infexxionHalo: Reach Multiplayer Review
The latest and last Halo from Bungie.
Reach has finally released, and it had a lot of expectations riding along with it. As Bungie's last Halo game, they wanted to go out with a bang I'm sure. So, does this final installment of the Halo series take us back before the beginning in an epic tale of "what led up to all this?" Or does it fall flat with the consistently high expectation mark? Let's find out.
Visuals: Halo: Reach is a good looking game. Though the graphics don't compare to the likes of Killzone 2, the game is still gorgeous to look at. A variety of landscapes and maps are fun to look at while playing, and there's a lot of improved textures and graphics, and character models that are much improved from 2007's Halo 3. I've had no problems with framerate or screen tearing that wasn't a direct result of lag.
4/5
Gameplay: With this edition of Halo, there are some changes that separate it from being too much like Halo 3, though these differences are mostly minor, like more game modes, a new class system when playing online, an improved firefight mode, etc. So in essence, it's still the same Halo formula we've seen since Halo: Combat Evolved (2001), so if you don't like Halo's gameplay style at all it is highly unlikely Reach is going to remedy that with a totally refined gameplay style because that simply isn't present. However, if you're a fan of the Halo gameplay style, you'll be pleased to know that it is tweaked, better, and extremely fun.
The multiplayer is fun, and whether it's team-based, free for all, slayer, infection, safe haven, oddball, etc it's all fun and the variety of game types is much welcomed, and a lot of fun. Going from a hard-fought victory in Oddball to a race will definitely throw some players off, but it's fun. The game's getting playlist updates as well, to keep things fresh.
Forge is back and better than ever. Making maps is a hell of a good time, but there isn't any forge or custom game-styled matchmaking, so if you make an awesome map or game type, you're still gonna need to invite some friends into your map to show off your work, or alternatively capture said map/gametype and upload it to youtube.
Firefight is pretty much the same as it was in ODST, but a few minor tweaks make the overall experience smoother, plus now Firefight has matchmaking, which is good for when you don't have any friends online, and wanna play firefight with other people, not just solo it.
5/5
Sound: Once again, Halo comes back and with an awesome score to go along with it. The soundtrack is amazing here - major props. The guns have a definite, familiar sci fi 'blast' to them, but sound perfectly fine.
There's multiple voices you can get for firefight mode as well.
4.5/5
BREAKDOWN:
PROS
A solid, fun-as-hell multiplayer with a ton of game types
Matchmaking for Firefight
Improved forge
CONS
No matchmaking for custom games
Little kids still plague the online
OVERALL: 4.5/5 Must Buy
