According to Bungie, “The first matchmaking update for Reach will occur in early October…”  With this first round, bug fixes and balance issues will be addressed along with more game types and Forge maps.  But perhaps the best part of the update will be the inclusion of Co-op campaign matchmaking.

It’s not as if the large majority of us wish to play Halo’s campaign with complete strangers but the option is a welcome addition to the suite.  Bungie states that the game neglected to ship with Co-op matchmaking by design, to protect us from spoiling our campaign experience.  They also say that the “…matchmaking will not take in to account your current campaign progress.”  So just make sure you complete your current campaign before jumping in to the new playlist.

What do you think?  How anxious are you to delve into campaign matchmaking with strangers?

Is anyone sick of these live-action trailers for Halo yet?  No?  Me neither.  Each one that comes out is incredible; and a reminder of how awesome that full-length Halo movie would have been (my fingers are still crossed for that one).  Well, the latest of these live-action commercials for Halo: Reach, “Deliver Hope,” is just as beautiful as any of them we’ve seen previously.  You may recognize part of it from an earlier release but this is the extended version.  Enjoy!

Firefight mode was/is the ‘must play’ mode in Halo: ODST.  Bungie touted it.  Critics adored it.  Gamers couldn’t stop playing it.  It was nothing new or particularly innovative (we’ve been playing ‘Survival’ modes for years) but FF took all of the things that we love about Halo—co-op, pick-up-and-play action, tons of things to shoot at—and created something that many of us spent countless nights enjoying.

Well, Firefight is obviously making a return in Halo: Reach and Bungie has posted a five-minute round for us to take a look at.  From what I can see, it looks as if the game’s running just as smooth as we’d expect from Halo and with slightly more detailed graphics.  It also looks like they have ramped up the action a bit—which is great considering I’ve gotten pretty damn efficient at killing the Covenant over the last 10 years.

Take a look below; and if this doesn’t get you all fired-up, you should probably call a priest (I’m not 100% sure what I meant by that)!