Halo: Reach can come at any time, now. I’ve spent the last month prepping myself by playing through all the Halo games in the franchise, from Combat Evolved through Halo 3 along with ODST and Halo Wars. I’ve killed Sangheili and Kig-Yar, Jiralhanae and Unggoy (Elites, Jackals, Brutes, and Grunts, respectively), all without remorse. I’ve reduced the Shield World–a Dyson Sphere created by the Forerunners with the intent to keep the Flood out (FAIL)–into a sprawling nebula thanks to Forge’s detonation of the Spirit of Fire’s FTL drive in the sphere’s sun. I also managed to die more times than I can count playing Halo 3 on Legendary, pulling out a great deal of my hair out in the process. I can’t believe how much harder Legendary was on Halo 3 compared to ODST (which seemed like a walk in the park). I skipped out on playing Halo Wars at the apex difficulty due to my vast inexperience with RTS games (Halo Wars being my only real foray into the genre) and the fact that Metroid: Other M shipped out today and should be on my doorstep tomorrow afternoon.
All in all, I think I’m finally ready for Reach. What started off a month ago as a second play-through of ODST has exploded into a full-bore obsession for me as I’ve completed all the campaigns, watched Halo Legends a couple of times, checked out the various media on Waypoint, and even read some of the books (novels, not just the comics–a true sign of addiction on my account). I’m engrossed in a frenzy of Human-Covenant warfare, of a battle that spans 100,000 years between the Forerunners and the Flood. I can’t get enough, and now I’m forced to wait another two weeks for Reach. Other M should help me pass the time, but can I fight off the withdrawal?
For anyone thinking Halo is just a series of great FPS games and multiplayer action, allow me to educate you on some of the excellence that lays beneath the surface.
Halo Waypoint - A free application on Xbox Live (and website, apparently) that gives players a reason to go back through the series and whore out some achievements. It is yet another counter of fake points and accolades that Microsoft and 343 Industries throws your way, and curiously, as it has always been with the 360, this is very enjoyable. Waypoint also features original content, like the terrific Midnight in the Hearth of Midlothian motion comic. Midnight was a short story by Halo series guru Frank O’Connor written for the collection of Halo canon, Halo Evolutions.
Halo Legends – Like anyone who may have once cared about The Matrix, Halo offered its canon to various artists and animators, primarily of the Japanese persuasion, to blow our collective minds through the power of cartoons. Like The Animatrix, Halo Legends is a grouping of several animated stories related to SPARTAN-IIs, ODSTs, Elites, and a two-part backstory telling the initial tale of the Forerunners and their war with the Flood leading into the Covenant warring with Humanity. The animation is at its 2-D magnificence, hearkening back to Japan-drawn/inspired cartoons of the 80s like Thundercats and Transformers.
Comics – The comics, in all honesty, are the weakest point of the Halo universe for me, though that doesn’t mean they aren’t enjoyable. I was always left wanting more after I finished the Halo graphic novels. Nevertheless, the artwork in both volumes I have (Uprising and Halo Graphic Novel) are stunning, blending colors and orchestrating light to create a bleak picture for humans in the war against the Covenant.
Novels – So far, I’ve only read The Fall of Reach, which leads up to Combat Evolved. This also notes the beginning of John-117 and the SPARTAN-IIs. The book, written by Eric Nylund, is a decent read. It has good pace, otherwise I never would have gotten through it. I look forward to charging through the rest of the novels, such as The Flood and First Strike, but unfortunately they will have to wait until December when school is out. This is what I get for “bettering” myself through education, especially while I am trying to better myself through video games.
Halo is more than just a guy in a suit and a digital girl in his head. It is a vast universe of story and culture brilliantly overlaid on a phenomenal game engine. It has the mass appeal required to make it accessible to almost everyone, but it also features the meat and potatoes for people who want to get fat on it. Frank O’Connor and the folks at Bungie and 343 Industries have managed to create a space opera blended with hard sci-fi, mixed with easy-going, basic storytelling. Reach is the next extension of this creation, the last for Bungie. I fully believe, though, much more of the Halo series is to be expected from 343 Industries. Afterall, Halo 3 teases the Chief and Cortana arriving at what can only be speculated as a Forerunner world, possibly a shield world (Onyx?).
Halo: Reach in T-minus 14 days…and counting… … …
