Reviews// Halo: Reach

That aside, the enemy AI is worthy of a game of this heft. The same can't always be said of your Noble Team members or of other allied troops or civilians you encounter. One particularly hilarious situation saw the 'hard but fair' Kat and the 'hard but fair' Jorge leaping into a Warthog. Kat took the driver's seat. I went shotgun (not to be confused with rear-mounted cannon, that was Jorge). I waited for Kat to drive the unwieldy vehicle. She was apparently waiting for me to say “Please” or “Come on, love, we'll be late” or some such “Get driving” talk. She remained stoic, the Warthog remained static.

I got out, decided I wanted to drive and off we went – before flipping over about 10 yards later and deciding to walk. This was an anomaly I admit. Not so anomalous, however, were the occasions in which a Noble Team cohort would wander into the line of fire and then complain about it. Things like that happen in wartime, I guess.

I was concerned about the cover system coming into this game as I'd hear different things. This is, after all, an FPS. Well, with Halo: Reach, it's a case of “Find some damned cover, hide behind it for as long as you cowardly well want (or until your shield recovers, which seems to take an age). Do not expect to be handheld, damn it.”

Works a treat for me. I despise complicated cover systems that inevitably leave you where you didn't want to be. Finally, power-ups – including the jetpack. There aren't enough of them and the ones that do exist are never in the right place when you want them. At least that's my contention. I'm patently wrong of course. You will find power-ups (health and ammo too) scattered in a variety of locations where, if you'd had your strategy sorted out and weren't wandering around like a lost kitten, you'd be able to make optimal use.

This review is rapidly turning into a small booklet, so let's look to wrap it up. One absolute stand-out that I hope I experience now that I've decided to play Combat Evolved, Halo 2 and Halo 3 (to be contrary, I've played ODST – I like RTSs) is the respawn.

This is achieved with that beautiful, beautiful gaming addition: hardly any waiting around. You die, you hammer the B button for no good reason other than because it's there, and before you've had the chance to scream, “Hurry the hell up, you Xbox bastard!” you've respawned.

Did I mention that it looks superb? Yes, it does. Sure, every so often I thought I was looking at Mass Effect (without the annoying dialogue) but the changing art styles that could have made a mess all over the screen genuinely create a highly immersive place to play out your fantasies of defending New York from Al Qaeda... sorry, Reach from The Covenant.

Certainly there were times when the planetscape with its Constable clouds looked a little too obviously Athena-Fantasy or prog rock band gatefold sleeve #1 from a series of #20 but the environments in which you play UNSC do nothing other than suck you in and keep you there.

Is Halo: Reach worth getting into the series via? I seriously think it is. Is it a plain good game? Yes, it makes for an incredibly playable FPS that has been built using the kind of experience and diligence that benefits the gamer, and which other developers could take tips from – especially in terms of pacing, yes I'm looking at you Infinity Ward single-player devs!

As it stands, and if you refer to the opening paragraph, if a newcomer to Halo like me enjoys the hell out of it, I'd hope that Bungie has not gone all George Lucas and produced a prequel that is not only awful but that makes those entertainments that chronologically preceded it seems somehow worse... not at all.

Conclusion: Putting aside the mythology and hyperbole of the Halo dynasty, Halo: Reach is undoubtedly an immensely playable first-person shooter. It's tremendously good to look at and, musically, to listen to. The plot, while it benefits from background knowledge, doesn't suffer if you're new to the franchise. It's perfectly reasonable as an FPS plot. Combat is fast, well balanced on earth - as it is in the heavens – challenging and never boring. I personally had a few problems hearing some of the vocals. Occasionally some strange behaviour from both good and evil AI will set you a thinking.

SPOnG Score: 97%