I've fancied myself a Halo fan since I first played combat evolved in 2001. I fell in love with the series after that. Love 1, didn't mind 2 and loved 3 all over again. ODST was fair. Which brings me to Reach. If you loved halo 3 I'm not sure how you can hate Reach, Its everything Halo 3 was and more. I personally never liked the equipments on 3, The heat of battle was so often(at least online) that I often forgot I had something until I'm dead. I thought of them as a nuisance. I was also never a fan of the shield, I loved having some health for saving grace just in case.
campaign: I loved the campaign in Halo 3 I thought it was huge and diverse and every level was something great to behold. The story was top notch, as it was the conclusion to the main series and it went out with a bang. But, honestly I missed fighting the Elities and the flood are just terrible to deal with. Thankfully no flood in Reach and the elites are back with a vengeance. You might be off put playing the reach campaign because your no longer in the boots of master chief. Instead you play as Noble 6, the newest recruit to Noble team. Reach tells not only the story of the Planets destruction but it also tells the story of the Spartans, each in there own way. Its the story of survival when your back is against the wall, its a story of desperate struggle in times of great sorrow and disaster. It tells the story that not even Spartans are invincible. It shows a different side of them in ways were never told of the Master Chief. Your in for a wicked ride.
In terms of Level design, Its all very well done. Every level is fun in its own way and there is very little backtracking. Night fall is reminiscent of truth and reconsiliation in Halo 1. Not to mention Space battle anyone? There are all fun and there is rarely a dud moment. The ending may not be as epic as Halo 3 but it serves its purpose. Its whats after the credits that really makes it come together and sets a desperate mood. In terms of A.I. The covenant are at there best. Beware of Elites on a higher difficulty they will literally take your ass to the ground. Skermishers are quick little assholes so watch out and hunters are beastly. Use caution when approaching them, especially on heroic or legendary. they will kick your ass. Everything you loved from Halo 3 will be making its way to reach in some form or another.
Weapons. ahh weapons. DMR is a variation to the battle rifle. Instead of 3 shot bursts is down to one shot accuracy. If ideal for head shots. The grenade launcher has two functions. Ether right trigger to fire a grenade, or do the same but hold the left trigger down to prolong the grenade. releasing the trigger will then cause the grenade to explode. Great for setting traps. on the covenant side, there is the neddler rifle. Kinda like the DMR just it fires neddler shards. I think its 3 once the shield is down and it was cause a super combo like the regular neddler, just this way you save on shards and you don't need to get so close. If you like plasma grenade then you might finf yourself loving the plasma launcher. It can fire up to 4 homing sticky grenade at one time. Great for taking out vehicles. The focus rifle is neat to. Fires a straight constant beam of energy. Great for taking down shields. There are a few other surprises but that will be for you to figure out. On a side note. There is no duel weilding in Reach. But it really doesn't effect game play to much, just let it be known.
Online is quite fun. People complain the maps arint as good as in Halo 3 so it might take so getting use to. But once you jump in you'll find its a hell a good time. Assassinations making it super fun to sneak up on people again. Armor abilities had even yet another layer of depth to the game play. Sprint makes it easier to get around. Armor lock makes it super easy to survive mass damage and even deflect rockets if timed right. Active camo is always a blast and hologram comes in handy when you want to lure somebody in for a distraction. There are a few others as well. Overall online is fun but there are some levels I find a bit of an annoyance but its very well balance and all the many game types such as invasion(6 on 6 spartan vs elties) Big team 8 on 8 battles. Firefight matching making. match making on campaign, swat or team snipers. Plus so much more makes the diversity vast and fresh.
Then there are the other little things. Forge is back and better than ever. Firefight is super addictive. daily and weekly challenge to help you customize your own spartan. Theres a lot of content in this game to keep you busy for years to come. I would say its definitely worth the 60 dollar investment. Bungie put everything into this game and I would say its worth ever penny.
