This review contains spoilers
When I played this I felt it was really the Halo for me. I've been trying to run through this series since I missed out almost entirely on it when I was younger, and while the third entry was actually really good, I didn't quite fall in love with it (and the first two games were just mixed bags). This one was an experience that felt very much like what a me-core kind of fps can be: steady but not too slow, tactical and with detailed maps that have plenty of little secret rewards hidden throughout. The general Halo vibe of the weaponry and factions was fun, too, and I was definitely a fan of the mixed urban, sci-fi, and natural environments used here. The previous games had a good mix of the second and third ones, but I do often find myself wondering what exactly random civilizations look like in sci-fi settings. Well, this game answered that question for me.
The story's nothing to write home about, but I do think it gets the job done. The characters are generally just action movie stereotypes, but I don't mind too much. I find it refreshing after the fairly barebones cast we had in 1-3 (barring the Arbiter ♡). Having some clear personalities and such to get attached to definitely helps the more lonely vibe the Rookie segments were going for.
The Rookie segments themselves were a super mixed bag. The first one was fine as an introduction, but the second and third were pretty boring to me since the game had you walk waaaay too far through fairly monotonous streets. But it was the last three of those segments, though, that I found pretty fun. You had a lot less walking to do and a lot more fighting or sneaking at that point. On higher difficulties the game expects you to have explored at least a little bit of your surroundings to be able to either avoid some combat or get an upper hand despite being vastly outnumbered. There's a nice sort of atmosphere employed in these segments, and the music's reaaaal nice.
Anyway, this brings me to the big difference in design between this and its predecessors. While the running and gunning and wanton destruction of 1-3 was fun (especially in co-op!), I did find myself craving more of a chance to be using my brain all throughout gameplay. Here, especially in the earlier levels (not so much the last 2), you're rewarded almost constantly for taking the time to check your surroundings and find ways to think about your tactics going into each fight: weapons you have, weapons you leave in particular places, even good vantage points to make your shots. Despite still being a newbie to this franchise I managed to beat about half of the missions on heroic on my first try without dying (and all but one of them without healing)... and that was entirely because I played smart rather than fast. I also really enjoyed the way the HUD looked and functioned. The Halo HUD in general is pretty cool to me, so giving it extra functions and abilities that aren't meant to be on all the time was really awesome. I expected it to be a cheap gimmick, but I did legitimately find myself switching it on and off during gameplay for clarity. Surprisingly well done!
I've heard from other people that at a fair amount of folks really disliked this entry, and I do think I get it. For one thing, I heard about how shittily it was priced. I only paid a few bucks for this and the slow pace made it last longer for me, but I couldn't see this being full price at launch. That's highway robbery. The second part to things is likely that this really isn't all that much like what people had likely come to love in 1-3. I don't mind it because I don't have that deep of an attachment to those things (and the gameplay style in ODST happens to complement the way I enjoy playing games), but if someone else does and thus finds this game too off-putting, I think that makes total sense. I mean, if there is one thing I missed when playing this, it was that some sort of Sangheili Arbiter-like character wasn't anywhere to be found. Twas a shame, but I wasn't really expecting one.
One sort-of disappointing part of this game was probably the last couple levels. The penultimate one was fine but a bit monotonous for my tastes. The final driving level, while better to play than 1-3's vehicle escapes in my opinion, felt tacked-on just to make it feel more "Halo". I honestly wouldn't have minded if that were omitted, but meh, what can you do. The final fight was pretty cool for sure, but unfortunately the enemies didn't seem to use about a whole quarter of the area. It could be that they swarm it more if the player doesn't pick them off early, but in my experience the high ground was pretty much entirely safe. A bit of a shame that the game fizzled in some places right near the end, but I don't think those issues overshadowed my enjoyment.
Overall, I rate this so highly in large part because it felt like it fit like a glove for me. I can find enjoyment in most kinds of FPSes, but I was surprised that a Halo game would feel so natural to play like this one did. Hopefully Reach winds up being this much fun too! I don't expect it to retain the design this one did, but I don't mind. I'm glad I took this game slow, because it really gave me the chance to savor a truly enjoyable time.
The story's nothing to write home about, but I do think it gets the job done. The characters are generally just action movie stereotypes, but I don't mind too much. I find it refreshing after the fairly barebones cast we had in 1-3 (barring the Arbiter ♡). Having some clear personalities and such to get attached to definitely helps the more lonely vibe the Rookie segments were going for.
The Rookie segments themselves were a super mixed bag. The first one was fine as an introduction, but the second and third were pretty boring to me since the game had you walk waaaay too far through fairly monotonous streets. But it was the last three of those segments, though, that I found pretty fun. You had a lot less walking to do and a lot more fighting or sneaking at that point. On higher difficulties the game expects you to have explored at least a little bit of your surroundings to be able to either avoid some combat or get an upper hand despite being vastly outnumbered. There's a nice sort of atmosphere employed in these segments, and the music's reaaaal nice.
Anyway, this brings me to the big difference in design between this and its predecessors. While the running and gunning and wanton destruction of 1-3 was fun (especially in co-op!), I did find myself craving more of a chance to be using my brain all throughout gameplay. Here, especially in the earlier levels (not so much the last 2), you're rewarded almost constantly for taking the time to check your surroundings and find ways to think about your tactics going into each fight: weapons you have, weapons you leave in particular places, even good vantage points to make your shots. Despite still being a newbie to this franchise I managed to beat about half of the missions on heroic on my first try without dying (and all but one of them without healing)... and that was entirely because I played smart rather than fast. I also really enjoyed the way the HUD looked and functioned. The Halo HUD in general is pretty cool to me, so giving it extra functions and abilities that aren't meant to be on all the time was really awesome. I expected it to be a cheap gimmick, but I did legitimately find myself switching it on and off during gameplay for clarity. Surprisingly well done!
I've heard from other people that at a fair amount of folks really disliked this entry, and I do think I get it. For one thing, I heard about how shittily it was priced. I only paid a few bucks for this and the slow pace made it last longer for me, but I couldn't see this being full price at launch. That's highway robbery. The second part to things is likely that this really isn't all that much like what people had likely come to love in 1-3. I don't mind it because I don't have that deep of an attachment to those things (and the gameplay style in ODST happens to complement the way I enjoy playing games), but if someone else does and thus finds this game too off-putting, I think that makes total sense. I mean, if there is one thing I missed when playing this, it was that some sort of Sangheili Arbiter-like character wasn't anywhere to be found. Twas a shame, but I wasn't really expecting one.
One sort-of disappointing part of this game was probably the last couple levels. The penultimate one was fine but a bit monotonous for my tastes. The final driving level, while better to play than 1-3's vehicle escapes in my opinion, felt tacked-on just to make it feel more "Halo". I honestly wouldn't have minded if that were omitted, but meh, what can you do. The final fight was pretty cool for sure, but unfortunately the enemies didn't seem to use about a whole quarter of the area. It could be that they swarm it more if the player doesn't pick them off early, but in my experience the high ground was pretty much entirely safe. A bit of a shame that the game fizzled in some places right near the end, but I don't think those issues overshadowed my enjoyment.
Overall, I rate this so highly in large part because it felt like it fit like a glove for me. I can find enjoyment in most kinds of FPSes, but I was surprised that a Halo game would feel so natural to play like this one did. Hopefully Reach winds up being this much fun too! I don't expect it to retain the design this one did, but I don't mind. I'm glad I took this game slow, because it really gave me the chance to savor a truly enjoyable time.