Halo:Reach – Noob Review (Part 3)

Conclusions

I’m a bit saddened by typing this, but I must say that this game just doesn’t really do anything for me. Were it any other game, I might be less critical, but this is Halo we are discussing. It is the flagship title of the XBOX 360 game system. Halo is the Mario of Microsoft. Would I recommend this game to someone? Well at this point, anyone who plays video games, even on an intermediate interest level already has this. So would I recommend it to a new player?

In the end I would say yes, but reluctantly. After-all, Halo is the invitation to the masked ball. Anyone who wants to play online with others will have this game. There is a 90% chance that someone you know has this title, and will be able to meet up with you online. It’s the main reason I got the game. It’s the social event of the season. I am just not convinced it was worth the hype.

I finally finished the campaign yesterday, and I realized at the end why I didn’t care for ODST, or Halo:Reach. I want to win. I want to stand victorious over my enemies. I want the hours I spent to mean something, and to give me great joy. The last 3 incarnations of Halo have all ended in tragedy. Even the gangbuster Halo 3 was a downer ending, but it was fitting. Reach, well we knew we were doomed, and we played anyway. A high compliment to Bungie: No matter how it ends, we are willing to play it.

And at the end what do we have? We have a campaign that was depressing, and ends on a downer. We have online play that will sustain a good player for a long while, and we have title with an enormous fan base that can be socially fulfilling. I can’t say I had much fun so far, but there have been some bright moments. Perhaps I have lived the Space Marine fantasy enough with Halo 1-3, but being a cowboy in Red Dead Redemption was more fun, and being a race car driver on Burnout was always fun. I like first person shooters, and I actually like online slayer mode from time to time, but this somehow hasn’t been fun to me yet.

Maybe the new armor types will bring some more fun to the playing field, but I haven’t really experienced anything new compared to Halo:3 other than frustration. I’m hoping that a growing level of expertise will help my malaise, and perhaps Bungie will update some of these maps, but for the time being I will have to keep logging on and hoping that the fun is around the corner.