Halo: Reach

"From the beginning, you know the end."

- Game tagline

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, Europe, Australia, and Asia with the exclusion of Japan whose release will be 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. 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 2, 2010, development of the game has been finished and it is currently on target for its September 14, 2010 release date.

Setting
Halo: Reach takes place in late 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 one SPARTAN-II and five 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. Over the course of the campaign, the players will visit various locales on and above planet Reach, including civilian pioneer installations in the countryside and high-tech UNSC bases, as well as a segment of space combat in a Sabre fighter. The player will also encounter interactive indigenous creatures such as the Moa and the Gueta.

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 can now be selected upon respawning (or picked up of the ground for certain gametypes and campaign); armor abilities will be reusable with a recharge 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. Simply tapping 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 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. Compensating for this, the weapons that were known as dual weapons in Halo 3 that are now in Halo: Reach became drastically stronger. The magnum, for example, is now almost as powerful as the M6D Pistol in Halo: CE, and has an even higher rate of fire.

Players will be able to personalize their character's armor, and the appearance will be consistent across campaign and multiplayer, unlike in Halo 3 where it would only be seen during multiplayer matches. Halo: Reach also includes the ability to select your character's gender, with male and female each having a separate character model. Though Halo 3 had only four changeable slots in armor, Halo: Reach will have eleven. Like in Halo 3, the armor permutations will only be aesthetic and will not affect gameplay.

Players ability to choose their multiplayer model are different from Halo 3 in Halo: Reach. In Halo 3, players had the opportunity to choose whether their multiplayer model appeared as an Elite or as a Spartan. In Halo: Reach, players have a Spartan character by default, aside from on special gametypes. The reason for this change is gameplay based. In Halo 3, Spartans and Elites could be played exactly the same as each other aside from hitboxes being located differently on the player models. In Halo: Reach, Elites and Spartans have considerably different traits; Elites move faster, jump higher, have stronger energy shields, recharging health and faster shield regeneration than Spartans. Overall, they are stronger than a Spartan in practically every way, besides being easier to hit due to notably more massive bodies. Because of these changes, Elites are only used in Firefight Versus, Invasion, and specific Elite gametypes.

Customization of Elite character models works differently from customization of Spartan character models; as a player completes certain tasks such as reaching a higher multiplayer rank, they unlock new Elite models to choose from. These models come as an entire standard model, and cannot have parts swapped in and out as Spartans can.

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 the Arbiter 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.

As seen in the E3 2010 trailer, a small section of the Halo: Reach campaign level Long Night of Solace, dogfights in space are an added element to the game. The space battle above Reach will be the first and only space level played in the saga.

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: Reach's engine will be able to support up to 40 active AI characters and 20 vehicles on screen at once, twice as many as in Halo 3. In addition, distant battles between AI characters will follow automated behavior models, which convert into scripted behaviors as the player gets closer, and finally convert to 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, such as each soldier having an individual name tag in their BDUs. 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 be heard in the game, but there may be some foreshadowing of Halo themes.

Multiplayer
The Multiplayer mode returns in Halo: Reach, with many familiar game types from the previous games, such as Slayer, Capture the Flag, and an old Halo: Combat Evolved gametype, 3 Plots. Halo: Reach features completely new gametypes as well, such as Invasion and Headhunter. The co-operative Firefight mode will also be returning from Halo 3: ODST, 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 matchmaking system is improved and completely 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, you achieve higher military rank, and can buy Armor Permutations to customize their Spartan and Elites. For hardcore, competitive players, there is a new Arena system that focus on Slayer-only gametypes. Players will play in month long seasons, and be put into divisions (Onyx, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Steel) based on how well they play.

Player models have also been changed from Halo 3, where Spartans and Elites had the same hitboxes, in Halo: Reach both races are vastly different. Elites are bigger than their Spartan counterparts, as well as being faster on foot, having faster shield regeneration, and regain health fully over time. Spartans are smaller than Elites, their shields don't regenerate as fast, and they only regain health to thirds overtime unless they pick up a health pack. For these reasons, only specific gametypes in Matchmaking allow Spartans and Elites to face each other in team-based games, due to balancing issues.

Maps
The exact number of the multiplayer maps in Halo: Reach is still unknown, but the following maps have been shown:

Characters

 * Auntie Dot
 * Avery Junior Johnson
 * Carter-A259
 * Catherine-B320
 * Cortana
 * Edward Buck
 * Emile-A239
 * John-117
 * Jorge-052
 * Jun-A266
 * Pete Stacker
 * SPARTAN-B312
 * Urban Holland

Events

 * Operation: TORPEDO
 * Operation: GUARDIAN LANCE
 * Fall of Reach
 * Operation: UPPERCUT

Locations

 * Epsilon Eridani System
 * Fermion Remote Scanning Outpost
 * Reach
 * Moons
 * Csodaszarvas
 * Turul
 * Unnamed Sabre launch facility
 * Manassas
 * New Alexandria
 * Sword Base
 * Lambda Serpentis System
 * Jericho VII

Organizations

 * AMG Transport Dynamics
 * Covenant Empire
 * Covenant Army
 * Covenant Navy
 * Fleet of Particular Justice
 * Jotun Heavy Industries
 * Traxus Heavy Industries
 * United Nations Space Command
 * UNSC Army
 * Army Military Police
 * UNSC Marine Corps
 * Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
 * M/AAV-20
 * VMX-22
 * UNSC Navy
 * Epsilon Eridani Defense Fleet
 * Logistical Operations Command
 * Naval Special Warfare Command
 * SPARTAN-II Program
 * Office of Naval Intelligence
 * Beta-5 Division
 * Asymmetrical Action Group
 * SPARTAN-III program
 * Noble Team
 * Sabre program
 * UNSC component commands
 * Naval Command
 * Unified Ground Command

Species

 * Gueta
 * Human
 * Huragok
 * Jiralhanae
 * Kig-yar
 * Skirmisher
 * Mgalekgolo
 * Moa
 * Sangheili
 * Unggoy
 * Yanme'e (Unknown campaign status)

Vehicles

 * Anchor 9
 * Assault Carrier
 * C709 Longsword-class Interceptor
 * Civilian vehicles
 * Covenant corvette
 * Dropship 77-Troop Carrier
 * M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle
 * M12G1 Light Anti-Armor Vehicle
 * M274 Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicle
 * M808B Main Battle Tank
 * M831 Troop Transport
 * Missile Warthog
 * Orbital Insertion Pod
 * Revenant
 * S-2 Traxus Cargo Transporter
 * Sabre
 * Type-25 Assault Gun Carriage
 * Type-25 Troop Carrier
 * Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft
 * Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle
 * Type-47 Ultra Heavy Assault Platform
 * Type-52 Anti-Aircraft Artillery
 * Type-52 Troop Carrier
 * UH-144 Falcon
 * Unidentified flatbed truck
 * UNSC Frigate
 * Type-52 Troop Carrier
 * UH-144 Falcon
 * Unidentified flatbed truck
 * UNSC Frigate

Weapons

 * AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun
 * Combat Knife
 * Concussion Rifle
 * M6G Personal Defense Weapon System
 * M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose Grenade
 * M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun
 * M41 Surface-to-Surface Rocket Medium Anti-Vehicle/Assault Weapon
 * M45 Tactical Shotgun
 * M319 Individual Grenade Launcher
 * M392 Designated Marksman Rifle
 * MA37 Individual Combat Weapon System
 * Sniper Rifle System 99 Anti-Matériel
 * Target Locator
 * Type-1 Antipersonnel Grenade
 * Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword
 * Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer
 * Type-25 Carbine
 * Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol
 * Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle
 * Type-31 Rifle
 * Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher
 * Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon
 * Type-42 Directed Energy Support Weapon
 * Type-51 Directed Energy Rifle/Improved
 * Type-52 Special Applications Rifle
 * Type-52 Guided Munitions Launcher/Explosive
 * Weapon/Anti-Vehicle Model 6 Grindell/Galileian Nonlinear Rifle

Equipment

 * Active Camouflage
 * Antigravity Pack
 * Drop Shield
 * Hologram
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark IV
 * Mark IV(G) MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark V
 * Mark V(B) MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor
 * Mark V(B)/UA Multi-Threat variant
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/CQC variant
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/ODST variant
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/CQB variant
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/EOD variant
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/O variant
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/AA variant
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/FJ/PARA variant
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/HAZOP variant
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/MP variant
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/R variant
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark VI
 * ODST Ballistic Battle Armor
 * Sangheili Combat Harness
 * Special Operations Harness
 * General Harness
 * Field Marshall Harness
 * Sprinting
 * Jetpack
 * Unnamed Shielding Attachment

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Red vs. Blue Halo: Reach 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 showed teasers of the rest of forge world in the form of a scene where Sarge stands on a cliff admiring the view and calling the place huge.

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. 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 UA Multi-Threat MJOLNIR Mark V(B) Armor will be given to customers who pre-order the game at Gamestop.

Additionally, Bungie has announced that players who have activated their copy of Halo PC before May 26, 2010, can use that same authentication key to obtain a special in-game item or "Visual Flair", which has yet to be shown. 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 item, or "Visual Flair", which has yet to be shown. If your current gametag 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.

Also, a Reach themed Xbox has been announced. The Xbox will include a 250-gigabyte hard drive, two Reach themed wireless controllers, 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 sounds 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.

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

Trivia

 * Bungie has stated that Halo: Reach will be the last Halo game being released by them in the foreseeable future, as they are beginning a partnership with Activision, while 343 Industries has taken over the Halo franchise.
 * 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 for the Halo trilogy, Bungie considered making a follow-up to Halo 3, with John-117 as the protagonist.


 * John-117's voice will be featured as a Firefight voice along with several other characters who will not otherwise be appearing in game.
 * In a couple of interviews with Worthplaying and G4, Brian Jarrard and Joseph Staten respectively hinted that Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck, one of the main characters in ODST, may return in Reach. In another recent E3 interview with G4, Brian Jarrard confirmed that one of main characters from Halo 3: ODST will be making a cameo appearance in Halo: Reach; Bungie later confirmed that Buck was a firefight voice in game.
 * 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, are available for download for free from Bungie.net.


 * Halo: Reach will have 49 achievements, a 7 reference $$(7x7=49)$$.


 * As of August 5, 2010, Halo: Reach has gone "Gold" and mass manufacturing of the game has begun.


 * Interestingly, the game's release date, September 14, happens to be the same day in 2552, when Earth's Orbital Defense Platforms come online.

Internal

 * 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