There’s a satisfying feeling that comes when one finishes a really good game, and for me, I felt that when I finished Halo: Reach last night. Having being very late to the game due to the lack of an Xbox, I purchased Halo: Master Chief Collection only a few weeks ago for the PC and the very first Halo title I played since Combat Evolved many years ago, was Halo: Reach.

Landing a hand to board a copter
Yup, nothing like landing a hand

The game looks really amazing by my standards, and having the GTX 1070 meant the graphics settings were maxed out. I really enjoyed the single player story mode, as my player character Noble Six and the rest of Noble Team went gallivanting around the planet Reach (and even into space) to try and fight off a Covenant invasion.

Yup, you read that right. Reach. The planet from which the first Halo game had the Pillar of Autumn depart from due to the very same Covenant invasion. The planet is also the setting for Eric Nylund’s The Fall of Reach novel, which I enjoyed a lot as well. Hard to guess that I like the Halo universe.. not bad for someone who does not own an Xbox.

Spartans finding themselves in a jungle
In the jungle… the mighty jungle

If you haven’t guessed it already, Halo: Reach is effectively a prequel to Combat Evolved, telling the story of the Covenant invasion through the eyes of Noble Team. One by one the members of the team go down, and guess who is the precious cargo that you end up delivering to Captain Keyes (before you end up being killed by a bunch of Sangheili)? It’s the fan favourite A.I. Cortana.

Captain Keynes making sure his hands on Cortana before ex
Captain Keynes! Captain Keynes!

The Master Chief Collection is something worth checking out if you are an FPS fan on PC. With four Halo titles available under this collection and two more inbound, it is definitely worth its price. I should revisit Combat Evolved next. In the meantime, check out the live stream series at Nine Over Ten 9/10 Facebook Page.