Archive:Halo Waypoint/2009 to 2014/Games/Halo: Reach

This is a local archive of some of the sections and media posted to Halo Waypoint's page about Halo: Reach.

Overview
From the Beginning, You Know the End

In 2552, the Covenant discovered the planet Reach, humanity’s last line of defense. The UNSC mounted an unparalleled assault against the alien war machine, and at the heart of this conflict was Noble Team, an experienced group of accomplished soldiers prepared to meet the enemy head-on. Now, with the addition of the team’s newest member—Noble Six—this squad will face its most challenging mission yet: the defense of Reach…in what may well be the twilight of human existence.

Halo: Reach, easily the biggest and most ambitious Halo title yet, includes an intense, pulse-pounding Campaign, an addictive and frenetic Multiplayer, a riveting four-player Co-operative Firefight mode, the massive ForgeWorld experience, and a Theater mode to capture it all. With more modes, maps, missions, and features than ever before, Halo: Reach represents the complete Halo experience—a tour de force of stunning visuals, powerful story, epic encounters, and more replayability than any Halo title to date!

Maps

 * Overlook
 * 1-4 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * With its rolling green hills, serene pastures, and impressive waterfalls, the idyllic countryside of Visegrád is one of the hidden beauties of the planet Reach. Unfortunately, it was also the first place the Covenant struck when they invaded. Visegrád was home to a vital off-planet communication relay and, more importantly, a critical Forerunner discovery; both of these have drew in a ruthless Covenant search party.


 * Courtyard
 * 1-4 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * ONI's Sword facility was a highly classified, heavily fortified military base in the remote ice shelves of Babd Catha, found in Reach's northern arctic. Though the complex encompassed a much larger footprint than the base proper, Sword's front wall protected an inner courtyard that was considered a critical line of defense.


 * Outpost
 * 1-4 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * Airview, a watchpoint for the classified Sword facility, was targeted by the Covenant during their occupation of Reach. They quickly set up their own anti-aircraft guns, twin T-33 Tyrants, as they took control of the region and of Sword Base itself. Now the UNSC has returned to take back the site from the Covenant, using the aliens' own weapon emplacements as defensive fortifications.


 * Waterfront
 * 1-4 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * When the Covenant's initial forces first made contact with humans in Viery, the battle was primarily fought by local militia, civilians armed only with stolen weapons and an unwavering refusal to let the enemy take what wasn't theirs. When night fell on Szurdok Ridge, Spartans would fight alongside the militia, eventually discovering the full measure of the Covenant's invasion efforts.


 * Beachhead
 * 1-4 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * Lower New Alexandria's Caracalla Park once offered visitors a survey of the city's resplendent skyline and its majestic Delphi triple-strand network. When the Covenant arrived, they attempted to cut off a critical civilian escape route by taking several M950 Lance emplacements offline. Their efforts, however, would not go unchecked, as local UNSC forces fought to take back the area.


 * Holdout
 * 1-4 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * In the arid, mountainous region of Aszod resides one of Reach's many ship-breaking facilities, an immense complex which disassembles, scraps, and recycles the mangled remnants of the UNSC's vast naval fleets. During the Covenant's invasion, it's rumored that the UNSC Pillar of Autumn executed a Class-L flash-dock, a restricted atmospheric maneuver for a ship of that size, in order to swiftly procure an asset significant to the war effort.


 * Corvette
 * 1-4 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * Before Ardent Prayer could be secured to deliver a bomb to the Covenant's ominous supercarrier Long Night of Solace, a fight for the ship's hangar was waged. Here, UNSC forces clashed with relentless waves of enemies, hoping to drive the Covenant back just long enough to bring Solace's reign of terror to an end.


 * Glacier
 * 1-4 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * Hidden below the frigid surface of Babd Catha is an enormous Forerunner artifact which was considered by many at ONI to be critical to not only understanding the Covenant, but to discovering a incredible Forerunner power that could be exploited.


 * Sword Base
 * 2-8 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * One of several top-secret military facilities on the planet Reach, Sword Base was located near a satellite research complex buried deep in the Babd Catha Ice Shelf. This fact made it one of the Covenant's first targets, as the subject of this research was an enormous Forerunner artifact hidden below the planet's surface for thousands of years.


 * Countdown
 * 4-12 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * Located deep within restricted airspace along Farkas Lake resides a top-secret research complex for the project codenamed: SABRE. While this launch facility is one of only a handful across the Inner Colonies, it became a focal point during the Battle of Reach as the UNSC prepared to strike at the heart of the Covenant fleet in orbit around the planet.


 * Boardwalk
 * 2-8 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * Yet another example of New Alexandria's opulence, these lofty garden concourses connect the city's skyscrapers, offering pedestrians a scenic passage of travel. But now the Covenant use these same structures to trap and ruthlessly massacre civilians. In an effort to take them back, the UNSC engages the enemy head-on, desperately hoping to buy time to evacuate as many people as possible.


 * Zealot
 * 2-8 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * One of a handful of SDV-class corvettes the Covenant used to secretly infiltrate the colony of Reach, Ardent Prayer's communication center is the site of a critical battle in the struggle for the planet. As the UNSC attempted to take control of this vessel, they were forced to eliminate all enemy forces within this room in order to gain access to the adjacent hangar.


 * Powerhouse
 * 2-8 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * Lodged into the rocky warrens of Szurdok Ridge is a hydroelectric plant which overlooks Ütközet's arid and dust-driven wilderness. This remote human facility was one of many which fell prey to the Covenant's invasion efforts; here, the aliens erected a stealth pylon as part of a vast network which would effectively mask their presence on the colony of Reach.


 * Boneyard
 * 8-16 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * Buried in the heart of Aszod lay the remnants of the Paris-class frigate Commonwealth. While those who work in the Sinoviet shipbreaker yard continue to dismantle this vessel, elsewhere, a handful still remember the ship's most critical mission: the delivery of SPARTAN-II personnel to the Damascus site in late 2525 in order to acquire the revolutionary Mjolnir armor.


 * Reflection
 * 2-8 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * Downtown New Alexandria's Sinoviet tower is just one of many examples of excess from Reach's wealthy entrepreneurs, its fully-furnished garden penthouse resting high above the city's impressive skyline. However, even these extravagances are not immune from the Covenant's attack, as aliens continue to ravage every inch of the city's ivory towers before preparing to burn them to the ground.


 * Spire
 * 8-16 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * One of several planted in the uninhabited ridges of Reach's Ütközet, this massive teleportation spire allowed the Covenant to transport large bodies of mass from Long Night of Solace. Loosely modeled after Forerunner technology, the advanced translocation system helped the aliens gain critical footholds on the planet's surface by conveying troops and supplies to a concealed location.


 * Forge World
 * 1-16 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * Remote and breathtaking, this verdant canyon is only one of many which reside on the awe-inspiring Halo installation. Apart from a handful of communication structures buried deep in the nearby mountains, this alpine vista appears entirely untouched by sentient hands…but appearances can be deceiving.

Noble Map Pack

 * Anchor 9
 * 2-8 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * Within the confines of this low orbit dry dock, UNSC craft undergo rapid repair and rearmament in support of the enduring war effort. But for the small squads of infantry who now fight inside the mirrored interior hallways and open central hangar bay, this platform no longer provides any safe harbor whatsoever.


 * Tempest
 * 8-16 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * This abandoned shoreline facility bends both sea and sky to an unnatural purpose, but the ground itself has quickly become another all too familiar battlefield. Though the two opposing symmetrical bases may never reveal their ancient purpose, both now offer makeshift shelter and access to strategic routes which will aide both sides in the battle for control.


 * Breakpoint
 * 8-16 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * These modular archaeological labs were never intended to withstand such a large scale onslaught of Covenant military power, but the information being extracted here may prove vital to humanity's survival. In response to the imminent Covenant assault, UNSC ground and air assets have been deployed to bolster entrenched Spartan countermeasures.

Defiant Map Pack

 * Condemned
 * 6-12 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * Prior to the Covenant's overwhelming invasion, Orbital Station Gamma provided long-range communications for UNSC fleets and a vital lifeline between Reach and Earth. During the Battle of Reach, the station suffered terrible punishment at the hands of the Covenant. However, a few fortified sections remain intact, fully pressurized, and ready for combat.


 * Highlands
 * 8-16 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * During the Battle of Reach, this preserve was the site of key battles between the alien invaders and a group of Spartans who used their familiarity with these UNSC training grounds to significant tactical advantage…but not everyone who enters these woods makes it out alive.


 * Unearthed
 * 1-4 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * The battle for Reach continues near a large titanium mine and refinery located in the Viery civilian sector of the planet. This particular mine was built to take advantage of the exposed titanium inside a massive meteor crater. While this facility was quickly abandoned when the Covenant arrived on Reach, it still has significant tactical (and economic) value and it won't be long before both humans and Covenant return to battle for control.

Halo: Anniversary Map Pack

 * Penance
 * 2-8 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * As the primary satellite of the Unggoy homeworld, Buwan provides the perfect environment for this massive Covenant hydro-facility used to power and refuel a variety of capital ships. Though still operational via automated subsystems, the station was abandoned shortly after the breaking of the Covenant.


 * Battle Canyon
 * 2-8 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * The rocky warrens of this part of Halo provide the ideal environment for an array of impressive telemetry clusters. These spires’ synchronization conduits ensure that the ring’s translocation grid is always fully operational, part of a remarkably powerful system which allows near-instant transportation across the full ten thousand kilometers which span the installation.


 * Ridgeline
 * 8-16 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * Once serving as a watchpoint for the immense relay complex below, the monitoring outposts nestled atop this ridge became a staging ground for human forces during their time on Installation 04. Toward the end of the conflict, a Covenant assault brought the resistance of the marines here to a tragic end.


 * Breakneck
 * 8-16 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * Section 21 once looked out onto the New Mombasa Orbital Elevator with pride and optimism. Now, with much of the city flooded by the Covenant’s brutal assault, the skyline is only a shattered ghost of what it once was as the battle for humanity’s survival continues on the streets and corridors below.


 * High Noon
 * 4-12 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * The vast generator complexes which power this enormous slipspace portal allow it to connect with an unknown number of locations across the galaxy. However, passage through this system requires a Forerunner keyship, and few command such a vessel this long after the disappearance of the portal’s creators.


 * Solitary
 * 2-8 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * These spinning confinement platforms are a testament to the technological prowess of the Forerunners. In the event of a security breach, the facility’s suborbital location and frigid temperature were thought to be able to keep any threat at bay, but it appears those plans were…optimistic.


 * Installation 04
 * 1-4 Players
 * Multiplayer
 * When the UNSC Pillar of Autumn arrived at Alpha Halo—also known as Installation 04—the Covenant was already there to welcome them. The conflict which followed raged across the surface of the ringworld, eventually pitting the renowned and battle-hardened ODSTs against a merciless Covenant assault, which would stop at nothing to control Halo.