Chase Porter
Staff Writer
It has been a big year for many games including Fallout and Call of Duty, but one of the most anticipated of all has been the release of Halo: Reach.
Gaming has been around for decades now starting with the original Nintendo 64 and the Playstation with games like James Bond and Super Smash Bros, to now with the Xbox 360, Wii and the Playstation 3. All of these new gaming platforms have extremely anticipated games but the Xbox 360 has teenagers lining up for the last halo in the Halo saga of games.
In 2001, the phenomenon began with the release of the original Halo. This first person shooter spawned millions of fans worldwide and the creators, Bungie, continued the story further after seeing the fan base grow exponentially. The story has evolved with Halo 2, Halo 3 and Halo: ODST.
Halo 2 and 3 brought to the table even more story mode adventures and also helped to explode the craze of online play with friends and people across the globe. Halo: ODST unfortunately was a disappointing game but it did help to implore a new game mode called firefight.
“I can’t wait for Halo: Reach it’s going to be sweet, I just hope that it isn’t another let down like ODST,” junior Matthew Ainsworth said.
Halo: Reach is exploring a new story mode in which gamers will not be able to play as Master Chief, but as a new character, Noble Six. This story mode starts off at the beginning of the war with the Covenant, which are an alien race that have constructed dooms day weapons called Halos. This Halo is much like the death star from Star Wars but it resembles something like earth once the soldiers are upon it. You will be fighting these Covenant aliens at the beginning of the galactic war and you and your teams of super soldiers, Spartans, help you along the way.
“It’s going to bite that I’m not going to play as Master Chief but I’m just ready for online play,” junior Austin West said.
The Bungie Studios, creators of the Halo saga, are also trying out a new and improved version of multiplayer on Xbox Live. In past Halos there have only been different types of game modes and weapons to defeat the enemy but now the creators say you can do much more. Bungie has kept the concept from Halo 3 and enhanced it by allowing you to play as characters with special abilities such as flying with a jet pack, invisibility, and using an impenetrable over shield to deflect bullets and lasers.
New maps and weapons will also be introduced in the story mode and multiplayer but the concept will stay the same; kill the bad guys. New weapons include a new needler, battle rifle and covenant rocket launcher. Old maps from Halos 1, 2, and 3 of the saga are being redone and placed in the game but there are also new maps that are yet to be announced.
“I think the jet packs are going to be cool but once I get it I think I’m just going to skip school and play for a couple days straight,” sophomore Cole Studebaker said.
Many people around the globe have been enjoying these games for years and in the past months gamers have been able to play a beta for the new Halo: Reach. This beta was accessible through the latest edition of the games story line Halo: ODST. The demo was released so that the Bungie studios could get feedback from players to try and perfect the Halo, first person shooter, experience. The beta is now over but the gaming community has spoken and many new features will be added to the new game.
Finally, Halo, known for its very distinct sound track during game play and excellent graphics and backdrops will also be improved. The animation of halo, which is already praised by many, has been improved down to the smallest detail.
The rest of 2010 and 2011 will bring big name games including Call of Duty: Black Ops, Assassins Creed 3: Brotherhood, Gears of War 3 and many, many more. Halo: Reach, being one of the most anticipated games for a year now is expected to bring in an enormous profit because of all the lifelong fans as will these other game arrivals. Halo: Reach is exclusively on Xbox 360 and Xbox Live and was released on Sept. 14 at a starting price of $65.
