Few video game franchises have achieved as much critical and commercial success as Bungie's Halo series. The Seattle studio has pumped out Halo titles for more than ten years now, and in that time enjoyed triumph after triumph both at retail and in the eyes of critics and fans alike. The series has sold over 34 million units to date, and grabbed over a billion dollars from our pockets…but there's more. This September, Bungie will release Halo: Reach, the final Bungie-developed Halo title. And according to the studio, it's not just another Halo game; it's the largest, most epic project the team has ever worked on. Don't get all teary-eyed yet! Here's five reasons to be excited for Halo: Reach

A True Tour de Force

Storytelling has never been Bungie's strong point in my opinion, but last year's spinoff, Halo 3: ODST, was the studio's narrative pinnacle. If Bungie can build off that huge success and apply pure, gritty, and compelling emotion into Reach, gamers will be glued to the edge of their chairs throughout the entire experience. Reach, a prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved, has the best chance of any Halo game to pull this off. For those who don't know, Reach will tell the tale of the fall of the Spartan home planet of Reach. It's going to be a dark experience…700 million civilians will die, and you'll be along for the ride.  Unlike past entries, you won't fight alone in Reach. You're part of Noble Team, a group of elite supersoldiers, fighting the nefarious Covenant. Bungie has spoken very sparsely of the game's campaign thus far, which is a likely indication the studio doesn't want to spoil what it's so tirelessly worked to perfect. Come September 14 gamers can expect some of the largest, most epic firefights, set pieces, and voice-acting ever seen in a Halo game. All things considered, a large percentage (sadly, likely over half) will jump directly into multiplayer and forgo what will be in the grandest tale Bungie has ever told.

Multi-freakin'-player

As said above, multiplayer is, for many gamers, the main draw of any Halo game. And who can blame them for thinking this way? I can still remember playing Combat Evolved on Coagulation thinking to myself "this is ridiculously fun, I probably won't ever stop." Fast forward to Halo 2 and Halo 3, and the experience only got better. However, Bungie has created the ultimate, most engaging, multiplayer experience ever with Halo: Reach. It's more than just Armor Abilities (though they are completely incredible), and Loadouts; it's Invasion. This game mode, sort of like Battlefield: Bad Company 2's Rush, pits Elites against Spartans in a largely scaled and dynamic ground, air, and vehicle skirmish. Crafting something as ambitious as Invasion was a bold move on Bungie's behalf, but based on May's multiplayer beta alone, I'm already sold. In addition to Invasion, new modes HeadHunter, Generator Defense, Stockpile, Arena, and Arena will offer countless hours of enjoyment. Oh, and all the standard gametypes and JETPACKS. Suffice it to say, multiplayer in Halo: Reach, barring some catastrophe, will be excellent and the new bar for shooters to aim for. I play Call of Duty online, but I hate it. I've always said "a game anyone can be good at, no one is truly good at." Halo multiplayer has always taken skill, and Reach will up the stakes yet again.

ForgeWorld

Halo: 3 came with this new tool called Forge. It allowed gamers to create whatever the hell they wanted within the Halo multiplayer universe, share it with the world, and make Halo essentially a never-ending game. Halo: Reach expands upon Forge, and introduces ForgeWorld, a monumentally large sandbox to play, create, and kill in. As Bungie said in the video embedded below, the possibilities are endless with ForgeWorld, and I can't even imagine what the community will develop with such a magnificent tool in their hands. I've never been able to design a strong, balanced, and fun map, but when there's millions others out there capable? I let them do the work for me!

The Unknown

Bungie has told us what feels like a lot about Halo: Reach, but for a game that's the studio's largest and most ambitious yet, I feel like there's a heck of a lot we're still in the dark about. Of course Bungie isn't going to reveal everything pre-launch, and what I think is most exciting is just what the heck else is on that Reach disc. We've already seen a killer space-combat sequence, a first for the Halo series, but what else might Bungie have in store?

  The Bungie Support

Bungie knows how to treat its paying customers. If I'm going to fork over $60 for a game, I want a developer's attention, and Bungie has never failed me in this department. Despite already being heavily invested in the studio's first multiplatform game, Bungie has promised to support Reach post-launch. What does that mean? Map packs are a given, making damn sure servers stay online is a must, but I really hope Bungie surprises us here. Perhaps single-player DLC…how rad would that be? Think about this: your girlfriend might cheat on you, but Bungie will be true to the end.

Halo: Reach hits shelves September 14. If you want me to review the game for your outlet contact me at eddienoteddy@gmail.com. Add me on Xbox Live @ eddie_not_eddy to hop into some multiplayer!