<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Grinding Down]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://grindingdown.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Paul]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/author/mylifecomics/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Halo: Reach, the final piece to a series I&#8217;ve never&nbsp;played]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="1325" data-permalink="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/halo-reach-the-final-piece-to-a-series-ive-never-played/halo-reach-1802/" data-orig-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/halo-reach-1802.jpg" data-orig-size="500,342" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="halo-reach-1802" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/halo-reach-1802.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/halo-reach-1802.jpg?w=500" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1325" title="halo-reach-1802" src="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/halo-reach-1802.jpg?w=500&#038;h=342" alt="" width="500" height="342" srcset="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/halo-reach-1802.jpg 500w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/halo-reach-1802.jpg?w=150&amp;h=103 150w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/halo-reach-1802.jpg?w=300&amp;h=205 300w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></p>
<p>Well, it&#8217;s the day many gamers have been waiting for&#8211;<strong>Halo: Reach</strong>, the final entry in Bungie&#8217;s acclaimed and much loved <strong>Halo</strong> series, descends upon the galaxy! Many gamers, that is, but me. See, I&#8217;ve never played a <strong>Halo</strong> game before. Not extensively. I tried two maps in multiplayer at a friend&#8217;s house years back, and that ended very badly as I found myself constantly getting sniped and then falling off ledges and such. The other time I &#8220;played&#8221; <strong>Halo</strong> was when I watched another friend play the first few levels of <strong>Halo: Combat Evolved</strong>, offering him tips and ideas on where to go to next. And that&#8217;s it. And both of those moments took place at least six or seven years ago. So yeah. Since then, I&#8217;ve watched <strong>Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo ODST</strong>, and that RTS <strong>Halo</strong> game come and go without much interest; that also now applies to Bungie&#8217;s final footprint in their series.</p>
<p>To me, they all look and feel exactly the same. You are a dude that shoots aliens, flies spacecraft, and explores colorful locales. I understand that there are many that love this series, and dive deep into its lore, but for me, it just screams generic. Heck, even watching a video review of <strong>Halo: Reach</strong> recently put me off; I had to double-check it was a review for the latest game and not, say, <strong>Halo 3</strong>. They both blended together as one single sameness. Not good. I don&#8217;t know if there will ever be a time when I will want to play as Master Chief and <em>pew pew pew</em> some alien goons, but it most likely won&#8217;t be any time soon. Unless I find one of the games in a bargain bin and feel frisky. Question: if I were to start, where&#8217;s the best place to begin? <strong>ODST</strong>?</p>
<p>Also, I just can&#8217;t believe Bungie had the steel balls to release this in the same week as other heavyhitters like:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Cabela’s North American Adventures</strong> (Activision) – Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP</li>
<li><strong>Fancy Nancy: Tea Party Time!</strong> (THQ) – Nintendo DS</li>
<li><strong>Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole</strong> (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment) – Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo DS</li>
<li><strong>Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s: Duel Transer</strong> (Konami) – Wii</li>
<li><strong>Horse Life Adventures</strong> (Valcon Games) – Wii, Nintendo DS</li>
</ul>
<p>Balls of steel, I say.</p>
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