Reaching into the Past

Halo Reach will be Bungie's last Halo game, a sequel to Halo 3 in spirit if not story. It will feature a new engine, just like all the previous main Halo titles before it and has received the same amount of developer attention and resources as it's predecessors. Let us take a look back at the past to see if we can gather some hints for the future.

This post was originally posted on NeoGAF as a thread before the Halo Reach VGA reveal.


Features

• The game that introduced millions to FPS's on a console and brought the First Person Shooter into the living room, improving further on the success of Goldeneye 64 of making the FPS accessible to non PC gamers
• Popularised regenerative shields and extremely limited weapon carrying mechanics, that games even today use and probably wouldn't have without it's success
• Dynamic foot, vehicle and air combat seamlessly integrated in a single engine and gameplay scenarios
• Fantastic, open ended design and brilliant AI that made encounters different and enjoyable on multiple playthroughs
• -Popularised and cemented dual analogue stick control as the best control scheme for console shooters

Multiplayer Elements

• Fully developed co-operative campaign (two player splitscreen)
• Thoughtful, addictive multiplayer (four player splitscreen and LAN support) that birthed modern console LAN parties
• Popularised online console multiplayer FPS's via Xbox Connect before the advent of Xbox Live

Legacy

• The flagship console FPS that became the industry standard in terms of gameplay and success
• Introduced/Popularised LAN parties and online gaming into the living room

Features

• New engine, same hardware, provided a graphical leap forward from Halo:CE with some of the best sub-HD graphics on the Xbox console
• Kick started the expanded universe, Halo was no longer confined to Sci-Fi cliché, providing an expanded narrative, detailed character backgrounds and deeply rooted mythology
  
• Changed up the Halo gameplay sandbox with the introduction of dual wielding, new weapons, new enemies and tactics and gameplay from a different character's perspective (the Covenant's the Arbiter)

Multiplayer Elements

• Fully developed co-operative campaign (two player splitscreen)
• Expanded and added depth and customisation, built strongly around the new modified sandbox (Four player splitscreen and LAN support)
• Shaped modern online console gaming infrastructure through Xbox Live
• Brought Clans, Partying and Matchmaking from the desktop to the living room
• Added and continued support for Halo 2 post release in the form of playlist updates, map pack releases and also provided direct support for Halo 2 content directly from another developer in the form of additional multiplayer maps

Legacy

• The Halo universe wouldn't exist in it's current form without the expanded narrative pioneered by Halo 2's bold narrative ventures
• The definitive and industry leading online console title of the previous generation, Halo 2 defined what the online console experience was and became the template for other games after it
• Showcased Bungie's dedicated post release support (in conjunction with others) that had playlist updates and map pack releases up until a few months before the release of the sequel, Halo 3
• Became the industry leading standard in online statistic track with the use of Bungie.net

Features

• Features the largest battlefields and scope of any of the main Halo titles in the series, a new next generation engine brought foot, vehicle and aerial battles to a new massive, epic scale
• Brought closure to the storyline running through the main Halo video games series whilst also featuring a deep back story that was hidden deep within the game world and required and rewarded player that sought it out
• Introduced four player online co-op to the main campaign whilst still retaining two player splitscreen co-op
• Introduced meta-game scoring and game modifiers (skulls) that enhanced the re-playability of the campaign with achievements encouraging the player to replay
• Screenshots, saved films and free camera exploration during playback allowed folks to show off and explore the campaign in ways never before seen in a Halo title

Multiplayer Elements

• Set the standard for the next generation console online experience with superb UI, industry leading matchmaking, armour customisation, player controlled parties and pre and post game personal and team statistics
• Introduced Forge, a simple weapons and items re-arranging tool that the Halo community itself took and transformed into a powerful mini map editing and creation tool, with Bungie themselves acknowledging the transformative use by the community with additional Forge support in the post release downloadable content
• Continued the strong post game release support with numerous map pack releases and strong playlist support that is still very much active
• Carried over the saved films, film clips and screenshot functions from the campaign
• Created an on online space for showcasing community made screenshots, film clips, custom game types and user created maps (Bungie Favourites) accessible to everyone that played the game online, in addition, allowed players to host files on an online profile (via Bungie.net) that allowed them to showcase and share custom content easily both in game and over the internet

Legacy

• Demonstrated Bungie's unquestioned ability to lead the industry in terms of an online experience which has resulted in millions of players still playing Halo 3 today, seen Halo 3 ride high on the Xbox Live activity charts for the past two years
• Dived deeply into the community with enhanced Bungie.net support and community created content and interaction, above and beyond the scope of any other video game on a console
• Halo 3 has become the poster child for success, profitability and player support, the defining online shooter of the current generation of home consoles, in the same vein as Halo 2 before it
  

Features

• Introduced the hub world concept into the Halo universe with a number of missions, unrelated in the context of gameplay and developed a relationship between them utilising a strong, tightly focused narritive that showed Bungie could shine with smaller personal stories set within the deep and complex Halo storyline.
  

Multiplayer Elements

• Pre-packaged with the full suite of Halo 3 multuplayer features and levels, however the uniquely designed Firefight mode, whilst not having the longevity of the traditional Halo multiplayer, showed Bungie could deliver a fresh and entertaining new multiplayer mode for the franchise.

Legacy

• ODST's single player narrative, almost a galaxy away from the epic, universe spanning, traditional Halo fare, is also one of, if not the, strongest storyline in a Halo game so far.
• Firefight shows the kind of promise traditional multiplayer did back with Halo CE. It lays a strong foundation on which Bungie could build a strong secondary multiplayer experience which perfectly complements the online shooting spree we have been playing for years.

Reach Speculation
What to expect?

Bungie has shown with each main Halo game that they like to add more options instead of taking them away. More choice, bigger, better. With Reach being a standalone title set within a familar universe it gives Bungie a chance to once more put the narrative at the forefront of the experience, ala ODST, rather than hiding it behind the gameplay in the previous main Halo titles. The story must begin when we press start and must finish when the credits roll. With ODST, Bungie have shown that a tight narrative can work exceedingly well in a deeper universe, and there is no doubt many cues will be taken strongly from the previous titles and it will nicely link back into the rest of the Halo universe.

Additionally, with a brand new setting, the planet Reach, there is plenty of scope for new gameplay options, new types of enemies and twisting of expectations. Booster jet packs, dinosaurs (Halo Legends) Red Energy Swords (Halo Evolution) Rhino and Wolverine tanks (Halo Wars) may or may not feature, but Bungie is perfectly capable at throwing something unexpected in faces and having us come back asking for more (an example would be the opening of the expanded Halo universe which began with Halo 2's narrative switch to the Arbiter and the Covenant).

Yes, we will have large epic battles, in corridors, in the open, in vehicles and in the air. This is still Halo and this amazing war zones are it's signature piece, the scale becoming grander and grander with each game.

The AI will be smarter than ever - the Covenant will be taunting us yet again, the music will be both strongly familiar and fittingly new and suitable.

And yes, the co-operative elements, the meta games, the skulls, all will be present, if not inflated, enhanced and fleshed out even more than before.

Multiplayer features?

Screenshots, gameplay clips, forging, user created and edited content, customs matches, industry leading online gameplay and popularity. These would be the minimal expectations set out for Reach coming off the back of Halo 3. No small target, but Bungie have the proven track record of bringing the goods to the table. With the shopping cart full of returning and maybe even enhanced features, we are almost greedy to expect more, but we do and Bungie aren't ignorant to the demands of the fans.

I'd wager on an enhanced Firefight. The initial outing with ODST has shown the promise this mode has and I'm fully expecting that if this mode returns, Bungie will have taken note of the understandable shortcomings and worked their darnest to have them addressed.

Forging was the unexpected golden egg laid by the loving Halo 3 goose. Not even Bungie could have foreseen the amazing creativity and development Forge has undergone with the blood, sweat and tears of the Halo community. Already, with the post release DLC support of Halo 3 it's already clear that Bungie both acknowledges and endorses the community's love of Forge - releasing Foundry solely for the Forge users and then one upping themselves with the amazing sandbox of... Sandbox. The future of Halo needs a new Forge as much as any other multiplayer aspect.

Legacy?

This is the final chapter in Bungie's Halo saga. Their final game in the Halo universe. Will Bungie meet the high expectations? No doubt. Will it sell millions? No doubt. DLC support? No doubt. More Bungie.net stats? No doubt. Will Halo fans be playing this three, four or five years down the line? Again, no doubt.

Whilst Halo may not have been Bungie's first game, it has certainly been the game that made them a household name. As the Bungie ships sails into new waters, you can be sure the bounty they leave behind will be keeping millions of gamers playing for years to come.