Halo: Reach is still a relatively new game, but there are already rumors swirling around a Halo: CE remake scheduled to hit gaming shelves this holiday season and another Halo game in the works. While I’m glad that 343 Studios is working a few Halo: Reach follow-ups, there are several Halo: Reach features that need be dropped immediately.
Reticle Bloom
Halo: Reach is the first Halo game to add a blooming reticle that expands wider as shots are fired quickly in succession. Reticle bloom is one of those things that sounds great in theory, but works horribly in practice. Bungie was hoping that reticle bloom would add another dimension of skill to Halo: Reach, but all it actually did is create a disadvantage for those that use more skilled weapons. The addition of reticle bloom made the Halo: Reach weaponry less balanced and should be axed before 343 Studios releases a new Halo game.
Armor Lock
Armor lock is by far the most complained about feature in the Halo-verse. Armor lock freezes a player and makes them totally invincible for several seconds and hosts several other functions that have Halo gamers crying foul and claiming that the armor lock armor ability is way too over-powered. Armor lock is cheap and encourages cheap gameplay and needs not to be included in another Halo game.
The DMR
The Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR) is Halo: Reach‘s mid to long-range assault rifle and is considered by many to be a bastardization of the most beloved Halo weapon of all-time the Battle Rifle (BR). Unlike the Battle Rifle, the DMR has reticle bloom, causes less damage, is less effective over long range, and shoots slower. If 343 Studios is going to take over Microsoft’s Halo project, there are several things that they’ll have to correct, but bringing back the Battle Rifle should be somewhere at the top of their list.
Non-numbered Ranks
In addition to adding armor abilities, incorporating reticle bloom, nixing the Battle Rifle, and adding assassination animations, Bungie also felt that there was no longer a need to have a numbered ranking system. Numbered rank gave Halo players a goal to aim for, easily showed skill level, and was a really integral part of the Halo online multiplayer in other Halo games. By removing numbered ranking in Halo: Reach, players are rewarded for playing a lot and not for how well they played [quantity over quality]. Numbered ranks should be including in the next Halo title in order to bring back the competitive nature to the Halo multiplayer.
For more, read The Five Most Laughably Overrated Features in Halo: Reach, Four Halo: Reach Features You’ll Quickly Grow Tired of After Your First Day of Playing Reach , and 5 Halo 3 Features Bungie Got Rid of in Halo: Reach
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