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Charles Tyldsley: 

Halo Reach is one of the biggest titles of the year. With the beta reaching over a million unique players within 24 hours this is a title which needs no introduction. After playing around with the beta's limited features for over a week now it's time to report back - do Bungie have a winner on their hands, or is the franchise starting to turn stale?

In the beta players are allowed to play around with multiple modes, across 4 different maps (1 specific to invasion, 1 specific to generator defence - opened up later in the beta), as either the Spartans or Elites, with 5 armour abilities and a taster of the armour customisation. This is only a fraction of the content we'll see in the final release, however is just enough to sample the multiple aspects of the game.

When you first jump into the beta it's instantly apparent just how useful the Active Roster is. This feature shows anyone in your friends list currently playing Reach, allowing you to easily see what they are doing, invite them, join them, or view their profile. All multiplayer games need this! So far Bungie have done a fantastic job with the matchmaking in Reach, I've only very rarely encountered any kind of lag, and when a host leaves it will always migrate to a new one. That said there are a few niggles here and there such as the game splitting a party up in the new Invasion mode and placing players on opposite teams - however this will no doubt be ironed out come release.

Reach sees some small yet important changes to the core gameplay making it familiar yet different. Spartans now run slower, jump lower and can only recharge a small amount of their base health - meaning players must scout out for health packs scattered around the level. Armour Abilities are a huge change to the Halo gameplay we all know and love. These are chosen everytime the player spawns into the battle, offering abilities such as Jetpack, Stealth, Armour Lock and Sprint. Only one can be chosen at a time however they seriously do over huge amounts of quick-thinking strategies. For example with Jetpack now the fight can be taken to the skies, players should be weary all around them. Stealth allows players to be almost entirely invisible if stood still, however when moving the effect is less effective. Armour Lock slams your spartan into the ground whilst your armour locks into place for the duration it is held for (limited max duration), allowing you to take any kind of punishment, along with a short range EMP for anyone stood nearby; someone fires a rocket at you, no worries, slam into armour lock and the rocket will bounce right back! It's these kind of strategies which completely evolve the Halo experience.

Visually the game looks a significant jump over its predecessor. Halo 3 was a pretty but not visually astounding game even for its time, however Reach has some genuinely impressive texture work and lighting effects. Especially when compared side-by-side with Halo 3 you can see just how big the leap in visual fidelity truly is.

Overall the Reach beta has certainly impressed me. The game doesn't revolutionise the series but instead aims to evolve it. Reach feels familiar however offers an almost perfect amount change to make the experience interesting. I can't wait to see the new maps, vehicles, modes, weapons and armour abilities that get put into the final game. This is the Halo game I've been wanting to play.

Hit Next to see Michael Menzel's Impressions