After Bungie completed the Halo trilogy and Halo 3: ODST (2009), they saved the best for last with the direct prequel Halo: Reach (2010).
Set just before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved (2001), Noble Team was the first responder to an unexpected attack from the Covenant. Noble Six was chosen by Carter-A259 to help the rest of his team find a way to suppress the Covenant and deliver a special file to Captain Jacob Keyes.
The game was very heartbreaking, hardcore and amazing at the same time. The events of the game were inspired by the events of December 7th, 1941 and September 11th, 2001 because the game solely focused on a group of soldiers who were in the midst of a horrific event that cost both their lives and the place. This made Halo: Reach more human-centric compared to the Master Chief games because they are just normal people who experienced such terror.
Aside from the symbolic themes, the multiplayer and Firefight modes were heavily updated, to acclaim.
Halo: Reach is a well-written video game for a time when a nation was in shock.
Christian Frates' Journal 