This is an excerpt for Halopedia. Be warned that the information in this excerpt is subject to being false. Thanks.
Halo: Reach takes place in late 2552, during the Covenant invasion of the Human colony world Reach, which also serves as the main military center of the UNSC. The game follows Noble Team, a six-man special operations unit of one SPARTAN-II and five SPARTAN-III commandos. The player assumes the role of the team's newest member, SPARTAN-B312 or "Noble Six" and will be defending Reach from its ultimate downfall at the hands of the Covenant.
Over the course of the campaign, the players will visit various locales on and above planet Reach, including remote civilian homesteads, high-tech ONI facilities such as Sword Base, the metropolitan city of New Alexandria, as well as a segment of space combat in a Sabre fighter. The player will also encounter interactive indigenous creatures such as the Moa and the Gueta.
Plot
Halo: Reach takes place on the UNSC fortress world of Reach weeks prior to the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. Noble Team is called in to investigate the sudden loss of transmission from a communication relay. Expecting insurrectionists, the team is baffled to discover that it is the work of the Covenant, and an invasion force becomes apparent. As Covenant begin their assault on the planet, the UNSC begin their heroic yet hopeless attempt to halt the brutal alien invaders.
Gameplay
Halo: Reach will feature many new additions to the Halo sandbox while still retaining the core gameplay. The player damage system will be similar to that of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 3: ODST. The HUD will highlight environmental features and overlay information about them, and the motion sensor display will be three-dimensional. Halo: Reach also introduces a refined equipment system known as "Armor Abilities." Pieces of equipment can now be selected upon respawning (or picked up of the ground for certain gametypes and campaign); armor abilities will be reusable with a recharge time between uses. A new assassination system will also be featured, in which holding down the melee button will trigger a context-sensitive, third-person assassination animation. Simply tapping the melee button allows for the old-instant-kill assassination.
The weapon selection has been streamlined from that of Halo 3, so that every weapon has a specific role. The number of different grenade types has also been reduced from that of Halo 3, and incendiary grenades and spike grenades will not be returning. Human weapons all hit more or less instantly after pulling the trigger, giving them a more powerful feel. There will no longer be dual-wielding available in Halo: Reach, following the same path as Halo 3: ODST. Compensating for this, the weapons that were known as dual weapons in Halo 3 that are now in Halo: Reach became drastically stronger. The magnum, for example, is now almost as powerful as the M6D Pistol in Halo: CE, and has an even higher rate of fire.
Players will be able to personalize their character's armor with a greater variety of customization options, and the appearance will be consistent across campaign and multiplayer, unlike in Halo 3 where it would only be seen during multiplayer matches. Like in Halo 3, the armor permutations will only be cosmetic and will not affect gameplay. The design of multiplayer models in Halo: Reach differs than those previously used in Halo 3; players are limited to a SPARTAN multiplayer model but given the option of changing their character's gender. Players are given the option to play as an Elite multiplayer model, though only in specific gametypes such as Firefight Versus, Invasion and other Elite-specific gametypes. Both multiplayer models have different gameplay properties; the Elite multiplayer model are physically superior, has a fully recharging health and faster shield regeneration than their SPARTAN counterpart. Overall, their only disadvantage is their massive size which makes them much noticeable target.
While the rest of Noble Team will accompany the player for most of the game, Halo: Reach will not feature any kind of tactical squad mechanic. Much like the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam in Halo 3, the rest of the squad will fight alongside the player, but will not interact with the player, other than certain scripted actions and dialogue. The levels will be more open and teleportation in co-op will be far less strict. EDGE Magazine, February 2010GameInformer: February 2010
As seen in the E3 2010 trailer, a small section of the Halo: Reach campaign level Long Night of Solace will involve space combat, a new element to the game. This space battle above Reach will be the first and only space combat level played in the saga.
Permalink | August 24, 2010, 1:28 pm
