So back to Reach; after finishing the single player campaign on normal, I'm not exactly sure what to think. On the one hand I really enjoyed it, but on the other the ending was very anti-climatic. Another thing that bothered me is the fact that there were no large set-piece battles, at least nothing like in Halo 3 where at one point you're tasked with taking down a Covenant Scarab. I did enjoy the fact that you're never really on your own in Reach, there's always other UNSC allies about. Most of the time it's in the form of your other team members from Noble squad, but you're also thrown into several large pitch battles with regular marines as back up. No offense, but they can't take nearly the punishment a Spartan can. I found myself feeling bad at one point, as I'd no sooner rescued a squad of marines early in a mission to have them wiped out near the end. It's not their fault, maybe if I had reacted a little quicker a few could have made it. I thought about replaying that level, but a near death experience sobered me up pretty quick to that idea. Keeping myself alive should be higher priority, as it's to be expected that a few grunts are going to die.
Some of the newer elements really add tactical depth to the game, like the armor lock and jetpack. The armor lock creates a hard shield while yours recharges, while the jetpack is pretty self explanatory. The armor lock saved me many times during many tough fights, especially against the larger brutes with the even larger guns. Even being close to where one of those hits can damage you, so having the armor lock as an option was a life saver. The only problem is it, as intended, has a time limit. So when you manage to pull off an armor lock just before that big brute smashes in your face, realize that he knows it has a time limit too and will wait patiently if need be.
So no big set piece battles is a downer, but I'm loving all of the new vehicles. The space flight levels were easy to control and lots of fun, even flying the vertibird choppers from building to building was pretty easy. I'm notoriously bad about smacking into buildings, but luckily that didn't happen here.
