Halo: Reach is a first-person shooter in which players predominantly experience gameplay from a first-person perspective; the game perspective switches to third-person when using certain weapons, equipments, vehicles and when a player dies.[1] Gameplay is more similar to Halo: Combat Evolved than later games in the series.[2] The player's heads-up display shows and tracks a player's current weapons, abilities, and health; it also contains a compass and a "motion tracker" that registers moving allies, enemies, and vehicles in a certain radius of the player. The HUD changes when the player pilots aircraft and spacecraft.[3]: 2–5
In the game's campaign, which can be played alone or cooperatively, players assume the role of Noble Six, a supersoldier engaged in combat with the alien collective known as the Covenant.[4] The Covenant come in eight distinct varieties with different ranks and classes for each type; for example, Elites are the leaders of a group, while Grunts are less intelligent and only dangerous in large groups.[3]: 11 The player is equipped with a recharging energy shield that absorbs damage from weapons, fire and impacts. When the energy shield is depleted, the player loses health. When the player's health reaches zero, the character dies and the game reloads from a saved checkpoint. Health is replenished using health packs scattered throughout Reach's levels.[5] The campaign's encounters with enemies are typically large, open spaces with weapons caches, cover from enemy fire and strategic vantage points.[6] New to the Halo series are dogfight sequences set in space.[7]
Reach features updated versions of old weapons, plus new weapons fulfilling various combat roles. In Halo 3, players can carry single-use equipment power-ups that offer temporary offensive or defensive advantages. This system of single-use equipment is replaced in Reach by reusable and persistent armor abilities that remain with a character until they are replaced by a different equipment. The abilities are sprint, which allows the player to move at an increased rate for several seconds; jetpack, which allows the player to fly for a limited time; active camouflage, which makes a player harder to see (the less the player moves, the more camouflaged they will be); hologram, which creates a facsimile of the player running towards a target point; drop shield, which creates a bubble that heals those inside and protects them from a limited amount of damage; and armor lock, which immobilizes the player, but grants invincibility for a brief period of time. When the player exits armor lock, they release a close range EMP, breaking nearby players' shields and pushing away movable objects. If a vehicle rams a player that is armor locking, the vehicle will sustain heavy damage.[8] When playing as a Covenant Elites, players also have access to an evade armor ability which allows the player to quickly dash in any direction.[8]
