The Player

Anticipation for Halo Reach is getting feverish, writes JOE GRIFFIN

UNLIKE FILMS, videogame sequels and prequels usually equal and often surpass the originals. From two-fisted classics ( Streetfighter II, Grand Theft Auto III) to recent home runs ( God of War III, Modern Warfare II), game sequels are traditionally blessed with superior graphics, smoother gameplay and better characterisations.

The main reason is probably that the developers themselves are better equipped to exploit the platform. Uncharted II,for example, capitalised further on the PS3's engine. Also, game developers are in touch with their fans like no other media, largely thanks to online gaming.

There was certainly excitement among game journalists at the Halo Reachpress event in London. After allowing us to play the game (watch this space for a review soon), Bungie community director Brian Jarrard and campaign designer Niles Sankey sat down to chat.

" Halowas one of the first games on a console that let you customise game types and game rules," says Jarrard. "Community and social interaction have always been a big part of Halo, and it's just gotten bigger with each release. It's a large part of what makes Halowhat it is today. We love seeing awesome stuff that people have built and that we didn't know were possible. It gives us plenty to work with."

Sankey, however, is aware of the inherent difficulty of sequels.

"People like the familiar fun and experience but they don't like to repeat things too much. The nice thing about Reachis that we feel like we've done a good job of making new experiences and a more fleshed-out story. We're doing stuff that we've never allowed players to do before. So even in the campaign, every mission is unique and the story is definitely more fleshed out and impactful than anything we've done before."

The Halofranchise is Bungee's signature, but Jarrard promises that the series will soon end.

"Every day we work on this project it's a step closer to the last Halogame. But it's also a source of inspiration to go out on a high note and set the bar for what a Halogame should be, to leave something that we can be proud of and our fans will enjoy.

"We don't really spend any energy thinking about what other people are doing," he adds. "Bungie has always been more heads-down and coming up with ideas we think are interesting and listening to our fan community itself."