Halo: Reach

So I went and sat in line on Monday night for Halo: Reach and the turn out wasn't all that bad. We were waiting for about 2-2 1/2 hours, which isn't bad considering some people were there much earlier that evening. Actually getting the game itself took about 5 minutes tops, so we were in and gone in no time flat.

If for nothing else, the statute (above) made it all worth it for me. It wasn't quite as heavy as I expected, but it looks AWESOME no less. 

I'm bringing up this matter of time, because it took us (my girlfriend and I) just about a day and a half to finish off the campaign portion of Halo: Reach. And we weren't even really playing all that much (or so it felt). So when the credits began to roll, I was stunned! Shocked even! Was that it? That was everything? I mean maybe the game had gotten shorter? Or maybe we've gotten that much better (doubtful)? I mean we've played our share of FPS games, but we don't hit it up online and just play on endlessly...

So the epic final stand of Noble Team was over rather quickly... though the time spent was fun while it lasted.

What actually made things a bit more interesting in Bungie's final Halo game was the change ups in the game play. There was a space shooter portion, as well as a platforming section as well. Both of these changes were short, but the change of pace was unexpected and equally welcomed considering nearly every other moment was spent shooting and being destroyed by various acts of explosions/gun-laser fire.

Overall, it felt like Bungie took everything they learned from the Halo Trilogy, as well as ODST and this was the result. It was a fitting end to the legacy that they began. Everything just fit together and I was expecting (at the end of Reach) to start playing as the Master Chief. But alas, the tale ends there...

It is too bad that Bungie didn't get the chance (or maybe it just never came up) to maybe re-release the original Halo (with the usual updated graphics, game play tweeks, etc). I'd love to see what they could do with Halo now that they've got all this other experience under their belts.

At the end of the day though, as I mentioned before, this is a fitting end to what Bungie started. What I didn't mention, though I feel it would be a bit of an injustice to omit, is that there is actually a story to the madness. I felt for Noble Team as one by one, each of the members fell. It was touching and sad, even while knowing exactly what happens to Reach in the end.