Excited, but sceptical would be how I would describe my feelings about Halo: Reach before I slotted it into the 360. “What will Reach offer me that previous instalments haven’t?” asked the little person on my left shoulder. “Gee, it’ll be nice to play a brand new campaign and the E3 trailer did look sweet,” said the equally annoying little person on the right shoulder. In the end I thought, “let’s just pop the game in and give it a go.”

Halo: Reach is the prequel to Combat Evolved and again features the sinister alien Covenant as its antagonists. You play as customisable super solider Noble 6, and almost as soon as you jump out of your chopper to attack the first level, you realize just how far Bungie have come since the original Xbox title. The graphics are so rich and layered, a discernible improvement even from current generation iterations such as Halo 3. Whether it is the beauty of a mountainside or the destruction of a city, the visuals suck you in.

Halo: Reach has an emotional resonance that previous games in the series lacked. This is not to say that Reach is the only Halo game with a decent story, it’s just that they were more about kicking butt than developing NPCs. The game takes place during a Covenant invasion, at a time when the fate of the human race was very much at stake. You get to know your team members a little better, to the extent that when something happens to them or their life is in danger, it matters to you. Combined with the graphics, sound design and an evocative score, you’ll find yourself experiencing an overwhelming feeling of loss and despair. The further I delved into the story, the less frustrated I was with Bungie at not giving us a new enemy to face.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the expanded aerial combat sequences. While the various aircraft (and indeed spacecraft) differed in terms of controls, weapons and manoeuvrability, they had one thing in common, accessibility. I’m always concerned when a game drastically deviates from its bread and butter gameplay. However, in this case, Bungie have managed to add welcome variety to the campaign without increasing the level of gameplay complexity.

I got a kick out of the various new weapons and armour related special abilities. The latter have been added to freshen up both the single and multiplayer aspects of the game. On some multiplayer maps, choosing the wrong armour ability can see you slammed, whereas on other levels it’s really just a matter of preference. For the sheer enjoyment of soaring over your opponents and exploring the nooks and crannies of a particular level, I can’t go past the jetpack. After all… it’s a jetpack. The other abilities (armour lock, sprint, active camouflage, etc.) each have their appeal, but whichever you choose, you’ll inevitably find yourself in a situation where you wish you had selected a different one. Overall, the multiplayer component of the game is as broad and strong as ever, with an improved Firefight mode among the many highlights. You’ll definitely get your money’s worth here.

I guess it’s time to answer the question I opened with. Halo: Reach is familiar enough to satisfy Halo purists, but different enough to attract players bored by the long running formula.  Hopefully my answer will satiate the annoying git perched on my left shoulder. If not, there’s always the rocket launcher.