Reach for It

I have recently been playing Halo: Reach.  Yes, I took a step away from the little kid games and mindless arcade games and am playing a real, "grown-up" FPS again,

It's good to be back with the team.

And, if you can believe it, even though Reach released in September 2010, this is the first time I've played it.  Me.  Lover of all things Halo.  I'm not going to hassle you with a full on review, because obviously at this point in the game most everyone has played this game and knows that it is a great addition to the franchise.  I have to say that it is crazy to me that I haven't played a Halo game in years and it is like riding a bike.  The controls are a little different, and I still find myself hitting B to melee instead of being able to wrap my mind around the RB.  Old habits die hard.  I also can't seem to understand the armor bonuses, except that the hologram thing is really super fun.

So two things have come out of me rejoining the Halo world.  1) It is crazy to me how much I really do love these games and their story.  It is such a good, enriching, fully developed world.. And I still skip cut scenes.  Isn't that awful!?  I tell myself that I'll go back and watch them in the video room, or when I play the campaign alone and have more time... But honestly I'll probably never get around to it.  I'm notoriously bad about being patient through cut scenes.  So then I'm missing out on the story line and I'm not 100% sure where Reach fits in to the canon...and that makes my nerd-self sad.

2) I am completely torn on going back to multi-player online.  I am playing the campaign multi-player with my hubby and brother-in-law, but what I'm really talking about here is getting on, joining a lobby full of strangers, and becoming their target.  I have a longing to rejoin that community.  I used to love it so much.  Goodness knows there's nothing like pwning n00bs late into the night... but the problem now is that I am the n00b.  I can not even remember the last time I played Halo 3 online.  I can't even imagine trying to wrap my brain around learning new maps on Reach and being any kind of competition yet.

That's the problem with these FPS.  There is a learning curve, and you miss it quick.  I always  think Debbie is just a little crazy when she talks about playing new CoD iterations for the first week so that she's not behind, but it is so true.  Imagine my dismay at wanting to join a game a year after its release.  Siiiigh.  I guess I'll just have to take the leap eventually.  You know I want those achievements.  ;-)