Now to get started, this is the first Halo game I've ever finished. I've played 1, 2 and 3, but I've only ever played half way through and then got bored. Halo: REACH is so much better than the older games that it isn't even funny. I can't put my finger on it, but the campaign was just so much more fun. It could be because the enemies are much smarter, the game looks much better and the soundtrack is leagues above any other game released this year, but I'd narrow it down to it just being more of a challenge. The game fights against you, but when you die, you don't get angry, because every time you replay that section, it's a fresh experience and you feel victorious when you finally find a tactic that works around the AI and level design.

The game was great, but it still had some flaws which bugged me throughout my play through. REACH suffers from frequent slowdown, every time the game loads or a checkpoint comes along, the game freezes for a second and it's pretty annoying because of how frequent it is. I'd also notice that the cutscenes looked fantastic, but sometimes it looks like the game struggles to play it through because the characters would start to move a little slower at odd spots and sometimes it just pauses for a few milli seconds, which may seem like a small thing to cry about, but it does take you out of the game.

I haven't been keeping up with the Halo story, but I got the gist of what's going on from REACH. It was interesting, but it could have been told much better. Outside of Jorge, I didn't really care about any of my squad mates and the way they all died seemed kind of point less and just random for the sake of being random. I wish Bungie tried a bit harder with the character development, because it would have been extremely interesting to see Spartans interacting with each other and at least showing a bit of personality. I was extremely disappointed with the ending, it just ended, I got a very similar feeling from the ending of Fable 2.

Overall, Halo: Reach is the best game in the franchise. The soundtrack, art design, level design and enemy AI are the things that make it shine and I have the urge to go back and try and play the last three games in the series. It's sad to see Bungie go, it's also sad that they couldn't grab me with their earlier games and I can only hope that 343 industries use REACH as a base for their future Halo.

I'd give Halo: REACH an 8/10.

I'm hoping you waited till after the credits to get the true ending. If you didn't then I understand how you can be dissapointed with the ending. The last scene is perhaps the greatest ending to a game in history.

Have you played the multi yet.  Many Halo fans don't even bother with the campaign because the series has such strong multiplayer...

You can't be serious.... I didn't even think of waiting! Hopefully someone's posted the ending on Youtube, I don't think I saved before I finished.

I don't have a Gold account. I'd like to try it, but I'll have to wait until I can play at a friends house or something.

Play the very last part of the game again to get to the end quickly...don't watch it on youtube. Its an ending that you get to play and not watch ;)

Didn't see full ending/No online = bad review

IT really was an epic ending.  No really.

The ending is a mission in it's own right.

At first I was like wow, where is the ending that made people upset.

Then I was like, wtf gameplay after credits? That's a Bungie First.

Weird Halo hater. Halo Reach isn't massively different from the others in gameplay stakes, it's still Halo and the soundtrack has always been one of it's strong points.