I do wish there were more skyscraper on-foot opportunities and less banshee spawns so I can explore in peace. It's a great open level though, and I hope we get similar ones in the future
New Alexandria wasn't far off taking the number one spot honestly, but I had to mark it down a little as I can't help but feel like a little too much time is spent flying around. Atmosphere and visuals are probably the best in the game though to be fair.
@@BenPlaysGames I think the mission has a decent balance between ground combat and flying. Never felt I had to be in the air for too long. And even though majority of the skyscrapers don't really have anything to them, I always appreciated the fact you can just go anywhere in the wide area and goof around.
For me, something about it just didn't click. I actually played through the entirety of Reach on the Eurostar to Paris and back over the weekend and the biggest thing that stuck out to me this time was how much less I enjoyed The Package compared to the other missions in Reach's second half. That being said, I do agree the Scorpion comment. Loved them ever since I first got my hands on one back in Assault on the Control Room!
@@BenPlaysGames Fair enough. I have issues with most Reach levels, and the Scorpion kinda just helps me ignore them. New Alexandria is a lot of fun, except the Hunters. I hate non-CE Hunters, but maybe that's because I am triggered by the memory of discovering the pistol was useless in H2. AotCR is my favorite Halo level of all time.
@@ChairmanKam Two things - first, completely agree re the hunters, if I can't one shot them, I don't want to know. Second, Assault On The Control is a baller level and one of my favourites too. That first open area in the snow once you reach ground level, so good.
I wouldn't necessarily disagree about the Package, except to add that the start of the mission is 'uninspiring'... because hope is entirely gone. You aren't just losing, you've definitively lost. Nobody should be feeling good, you could even argue the color filter over the entire outdoor section is a metaphor for how the UNSC is doing. No real goal anymore, world's glassed, it's already the apocalypse, only the grim determination to soldier on and get some revenge. "Give em hell, Spartan." "They sure gave it to Reach." Shocked I never made the connection between the Halo 2 Trailer and Exodus, considering it's two New X sci-fi human cities under siege by the Covenant until a lone Spartan emerges to save the day, but hey. Especially funny as I stayed up as a kid so many nights and early mornings on the family PC, watching 144p dinner-plate-pixel footage of that trailer in absolute awe, hyped for the H2 launch. Maybe that's why I've always held such fondness for Reach's New Alexandria, and Halo War's Arcadia City.
honestly, so much of reach feels like bungie going back and exploring old ideas, bringing new ones, and sending the series off with a bang a personal highlight was the long night of solace, being bungie's dream for halo 2 realized, at least in miniature. for those unaware, the famous ending to Cairo Station was supposed to lead into a level where you board a covenant ship and take it down, but was cut due to scope creep. it really feels full circle in so many ways, yet also a step back in others
I dislike the first rally part of Package for entirely different reasons, mainly the overabundance of cheap fuel rod enemies. You start off fighting on foot against turrets and ghosts with only bullet weapons and lowered visibility. Then there's arguably one of the worst tank sections because Reach's tank steering is all wonky, which makes it difficult to avoid the laser homing fuel rod turrets and banshee bombs if you don't memorize their spawns. The final defense section is fantastic though, which more than makes up for the earlier slog.
@@justinnyugen7015 Yeah The Packages tank section felt like, "Oh shit, we forgot a tank run!" It would have been better in TotS. And the fuel rod turret were the source of my first ever f-bomb yelled at the tv.
Oh man, that trailer is still one my favourite ever - I can still remember seeing it for the first time and being in absolute awe of what the Halo 2 looked like, so many awesome new features packed into an entirely new setting for the series!
I think what Ben probably meant by uninspiring was "not being terribly exciting or interesting from a gameplay standpoint", although what you say about the tone of the level is very true. (Think about how he says it at 2:22)
Can you do a ranking of all missions in all halo games? Also, can you do an analysis on the Maw from Halo CE? BTW, the vids are awesome and extremely high quality. You deserve more viewers and subscribers.
Cheers Atharv, that's super kind! Plan is to do each game and then eventually do one super list featuring every Halo mission in one video. Might be a while before it happens, but it is definitely planned! Will also definitely cover The Maw, as I hope to eventually cover every single level in the series as well.
@DehCut3Fr0gAlthough ranking the missions might not be the best idea, I would still love to see an analysis of the levels and their shortcomings, which the analysis would have to be done in order for him to rank them.
@DehCut3Fr0g "And taking up the bottom place on my list is... every mission." Kidding, kidding but will be a tricky one! Trying to get my hands on a Series X right now ahead of Infinite (play/record on PC usually but will need it to play 4K properly, which I can't miss), at which point I'll do another 5 run with a view to making some videos on it.
I find myself replaying Exodus most despite my distaste for Reach's Brutes, mainly because of how well the jetpack is used. It allows for a lot of freedom in combat and how you approach the enemy. Fly to a second story balcony and snipe from above? Fly to a side platform that allows you to flank? Skip behind enemy lines then double back for a two-pronged attack with your marines? Skip the battle entirely? All well accounted for, especially in the final arena area where you attack that building. You also get access to a good chunk of the sandbox throughout the level On the other hand, I always skip the vehicle part of Package due to the Tank's controls, poor enemy visibility, and the broken homing of fuel rod turrets. Such a stark contrast to Halo 3's superb tank sections.
I loooove Exodus! Personally felt 2's Earth levels were a pretty big letdown, so was overjoyed when Bungie finally gave me what I'd been waiting for in their last game. It's exactly what I wanted all those years ago.
The first time I played Tip of the Spear, I was a bit disappointed that the massive warthog battle wasn't going to be part of gameplay. I was really excited to play an actual large scale battle.
Lone wolf for life playing by yourself the isolated feeling you have with the motivation to kill the covenant with the cutscene is absolutely beautiful
I feel objective: survive is the peak of reach. Its unique to halo as the only objective you can't win and it perfectly sets the mood. It perfectly captures the "all is lost" theme that this game pushes, which is espically seen in the fact that this is also the only time we see a lot of dead spartans. You can see evidence of the battles fought before and i love that. The ending is also amazing in my opinion. On a semi but really unrelated note, halo reach is by far the best halo game. I have no doubts about that.
My favorite part about Nightfall is the fact that you can just run past everything, glitch through the big door with the forklift and end the game in about 4 minutes.
Reach emphasizes what Captain Keyes said in the books “Winning isn’t always everything.” Yeah you have small victories like saving a few civilians and got a few soldiers out of New Alexandria but in the end Reach still falls. Not only does it emphasize what Keyes said but it also emphasizes how desperate humanity was in the war and how important the planet Reach.
Plan is to eventually do a list for every game, and then one uber list covering every mission in every game. Might be a while till that happens, but that's the dream!
My ranking is 10. Nightfall. It’s not bad, just other missions are better 9. Sword base 8. Exodus. Think nightfall is better 7. The package. 6. Long night of solace. That ending was chilling 5. Winter contingency. Great opening 4. New Alexandria. Tragic, with a tragic ending 3. Tip of the spear. It is a great combination of everything halo is. 2. The pillar of autumn. Absolutely phenomenal ending. Really showcases how destroyed reach is, how desperate you are in such hopeless odds, and the heroism of Spartans. All the sacrifices finally come together. Each death finally having some meaning, especially Carter’s, building up to noble six deciding to stay behind. 1. Lone wolf. Lone wolf is the ultimate poetic tragic ending. It really drives home the hopelessness. And gives you the consequences of your heroic decision to stay behind. It works so well after pillar of autumn. And Marty O’Donnell’s epilogue is absolutely phenomenal. Remember reach. Spartans never die, they are just missing in action.
Cheers for taking the time to share your list Michael! I think you and I share the same views on a lot of the missions by the looks of things, and glad to see the opening of Winter Contingency acknowledged. Rest of the mission is middling, but do love that start.
My favorites have changed back and forth over the 10 years reach has been out, however I always find myself having the most fun playing Tip of the Spear and Exodus. My favorite levels tend to be the gameplay sand boxes in Tip of the Spear and great story presentation in Exodus. Another great analysis and here’s to 20k by the New Year!
A lot of people have mentioned a lot of different missions they think should have been ranked higher, and Exodus in particular is the one I'm second guessing myself on a little now haha! It really does a great job of nailing the city combat feel and I love the Falcon part flying over the city towards the end. And thanks too mate, that's actually my target for the year as it happens, so fingers crossed!
@@BenPlaysGames Considering the subjectivity of "best missions" you did a pretty solid job explaining why each mission deserves its spot. Also with a great campaign like Reach it can be hard to pick between the different degrees of greatness, especially once you've whittled the list down.
I'll be honest here. Long Night of Solace is my very favorite Reach mission. It is *the* reason I replay the game. Space combat had been something I desperately wanted in Halo since the ending of CE. When I first played Reach, just after it came out, I went in blind, and the second half of the mission came as a complete surprise, and it was an incredible one at that. I still get giddy with anticipation when playing it today. It genuinely blew me away. Plus, I'm a huge space shuttle nerd, and just the launch sequence alone is enough to get me positively vibrating with excitement. Is it a mechanically good mission? I have no clue. Is it an emotionally good mission? Hell, the fuck, yes.
I love the mission but have a hard time replaying it from start to finish. Not because of gameplay or anything - it's the very lengthy and unskippable cutscenes! Rally points baby.
Agree Peter, in terms of story, I rank it as one of the best, if not the best, in the game, but for me the gameplay lets it down a little, especially in the second half. It's a funny one to judge, honestly!
I remember watching just about every Halo: Reach video I could when the game came out because I didn’t have an Xbox 360 and even if I did, my parents would NEVER have allowed me to play an M rated game at my age back then. So now that I’m a grown man and able to play whatever I want, I’m happy to finally play this masterpiece of a game.
I always loved the mission Exodus , The intro to the mission where you see Six get up with the crashed corvette in the background after finding out Jorges sacrifice meant next to nothing and we see six investigating bullet holes and walking through the city it's the first mission where the player is Fighting brutes for the first time , working with the odsts , small falcon section, Jet pack galore , Immersive environment, and Sgt fucking Johnson , although the Brutes are weak in reach they are still formidable and terrifying when they charge at you especially on legendary and I really like the way the Chieftans look in Halo Reach. Also the fact that the throughout the mission you see the Brutes killing civilians truly sets the contrast between the Brutes and Elites.
The pillar of autumn is my fav just cause of the nostalgia it brings for the Halo CE days when I got my xbox for christmas . Halo was the first game I played. I remember always fearing the elites because I was a child and there was this unknown enemy attacking me. The pillar of autumn in Reach brings back all those memories given the desperation and struggle that it communicates at the start and when Captain Keyes appears in the pelican and safely leaves Reach , I instantly get teleported back to those days. (must not forget that line " Cortana, all I need to know is... did we make it?" " I think you and I both know the answer to that".....) always gives me shivers that last part.
Wow, the package is one of my favorites of reach’s missions. I certainly agree about nightfall though, I honestly love and hate parts of it. Winter contingency didn’t stand out, but I honestly don’t feel that is necessarily should’ve. Here’s the thing about long night of solace for me, my first time playing it was spectacular and amazing, but afterwards, it lost much of the wonder and emotion I felt playing it the first time. It wasn’t bad for me, but it was the kind of mission for me that was amazing the first time, good the second time, and meh the rest of the time. Exodus honestly tied with sword base for me I really love both personally. Tip of the spear, pillar of autumn, and new Alexandria honestly all tie first for me, they all bring a critical part of what made reach a great game for me. Especially the sense of scale they both present. Lone Wolf doesn’t place for me to be honest, amazing level, but it feels like a really good playable cutscene for me and not a full campaign level so much. Sweet vid though m8.
Cheers as always David and thanks for sharing your thoughts! I agree with lots of what you said, but in particular your thoughts on Long Nigh Of Solace. It got as high as it did on my list primarily based on its impact the first time through and the way it tells its story. I think if it was judged on pure gameplay terms, I would have ranked it far more harshly I reckon!
Love the whole thing. Winter contingency is special! Just the perfect start I think. I find whenever I play reach as soon as I finish it I want to play through it again it’s that good to me!
New Alexandria is definitely number one for simply because of how much it stands out. The vocals during the flying sections, the black skyscrapers in the red background. Atmosphere alone makes this mission number one for me.
If I were to rank all of reached levels so wouldn’t know were to start. I find every level is it’s own small masterpiece. However I know that my #1 is definitely tip of the spear. Anyways thanks so much for creating these incredible videos they are super high quality and a joy to watch
The track that plays when ure helping buck in new alexandria has to be the most underrated and badass song in the halo trilogy, shit makes me feel like i can walk through a brick wall
The soundtracks always really impressed me when it comes to Reach and ODST - there are so many good tracks on both. Love me some saxophone in ODST in particular!
That's a mission that has been requested quite a few times! It's definitely in the post, just trying to work out my schedule with the CE 20th anniversary in two weeks and then Infinite two weeks after that. So many videos ideas, so little time!
Exodus or New Alexandria. Those two levels have unparalleled atmosphere and are a blast to play as well. Just the sheer hopelessness of the situation, all the marine radio chatter and what not. Just incredible
Agreed Peter, both absolute bangers. Exodus in particular is a fantastic mission - ever since the Halo 2 gameplay trailer set in a human city that we never actually got to play, I'd wanted to get my hands on something similar. Exodus feels about as close to it as we could have perhaps hoped for!
For me personally, Nightfall was the best level, as night time levels in Halo arre few and far between, and should show up far more then they do in the title. Its actually one reason why I personally enjoyed the ODST campaign so much. The sneaking through the streets of new mombasa as Rookie, was rewarding as it was atmospheric in nature. And the visor went a long way in aiding vision in such a dark enviroment, though even without it it still is quite a lot of fun.
Plus there's something really God dang wholesome about a couple of Spartans helping a civilian militia defend their homes. Nightfall isn't *my* favorite level, but it's really grown on me.
Pillar of Autumn because it’s the only mission where noble team has a tangible goal beyond some vague and generic military objective and the mission actually fits how Reach has always been described as a setting
In terms of cutscenes and story, the one-two gut-punch of Tip of the Spear and Long Night of Solace are incredible! The spire sets up the scale and power of the Grafton, only for it to get blown out of the water by the LNoS seconds later, taking the triumphant feeling in the air with it. In an act of revenge, you blow up the mammoth ship with an IMPROVISED nuke, losing a teammate in the process, but it's still a victory... until it turns out that that was just ONE of at least a dozen Covenant ships headed for Reach. The giant you just killed was just a baby, and now its parents are pissed!..
@Ben Plays Games, you are doing an amazing job by analyzing a specific mission of an Halo game and highlighting positive and negative aspects ( whe they have them ;) ). For me, every Halo Reach mission is a very good one at least; I can play all of them any time. There are no "Cortana like" mission if you know what I mean. About the mission ranking, I almost agree with you: the lower part of the list and the upper part isthe same from my point of view. Just some thoghts: - Nightfall for me is #10, despite the fact I have fun every time I play it for two reason: it offer less environment diversity than other mission and it could have improved the stealth session. When i play Nightfall I'd like to have an experience which is an evolution of the pre/boarding session of T&R from Halo CE: ability to have stealth session in which you can beat every enemy without being noticed ( I see this is an aspect only Halo CE often offers ). Despite the fact you can use the Active Camo it is really difficult to kill undetected all the Covenant in the area. When I want this kind of experience, I still play T&R. - The Package offers a short session on the Scorpion ( unfortunately the only one in Reach ) but the final firefight is awesome and you can play it the way you want: defensive on foot or on a vehicle by highjacking a Banshee or a Wraith. Plus, I cannot forget it has the best easter egg in the halo saga ( and vg in general ). - Long Night of Solace is great. The space session is long enough to enjoy it without get bored. The beach battle could have been bigger, Silent Cartographer style, but the landscape is gorgeous. i really like the boarding session on Covenant ship and I wanted more of it. The cutscene direction during lift-off is superb. - Winter Contingency is a great intro mission with: a lot of help by your squad members, non linear progression, exploration, story introduction and good encounters with Covenant. It is a mix between Halo CE missions PoA and Halo. - New Alexandria is my favourite mission in the Halo saga. I will be more precise with a comment to your video dedicated to that mission. It has the pillar of Halo experience: multiple objectives, open map, fight against impossible odds. The atmosphere is marvellous and represents pefectly the desperation and the seriousness of the situation. I think that the fact this mission is not often mentioned in Halo reach topics is because it lacks of a vehicle ground combat. I don't think is a negative aspect but just my opinion on why players don't talk too much about it. Thank you very much for your videos and channel.
My personal favorite was Lone Wolf because of the absolute kick in the nads the game gives you. "Survive". As far as I can remember, a mission or quest objective in any game has never given me chills before. And no matter what difficulty you play on, no matter how long you survive, you always Noble 6 fall; alone and defiant like s/he was always known to be in the face of danger. Then you got Tip of the Spear as a second favorite because you see two madlads on a Mongoose. No extra armor, no heavy weapons, no nothing. Two of the craziest S.O.B's in the UNSC charging into battle like they were driving a Scorpion or something! Also, a random question: would you be able to do a video analysis of Halsey or be able to point me to one? Always been a fan of Halo but was more casual than anything. Dr. Halsey always fascinated me because she was more or less despised as a war criminal for the early Spartan Program (understandably so) but it led to success against the Covenant with Master Chief. Sort of a lesser of two evils thing. Random question, you all can ignore that.
The mongoose dudes in Tip of the Spear always give me a good chuckle too haha. Not sure about Halsey as I tend to read stuff about Halo rather than watch (I find a lot TH-camrs doing lore videos spread about 3 minutes of actual content across 20 minutes of video), but the person who always comes up is Hidden Xperia (haven't really watched myself, so can't vouch for it personally though), so maybe try there?
Nice one Luke! And fair play, I can't argue too much with that - I think on another day the list would have been entirely different, the amount of times I moved stuff around 🙈
1:30 - “if this mission appeared… towards the start of Reach… i’d like it a lot more.” it did; it was called ONI: Sword Base… and you did; you ranked it seventh :)
The problem I have with the Tip of the Spear is the huge battle you're supposedly fighting in is an illusion. Nothing but a skybox backdrop. Sure there's a huge battle in the background but that's all it is. For most of the level it's really just you and Kat on a Warthog attacking some covenant positions. Compare this with Halo 3's The Storm, The Ark and The Covenant where you actually fight alongside a sizeable mechanized force of UNSC NPCs.
I agree. When I first saw this huge army of warthogs and tanks driving towards a massive force of covenant air and ground vehicles, I thought I was in for the largest, most chaotic ground war we'd ever seen in a halo game. I mean, it's still fun, but the fact that you get cut off from the ENTIRE allied force in a cutscene right at the beginning really ruins my enjoyment at the start of the mission.
To me it's ONI Sword Base. It's got all the usual setpieces to a standard Halo level (the start that's reminiscent of The Cartographer, Warthog sections, and even an exclusive setpiece dedicated to using power weapons) and that subtle indicator that this is a losing fight what with the last thing you fight for in the level is a gaping crater where a huge chunk of the base used to be
Honestly my favorite missions have to be the pillar of atumunm and exodus but I think your rankings are spot on either way as even though those are my favorite I believe the top four are basically interchangable for me with how much I enjoy playing them
I think what mainly ruins and bores out the Saber section of Long Night of Solice is the flying mechanic, I’ve played Ace Combat and in that game you get the option between Novice or expert/normal controls, expert/normal controls is essentially being able to fly the aircraft similar to how it is in real life: you can manually do barrel rolls, fly upside down and all that. Essentially in the Saber Section you are forced to play in Novice controls despite the fact that you are in the vacuum of space, if they added expert controls it would make the experience much more fun
I have to say that Lone wolf is the best mission, the Map and the placement of dead Spartan 3's throughout the map, the music in the background. Gives it a grim and dark atmosphere and the objectives just saying [Survive...] does give a false sense of hope which work for it. And having you helmet crack under the pressure was a really cool detail. And it's kind of fitting that 6 was always going to die alone giving that he/she has a record of being an alone operative. The ending kinda show me that alone, even someone as lethal as Masterchief can fall to the covenant.
Oooooooh tough call. As a hardcore Reach fanboy my gut reaction is Tip of the Spear. Wide range of badass set pieces, sections on foot, behind the wheel, _and_ in the air, and no bad segments. Long Night of Solace is fun but the Sabre combat can be a bit of a grind, especially on high difficulties, and The Package is perfect right up until it turns into an area defense version of Firefight.
I played Halo Reach on Legendary for tbe first time today. The Pillar of Autumn and surprisingly Exodus were the hardest missions imo. I got more problems with the brutes than with the elites since I always noob comboed them. As to my favorite mission. New Alexandria is the obvious choice but I think I had a very big amount of fun on The Package. Maybe because by then I knew what I was doing while playing Legendary and I skipped the ice section with a banshee and even entered the secret room. All an all. All missions in Reach are solid.
For me it was Pillar of Autumn and Tip of the Spear that was head to head. But the finale of Reach in Pillar of Autumn is just so goddamn bleak and beautiful.
You naimed the top 5, and I think you could switch them in any order (for me personally, I would put Exodus and Long Night higher, because of the atmosphere, and TOTS lower). But again, those 5 levels are just excellent! Can you do this for H2? It's my favorite campaign and I honestly think there might be some surprising placements there ;)
The way I think would make “The Package” be better is if the mission Sword base starts at the airfield at the fighting our way from bottom to access an elevator to the upper area where we fight a few more enemies to get to the back where the mission takes place Then in “The Package” mission we start off clearing LZs for Falcons and Pelicans to drop off ODST demo teams before we get to where the mission actually starts
Exodus is probably my favorite levels in the game. The reintroduction of the brutes and the power to help the UNSC army and civilians brought back that super in the super soldier super hero of a spartan. It felt nice being a becon of hope to the few while you could. Plus it felt so damn good blasting brutes about to kill civilians, they had it coming.
Exodus is an absolute banger, would love to see more missions like that in future games, as I think Reach is the only Halo title which really pulled off combat in a human city/settlement.
I will say I do think nightfall should have been higher simply due to its open sniper section at the start being so good. It is the only halo sniper section where you can take it at your own pace without the enemies spotting you and turning it into a run of the mill halo fight where you happen to have a sniper rifle like the opening section in the ark.
Tip of the Spear is nice but I personally feel exodus just does the whole "alone to survive and regather my strength" sort of mission so good that it's my number 1
My favorite is long night of solace with the sabre since you get. 1. Lore info on noble 6 2. A epic charge to secure the launch base 3. SPAAAACE BAAATTLLEEE 4. Unsc savannah, bless that ship 5. Jorge passing 6. The beginning...of the end. That or tip of the spear as its a semi-massive assault that ends usuaaally for me a melee battle between a sword elite and my attempt to sneak an assasination that at best result in a throw off said spire....for the elite.
My favourite halo game is Reach. And no, I didn't play any halo game except this one XD. By the way, It is one of my favourite campaigns. Nice video :)
For me my top mission is EITHER Long Night of Solace or Pillar of Autumn both seem to encapsulate fully in their gameplay styles what the game is about - you're an incredible super soldier. You complete every mission. You have the skills. You improvise. You perservere. But reach will fall, you will die and there is nothing you can do about that. It is about how we face our end and ultimately about working to leave something for others.
I always though Winter Contigency would have worked better almost in reverse. Land, find civilians and then enter the facility. The cutscene with the Zealots and then hunting them down would have been a nicer way to show how surprised everyone would have been to see the covenant.
This is a really great idea! Would have definitely been more impactful to reveal the Covenant with that cutscene rather than just have them appear in a field and start shooting haha.
Ouch. The package in last? This is the mission I replay most lol. It's pretty much all tank and then the holdout section in the underground snow cavern is literally a firefight within the campaign. How do you go wrong with that??
Cheers dude! I use an ATR2100x which sits super close to my mouth in order to get a richer sounds. Means I have to do a lot more sound editing after as I create very strong 'p' and 's' sounds when recording, but I think it's worth the extra time in the end. Do shout if you have any other questions!
Personally I think that the space battle in Long Night of Solace had a perfect length. I also think that Pillar of Autumn is the least interesting last mission of all the Bungie games. And the turret section of Tip of the Spear is just useless, unlike Exodus' which serves to show how big the battle is.
the way I see it, the turret section existed to break up the pace. for the last 10-20 minutes, you've been in an all out war, taking out waves of covenant and a few AA guns. After such a long section of intense combat, its nice to have a god tube and wail on enemies from the sky.
LNoS if fuckin' baller man. And the dogfights on Legendary? Oh yeah. Barrelrolling through plasma is the best. And you get to fight ALONGSIDE fucking frigate!
@@cfdeers I contrasts well with Exodus' turret section too. In TotS you absolutely DECIMATE the covenant targets, and you're even required to kill all of them (the falcon stalls). Feeling powerful after that and shutting down the spire shield, you're set up for the gut punch of Grafton's demise and LNoS. Then in Exodus you spend the whole mission saving lives, but when you get on the turret section, you see plenty of marines that need saving, but your falcon flies by too quickly for you to kill all the enemies. One section makes you feel powerful, the other makes you feel powerless.
I don't think I'll really be able to rank the missions. I tend to view art in a more qualitative rather than quantitative way. Especially works of art that belong together. Ranking missions in a specific Halo game will be a bit like ranking songs in an album. I find it kinda unnatural since they're a piece. Don't get me wrong, I still loved this video since it's interesting to hear more of your thoughts on the various missions. That being said I do have something to say on one level: Sword Base. This is one of my favourites in the game and I think I have bit different views on it. Firstly I think it's better than a lot of the missions you put above it and secondly I think it's all around damn-near perfect *except* from on when you're going up the stairs of sword base and the part after. The start is excellent like you said. While you where positive I think you kinda glossed over the section outside the base. The fact that you have some freedom in how you want to takle this (in a variety of ways) I think is a big strength, one that is not present in all Halo levels. It kinda reminds me of the second level of Halo in that way. Not only in where you decide to go, but just stuff like which enemies you even bother to take on and which you just drive past. You have so much freedom in how you want to take on those encounters. You can go in various hogs (with or without a passenger with a rocket launcher), or you can go in on foot in those areas. Later when you go back inside it's still interesting. I particular like that they placed a hunter pair there. In your number one mission (which I do think is excellent for similar reasons) there's also a hunter pair, but that pair is in the same place as you have access to hunters. That's fun too, but I also think there's something unique and exiting about taking on hunter on foot. I'm not exactly sure why I think the part after the hunters is weak in comparison, but I always find it more tedious than fun in comparison. I'm not sure if I think Sword Base in the best mission (your number one pick is a strong contender there as well), but it's certainly up there. Thanks for another video!
That's true - to be honest, as far as being the worst missions in their particular game, they're actually not bad at all. There are far, far worse levels in CE, 2 and 3 than anything featured in Reach.
For me, this is my ranking 10. The Package 9. Winter Contingency 8. ONI Sword Base 7. Nightfall 6. Lone Wolf 5. Long Night of Solace 4. Exodus 3. The Pillar of Autumn 2. Tip of the Spear 1. New Alexandria
New Alexandria was robbed of the number 1 spot, Tip of the spear can get boring in some sections after a while but New Alexandria is literally throughout never boring, and there's always something new to do or emotion to feel when I revisit the mission.
I love New Alexandria a bunch, but I think there was just a little too much flying and not enough on foot gameplay for it to take my number one spot. Was very, very close though!
There is only one highlight in the level nightfall, the arena in which you save the local militia and then fend off against covenant reinforcements being it. The mission as a whole can’t decide what it wants to be and is a colossal failure in the face of what it could have been, but that arena is a really well designed play ground that you can approach from any angle. You are given weapons of your liking, the close quarters weapons like the assault rifle, best utilized in Winter Contingency, the long range weapons used prominently throughout nightfall, and a rocket launcher representing the far heavier duty weapons you use during sword base. Reach’s first three levels teach you one of each, and this section, although it really doesn’t belong in Nightfall, is a superb fighting area that fits whatever you have decided your style is. The mapping in this area is better than any other open area in the mission. Otherwise, Nightfall really isn’t a mission to come back to on a selective play through. Sorry, I’m seriously considering starting my own Halo level analyses and Nightfall was my first finished script, and I let a little bit peak out there in case I don’t follow through. Tangent over.
My ranking: 10.- Nightfall 9.- Winter Contingency 8.- Lone Wolf 7.- The Package 6.- Sword Base 5.- Tip of the Spear 4.- Pillar of Autumn 3.- Long Night of Solace 2.- Exodus 1.- New Alexandria Love this game Also, I'm a person who always likes to play games in their original language, but Halo Reach is the exception, the Latin Spanish dubbing of this game really makes it more special for me, in my opinion it adds a lot of personality to the characters, an example would be with Kat in the intro of Long Night of Solace, when she is talking with Carter, but I love all of Noble team voices
Cheers Stephen! I'm also not a massive fan of the spaceship sequence, but the Jorge storyline which runs through the mission is excellent, so that won it a few points back, as did the beach scene which is also pretty great.
The best mission in reach is Exodus. It is the most brutal mission in halo period. You have a city under siege, the intro of the brutes, total war, chatter between city defenders, and so much more. It’s absolutely the best because it gave us a glimpse at what total war in halo could be like.
New Alexandria, you feel sorrow and how you’re loosing while they break each building Or maybe exodus when they gun down the civilian ship I almost cry
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What does your list look like?
New Alexandria is definitely my personal favourite. Seeing the Covenant glass a city in-game, it's quite something. Makes you feel hopeless.
I do wish there were more skyscraper on-foot opportunities and less banshee spawns so I can explore in peace. It's a great open level though, and I hope we get similar ones in the future
I'm a sucker for those kinds of scenes in any type of media, those that add a sense of scale and stuff like that
New Alexandria wasn't far off taking the number one spot honestly, but I had to mark it down a little as I can't help but feel like a little too much time is spent flying around. Atmosphere and visuals are probably the best in the game though to be fair.
The overall ambience and lighting of New Alexandria put it at the #1 spot for me as well. It's just such a cool looking level
@@BenPlaysGames I think the mission has a decent balance between ground combat and flying. Never felt I had to be in the air for too long. And even though majority of the skyscrapers don't really have anything to them, I always appreciated the fact you can just go anywhere in the wide area and goof around.
13:00 The package was actually one of my favorites, but I'm biased to any level with a Scorpion.
"How does 90mm of tungsten strike ya?"
@@dariusfabian6404 Clearly you know what the ladies like.
For me, something about it just didn't click. I actually played through the entirety of Reach on the Eurostar to Paris and back over the weekend and the biggest thing that stuck out to me this time was how much less I enjoyed The Package compared to the other missions in Reach's second half. That being said, I do agree the Scorpion comment. Loved them ever since I first got my hands on one back in Assault on the Control Room!
@@BenPlaysGames Fair enough. I have issues with most Reach levels, and the Scorpion kinda just helps me ignore them. New Alexandria is a lot of fun, except the Hunters. I hate non-CE Hunters, but maybe that's because I am triggered by the memory of discovering the pistol was useless in H2.
AotCR is my favorite Halo level of all time.
@@ChairmanKam Two things - first, completely agree re the hunters, if I can't one shot them, I don't want to know. Second, Assault On The Control is a baller level and one of my favourites too. That first open area in the snow once you reach ground level, so good.
I wouldn't necessarily disagree about the Package, except to add that the start of the mission is 'uninspiring'... because hope is entirely gone. You aren't just losing, you've definitively lost. Nobody should be feeling good, you could even argue the color filter over the entire outdoor section is a metaphor for how the UNSC is doing. No real goal anymore, world's glassed, it's already the apocalypse, only the grim determination to soldier on and get some revenge. "Give em hell, Spartan." "They sure gave it to Reach."
Shocked I never made the connection between the Halo 2 Trailer and Exodus, considering it's two New X sci-fi human cities under siege by the Covenant until a lone Spartan emerges to save the day, but hey. Especially funny as I stayed up as a kid so many nights and early mornings on the family PC, watching 144p dinner-plate-pixel footage of that trailer in absolute awe, hyped for the H2 launch. Maybe that's why I've always held such fondness for Reach's New Alexandria, and Halo War's Arcadia City.
honestly, so much of reach feels like bungie going back and exploring old ideas, bringing new ones, and sending the series off with a bang
a personal highlight was the long night of solace, being bungie's dream for halo 2 realized, at least in miniature. for those unaware, the famous ending to Cairo Station was supposed to lead into a level where you board a covenant ship and take it down, but was cut due to scope creep.
it really feels full circle in so many ways, yet also a step back in others
I dislike the first rally part of Package for entirely different reasons, mainly the overabundance of cheap fuel rod enemies.
You start off fighting on foot against turrets and ghosts with only bullet weapons and lowered visibility. Then there's arguably one of the worst tank sections because Reach's tank steering is all wonky, which makes it difficult to avoid the laser homing fuel rod turrets and banshee bombs if you don't memorize their spawns.
The final defense section is fantastic though, which more than makes up for the earlier slog.
@@justinnyugen7015 Yeah The Packages tank section felt like, "Oh shit, we forgot a tank run!" It would have been better in TotS. And the fuel rod turret were the source of my first ever f-bomb yelled at the tv.
Oh man, that trailer is still one my favourite ever - I can still remember seeing it for the first time and being in absolute awe of what the Halo 2 looked like, so many awesome new features packed into an entirely new setting for the series!
I think what Ben probably meant by uninspiring was "not being terribly exciting or interesting from a gameplay standpoint", although what you say about the tone of the level is very true. (Think about how he says it at 2:22)
Can you do a ranking of all missions in all halo games? Also, can you do an analysis on the Maw from Halo CE? BTW, the vids are awesome and extremely high quality. You deserve more viewers and subscribers.
Cheers Atharv, that's super kind! Plan is to do each game and then eventually do one super list featuring every Halo mission in one video. Might be a while before it happens, but it is definitely planned! Will also definitely cover The Maw, as I hope to eventually cover every single level in the series as well.
@@BenPlaysGames Great idea! Loved this video
@DehCut3Fr0gAlthough ranking the missions might not be the best idea, I would still love to see an analysis of the levels and their shortcomings, which the analysis would have to be done in order for him to rank them.
@DehCut3Fr0g "And taking up the bottom place on my list is... every mission." Kidding, kidding but will be a tricky one! Trying to get my hands on a Series X right now ahead of Infinite (play/record on PC usually but will need it to play 4K properly, which I can't miss), at which point I'll do another 5 run with a view to making some videos on it.
@@toasterwafflez2 Cheers Loukas!
I find myself replaying Exodus most despite my distaste for Reach's Brutes, mainly because of how well the jetpack is used. It allows for a lot of freedom in combat and how you approach the enemy. Fly to a second story balcony and snipe from above? Fly to a side platform that allows you to flank? Skip behind enemy lines then double back for a two-pronged attack with your marines? Skip the battle entirely? All well accounted for, especially in the final arena area where you attack that building. You also get access to a good chunk of the sandbox throughout the level
On the other hand, I always skip the vehicle part of Package due to the Tank's controls, poor enemy visibility, and the broken homing of fuel rod turrets. Such a stark contrast to Halo 3's superb tank sections.
I loooove Exodus! Personally felt 2's Earth levels were a pretty big letdown, so was overjoyed when Bungie finally gave me what I'd been waiting for in their last game. It's exactly what I wanted all those years ago.
My favorite has always been Tip of the Spear. *Chef’s Kiss* Just beautiful.
You know what they say about great minds...
Its good, but honestly not as good as I remembered.
The first time I played Tip of the Spear, I was a bit disappointed that the massive warthog battle wasn't going to be part of gameplay. I was really excited to play an actual large scale battle.
That would have been awesome - console power issues limited the scope I'd guess.
Ooh I can see this as a series for each halo game, and I'm up for it
That's the plan! Next list may be coming sooner than you think too, as part of my coverage of a certain game for its 20th anniversary 😉
@@BenPlaysGames could you also do the Halo Wars games and at the end of all of them review all levels in a tierlist/countdown list of worst to best?
To be honest, I like every single mission in Reach, I probably couldn't rank them in a specific order
Took me a lot of thinking and may different versions of the list!
Lone wolf for life playing by yourself the isolated feeling you have with the motivation to kill the covenant with the cutscene is absolutely beautiful
I feel objective: survive is the peak of reach. Its unique to halo as the only objective you can't win and it perfectly sets the mood. It perfectly captures the "all is lost" theme that this game pushes, which is espically seen in the fact that this is also the only time we see a lot of dead spartans. You can see evidence of the battles fought before and i love that. The ending is also amazing in my opinion. On a semi but really unrelated note, halo reach is by far the best halo game. I have no doubts about that.
So many people have been saying this or similar, wondering if I maybe should have placed it a little higher now haha!
My favorite part about Nightfall is the fact that you can just run past everything, glitch through the big door with the forklift and end the game in about 4 minutes.
Halo Reach's entire story is just so well-written.
You ultimately lose, and it feels genuinely bad to lose.
Reach emphasizes what Captain Keyes said in the books “Winning isn’t always everything.” Yeah you have small victories like saving a few civilians and got a few soldiers out of New Alexandria but in the end Reach still falls. Not only does it emphasize what Keyes said but it also emphasizes how desperate humanity was in the war and how important the planet Reach.
Great list, I think I would love to see a top 10 levels from the entire MCC from you.
Plan is to eventually do a list for every game, and then one uber list covering every mission in every game. Might be a while till that happens, but that's the dream!
My ranking is
10. Nightfall. It’s not bad, just other missions are better
9. Sword base
8. Exodus. Think nightfall is better
7. The package.
6. Long night of solace. That ending was chilling
5. Winter contingency. Great opening
4. New Alexandria. Tragic, with a tragic ending
3. Tip of the spear. It is a great combination of everything halo is.
2. The pillar of autumn. Absolutely phenomenal ending. Really showcases how destroyed reach is, how desperate you are in such hopeless odds, and the heroism of Spartans. All the sacrifices finally come together. Each death finally having some meaning, especially Carter’s, building up to noble six deciding to stay behind.
1. Lone wolf. Lone wolf is the ultimate poetic tragic ending. It really drives home the hopelessness. And gives you the consequences of your heroic decision to stay behind. It works so well after pillar of autumn. And Marty O’Donnell’s epilogue is absolutely phenomenal.
Remember reach.
Spartans never die, they are just missing in action.
Cheers for taking the time to share your list Michael! I think you and I share the same views on a lot of the missions by the looks of things, and glad to see the opening of Winter Contingency acknowledged. Rest of the mission is middling, but do love that start.
@@BenPlaysGames yup. Loved your list too. Love your content man.
@@michaelguernsey1206 Thanks for watching too dude!
My favorites have changed back and forth over the 10 years reach has been out, however I always find myself having the most fun playing Tip of the Spear and Exodus. My favorite levels tend to be the gameplay sand boxes in Tip of the Spear and great story presentation in Exodus. Another great analysis and here’s to 20k by the New Year!
A lot of people have mentioned a lot of different missions they think should have been ranked higher, and Exodus in particular is the one I'm second guessing myself on a little now haha! It really does a great job of nailing the city combat feel and I love the Falcon part flying over the city towards the end. And thanks too mate, that's actually my target for the year as it happens, so fingers crossed!
@@BenPlaysGames Considering the subjectivity of "best missions" you did a pretty solid job explaining why each mission deserves its spot. Also with a great campaign like Reach it can be hard to pick between the different degrees of greatness, especially once you've whittled the list down.
The Pillar of Autumn is always a contender when it comes to the top spot.
It was my number one for so long and then just lost out at the last second!
Understandable, a solid justified list nonetheless!
@@MrNobleSix Thanks dude!
I'll be honest here. Long Night of Solace is my very favorite Reach mission. It is *the* reason I replay the game. Space combat had been something I desperately wanted in Halo since the ending of CE. When I first played Reach, just after it came out, I went in blind, and the second half of the mission came as a complete surprise, and it was an incredible one at that. I still get giddy with anticipation when playing it today. It genuinely blew me away. Plus, I'm a huge space shuttle nerd, and just the launch sequence alone is enough to get me positively vibrating with excitement. Is it a mechanically good mission? I have no clue. Is it an emotionally good mission? Hell, the fuck, yes.
I love the mission but have a hard time replaying it from start to finish. Not because of gameplay or anything - it's the very lengthy and unskippable cutscenes! Rally points baby.
@@justinnyugen7015 Completely understandable.
Agree Peter, in terms of story, I rank it as one of the best, if not the best, in the game, but for me the gameplay lets it down a little, especially in the second half. It's a funny one to judge, honestly!
@@BenPlaysGames I can respect that.
I personally have a great love of vehicle combat in video games, and especially flying vehicles.
I remember watching just about every Halo: Reach video I could when the game came out because I didn’t have an Xbox 360 and even if I did, my parents would NEVER have allowed me to play an M rated game at my age back then. So now that I’m a grown man and able to play whatever I want, I’m happy to finally play this masterpiece of a game.
I always loved the mission Exodus , The intro to the mission where you see Six get up with the crashed corvette in the background after finding out Jorges sacrifice meant next to nothing and we see six investigating bullet holes and walking through the city it's the first mission where the player is Fighting brutes for the first time , working with the odsts , small falcon section, Jet pack galore , Immersive environment, and Sgt fucking Johnson , although the Brutes are weak in reach they are still formidable and terrifying when they charge at you especially on legendary and I really like the way the Chieftans look in Halo Reach. Also the fact that the throughout the mission you see the Brutes killing civilians truly sets the contrast between the Brutes and Elites.
Sgt. Johnson isn't in that mission. Over the comms you hear Gunnery Sergeant Stacker and you help Sergeant Major Duvall in the last section.
Another great video dude nice work
Thanks Knight, appreciate the great feedback mate!
The pillar of autumn is my fav just cause of the nostalgia it brings for the Halo CE days when I got my xbox for christmas . Halo was the first game I played. I remember always fearing the elites because I was a child and there was this unknown enemy attacking me. The pillar of autumn in Reach brings back all those memories given the desperation and struggle that it communicates at the start and when Captain Keyes appears in the pelican and safely leaves Reach , I instantly get teleported back to those days. (must not forget that line " Cortana, all I need to know is... did we make it?" " I think you and I both know the answer to that".....) always gives me shivers that last part.
Wow, the package is one of my favorites of reach’s missions. I certainly agree about nightfall though, I honestly love and hate parts of it. Winter contingency didn’t stand out, but I honestly don’t feel that is necessarily should’ve. Here’s the thing about long night of solace for me, my first time playing it was spectacular and amazing, but afterwards, it lost much of the wonder and emotion I felt playing it the first time. It wasn’t bad for me, but it was the kind of mission for me that was amazing the first time, good the second time, and meh the rest of the time. Exodus honestly tied with sword base for me I really love both personally. Tip of the spear, pillar of autumn, and new Alexandria honestly all tie first for me, they all bring a critical part of what made reach a great game for me. Especially the sense of scale they both present. Lone Wolf doesn’t place for me to be honest, amazing level, but it feels like a really good playable cutscene for me and not a full campaign level so much. Sweet vid though m8.
Cheers as always David and thanks for sharing your thoughts! I agree with lots of what you said, but in particular your thoughts on Long Nigh Of Solace. It got as high as it did on my list primarily based on its impact the first time through and the way it tells its story. I think if it was judged on pure gameplay terms, I would have ranked it far more harshly I reckon!
Love the whole thing. Winter contingency is special! Just the perfect start I think. I find whenever I play reach as soon as I finish it I want to play through it again it’s that good to me!
Thanks dude! And yeh, big fan of the start of Winer Contingency, great suspense.
New Alexandria is definitely number one for simply because of how much it stands out. The vocals during the flying sections, the black skyscrapers in the red background. Atmosphere alone makes this mission number one for me.
If I were to rank all of reached levels so wouldn’t know were to start. I find every level is it’s own small masterpiece. However I know that my #1 is definitely tip of the spear. Anyways thanks so much for creating these incredible videos they are super high quality and a joy to watch
No worries at all Adam mate, appreciate you taking the time to watch them!
The track that plays when ure helping buck in new alexandria has to be the most underrated and badass song in the halo trilogy, shit makes me feel like i can walk through a brick wall
The soundtracks always really impressed me when it comes to Reach and ODST - there are so many good tracks on both. Love me some saxophone in ODST in particular!
musical candy, it's sooo sweet to listen to.
It would be awesome if you do an in depth video of The Gravemind mission in Halo 2. As it was the beginning of the Covenant Civil War.
That's a mission that has been requested quite a few times! It's definitely in the post, just trying to work out my schedule with the CE 20th anniversary in two weeks and then Infinite two weeks after that. So many videos ideas, so little time!
your channel deserves more attention
Thanks Plazma, growing slowly-ish but surely so can't complain too much!
Love the Reach videos, fav game. Enjoy all the halo content.
Thanks for the kind words jj!
My top 3:
1. Tip of The Spear
2. Exodus
3. ONI Sword Base
Tip of the spear was definitely my favorite when I was younger, But I think New Alexandria takes the cake for me now
Exodus or New Alexandria. Those two levels have unparalleled atmosphere and are a blast to play as well. Just the sheer hopelessness of the situation, all the marine radio chatter and what not. Just incredible
Agreed Peter, both absolute bangers. Exodus in particular is a fantastic mission - ever since the Halo 2 gameplay trailer set in a human city that we never actually got to play, I'd wanted to get my hands on something similar. Exodus feels about as close to it as we could have perhaps hoped for!
For me personally, Nightfall was the best level, as night time levels in Halo arre few and far between, and should show up far more then they do in the title. Its actually one reason why I personally enjoyed the ODST campaign so much. The sneaking through the streets of new mombasa as Rookie, was rewarding as it was atmospheric in nature. And the visor went a long way in aiding vision in such a dark enviroment, though even without it it still is quite a lot of fun.
Plus there's something really God dang wholesome about a couple of Spartans helping a civilian militia defend their homes. Nightfall isn't *my* favorite level, but it's really grown on me.
@@1SilverDollar Whats amusing is those militia we rescue, isnt civilian militia, they were insurrectionist and originally against the UNSC forces.
Good list. Hard to argue with your top 3,tip of the spear is an awesome mission
Cheers M!
Such a well presented and brilliantly narrated video! Congrats g 🥳
Thanks Flynn, really appreciate that dude!
Tip of the spear's always been my favourite mission, a perfect dose of everything that makes Halo so great.
Pillar of Autumn because it’s the only mission where noble team has a tangible goal beyond some vague and generic military objective and the mission actually fits how Reach has always been described as a setting
I really love Halo Reach but I've got a hard time rectifying it with the amazing Halo Fall of Reach book.
Fantastic video as always sir.
I've not read the book, but I've heard they don't work together all too well at all 🙈 And thanks dude!
@@BenPlaysGames i much prefer the book because it falls more in line with what we expect from the UNSC and the Covenant.
@@admiraltiberius1989 I've only ever read the Flood. Something to put on the Christmas list perhaps!
In terms of cutscenes and story, the one-two gut-punch of Tip of the Spear and Long Night of Solace are incredible! The spire sets up the scale and power of the Grafton, only for it to get blown out of the water by the LNoS seconds later, taking the triumphant feeling in the air with it. In an act of revenge, you blow up the mammoth ship with an IMPROVISED nuke, losing a teammate in the process, but it's still a victory... until it turns out that that was just ONE of at least a dozen Covenant ships headed for Reach. The giant you just killed was just a baby, and now its parents are pissed!..
Long Night of Solace is one of my favorite Halo missions in general. It’s so well structured and just an all around great time
@Ben Plays Games, you are doing an amazing job by analyzing a specific mission of an Halo game and highlighting positive and negative aspects ( whe they have them ;) ). For me, every Halo Reach mission is a very good one at least; I can play all of them any time. There are no "Cortana like" mission if you know what I mean.
About the mission ranking, I almost agree with you: the lower part of the list and the upper part isthe same from my point of view. Just some thoghts:
- Nightfall for me is #10, despite the fact I have fun every time I play it for two reason: it offer less environment diversity than other mission and it could have improved the stealth session. When i play Nightfall I'd like to have an experience which is an evolution of the pre/boarding session of T&R from Halo CE: ability to have stealth session in which you can beat every enemy without being noticed ( I see this is an aspect only Halo CE often offers ). Despite the fact you can use the Active Camo it is really difficult to kill undetected all the Covenant in the area. When I want this kind of experience, I still play T&R.
- The Package offers a short session on the Scorpion ( unfortunately the only one in Reach ) but the final firefight is awesome and you can play it the way you want: defensive on foot or on a vehicle by highjacking a Banshee or a Wraith. Plus, I cannot forget it has the best easter egg in the halo saga ( and vg in general ).
- Long Night of Solace is great. The space session is long enough to enjoy it without get bored. The beach battle could have been bigger, Silent Cartographer style, but the landscape is gorgeous. i really like the boarding session on Covenant ship and I wanted more of it. The cutscene direction during lift-off is superb.
- Winter Contingency is a great intro mission with: a lot of help by your squad members, non linear progression, exploration, story introduction and good encounters with Covenant. It is a mix between Halo CE missions PoA and Halo.
- New Alexandria is my favourite mission in the Halo saga. I will be more precise with a comment to your video dedicated to that mission. It has the pillar of Halo experience: multiple objectives, open map, fight against impossible odds. The atmosphere is marvellous and represents pefectly the desperation and the seriousness of the situation. I think that the fact this mission is not often mentioned in Halo reach topics is because it lacks of a vehicle ground combat. I don't think is a negative aspect but just my opinion on why players don't talk too much about it.
Thank you very much for your videos and channel.
My personal favorite was Lone Wolf because of the absolute kick in the nads the game gives you.
"Survive".
As far as I can remember, a mission or quest objective in any game has never given me chills before. And no matter what difficulty you play on, no matter how long you survive, you always Noble 6 fall; alone and defiant like s/he was always known to be in the face of danger.
Then you got Tip of the Spear as a second favorite because you see two madlads on a Mongoose. No extra armor, no heavy weapons, no nothing. Two of the craziest S.O.B's in the UNSC charging into battle like they were driving a Scorpion or something!
Also, a random question: would you be able to do a video analysis of Halsey or be able to point me to one? Always been a fan of Halo but was more casual than anything. Dr. Halsey always fascinated me because she was more or less despised as a war criminal for the early Spartan Program (understandably so) but it led to success against the Covenant with Master Chief. Sort of a lesser of two evils thing. Random question, you all can ignore that.
The mongoose dudes in Tip of the Spear always give me a good chuckle too haha. Not sure about Halsey as I tend to read stuff about Halo rather than watch (I find a lot TH-camrs doing lore videos spread about 3 minutes of actual content across 20 minutes of video), but the person who always comes up is Hidden Xperia (haven't really watched myself, so can't vouch for it personally though), so maybe try there?
Honestly thought these were pretty on point, although Nightfall and The Package could be switched for me. Great video as always!
Nice one Luke! And fair play, I can't argue too much with that - I think on another day the list would have been entirely different, the amount of times I moved stuff around 🙈
1:30 - “if this mission appeared… towards the start of Reach… i’d like it a lot more.”
it did; it was called ONI: Sword Base… and you did; you ranked it seventh :)
The problem I have with the Tip of the Spear is the huge battle you're supposedly fighting in is an illusion. Nothing but a skybox backdrop. Sure there's a huge battle in the background but that's all it is. For most of the level it's really just you and Kat on a Warthog attacking some covenant positions. Compare this with Halo 3's The Storm, The Ark and The Covenant where you actually fight alongside a sizeable mechanized force of UNSC NPCs.
I agree. When I first saw this huge army of warthogs and tanks driving towards a massive force of covenant air and ground vehicles, I thought I was in for the largest, most chaotic ground war we'd ever seen in a halo game. I mean, it's still fun, but the fact that you get cut off from the ENTIRE allied force in a cutscene right at the beginning really ruins my enjoyment at the start of the mission.
@@terrenaven Yeah the action in Tip of the Spear is more comparable to Tsavo Highway than The Ark or The Covenant.
Thanks for this great video. Love Halo Reach...
To me it's ONI Sword Base. It's got all the usual setpieces to a standard Halo level (the start that's reminiscent of The Cartographer, Warthog sections, and even an exclusive setpiece dedicated to using power weapons) and that subtle indicator that this is a losing fight what with the last thing you fight for in the level is a gaping crater where a huge chunk of the base used to be
Amazing. Definitely agree with tip of the spear
Cheers Leafy!
New Alexandria, by a good margin. Unique, interesting gameplay combined with an amazing atmosphere and a tragic ending.
Honestly my favorite missions have to be the pillar of atumunm and exodus but I think your rankings are spot on either way as even though those are my favorite I believe the top four are basically interchangable for me with how much I enjoy playing them
I think what mainly ruins and bores out the Saber section of Long Night of Solice is the flying mechanic, I’ve played Ace Combat and in that game you get the option between Novice or expert/normal controls, expert/normal controls is essentially being able to fly the aircraft similar to how it is in real life: you can manually do barrel rolls, fly upside down and all that. Essentially in the Saber Section you are forced to play in Novice controls despite the fact that you are in the vacuum of space, if they added expert controls it would make the experience much more fun
I have to say that Lone wolf is the best mission, the Map and the placement of dead Spartan 3's throughout the map, the music in the background. Gives it a grim and dark atmosphere and the objectives just saying [Survive...] does give a false sense of hope which work for it. And having you helmet crack under the pressure was a really cool detail. And it's kind of fitting that 6 was always going to die alone giving that he/she has a record of being an alone operative. The ending kinda show me that alone, even someone as lethal as Masterchief can fall to the covenant.
“Yes, get on with it!” Damn I didn’t think it would be this hard to keep thinking of comments to make
I knew from the very beginning that tip of the spear would be at the top. It’s always been my favorite level
Great content as always, hope you're doing well!
Thanks dude! Getting there, still having some back issues but less pain when upright now 🙈 All good with you mate?
Tip of the spear
Long night of solace
Sword Base
Exodus
Pillar of Autumn
Solid list dude! Can't argue with Pillar Of Autumn being number one either, cracking level.
Oooooooh tough call. As a hardcore Reach fanboy my gut reaction is Tip of the Spear. Wide range of badass set pieces, sections on foot, behind the wheel, _and_ in the air, and no bad segments. Long Night of Solace is fun but the Sabre combat can be a bit of a grind, especially on high difficulties, and The Package is perfect right up until it turns into an area defense version of Firefight.
Tip of the Spear indeed, love that mission! Also completely agree on the sabre section, always bugged me how long it goes on for...
I love exodus. I’ve played it so many times since 2019
I played Halo Reach on Legendary for tbe first time today. The Pillar of Autumn and surprisingly Exodus were the hardest missions imo. I got more problems with the brutes than with the elites since I always noob comboed them. As to my favorite mission. New Alexandria is the obvious choice but I think I had a very big amount of fun on The Package. Maybe because by then I knew what I was doing while playing Legendary and I skipped the ice section with a banshee and even entered the secret room. All an all. All missions in Reach are solid.
I love Lone Wolf the most. On my first playthrough, I was crying. He chose to sacrifice himself.
I also love tip of the spear as well. Playing that in co-op with my buddy was amazing.
Brutal mission! Which I've also just covered in more detail, if you want to hear some further thoughts on it 😉
Any level where you are blessed with 66 tons of fun.
For me it was Pillar of Autumn and Tip of the Spear that was head to head. But the finale of Reach in Pillar of Autumn is just so goddamn bleak and beautiful.
Great list... but you did my sword base dirty!
Few people have said this, didn't think it would be as popular as it is!
You naimed the top 5, and I think you could switch them in any order (for me personally, I would put Exodus and Long Night higher, because of the atmosphere, and TOTS lower). But again, those 5 levels are just excellent! Can you do this for H2? It's my favorite campaign and I honestly think there might be some surprising placements there ;)
I wouldn't say the gameplay of "The package" is don't dirty but I love the story and cut scenes in that mission.
The way I think would make “The Package” be better is if the mission Sword base starts at the airfield at the fighting our way from bottom to access an elevator to the upper area where we fight a few more enemies to get to the back where the mission takes place
Then in “The Package” mission we start off clearing LZs for Falcons and Pelicans to drop off ODST demo teams before we get to where the mission actually starts
Nightfall was so much fun my first time playing through it and now any time I play it I just speed run to the forklift skip and be done with it
Exodus is probably my favorite levels in the game. The reintroduction of the brutes and the power to help the UNSC army and civilians brought back that super in the super soldier super hero of a spartan. It felt nice being a becon of hope to the few while you could.
Plus it felt so damn good blasting brutes about to kill civilians, they had it coming.
Exodus is an absolute banger, would love to see more missions like that in future games, as I think Reach is the only Halo title which really pulled off combat in a human city/settlement.
I will say I do think nightfall should have been higher simply due to its open sniper section at the start being so good. It is the only halo sniper section where you can take it at your own pace without the enemies spotting you and turning it into a run of the mill halo fight where you happen to have a sniper rifle like the opening section in the ark.
Tip of the Spear is nice but I personally feel exodus just does the whole "alone to survive and regather my strength" sort of mission so good that it's my number 1
My favorite is long night of solace with the sabre since you get.
1. Lore info on noble 6
2. A epic charge to secure the launch base
3. SPAAAACE BAAATTLLEEE
4. Unsc savannah, bless that ship
5. Jorge passing
6. The beginning...of the end.
That or tip of the spear as its a semi-massive assault that ends usuaaally for me a melee battle between a sword elite and my attempt to sneak an assasination that at best result in a throw off said spire....for the elite.
My favourite halo game is Reach. And no, I didn't play any halo game except this one XD.
By the way, It is one of my favourite campaigns. Nice video :)
Tip of the Spear, hands down.
Great minds think alike!
Lone survivor, tip of the spear and New Alexandria
For me my top mission is EITHER Long Night of Solace or Pillar of Autumn both seem to encapsulate fully in their gameplay styles what the game is about - you're an incredible super soldier. You complete every mission. You have the skills. You improvise. You perservere. But reach will fall, you will die and there is nothing you can do about that. It is about how we face our end and ultimately about working to leave something for others.
I always though Winter Contigency would have worked better almost in reverse. Land, find civilians and then enter the facility. The cutscene with the Zealots and then hunting them down would have been a nicer way to show how surprised everyone would have been to see the covenant.
This is a really great idea! Would have definitely been more impactful to reveal the Covenant with that cutscene rather than just have them appear in a field and start shooting haha.
Tip of the spear was always my favorite too
Ouch. The package in last? This is the mission I replay most lol. It's pretty much all tank and then the holdout section in the underground snow cavern is literally a firefight within the campaign. How do you go wrong with that??
Love the consistency of these uploads 😎 What microphone do you use for recording?
Cheers dude! I use an ATR2100x which sits super close to my mouth in order to get a richer sounds. Means I have to do a lot more sound editing after as I create very strong 'p' and 's' sounds when recording, but I think it's worth the extra time in the end. Do shout if you have any other questions!
Personally I think that the space battle in Long Night of Solace had a perfect length. I also think that Pillar of Autumn is the least interesting last mission of all the Bungie games. And the turret section of Tip of the Spear is just useless, unlike Exodus' which serves to show how big the battle is.
the way I see it, the turret section existed to break up the pace.
for the last 10-20 minutes, you've been in an all out war, taking out waves of covenant and a few AA guns. After such a long section of intense combat, its nice to have a god tube and wail on enemies from the sky.
LNoS if fuckin' baller man. And the dogfights on Legendary? Oh yeah. Barrelrolling through plasma is the best. And you get to fight ALONGSIDE fucking frigate!
@@cfdeers I contrasts well with Exodus' turret section too. In TotS you absolutely DECIMATE the covenant targets, and you're even required to kill all of them (the falcon stalls). Feeling powerful after that and shutting down the spire shield, you're set up for the gut punch of Grafton's demise and LNoS. Then in Exodus you spend the whole mission saving lives, but when you get on the turret section, you see plenty of marines that need saving, but your falcon flies by too quickly for you to kill all the enemies. One section makes you feel powerful, the other makes you feel powerless.
Exodus is my fav mission
The Halo level in a human city I'd wanted ever since 2, love it!
I don't think I'll really be able to rank the missions. I tend to view art in a more qualitative rather than quantitative way. Especially works of art that belong together. Ranking missions in a specific Halo game will be a bit like ranking songs in an album. I find it kinda unnatural since they're a piece. Don't get me wrong, I still loved this video since it's interesting to hear more of your thoughts on the various missions.
That being said I do have something to say on one level: Sword Base. This is one of my favourites in the game and I think I have bit different views on it. Firstly I think it's better than a lot of the missions you put above it and secondly I think it's all around damn-near perfect *except* from on when you're going up the stairs of sword base and the part after. The start is excellent like you said. While you where positive I think you kinda glossed over the section outside the base. The fact that you have some freedom in how you want to takle this (in a variety of ways) I think is a big strength, one that is not present in all Halo levels. It kinda reminds me of the second level of Halo in that way. Not only in where you decide to go, but just stuff like which enemies you even bother to take on and which you just drive past. You have so much freedom in how you want to take on those encounters. You can go in various hogs (with or without a passenger with a rocket launcher), or you can go in on foot in those areas. Later when you go back inside it's still interesting. I particular like that they placed a hunter pair there. In your number one mission (which I do think is excellent for similar reasons) there's also a hunter pair, but that pair is in the same place as you have access to hunters. That's fun too, but I also think there's something unique and exiting about taking on hunter on foot. I'm not exactly sure why I think the part after the hunters is weak in comparison, but I always find it more tedious than fun in comparison. I'm not sure if I think Sword Base in the best mission (your number one pick is a strong contender there as well), but it's certainly up there.
Thanks for another video!
The thing about the lower 5 is I think bungie felt they added to the story but could not get intesting gamplay out of at the time.
That's true - to be honest, as far as being the worst missions in their particular game, they're actually not bad at all. There are far, far worse levels in CE, 2 and 3 than anything featured in Reach.
For me, this is my ranking
10. The Package
9. Winter Contingency
8. ONI Sword Base
7. Nightfall
6. Lone Wolf
5. Long Night of Solace
4. Exodus
3. The Pillar of Autumn
2. Tip of the Spear
1. New Alexandria
Strong list, not much I can argue with!
New Alexandria was robbed of the number 1 spot, Tip of the spear can get boring in some sections after a while but New Alexandria is literally throughout never boring, and there's always something new to do or emotion to feel when I revisit the mission.
I love New Alexandria a bunch, but I think there was just a little too much flying and not enough on foot gameplay for it to take my number one spot. Was very, very close though!
I think Exodus might be my favourite Halo level. It’s got a lot of variation in it
There is only one highlight in the level nightfall, the arena in which you save the local militia and then fend off against covenant reinforcements being it. The mission as a whole can’t decide what it wants to be and is a colossal failure in the face of what it could have been, but that arena is a really well designed play ground that you can approach from any angle. You are given weapons of your liking, the close quarters weapons like the assault rifle, best utilized in Winter Contingency, the long range weapons used prominently throughout nightfall, and a rocket launcher representing the far heavier duty weapons you use during sword base. Reach’s first three levels teach you one of each, and this section, although it really doesn’t belong in Nightfall, is a superb fighting area that fits whatever you have decided your style is. The mapping in this area is better than any other open area in the mission. Otherwise, Nightfall really isn’t a mission to come back to on a selective play through. Sorry, I’m seriously considering starting my own Halo level analyses and Nightfall was my first finished script, and I let a little bit peak out there in case I don’t follow through. Tangent over.
My ranking:
10.- Nightfall
9.- Winter Contingency
8.- Lone Wolf
7.- The Package
6.- Sword Base
5.- Tip of the Spear
4.- Pillar of Autumn
3.- Long Night of Solace
2.- Exodus
1.- New Alexandria
Love this game
Also, I'm a person who always likes to play games in their original language, but Halo Reach is the exception, the Latin Spanish dubbing of this game really makes it more special for me, in my opinion it adds a lot of personality to the characters, an example would be with Kat in the intro of Long Night of Solace, when she is talking with Carter, but I love all of Noble team voices
I despised the spaceship flying section. Winter contingency being below it is just... To each there own. 😂. Besides that. Good list
Cheers Stephen! I'm also not a massive fan of the spaceship sequence, but the Jorge storyline which runs through the mission is excellent, so that won it a few points back, as did the beach scene which is also pretty great.
Here's my order of the best Halo Reach missions.
1. The Covenant.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
The best mission in reach is Exodus. It is the most brutal mission in halo period. You have a city under siege, the intro of the brutes, total war, chatter between city defenders, and so much more. It’s absolutely the best because it gave us a glimpse at what total war in halo could be like.
New Alexandria, you feel sorrow and how you’re loosing while they break each building
Or maybe exodus when they gun down the civilian ship I almost cry
Still waitin for sum halo 4 love
Would love to hear your ranking of the campaigns overall!
It's coming eventually for sure - next up is the CE ranking, which will be out on Saturday.
@@BenPlaysGames can't wait 🙏
I would swap Long Night and The Package personally, other than that its a pretty solid list.
Cheers Aidan!
Exodus will always be my favorite level in Reach
4:43
" *REALLY VERY GOOD INDEED* "