Beginners Guide to Halo: Reach
I had someone use what I thought was an odd search term to find Halo Reach Game News:
“What planet is halo reach on?”
The page they found was Why is Planet Reach so important to the Halo story line? which gives a very brief spiel on the events that happened on the planet.
But then I thought to myself, the person who was searching for the information about a planet in a galaxy far far away didn’t know the answer – maybe they were new to the Halo series?
Everyone knows about Halo and the Master Chief right? But that’s about as far as it goes sometimes. Heck, I only today realised the Engineers in Halo 3:ODST were actually intended to be in Halo: Combat Evolved game. Like Pink, who knew?
So, given that not every one knows everything and Halo: Reach will bring a slew of new fans to the Halo series, here’s few things that will help beginners understand the context of Reach.
Will the Master Chief be in the Halo Reach campaign?
The Master Chief is the main protagonist of the Halo series of Xbox games. He’s a bad ass, engineered to be bigger and stronger than an ordinary man. He knows no fear and was the bloke who finished the fight. He will not necessarily be the main player in the Reach campaign mode – the leaks suggest you play other ‘Spartans’ who were augmented in the same way the Master Chief was.
Who is Dr Halsey on Reach?
This Doctor is the person who engineered the Spartan project. Effectively the mother of the Spartans, she plays a large role in the Halo novels but has yet to make an formal appearance in a xbox game. Given the plot elements of The Fall of Reach it seems likley Dr Halsey will be a central character or plot point in Halo: Reach
What is the campaign plot of Halo Reach?
In short, the planet is overrun by the nasty covenant. The army of the UNSC and Spartans decide to fight back. It this action leads to the events of the original Xbox game, Combat Evolved.
I heard Reach is based on a book called The Fall of Reach?
You heard right. It actually came out before Combat Evolved! Those boys at Bungie were certainly into back stories in a big way.
I only bought ODST so I could get the Beta to Halo: Reach. Will those Engineers be in the game?
Who knows if they will, but legend has it, the Master Chief did meet one on Reach….
Spartans: Sure to Rise Vidoc
The campaign to promote the release of Halo Reach
steps up another notch with this awesome vidoc: A spartan will rise:
I’m no Halo expert but I’ll hazard a guess that’s Dr Catherine Halsey at the ending talking to an AI (Auntie Dot?) who is about to choose a Spartan to partner up with – as did Cortana the Master Chief – discuss in the comments??
Also the voice over sounded like Desperate Housewives…..and dang it, Jorge is the Beast Man!
Doctor Catherine Halsey will have a role in Halo Reach
As surmised a while back, it looks like Doctor Catherine Halsey will have a role to play in Halo Reach:
This screen shot of the good Dr was from the new Vidoc: Birth of a Spartan
Where are Halo 4’s easter eggs found?
What are the Easter Eggs that can be found in Halo 4
You know what an easter egg is right? No? In gaming terms and Easter Egg is a nod of some kind, a hidden message, an in joke or reference. Bungie placed eggs in all of their Halo games, the most famous perhaps being a piece of music called The Seige of Madgril’ which can be found when standing in certain, out of the way locations.
Here’s what 343 Industries put into Halo 4 and how to find them.
Dr Halsey’s Audi Log on Rampancy
As you first land on Requiem, you will come across a crash site of Covenant Cruisers. If one keeps to the left long enough one will find the way out. Those who chose to explore the site are rewarded with an audio log of Dr. Catherine Halsey discussing the inevitability of A.I. rampancy or rather how perhaps Cortana might be able to over come the issue. Halsey was the lady in handcuffs at the start of the game – she’s the one who created the Spartan programme.
Check out this youtube video to hear Halsey speak.
Spartans burnt into the wall
After the Master Chief exits the covenant crash site and steps into the sunlight, a mountain path littered with Warthogs extends out to the left Look to the right instead – edge of the cliffs stands an outcropping of rock with a rather unusual tree and a metal framework.
Manoevure to the lower ledge at which point you may look up at what appears to be a series of burn marks across the structure. You’ll see what could be a Spartan portrait.
Double Rainbow
Following completion of the first section of the ‘Reclaimer’ mission, the Mammoth will traverse a river nearby a waterfall. When the Mammoth halts, check out the double rainbow.
Conan O’Brien does a voice cameo
Conan did some early promo work for Halo 4 – an no wonder as he managed to get himself included in the game. On the Shutdown mission, Conan can be found as a soldier chatting about being in the military in the UNSC warehouse. The other soldier is Andy Richter.
Master Chief Helmet as a structure on a building
On the first mission, at the part when you’re outside in space, this building looks a little like the Master Chief’s Helmet:
I took this picture with my iphone in a dark room so the quality is poor.
Halo 4 Collectors edition found on the floor of the Foward Unto Dawn
On the FUD, check out the floor in the area where the Covenant board – you’ll spy in the floor a copy of the Collector’s edition of Halo 4 – that’s very meta.
Suggested eggs but don’t really count
Sergeant Johnson Egg on Shutdown level.
| This is the dude and it doesn’t look like Avery. At all. |
If you kill a lot of marines in the hanger bay that houses the Pelicans, eventually a black marine will spawn. Some claim this is Sergeant Johnson but frankly it looks nothing like him.
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