Halo Reach Daily Challenges Guide - 2/16/11

Please follow the blog and/or follow me on twitter!

The Challenges:

Light Fare - Kill 100 enemies in any game mode in Reach. - 1000cR

• You will get this while working on "A Simple Spree" in Firefight Matchmaking.  Do not sweat it.

A Simple Spree - Earn any spree in Firefight Matchmaking. - 1000cR

• This is really simplistic.  Just get ten kills in a row without dying in Firefight Matchmaking.  Load up Score Attack and do Gruntpocalypse or whatever you feel like.  Should be done really fast.

A Side of Huevos - Kill 60 enemies with the Sniper Rifle headshots in Nightfall on Normal. - 1500cR

• Now this is the hardest challenge for today which is not saying much.  Load up Nightfall on Normal and by the end you should have the challenge completed.  SImply shoot enemies in the head with the Sniper Rifle.  Depending on how conservative you are with your ammunition, it might take another play through.

Multiplies - Earn 2 multikills in a multiplayer Matchmaking games. - 1000cR

• Doable in any playlist.  Score a triple kill and this challenge is done.  Use grenades, lots of them.

See the Weekly Challenge here.

Also on Examiner.com.

Just a Heads Up.

A redesign of the blog is underway.  If things look a little off or completely crappy, I apologize.  I really do.  Comment if you hate or like anything you see.

Halo Reach Daily Challenges Guide - 2/15/11

Please follow the blog and/or follow me on twitter!

The Challenges:

Blastin' and Relaxin' - Kill 180 enemies in any game mode in Reach. - 1350cR

• Do as the challenge name tells you to.  Blast and Relax.  Today the challenges ask you to play through Firefight, Campaign, and Multiplayer.  Getting this challenge will not be an issue at all.

Demon - Kill 30 Elites in Firefight Matchmaking. - 1200cR

• I would go for 2X Score Attack for this one.  You might have to play it twice, but at the end there are easily twenty elites for you to kill.  Maybe more.  DMR or a power weapon is here.  With 2X Score Attack you do 200% damage so it will be a breeze.

Cannon Fodder - Kill 75 infantry-class foes in Campaign today. - 1100cR

• You can play any level you want for this.  Tip of the Spear is always fun and has a lot of infantry.  Depending on which level you choose, you might have to play the next level but just relax and blast away.  Work on some Campaign Commendations perhaps?

Cook 'em, Clean 'em - Kill 20 enemies in multiplayer Matchmaking while you're jet-packing. - 2400cR

• I guess Bungie feels that the jet-pack is underutilized since we have been seeing this challenge quite a bit recently.  Not too complicated at all.  Still head to Multi Team or Team Slayer and pick the standard Slayer gametype.  Remember that you have to be holding down the Armor ability button as you enemy dies otherwise you will not get any credit.

See the Weekly Challenge here.

Also on Examiner.com.

Halo Reach "Defiant" Map Pack Announced!

If you haven't heard yet, 343 Industries and Microsoft have announced the Defiant Map Pack.

Yup, no Bungie.  And, a new Firefight map which was previously thought impossible.  Some Campaign DLC would definitely be welcome and some new armory items.

Eitherway, the map pack was done in conjunction with Certain Affinity.  This company did the First Strike Map Pack for Call of Duty and did a Halo 2 Map Pack back in the day.  Should be interesting if they get to do another one. 

The Map Pack will be out in March and cost 800 MSP.  It will also have more achievement totaling 150 gamer score.

Halo Reach Daily and Weekly Challenges Guide - 2/14/11

Please follow this blog and/or follow me on twitter!

The Challenges:

Shootin' and Lootin' - Kill 250 enemies in any game mode in Reach. - 2500cR

• You should be able to get this done pretty quickly.  Play two games of score attack and do the two multiplayer challenges and this will be done.

That Pink Mist - Kill 70 enemies with a Supercombine from the Needler or Needle Rifle in Firefight Matchmaking. - 1000cR

• Go to Score Attack and pick FRG fight.  This will start you with a Fuel Rod Gun and a Needler.  Ammo is unlimited so spam away.  This might end up taking you two games, which is fine.  Just try to get as many as you can in the first game.  Pick smaller maps, like Courtyard, Corvette or Holdout.
• Update: Score Attack is terrible for this.  Whether it is a lower difficulty level or increased damage, a lot of the enemies die before the supercombine kills them.  Head to Firefight Arcade.  It will probably still take two games.  Go for Sniper Fight or FRG Fight.

You Want This, Don't You? - Earn 12 kills with precision weapons in a multiplayer Matchmaking game. - 1500cR

• We have seen this one recently.  Just head to Team SWAT or Snipers and this should be done in a jiffy.  Really, it is that easy.

Vengeance Found - Earn your 'Revenge' in a multiplayer Matchmaking game. - 1150cR

• To get a revenge medal, you must die and then kill the person who killed you before anyone else does.  SWAT has its pros and cons for this challenge, but you should not have much trouble getting it.  This can really be done in any playlist.  If the person just killed you, remember that unless they are holding a shotgun or sword, they will not be staying still.  They will move and you need to anticipate their movements and nail them before someone else does.

Weekly:

Ride the Wave - Complete 200 Waves in Firefight Matchmaking. - 15000cR

• So, in Firefight the progression is done in three phases; Sets, Rounds, and Waves.  A set consists of three rounds and a rounds consists of five waves.  Score Attack does one round, which is five waves whereas Firefight Limited and Arcade does a full set which is fifteen waves.  So forty games of Score Attack, fourteen of Firefight Arcade or Limited, or a combination thereof.  In seven days this will be easy, especially if there are days with lots of Firefight challenges.

Also on Examiner.com.

Top 5 Games of 2010

I am a tad tardy with this list but better late than never right?  Here are the top five games that held my attention during the year of 2010.

5.Call of Duty: Black Ops


This is up here mostly due to its interesting and engaging campaign and because of the almost limitless fun of Zombies mode.  The multiplayer, well, it didn't do much for me but hundreds of thousands of gamers seem to love it.  The story kept me guessing (and very confused) but never got stale.

4.Red Dead Redemption


Some people would complain about this game not being number one or two on the list.  Don't get me wrong, it was a great game and it held my attention for a long time, but something just seemed lacking.  Set out on the Texas/Mexico border, the setting allowed for the brutal nature of several characters to come to light.  In terms of open-style RPGs, this game is rating up near Fallout 3 for me. Unfortunately, I never got into the multiplayer, but I am definitely reconsidering that with all the DLC Rockstar has put out.

3.Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood


To be honest, I was expecting this game to be boring and not take the story anywhere.  Boy, was I wrong!  Even though the game is not labeled as Assassin's Creed III, it really comes in as a full fledged sequel and not a simple side game.  It continues the story of Ezio from Assassin's Creed II and lets you build up the Assassin Brootherhood.  Have fifteen guards between your target and you?  No problem.  Using your assassins you can take out all the guards in the blink of an eye and casually stroll up to your target.  Multiplayer is a blast too, though it often leaves me a little paranoid.  If you haven't played it yet, go play it.

2.Mass Effect 2


The hotly anticipated followup to the original Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 allowed Bio Ware to mix up the formula and change the gameplay.  I will be the first to admit that they may have changed a little too much.  The game feels more linear and that definitely detracts from the main attraction of Mass Effect, its open world, "limitless possibilities" feel.  The lack of weapons and armor to pick up also peeved me some.  However, there were plenty of new additions that got me playing the game.  The ability to invest in your ship and mine resources by scanning worlds was interesting and I also had no trouble adjusting to the more shooter type gameplay.  I'm definitely waiting for Mass Effect 3 but I am hoping that they go back to their roots some.

1.Halo Reach


Anyone who has seen this blog before definitely knew this game was going to be number one.  Let's be honest, I'm a Halo fan.  Reach has been called Bungie's "swan song" to Halo.  For me, it lived up to all the hype and is still delivering a kick-ass gaming experience on a daily basis.  Every mode has received improvement, be it Campaign, Forge, Firefight, or Multiplayer.  My one knock on the game is the inability to have two people watch a film at the same time.  However, we did gain the ability to rewind campaign movies, so I guess it was a worthwhile trade-off.  If you haven't played Reach, I don't know where you have been, but get to it.

Halo Reach Daily Challenges Guide - 2/13/11

Please follow my blog and/or follow me on twitter!

The Challenges:

J. H. Death Machine - Kill 70 enemies in Firefight Matchmaking with the Grenade Launcher. - 2000cR

• The gametypes Grenade Attack, Score Attack, and 2X Score Attack allow you to pick the grenade launcher as a weapon.  Due to the number of kills you need for this challenge, stick to Score Attack.  Remember when firing the Grenade Launcher that the projectiles really bounce.  You might have to aim up quite a bit if you want to hit an enemy dead on and trying to bounce the grenades up a set of stairs is pretty much a lost cause.  Wait for the enemy to get on level ground and cluster.

...And Recreation - Kill 100 enemies on Beachhead on Heroic in Firefight Matchmaking. - 1000cR

• Go to Score Attack and pick this map.  You can get it while working on "J. H. Death Machine."

Came From Behind - Perform 3 Assassinations in a multiplayer Matchmaking game. - 1500cR

• This one can really be a pain.  The last time it was up, I ended up getting two assassinations several games, but I finally three after awhile.  Go to Team Snipers and try to pick Sniper Pro on maps that have a lot of small spaces with entrances and exits.  You could hide and wait for the other team to spawn and ambush them, but because of the time it takes, you are probably better off seeking them out then hiding and waiting.

Close Talking - Earn 40 kills with close quarters combat in multiplayer Matchmaking. - 1600cR

• Load up Grifball and this should take you two or three matches.

See the Weekly Challenge here.

Also on Examiner.com