Halo Reach vs Halo 3
Well I have recently bought Halo Reach after playing halo 3, and I wanted to match up the two games based on a few aspects that I have noticed
Ranking System
Well I am a fan of the Ranking System in Halo 3 against the ranking in Halo Reach. In Halo 3 it is simple and when you go into social matches, you gain experience only, but when you go into a ranked match, you are assigned a skill level between 1-50, and as you win games you move higher and higher until you reach 50. If you lose however, you may potentially drop down a rank meaning you will work your way up to play against people who are similarily skilled and at that point you will play with people around the same rank until you move up or down. In halo reach however, they do not assign you a skill level in the matchmaking, and instead it is based more on experience and credits earned. The arena is slightly different and does provide an actual ranking, but it is still not as simple and good as the ranking system in Halo 3.
Gameplay
Well the gameplay in Halo Reach is much more difficult online than in Halo 3. With the BMR bloom effect meaning the faster you shoot, the more inaccurate the BMR becomes, this definitely provides a large skill gap between the highly skilled players and the beginners. It took me a little while to get used to the BMR, and when I first started even though I was ranked a 50 in halo 3, I was going negative most of the games in Reach simply because I was not used to it. The BR in halo 3 is quite simple, and it is more point and shoot and does not have this blooming effect. Therefore it is much more simple to play this game, and provides less skill difference than Halo Reach does.
Perks and Map Selection
Well the Perks you are able to use in Halo Reach such as Jet pack and hologram are kind of up to the person. Some people love these features, but other people hate them. I personally like not having the Perks, so I prefer Halo 3 in this asspect because the perks are quite annoying to play against most times and I like not having to worry about people flying above or sending holograms etc. The Map selection in Halo Reach is much better than in Halo 3 however. They have adopted a system like Call of Duty where the players vote on which map they wish to play on, and the map with the most votes is the map that you play on. In the event of a tie, the map and gametype that is higher on the list is automatically selected. But this system is pretty good because then you are rarely stuck playing a map that most people hate such as you were with isolation or high ground on Halo 3.
Unlocking Armour and Upgrades
In Halo 3, you get new armour from playing campaign or doing special achievements. In Halo Reach however, you must buy your armour with the Credits that you recieve from completing games and getting kills. I do like this a little more because it gives you something to work towards as far as earning and spending credits goes. You can also unlock voices and special effects or different visor colors in this section, which provides some fun little additions to Halo Reach which Halo 3 did not have!
Conclusion
Many people hate Halo Reach because they grew so attached to Halo 3. Reach feels like a completely different game and is much different than Halo 3. So although some people may find it hard to switch over, I have found that Halo Reach does get much better as you get used to it and have played it for a while. The first week or so of playing I was not impressed but my friend ensured me that it got better overtime, and sure enough after a couple weeks of play I was getting used to everything and quite enjoyed reach as well!