Just like the other games in the series, Halo Reach is a first person shooter. The player plays the game as a super solder named ‘Noble Six’ and has to fight the Covenant, an alien force. The gameplay of Halo Reach is very similar to the first Halo game, Halo: Combat evolved, as compared to the games in the later part of the series. The character with which the player plays the game is given an energy shield which continuously recharges and absorbs attacks from enemy weapons. When the character loses his energy shield and his health reaches zero, he once again starts playing from the last saved checkpoint. His health can be refilled by using health packs which are distributed across Halo Reach’s levels.
The system of using a single weapon at a time is removed in this game of the Halo series, where a player can reuse the same weapon till it is replaced. The character is granted invincibility for a short period of time when he collects special powers and items such as jetpacks, ‘armor lock’, camouflage, sprint etc. In addition to certain changes in weapons here and there, new weapons have also been added in Halo Reach, which have different functions, which the player has to perform.
The gameplay of Halo Reach also has a provision for multiplayer where a player can take on another in a split screen on an Xbox, on local networks such as System Link, or on the Xbox live facility. The game has various multiplayer modes such as ‘Slayer and King of the Hill’, and new game types. In the ‘Headhunter’ mode, players drop skulls when they die, which other players collect and deposit in special areas in order to earn points. The ‘Stockpile’ mode involves teams of players racing to collect flags and capturing them for as long as possible to earn points. ‘Generator defense’ is one of the most interesting modes of the multiplayer where three Spartans are pitted against three Elite soldiers, who are sent by the Covenant. The Elites’ mission is to destroy three generators, while the Spartans have to defend them. Once each round is over, the players switch roles with each other. Finally, there is the ‘Invasion’ mode where the Spartans and Elites have again been pitted against each other in teams. The Elites try to capture territories, and the Spartans have to defend them. If the Elites capture all the territories, they disable a guarding shield which gives them a navigation core, which they again have to deposit in a drop-ship. The Spartans have to stop it from taking place. As the game progress, different vehicles and map areas become accessible. The gameplay has also been given the Forge option, a level editor which can be used to edit multiplayer level as well as a large blank map known as the ‘Forge World’. This option was first made available in Halo 3, but Bungie has improved it to a large extent by making the forge tools more advanced.
