Halo: Reach for me was the last great Halo game. With the exception of Halo: CE Anniversary, every Halo game that has come after- Halo 4, Halo: MCC, and Halo 5: Guardians- has been an utter disappointment.
The thing about Reach is that it had something for everyone. A wide array of customization options across all game modes, the biggest Forge map ever featured in a Halo game, and the best iteration of Firefight as well. Halo: Reach had it’s flaws… but it was still a solid, all-around awesome game.
That’s why I think this game should get a Definitive Edition on Xbox One. Enhanced graphics running at 1080p/60fps, with all the DLC packaged in… including the pre-order exclusive UA/Multi-Threat chest plate and Limited Edition exclusive Elite Officer armor.
All of your progress from the Xbox 360 version would carry over. Your rank, your credits, your armor… everything. But you would also get some new things; a new Red visor color like the one used by Jun and Jorge in the campaign. New customization options in Firefight like the ability to add Set Skulls a la Halo 3: ODST- skulls that activate at the start of a set and remain active until the end of the game for those who want to recreate the original Firefight experience. There would also be improved Firefight maps- vehicle maps like Beachhead and Unearthed would now have friendly AI and Pelican drops just like Installation 04, and the Revenant would now appear on Beachhead, Unearthed, Glacier, and Outpost as part of the Covenant vehicle drop for you to highjack and drive in Firefight.
Finally, there would be a Heretic Elite option added to Firefight; when toggled on, players would be allowed to play as Elites fighting alongside Spartans if they have Elites set to their preferred species.
There would also be new options relating to Ammo Crates and Generator Defense. For Ammo Crate Traits, choose which weapons they can refill and which ones they don’t; for a classic ODST-style Firefight experience, make it so that they only refill Assault Rifles and Magnums. Or, if you want to expand your arsenal or viable weapons in Firefight, you could set them to be able to refill Sniper Rifles, Needle Rifles, Spikers, Needlers, and Concussion Rifles in addition to the default weapons.
Generator Traits would allow to tweak the Damage Resistance of each generator and also set the Lockdown Time, or enable self-repair to have to generators regain some of their health at the end of a Wave, Round, or Set. Set the maximum amount of health they regenerate (options range from as low as 10% to as high as 100%), and how often they regenerate health, if at all. This would make the mode a little more entertaining and give the players a real chance of defending the generators on higher difficulties.
In multiplayer, tweaks would be made to balance Armor Lock, Active Camo, and Hologram. Holograms would now appear properly on radar and also come with shields to make it harder to distinguish them from real players. Armor Lock would be modified to provide maximum protection against explosive weapons and vehicles so you can still Reject! rockets, Frag Grenades, Warthogs, and Ghosts… but would immediately break under sustained fire from loadout weapons like Assault Rifles, DMRs, Plasma Repeaters, and the like.
Active Camo would function more like the Arbiter’s camo in Halo 2’s campaign; short duration with complete invisibility even while running… but with a very long recharge. As with the Arbiter, firing your weapon or throwing a grenade while Active Camo is on would automatically cancel it. The radar jamming effect would be removed as well, and enemy players would still be able to see you on radar if you’re running; the idea is make it less useful for camping (especially on large maps), and more of a strategic tool.
Halo: Reach is a great game that could be made even greater on Xbox One. Backwards compatibility isn’t working out for Halo: Reach… and this would not only be a great way to address those problems, but make an already awesome game even better.