Why Halo: Reach's Campaign Was Disappointing -Part I

Disclaimer: This is part one of a four part series on why Halo: Reach's campaign was disappointing. This is not a game review.

Halo Reach's campaign was incredibly disappointing. In fact, I was so let down, I felt obligated to write this article. I have a feeling that the Halo franchise, -among many other highly acclaimed franchises- tend to score relatively higher with game reviewers than unknown IPs. So, it frustrates a great deal that Halo: Reach received a metacritic score of 91/100; a score that it did not deserve in the slightest. I have suspicions that this game was treated too softly and was not taken seriously when reviewed; there are just too many problems with this game to think otherwise. Why should Bungie be rewarded when they made such a lacklustre story/campaign? A studio needs criticism to grow and Bungie hardly received any from major media sources. If criticism isn't heard or taken seriously, Bungie's next game will have the same problems Reach has. Hopefully Bungie is still early in development for their next game to consider this criticism.

Campaign Mission Design:

Bungie said Reach gave them room to explore and try new things in the campaign. I can definitely see what ideas Bungie was aiming for. Concepts like plat forming with the jet pack on Exodus, turret defence on The Package, space combat in Long Night of Solace, and the on-rail shooting segment in Tip of the Spear. They're good ideas, but they weren't fully explored at all. They felt very underdeveloped, short, forgettable and just not that fun (aside from space combat). Bungie didn't attempt to make these moments key experiences within the campaign which is a horrid mistake when the rest of the campaign consists of long periods of monotonous shooting. These moments should've been longer, more intense, and with more pressure. There are few (if any) memorable moments or high points in Reach's campaign because of the lack of variety. Bungie's attempt to add variety to Reach's gameplay fails because of its lack of tension, length, and intensity. They all seem to blend together into one big mush; nothing stands out.

During the first 75% of this game, activating switches seemed to be the main/only objective in Reach. In fact, four out of nine levels ended by activating a switch: Winter contingency, Tip of the Spear, Exodus, and The Package. That's not even counting the numerous switches within missions. Doing the math, 44% of the campaign missions ended by performing the same task. Activating switches seem to be Bungie's primary method to move the plot forward which further dulls the campaign. To add to this lack of variety, the majority of switches involved activating/deactivating AA guns. Performing the same tasks numerous times throughout a 6 hour campaign is just bad game design. Again, the lack of variety hurts the campaign considerably.

In addition to Reach's lack of different objectives, there was also a lack of story through 75% of the game. The story is very, very thin. This is absolutely no over-arching story at all. "Defending Reach" is half a story at best. The majority of the missions didn't contain any continuity or tell an overall story between levels. The missions ONI: Sword Base and Nightfall, for example, didn't connect and progress a narrative. Halo: Reach ignores the franchises' massive universe and instead attempts to tell a simple, overly serious plot point. Ignoring this strength of the franchise makes very little sense. A strong plot would've covered the many problems rampant throughout Halo: Reach. However, Reach's weak story unfortunately reveals -and in some cases emphasises- the numerous problems plagued throughout its campaign.

-Click here for Part II