Why Halo: Reach's Campaign Was Disappointing -Part II

Disclaimer: This is part two of a four part series on why Halo: Reach's campaign was disappointing. Click here for part one.

Campaign Mission Design Continued:

Another thing that really bugged me was the lack of explanation and clarity ranging from character back-story to the planet Reach itself. Take this clip for example. Would the average Halo fan/casual gamer have any clue about Dr. Halsey and her relationship with Jorge? Why wasn't this explained to the player? Not only would it have created sympathy toward Jorge, it would've established who Dr. Halsey was and why she's important to this campaign. Expanding upon and fleshing out characters is a defining aspect of a character driven story, something that Halo: Reach constantly boasted throughout its PR cycle.

The planet Reach was also a poorly defined. There is no sign of how significant this planet is or what role it plays. I had no idea Reach was a military-focused and one of the most important UNSC planets. Its large, sweeping vistas, pristine cities, and rural areas gave me no indication of that. Why should I care about Reach (and in turn, the plot) if I don't know why the planet is worth saving?

As an aside, armour abilities felt like they were shoe-horned into the campaign. Armour abilities could've added an extra layer of complexity if they played a more important role within campaign missions. For example, what about a mission where players had to use drop shields to traverse his way across an under bombardment battlefield? Or maybe a high octane chase where players catch an elite using sprint. I don't know...something like that, something more creative instead of just plopping them in there.

It was also disappointing that the "Defend [insert character name]" sections of the game were just firefight encounters in disguise. If it says "Defend Jun" , it's expected that  Jun would die if the player fails to defend him. I'm aware this is borderline nitpicking but it still came off as very cheap, lazy and hampered Reach's presentation (albeit slightly). I thought this would've added layer of complexity to the gameplay but instead, it's just an illusion to give the player the impression that the gameplay has changed without changing anything.

-Click here for Part III