Halo Reach -- Final Opinion.

I've been busy since my last update but I have been making progress even if it doesn't seem that way. I've all but completed Halo Reach. I have a few nights left of playing online multiplayer to grind out the credits to be able to earn the final achievement for the full one-thousand. Halo Reach is Bungie's last official Halo title and I'm sure they feel they've sent the series over to its new caretakers with a bang. And for the most part I'd agree with them. Certain aspects of the title are truly flawed however. But first lets deal with the good stuff. The Halo series has never looked better. The graphics are great looking. The frame rate is solid. And there is more going on in any given scene than ever before. The story of Halo Reach is actually really well done. But there is a problem inherent in most prequels. You know what's going to happen. And if you've played the series and have paid attention you'll have enough of an idea to have any emotional impact severely lessened. I really liked the story while Magus, the guy I co-oped the campaign with, kept cracking jokes and mocked crying. But who really plays Halo for the story? That's right, the bulk of the series is still represented by the online aspects. There again for the most part everything is improved as far as the actual gameplay. The addition of the equipment load outs adds some surprising strategy to the intense action of multiplayer. Having to deal with a guy with a jet pack, shield, or cloaking device, and any combination of really changes things up. The actual gameplay pretty much remains as fun as it ever was. So where are the flaws? You might have noticed I didn't comment on the music before. I'd have to say this is Marty O'Donnell's weakest effort. While the epic cinematic score is as good as ever the addition of some funky rock tracks throughout the action leaves me cold. The other real flaw comes from the online matchmaking. If you want the achievements you'll be forced to earn credits toward one. And it's bad that it's a truly large grind. But it's made infinitely worse by the fact that Bungie won't allow you to play the game you want to play. The game you actually bought the title for. To really earn credits you have to play public matchmaking games. Private games dole out obscenely minimal credits as to make them not an option. We're talking seventy versus eight-hundred towards a goal of four-hundred and fifty thousand. Now playing with the public isn't always bad. But it's compounded by Bungie forcing you to use their matchmaking system which has you playing through a bunch of variants on a general game type. I just want to play slayer, Halo's basic deathmatch. I want slayer. I don't want oddball or swat or infection or any other goofy annoyance. I just want to run around and shoot people for credits with all the available weapons and equipment. Matchmaking has a voting system. So you'll pretty much never get what you want even if it does show up. And you have no other recourse. You're stuck going wherever the mob takes you playing what you have no interest in. Bungie is forcing you jump through their hoops. I find it to be truly annoying and a truly awful flaw. The biggest flaw in the game though is the new spawning system. You spawn on other characters. Which means you could relatively spawn anywhere. Like next to a cliff with a fatal fall or at the far end of the map. But more often than not, it means you'll be spawning under fire. I've never been spawn-killed so much in my life. I've probably been spawn-killed more in Halo Reach than the entirety of Halo 2, Halo 3, and SOCOM 1-2. The spawning system is fully broken. Halo Reach is a tough title to come up with a numerical score for. On one hand the game is still very fun and it has impeccable production values. On the other it provides a great deal of frustration and it has some glaring mistakes as I see them. I'm giving Halo Reach an 8.