Halo: Reach – Bungie's Final Fight

Bungie extend legacy with gritty, weapons-heavy prequel

It’s been nine years since Microsoft was nearly scoffed off stage at E3 for announcing a game featuring a “cybernetic warrior from the future”. But we all know what happened next. Halo: Combat Evolved defined a generation with the finest shooter ever made and when Halo 2 landed, Xbox Live became a frenetic community of potty-mouthed millions practically overnight. Master Chief was a big, swinging dong.

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So here we go again: a prequel this time, with you playing the role of supersoldier Noble 6 helping planet Reach fend off the irksome Covenant. Except this time Bungie Studios, the developers who are moving onto new projects, won’t be leaving anything behind. This is their final fight, the game they want to be remembered for. And as FHM’s introduced to Halo: Reach in one of Winston Churchill’s once-secret War Rooms underneath Westminster, it’s clear they’re taking their swansong very seriously indeed.

Anybody expecting a colourful leaving party, though, can think again. Gone are the bright purples and greens and delirious sound bites from Covenant grunts. In come thundery skies, human tragedy and the stench of death – in the sinister clarity of a completely overhauled graphics engine. And be prepared to rediscover fearing your enemies. They’re not cute, they don’t speak English and they’re definitely not scared of you.

While the campaign mode – which features full airborne space combat as well as a brilliant new armour system – promises the toughest Halo fight yet, the multiplayer delivers pure, ludicrous fun. The main menu screen’s six gameplay hubs: Campaign, Matchmaking, Custom Game, Forge, Firefight and Theater [sic] are the entry points for what Bungie’s Community Manager Brian Jarrard tells FHM is, “a deeper, more sophisticated and polished Halo experience.” But when we ask what his favourite new weapon is, Jarrard just giggles like a man with too much sugar in his blood.

“The Target Locator. It’s ridiculous, man. It’s the biggest, most bombastic weapon we’ve ever had in the Halo universe. It calls down this rain of total destruction.” Cool, show us? And he does. Put it this way, you need to be careful where you point that thing. Equally amusing is the range of customisation options in Firefight. Infinite grenades? Unlimited rocket launchers? You got it. Oh, and if ‘Gruntpocalypse’ doesn’t sound appetising to you, then neither, we suspect, does ‘hamburger’.

“Honestly, it’s the best Halo game we’ve ever made,” says Jarrard with a screwball grin. “It’s the dog’s bollocks.” Nice one, Bungie. Winston would be delighted.

Halo: Reach is out on Xbox 360 from September 14

F1 2010

PS3, Xbox 360, PC. Codemasters steer the franchise towards hardcore F1 fans using cutting-edge technology and attention to detail. Pussycat Doll not included.

NBA Jam

Wii. Demand for a re-make of the 1993 classic proved too much for EA Sports to ignore. “Boooooom-shaka-laka!” Sorry, nostalgia overload.

Dead Rising 2

PS3, Xbox 360, PC. Ah, more zombies! New combo-weapons include the excellent ‘Paddlesaw’. It’s two chainsaws duct taped to a kayak paddle. Duh.

Avoid! Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

Given a free licence to create a game without the ball and chain of a movie tie-in, developers Beenox have pole-vaulted in the other direction, opting instead for four different Spidey incarnations. It could mean four interesting gameplay mechanics. Or, more likely, the art desk filing for overtime.

From the October 2010 issue of FHM India.