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Halo Reach Review Thread

S

Spookie

Member
bhlaab said:
A Living Painting: There are points in Halo: Reach when the game seems to escape the confines of graphic animation, transcending the medium to become moving set pieces that look more like a pulsing Baroque painting than a video game. The blending of rich colors and dramatic presentation, cued to important moments, memorable movements in Halo: Reach is pitch perfect, used just enough to help burn the game's high points into your conscience.
Click to expand...

What the fuck.
 
K

Kimosabae

Banned
"Halo: Reach Delivers The Pinnacle Halo Experience"

http://kotaku.com/5636571/halo-reach-delivers-the-pinnacle-halo-experience

I haven't read this yet, but - why would you post an article like this before people have had a chance to play the game? What's the intention? Intuition says the only logical conclusion is hype. But what does Kotaku stand to gain from hyping Halo: Reach? Is it a journalist's job to sell the game, or the publisher's? I guess that brings us back to the fundamental question regarding what Kotaku represents - is it journalism?

Just seems to me as though they're setting themselves up for ridicule. If you want the article to be even remotely insightful and be more than a hype machine for Microsoft, this article would have to come some weeks after people have had a chance to play the game.
 
S

spindashing

Banned
bhlaab said:
A Living Painting: There are points in Halo: Reach when the game seems to escape the confines of graphic animation, transcending the medium to become moving set pieces that look more like a pulsing Baroque painting than a video game. The blending of rich colors and dramatic presentation, cued to important moments, memorable movements in Halo: Reach is pitch perfect, used just enough to help burn the game's high points into your conscience.
Click to expand...

Sounds like Kanye West's Power video.
 
W

watership

Member
Kimosabae said:
"Halo: Reach Delivers The Pinnacle Halo Experience"

http://kotaku.com/5636571/halo-reach-delivers-the-pinnacle-halo-experience

I haven't read this yet, but - why would you post an article like this before people have had a chance to play the game? What's the intention? Intuition says the only logical conclusion is hype. But what does Kotaku stand to gain from hyping Halo: Reach?

Just seems to me as though they're setting themselves up for ridicule. If you wan the article to even remotely insightful and be more than hype machine for Microsoft, this article would have to come some weeks after people have had a chance to play the game.
Click to expand...

Are you asking why someone would post something so overtly gushing and positive? Maybe he liked the game? I know that sounds unreasonable, but for some this is a game that makes them excited. :)

Outside of the paragraph about a "living painting" it wasn't a terrible review.
 
K

Kimosabae

Banned
watership said:
Are you asking why someone would post something so overtly gushing and positive? Maybe he liked the game? I know that sounds unreasonable, but for some this is a game that makes them excited. :)

Outside of the paragraph about a "living painting" it wasn't a terrible review.
Click to expand...


Calling this a 'review' highlights your absolute failure to grasp my point.
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
Edge's review.

Or rather, why they have not published a review. Stuff like this is why I like Edge, and why I think the review sessions Microsoft holds for games like Reach do them a disservice.
DancingJesus said:
To their credit, Gamespot is also holding off till they have more extensive hands on time with Reach. It's a shame that the press has so little time to evaluate the game; especially considering the wealth of features packed within.
Click to expand...
Good for them, I kind of wish more sites did the same. I saw a few others holding off on full reviews yesterday as well. Glad to see OXM was able to put some extra time into it.

It's like being asked to review Fallout 3 after being given 20 hours to blaze through the main story. It's a poor format for the reviewers, the game and ultimately the readers.
 
D

DancingJesus

Banned
GhaleonEB said:
Edge's review.

Or rather, why they have not published a review. Stuff like this is why I like Edge, and why I think the review sessions Microsoft holds for games like Reach do them a disservice.
Click to expand...

To their credit, Gamespot is also holding off till they have more extensive hands on time with Reach. It's a shame that the press has so little time to evaluate the game; especially considering the wealth of features packed within.
 
R

Ryan_IGN

Member
GhaleonEB said:
Edge's review.

Or rather, why they have not published a review. Stuff like this is why I like Edge, and why I think the review sessions Microsoft holds for games like Reach do them a disservice.
Click to expand...

Their post is refreshingly measured, instead of just ranting about the nature of review events.

In our case, we were lucky enough to be able to spend three full days at Bungie -- left alone in the rec room in their new HQ -- and had ample time to do a full campaign run on Heroic, replay the first half on co-op, replay the final mission on Legendary (to check for a Legendary ending), play every map and mode in multiplayer, check out a bunch of Firefight stuff, take screenshots in Theater, and even build a level in Forge (sadly, my creation, "Tiny Town" is lost forever on a Bungie dev kit somewhere...).

There is a LOT to dig into here, people. I suggest taking the rest of the week off from work instead of just tomorrow. :D
 
S

StuBurns

Banned
I think it's fair enough they don't send the game out. It ended up leaking anyway, but it is their most precious title and the last by the team that made the Xbox notable, keeping it locked away seems obviously required, and I don't see what good it does them to have places like Edge even review it really, they don't need their assistance in selling it, and multiple days of press review events must be costly.

Makes me wonder if many of the reviewers put out theirs after having a similarly limited time with the game.
 
B

bhlaab

Member
http://gamejournos.tumblr.com/post/1116182091/this-is-a-comment-left-by-m2gs-joe-anderson-on

jGn9y.png


This is a comment left by M2G’s Joe Anderson on Johnny Cullen’s Halo: Reach review score round-up article (the comment won’t appear on the Google Cached version of the page, FYI), three hours before his own review of the game went live in which he writes extensively about the multiplayer mode. Either Anderson didn’t play Reach’s multiplayer mode at all or he played it for two hours (two and a half at most) and then rushed the review.

Whichever possibility it is, I wouldn’t trust Anderson to review an Infant School nativity play.
 
B

Brewster's Wallet

Member
Have the people who are complaining here (about very slightly negative comments in very positive reviews) actually played the game? Just asking. If so, then fair enough.
 
B

bhlaab

Member
StuBurns said:
I think it's fair enough they don't send the game out. It ended up leaking anyway, but it is their most precious title and the last by the team that made the Xbox notable, keeping it locked away seems obviously required, and I don't see what good it does them to have places like Edge even review it really, they don't need their assistance in selling it, and multiple days of press review events must be costly.

Makes me wonder if many of the reviewers put out theirs after having a similarly limited time with the game.
Click to expand...

Now compare the reviewing experiences:

For one the publisher deems the game so important that it can only be played for one day at a special event set up especially for you.

The second game is a title you've never heard of before and its a handful of review copies in a cardboard box.
 
Jex

Jex

Member
GhaleonEB said:
Good for them, I kind of wish more sites did the same. I saw a few others holding off on full reviews yesterday as well. Glad to see OXM was able to put some extra time into it.

It's like being asked to review Fallout 3 after being given 20 hours to blaze through the main story. It's a poor format for the reviewers, the game and ultimately the readers.
Click to expand...
Indeed, even though 1up did post their review the text at least acknowledges that "time will tell" for the multiplayer mode.
 
G

Guevara

Member
Anyone separate their SP review from their Multiplayer review? I'm one of 5 individuals on the planet that prefers the Halo campaign.
 
G

GarthVaderUK

Banned
gamesTM: 9/10
http://www.gamestm.co.uk/reviews/halo-reach/
Reach couldn’t be expected to replicate the impact of Combat Evolved, but it’s superior in just about every other way. Mission accomplished.
Click to expand...

MS Xbox World: 10/10
http://www.msxbox-world.com/xbox360/reviews/review/578/Halo-Reach.html
Halo: Reach is without doubt Bungie's finest Halo game, and best of all it has the story and structure to the campaign to finally deliver the Halo experience that some of us have been waiting for since the original Halo: Combat Evolved launched on Xbox back in 2002.
Click to expand...
 
R

RedRedSuit

Member
Guevara said:
Anyone separate their SP review from their Multiplayer review? I'm one of 5 individuals on the planet that prefers the Halo campaign.
Click to expand...

GamesRadar did, I think. They gave SP a 7 and MP a 9, I think.

But, GR kind of sucks, so....
 
M

Mr. B Natural

Member
Kimosabae said:
"Halo: Reach Delivers The Pinnacle Halo Experience"

http://kotaku.com/5636571/halo-reach-delivers-the-pinnacle-halo-experience

I haven't read this yet, but - why would you post an article like this before people have had a chance to play the game? What's the intention? Intuition says the only logical conclusion is hype. But what does Kotaku stand to gain from hyping Halo: Reach? Is it a journalist's job to sell the game, or the publisher's? I guess that brings us back to the fundamental question regarding what Kotaku represents - is it journalism?

Just seems to me as though they're setting themselves up for ridicule. If you want the article to be even remotely insightful and be more than a hype machine for Microsoft, this article would have to come some weeks after people have had a chance to play the game.
Click to expand...

You wanna get invited to the conferences and parties? You wanna get an early review copy? You wanna not get the fanboy hate mail? Ever actually read a preview that was negative?
Game journalism = salesman...especially for popular franchised games with lots of marketing, lots of hype and made by popular developers.
 
F

Fallout-NL

Member
Guevara said:
Anyone separate their SP review from their Multiplayer review? I'm one of 5 individuals on the planet that prefers the Halo campaign.
Click to expand...


Me two, my interest in Halo goes something like this:

I loved Halo 1, mainly for the campaign, but 2v2 lan stuff was great fun as well.

I didn't like Halo 2's campaign, but the multiplayer was very enjoyable (again in a lan environment).

I thought Halo 3 was terrible. The weapons didn't feel right, didn't sound right, the campaign was uninspired and my friends sold it so quick I never got to play it against them system link either.

I'm kinda hyped for Reach though, oddly enough. But I'm wondering how much effort went into the campaign since, as you say, so many people simply skip that part.
 
D

DancingJesus

Banned
Fallout-NL said:
Me two, my interest in Halo goes something like this:

I loved Halo 1, mainly for the campaign, but 2v2 lan stuff was great fun as well.

I didn't like Halo 2's campaign, but the multiplayer was very enjoyable (again in a lan environment).

I thought Halo 3 was terrible. The weapons didn't feel right, didn't sound right, the campaign was uninspired and my friends sold it so quick I never got to play it against them system link either.

I'm kinda hyped for Reach though, oddly enough. But I'm wondering how much effort went into the campaign since, as you say, so many people simply skip that part.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I'm about halfway through and it is the best Halo campaign yet.
 
D

Decado

Member
Without a demo I don't know if I'm willing to bite. The timing is good on this one: early next year there will be a deluge of shooters, and not a lot is coming out until then.

But still, IMO Halo is one of the wimpiest shooters around. The pellet gun feel is just so unsatisfying and few games make killing things so dull. I have my doubts about whether it has been improved. Splitscreen multiplayer is so tempting, though...
 
N

NullPointer

Member
Decado said:
But still, IMO Halo is one of the wimpiest shooters around. The pellet gun feel is just so unsatisfying and few games make killing things so dull. I have my doubts about whether it has been improved. Splitscreen multiplayer is so tempting, though...
Click to expand...
If its anything like the Beta, believe me, weapon feel and sound has been dramatically improved. These aren't peashooters any more.
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Decado said:
Without a demo I don't know if I'm willing to bite. The timing is good on this one: early next year there will be a deluge of shooters, and not a lot is coming out until then.

But still, IMO Halo is one of the wimpiest shooters around. The pellet gun feel is just so unsatisfying and few games make killing things so dull. I have my doubts about whether it has been improved. Splitscreen multiplayer is so tempting, though...
Click to expand...
So you are tempted to buy a game you intensely dislike? This is a 2003 quality troll. 1/5
 
N

NullPointer

Member
OuterWorldVoice said:
So you are tempted to buy a game you intensely dislike? This is a 2003 quality troll. 1/5
Click to expand...
To be fair I've always loved Halo's gameplay mechanics, but those mechanics were always wrapped in subpar graphics (with jaggies), weak audio (music is awesome though), horrid faces, and hand-done animations that look outdated on the 360 compared to the competition.

ALL of that has been fixed this time around from what I've seen and experienced. For once (on the 360) the look and feel is just as good as the game design.
 
B

BattleMonkey

Member
Love all the glowing reviews, and then a few gives a slightly lower yet still high score or mention a few negatives, and the fanboys go all detective on the reviewers.
 
F

Futureman

Member
If this is Bungie's last attempt at Halo, why didn't they go and call it Halo 4? Will some future MS studio continue with the next Halo??

Didn't really know much about Reach until I read this topic, but I was under the impression that it was more of a spin-off/multiplayer experience due to it being called Reach.
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
NullPointer said:
To be fair I've always loved Halo's gameplay mechanics, but those mechanics were always wrapped in subpar graphics, weak audio, horrid faces, and hand-done animations that look outdated on the 360 compared to the competition.

ALL of that has been fixed this time around from what I've seen and experienced. For once (on the 360) the look and feel is just as good as the game design.
Click to expand...
Negative opinions ate not trolling. Contradictoryessaging and invented catchphrases are.
 
F

FrankT

Member
Futureman said:
If this is Bungie's last attempt at Halo, why didn't they go and call it Halo 4? Will some future MS studio continue with the next Halo??

Didn't really know much about Reach until I read this topic, but I was under the impression that it was more of a spin-off/multiplayer experience due to it being called Reach.
Click to expand...

The spin off was ODST. This is all new multi unlike ODST save Firefight. of course that is vastly improved here.
 
L

LegendofJoe

Member
Alienshogun said:
The simple fact is that video game journalism gets away with it because it isn't taken seriously and it's because of crap like this it won't ever be taken seriously.
Click to expand...

I'm more than likely a little late on this, but you are taking this way too seriously. Videogame journalism will never be 'real journalism' simply because of the subject matter. Videogames are a leisure activity. The material that is written about them be it previews, video examinations, demo evaluations, review, etc don't have to be meticulously fact checked simply because the subject matter isn't all that important in the grand scheme of things. If you don't understand the difference between the writers and the content that is written for IGN or an outlet that covers socially substantive material such as the Economist then I don't know what to tell you.
 
S

SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
Futureman said:
If this is Bungie's last attempt at Halo, why didn't they go and call it Halo 4? Will some future MS studio continue with the next Halo??

Didn't really know much about Reach until I read this topic, but I was under the impression that it was more of a spin-off/multiplayer experience due to it being called Reach.
Click to expand...
Halo 4 is probably already being developed as a launch title for the NextBox 720 or whatever they're gonna call it.
 
U

urk

butthole fishhooking yes
Mr. B Natural said:
You wanna get invited to the conferences and parties? You wanna get an early review copy? You wanna not get the fanboy hate mail? Ever actually read a preview that was negative?
Game journalism = salesman...especially for popular franchised games with lots of marketing, lots of hype and made by popular developers.
Click to expand...
If Kotaku's known for one thing, it's pulling their punches and giving Halo games glowing praise. Wait, that's two things. Shit.
 
B

bill0527

Member
You wanna get invited to the conferences and parties? You wanna get an early review copy? You wanna not get the fanboy hate mail? Ever actually read a preview that was negative?
Game journalism = salesman...especially for popular franchised games with lots of marketing, lots of hype and made by popular developers.
Click to expand...

Its always been a pet peeve of mine to see that industry called: gaming journalist press.

There is nothing journalistic about what 99% of them do.

If anything, they should be called the gaming enthusiast press.
 
G

gcubed

Member
Fallout-NL said:
Me two, my interest in Halo goes something like this:

I loved Halo 1, mainly for the campaign, but 2v2 lan stuff was great fun as well.

I didn't like Halo 2's campaign, but the multiplayer was very enjoyable (again in a lan environment).

I thought Halo 3 was terrible. The weapons didn't feel right, didn't sound right, the campaign was uninspired and my friends sold it so quick I never got to play it against them system link either.

I'm kinda hyped for Reach though, oddly enough. But I'm wondering how much effort went into the campaign since, as you say, so many people simply skip that part.
Click to expand...

this is basically my halo experience as well, and the glowing campaign reviews have me just about ready to pick it up... especially with the kmart deal... i need to expand my 360 library
 
D

Decado

Member
OuterWorldVoice said:
So you are tempted to buy a game you intensely dislike? This is a 2003 quality troll. 1/5
Click to expand...
Gotta love the fanboyz. Criticism = trolling :lol

I've purchased most of the Halo games at one point or another because they're one of the few FPS with good split screen multiplayer (as I indicated in my post). The shooting experience has always been weak, though. No need get your panties in a bunch, kiddo. :\
 
D

Decado

Member
NullPointer said:
To be fair I've always loved Halo's gameplay mechanics, but those mechanics were always wrapped in subpar graphics (with jaggies), weak audio (music is awesome though), horrid faces, and hand-done animations that look outdated on the 360 compared to the competition.

ALL of that has been fixed this time around from what I've seen and experienced. For once (on the 360) the look and feel is just as good as the game design.
Click to expand...
Pretty much.

Cool that it's finally been improved.

Does split screen coop take up your whole TV screen (HDTV)? I detest it when split screen multiplayer games change the aspect ratio to 4:3 :\
 
R

Relix

he's Virgin Tight™
So far liking the sound effects, but the graphics leave a lot to be desired. Especially that motion blur on characters looks so bad and out of place.

Oh and all over the place frame rate. Everything is improved though so I am enjoying the ride so far :D :D
 
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