I Just Cant Reach
A fervent breakdown of Halo: Reachs multiplayer shortcomings
Since the release of Halo 3 in 2007, the landscape of the gaming industry has changed.
Millions of people spend billions of dollars on a certain intellectual property which changes so very little between releases. The Pokemon of the First Person Shooter, Call of Duty is a cultural phenomenon, doing what Halo: Combat Evolved first did in 2001, but reproducing it yearly. Its influence is far and wide, and as a piece of popular culture it cannot be ignored.
Bungie have also left Microsoft and since signed for Activision, ironically the publisher of the Call of Duty franchise, although this fact is of no importance, as Halo: Reach was the final game Bungie were contractually obligated to create for Microsoft Game Studios, the first in a post-Modern Warfare world.
As franchises wear on and fatigue sets in, it is up to the developer to preserve the core aspects of the gameplay while injecting enough sparkle to keep things fresh. To dreary eyed newcomers who may have grown tired of Halos core mechanics, Halo: Reach certainly sparkles. However, for fans whove been along for the ride, investing countless hours into the games systems, like myself, I propose Halo: Reach doesnt successfully preserve the core gameplay loop that once upon a time captured our attentions.
When Bungie initially sat down to work on Halo: Reachs design document, it is clear things were going to be different. Halos fiction for the franchises fourth mainline instalment took a sombre twist, a fallen world full of misery and grit. This presented an opportunity to the team. The designers licked their lips.
Noble Team. A stereotypical squad of Spartan 3 soldiers. Shorter, slower and more susceptible to gravity than their Spartan 2 counterparts whom we have controlled for nine years. This fictional difference made its way over to the multiplayer side, and the game began to form.
Past Halo titles relied on movement, in particular jumping to navigate the environment in a way that was enjoyable, challenging and highly beneficial in combat. Movement was as much a key to success as a fine aim and a well arced grenade. So obviously, this change to Reachs systems, slower movement and a much shorter, grounded jump height were going to dramatically twist the Halo formula.
I previously wrote how Jamie Griesemer found making minor alterations to Halos sandbox a challenge, well Reachs early design phase must have been insurmountable in comparison. So much to change, yet so much to protect. Dont worry Jamie, up steps Sage Merrill, fresh from the culturally acclaimed multiplayer shooter Shadowrun to step into the shoes of Sandbox designer and forge a direction for Reach that was distinct from anything before it.
Its hard for me to criticise Sage, because the mechanics and systems he helped implement were not in fact broken, and logically they make sense, however when combined they produce an outcome that isnt on a par with the franchises earlier offerings.
Now for the big one, the Marmite of Halo: Reachs core mechanics, reticle bloom. One of Sages early claims was to define weapon roles more by range, an admirable claim with a messy solution. By removing a fixed fire rate for many weapons and introducing an arbitrary loosening of the players accuracy the faster they fired, the team believed they could force players to use guns in particular roles rather than resorting to the same one for every situation.
Overnight Halo went from being a game which focused on control of the analogue sticks to track your opponents quick movements with your weapon in a way which rewarded practised, reflex inputs to a game which rewarded players for the patient timing of their shots against a slow, lumbering opponent.
To clarify, the separating factor between a skilled opponent in previous Halo games was how accurately and swiftly they could aim through controller inputs, the separating factor in Reach however is how well they can time their shots, a skill which doesnt require any input whatsoever, rather some slight mental handiwork.
Of course there is slight exaggeration here, players in Reach do still benefit from a solid aim, however this feat seems like a subsidiary of the reticle bloom mechanic, relegated to a lesser role in Reachs multi-layered combat sandwich. I would argue that it is by far the most important aspect when trying to separate the skilled from the not so skilled.
Some may argue that Reachs requirement that you think in every combat situation is a bonus, an example of how Reachs combat steps above its predecessors, however I would argue the opposite. As any good Halo players will know, there comes a point when your abilities are honed to devastating effect, when you can take out multiple opponents with quick, precise actions through a muscle memory of sorts, this leaves you to focus on other residing factors such as weapon spawns and flag rushes. You could rely on your skills with a controller, just like a football player can, over time, pass the ball without too much thought surrounding foot placement and how much pace he (or she) wishes to apply. Guitar players, once they become adept enough are able to play songs without fully focusing on the notes they are hitting, relying on muscle memory and practise, past Halo games were like that but Reach never will be.
Despite how well youre playing in Reach, and I usually finish in the top 2 players in a game, it never feels fluid.
Not only that but the reticle bloom further distils the skill requirement needed in order to excel at Reach. Whilst the bloom does a good job of stopping players from hitting players too far out of their chosen weapons bracket (a feature seemingly useless when the DMR, perhaps the most abundant weapon in matchmaking is able to reach practically all distances with great effect) when the opponent is in a closer than optimum range the lack of a fixed firing rate creates sloppy encounters in which players benefit from aiming in a general direction and spraying out enough ammunition in order to kill their opponent (often effective with the pistol).
Say what you will about previous games close range Battle Rifle duels but they were never sloppy and in fact rather elegant. Players saved their bursts for the fast moving targets that would zip around them with great dexterity as each other attempted to duke out an advantage. The Battle Rifles controlled three burst spread also allowed further depth in combat as players had to guide their reticle with the moving target after they had fired in order to successfully land all three bullets, whereas Reach is a simple fire and wait affair. Once again highlighting the removal of controller inputs measuring the fine line of success and failure.
Lastly regarding reticle bloom, the ever-expanding reticle also takes away from the players ability to rack up multiple kills against multiple opponents in a straight up gunfight due to the unfair advantage of having to wait for some arbitrary limiter on screen. In previous games a skilled player was able to beat a pair of less skilled ones through precise shooting and strafing, an achievement that will never be felt in Reach due to the reticle bloom.
Now to better highlight my complaints with the games mechanics and how, when combined they significantly break Halos core gameplay I will post similar situations but played out across different games:
Halo 3: It is Multi Flag on The Pit, the game is 2-2, a pair of opponents come down long hall to try and capture our flag.
I jump and fire, using the geometry as cover as I beat out the first opponent with 4 clinical shots as he was only able to land one on me, it seems my strafing and jumping eluded his gunfire. The second player hits me twice however, so I am close to death. I drop down to the pit, hiding below the ledge where my opponent remains, requiring three direct bursts before I get my respite. He drops down. Close quarters combat now, we dance, I carefully line up my bursts to strike his Blue armour, however he tears my shield away, leaving me susceptible to a well planted headshot. skilfully I manage to strip away his shields and plant the headshot in one accurate burst and I am victorious.
I have a Double Kill medal and I feel a sense of accomplishment as my direct inputs prevailed over the other two players, my ability to aim my shots won, an ability slowly improving over hours of continuous play.
Halo Reach: It is One Flag on Reflection, I am attacking, I get into the top corridor, flag in sight. Two opponents stand between me and a potential flag capture.
We instinctively prime a grenade towards each other, the slow movement speed unable to evade the devastating blast, nor are we able to jump out of its fragmented reach. I keep firing at the first opponent, fire, wait, fire wait, I only have to adjust my right analogue stick with the slightest of nudges as the player heavily strafes with little agility. Fire, wait. The opponents shield pops. The Spartan 3 model is short, its head bulbous and easy to pick out, in fact my DMR is already in line with it, I dispatch him with little trouble yet little feeling of accomplishment. At this point the second player has capitalised on my lethargic attempt to move out the way of his gunfire, although fortunately I see my grenade actually managed to strip away his shields completely, it must have been a good throw, or not. I finally use a bit of reflex movement, swinging my crosshair round slightly to match up with his oversized head hitbox, this is it; this is the Halo Ive been waiting for. Fire. The opponent is still moving despite my mind bending accuracy, continuing to plough away at the final remnants of my shield. Fire. My shield pops and my opponent continues his linear approach. Fire, the UNSCs finest soldier manages to miss a barely moving target from 3 metres away and I see my Spartan fall to the ground.
A chill of disappointment runs through me. I realise that my previous good work dispatching the first enemy prevented me from killing the second. I get the logic, I understand what Sage was trying, but in practice it simply wasnt fun. What was I meant to do? The Spartan 3s lack the required agility to evade gunfire yet I was forced to wait for my reticle to retract in order to make a standard shot. Everything about Reachs mechanics is less exhilarating than previous Halo titles.
This briefly outlines why I believe Reachs core mechanics simply are not as fun as previous Halo titles and why I think Reachs multiplayer is a significant step back from previous titles. Perhaps Bungie were influenced by Call of Dutys successes, or equally likely, perhaps not. Either way Bungie changed Halos core mechanics massively for Reach and I definitely applaud that, it is a bold move that perhaps will be under looked by gamers who do not show the care and attention to the series as I myself do.
On the other hand, my admiration for Bungie does not nullify my disappointment for Reachs core mechanics. Mechanics that I thought produced the best Halo singleplayer campaign since CE, perhaps beating out the fondly remembered debutant, however in a competitive multiplayer environment they simply did not meet my expectations.
