And I have an idea for one. Bear with me…
The game would be set immediately after the events of Halo: Reach, right after Noble 6 goes down fighting the Covenant in the epilogue. It begins with Noble 6- once again your main character- wounded and left for dead, who is discovered by a group of surviving Spartan-IIIs. They rescue him and take him back to their base, where his armor is repaired and upgraded, and they ask him to join them in a mission to stop the Covenant from finding a valuable alien (Forerunner) artifact hidden somewhere beneath the glassed surface of what used to be Reach.
Halo: Reach II would be focused on PvE (much like Halo 3: ODST), with a new Campaign and improved Firefight mode, and include several new features:
-Pick up where you left off. Import your character from Halo: Reach with all of your armor unlocks and credits intact, and unlock brand-new armor as you play through Campaign and Firefight.
-Recruit your own Spartan team. Form of fireteam of 4 from a choice of 8 new characters, each with their own choice of weapons and unique abilities.
-Squad Commands from Halo 5 make a return. With the touch of button, command your new Spartan team to commandeer vehicles, pick up weapons, attack enemies, or revive fallen teammates.
-New Weapons and vehicles. All the old favorites from Halo: Reach return, plus new additions like the XBR-55 Battle Rifle and XM7 Submachine Gun prototypes, M6D Magnum, Grizzly MBT, UNSC Hawk, Mantis Prototype, Anti-Air Wraith, Locust, Brute Chopper, and more.
-New Spartan Abilities & Armor Abilities. Combine the thruster pack, clamber, sprint, and ground pound from Halo 5 with a armor abilities like Active Camo, Jump Pack, Holo Drone, Bubble Shield, and Energy Drain.
-New open-world campaign. Freely explore the ruined surface of Reach as Noble 6, hunt down clues to uncover the Covenant’s motives, and unlock new missions. Uncover hidden weapon caches, vehicle garages, skulls, terminals, and more throughout the world.
This game would be built on the same engine as Halo: Reach, with some improvements. Controls would be similar to Halo 5, with armor abilities mapped to the Down button on the D-Pad (which is used for the Artemis Tracking System in Halo 5).
Since multiplayer balance would not be a concern, several Armor Abilities would be upgraded- the Jet Pack has been replaced by the Jump Pack, which works similar to the jetpacks seen in Star Wars: Battlefront- when equipped, you can double-tap the A button to launch your Spartan upwards. Active Camo now functions like the Arbiter’s camo in the Halo 2 campaign; it no longer muffles sound or jams your radar, and provides total invisibility even while sprinting.
Hologram would be replaced by the Holo Drone- the same weapon used by the Heretic Leader in Halo 2, it creates a highly aggressive AI-controlled holographic replica of your Spartan that can damage enemies as well as distract them.
The Bubble Shield is much like it was in Halo 3, only it is no longer single-use and allows you to return fire from within. The Energy Drain ability allows you to siphon power from enemies to recharge your shields while draining theirs; it can also disable vehicles and cause enemy weapons to jam. Spartan Abilities work exactly as they do in Halo 5, with the exception of Smart Scope, which is not present.
All of the armor that was in Halo: Reach returns, pre-order and Halo Waypoint exclusives, limited edition content- everything, exactly as it was in Halo: Reach. The Spartan you play as in Halo: Reach right now would be the Spartan you play as in Halo: Reach II, but there would also be new armors for you to unlock, including armor pieces that were previously exclusive to members of Noble Team- like Kat’s Default [R] chestplate, Jorge’s unique versions of the UA/Grenadier legs and UA/Bracer wrists, Emile’s red Security shoulder- you get the idea. What’s more, you’d unlock these special armors by finding them in the Campaign- locate Kat’s final resting place, find what remains of Carter’s Pelican, recover Emile’s body, or pay your respects to Jorge at the downed Covenant Supercarrier- and keep an eye out for Skulls and Terminals in your exploration as well.
Skulls would include the traditional 13 skulls, plus Anniversary skulls like Bandana, Scarab, Piñata, Malfunction, and Grunt Funeral. There would also be brand-new skulls for Reach II; disable Spartan Abilities and Armor Abilities with the Crippled skull, grant yourself bottomless clips for all weapons with the Feast skull, play from a third-person view with the Director skull, or play as the Master Chief himself by unlocking the Legend skull.
Then, there would be Firefight 3.0. All the Firefight maps from Halo: Reach would return, plus new 10 maps with more vehicles and more enemies than ever before. Play with friends, or create your own team of AI Spartans and utilize squad commands. New vehicle-heavy maps would pit you against the full might of the Covenant, including Locusts, Scarabs and Liches- fight back against these superior foes with the Scorpion, Gauss 'Hog, Falcon, as well as the brand-new Grizzly, Hawk, and Mantis Prototype. And just like in the first Halo: Reach, you would have a full range of customization options to create your own Firefight game modes, plus new enemies like Drones and the Flood, and even the ability to play as Heretic Elites.
What do you guys think? Halo: Reach is the best Halo game I’ve ever played. It deserves it’s own sequel.