Halo: Reach

Halo: Reach
General Information
Release Date(s)	September 14, 2010
Genre	First-person shooter
Platform(s)	Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows (Steam & Microsoft Store)
Game Mode(s)	Single-player campaign, Online Co-Op campaign, Multiplayer, Theater, Forge, Firefight
Distribution Format(s)	DVD. Digital
Rating(s)	ESRB: Mature (M) for Blood and Gore, Mild Language, and Violence PEGI: 16 for Violence ACB: M
Series Information
Series	Halo (series)
Predecessor	Halo 3: ODST
Successor	More Halo Games
Technical Details
Engine	Blam! Engine
Production Information
Developer(s)	Bungie, LLC
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Director(s)	Marcus Lehto
Producer(s)	Joe Tung
Programmer(s)	Luke Smith, Tyson Green
Writer(s)	Peter O' Brien, Robt McLees
Composer(s)	Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori

Halo: Reach is a first-person shooter game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The game was released worldwide on September 14, 2010, and is a direct prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved (2001). It is the sixth installment in the Halo franchise and Bungie's fifth and final Halo game.

The game takes place in the year 2552, during the Covenant invasion of the Human colony world Reach, which serves as the main military center of the UNSC. The game follows Noble Team, a six-person special operations unit of one SPARTAN-II and five SPARTAN-III commandos. The player assumes the role of the team's latest member, SPARTAN-B312 or "Noble Six," and will be defending Reach from its ultimate downfall at the hands of the Covenant forces.

Upon the first day of release, Reach eclipsed Halo 3's record of $170 million with its own release of $200 million, managing to sell over 8 million copies.

On December 17, 2015, Reach became available on the Xbox One via backwards compatibility. It was announced on March 12, 2019, that Halo: Reach and the entire Master Chief Collection would be coming to PC, with Reach being the first title to roll out on December 3.

Campaign

The campaign consists of 11 levels, of which 10 are playable:

Mission	Description
Noble Actual	"Welcome to Reach." (Cinematic)
Winter Contingency	"There's a disturbance on the frontier."
ONI: Sword Base	"Covenant are attacking a vital ONI base. Drive the bastards off."
Nightfall	"Move in behind enemy lines and evaluate the opposition."
Tip of the Spear	"Two massive armies clash! Time to go to war against the Covenant."
Long Night of Solace	"Move up the beach and secure the launch facility. Take the battle to the Covenant Super Carrier."
Exodus	"All is not lost. Evacuate civilians from an occupied city."
New Alexandria	"Provide air support in a forest of crumbling skyscrapers."
The Package	"Your orders are to destroy Sword Base... Or are they?"
The Pillar of Autumn	"Deliver Halsey's data package to the Pillar of Autumn."
Lone Wolf	"Spartans never die. They're just missing in action..."

Plot

Noble Six's helmet on Reach

The game starts by showing Reach after its glassing, where we also observe the cracked helmet of Noble Six sitting in the dust. Skipping back to July 24, 2552, we see Noble Six in a Warthog heading towards an outpost on Reach. When he arrives, he is introduced to his new team (as he is replacing a deceased squad member) before being dropped into a briefing held by Colonel Urban Holland. The colonel explains that a relay outpost at Visegrád has dropped out of contact, and that they believe the local Insurrection to be responsible. Carter-A259, the commanding officer of Noble Team, accepts the mission and welcomes Six to the squad, before they all depart on Falcons to Visegrád.

Six arrives during a briefing from Col. Holland.

Arriving at Visegrád, a little town in the Highland Mountains of the Eposz continent, Noble Team immediately find themselves unable to contact their headquarters. Deploying, they investigate the area to find signs of battle, but no bodies. Eventually, they come across a few villagers, one of which states he saw something kill his son. They press on to find two dead UNSC army troopers, hung up interrogation style. After minutes of trying to locate any evidence of Insurrectionist activity, they come across hostile contacts; and its the Covenant. Shocked by the sudden change of events, Noble Team presses onwards towards the outpost, breaking through Covenant forces occupying the area. They eventually manage to secure the outpost, reopening Reach's interstellar communications and allowing Carter to warn Holland of the Covenant presence on Reach. With this in mind, Holland puts the WINTER CONTINGENCY emergency plan into action.

Dr. Halsey with a data chip that Noble Team recovered.

Two days later, Noble Team is redeployed to Sword Base, an ONI facility in the Babd Catha Ice Shelf within Eposz, where the facility is under siege from a Covenant SDV-Class Heavy Corvette. Deploying in the courtyard, Kat-B320 and Noble Six secure the area. With the courtyard secured, Kat and Six quickly left for Farragut Station, reactivating a COM array. They then went to Airview Base, reactivating an AA gun to help clear the skies of Covenant aircraft. Once done, they return to Sword Base and regroup with the rest of Noble Team, moving inside the facility and helping UNSC forces clear the facility of Covenant ground forces. They proceed to the top of the base, where Six helps Emile-A239 take out any Covenant air in the area. Once done, the two of them watch as the corvette tries to escape, only to be hit by an orbital MAC round, destroying it instantly. Later, after the battle, Noble Team is called in by Dr. Halsey, who reprimands Carter for not pursuing the Elites at the Visegrád Relay. She explains that they were likely part of an artifact retrieval team, and likely had stolen valuable information. Kat reveals that she confiscated some of the information, before giving it to Halsey. After, Noble Team leaves, with Halsey inspecting her new data intently.

Six and Jun with two of Reach's militia insurrectionists.

On August 11, Noble Six and Jun-A266 are deployed to the Szurdok Ridge in the Viery Territory to scout out Covenant positions and to find out the extent of the Covenant incursion. Using stealth tactics in a strictly recon role, Jun and Six are able to sneak past or neutralize most of the Covenant entrenchments, even planting a bomb on a pylon, which is stated to be the source of a dark zone. They manage to hold off significant Covenant opposition while doing this, but succeed, retreating to the end of the ridge. From there, they stumble upon a massive Covenant armada being set up, with large fortifications and armies being deployed from an unknown source. With their mission complete, Jun and Six quietly extract, ready for the morning's assault.

UNSC's assault against the Covenant.

The next morning, the UNSC launches a massive ground and air assault upon the Covenant strike force, utilizing huge amounts of Scorpions, Warthogs and Falcons. Cutting through the Viery Territory, the UNSC forces hope to hit the Covenant hard and fast, clearing them out and ridding them of their landing zone. The Covenant meet them in force, with a massive force of Ghosts, Banshees, Wraiths, Revenants and Scarabs. Forced to break off, Kat and Six are cut off from the rest of the army, and forced to proceed on foot, engaging numerous Covenant lances on the ground. Through the help of sections of the UNSC assault force, Kat and Six manage to locate and destroy numerous AA batteries, allowing two UNSC frigates and a squadron of Longswords to break through and smash a large section of the Covenant defenses, including three Scarabs. After destroying one final AA gun, Jorge-052 meets up with Six in a Falcon and they cut across the battlefield to take out a Covenant Spire, hoping to find the source of the Covenant incursion. Their Falcon is disabled by the Spire's shield, but, by proceeding on foot, they both manage to disable the Spire's shield and escape on another Falcon, retreating to a safe distance as one of the two frigates, UNSC Grafton, uses its MAC gun to destroy the Spire.

It is then revealed that the Spire was actually powering the active camouflage of the gargantuan Covenant CSO-Class Supercarrier, Long Night of Solace. Shortly after being revealed, the supercarrier fires its energy projector, destroying the Grafton instantly, before later escaping into orbit of the planet.

The team regroups and develops a new plan.

Noble Team regroups, trying to think of a way to deal with the supercarrier. Kat forms her own plan, hoping to rig a slipspace drive into an explosive device, and delivering it to the supercarrier. The resulting explosion would transport half the colossal vessel to oblivion. Carter asks how she plans to even get it there, when she reveals that she is aware of the UNSC's classified prototype Sabres, and that using them would be extremely effective in taking down the supercarrier. Carter contacts Holland about the plan, but is extremely doubtful that he'll permit it.

Six and Jorge launch into space.

The next day, Noble Team arrives at Farkas Lake in Eposz, where the Sabre Program Launch/Research Range is located. The supercarrier is already assaulting the base, with air strikes being launched and troops deployed via dropship and orbit. Noble Team cuts through the edge of the lake, breaking through and reaching the facility. Inside, they clear out any hostiles that got inside with the help of army troopers, before moving into the main facility. The rest of Noble stays behind while Jorge and Six enter one of the Sabres, launching with the rest into orbit.

They quickly move into position around the refit and repair station Anchor 9, where the frigate UNSC Savannah is docked, and having its slipspace drive removed for the mission. However, the station soon comes under attack from Covenant air forces, and Six, with the other Sabres, defends the station until its defenses come online. Later, now capable of defending itself, Anchor 9 helps clear up the remainder of the Covenant squadrons, and the Sabre docks with the station to allow Jorge to get to the Pelican holding the slipspace drive. Six quickly departs as the Pelican docks with the Savannah, of which offers assistance in the mission. All ready, the group makes best speed towards their target.

Jorge arrives to assist with the slipspace drive.

They quickly arrive on the other side of the planet, where the SDV-Class Heavy Corvette, Ardent Prayer, is waiting. They quickly ambush the corvette, with the Sabres disabling its engines and managing to fight off returning patrols. With the corvette unable to escape, the Sabres land on its hull, and Six leads a squad of army troopers into the ship, clearing out any Covenant in the ship's hangar. Once done, the Pelican deploys with the slipspace drive, and Jorge and Six proceed to the bridge. On the way however, the corvette's defenses overwhelm and destroy the Savannah, forcing them to hurry. They kill the command crew and set the ship on a refueling course for the Long Night of Solace, giving them their delivery.

Jorge explodes the Long Night of Solace.

Returning to the hangar, they find the Pelican under attack from the Covenant. They manage to repel the counterattack, but the bomb is damaged during the battle, and can only be detonated manually. Jorge declares his intent to detonate it, grabbing Six and throwing him out of the ship before he can object. Jorge then sacrifices his life and detonates the bomb as the Ardent Prayer docks with the supercarrier, vaporizing the corvette instantly and scything the Long Night of Solace in half. Six is only able to watch on as he is caught in Reach's atmosphere and continues to fall. However, only moments later, a massive Covenant fleet arrives, thousands of ships, in orbit of Reach, and the Fall of Reach finally begins.

Six holds on to Jorge's tags as he looks upon New Alexandria.

Six awakens from his fall to the sight of the supercarrier's wreckage, and quickly limps away in a random direction. On August 23, he enters the city of New Alexandria, where four SDV-Class Heavy Corvettes are currently bombarding it. Six moves into the city, quickly linking up with forces from the UNSC Army and helping evacuate civilians from Traxus Tower. However, the evacuation is unable to take place, as one of the corvettes has moved above the tower, shutting off all attempts to evacuate. However, with the help of some of ODSTs from the Bullfrog unit, they manage to capture an executive landing pad, allowing civilians to evacuate via Pelican. Not long after, Six gets in a Falcon, and is transported across the city, where he watches numerous examples of the Covenant overrunning the city, and even watches a civilian evacuation ship get shot down by a corvette, crashing into the ocean and sinking.

Landing on a beachhead, Six helps Sergeant Duvall reinitiate UNSC missile batteries. They successfully clear the area long enough to activate the missile batteries, which fire and cripple the corvette's weaponry, allowing the remaining evacuation transports to slip past and escape the city. Not long after, Kat contacts Six, who informs her that Jorge is dead, and later pops a flare so they can find and extract him.

Noble team receiving new orders.

That evening, Noble Six reunites with Carter, who sends him on a mission to aid UNSC forces in escaping the ruins of New Alexandria and taking out Covenant jammers located throughout the area. Using a Falcon, Six coordinates with Kat, and manages to locate and destroy the jammers successfully. However, when Kat receives orders from Colonel Holland that all forces are to be evacuated through the Office of Naval Intelligence Headquarters building, Six is ordered back to assist. This becomes even more urgent when Covenant forces begin an aerial siege of the tower, which is soon broken by the timely arrival of Six, and all surviving forces are able to evacuate, and Six is able to land and regroup with Noble Team.

Noble Team looking upon the ruins of New Alexandria after it was glassed by the Covenant.

Noble Team convenes, only to receive new orders from Holland that they are to be redeployed back to Sword Base in a mission to destroy it. However, the transmission draws the attention of the Covenant, and a CCS-Class Battlecruiser fires its energy projector right next to the tower, beginning to glass it. The radiation spike cripples all their energy shields instantly, and Noble Team flees the room as they try to reach a radiation bunker. Just as they reach it however, an Elite Field Marshal on a overhead Phantom manages to hit Kat in the back of the head with its Needle Rifle, killing Kat instantly. She dies in Six's arms as the rest of Noble Team opens fire, but the Phantom escapes. They drag her body inside as the glassing beam continues to destroy the building. On August 26, they emerge from the wreckage, where a transport is moving to pick them up. Carter then emerges, cradling Kat's body in his arms.

Three days later, August 29, Noble Team and UNSC forces redeploy to Sword Base in a torch-and-burn operation to destroy the facility and prevent the Covenant from gaining any information they can use to their advantage. They manage to fight their way into Sword Base, where they proceed inside and clear it of Covenant hostiles. They push through to the pre-assigned coordinates, only to find nothing. Confused, the team is about to leave when Auntie Dot informs them that new, revised coordinates are leading underground. Finding a excavation tunnel, Noble Team travels deep into a deep underground cavern, where they are contacted by Halsey and revealed the true nature of their mission; to assist her in escape and to allow her to retrieve her findings on the Forerunner ruins.

Halsey and Cortana right before the AI is handed over to Six.

Arriving, Noble Team uses Wolf Spider Turrets to defend the lab, and manages to hold off numerous waves of Covenant troops. Once allowed inside, Noble Team meets Halsey once more, and is introduced to Cortana, an AI with Halsey's personality implanted. Halsey declares she has made a discovery that could change the course of the war. Taking Cortana, she places her in a data storage unit, before giving her to Noble Six to transport to the UNSC Pillar of Autumn. She then leaves on a Pelican for CASTLE Base, with Jun as her escort. Carter, Six and Emile then deploy on a separate Pelican, of which Carter pilots personally, and head for the Aszod Shipbreaking Yards, where the Autumn is docked.

Noble Team arrive at Aszod, but their Pelican is badly damaged from Covenant pursuers, and Carter critically wounded. Emile and Six decidedly leap from the Pelican while Carter keeps the enemy air forces distracted, allowing Emile and Six to continue on foot towards the shipbreaking yards. From there, they acquire a vehicle and manage to break through the Covenant forces in the area, and even evade a few passing Scarabs. However, they eventually come across a Scarab that they cannot avoid. Before it can kill them however, Carter appears, slamming his Pelican into the Scarab and killing himself, but sending the Scarab careening off the cliff into the area below.

Six watches the Pillar of Autumn escape Reach.

Emile and Six continue to the shipbreaking yards, and help UNSC Army forces fight off Covenant troops. Punching through, they eventually reach the landing pad, where Emile takes control of an Onager and clears the skies, while Six deals with any enemy forces that manage to get through on the ground. Eventually, Captain Keyes arrives on a Pelican and Six gives him Cortana. But before Six can get on the Pelican with him, a Phantom appears, shooting down the escort and quickly deploying a squad of Elites at the mass driver. Emile manages to kill one, but is then killed by a second, but not before killing the second as well. With a CCS-Class Battlecruiser looming above, Six decides to stay behind and use the Onager to buy them sometime to escape. Fighting back through the facility, Six utilizes the Onager to cripple the battlecruiser's energy projector, allowing the Pillar of Autumn to escape into orbit. Six simply watches as the ship moves into the atmosphere.

The Pillar of Autumn discovers Alpha Halo, recreated from the first game.

The game ends the same way Halo: Combat Evolved begins; with the Pillar of Autumn entering orbit over Alpha Halo, and Keyes asking Cortana whether or not Reach was lost. The credits then roll as the Autumn continues to fly towards the ring.

Noble Six is surrounded by the Covenant.

After the credits, the game cuts back to Six on Reach, still in Aszod, watching Phantoms fly by. Eventually, Six is forced to engage Covenant forces while Reach is glassed around him, and he fights to the death. Eventually, Six is overwhelmed by seven Elites, and is killed. The scene cuts to Six's helmet, cracked, and lying in the dust, just like at the start of the game.

Noble Six's helmet on a once-again habitable Reach.

Thirty-seven years later, on July 7, 2589, Noble Six's helmet is still on Reach. Its revealed that the planet has become habitable again, as a colony ship has arrived.

Characters

Major Characters

USNC Minor Characters

NOBLE Team Carter-A259 Emile-A239 Jorge-052 Jun-A266 Kat-B320 Noble Six AI Auntie Dot Cortana UNSC Dr. Catherine Halsey Captain Jacob Keyes Colonel Urban Holland Covenant Ardo 'Moretumee

1 Alpha 3 4 Charlie 27 7 Charlie 40 7 Delta 19 Air Control ATC 1 ATC 2 Sergeant Avery Johnson Beta-Red Actual First Lieutenant Buckman Sergeant Major Duvall Echo Dispatch Echo Team Evacuation Dispatch Edward Buck Gauntlet Team First Lieutenant Jake Chapman Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 Kilo 26 Kilo Dispatch Kristòf "Savannah Actual" Jen Dr. Laszlo Sorvad Master Sergeant Marcus Stacker Sára Sorvad Sword Control Team Beta Corporal Travis Red Team

Gameplay

Concept art showing Noble Team interacting with civilians and UNSC Army troopers.

Over the course of the campaign, the player will visit various locales on and above planet Reach, which includes 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 ship. The player will also encounter indigenous creatures such as the Moa and the Gúta.

Halo: Reach features many new additions to Halo while still retaining the core gameplay. The player damage system is similar to that of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 3: ODST. The HUD highlights environmental features and overlay information about them, and the motion sensor display is 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 off the ground for certain gametypes and campaign); armor abilities are reusable with a recharge time between uses. A new assassination system is also featured, in which holding down the melee button will trigger a context-sensitive, third-person assassination animation. Simply hitting 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 did not return. Human weapons all hit more or less instantly after pulling the trigger, giving them a more powerful feel. There is no longer 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 M6G Magnum, for example, is now almost as powerful as the M6D Pistol in Halo: CE, and has an even higher rate of fire.

Players are 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 are only to 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 is 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 more noticeable targets. This gives the SPARTANs the advantage of being more nimble and tougher to hit, especially with headshots.

While the rest of Noble Team accompany the player for most of the game, Halo: Reach does 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.

A small section of the Halo: Reach campaign level Long Night of Solace involves space combat, a new element to the game. This space battle above Reach is the first space combat level played in the saga.

Multiplayer

A total of 17 multiplayer maps are available in Halo: Reach, with nine standard multiplayer maps and eight Firefight maps.

Arena		Big Team Battle
Image	Map	Image	Map
Launch Maps
	Forge World Asylum The Cage Pinnacle		Boardwalk
	Powerhouse		Boneyard
	Reflection		Countdown
	Sword Base		Forge World Hemmorrhage Paradisio
	Zealot		Spire
Noble Map Pack
	Anchor 9		Breakpoint
			Tempest
Defiant Map Pack
	Condemned		Highlands
Anniversary Map Pack
	Battle Canyon (Battle Creek remake)		Breakneck (Headlong remake)
	High Noon (Hang 'em High remake)		Ridgeline (Timberland remake)
	Penance (Damnation remake)
	Solitary (Prisoner remake)

Firefight

Image	Map	Image	Map
Launch Maps
	Beachhead		Holdout
	Corvette		Outpost
	Courtyard		Overlook
	Glacier		Waterfront
Defiant Map Pack		Anniversary Map Pack
	Unearthed		Installation 04

Matchmaking

Halo: Reach's matchmaking allows players to compete with each other over the Xbox Live online service or System Link, for 16 players on the Xbox. The matchmaking system has been improved and redesigned from Halo 3; instead of having experience and rank as two separate features, Halo: Reach combines these two into a credit system where the player is scored on how well they play in each individual performance, instead of a win/loss system. As players gain credits, they achieve higher military rank, and are able to buy armor permutations to customize their SPARTAN and Elites character model. A new matchmaking system called the Arena is introduced for hardcore/competitive players where they will play in month-long seasons and be put into divisions of either Onyx, Gold, Silver, Bronze or Iron, depending on how well they play. Along with this, Campaign also has matchmaking support as well. Players are able to vote on which Campaign mission to play, similar to how voting works in competitive Matchmaking.

The multiplayer mode features standard multiplayer gametypes such as Slayer, Capture the Flag and King of the Hill, as well as reintroducing Race, a gametype that was once made exclusive only to Halo: Combat Evolved. Firefight mode, a cooperative gameplay mode that was made present in Halo 3: ODST, is featured in Halo: Reach with much more customizable features, from the skulls that turn on every round to the very enemies the player will face every wave, as well as having Matchmaking support. Halo: Reach also introduces new gametypes to multiplayer such as Invasion, Stockpile, and Headhunter. The character models in Halo: Reach differs significantly than their previous architecture in Halo 3; both character models are now composed of different hitboxes and have different gameplay properties. The Elite character models are formidably larger, and physically superior, having faster shield regeneration and the ability to regain health fully over time than their SPARTAN counterpart. SPARTANs are smaller and weaker than their Elite counterpart and would only regain health to thirds over time unless they pick up a health pack. For these balancing issues, only specific gametypes in matchmaking allow SPARTANs and Elites to face each other in team-based games.

Features

Vehicles

All civilian vehicles are drivable in the Campaign, but not in multiplayer.

UNSC	Covenant
Usable Cart M12 Warthog M12 LRV Warthog M12G1 Gauss Warthog M12R Rocket Warthog M274R Mongoose M808B Scorpion M831 Troop Transport Warthog S-2 Traxus Cargo Transporter Spade Tractor unit HuCiv HC1500 UH-144 Falcon FSS-1000 Sabre Bravo 029 Echo 001 Echo 002 Echo 003 Echo 004 D77-TC Pelican (Easter egg only) Delta 15 Whiskey 035 Whiskey 036 Whiskey 037 Whiskey 039 Non-Usable Anchor 9 Halcyon-class light cruiser UNSC Pillar of Autumn GA-TL1 Longsword Stalwart-class light frigate UNSC Aegis Fate (Mentioned only) UNSC Stalwart Dawn Paris-class heavy frigate UNSC Commonwealth UNSC Grafton UNSC Savannah UNSC Saratoga Egret Spaceliner 6 Echo 2 6 Echo 3 7 Echo 3	Usable Wraith Zurdo-pattern Wraith Banshee Is'belox-pattern Banshee Ghost Karo'etba-pattern Ghost Revenant Rizvum-pattern Revenant Phantom Ru'swum-pattern Phantom (Easter egg only) Non-Usable Battlecruiser Ket-pattern battlecruiser Assault carrier Kerel-pattern assault carrier Heavy corvette Ceudar-pattern heavy corvette Ardent Prayer Supercarrier Sh'wada-pattern supercarrier Long Night of Solace Covenant drop pod Seraph Morsam-pattern Seraph Spirit Dextro Xur-pattern Spirit Banshee Elsedda-pattern Banshee Scarab Deutoros-pattern Scarab Phantom R'shwupa-pattern Phantom
	Forerunner
	Non-Usable Babd Catha Forerunner vessel

Equipment

Armor Abilities	Power-Ups
Active Camouflage Armor Lock Drop Shield Evade Hologram Jet Pack Sprint	Active Camouflage Custom Power Up Overshield

Weapons

UNSC

Covenant

Usable 7 wood golf club Combat knife (assassinations only) H-165 target locator M1024 ASW/AC 30mm autocannon M247H machine gun M247T machine gun M319 grenade launcher M392 DMR M41 Vulcan M41 rocket launcher M45 shotgun M460 automatic grenade launcher M512 smooth-bore high-velocity cannon M6 Spartan Laser M68 Gauss cannon M638 autocannon M6G magnum M79 rocket launcher M9 fragmentation grenade MA37 assault rifle Mark 2488 Onager SRS99-AM sniper rifle ST/Medusa missile Type 14 Magnetic/Anti-Tank Mine (Gametype-specific use only) Non-Usable Fury tactical nuclear weapon (Mentioned only) Landmine M370 autocannon M71 Scythe M8 Wolf Spider M9109 ASW/AC 50mm autocannon M95 Lance Magnetic Accelerator Cannon Point-defense gun M910 point defense network Unidentified UNSC explosive

Usable Class-2 directed energy cannon Class-2 medium plasma mortar Energy dagger Fuel rod cannon Anskum-pattern plasma grenade Type-1 energy sword Paegaas Workshop gravity hammer Paegaas Workshop spiker Eos'Mak-pattern plasma pistol Okarda'phaa-pattern plasma rifle Type-26 Directed-Energy Mortar Rizsheda-pattern shade Gadulo-pattern needle rifle Korva-pattern fuel rod gun Type-33 needler Elo'Nakada-pattern concussion rifle Nakata'vho-pattern plasma repeater M'tara-pattern focus rifle Pek-pattern plasma cannon Kopasa'mada-pattern plasma launcher Non-Usable Energy projector Focus cannon Heavy plasma cannon Plasma cannon Pulse laser turret Cheru-pattern Tyrant Void maker Riruku-pattern antimatter charge

Health System

In Halo Reach, the old health system from Halo: Combat Evolved returns. Unlike Halo 2 and Halo 3, where the player only had a shield bar and no visible health bar (although health was present), in Halo Reach, just like Halo: Combat Evolved, has a shield bar and numerous health bars. Just like in Halo 3, these can be found at the middle top of the screen, just below the player's compass. The shield bar is located ontop, while the health bars are located underneath it. The player has a total of seventeen health bars, but this is actually an illusion. When the player loses health, the bars collapse 'inwards,' meaning that a bar on the far left and far right will both disappear (for example, when the player takes a hit, the eighth bar on the left, and the eighth bar on the right will disappear. Another hit, the seventh bar on the left, seventh on the right, etc.)

While the player still has shields, their health will not take damage. Once their shields have been drained however, the player will begin suffering damage. Much like previous games, once depleted, the shields will beep consistently and loudly, and the bar will flash bright red constantly. When the player loses health, the closer they get to the middle, the bars change color, becoming darker. When the player has extremely low health, the bars will be dark crimson. Once this health bar is depleted, the player dies. Like Halo: Combat Evolved, the game has health packs which, if obtained, can be used to heal the player's health back to maximum. If their shields are down while doing this, shields will be recharged instantly as well. However, unlike Halo: Combat Evolved, where you need only walk over the pack to pick it up, the player must 'equip it,' using the same button used to use vehicles or pick up weapons.

Difficulty

Difficulties	Symbol	Description
Easy		“Laugh as helpless victims flee in terror from their inevitable slaughter. Achievements cannot be unlocked on this difficulty.”
Normal		“Face firm resistance from competent, determined enemies, but burn through enough ammo and you will eventually triumph.”
Heroic		“Fight against formidable foes that will truly test your skill and wits; this is the way Halo is meant to be played.”
Legendary		“Tremble as teeming hordes of invincible alien monsters punish the slightest error with instant death... again and again.”

Development

Where there will be a full three-year cycle, it's got all-new tech, akin to the change from Halo 2 to Halo 3, not like ODST, which is just built on top of the foundation.

Bungie Community Manager, Brian Jarrard

Reach was in development since the completion of Halo 3, in the tradition of a full three-year cycle and used a completely new game engine created specifically for the game. It was confirmed in October 2009 that Martin O'Donnell, Bungie's lead composer, had begun casting voice actors for Reach.

Bungie chose to create a development blog at www.NobleActual.com, using Tumblr. It featured ongoing updates and insights from Creative Director Marcus Lehto and Executive Producer Joe Tung. It was created on February 9, 2010, and ran until September 13 that year for the Halo: Reach launch party. Blog articles included discussions about hitting milestones, water, crunch, music, Halo: Reach Beta codes, and more.

The Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta, used to gather information and tweak gameplay features in the game, ran from May 3 through May 20, 2010. The Zero-bug release milestone in Halo: Reach's development was reached on June 24, 2010, and the game's audio, including soundtrack, voices and sound effects, was finished on July 15, 2010. As of August 5, 2010, Halo: Reach had "gone gold", meaning all development of the game has been completed and mass manufacturing of the game has begun. The game was released on September 14, 2010, as planned.

Design

Bungie has taken a new design direction with Halo: Reach, aiming for a more somber and gritty atmosphere. The more serious tone is also reflected in camera angles; instead of long, sweeping shots, the cinematic camera angles are actually made to look as if shot with actual cameras.

In many ways, the character designs, especially those of Sangheili and human personnel, harken back to Halo: Combat Evolved. Models for enemies and allies boast remarkable levels of new detail in form of higher-resolution textures and more polygons. Enemies and allies will have more individual features to denote ranks and provide more visual variety, such as each soldier having an individual name tag in their BDUs. Bungie made an effort to make the Covenant feel more alien and threatening; for example, the Covenant will speak in their own languages instead of English.

Engine

Bungie is using a completely reworked version of the engine, with no component left untouched.

The environments, while larger than in the previous games, are far more detailed. The graphical effects have been drastically improved, allowing for a new atmospheric effects system and more dynamic lighting for dramatic shadows and moving light sources in interiors. The engine was improved with an upgraded level of detail system, allowing for larger environments to be rendered compared to previous Halo games, transitioning to more detailed textures and models when moving closer. Rain and fogging effects are also improved. Halo: Reach also features a new animation system, which smoothly blends movement between standing, walking and running as well as jumps, grenade throws and firing. The facial animation system has been completely revamped, including motion capture. Weapon effects are amplified to be more powerful and visceral than before, giving them a more serious tone. Human weapons will sound more powerful and emit smoke and showers of sparks. Plasma bolts now burn through material as they hit, and explosions will throw clouds of dirt and debris around.

Halo: Reach's engine is able to support up to 60 active AI characters on screen at once, twice as many as in Halo 3. In addition, AI has level of detail as well - distant battles between AI characters follow automated behavior models, which convert into scripted behaviors as the player gets closer, and finally convert to full AI.

Audio

I want it to be more visceral, to have a bigger sense of loss, a personal feeling of sacrifice

Martin O'Donnell, on the audio design of Halo: Reach

A more serious and realistic approach has been taken in the audio design of Halo: Reach than in the previous Halo games.

The music of Reach was referred to as being more somber and more visceral, as the plot is more character-driven than previous Halo titles and that it focuses on a planet known to have fallen. As of now, it has been stated that the Halo Theme will not be heard in the game, but there is some foreshadowing of Halo themes.

The in-game effects such as weapon sounds have also been amplified to sound more powerful and realistic. In addition to various different audio filters for interiors and exteriors, the space environment in the level Long Night of Solace required an entirely new audio filter to make the environment feel more realistic. A significant improvement in the game's audio technology allows for more fluid transition between different layers of music; whereas the first Halo could barely manage more than two layers of music at once, Reach can run seven layers at once, coordinating which ones fade in and out based on relatively minor changes in the player's behavior. The audio effects for Halo: Reach were tested in an Audio Testing Environment to find the suitable locations to be put in the actual game.

It was announced by Bungie that the Halo: Reach Original Soundtrack would be released on September 28, 2010.

Cut Content

During the development of Halo: Reach, many different things had to be cut out. The following is cut content from the game:

• Early on in the game's development, the level New Alexandria was supposed to be followed by a mission where the player would control a Scarab in the ruins of New Alexandria. The designers created a gameplay prototype of this level, but the idea was scrapped due to technical difficulties of successfully implementing a drivable Scarab while keeping gameplay sustainable.
• Most of Rosenda-A344's character was reduced to a brief reference.
• Most of Thom-A293's character was reduced to a brief appearance in the trailer Deliver Hope and a few references.
• There was supposed to be a Hunter assassination that was like boarding a vehicle. It was such an early concept, that Bungie used the Halo 3 engine to show it.
• There was also supposed to be usable boats.
• A new type of large UNSC space ship was to be seen.
• Longswords were planned to be pilotable.
• The Gúta was to have its own assassination animation.
• The Sabre was to be pilotable in multiplayer but cut due to balancing issues.

Marketing and Release

E3 2009 Announcement

Shortly after the Halo 3: ODST E3 2009 Trailer premiered, it was soon followed up by the first official announcement trailer for Halo: Reach.

2009 VGA Trailer

At the 2009 Spike TV Video Games Awards, the first official in-game trailer was shown. This 2:36 video was an opening cinematic that showed a glimpse of the new characters and graphics.

Once More Unto the Breach

The 'Once More Unto the Breach ViDoc' focused on the graphical and gameplay changes to the game between Halo 3 and Halo: Reach. This 7:45 video showed the development of the series over the years.

Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta

The Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta was a phase in the development of Halo: Reach, produced by Bungie, LLC and organized by Microsoft Game Studios. The beta was made available to those who bought Halo 3: ODST and it was released from May 3 through May 20, 2010. More than 2.7 million players participated in the beta during its three-week run on LIVE. After July 21, 2010, Bungie stopped supporting stats and files from the beta. Players who participated in the beta on their current LIVE accounts receive an Halo: Reach Beta Visual Flair for use with their gamertags, which is represented with an MA37.

Carnàge Carnivàle

The 'Carnàge Carnivàle ViDoc' focused on the new multiplayer in Halo: Reach. This 8:20 video shows the many gameplay enhancements that have been added.

E3 2010 Demo

On June 14, 2010, at E3 2010, Bungie released a demo displaying a section of campaign in Reach. It introduced various new vehicles, and the new feature of space combat. A shorter gameplay trailer of the same level was also released.

Firefight 2.0

On June 16, 2010, Bungie released a collage of clips from Halo: Reach's Firefight feature.

Red vs Blue Halo: Reach PSA: Deja View

On July 7, 2010, in honor of Bungie Day, Rooster Teeth, the creators of the popular Halo machinima Red vs Blue, released a special PSA revealing the return of Blood Gulch, the classic Halo: Combat Evolved multiplayer map. The video teased the rest of Forge World in the form of a scene where Sarge stands on a cliff admiring the view and commenting on the map's large size.

Forge World

The 'Forge World ViDoc' was released July 23, 2010. It was focused on the new multiplayer map, Forge World, the largest map in the Halo franchise.

The Battle Begins

The Battle Begins campaign trailer was released July 29, 2010. The 1:06 trailer showcased several cinematic scenes from the campaign.

A Spartan Will Rise

The 'A Spartan Will Rise' ViDoc was released August 17, 2010. The ViDoc focused on the characters of the game, with Dr. Halsey acting as the main narrator.

Noble Map Pack Trailer

The Noble Map Pack Trailer was released October 25, 2010. The trailer released new information about the Noble Map Pack.

2010 VGA Trailer

As a post-game trailer, it was released on 2010 in Bungie.net's Halo: Reach Multimedia section. The trailer showcased campaign cutscenes, gameplay and has been warned as being a spoiler.

Defiant Map Pack Trailer

The Defiant Map Pack Trailer was released February 14, 2011. The trailer released new information about the Defiant Map Pack.

Anniversary Map Pack Trailer

The Anniversary Map Pack Trailer was released August 29, 2011. The behind-the-scenes trailer featured staff from 343 Industries discussing Halo: Combat Evolved's anniversary and how they remade seven maps for Halo: Reach. Six of the maps were for multiplayer and one was for Firefight.

Viral Campaign

Birth of a Spartan

On April 26, 2010, a website was created by Microsoft as part of a viral marketing campaign to promote Halo: Reach. At first, the site merely consisted of a teaser image which showed the UNSC emblem washed out by static, with the words "Augmentation Begins April 28, 2010." On April 28, both the standard and extended versions of the Birth of a Spartan live-action trailer were released.

Remember Reach

An advertising campaign titled Remember Reach was launched on August 17, 2010. The campaign included the website RememberReach.com, as well as several live-action shorts. The website became active on August 23, 2010, allowing visitors to claim a point of light in the monument and share on Facebook Connect.

Patrol Short Film

'Patrol' is a live-action short for the 'Remember Reach' campaign and was released on August 17, 2010. In the short, three UNSC troopers from 3 Charlie are on patrol, discussing a recent confrontation Noble Team had with insurrectionists, before being sent to investigate a disturbance in the Comm Relay Hub in Visegrád.

Deliver Hope Short FIlm

'Deliver Hope' is a live-action short for the 'Remember Reach' campaign and was released on August 26, 2010. The short takes place before the events of the actual game, where Noble Team destroys a CCS-class Battlecruiser using a Medium Fusion Destructive Device.

New Life Short Film

'New Life' is a live-action short film for the 'Remember Reach' campaign and was released on August 26, 2010. It depicts a couple arguing over whether they should stay in Visegrád or abandon their old life and move to a bigger city.

Spaceport Short Film

Spaceport is a live-action short film for the 'Remember Reach' campaign and was released August 27, 2010. It shows a child named Gabe as he says goodbye to his mother, who is shipping out.

Day Before Compilation Film

The 'Day Before' short film that shows the stories of several families just prior to the disruption of the Visegrád Relay station. It is a compilation of the short films 'Patrol,' 'Spaceport' and 'New Life,' combining the events of all three shorts into one.

Monument to Noble Team and Creation

The 'Monument to Noble Team,' also known as the 'Monument of Light,' is the final video in the 'Remember Reach' campaign and was released September 14, 2010. It shows the robotic arm drawing points of light from several angles. It was unlocked on the RememberReach.com website after the 118,422 people created a light for the memorial via Facebook Connect. The robot arm would draw 54,439 points of light over the next 20 days, a reference to the number 7. The site also displayed five points that were accessible by clicking on them. Each point corresponded to a member of Noble Team, excluding Noble Six.

Merchandise and Promotions

Features	Standard	Limited Edition	Legendary Edition
Image of contents
Game disc & manual	Yes	Yes	Yes
ONI-themed case & artifact bag	No	Yes	Yes
Waypoint avatar gear	No	Yes	Yes
Exclusive Sangheili armor	No	Yes	Yes
Exclusive SPARTAN armor effect	No	No	Yes
Exclusive digital content	No	No	Yes
Noble Team statue	No	No	Yes
Large UNSC-themed case	No	No	Yes
UA multi threat chest	Yes, Gamestop & GAME pre-order only	Yes, Gamestop & GAME pre-order only	Yes, Gamestop & GAME pre-order only
Recon helmet	Yes, launch day purchase (North America)/Pre-order only (other countries)	Yes, launch day purchase (North America)/Pre-order only (other countries)	Yes, launch day purchase (North America)/Pre-order only (other countries)

Halo: Reach was released in three different versions. The Standard Edition comes with the game disc and manual. The Limited Edition is cased in an ONI "black box" and includes an exclusive Sangheili armor set for use in multiplayer modes and an artifact bag containing Dr. Halsey's personal journal and other classified documents and effects that unravel long-held secrets of the Halo universe. The Legendary Edition contains everything from the Limited Edition along with extra SPARTAN armor effect for use in the game, along with an exclusive hand-painted and numbered Noble Team statue by McFarlane Toys in UNSC-themed custom packaging. Those in North America who purchase Halo: Reach on launch day will receive a new variation of the coveted MJOLNIR Recon Armor. Recon will also be available to any who have pre-ordered the game. As a bonus, the Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor/W variant will be given to customers who pre-order the game at GameStop.

In addition, Bungie has announced that players who have/buy a copy of Halo PC, can use that same authentication key to obtain a special in-game Halo: Combat Evolved symbol on their nameplate . Players of Xbox's Halo 2 before the April 14th, 2010 cutoff (Shutdown of Xbox Live v1 Service) will be awarded a special in-game Halo 2 symbol on their nameplate. If your current gamertag has changed since the last time you played Halo 2, or if your current gamertag never played Halo 2, you will not be receiving this item. Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Bungie Pro, Halo: Reach Beta flairs are also displayable in a similar way.

Also, a Reach themed Xbox had been announced. The Xbox will include a 250-gigabyte hard drive, two Reach themed wireless controllers, standard wired headset, and a standard copy of Halo: Reach. The Reach Xbox 360 will also feature exclusive Elite Armor, Waypoint Avatar Gear, and Halo: Legends episode: "The Package," as well as custom Halo sound effects from the Xbox itself. In addition the controllers and headset will be sold separately for $59.99 and $49.99 respectively. The controller will also bring a token for a downloadable animated Covenant Banshee avatar item. The theme includes ONI property tags and more, which according to Microsoft, is canon material in the Halo universe.

The game has brought the proposal for merchandise, such as action figures. McFarlane Toys had announced that they were planning to release a series of Reach 5-inch scaled figures in September 2010. Square Enix has also showcased several figures for their new Reach line of action figures.

A new comic book series, titled Halo: The Fall of Reach - Boot Camp, was released alongside Halo: Reach. Boot Camp is a graphic novel adaptation of Halo: The Fall of Reach.

Halo: Reach Original Soundtrack

Covert art

The Halo: Reach Original Soundtrack was released in stores September 28, 2010, and was distributed via iTunes and Sumthing Digital on September 14. There are a total of 20 tracks in the two-disk set.

The soundtrack was composed by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, with assistance from Stan LePard, C. Paul Johnson, and Ivan Ives. In a press release, O'Donnell called it a "culmination of our efforts."

The Reach OST is also the last time O'Donnell and Salvatori collaborated and composed original music for a Halo game.

Release and Reception

Aggregate Score
Metacritic	91/100
Review Scores
1UP	A+
Computer and Video Games	9.2/10
The Daily Telegraph	10/10
Edge	9/10
Eurogamer	9/10
Famitsu	34/40
Game Informer	9.5/10
GamePro	5/5
GamesRadar+	4/5
GamesRevolution	A
GameSpot	9.5/10
GameTrailers	9.3/10
The Guardian	5/5
IGN	9.5/10 (US) 10/10 (UK)
Joystiq	5/5
Official Xbox Magazine (UK)	10/10
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	10/10
X-Play	5/5

Halo: Reach received highly critical acclaim. 1Up praised the campaign, calling it "a grand re-telling of the Battle of Thermopylae, but portrayed from a gritty, ground-level perspective across multiple missions like Band of Brothers, and all done with typical Halo flourish. IGN noted that though the past games had repetitive landscapes and complicated plots, Reach was an altogether different matter. Gamepro stated "the only thing missing from this impressive entry is a number “4” in the title, because for all intents and purposes, Reach feels like the next big thing in the Halo franchise."

Many reviewers praised the enhanced graphics and audio, calling it "top-notch." Others mentioned that the checkpoints were flawed, with some too far between, and others leaving the player at a major disadvantage. GamersHell called Reach the "ultimate multiplayer suite," but critiqued the acting, calling it "abrasive, cliched and campy."

Microsoft listed Reach as an Xbox Live Marketplace download on August 12, 2010, at a price of 99999 Microsoft Points (~US$1250); A spokesperson confirmed the download was for media review purposes, and that there were no plans to distribute the game to the public through Games on Demand. Four days later, hackers managed to access, download, and distribute the game online; Microsoft claimed at the time to be actively investigating the matter.

Rereleases

• 2013 - Re-released as a part of the Halo Origins Bundle, which also included Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.
• 2019 - Re-released in Halo: The Master Chief Collection for Xbox One and PC, all Multiplayer activities included in base-game.

Awards

Year	Date	Award	Presented by	Category	Result	Ref
2010	December 6	GG Awards 2010	Good Game	Best Sound	Won
				Game of the Year	Nominated
	December 11	Spike Video Game Awards 2010	Spike	Best Multiplayer	Won
				Best Shooter	Nominated
				Best Original Score	Nominated
				Best Xbox 360 Game	Nominated
				Best Performance By A Human Male*	Nominated
				Game of the Year	Nominated
	December 22	Game of the Year 2010	GameSpy	Shooter Game of the Year	Won
2011	January 5	Drunk Tank Awards 2010	Drunk Tank Podcast	Game of the Year	Won
	February 1	9th Visual Effects Society Awards	Visual Effects Society	Outstanding Visual Effects in a Live Action Commercial	Won
				Outstanding Real-Time Visual Effects in a Video Game	Won
				Outstanding Animated Character in a Video Game**	Won
	February 11	14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards	Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences	Action Game of the Year	Nominated
				Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay	Nominated
	March 1	NAVGTR Awards 2010	National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers	Control Precision	Nominated
				Original Dramatic Score, Franchise	Nominated
	March 16	7th British Academy Games Awards	British Academy of Film and Television Arts	Best Action	Nominated
				Technical Innovation	Nominated
				Best Multiplayer	Nominated
				GAME Award	Nominated

1. *Award was for Nathan Fillion as Sergeant Edward Buck
2. **Award was for the character of Kat

Related Pages and Links

• Halo: Reach Credits
• Official Halo: Reach Project Page
• Features
  • FAQ
  • Playlists
  • Modes
  • Maps
  • The Armory
• Intel
  • CAA Feedback
  • Personnel
  • Ordnance
  • Enemies

Trivia

• Halo: Reach was the last Halo game developed by Bungie. 343 Industries has since taken over the Halo franchise.
• This is the first and only Halo game with a customizable main protagonist.
• It was previously known as "Halo 4" by Microsoft Game Studios and 343 Industries marketing teams during the ONI Candidate Assessment Program V5.02A viral campaign.
• Early on in the game's development, before coming up with the idea of a prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved, Bungie considered making a follow-up to Halo 3, with John-117 as the protagonist.
• Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck, one of the main characters from Halo 3: ODST, appears in Halo: Reach as a Firefight voice in game and as a cameo in the level New Alexandria.
• On the project page for Reach, located in the "Multimedia" section, the soundtracks to a couple of Reach trailers, "Lone Wolf" and "Uphill, Both Ways" by Martin O'Donnell, were available for download for free from Bungie.net.
• Halo: Reach has 49 achievements (excluding DLC), which is a reference to Bungie's love of the number seven (7 × 7 = 49).
• All of the Campaign achievement titles, along with many of the others, are quotations from the Halo games and books.
• The game's release date, September 14, is the same day when Earth's Orbital Defense Platforms were activated in 2552.
• The game's release date itself may be a reference to Bungie's favorite number, 9 × 14 × 2010 = 253260 ÷ 36180 = 7.
• The release date for the Noble Map Pack was set to be released 77 days after Halo: Reach's release (November 30) which is another reference to Bungie's love of the number 7.
• Many of the Army troopers and Marines encountered in the game are named after Bungie employees and notable community members.
• It is the second game to not feature Sentinels or the Flood. The first was Halo 3: ODST.
• A title update was introduced in September 2011, changing several armor ability effects, modifying the melee system, and making reticle bloom optional.
• Halo: Reach includes all but one Covenant species; only the Prophets are absent. Engineers do not appear in the main trilogy, (live) Elites are not in Halo 3: ODST and Drones are not in Halo Wars.
• It is possible to play with 4 player split-screen on one console via a glitch.
• After the final mission Lone Wolf, Dr. Halsey will explain about Noble Six giving Humanity time to prepare to stop the Covenant, the date is July 7, 2589. This is a reference to Bungie Day and Bungie's love of 7.