Support NeoGAF

[NullPointer]

Just completed my solo heroic run. 10 hours, 42 minutes. Ended about 5% shy of achieving Seargent Grade 1, with 21 out of 49 achievements. I'd expect players who aren't used to the Halo style of combat will run into far more trouble and hence have a longer game. Halo vets can burn though this in no time flat though I'm sure. We've seen a lot of these scenarios before.

Not sure where I would rank the campaign overall. I think it nudges into first place easily because of Reach's weapons and gameplay changes mean I'm never looking back at the previous games. They're all completely obsolete now. Reach weapons, armor abilities and Elites? Its everything I ever wanted in a Halo game. The presentation, at long last, is a good fit for a HD console.

One thing I do know is that this iteration seems even more focused on co-op than any of the previous games. The first half is a much tighter experience solo, but the second half has so many damn possibilities for a full co-op team that its going to be a night and day experience to replay. I'd say I ran through most levels with DMR/Pistol or DMR/Assault Rifle. I love just about every weapon in the game now (except the spiker - it can still fuck off)

Framerate did end up taking some dives late game, at unexpected places, but it never actually affected my enjoyment overall. I was still able to pull off quick sniper shots at range, get my frags right on target, etc.

All the game additions work very well, although for the most part changing your armor abilities to anything but sprint is pretty optional. If anything, armor abilities just showcase that sprint should be available, at all times, with the other abilities complimenting it and balancing it out in turn. Every time I didn't have sprint I felt sluggish and slow, like something was missing. And the other abilities, sans jetpack and stealth were too passive and situational. But its nice to know they're there, for taking a different stab at objectives in replays, or to support more teamwork in party co-op.

The story is like most of the Halo games (except ODST), giving you about 80% of the story you need, while always allowing that extra chunk that you wish they'd spent a little more time lingering on or explaining. Really Bungie - learn to linger, and let some of your dramatic moments breathe more. For a prequel it feels like a middle chapter in a lot of ways. The ending though

Spoiler

Going out fighting, like a true Spartan!

was both beautiful and satisfying.

Great job Bungie. What a complete package. This game truly is a love letter to the fans, and I'm sure I'll get plenty of replay out of this one. Money well spent.

 

[Gui_PT]

Seriously, I really can't see a way anyone could get bored with this game. Once you get tired of something you just switch to another till your not so bored anymore. :lol

This really is worth the money, and the Legendary edition is worth every penny IMO. One of the few times I spent that much money and don't have buyers remorse.

The different challenges everyday make you play all the gametypes the game has. It'll really never get boring.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Hmm, just finished a game of Race where there were no gates to drive through...

 

[mhi]

Well my connection kept dropping for a few games and now am banned.

 

[Popeck]

Had a lot of fun games today (well yesterday). Here's a hastly edited clip showing off one of those great matches and highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsv3th8U5Ks&hd=1.

 

[Duane Cunningham]

Wah the playlists require skill. Wah I want to point and shoot with the EasyRifle.

I wasn't bitching, just curious.

 

[watership]

Finished the game. Amazing. But two weird things that have never happened to me hit and I wonder if I'm screwed out of achievements.

I was playing through the 8th level, and I had a power failure. When I restarted the game a few minutes later, it tried to start my campaign way back at mission 4 where I had saved last. Freaked out for a sec, then realized I could just just jump into the mission I was in, at the last checkpoint. All was good.

So I was just near the end of the game, and I was kicked off xbox live in the middle of a fight. No big deal, went on and finished the game. Notice I didn't get any achievements, so I relogged in. No achievements. No "Finished the game on Heroic" or anything. Am i boned?

 

[neoism]

This is quite incoherent. What?! :lol

Question:

Spoiler

So I can't remember from the book. Is it at all possible that the Pillar of Autumn was docked on Reach before it jumped out of there? I can't remember if it was ever down on Reach during the book. Someone wanna refresh me?

:lol :lol :lol
Sorry mang! Basically, I played campaign on Legendary 2 Player Co-op first time through. Which was a mistake I'm wait is probably the 3rd mission as I'm typing this, listening to the music in my headset, which is amazing.. :O. I'm not sure. In Co-op each mission ended and went back to the menu, and I had to manually select the next mission for some reason. I don't remember that happening in H2, and H3, or ODSTs campaigns. I did the same with all of those as well. But now its soo much better, this game is fuckin amazing, that's just the campaign I'm talking about. This is the best campaign. Reach>C.E. And I'm only on the 3rd mission. One thing though, for some reason ( for the most part). Legendary isn't as hard as I was hoping. I will try it with some skulls though. But, Halo2 was impossible:lol :lol :lol I couldn't beat mission one. I will never play a bungie game with some one again though. They are too good to share. the first time.

About the MISSION NAME spoilers

Spoiler

Lone Wolves

I missed it the first time through because when MISSION NAME spoilers

Spoiler

Pillar of Autumn

ended.
I thought it was the end.... disappointing right So I start solo campaign today and I see the last mission name, I go WTF, play it solo, and it's amazing! :O
Will some one that has beat the last mission answer this question.

Spoiler

How big is the Lone Wolves mission is it like a big map. Like playing it on easy and exploring killing Covenant?

EDIT Nevermind I guess I thought I was on mission three, but it was just the 2nd. I" was still the best "first" mission ever but it just when back to the menu... Is their a way to just let the missions string though like just one big movie?

 

[Lunchbox]

took em 6 years but finally they got good urban environment levels like the halo2 earth levels. fighting along with the odsts was awesome.

made me want to fire up some Hoobastank and Breaking Benjamin

 

[Schmitty]

Why is the Rampancy symbol gone?! It was there in the beta!!!

 

[Major Williams]

Great review Nullpointer - I agree with just about everything

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

So are you supposed to be able to drive a tank after the gun is blown off? :lol

Check my file share.

 

[Gor@n]

Does the Stopped Earning process also apply for firefight? Noticed commendations for firefight are limited to matchmaking, if so its a bit of a pain, but Reach looks like it will be the game that will get me onto Xbox Live

 

[Gui_PT]

Had a lot of fun games today (well yesterday). Here's a hastly edited clip showing off one of those great matches and highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsv3th8U5Ks&hd=1.

That was awesome. Loved the ending :lol

Finished the game. Amazing. But two weird things that have never happened to me hit and I wonder if I'm screwed out of achievements.

I was playing through the 8th level, and I had a power failure. When I restarted the game a few minutes later, it tried to start my campaign way back at mission 4 where I had saved last. Freaked out for a sec, then realized I could just just jump into the mission I was in, at the last checkpoint. All was good.

So I was just near the end of the game, and I was kicked off xbox live in the middle of a fight. No big deal, went on and finished the game. Notice I didn't get any achievements, so I relogged in. No achievements. No "Finished the game on Heroic" or anything. Am i boned?

You're going to have to finish the game on Legendary eventually. You'll get the heroic achievement there, so I wouldn't worry.

 

[watership]

You're going to have to finish the game on Legendary eventually. You'll get the heroic achievement there, so I wouldn't worry.

All the way through I was dreading this.. Heroic was much harder than I remember Halo 3 or ODST being.

 

[NameGenerated]

+1 for give Snipers and SWAT their own playlists. Pissing me off real hard.

 

[NullPointer]

Favorite parts (major spoilers):

Spoiler

The steady buildup of tension and enemies. The story moments really worked in the first half of the game and kept you tense and wanting to see what would happen next.

The quick battle to the Saber facility and the gobsmackingly beautiful launch sequence. The fight at the entrance of the cruiser in low G is something I won't forget anytime soon. In fact, I loved everything that happened aboard the ship.

Any time I got to fight elites. Their lithe movements make them so damn satisfying to fight, especially among mixed forces. And what the hell is with Jackals this time around? Those shields actually work damn well for once. Love it

Choice and openness in battle spaces. I know its a Halo staple, but I always appreciate it.

The ending sequence did get to me. The surprise of seeing it after the credits. The ghostly feel to that final hill. Other spartan bodies littering the field. The eventual realization that this fight won't end in your favor. The last cinematic, followed by your helmet, in the dirt. Gave me chills.

Every scene with Dr. Halsey. She's one of the better characters in the series.

Lower Points:

Spoiler

I didn't feel most of the vehicle based levels, but this is usually the case for me. Instead of fluid combat, battles turn into slower, mostly one sided affairs where you just hit the fire button every once in a while to annihilate static defenses. Guess I'm infantry to the end!

Allied AI was more useless than I've ever remembered them. I even got run over by some marines that wanted me to drive. I avoided them the rest of the game for the most part. And Emile? with his shotgun? Absolutely no help in any way. It also seems like nobody in Noble team knows what stealth means. It sure as hell doesn't mean open up on the first enemy you see and alert the rest of the base to your presence. Am I missing something here?

Noble deaths. Too quick and too mechanical to care about. Except Jorge - that one I felt.

No Cortana or Master Chief appearances. I mean, you do see Cortana, but there is no interaction there. Of all the nods to previous games, just one moment for each would have completely sealed the deal here.

 

[Lazslo]

So me and Dani and trying to put together a mini Gaf Custom night in about a half hour- join our game if your interested in playing with us.

 

[Brolic Gaoler]

The different challenges everyday make you play all the gametypes the game has. It'll really never get boring.

Indeed.

Oh and holy crap Sniper attack in score attack is a point give away. I just went 24k (if I remember right) easy.


Edit, and with that I'm level 50 waypoint, Woo!

 

[watership]

Man, i still can't believe I can finish the game and NOT get the achievement. Busted.

Edit:

Spoiler

Ahh! I see that my progress says I haven't completely pillar of autumn. That's where I had my power outage. I need more days off to play, one wasn't enough.

 

[NameGenerated]

Anyone else get T-Hug It Out challenge with less than 7 melees? I got mine when I only had 5, it just gave me extra for some reason. And does it only tally them up on your profile at the end of the time limit? It still says I've only completed 4, not 8.

 

[Gui_PT]

So me and Dani and trying to put together a mini Gaf Custom night in about a half hour- join our game if your interested in playing with us.

I'll play one or two matches, if possible

 

[Lkr]

I was playing some matchmaking with friends, game is a TON of fun. I don't know how else to put it. The campaign got a lot better after the beginning of the first level. I'm hooked now

 

[JohnOfMars]

I've earned ~7,000 credits by playing through the first eight missions on Heroic.

That'll do it.

You can only rack up points not in matchmaking til you get to Silver Commendation levels. After that you have to choose matchmaking. That sucks. Matchmaking means you no longer get to play solo or choose te level, skulls or difficulty. Matchmaking is great if I want buddies, but I often don't.

Ive already hit silver for headshots, so now I'm forced into campaign or I can only earn 50cR for an hour of play. Reach's campaign is brilliant and I want to spend time in it, I just won't be getting decent credits for it.

 

[george_us]

Just finished it the campaign and I have mixed feelings on it overall.

Positive things:
-Vehicle combat is excellent
-Needle Rifle owns face
-Graphics are pretty good for how huge the game is
-All of the new Covenant weapons are pretty awesome
-Elites are pretty damn awesome
-So are the Skirmishers
-Redesigned Covenant look badass for the most part. Grunts even look pretty ferocious
-I like being able to create my own Spartan
-Some really nice music

Negative things:
-Story isn't very good and tried to cover way too much ground in such a short amount of time
-The characters were boring and had little personality
-Brutes were redundant
-Combat dragged on way too long at times, especially at the end
-On foot combat overall wasn't as compelling this time around although I suspect it may have to do with me being burned out on the Halo formula.
-Framerate was all over the place at times
-Motion blur was flat out terrible
-Soundtrack was really hit or miss with me
-New human weapons weren't all that fun to use

If I had to rank them I'd say ODST > Halo 3 > Halo 1 > Halo: Reach > Halo 2

 

[pringles]

Ahh! I see that my progress says I haven't completely

Spoiler

pillar of autumn.

That's where I had my power outage. I need more days off to play, one wasn't enough.

I'm going to kill you.

 

[_Bro]

So what's the word on co-op fps issues? I haven't been following too closely.

 

[samoset]

Man, i still can't believe I can finish the game and NOT get the achievement. Busted.

Edit:

Ahh! I see that my progress says I haven't completely spoiler. That's where I had my power outage. I need more days off to play, one wasn't enough.

Come on man spoiler that shit.

 

[Zomba13]

The ending though

Spoiler

Going out fighting, like a true Spartan!

was both beautiful and satisfying.

The ending was my favourite out of all the Halo games. So fitting and so cool, really well done too.

 

[Doodis]

I have been in a car all day, and there's no time to catch up on the posts, so sorry if this has been talked about already. I imagine it hasn't because everyone is playing the game.

While on the road, I read half of Halsey's journal and found this interesting tidbit:

Spoiler

It insinuates that Miranda Keyes is Halsey's daughter.

Dun dun dunnnn!

 

[electricpirate]

Whoever invented rocket fight is a God. Sooooooooo much fun

 

[Chorazin]

I have been in a car all day, and there's no time to catch up on the posts, so sorry if this has been talked about already. I imagine it hasn't because everyone is playing the game.

While on the road, I read half of Halsey's journal and found this interesting tidbit:

Spoiler

It insinuates that Miranda Keyes is Halsey's daughter.

Dun dun dunnnn!

Spoiler

Heh, the second half outright says it as fact.

 

[Doodis]

Spoiler

Heh, the second half outright says it as fact.

Well, so much for my brilliant intuitiveness.

 

[UltimaPooh]

I started work on a 2 Fort from Team Fortress 2 in Forge. I just laid the ground work, but I need to go get another copy of Orange box to get a better understanding of how the map works. Anyway I'll let you guys know when it's done.

Game is awesome so far!

 

[Kimosabae]

"PROCEEED TO THE COORDINATES"

lmao.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Spoiler

Heh, the second half outright says it as fact.

How so?

EDIT:
Spire is such an awesome big team map, I love jetpacking ad trying to board air vehicles or just jumping off the top to ambush someone. :lol

 

[Gui_PT]

Thanks for sending an invite guys! :lol

 

[Sai-kun]

Wow @ the spoiler. Edit that shit :lol

 

[Absinthe]

+1 for give Snipers and SWAT their own playlists. Pissing me off real hard.

I could support that.. Would be nice to only play those game types when I want to..

 

[Poimandres]

So, played the first campaign mission and half a dozen multiplayer matches last night. I really like the feel of the game- it reminds me of the original more than either sequel. I'm playing on Heroic, and it's quite challenging already. Nice graphics (terrible cutscene motion blur aside) especially the detail in character models and those lovely textures. Very impressed by the audio as well- good effects, no cheesy English from the aliens, and great music. Good stuff all round.

Multiplayer is also great. But I played the beta, so I expected as much.

Impressive. This feels like the only Halo game I need.

 

[Mr Jared]

Ever have one of those kills that you just gotta share? :lol My first match ever on Boardwalk and I totally ruined this guy's day-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY58MrOVkUg

I love this gaaaaaaaame

 

[dslgunstar]

It is a little ironic, that after turning a corner into an enemy with no shields and pouring 4 or 5 bullets into them (center mass), I can then use Bungie's own theater mode to verify the garbage and see that yes, his shields had been annihilated by a grenade just prior and YES every single shot made contact.

Hilarious actually.

 

[Stripper13]

As far as Snipers and SWAT go, I'm kind of torn on them. I love playing them occasionally, but depending on your lobby and the frequency that they show up as a voting option, I find I'm getting it a little too often.

That being said, I absolutely rape on Snipers on Blood Gulch/Hem, the game feels as strategic and as tense as any game I've played this gen on that gametype. SWAT I'm ok at, I find the headshots to be far more consistent than the beta, but I don't know if the auto-aim has been turned down or if my sensitivity settings (8) are a touch out of whack because I have trouble nailing a headshot.

Also, I'd like to thank all the wankers just playing Slayer with a Jetpack loadout and just flying over top of people and spraying the AR and grenades so you can go 1:1 for kills. Myself, I don't really mind it - I find the loadouts are a good indication of who is a good/bad player - and while the Jetpack really can be put to excellent use by a good player... most of the time people are just using it to fly as high as they can (making themselves easy targets for the Magnum/DMR/Sniper/Nerfle) before blowing their entire load over one enemy before dying.

The reason I complain about this is because about 3-4 of my regular XBL companions who are CoD addicts/rabid-fans bought Reach (I much prefer Halo gameplay and convinced them to get it because I was so over MW2), are now hating the Matchmaking element of the game because "All it involves is people charging you spraying the pistol/AR and then melee'ing each other to death" or "Jetpack is OP, it's no fun dying from above over and over". Granted they're not good players and are relatively new to Halo in general, it's kind of depressing to see players with a one-track mind and no skill giving a bad impression of the Halo gameplay style to newcomers. It doesn't help that I can rarely get them to use Sprint as an AA (I guess they're in the novelty stage of trying them all out) and therefore they have difficulty running away from an AR charger or Jetpacking one-pump-wonder.

Now that I've vented... awesome, awesome game. The first day I had it, after I finished the campaign, I sat in Forgeworld creating random shit for close to 4 hours on XBL with a couple of friends. I had the worst headache ever, but damn it was some funny shit.

 

[Stripper13]

It is a little ironic, that after turning a corner into an enemy with no shields and pouring 4 or 5 bullets into them (center mass), I can then use Bungie's own theater mode to verify the garbage and see that every single shot made contact.

Hilarious actually.

With what weapon? I can only be sure that the DMR and pistol are a 4 shot kill after shields are down, all of the other semi-auto/auto weapons are not necessarily the same.

 

[dslgunstar]

With what weapon? I can only be sure that the DMR and pistol are a 4 shot kill after shields are down, all of the other semi-auto/auto weapons are not necessarily the same.

DMR.

I don't know if it's my connection or what, but there have been many instances where I've poured bullets into people, far more than necessary for a kill, and not received the kill. I figured I was missing some shots, or they were just glanced by a grenade instead of taking the full brunt. So when I went into theater to find out, I see the 'ping' of each shot hit their armor, and see that my grenade was within feet of them.

Then I look to see how they killed me so fast, figuring they were teaming up with somebody out of site to tear through my shields.

Turns out their weapons just actually do the damage they're supposed to do. I wonder what that's like? What a wonderful gaming experience they must be having.

 

[Sai-kun]

It is a little ironic, that after turning a corner into an enemy with no shields and pouring 4 or 5 bullets into them (center mass), I can then use Bungie's own theater mode to verify the garbage and see that yes, his shields had been annihilated by a grenade just prior and YES every single shot made contact.

Hilarious actually.

Was it with a DMR or pistol those take 7-8 shots to the body to kill.

 

[dslgunstar]

Was it with a DMR or pistol those take 7-8 shots to the body to kill.

Not when the shields have already been stripped.

The game is addictive enough that I'll keep playing through the frustration. Plus, for every 5 games where I feel like my weapons are shooting air, I'll have a game where it feels like every bullet is magnetically attracted to their head.

It's just ****ing annoying to go into every fire-fight without any feeling of control over the outcome. Its actually the OPPOSITE of what made me love the Halo combat model in the first place.

 

[Hiro_Kunimi_80]

Just finished it the campaign and I have mixed feelings on it overall.

If I had to rank them I'd say ODST > Halo 3 > Halo 1 > Halo: Reach > Halo 2

Finished SP @ Heroic.. i think that Reach is a much better and complete game than any other halo made before, the masterpiece of Bungie. But, if i had to rank them, Halo 1 would be at first, just because it was the first, changed an entire generation of console .

Halo 1 > REACH > ODST > Halo 3 >>>> Halo2 (the arbiter was really a bad choice )

 

[Kapura]

dear bungie: swat only. pro only. love kappy.

 

[jediyoshi]

-The characters were boring and had little personality

Ho ho ho, it scares me to think what you feel about Chiefy himself.