Halo: Reach drops you into the fight
I stand on the roof of a concrete structure, surrounded by glossy purple dropships. A message comes across my headset, “Reinforcements are on their way!”
In minutes, wave after wave of whiny grunts, long-haired jackals, and muscular elites jump out of the dropships. I hit Right Button on my controller, igniting my jetpack. This is going to be a good time.
At E3, Efren and I had the chance to check out Halo:Reach’s Firefight mode. First introduced in Halo:ODST, Firefight throws players into a maelstrom of madness as players must defend and hold a position against a Covenant attack. We played in two different environments: a night-time beach-side fortress and what appeared to be the outskirts of a city during daylight.
Just like in the multiplayer beta some of you played a month ago, Reach still doesn’t have dual-wielding (Efren wasn’t happy about that). In previous iterations, players raced to power-ups like a cloak or an overshield; now, players select a load-out ala Call of Duty:Modern Warfare 2. Still, it is undeniably Halo. The best part: Bungie said Firefight will have matchmaking.
Bottom line: The game’s visuals are beautiful, a step above Halo 3. The gameplay was smooth. No jitters or jaggies that I could see during my 20 minutes. The tactical variation introduced by the load-outs are a welcome addition for this gamer, though I will miss the mad dash for power-ups. Halo fans, you’re going to have a blast.
