Pads & Panels

#10 Halo: Reach (360)

Publisher: Microsoft – Developer: Bungie

Our Review

Bungie may have bid a fond farewell to one of its most popular franchises in the form of Halo: Reach, but that’s not to say it didn’t leave the series with a bang. Described as “The Halo they always wanted to make,” this prequel to the series attempts to throw in everything but the kitchen sink. The single-player campaign, while somewhat shorter, is easily one of the best narratives Bungie has told in the series and eloquently brings everything full circle. The tighter scope also manages to make Reach more personal and engaging than previous titles in the series. (more…)

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2010 Holiday Gift Guide – For the Xbox 360 Exclusive Fan…

By P&P Staff

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Fable III

The third entry in one of Lionhead’s most popular franchises maintains what works in the series while ironing out many of the rough patches that garnered complaints amongst fans. Fable III‘s story of revolution is much more engaging than pevious narratives, and there are many more nooks and crannies to explore within the world of Albion. (more…)

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It is not uncommon for FedEx and UPS to be dropping packages off at my house in the early afternoon, with all the gaming and comics materials we cover at the site and with AMP Magazine. It is rather unusual, though, for one of those packages to come from PepsiCo. But it was a nice surprise to hear the doorbell yesterday and find a Halo: Reach-branded box with Mountain Dew and Doritos logos also adorning the outside of it. I was intrigued. (more…)

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Title: Halo: Reach

Platform: 360

ESRB: M

Publisher: Microsoft

Developer: Bungie

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones and Dan Braun

The Campaign

Halo: Reach, Bungie’s farewell to the series, serves as a prequel to the core trilogy. Taking place in 2552, the latest game in the Halo series tells the tale of the fall of Reach, which leads into Halo: Combat Evolved. Or rather, it would do greater justice to the UNSC’s Noble Team to say Reach tells the tale of their heroic last stand.

Reach has served as the heart of UNSC military power, and in many ways is an Earth-like hub for the human race…and home to the elite Spartan forces. The Covenant have launched an attack on the planet unlike any other, however, and this could be the team’s chance to give humanity one final hope. (more…)

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These days I try to balance my social life, work, writing, relaxing and fitting my love for music, comics and gaming all into these 24 hours of a day we call life. I must admit I find myself slipping and not being as productive as I should have been this winter. Ask Bill; I’m sure he will tell you that more than once he had to give me a productive nudge into finishing some reviews. But in this all I still force time to enjoy the things we bring our opinions on. I’m going to use this time to bring up a couple different things in comics, gaming, movies, television and music that have been taking up the area of my days I call “relaxing,” and into the area I call writing.

First and foremost, comics are a huge part of what I do for Pads and Panels, so I’ll tackle them first. I’m sorry to say I find it harder and harder to find good comics these days. Maybe it’s just that I can be a little critical at times, but there are only a few that shine above the others. I just finished the Kick-Ass trade, and will be writing a review soon, so besides saying that the movie better do it justice, I’ll just say it’s awesome. I also need to catch up on one of my all time favorites The Walking Dead, since for some reason I’ve stopped at book #9. The only other thing I’m really interested in reading at this second is Civil War by Mark Millar. As you can see here by a growing trend, I like his work. If anybody out there has some recommendations on comics, please enlighten me since I’m always looking for good things to read. (more…)

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