Halo: Reach – what’s hot, what’s not and what’s in between

What we like and what we don’t like about Bungie’s recent info blowout.

By Edwin Evans-Thirlwell, January 22, 2010 (7) comments


Commandeering civilian vehicles


New things to drive in a Halo game is always good news, but we particularly like the idea of hijacking civilian autos. These rides won’t have been built with combat in mind, we’re surmising, which means players will have to be extra-creative in their use. The only confirmed civ vehicle thus far is a sort of far-future pick-up truck, but our imaginations are afroth with images of mobile cranes, mining drills, bulldozers and, of course, m0t0rbik3s. W00t.


Shotgun time.

Shotgun time.

Skirmishers


Among the lesser known Covenant troops to tread the desolate hillsides of Reach are the skirmishers, who might be summed up as Jackals on steroids with assault weaponry and a taste for pack-hunting. There’s only one screenshot of these bastards at present, and it gives us the willies. We’re looking forward to hoiking a sticky grenade at that action.


What’s not…

The Needler rifle


The Needler is one of Halo’s more infamous weapons, its homing shards of exploding crystal bagging many a cheap kill across the comparatively open spaces of Zanzibar and Blood Gulch. So we’re more than a little discomforted to hear that a full-blown Needler rifle, with all its predecessor’s advantages plus additional range, is on the way.


Sure, that's one down. But what about the five you can't see?

Sure, that's one down. But what about the five you can't see?

Pull-out stealth kills


Definitely the most questionable new element, by our lights. Where in prior Halos elbow-swiping an unalerted enemy produced much the same results as elbow-swiping an alerted one, Reach welcomes aboard context-sensitively activated, third-person stealth kills – backdoor usage, strictly for the purposes of. Some journos have already praised this system, which boggles our minds, to be frank: the last thing we need whilst covertly strangling one member of a Covenant platoon is the camera turning arse-on to his comrades. And just think of the consequences for multiplayer. We all remember Tenchu, right?


It’s not like Bungie’s existing experiments with context sensitivity – hammering a button to cave in the hood of a Wraith – are all that compelling. Keep it optional, please…


And what’s in between…

Non-self-replenishing health bars


A real polariser, this. On the one hand, we’re heartily sick of recharging health and the associated backwards-and-forwards rhythm of the latest shooters. On the other, we’re not sure we want to see a return to the days of hoarding a few slivers of vitality for twenty minutes at a time, edging round AI trigger zones to pinch medical kits before risking a confrontation.


Hope there's an icecream van.

Hope there's an icecream van.

Covenant speaking their own language


One of the great joys of Halos 1-3 was enemy chatter, be it a Grunt screaming out your location or a Brute warning his fellows that you’re packing a Grav Hammer. On Reach, for no good reason that we’re aware of (there’s your cue, Halo lore fetishists), the Covenant have all reverted to their native tongues. What gives, man? Am I going to have to learn “Gruntese”?


It’ll do wonders for the suspension-of-disbelief factor, sure, but well – I like hearing a Hunter bellow “you killed my pack brother”. It gives me closure. Unlike the Halo storyline, then.


What’s on your hit and miss list, readers?


Posted in Best FPS Games, Features, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Spotlight, and tagged with , , , , , .

7 Responses to “Halo: Reach – what’s hot, what’s not and what’s in between”

  1. David Bates says:
    January 22, 2010 at 6:13 pm

    Well i have to say, this has been interesting, i too am going to miss the chatter we hear from the grunts when we kick their asses or the bellows of the brutes when we’ve been spotted. However everything else seems interesting so i will definately have to give this a go

    Reply
  2. Mikey says:
    January 22, 2010 at 7:19 pm

    I believe they spoke their own language in Halo 1.

    Reply
  3. Edwin says:
    January 27, 2010 at 11:03 am

    They said a lot more than that :p

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TByzq6O51-M

    Reply

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