Opinion// Halo Reach: The Multiplayer

No screaming kids
Another major change that really hit home with me was the fact that you can now get XP while playing private games. No longer is playing with your friends a waste of time and it makes all the difference. The first time I got 16 of my mates together in Reach we had a completely different experience than we have had in any of the recent games in the series. There were no screaming kids for a start. Well, apart from me.

We also found ourselves experimenting. Not in a college girl adult movie sort of way. More of a, “Lets have a game of four teams of two, Crazy King Of The Hill, with the Hill moving every 30 seconds” sort of way. What team you were on didn't really matter and the score even less so. The games were just being played out for fun, as is intended.

Even when playing competitively with strangers, Reach forces you into game types that you may never have tried before. Within the few games I played inside the rumble pit I had tried my hand at Rally Racing, Zombie Mode and Classic Deathmatch. As much as I love an all out killing fest, I have to say that racing across a rocky road on a buggy towards a goal (well, a fight) was just as much fun - and was an instant hit among my gaming crew when I pitched it to them for a possible break from the fragging.

Swat was also a favourite of ours. We had called it 'Noshi' back in the days of the first game, an abbreviation of 'No Shields'. With the health system put in place in Reach a lack of shield wouldn't mean instant-death unless your opponent had their crosshair directly over your forehead. Simple changes to the in game rules like this can completely change your style of play and tactical decisions, adding spice to each match and stopping you from getting bored.

The only criticism I have is that there could have been a few more new maps added to the collection. The majority of play areas from the get go are based around the maps from previous games. The completely new ones are so much fun that you just cry out for more, but I can only assume that they are on their way, only we'll have you pay that little bit extra for them.

Still, this all goes out of the window when you see how extensive Forge can be. Granted, most of the user created maps are currently based on other maps that were in the series previous. However, it does indicate how flexible the editor can be and holds high hope for future development. It'll be well worth keeping your eye on the communities that surround this game - I'm sure it'll through up so great work.

Simply put, Reach offers a completely balanced Multi-Player experience. You wont feel out of your depth, or as though you are constantly being killed unfairly. With the huge array of game modification options at hand, you wont get tired or bored and finally you wont feel as though playing amongst only your friends is a waste of time.

Halo Reach took me back. To the times where I would be sitting in a friend's house in Peckham with my closest friends. The smell of Domino's Pizza going stale and hundreds of open beer cans. It takes me back to a small white network hub in the hallway with multi coloured leads all spilling out of it like a tube map. The swearing, the shouting, the concentration needed to find anyone on Sidewinder. Reach took me back to my personal golden era of gaming, and it's made me fall in love with a series I never thought I would go back to.

Halo Reach Multiplayer is really good.