Halo 3 Review

Halo 3 Review

The storyline of Halo 3 picks up after the Halo graphic novel, “Uprising”, and it begins with Master Chief falling down to Earth to finish the fight with the Covenant. As always in the Halo games, there is a rather large plot twist around halfway through, although it isn’t quite as awesome as meeting the Flood for the first time (Halo: Combat Evolved) or the elites siding with the humans (Halo 2). The campaign now has 4 player co-op which is much more useful than the former 2 player co-op. The bad news however with the game’s campaign are in the A.I. department: While the enemies are extremely intelligent, the same cannot be said for your in-game allies. Allies sometimes don’t shoot unless they are being shot at, and they are also known for running around in circles for no apparent reason. Simply put…THEY ARE DUMB!! The campaign is also too short with only NINE LEVELS!!! One more negative about the campaign (SPOILER WARNING!!!) The conclusion isn’t quite that satisfying. The final battle with the covenant lacks the epic feel that it definitely needs. The bosses aren’t very memorable (the final boss is down-right disappointing especially considering that it ISN’T the Gravemind.) Finally if you finish the game on Legendary, you see a scene which seems to indicate that there will be a Halo 4. What happened to "finish the fight" Bungie? The multiplayer is where the game really shines, with an improved matchmaking system, new game modes, a theater mode so you can watch all of your previous games (and take in-game photos so you can share with your friends) your online avatar now has a more in-depth customization system where you can give your Spartan or Elite new helmets, and armor that you unlock by finding skulls in the campaign, or unlocking certain achievements. The new available armor doesn’t really serve as a way of enhancing the gameplay. Instead, the new armor is more of a way of showing to your friends that you have accomplished certain in-game achievements. Overall, Halo 3 is a great game, and I believe that it holds up well with its predecessors, however it is not perfect. If you are an Xbox Live Silver member (or don’t have Xbox Live at all) Halo 3 serves as a worthy rental since you can finish the campaign in a weekend on the Easy, and Normal difficulties. (Actually you could probably finish the game on Easy in the time it takes to watch The Dark Knight). If you do pay a subscription for Live however, it is definitely worth the $60 price tag, and it will please people who love first person shooters, and the “Halo” series.
The Verdict: 4/5