In “Halo: Reach,” players experience the fateful moments that forged the “Halo” legend. It’s the story of Noble Team, a squad of heroic Spartan soldiers, and their final stand on planet Reach, humanity’s last line of defense between the terrifying Covenant and Earth. This darker story is echoed by grittier visuals amid a backdrop of massive, awe-inspiring environments. Characters, enemies and environments are rendered in amazing detail by an all-new engine designed to deliver epic-scale encounters against the cunning and ruthless Covenant.

Once the campaign is over, the battle continues online with an unparalleled multiplayer experience that expands on the award-winning suite of features that helped define the Xbox Live experience.

Everyone who’s yet to experience shooter can grab an assault rifle and jump into the fray, as a new demo for “Halo: Reach” launches on Xbox Live. As a special bonus, the Games on Demand version of “Halo: Reach” will be available for one week only (May 24 through May 30) for a reduced price of $39.99 (U.S.) and £39.99/€39.99 (EMEA),  so don’t miss this chance to join the battle for Reach and see what you’ve been missing!

The heart-pounding demo drops you right into the action with the riveting “Long Night of Solace” campaign mission, plunging you into an epic-scale battle as you fight across a besieged beachhead and blast off into space to engage the Covenant armada head-on, high above the planet Reach. 2

The action-packed demo also gives you a taste of the award-winning “Halo: Reach” multiplayer experience in the “Free for All Slayer” and “Headhunter” modes on the map “Powerhouse”, and lets you and your friends assault the Covenant together on the Firefight map “Overlook” over Xbox Live.

Key Features:

• Meet Noble Team. For the first time, players will fight alongside a squad of iconic Spartan soldiers, each with deadly talents as unique as their individual personalities and customized gear.
• An intense campaign. Live the events that set the stage for the “Halo” trilogy as the UNSC and Covenant clash at the height of their military power. New weapons and abilities complement the familiar “Halo” arsenal for the largest-scale battles ever witnessed in the “Halo” universe. Fiercely cunning artificial intelligence (AI) adds depth and complexity to each encounter, helping make every play-through a unique and epic experience.
• Stunning technical advancements. “Halo: Reach” takes a massive leap forward through all-new engine technology designed to take full advantage of next-generation graphics, audio, special effects, AI and animation while continuing to expand on the campaign, cooperative and multiplayer sandbox in a way that only “Halo” can.
• The definitive multiplayer experience. “Halo: Reach” builds on the success of its predecessors, setting a new standard for competitive gameplay, customization, variety and community integration.
• Unparalleled feature suite. “Halo: Reach” expands on the industry-leading suite of features found in “Halo 3,” including four-player cooperative campaign play, split-screen support, saved films, screenshots and exciting new surprises that have yet to be revealed.