September 14, 2010… A day that perhaps changed the world of gaming with one of the biggest releases of all time, Halo: Reach, one of the most anticipated games today. The Halo series began in late 2000 with the release of Halo: Combat Evolved. At the time of its release, Halo: CE was absolutely groundbreaking, both in terms of graphics quality and gameplay.

A decade later, we see the release of Reach. For those of us who have been playing since the Halo:CE days, it’s like a dream come true. I think Reach delivered a lot more than anyone expected. The campaign is close to bringing you to tears and the gameplay goes back to its amazing roots and plays almost identically to Halo:CE, the health system is just like Halo:CE’s and we also see the return of the beloved Halo:CE Magnum that shoots as fast as you can pull the trigger (oh so satisfying). All of this, along with the new “Armor Abilities” mechanic and ridiculously detailed graphics, make for a fun and intense game.

One of the major new features coming with Halo:Reach is the “Armor Abilities” mechanic that I talked about earlier. This feature allows the player to have a special “power” for their character that lasts for a short period of time. The powers are as follows;

• Sprint – Umm… You run fast!
• Armor Block: Produces an impenetrable shield that surrounds your character.
• JetPack – Do I really need to explain?
• Invisibility/Active Camouflage: Spawns purple monkeys that eat your enemies… No, just kidding, obviously makes you invisible.
• Evade: Similar to Sprint, but you crouch and turn to move quickly or dodge oncoming sticky swimmers.
• Hologram – Allows you to send out a holographic copy of yourself to fool your enemies (works pretty well and will really annoy you when up against people who know how to use it efficiently).
• Drop Shield – Your Spartan drops his shield and makes a perfect curve to pick it up, distracting your enemies in the process so your allies can take them out as they gawk at your seductive pose. This method is best when used by a Spartan woman. On a serious note though, you deploy a 10m shield around you that deflects bullets, similar to Halo 3’s bubble shield.

As I’m sure you can imagine, these abilities add a lot to the gameplay and entertainment value of this game. If you’re smart, you can use them to turn the tide of battle. If you’re not smart, you can give your fellow players some great entertainment by rolling around the edge of the map with Evade, or awkwardly blocking armor in the middle of the battlefield while everyone stares at you, wondering what the #?*! You’re doing it.

And, as I mentioned before, the campaign is… impressive. It begins with the Covenant (a nasty alien race) invading Reach, our last refuge from the Covenant. While it is our last refuge, it is also our last hope. If Reach falls… the human race falls.

So by now I’m sure you’re completely envious of the fact that I have this game and you don’t! So, go out and buy it! I can assure you that you will not be disappointed. I’ve spent *a lot* of time playing video games of all kinds and I can honestly say that Halo: Reach is one of my all-time favorites.