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Halo Reach
By Jesse Ship - April 21st, 2010
Get ready to kick some Covenant ASS. While Halo: Reach won’t be hitting terrestrial shores till this Fall, the Multiplayer Beta will be accessible starting May 3rd via XBLA and the Halo: ODST Campaign disc!
The new game is actually a prequel to Halo 1. It takes place on a heavily populated militarized human planet called Reach which was, of course, saturated with the Covenant hoard. As a player, you embody a team of human Spartan soldiers called Noble 6. If you’ve seen the teaser trailer, you’d know that Covenant eventually destroys planets, as indicated in the tagline: “In the beginning, you know how it ends.” What happens in Halo Reach is what ultimately allows Master Chief to escape in Halo 1.
So how do you allow for new technology in a game that predates the original? Aha! The million-dollar question! Jeff Rivait, resident Microsoft Halo guru commented: “There are a variety of new vehicles and weapons added to this one. Some of them may have been destroyed on Reach and left there.” And, to be fair, you are playing as a different class of Spartan which would explain the new arsenal. Some of the new highlights include: the Dedicated Marksman rifle with a focused zoom (somewhere between a sniper and assault rifle); the Covenant Multi-Capacity Grenade launcher. Also added are four armour abilities: the jetpacks only seen used by elite Covenant soldiers, stealth camouflage, shields that kick in before your last drop of power goes, and super speed.
And why a prequel and not sequel? Those that have read the books know that there is a wealth of information in the Halo novels that Bungie wants to expand on; since Halo 1 started in true epic form -in the midst of battle- well, why not go back to explain? You might even call it a literacy partnership program!
Says Jeff, “this is the definitive Halo multiplayer game that players expect, balanced with an awesome story.” Stay tuned for reviews and further updates!
