36 PCWorld JANUARY 2020NEWS HALO: REACH PC IMPRESSIONS
Destiny 2 to PC (go.pcworld.com/dny2),
given it was built with the same console-first
mindset but plays as good or better on a
mouse and keyboard.XBOX LIVE
Should it bother me that I need to sign in to
my Microsoft account to play Reach on PC?
Maybe...but it doesn’t. Microsoft’s come a
long way since Games for Windows Live, and
quite frankly Halo: Reach is one of the least
offensive by modern standards. If you buy the
game through Steam, it doesn’t first pop the
Windows 10 Store open before you can play.
There’s an in-game login screen, and that’s it.
Given how deeply Microsoft accounts are
tied into Windows 10, chances are you
already have one. If not, it’s easy to get one.
Hell, I’m pretty sure mine’s tied to a Gmailaccount, not even a Microsoft service.
Still, it’s something to be aware of before
you buy. As a bonus, if you’ve played The
Master Chief Collection on Xbox One and sign
in with the same Xbox Live account, you’ll
automatically pop the equivalent Steam
achievements.AGAINST ALL ODDS
Concerns aside, I’m excited to have an excuse
to dip into The Master Chief Collection again.
Halo: Reach isn’t the game I’d choose to start
with, as by the time it released I’d almost
completely transitioned to first Call of Duty
and then Battlefield. I have way more
nostalgia for Halo and Halo 2, and a fondness
for ODST’s genre-bending weirdness.
But Reach has its charms. The war movie
cinematography, the doomed-from-the-start