Preview: 'Halo Reach'

An early look at what could very well be Bungies’ best work.

With the monstrous hype machine well and truly in motion behind leviathan Halo Reach, you could easily be forgiven for taking all comments and coverage on Bungies' latest venture with a hefty pinch of salt. If this happens to be the case, however, you may want to reconsider your opinion as this last hurrah could well end up being their very best work to date. If you have any experience of the franchise then you’ll know that this is high praise indeed.

But let’s get things in perspective. If the critically acclaimed and obscenely popular Halo 3 was blissful gaming gold then this... well, this would undoubtedly be mouth-watering diamond, bettering it’s predecessor in almost every way imaginable. After a brief but breath-taking showcase of the title today when it arrived in stores, I’d also have very little doubt that it could well end up being the shooter of the year, if not a contender for overall best title atop that, so if you’re not even a little excited yet then you should be. Very, in fact.

Stunning

Playing through the first level of the thus-far stunning campaign, three things became immediately clear: number one? Production values far higher than almost any title you'll have seen before, along with a sheer sense of scale more enthralling and ambitious than anything Bungie have ever attempted before. Forget the blazing, white-knuckle attack on Earth in the Master Chief’s last adventure along with the bloody assault on New Mombassa in ODST; Reach crashes the party in spectacular style with a level of sheen usually reserved for cinema. Right from the off this frequently awe-inspiring title hits you with an absolutely epic, chilling and rousing score more at home on the silver screen (complete with sweeping vistas that are, at times, absolutely breath-taking), incredibly high-quality cinematics that can be utterly gripping and a tone that is far more tense and gritty than we'd be used to, genuinely drawing you closer into the fight both emotionally and visually. Bungie are more than happy to screw with their players expectations this time around, too, and unexpected surprises, subtle but creepy backing tracks and a palpable sense of dread are all on hand to raise that pulse rate up a notch before the bullets finally fly. Which - when they inevitably do - turns out to be even more exciting than usual due to larger, more intricate maps, brand-new vehicles to play with (star-fighters? Are you kidding?), tweaked weapons, new executions and meatier sound effects - along with improved animations - for some of your weapons to make them react like more than brightly coloured Mattel water-pistols, as often occured in the previous instalments. Make no mistake, Reach will truly have you understanding what it means to be the ultimate super soldier (and boy but does it feel good).

Depth

Fortunately, this brings onto my next point; to sweeten the deal and keep its hardcore fans happy, Reach will also support an increasingly character driven story (as one of the Spartans claims, “that lone wolf-stuff? It stays in the past.”) that, so far at least, appears to be a great deal more than the simple fluff you'd largely expect. After all - if you know your Halo, anyway - the planet Reach will fall before the curtains have dropped, and your team aren't likely to make it out before they have.

There’s still a lot of the traditional run-and-gun gameplay to be had here as well, naturally, but this slight change of tact gives the game real heart so often missing from it's older siblings, not to mention sucking the player into the plot completely; early impressions, for example, suggest that your team-mates are far more approachable, likeable and realistic this time around, making it that much harder not to be drawn into their world.

And the third? Well, within no time at all it's very clear this is a title that values it's players and treats them brilliantly, with customisation options thrown up from the off to change and edit how your campaign character looks both in missions and during cutscenes, full, impressive voice-acting and greatly imrpoved visuals over previous titles. The fact that you can also bring mates in for a bit of play co-op means that you'll be experiencing something close to a match made in heaven as far as gaming night ins go the moment you get Halo Reach home.

Although we’ll have to wait for the full release on Tuesday to give a true verdict, the results would appear to be stellar so far and Reach promises to offer one of the most complete and engaging packages of 2010 yet. That Septmeber 14th release date cannot come fast enough.