Has there been a game that captures the mood of Reach but executes it better? The desperate last stand against overwhelming odds while you play as a stoic badass, preferably with a team of badasses who slowly die, one by one. It's so masculine, I love it but no game hits the notes correctly. The heroes joke around too much or they're too inexperienced. You're not usually allowed to be the best of the best. I wanna be a professional.

Reach has the perfect atmosphere but the story lacks in writing. The team is underwritten. All missions are just generic destroy this thing missions which is exactly what I want but that does mean the characters have to carry the story and for some reason Reach doesn't use their down time to expand on the characters. I don't need backstories but I would like to see more interactions so the eventual deaths hit harder. Turn it up a notch just a little. Not too much but a little.