So my initial impressions went up the day after the game was released. How much changed from then until the end of the game? Well, it got a whole lot better, and seeing that I was enjoying it to begin with, that's really saying a lot.
So what's so great about this one over all the other Halo games? Halo: Reach does a really good job of making you feel like you're actually part of Noble Team, the group of Spartans that you fight alongside with. The story actually unfolds very fluidly and I always felt the purpose of doing whatever it was that I was doing. In previous Halo games I had always felt that I was thrown into a level without really being told why, it was just convenient for Master Chief to be wherever he happened to be. Here, when Kat is radioing for help and setting way points for me to take down anti-air turrets so civilians can escape, I feel like I'm accomplishing something.
The ending was fantastic. I felt really put off at first when I saw the game end, but I let the credits roll and was extremely happy to be surprised with how they decided to truly end the game. Well done, Bungie. If you just shut off the game before letting it finish, you really missed out on something great, so make sure keep your controller in hand when the credits are done rolling.
I said in my initial impressions that the multi-player was going to be the meat of the game, and I still think that's true, however, I probably won't be spending much more time with it. It feels too much like Halo 3 to me. Bungie did an excellent job of creating a multi-player interface for its players, but I think all of the polish went there instead of changing up game modes more. The class type abilities add a little bit to the game, but I don't think it adds enough. It's a lot of "been there, done that".
Speaking of the multi-player, the level of customization in matches is amazing. If you can dream it, you can play it. We had a LAN party last weekend and invented a mode where you could fly around on infinite jet packs, have a bottomless clip of rockets, and 300% melee damage. We called it Boomslayer and it was easily the most fun that everybody had the entire time.
Do I have some complaints about the game? Sure I do. It's essentially a very well polished Halo 3, not that there's anything wrong with that, but it didn't really take the game play to a new level. Armor abilities aren't enough to really constitute something new. The AI still doesn't know how to drive or work with you, but that's "ok" since they're completely invincible. I didn't every have to worry about holding a position or keeping them going, there wasn't any risk of the story ending unless I got pegged by a rocket. I'm also disappointed that there was an emphasis on squad based play, but nothing to allow you to work with your squad. No way to take cover, or order cover fire. Bungie missed a real opportunity here by ignoring this.
With all of that said, if you're a fan of the Halo series, there's no reason for you to not pick this up. For anybody who is wondering if they should pick this up without knowing anything about the Halo universe, I'd still recommend it. Bungie did an excellent job with it, and aside from my minor complaints about what they could have done with the game, it doesn't take away from what they did with it.
