Halo Reach: A T@RD Review pt. 2

Playlists & Gametypes:

I realize that these may change for the retail release but this review isn’t about that. As I stated in my last post, this is about the Beta. While I will refer to previous Halo games as well as the upcoming retail release, it will only be in an attempt to relate aspects of the beta to games I have played or to mention what changes I would like to see in the final game.

For anyone wondering, since I only reviewed one aspect last time why am I doing two here? Well because they are closely related. Playlists inform players as to what kind of gametypes they are likely to encounter when they decide to enter one. As to why it seemed logical to follow Maps with this subject, well, that has to do with the fact that gametypes are largely affected by the maps they are played on.

In this installment I will be going from big to small. I’ll start with the general lists (Standard, Arena, Invasion) and work down towards the specific gametypes themselves (Slayer Pro, Team Slayer, 1 Flag CTF, etc.). So let’s begin.

Standard: This was the Social Playlist of the beta. Not sure if they will stick with this name or not but I think it works better than Social. I never really got the whole Social/Ranked thing. I understand the need to provide separate playlists. It’s just that since playing MM games is SUPPOSED to be a social experience, calling one playlist social seems redundant. Anyway, I think standard works, as I believe that this is where the majority of players will be so it should be the standard.

Standard included grab bag, FFA, and invasion. I know generator defense also became part of this but that was for testing the network (hence the name Network Test 1). Although I will be discussing it later on, I really see it as being something separate.

Arena: I like this title. It gives the whole ranked play concept a certain sense of gravitas. Gladiators fought in arenas. Over the centuries, warriors, soldiers, and fighters of all kinds have stepped into arenas to prove their worth.

I also like how this is all 4v4 slayer games. Never did like objective ranked games. They always seemed like too much temptation for asshat players who like to hold the objective so they can pad their stats. This should definitely remain as it is.

Grab Bag: I liked this playlist. Having a mix of slayer and objective games meant that you didn’t have to switch playlists if you got tired of just playing one or the other. I still think there should be a separate list for just slayer games but I do like this.

FFA: Free For All pretty much says it. No teams just every player for themselves. Not really a fan of FFA but I understand that some people like lone wolfing it. I do like this title better than Lone Wolves and Rumble Pit. I could see myself spending time here because of one gametype in particular.

Invasion: I’m kind of torn on this one. I like the idea I just think the execution was bad. The lack of a detailed explanation didn’t help any. Unfortunately though, I think both gametypes on this list, were most significantly hurt by the map they were on. I also think this should be a list unto itself. Placing it in the Standard playlist is misleading, in my opinion, in that very little about it is standard. I am curious to see how this will be in its final incarnation.

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Now that I’ve covered the playlists let’s move on to the gametypes.

Team Slayer: The only difference between this and H3 is the factors unique to Reach (armor abilities, weapons, basic player movement, etc.). This is one of 3 gametypes (Team Slayer, Slayer Pro, and Classic Slayer), which appeared in both Arena and Standard.

Team Slayer Pro: This seems to be the MLG gametype of Arena. No radar and only two loadouts (DMR for marksman and Needle rifle for novice with sprint being the only available armor ability). I didn’t notice an increase in weapon damage though (probably just too busy trying not to die to notice). I did prefer this to MLG in H3. It just seemed more fun. If this stays on default maps then I could se myself continuing to play it. If they star developing MLG maps for this I will probably pass.

Classic Slayer: This gametype is definitely for those who prefer Bungie’s standard slayer model. AR starts (FAIL), 2 frags, radar, and sprint. I won’t ever choose this playlist only because I don’t want to spend half the game looking for a fucking usable weapon (DMR/Needle Rifle).

SvE Slayer: Spartans v Elites while interesting in concept was poorly executed. Of course Bungie did acknowledge that it was intended to be inherently unfair. The Elites are supposed to be harder to kill. I could see this working if Bungie decides to balance it for MM. Otherwise, this is an experiment that belongs in the circular file.

Covy Slayer: I liked this gametype. I know it wasn’t a favorite of several of my friends but that’s just too damn bad. I thought it was fun. Having only two loadouts kept this from being everything it could have been, although I do still kind of like the limit. Only being able to choose between Warrior or Zealot (Plasma repeater or Needle rifle) was fine with me. Both of them had Evade (Best. Armor Ability. Ever. But I’ll speak to that later). It will be interesting to see if they add this and if they decide to add additional loadouts.

Team SWAT: Headshots only. What more do you need? No nades and sprint your only armor ability. DMR starts. No radar. Cross-map “sniping”. I also like that this is no longer a ranked gametype, which is as it should be. I will definitely be playing this one.

1 Flag CTF: I can’t stand this gametype. Didn’t like it in CE, H2, H3, or Reach. Multi flag I like. 1 flag can suck my dick. Note to people who like playing 1 flag, fuck off if you don’t agree. I don’t like you either. Kidding, no but seriously, I really don’t like 1 Flag and in Reach it was just horrible. I will ALWAYS vote against this gametype.

Stockpile: At first, I liked this gametype. Once people started the whole “let’s harass then at their collection point” crap, it lost it’s fun factor for me. I have no problem with fighting over the flags or even with going to your opponent’s collection point and stealing their flags. My issue was with the people who spent the WHOLE GAME just killing and never once tried collecting any flags whatsoever. I know it’s a valid game tactic but I put it right up there with asshats who pad their stats by holding the objective in H3. Anyway, I could see playing this with friends but I won’t play this with randoms if I can avoid it.

3 Plot: Reach’s version of territories, only, more fun. Still not a big fan but I do like it better than any of the previous Halo incarnations. For those who have played MW2 (this will be my one and ONLY MW2 reference) they will recognize this as domination. For those who haven’t played MW2, let me explain. There are 3 territories on each map. Each team attempts to hold as many territories as possible for as long as possible all while keeping the other team from doing the same. The team with the most cumulative time possession of the territories wins. Each second you hold a territory counts toward your total. You do not have to stay in the territory you just have to control it. The more territories you hold, the faster your total increases (1 territory, 1point/second; 2 territories, 2points/second…). The first to 300 points wins. Points are only accrued when a territory is not being contended for though. This is probably the consistently fastest gametype of Reach. I think every game I played took less than 3 1/2 minutes (can’t say the same for any other gametype). I could see myself playing this from time to time.

Oddball: One of 2 gametypes that exists in a both a team and FFA format (the other being Crazy King, which I will discuss next). The team (individual in FFA) who holds it the longest wins, or gets to 150 points first, wins. You get 1 point per second of possession. Oddball can be fun but again, I won’t be playing it often (probably more often in FFA than team though, not that that means much).

Crazy King: I don’t like crazy king. I don’t hate it. I just don’t like it. If I wind up in a crazy king game I tend to be one of those people that stands outside the hill and just makes things painful for everyone else. Not interested in padding my stats, I just have no interest in fighting for the hill. If it’s a team game then I’ll go in unless my teammates are already rushing in. If it’s FFA then I’m not going in unless it’s to pick up more weapons so that I can continue to harass everyone from outside the hill. This would be a good thing for future reference should we ever play together (along with my thoughts on all the gametypes discussed).

Juggernaut: I don’t like that this only goes to 10 when other FFA slayer type games go to 25. Never have liked that. Increasing it to 25 gives other players a better chance at getting a turn at being the juggernaut. Doesn’t mean it will happen but their chances do increase. I will say though, that in the beta, the juggernaut was WAY overpowered. That should definitely be fixed. Not having Sprint (Evade would be better), as an armor ability, was also a fail. I’m fine with not having the other 3 as I think that would definitely unbalance the game, but give us something. Also, maybe make the Juggernaut a touch slower. I mean holy shit dude! His sprint seemed half again as fast as the armor ability. I could see playing this in Reach more often than I do in H3, but only if I can get a group of friends to go in with me.

Headhunter: BEST. GAMETYPE. EVER. Holy crap this is fun. I know it can be frustrating to be just about to step into a collection point only to be cut down just before you’re in. Then to watch someone else come along and take your skulls that you worked so hard for. Still, I love this one. I would really like to see a team version (Big Team FTW). That would be fucking epic. This is why I’ll go into FFA. I may wind up playing other games but this will be why I went into the list in the first place.

Invasion: Eh. It’s not a bad idea and the changes they made during the Beta definitely improved it. Still not sure I really like it though. I know that I don’t like how you can go in with a team of 6 and wind up on opposite sides. I don’t like how your teammate has to pretty much stop moving in order for you to spawn on them.

I do like that you can spawn on a teammate (provided they’re still alive and in a safe place). I do like how some of the balancing issues have been resolved. I do like the loadouts offered (although it would be cool if there was some customization capability).

Overall, I’m leaning slightly toward liking it. We’ll see what the final version is.

Invasion Slayer: While I like this better than Standard Invasion, it’s still kind of eh for me. Unfortunately, the map that it was on didn’t do it any favors. As I said before, Boneyard is just too damn big. Nowhere was this more evident than in this gametype. I do think the weapon/vehicle drop points added an interesting element. Although I’d like to see these play a part in the scoring. If all you have to do is get kills to win then with a good team you could pretty much ignore the objectives and just rampage. That’s not usually how games went but I do remember being in a few where the winning team captured the fewest objectives. All in all though, I like and dislike it for the same reasons as Standard Invasion. The one exception being that, it’s slayer, and I prefer slayer to other gametypes.

Generator Defense (Network Test 1): While I realize that this was just created as a way for Bungie to stress the network, I still happened to like it. It was fun and different from anything Bungie has done in MM before. With Spartans defending their 3 generators from attacking Elites, it really encouraged Teamwork in way that other gametypes don’t. It is possible for one person to carry a team through slayer. It is possible for one player to be the deciding factor in objective games. In GD you couldn’t win if you didn’t play together as a team. No matter how good one player is they just couldn’t carry a team in this gametype the way they might in others. I really liked this playlist because of that. However, it still needs some tweaking if it were to actually make it into a playable version for Reach. The generators were a little too easy to destroy and the lockdown in the last 30 seconds of a round made it too easy to prevent the other team from winning. Also, I think this should be a 4v4 gametype rather than 3v3. That extra player would definitely add a greater challenge on both sides. Anymore than that though would be too much. I think it would be cool if they could create a better version of this for the retail release but I have my doubts. Either way it was a fun and interesting addition to the beta.