Halo: Reach

"From the beginning. You know the end."

- Tagline seen in the Reach announcement trailer.

Halo: Reach is an upcoming first-person shooter video game set in the Halo universe and direct prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved, developed by Bungie, LLC. It was announced by Joe Staten during Microsoft's Media Briefing at E3 2009 in Los Angeles, California; Reach is set for release on September 14, 2010 in North America and Europe, with the Japanese release a day later.

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 has been in development since the completion of Halo 3, in the tradition of a full three year cycle, and will use 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. Reach 's environment architecture, cinematic script, and most in-game encounters have been either completely finished or polished ; in addition, many properties of Reach have been placed in the game and are currently playable.

Setting
Halo: Reach takes place in 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 SPARTAN-II and 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.

Campaign
The Campaign will consist of a semi-linear series of missions that allow for players to take multiple paths through a level while still starting and ending in fixed points like a traditional Halo level. Not much is known about the individual levels and nothing about the plot.

Gameplay
Halo: Reach will feature many new additions to the Halo sandbox, while still retaining the core gameplay. The health system will be similar to that of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 3: ODST, and the player's energy shields will recharge slower than in Halo 3. 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 will now be selected on respawn and they will be reusable, with a cooldown 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, but does not replace 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 Flame 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.

Players will be able to personalize their character's armor, and the appearance will be consistent across campaign and multiplayer. Like in Halo 3, the armor permutations will only be aesthetic and not affect gameplay. 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 Thel 'Vadam in Halo 3, the rest of the squad will fight alongside the player, but will not require any assistance. The levels will be more open and teleportation in co-op will be far less strict.

Engine
Bungie is using a completely redone version of the Halo engine for Halo: Reach, with no component left untouched.

The environments, while larger than in the previous games, will be 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. Rain and fogging effects will also be 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 will be amplified to be more powerful and visceral than before, giving the effects a more serious tone. Human weapons will sound more powerful and emit smoke and showers of sparks. Plasma bolts will now burn through material as they hit, and explosions will throw clouds of dirt and debris around.

Halo: Reachs engine will be able to support up to 40 active AI characters and 20 vehicles on screen at once, twice as many as compared to Halo 3s. In addition, faraway battles between AI characters will follow automated behavior models, which convert into scripted behaviors as the player gets closer, and finally in full AI.

Design
Bungie has taken a new design direction with Halo: Reach, aiming for a more somber and gritty atmosphere. 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. The Covenant will speak in their own languages, and feel more alien and threatening in general.

As of now, it has been stated that the Halo Theme will not appear in the game, but there may be some foreshadowing of Halo themes.

Characters

 * Carter-A259 (First appearance)
 * Emile-A239 (First appearance)
 * Jorge-052 (First appearance)
 * Jun-A266 (First appearance)
 * Catherine-B320 (First appearance)
 * SPARTAN-B312 (First appearance)
 * Urban Holland (First appearance)

Locations

 * Epsilon Eridani System
 * Fermion Remote Scanning Outpost (Mentioned only)
 * Reach
 * Csodaszarvas (First appearance)
 * Turul (First appearance)

Organizations

 * Covenant Empire
 * Covenant Army
 * Covenant Navy
 * Fleet of Particular Justice
 * United Nations Space Command
 * UNSC Army
 * Army Military Police (First appearance)
 * UNSC Marine Corps
 * Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
 * VMX-22 (First appearance)
 * UNSC Navy
 * Epsilon Eridani Defense Fleet
 * Logistical Operations Command (Mentioned only)
 * Naval Special Warfare Command
 * SPARTAN-II Program
 * Office of Naval Intelligence
 * Beta-5 Division
 * SPARTAN-III Program
 * Noble Team (First appearance)

Species

 * Human
 * Huragok
 * Jiralhanae
 * Kig-yar
 * Skirmisher (First appearance)
 * Sangheili
 * Unggoy

Vehicles

 * Anchor Niner
 * C709 Longsword-class Interceptor
 * CCS-class Battlecruiser
 * Civilian Vehicles
 * Dropship 77-Troop Carrier
 * Halcyon-class Cruiser
 * Marathon-class Cruiser
 * M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle
 * M274 Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicle
 * M808B Main Battle Tank
 * M831 Troop Transport
 * Type-25 Assault Gun Carriage
 * Type-25 Troop Carrier
 * Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft
 * Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle
 * Type-52 Troop Carrier
 * UH-144 Falcon (First appearance)
 * UNSC Frigate
 * (Mentioned only)

Weapons

 * AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun
 * Combat Knife
 * M6G Personal Defense Weapon System
 * M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose Grenade
 * M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun
 * M41 SSR MAV/AW
 * M45 TS (First appearance)
 * M319 Individual Grenade Launcher (First appearance)
 * M392 Designated Marksman Rifle (First appearance)
 * MA37 Individual Combat Weapon System (First appearance)
 * SRS99 Special Applications (First appearance)
 * Type-1 Antipersonnel Grenade
 * Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword
 * Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer
 * Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol
 * Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle
 * Type-31 Rifle (First appearance)
 * Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher
 * Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon
 * Type-42 Directed Energy Support Weapon
 * Type-51 Directed Energy Rifle/Improved (First appearance)
 * Type-52 Special Applications Rifle (First appearance)
 * Type-52 Guided Munitions Launcher/Explosive (First appearance)
 * Weapon/Anti-Vehicle Model 6 Grindell/Galileian Nonlinear Rifle

Equipment and Armor Abilities

 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark V
 * Mark V(B) MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (First appearance)
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/MP variant (First appearance)
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/CQC variant (First appearance)
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/FJ/PARA variant (First appearance)
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/EOD variant
 * Sprinting (First appearance)
 * Active Camouflage
 * Armor Lock (First appearance)
 * Evade (First appearance)
 * Unidentified Human Jetpack (First appearance)
 * Antigravity Pack

Halo: Reach 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.

Halo: Reach 2009 VGAs 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.

Halo: Reach ViDoc: 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 ViDoc: 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.

Viral Campaign
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.

Merchandise and Promotions
Halo: Reach is set to be 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. Also, by pre-ordering a copy of the game (any version) will get you a code for the Recon armor variant.

The launch also 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 December of 2010.

Trivia

 * 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.
 * In an interview with Worthplaying, Brian Jarrard hinted that Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck, one of the main characters in ODST, may return in Reach. Another hint to the character's possible return came in a G4 interview with Bungie about ODST, where Joseph Staten said "It would be a shame if we make a game about the planet Reach -- a place where Buck, the ODST’s squad leader, was known to be -- and not have him appear in some way shape or form..."
 * On the project page for Reach, located in the "Multimedia" section, the soundtrack to the cinematic trailer called "Lone Wolf" by Martin O'Donnell, is available for free for download from Bungie.net.

Internal

 * Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta
 * Halo: The Fall of Reach
 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo: Reach - Announcement Trailer
 * Halo: Reach Video Games Awards Trailer
 * Reach

External

 * Bungie.net: Official Halo: Reach project page
 * Welcome To NobleTeam: Viral Campaign