Halo: Reach (Xbox 360)

You would have to go extremely far to find someone that hadnt heard of Halo. Its fame is certainly well merited, after consistantly putting out very solid titles, with the exception of Halo: ODST, and now we come to this years installation... the final Halo that bungie are making... Halo: Reach

We'll start with what will take up the brunt of your single player time, the campaign. Reach's main campaign mode feels and looks quite different to campaigns in previous halo titles, it feels darker, more real, and much more immersive. There is a geniune sense of empathy with the Reach's main cast, Noble team. There is a definate emotional attachment to each of the characters and their different, and very real, personalities.
The A.I. is extremely good, and when you get up to the Legendary difficulty level, you will find your self being often outsmarted by the cunning covenant anemies. Enemies will flank, attempt to surround, and cut you off from the rest of your team. Its extremely realistic, and really adds the experiance of the Halo: Reach campaign.
The main story of the campaign is handled well, given that you know how the story ends from the beginning, and the game does a superb job of truly making you feel like you are in the middle of an invasion, there is a very real sense of desperation and danger as the campaign goes on. Reach's campaign is the best in the halo series in my opinion, and truly does justice to the build-up that is has received over the course of the year.

When you have had enough of slaying Grunts and Elites in the campaign, you will no doubt find yourself heading for the multiplayer department, and it is here where the game truly shines. The matchmaking system from halo 3 has been vastly improved upon, and feels much more refined than its predecessor.
The online lag is a lot less common than it was in halo 3, and its alot easier to find matches. The new veto system is a very welcome improvement, which now gives you a choice of 3 different matches, which players vote on, and the match with the most votes is the one that is played. Its a simple addition, but after halo 3's lackluster veto system, its a very welcome one.
Probably the biggest addition to the multiplayer mode is the new game type, Invasion. This is the classic "assault" based game type, and one that halo pulls off very well. the only downside is that only 2 maps are compatible with the game type at present, so it can become somewhat stale over time, but i have no doubt that we will so more in the future
The final big improvement is that the Firefight gametype that was introduced in Halo: ODST is now playable in matchmaking, the premise being that you and 3 other people took on a never ending horde of covenant enemies, coming in waves, each one bigger and harder than the next. In addition with the better maps for it than ODST had, this makes Firefight a very fun experiance, and dont be surprised of you end up playing just as much Firefight as you do regular matchmaking, i know i did.

By a distance, the most vast improvement that has been made to Halo: Reach since Halo 3 is Forge mode. In halo 3, Forge mode was a level editor, allowing you to place weapons, scenery and other things on the Halo multiplayer maps, or remove them. The idea was good, but it was poor in its execution, the physics were flawed, it felt clunky, and it was hard to get objects to do what you trying to get them to.
This is all changed in Reach. Forge mode has been completely revamped and redone, and is a truly fantastic addition to the game. The main attraction of forge mode is the brand new map, Forgeworld. Forgeworld is the biggest map in the history of halo, and has lots of different locations for you to build on and modify to your liking.
Object physics have been greatly improved. You can now fix objects to stay in midair, or phase them through other objects or pieces of scenery. The amount of Objects, equipment, screen effects etc. that are now available in forge are vast, and enough to keep anyone, particularly the creatively inclined, occupied for a long time

Halo: Reach is, in my opinion, the best Halo game ever made. Nearly every aspect of it has been improved since the glory days of Halo 3. As i said earlier, it is the final Halo game to be made by bungie, and they have truly gone out with a bang, and a truly great game, that will keep you entertained for a long, long time.