growth, and revenues for the three months ended September 30 totaled $16.2 billion, up 25 percent from the prior year. Net income surged even more, jumping 51 percent to $5.41 billion.
Microsoft cited strong consumer demand for the Xbox 360 and its games, as well as Office 2010 and Windows 7, as contributing factors to the growth. While Microsoft didn't break down the numbers, it bears noting that the quarter saw the debut of Halo: Reach, which was credited with bringing in $200 million in sales in its first day on sale. According to the industry-tracking NPD Group, Halo: Reach was also the top game for the month of September, selling 3.3 million units at US retailers.
[UPDATE]: In a post-earnings conference call, Microsoft revealed that Halo: Reach had totaled approximately $350 million in revenues to date and helped drive strong growth in the Xbox Live service.
The company expects to retain its momentum with the help of Kinect. Microsoft is projecting roughly 30 percent year-over-year revenue growth for the current quarter, with a jump of about 20 percent for the full year ending June 30, 2011.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Over 70 Million Halo: Reach Games Played
Bungie's released updated stats for Halo: Reach's launch week, confirming the prequel has already clocked up more than 70 million games played.
Everything about the game is tracked, right down to shots fired.
- On Tuesday, September 14 at approximately 1:30pm PST, just a few hours after launch, Halo: Reach's online unique user count had already completely eclipsed Halo 3's total tally for the entirety of the week (09/13 through 09/20).
- To account for the same number of online players found in Halo: Reach during that same window (just six days), we had to run the numbers for Halo 3 going all the way back to 8/6/2010, encompassing a full 45 days of Halo 3 play!
- Ultimately, Halo: Reach's online population for the first week dwarfed Halo 3's by comparison, snagging four times the number of total unique users and decimating Halo 3's all time high of concurrent users by more than 65 per cent.
And a few more stats:
- 70 Million+ Games have been played
- 235 Million+ Player-Games have been played
- 2 Million+ Files have been uploaded to File Shares
- 5,901 man-years have been spent in online Reach games
- 20 Million Daily challenges have been completed
- 709,840 Weekly challenges have been completed
- 165 Billion Credits have been earned
Everything about the game is tracked, right down to shots fired.
- On Tuesday, September 14 at approximately 1:30pm PST, just a few hours after launch, Halo: Reach's online unique user count had already completely eclipsed Halo 3's total tally for the entirety of the week (09/13 through 09/20).
- To account for the same number of online players found in Halo: Reach during that same window (just six days), we had to run the numbers for Halo 3 going all the way back to 8/6/2010, encompassing a full 45 days of Halo 3 play!
- Ultimately, Halo: Reach's online population for the first week dwarfed Halo 3's by comparison, snagging four times the number of total unique users and decimating Halo 3's all time high of concurrent users by more than 65 per cent.
And a few more stats:
- 70 Million+ Games have been played
- 235 Million+ Player-Games have been played
- 2 Million+ Files have been uploaded to File Shares
- 5,901 man-years have been spent in online Reach games
- 20 Million Daily challenges have been completed
- 709,840 Weekly challenges have been completed
- 165 Billion Credits have been earned
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Halo: Reach Noble Map Pack releases November 30
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| Halo Reach The Best Game of 2010 |
The pack contains three new maps: Tempest, Anchor 9, and Breakpoint.
Tempest offers players an abandoned shoreline facility divided between two symmetrical bases and an open sky above. Each base contains a makeshift shelter and access to strategic routes for small and large-scale skirmishes. Tempest supports 8 – 16 players and game modes such as Free for All, Team Slayer, Team Objective, and Big Team Battle. Tempest also contains a Forge palette for creating new custom maps.
Anchor 9 is set in orbital dockyards with mirrored interior hallways and an open central hangar bay. The map features close quarters combat for 2 - 8 players, and supports Free for All, Team Slayer, and Team Objective multiplayer modes.
Breakpoint is set in modular archaeological labs designed for air and ground combat. Breakpoint offers multiplayer for 8-16 players, and supports the Invasion and Big Team Battle game modes.
Developed by Bungie, the Noble Map Pack includes new Achievements worth a total of 250 Gamerscore points. It will be available for purchase for 800 Microsoft Points ($10) directly from Xbox Live or with a Microsoft Points card sold at retail locations worldwide.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Halo: Reach level cap going up
Halo: Reach is all set to get a level cap increase, Bungie has announced.
The developer will lift the limit above its current Lt Colonel Grade Three high-point once 117 million daily and weekly million challenges have been completed.
Bungie reckons that should be some time in November.
The post on Bungie.net read, "When you do cross the 117 Million mark, we'll celebrate by blowing the lid off the level cap! In the immediate aftermath, new ranks and armor will be made magically available for you inside The Armory, provided you have the rank and credits required. Time to get to work!"
"Oh, and no, we won't be counting boosted challenges," the post added.
The update also announced that 16,445 years of play had been logged so far, constituting 784 million player-games. In summary, it's quite popular.
Last week Bungie announced that new DLC - the Noble Map Pack - will be out on 30th November
The developer will lift the limit above its current Lt Colonel Grade Three high-point once 117 million daily and weekly million challenges have been completed.
Bungie reckons that should be some time in November.
The post on Bungie.net read, "When you do cross the 117 Million mark, we'll celebrate by blowing the lid off the level cap! In the immediate aftermath, new ranks and armor will be made magically available for you inside The Armory, provided you have the rank and credits required. Time to get to work!"
"Oh, and no, we won't be counting boosted challenges," the post added.
The update also announced that 16,445 years of play had been logged so far, constituting 784 million player-games. In summary, it's quite popular.
Last week Bungie announced that new DLC - the Noble Map Pack - will be out on 30th November
Saturday, October 23, 2010
This is one of those weeks. We're not exactly dark, but we're definitely more dimly lit than you’ve become accustomed to. I'm sure you understand.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t plenty of coal being shoveled into the studio engine this week. The Noble Map Pack has been powering through the requisite polish and bug fixing phases and the team is ultra close to sealing the deal and shipping the new maps out the door. Right now, we’re prepping a trailer and small batch of multimedia aimed at getting you acclimated to the new spaces before you're forced to fight for purchase. The trailer is scheduled to arrive early next week. (Like really early next week if all goes to plan.)
Outside of the sweet visuals the Noble Map Pack puts on display, the trailer also contains a unique piece of music that seamlessly blends tracks from Halo: CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo: Reach into one beautifully orchestrated score. Marty, Jay, and C Paul have been hinting that they’d like to make it available as a standalone download soon after the trailer drops. Keep your fingers crossed for a Friday deployment next week.
No promises.
Take a Synthy Tour of Tempest!
Okay, so maybe I was totally wrong about this week's update. Bam! Hopefully, this Photosynth of Tempest ties you over until next week. Now, let's get some housekeeping out of the way.
Arena Alterations
On the playlist front, we’re currently testing out some totally radar-less Arena action. Aside from the obvious impact this will have on the playlist as a whole, it will also sound the death knell for the Active Camo Armor Ability in this particular playlist format, as there’s literally no downside to getting your cloak on when radar isn’t in play.
If all goes to plan, expect to see this change hit the Arena at the beginning of next month, just in time for Season Numero 3. We’ll supply you with some more fleshed out bullet points as the November playlist update becomes more and more solidified in the days ahead. As with all early news, details are always subject to change.
Forging Ahead
This week we’re also neck deep in Forge Map Variant submissions for our official Forgetacular contest. Though DLC testing has slowed the pace of our official evaluation process, it moves ever onward, and even outside of the auspices of Forgetacular’s winning entries, we’re still looking to deploy more community variants into matchmaking.
More Like Forgecrapular!
To aid you in your quest, Carney tells me he’s nearly finished hammering out the curriculum for the first semester of his official Design 101 correspondence course. Personally, I’ve been hammering through some of the hundreds of Forgetacular submissions we’ve already been blessed with, and I have some words of wisdom I’d love to hammer home myself. While we wait for Carney to deliver the real goods, check out my crash course!
Mo Money, Mo Problems
First things first, you are not required to utilize the entire budget when you set out to build your sweet new map. This is not how you win Forge. In fact, if you’ve whittled down all the credits in your Forge wallet to make an amazing Race map, and you don’t have enough bucks left to splurge on a single solitary Mongoose, you just might have yourself a little bit of a problem. If I can’t race on your race map, you lose! You should resolve this minor error before you submit your map, speed racer.
Objectify My Love
On a related note, you should also be paying close attention to “object density” as you build your masterpiece. Though the Forge will allow you to phase several objects into one another, it is not recommended that you stack as many objects as possible into a small amount of real estate simply for aesthetic effect. You can and will go overboard.
In these shots, there are 100 blocks piled into one single floating heap. Players tend to phase a lot of objects together in order to create fine details not possible with the available set of Forge pieces. I’ve seen a player merge more than a dozen objects into a single light to create a rather ornate and spectacular chandelier. While it may look visually impressive, functionally it operates more like a Forge black hole, requiring players to render an absurd amount of objects for what amounts to a small piece of visual flair. When I removed all of the superfluous pieces from the beautiful fixture in question, the base map was left largely unchanged and the overall performance increased dramatically.
Eye of the Beholder
Of course, that doesn’t mean you should pay no mind to how your map looks, especially when thinking about how players will orient themselves. It’s a good idea to use existing visual cues to allow players to ground themselves quickly on your map. Atom is a great example. Each side features distinct “Team” colors, both red and blue, to help your eye pick up on your spawning location instantly. It also uses colors in other key spaces to highlight areas of interest to great and inexpensive effect. The map itself is nestled in the Quarry, giving Atom a rock face on three sides and a distinct open view on the fourth.
None of these design cues required any additional objects. And it’s a certified fact that each and every one of you loves Atom.
And the Sky is Grey
One sure fire way to keep your players dazed and confused is to stuff them inside a giant grey box that offers little in the way of visual distinction.
The walls are in my face.
While the Forge palette relies heavily on the metallic Forerunner aesthetic, Forge World itself offers plenty of scenery that stands in stark contrast. Utilize it free of charge.
…performance is not a concern and you should feel free to place objects wherever you damn well please.
Nobody Puts Baby in a Box!
But maybe you should. The Coliseum might seem small, but trust me, it’s really big! And the walls each feature distinct elements that make them stand out from one another.
It also gives you six planes to work from right from the start. While it might not make for a great Big Team Battle space unless you extend the playable space out over the water, it’s easily big enough to contain some expertly crafted Slayer and Objective spaces, especially if you build in layers.
Spartometer Challenge Tracker
And we’re off! As of right now, the front page has been updated to display your current community Challenge progress. Keep on keepin’ on and the carnage will automatically update until we blow the top off, unlocking access to new ranks and armor.
It's gonna be a blood bath!
Oh, and nope, we're not at zero. The circular reservoir at the bottom of the thermometer represents the millions of challenges you've already completed.
Pimp My Spartan…Now!
Of course, we’re aware that the Bungie.net version of your Spartan armor isn’t currently updating. We don’t have an ETA for a resolution, but rest assured that we’ll deploy the fix as soon as we can. The backend systems that power your Spartan’s online presentation are linked to other critical systems related to our online and matchmaking experiences, and we are, as you would expect, incredibly thorough with any testing and deployments that could impact those systems.
Crying Face
We’ll update you when we’re ready for you to ogle your online persona again. Until then, you’ll have to make do with your in game model. Please pardon our dust.
Blame Stosh
Stosh spent a good amount of time this week building the aforementioned Spartometer to track your challenges, but he also dedicated some spare cycles to dig up this sweet clip.
When good Rod goes wrong.
And that’s a wrap for this week. Stop back next week. We'll make it worth your while.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t plenty of coal being shoveled into the studio engine this week. The Noble Map Pack has been powering through the requisite polish and bug fixing phases and the team is ultra close to sealing the deal and shipping the new maps out the door. Right now, we’re prepping a trailer and small batch of multimedia aimed at getting you acclimated to the new spaces before you're forced to fight for purchase. The trailer is scheduled to arrive early next week. (Like really early next week if all goes to plan.)
Outside of the sweet visuals the Noble Map Pack puts on display, the trailer also contains a unique piece of music that seamlessly blends tracks from Halo: CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo: Reach into one beautifully orchestrated score. Marty, Jay, and C Paul have been hinting that they’d like to make it available as a standalone download soon after the trailer drops. Keep your fingers crossed for a Friday deployment next week.
No promises.
Take a Synthy Tour of Tempest!
Okay, so maybe I was totally wrong about this week's update. Bam! Hopefully, this Photosynth of Tempest ties you over until next week. Now, let's get some housekeeping out of the way.
Arena Alterations
On the playlist front, we’re currently testing out some totally radar-less Arena action. Aside from the obvious impact this will have on the playlist as a whole, it will also sound the death knell for the Active Camo Armor Ability in this particular playlist format, as there’s literally no downside to getting your cloak on when radar isn’t in play.
If all goes to plan, expect to see this change hit the Arena at the beginning of next month, just in time for Season Numero 3. We’ll supply you with some more fleshed out bullet points as the November playlist update becomes more and more solidified in the days ahead. As with all early news, details are always subject to change.
Forging Ahead
This week we’re also neck deep in Forge Map Variant submissions for our official Forgetacular contest. Though DLC testing has slowed the pace of our official evaluation process, it moves ever onward, and even outside of the auspices of Forgetacular’s winning entries, we’re still looking to deploy more community variants into matchmaking.
More Like Forgecrapular!
To aid you in your quest, Carney tells me he’s nearly finished hammering out the curriculum for the first semester of his official Design 101 correspondence course. Personally, I’ve been hammering through some of the hundreds of Forgetacular submissions we’ve already been blessed with, and I have some words of wisdom I’d love to hammer home myself. While we wait for Carney to deliver the real goods, check out my crash course!
Mo Money, Mo Problems
First things first, you are not required to utilize the entire budget when you set out to build your sweet new map. This is not how you win Forge. In fact, if you’ve whittled down all the credits in your Forge wallet to make an amazing Race map, and you don’t have enough bucks left to splurge on a single solitary Mongoose, you just might have yourself a little bit of a problem. If I can’t race on your race map, you lose! You should resolve this minor error before you submit your map, speed racer.
Objectify My Love
On a related note, you should also be paying close attention to “object density” as you build your masterpiece. Though the Forge will allow you to phase several objects into one another, it is not recommended that you stack as many objects as possible into a small amount of real estate simply for aesthetic effect. You can and will go overboard.
In these shots, there are 100 blocks piled into one single floating heap. Players tend to phase a lot of objects together in order to create fine details not possible with the available set of Forge pieces. I’ve seen a player merge more than a dozen objects into a single light to create a rather ornate and spectacular chandelier. While it may look visually impressive, functionally it operates more like a Forge black hole, requiring players to render an absurd amount of objects for what amounts to a small piece of visual flair. When I removed all of the superfluous pieces from the beautiful fixture in question, the base map was left largely unchanged and the overall performance increased dramatically.
Eye of the Beholder
Of course, that doesn’t mean you should pay no mind to how your map looks, especially when thinking about how players will orient themselves. It’s a good idea to use existing visual cues to allow players to ground themselves quickly on your map. Atom is a great example. Each side features distinct “Team” colors, both red and blue, to help your eye pick up on your spawning location instantly. It also uses colors in other key spaces to highlight areas of interest to great and inexpensive effect. The map itself is nestled in the Quarry, giving Atom a rock face on three sides and a distinct open view on the fourth.
None of these design cues required any additional objects. And it’s a certified fact that each and every one of you loves Atom.
And the Sky is Grey
One sure fire way to keep your players dazed and confused is to stuff them inside a giant grey box that offers little in the way of visual distinction.
The walls are in my face.
While the Forge palette relies heavily on the metallic Forerunner aesthetic, Forge World itself offers plenty of scenery that stands in stark contrast. Utilize it free of charge.
…performance is not a concern and you should feel free to place objects wherever you damn well please.
Nobody Puts Baby in a Box!
But maybe you should. The Coliseum might seem small, but trust me, it’s really big! And the walls each feature distinct elements that make them stand out from one another.
It also gives you six planes to work from right from the start. While it might not make for a great Big Team Battle space unless you extend the playable space out over the water, it’s easily big enough to contain some expertly crafted Slayer and Objective spaces, especially if you build in layers.
Spartometer Challenge Tracker
And we’re off! As of right now, the front page has been updated to display your current community Challenge progress. Keep on keepin’ on and the carnage will automatically update until we blow the top off, unlocking access to new ranks and armor.
It's gonna be a blood bath!
Oh, and nope, we're not at zero. The circular reservoir at the bottom of the thermometer represents the millions of challenges you've already completed.
Pimp My Spartan…Now!
Of course, we’re aware that the Bungie.net version of your Spartan armor isn’t currently updating. We don’t have an ETA for a resolution, but rest assured that we’ll deploy the fix as soon as we can. The backend systems that power your Spartan’s online presentation are linked to other critical systems related to our online and matchmaking experiences, and we are, as you would expect, incredibly thorough with any testing and deployments that could impact those systems.
Crying Face
We’ll update you when we’re ready for you to ogle your online persona again. Until then, you’ll have to make do with your in game model. Please pardon our dust.
Blame Stosh
Stosh spent a good amount of time this week building the aforementioned Spartometer to track your challenges, but he also dedicated some spare cycles to dig up this sweet clip.
When good Rod goes wrong.
And that’s a wrap for this week. Stop back next week. We'll make it worth your while.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Campaign Matchmaking goes live, level cap being raised next month.
Halo: Reach's multiplayer is getting another fresh lick of paint as campaign matchmaking finally goes live and Bungie announces the level cap is to be raised in November.
Alongside the launch of campaign matchmaking Bungie announced (via its comprehensive weekly update) a slew of tweaks in its weekly update with Team Snipers and Living Dead being added to the playlists while Rumble Pit has been streamlined.
The long-awaited raising of the level cap was also given a date of sorts, and it's due to be unlocked once the community has completed 117 million daily and weekly challenges – a feat that's due to be achieved sometime in November according to Bungie's estimates.
Halo: Reach has proved quite popular since its September release – we certainly liked it, and so it seems did some 3.3 million people in the US at last count.
Alongside the launch of campaign matchmaking Bungie announced (via its comprehensive weekly update) a slew of tweaks in its weekly update with Team Snipers and Living Dead being added to the playlists while Rumble Pit has been streamlined.
The long-awaited raising of the level cap was also given a date of sorts, and it's due to be unlocked once the community has completed 117 million daily and weekly challenges – a feat that's due to be achieved sometime in November according to Bungie's estimates.
Halo: Reach has proved quite popular since its September release – we certainly liked it, and so it seems did some 3.3 million people in the US at last count.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Halo: Reach Tops 3 Million in Sales
According to the latest data provided by market research group NPD, sales for Halo: Reach it its launch month hit 3.3 million copies sold in the United States.
Halo: Reach was first released on September 14 in North America. The game generated over $200 million in sales in the U.S. and Europe combined in the first two days of release alone.
It's just the third game this generation to sell over three million copies in its launch month. Halo 3 was the first title to do so back in 2007. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was second in 2009.
Bungie announced this morning the Noble Map Pack, which includes three new multiplayer maps, Anchor 9, Tempest, and Breakpoint. The pack is set for release on November 30 for 800 Microsoft points.
Microsoft also said pre-orders for its Kinect motion camera coming November 4 are "selling out" at retailers nationwide. The company did not provide specific pre-order numbers.
Halo: Reach was first released on September 14 in North America. The game generated over $200 million in sales in the U.S. and Europe combined in the first two days of release alone.
It's just the third game this generation to sell over three million copies in its launch month. Halo 3 was the first title to do so back in 2007. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was second in 2009.
Bungie announced this morning the Noble Map Pack, which includes three new multiplayer maps, Anchor 9, Tempest, and Breakpoint. The pack is set for release on November 30 for 800 Microsoft points.
Microsoft also said pre-orders for its Kinect motion camera coming November 4 are "selling out" at retailers nationwide. The company did not provide specific pre-order numbers.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Halo: Reach Review – “It’s Time To ‘Reach’ Reach”
I’ve played Halo for years and I can safely say that the series has had a huge effect on my life. I’ll never forget the LAN parties me and my friends had on half days in high school – these were truly awesome times. When I think back about Halo 2 and 3 I wonder if I was caught up in Microsoft’s hype machine. I’m not saying they we’re bad games, they we’re actually great games but like I’ve said before I feel like that with each subsequent Halo release Bungie slowly took away what made the franchise so special – Simplicity.
With Reach Bungie has changed all this, they’ve removed most of the features that over complicated the series and added new features that make the tried and true Halo formula feel fresh. Halo: Reach is the result of Bungie spending ten years perfecting the Halo franchise.
The single player campaign’s plot line is very simple, you follow Noble Team as they deal with the Covenant assault on one of the UNSC’s most important outposts, the planet Reach. The story is engaging and it is caped off by one of the best endings I have ever experienced in a video game – the final chapter is a truly moving experience and I’m very pleased that Bungie chose to keep it in the game. I’ve read interviews where Bungie’s creative director, Marcus Lehto, explained how including the ending was a subject of debate among the development team. I’m glad it wasn’t left on the cutting room floor.
The more linear plot line keeps the game focused and moving a long at a break neck pace. Every single player level is engaging and exciting, none of them cause the game to drag or get boring unlike other iterations in the Halo franchise. One particular level and my personal favorite Halo level ever, The Long Night Of Solace, is perhaps the single best level I have ever played in a first person shooter. I was quick to criticize the space combat Bungie showed off at this years E3 but it was great and definitely didn’t feel tacked on at all. Bungie managed to integrate this mini-game like feature in such a seamless fashion that it fit perfectly into the games overall feel. The anti-gravity space portion of the levels were also ridiculously fun and fresh.
The campaign is dark, realistic, fresh and most importantly a whole lot of fun – it’s an experience no Halo fan or gamer for that matter should miss.
Bungie made the right decision by creating an entirely new graphics engine for Reach, Halo 3′s was starting to look seriously dated. The result is possibly one of the best looking games on the Xbox 360. Reach does lag occasional when there are multiple enemies and vehicles on the screen, especially when your playing with multiple people on one Xbox. This is disappointing but it doesn’t really damage the game’s overall experience and it doesn’t occur that often. It would have been nice if Bungie spent a few more months polishing the game off but I imagine that’s difficult when Microsoft is probably breathing down your neck to get the game out the door. Overall the graphics have a much more realistic feel when compared to Halo 3 and this perfectly compliments the game’s darker tone.
The inclusion of new vehicles that are actually fun to drive, the Falcon, Sabre, and Revenant are also welcome additions to the franchise. Unlike past new weapons each new inclusion fits perfectly into the Halo universe and is expertly balanced.
The new armor abilities also simplify Halo 3′s item system and make the game generally much more balanced than past Halo games. The hologram ability, the only ability not included in the Reach Beta, seems rather stupid at first but it is extremely useful in sniper matches. Even though I’m a seasoned Halo veteran I often fall for this silly ploy – sometimes it’s hard to tell who’s the actual player and who’s the hologram. Fall damage has also been drastically toned down from the beta, it was difficult to avoid killing your self when jet packing across maps – I died numerous times because of this.
I’m also a fan of the new health pack system, maybe it’s just nostalgia speaking but it reminds me of Halo: CE and ads a sense of urgency to the single player. I don’t bother rushing in to a swarm of elites because I know that my health won’t fully regenerate unless I find a health kit. Martin O’Donnell’s music is once again amazing, he manages to capture the monk like Halo theme of older games but also still gives Reach’s music a fresh and engaging sound. The title music is particularly breath taking.
One of my main complaints about Reach’s multiplayer mode is the lack of map variety. A few of the multiplayer maps are remakes from Halo 3 and Halo 2 which is great for gamers looking to replay them but it’s also lazy on Bungie’s part. I would have liked to see these remakes included in the game but also a lot more new maps. A few of the remakes from matchmaking are Forge World maps so they all look very similar, this is also somewhat disappointing. I’m sure Bungie will release multiple map packs during the games life span and I can almost guarantee that one will appear on the Xbox Live marketplace very soon.
Another complaint I have about multiplayer is the game’s matchmaking mode. The removal a visible ranking system and social playlists irks me quite a bit. Rankings gave me something to work towards every time I played Halo 3 and social playlists we’re perfect for when I wanted to play games with my girlfriend who isn’t that great at Halo. I realize why bungie did this, to try to keep the community in one single playlist and decrease the amount of time it takes to find games, but that doesn’t mean I really like it. The new arena is Bungie’s new playlist for competitive ranked gaming but it’s a somewhat confusing method and is rather time consuming. Apparently you need to play three games a day for six days until you are assigned a division. Then after that you play other gamers in your division and are given the opportunity to move to a higher level. It sounds cool and gives you something to work towards on a monthly basis because it resets every season.
The inclusion of Halo: ODST’s firefight mode is also great, there’s nothing like jumping into a game with a few friends and blindly blasting away at the Covenant. The fact that it supports matchmaking now to is also great, if your down one friend you can still create a four person team. I still wish Bungie included a server list in Reach, Forge World is an amazing tool and the ability to share maps with other users is a great feature but without a server or game list you can only play your creations with people on your friends list. With all the content included in Reach I find it strange that Bungie still didn’t add this feature in their swan song to the Halo franchise.
As soon as you start playing it’s very easy to tell that Halo: Reach is culmination of 10 years of game design. As someone who’s been playing Halo since the franchise began I can safely say that this is by far the best game in the series. It even surpassed Halo: Combat evolved – for a nostalgic person like my self this is not an easy feat for a game developer to accomplish.
Game Judgment’s Christopher Goodchild will also be reviewing Reach so be on the look out for his opinion on Bungie’s latest epic over the next few days.
Pros
-Great single player experience
-Possibly one of the most content rich games ever released on the Xbox
-Great multiplayer experience
Cons
-The game lags when there are too many enemies on the screen
-Lack of multiplayer map variety
- No game or server list for custom games
Overall Rating 9.5/10
Reccomendation: Buy it!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Halo: Reach Noble Map Pack Announced
Microsoft announced the Noble Map Pack will arrive on Xbox Live starting November 30, 2010. The pack includes three all-new multiplayer maps, Anchor 9, Tempest, and Breakpoint. Additional achievements totaling 250 gamerscore points are also being added.
The pack will cost 800 Microsoft Points ($10).
Here's a detailed list of the maps per Microsoft:
Tempest – "Though we may never fully understand these devices, it is not our nature to leave ancient stones unturned." This abandoned shoreline facility bends both sea and sky to an unnatural purpose, but the ground itself has quickly become another all too familiar battlefield. Though the two opposing symmetrical bases may never reveal their ancient purpose, both now offer makeshift shelter and access to strategic routes perfectly suited for small and large scale skirmishes alike. Tempest supports 8 – 16 players and offers a variety of modes including Free for All, Team Slayer, Team Objective and Big Team Battle. Tempest also provides players with a huge Forge palette, allowing them to create new custom map variants that can be shared with the community-at-large.
Tempest
Anchor 9 – "Orbital dockyards provide rapid refueling and repairs for a variety of UNSC vessels." Within the confines of this low orbit dry-dock, UNSC craft undergo rapid repair and rearmament in support of the enduring war effort. But for the small squads of infantry who now fight over the mirrored interior hallways and open central hangar bay, this platform no longer provides any safe harbor – whether the close quarters combat is occurring inside or out of its artificial gravitational field. Anchor 9 allows 2-8 players to face off in game variants including Free for All, Team Slayer and Team Objective.
Anchor 9
Breakpoint – "ONI officials believe the data buried within this artifact is key to our survival." Atop this icy precipice, the Invasion continues. These modular archaeological labs were never intended to withstand such a large scale onslaught of Covenant military power, but the information being extracted here may prove vital to humanity's survival. In response to the imminent Covenant threat, UNSC ground and air assets have been deployed to bolster entrenched Spartan countermeasures. This dig site must yield salvation, or it will become a grave. Breakpoint offers multiplayer mayhem for 8-16 players, and supports the Invasion and Big Team Battle game variants.
Breakpoint
The pack will cost 800 Microsoft Points ($10).
Here's a detailed list of the maps per Microsoft:
Tempest – "Though we may never fully understand these devices, it is not our nature to leave ancient stones unturned." This abandoned shoreline facility bends both sea and sky to an unnatural purpose, but the ground itself has quickly become another all too familiar battlefield. Though the two opposing symmetrical bases may never reveal their ancient purpose, both now offer makeshift shelter and access to strategic routes perfectly suited for small and large scale skirmishes alike. Tempest supports 8 – 16 players and offers a variety of modes including Free for All, Team Slayer, Team Objective and Big Team Battle. Tempest also provides players with a huge Forge palette, allowing them to create new custom map variants that can be shared with the community-at-large.
Tempest
Anchor 9 – "Orbital dockyards provide rapid refueling and repairs for a variety of UNSC vessels." Within the confines of this low orbit dry-dock, UNSC craft undergo rapid repair and rearmament in support of the enduring war effort. But for the small squads of infantry who now fight over the mirrored interior hallways and open central hangar bay, this platform no longer provides any safe harbor – whether the close quarters combat is occurring inside or out of its artificial gravitational field. Anchor 9 allows 2-8 players to face off in game variants including Free for All, Team Slayer and Team Objective.
Anchor 9
Breakpoint – "ONI officials believe the data buried within this artifact is key to our survival." Atop this icy precipice, the Invasion continues. These modular archaeological labs were never intended to withstand such a large scale onslaught of Covenant military power, but the information being extracted here may prove vital to humanity's survival. In response to the imminent Covenant threat, UNSC ground and air assets have been deployed to bolster entrenched Spartan countermeasures. This dig site must yield salvation, or it will become a grave. Breakpoint offers multiplayer mayhem for 8-16 players, and supports the Invasion and Big Team Battle game variants.
Breakpoint
Monday, October 11, 2010
Halo: Reach Will Be Biggest Game Of 2010, Microsoft Says
"I feel confident that there's nothing that will compare in size," says Aaron Greenberg.
With 2009 nearly finished and a huge year for gaming on the horizon, it should perhaps come as no surprise that Microsoft product management director Aaron Greenberg is staking his claim early. Speaking with Gamasutra, he said Halo Reach will be "the biggest game of 2010."
Greenberg began by wondering aloud whether Gran Turismo 5 has a chance of launching in 2010, "Is it launching next year? I've seen years and years of minigames, but I haven't seen that the game's done. They just released the PSP version -- maybe that's what they've been working on."
He continued, "I feel confident that there's nothing that will compare in size. Halo Reach will be the biggest game of 2010."
Assuming it does arrive in 2010, Halo Reach will indeed be a huge release for Microsoft. However, it faces major competition, including StarCraft II, God of War III, and Final Fantasy XIII. All three are highly-anticipated releases, with Final Fantasy XIII being a multi-platform release.
Halo Reach isn't due for almost a year yet, but it's never too early to start speculating. Do you think Reach will make good on Greenberg's prediction?
With 2009 nearly finished and a huge year for gaming on the horizon, it should perhaps come as no surprise that Microsoft product management director Aaron Greenberg is staking his claim early. Speaking with Gamasutra, he said Halo Reach will be "the biggest game of 2010."
Greenberg began by wondering aloud whether Gran Turismo 5 has a chance of launching in 2010, "Is it launching next year? I've seen years and years of minigames, but I haven't seen that the game's done. They just released the PSP version -- maybe that's what they've been working on."
He continued, "I feel confident that there's nothing that will compare in size. Halo Reach will be the biggest game of 2010."
 |
| The Game Certainly Has The Explive elements to be Game of 2010 |
Assuming it does arrive in 2010, Halo Reach will indeed be a huge release for Microsoft. However, it faces major competition, including StarCraft II, God of War III, and Final Fantasy XIII. All three are highly-anticipated releases, with Final Fantasy XIII being a multi-platform release.
Halo Reach isn't due for almost a year yet, but it's never too early to start speculating. Do you think Reach will make good on Greenberg's prediction?
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Bungie Drops Hint at Post-Halo Game
There was no way around it. Sometime at Joseph Staten's talk this morning at GDC Online, titled "Writing the Whirlwind," somebody would ask a question about Bungie's next project. Bungie's writer and design director knew it was coming, too, and had already warned the audience at the beginning of the session that he wouldn't say word one about the developer's plans for its first post-Halo game.
But Staten just couldn't help himself.
After lamenting that Bungie spent ten years creating a mega-universe that players only experienced for six to eight hours at a time (he's only talking about the single-player campaign here, of course), he dropped this wonderfully cryptic springboard for debate: "Wouldn't it be great if we could make a world that was always there for you?"
So, what does that mean? It sounds like Bungie wants to make sure that after it does the heavy lifting with world building, the player then gets the keys to the proverbial kingdom. Could this be a persistent universe without a set beginning and end, where players control the course of the narrative rather than following a set story with a three act structure? Staten offered nothing else, but it was enough to set the speculation machine in motion.
But Staten just couldn't help himself.
After lamenting that Bungie spent ten years creating a mega-universe that players only experienced for six to eight hours at a time (he's only talking about the single-player campaign here, of course), he dropped this wonderfully cryptic springboard for debate: "Wouldn't it be great if we could make a world that was always there for you?"
So, what does that mean? It sounds like Bungie wants to make sure that after it does the heavy lifting with world building, the player then gets the keys to the proverbial kingdom. Could this be a persistent universe without a set beginning and end, where players control the course of the narrative rather than following a set story with a three act structure? Staten offered nothing else, but it was enough to set the speculation machine in motion.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Halo Reachs' Ranking System
The ever popular theme here at Loot Ninja is us playing the shit out of Halo: Reach and bringing you guys some good info on all the ins, outs, and what-have-you’s. One of my gripes with the new Halo: Reach stat page is that the rankings are not there. Before in Halo 3, it was clearly visible to what the requirements were for each rank as well as Skill. Now that Skill has been dropped and they have adapted the aggregate point total for rankings, after the jump is every point requirement for every rank up to Colonel. We will bring you the higher ranks as they are made available.
Recruit – 0 cR
Private – 7,500 cR
Corporal – 10,000 cR (+2,500 cR)
Corporal Grade 1 – 15,000 cR (+5,000 cR)
Sergeant – 20,000 cR (+5,000 cR)
Sergeant Grade 1 – 26,250 cR (+6,250 cR)
Sergeant Grade 2 – 32,500 cR (+6,250 cR)
Warrant Officer – 45,000 cR (+12,500 cR)
Warrant Officer Grade 1 – 78,000 cR (+33,000 cR)
Warrant Officer Grade 2 – 111,000 cR (+33,000 cR)
Warrant Officer Grade 3 – 144,000 cR (+33000 cR)
Captain – 210,000 cR (+66,000 cR)
Captain Grade 1 – 233,000 cR (+23,000 cR)
Captain Grade 2 – 256,000 cR (+23,000 cR)
Captain Grade 3 – 279,000 cR (+23,000 cR)
Major – 325,000 cR (+46,000 cR)
Major Grade 1 – 350,000 cR (+25,000 cR)
Major Grade 2 – 375,000 cR (+25,000 cR)
Major Grade 3 – 400,000 cR (+25,000 cR)
Lt. Colonel – 450,000 cR (+50,000 cR)
Lt. Colonel Grade 1 – 480,000 cR (+30,000 cR)
Lt. Colonel Grade 2 – 510,000 cR (+30,000 cR)
Lt. Colonel Grade 3 – 540,000 cR (+30,000 cR)
Commander – 600,000 cR (+60,000 cR)
Commander Grade 1 –650,000 cR (+50,000 cR)
Commander Grade 2 – 700,000 cR (+50,000 cR)
Commander Grade 3 – 750,000 (+50,000 cR)
Colonel – 850,000 cR (+100,000 cR)
Colonel Grade 1 – 960,000 cR (+110,000 cR)
Colonel Grade 2 – 1,070,000 cR (+110,000 cR)
Colonel Grade 3 – 1,180,000 cR (+110,000 cR)
Brigadier – 1,400,000 cR (+220,000 cR)
Brigadier Grade 1 – 1,520,000 cR (+120,000 cR)
Brigadier Grade 2 – 1,640,000 cR (+120,000 cR)
Brigadier Grade 3 – 1,760,000 cR (+120,000 cR)
General – 2,000,000 cR (+240,000 cR)
General Grade 1 – 2,200,000 cR (+200,000 cR)
General Grade 2 – 2,350,000 cR (+150,000 cR)
General Grade 3 – 2,500,000 cR (+150,000 cR)
General Grade 4 – 2,650,000 cR (+150,000 cR)
Field Marshall – 3,000,000 cR (+350,000 cR)
Hero – 3,700,000 cR (+700,000 cR)
Legend – 4,600,000 cR (+900,000 cR)
Mythic – 5,650,000 cR (+1,050,000 cR)
Noble – 7,000,000 cR (+1,350,000 cR)
Eclipse – 8,500,000 cR (+1,500,000 cR)
Nova – 11,000,000 cR (+2,500,000 cR)
Forerunner – 13,000,000 cR (+2,000,000 cR)
Reclaimer – 16,500,000 cR (+3,500,000 cR)
Inheritor – 20,000,000 cR (+3,500,000 cR)
Recruit – 0 cR
Private – 7,500 cR
Corporal – 10,000 cR (+2,500 cR)
Corporal Grade 1 – 15,000 cR (+5,000 cR)
Sergeant – 20,000 cR (+5,000 cR)
Sergeant Grade 1 – 26,250 cR (+6,250 cR)
Sergeant Grade 2 – 32,500 cR (+6,250 cR)
Warrant Officer – 45,000 cR (+12,500 cR)
Warrant Officer Grade 1 – 78,000 cR (+33,000 cR)
Warrant Officer Grade 2 – 111,000 cR (+33,000 cR)
Warrant Officer Grade 3 – 144,000 cR (+33000 cR)
Captain – 210,000 cR (+66,000 cR)
Captain Grade 1 – 233,000 cR (+23,000 cR)
Captain Grade 2 – 256,000 cR (+23,000 cR)
Captain Grade 3 – 279,000 cR (+23,000 cR)
Major – 325,000 cR (+46,000 cR)
Major Grade 1 – 350,000 cR (+25,000 cR)
Major Grade 2 – 375,000 cR (+25,000 cR)
Major Grade 3 – 400,000 cR (+25,000 cR)
Lt. Colonel – 450,000 cR (+50,000 cR)
Lt. Colonel Grade 1 – 480,000 cR (+30,000 cR)
Lt. Colonel Grade 2 – 510,000 cR (+30,000 cR)
Lt. Colonel Grade 3 – 540,000 cR (+30,000 cR)
Commander – 600,000 cR (+60,000 cR)
Commander Grade 1 –650,000 cR (+50,000 cR)
Commander Grade 2 – 700,000 cR (+50,000 cR)
Commander Grade 3 – 750,000 (+50,000 cR)
Colonel – 850,000 cR (+100,000 cR)
Colonel Grade 1 – 960,000 cR (+110,000 cR)
Colonel Grade 2 – 1,070,000 cR (+110,000 cR)
Colonel Grade 3 – 1,180,000 cR (+110,000 cR)
Brigadier – 1,400,000 cR (+220,000 cR)
Brigadier Grade 1 – 1,520,000 cR (+120,000 cR)
Brigadier Grade 2 – 1,640,000 cR (+120,000 cR)
Brigadier Grade 3 – 1,760,000 cR (+120,000 cR)
General – 2,000,000 cR (+240,000 cR)
General Grade 1 – 2,200,000 cR (+200,000 cR)
General Grade 2 – 2,350,000 cR (+150,000 cR)
General Grade 3 – 2,500,000 cR (+150,000 cR)
General Grade 4 – 2,650,000 cR (+150,000 cR)
Field Marshall – 3,000,000 cR (+350,000 cR)
Hero – 3,700,000 cR (+700,000 cR)
Legend – 4,600,000 cR (+900,000 cR)
Mythic – 5,650,000 cR (+1,050,000 cR)
Noble – 7,000,000 cR (+1,350,000 cR)
Eclipse – 8,500,000 cR (+1,500,000 cR)
Nova – 11,000,000 cR (+2,500,000 cR)
Forerunner – 13,000,000 cR (+2,000,000 cR)
Reclaimer – 16,500,000 cR (+3,500,000 cR)
Inheritor – 20,000,000 cR (+3,500,000 cR)
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Halo Reach:Second Thoughts
A Quick Tip For Earning Credits.....
After playing Reach for almost 9 days straight now, I think I’m ready to give a full review of it.
There is so much to cover in this review that I might be sitting here for an hour getting everything written. Firstly, the basics.
Halo: Reach is the prequel to Halo 1 (not the sequel to Halo 3, kids) and the best in the series in my opinion. The controls are great and the game runs very smoothly, and I’ve found no bugs or glitches in my time of playing. I expected nothing less than this when I heard of the game for the first time.
This game has the hardest campaign in Halo history, and I’m not just saying that. Grunts, Jackals, and Brutes are pretty similar to their Halo 2 (not 3, I really think they got dumbed down in that one) counterparts, but Elites are freakin’ HARD. Most are like Halo 1 Zealots, without the swords (most of the time). While it is hard, the storytelling is excellent, the best in the series. I think it’s the best campaign in the series for it’s difficulty and story.
Forge was introduced in Halo 3, and while clunky, was revolutionary for it’s time. Reach keeps the same ideas from 3′s forge, and improves on almost everything. Instead of tediously rotating and spinning blocks, Reach introduces rotation snaps, precision editing, and even COORDINATE EDITING. Instead of constantly dealing with the laws of physics, Reach lets you put objects in midair and even lets objects phase through walls. Reach’s forge is AWESOME. Custom games return, but, require a bit more work to execute than 3′s. I don’t want to explain it, but, there is a wonderful thread on bungie.net detailing how to do it. Theater mode remains relativity unchanged.
Most people know to buy Halo for it’s multiplayer, and I can’t agree more. You don’t have to play the already excellent campaign to love this game to death. Matchmaking is greatly improved, instead of individual rankings per playlist, you retain one rank for the whole game, which I like better because you can’t get matched with Captains all the time on Team Slayer. It even lets you choose whether to play with loud, quiet, rude, polite, lone wolves, or team players, but, it doesn’t always work like it should. It also introduces co-op matchmaking, which I really like. Firefight is now a gametype and not a mode, allowing for custom games to play with your friends. Cool.
Returning from Halo 3 is the File Share. File Share sounds like what it is, it lets you share gametypes, forge maps, and films with your friends. However, to keep more than six files in your share, you need to subscribe to Bungie Pro, which (I think) is ten greenbacks a months to share a ton of files at a time.
Reach is a wonderful game, and makes my #3 favorite game of all time. Problems, while there, are very sparse.
After playing Reach for almost 9 days straight now, I think I’m ready to give a full review of it.
There is so much to cover in this review that I might be sitting here for an hour getting everything written. Firstly, the basics.
Halo: Reach is the prequel to Halo 1 (not the sequel to Halo 3, kids) and the best in the series in my opinion. The controls are great and the game runs very smoothly, and I’ve found no bugs or glitches in my time of playing. I expected nothing less than this when I heard of the game for the first time.
This game has the hardest campaign in Halo history, and I’m not just saying that. Grunts, Jackals, and Brutes are pretty similar to their Halo 2 (not 3, I really think they got dumbed down in that one) counterparts, but Elites are freakin’ HARD. Most are like Halo 1 Zealots, without the swords (most of the time). While it is hard, the storytelling is excellent, the best in the series. I think it’s the best campaign in the series for it’s difficulty and story.
Forge was introduced in Halo 3, and while clunky, was revolutionary for it’s time. Reach keeps the same ideas from 3′s forge, and improves on almost everything. Instead of tediously rotating and spinning blocks, Reach introduces rotation snaps, precision editing, and even COORDINATE EDITING. Instead of constantly dealing with the laws of physics, Reach lets you put objects in midair and even lets objects phase through walls. Reach’s forge is AWESOME. Custom games return, but, require a bit more work to execute than 3′s. I don’t want to explain it, but, there is a wonderful thread on bungie.net detailing how to do it. Theater mode remains relativity unchanged.
Most people know to buy Halo for it’s multiplayer, and I can’t agree more. You don’t have to play the already excellent campaign to love this game to death. Matchmaking is greatly improved, instead of individual rankings per playlist, you retain one rank for the whole game, which I like better because you can’t get matched with Captains all the time on Team Slayer. It even lets you choose whether to play with loud, quiet, rude, polite, lone wolves, or team players, but, it doesn’t always work like it should. It also introduces co-op matchmaking, which I really like. Firefight is now a gametype and not a mode, allowing for custom games to play with your friends. Cool.
Returning from Halo 3 is the File Share. File Share sounds like what it is, it lets you share gametypes, forge maps, and films with your friends. However, to keep more than six files in your share, you need to subscribe to Bungie Pro, which (I think) is ten greenbacks a months to share a ton of files at a time.
Reach is a wonderful game, and makes my #3 favorite game of all time. Problems, while there, are very sparse.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
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
34 CommentsEmail1diggdiggShare / Save Share / Save this ArticleClose
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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:
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
34 CommentsEmail1diggdiggShare / Save Share / Save this ArticleClose
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Digg.com Del.icio.us Reddit.com Facebook Slashdot.org Google Bookmarks N4G Stumbleupon.com GamerBlips
Email this ArticleClose
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: Invalid EmailFrom: Invalid EmailComment:
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:
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:
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.
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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Saturday, September 18, 2010
Second Opinions On Halo Reach
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| Remember Reach |
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| Halo Reach ?Has The Best Gametypes Of Any Online Game |
It's the ending that won me over. Oh, I had some great fun with Halo: Reach, which builds to its finish better than any previous Halo game, but it wasn't the conclusion that put this over the top. This is my favorite Halo campaign.
The bonus level that comes after the lengthy credits perfectly closes out Reach and emphasizes the hopelessness of the situation. Coming into this, Bungie's last Halo title, it was already known that Reach was doomed. Being witness to the planet's demise is a bittersweet reward for nearly a decade of loyalty to the franchise. I've got to admit, the minute Reach ended, I popped in the original Halo and started playing it again. I couldn't help myself.
Multiplayer maps
Some of my favorite Halo missions are in Reach. Including a mission, "Long Night of Solace," which introduces space combat into the series. And while battling above Reach is awesome, the best part comes afterwards, when you board a Covenant Corvette and experience some low-G combat. The sound alone makes this level worth playing.
Then, of course, there's the multiplayer, which is the real bread and butter of Halo. Bungie has been tweaking Halo multiplayer over the years and this seems like the best balance to appease the broadest number of fans. Firefight, for me, is where it's at, and the ability to fully customize this mode is going to have me playing Halo: Reach for months.
I'm a Halo fan. I've loved every game. So it's probably not a shock that I love Halo: Reach. I won't apologize for digging another Halo game. Bungie knows how to make a great first-person shooter. It's a fitting finale for Bungie and hopefully the start of something new and exciting as the series continues under 343 Industries' stewardship.
I've always had a love/hate relationship with the Halo franchise. The universe is extensive and the storytelling is fantastic, but the gameplay is also extremely linear and the graphics always seem behind the curve. Still, I've picked up every Halo game on launch day and played the hell out of it in the months to follow. For me, it's about the experience Bungie works so diligently to create, the epic nature of the story, and the hype and fan culture surrounding Halo games. Halo games are an event, and Halo: Reach has been the greatest thus far.
As I write this, I'm sitting at my desk, and at the back of my mind I'm thinking about how I want to get home as quickly as possible to finish the campaign and see how the story ends. I spent hour after hour last night trying to fight my way to the finish, but before I knew it, it was 1 a.m. and I realized my eyes could no longer bear to gaze upon the screen. So, I reluctantly retired despite being right on the cusp of the crescendo of the story.
Halo in Five Minutes
Few games ever have this type of effect. Usually it's because I can't get invested in the story, but I'm rarely up into all hours of the night playing a game feverishly. But for me, Halo: Reach is all about the story. I love how references and characters of the previous games are interwoven, and how well Bungie has created the drama of a planet under attack. In the Halo universe, the fall of Reach is huge, and Bungie has told the story exceptionally well.
Still, I also found plenty of issues with Halo: Reach. The updated engine looks good, but I wouldn't say it is a staggering improvement over Halo 3, nor does it really hold up against other recent titles, like Uncharted 2. The frame rate drops are also an issue, and they took me out of the experience at times. I also appreciate that Bungie wanted to make Reach a bit more challenging than the previous games, but the relentless waves of foes can be a bit of an annoyance.
But at the end of the day, I'm loving Halo: Reach. Bungie is sending themselves out in style, and there is no question that this is their greatest effort yet. I'm sad to see the end of Bungie's Halo, but I'm sure Microsoft will leave the universe in able hands.
While I could probably gush about Halo: Reach for a few pages, I'd like to instead focus on one of its missions, "Long Night of Solace," which is my favorite mission in the Halo series. This is the space dogfight mission that was revealed at E3 2010, but it doesn't start in space. You begin this mission pushing through waves of Covenant forces on a beach with a full complement of Spartans that can essentially clear the way for you if you just sit back -- although I prefer to sprint ahead and jack a Wraith to flank the enemy. All standard Halo fare. But at the end of the beach, a launch pad awaits, and, as you hop into the Sabre and launch into space, the battlefields of Reach fade as you slip silently into the upper atmosphere.
In space you assume control of the agile Sabre fighter. As different Covenant ships jump into view, the gun batteries of Anchor 9 space station begin to blaze and sounds of radio chatter and dull explosions fill the cockpit, you realize you aren't really playing Halo anymore, but the best Battlestar Galactica episode ever. Few games have tackled space combat as well as Bungie in this brief interlude in Reach -- although Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II for Gamecube immediately springs to mind. It's a game-within-a-game, but it's executed so well that a standalone space shooter from Bungie is now higher than an HD Zelda on my fantasy game list.
Eventually you must disable a large Covenant ship by swooping in and taking shots at its massive engines. This concludes the dogfight, but not the mission. You then land on the disabled ship where you are tasked with clearing out the Covenant forces in low gravity. Space jumps and dull, zero atmosphere sound effects make this battle unique -- and difficult. Halo: Reach has a few more surprises in store after this mission, but I feel like this campaign is both the height of the game and of the series since it highlights many of the series best qualities: scale, variety and, of course, combat (evolved).
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