| Author | Review |
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KARMAgoesHARD
235,950
TA Score for this game: 2,492
Posted on 11 July 09 at 16:28 |
This review has 77 positive votes and 25 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
"A multiplayer experience one will never forget"
Halo 3 Review
Halo brings back many memories for FPS gaming fans. The long awaited sequel is now here, and has for awhile now. And I have good news for all the haters; THIS GAME IS GOOD! Yes, you heard me all the non-believers. Bungie delivered again.
Halo never really had a good campaign mode. All you could chose from was a few difficulties and play 1-2 players. The older games had a few hidden objects(The skulls) in game, but once you found them you couldn't save or do anything with them on a different file. Well, I am sad to say…. there are still only a few difficulties. The campaign system is completely revamped. Now, you can play up to FOUR people in Xbox Live co-op. Also, there is a scoring system which will add replayability. To top off a greatly improved system, you can now save and access your skulls you have found at any time you want. Awesome! Sadly, nothing is perfect. If one person leaves the match when playing online co-op, it kicks the whole party back to the lobby and doesn't save the progress. Meaning, you can't resume where you just left off where you were when the other person quite. Quite a big downside, and I will admit can be annoying, but it doesn't take much away from this great game.
Now onto what Halo is really about, the multiplayer. I have been hooked on the series since the first Halo, but never really got into multiplayer til halo 2. What seemed to be the perfect multiplayer in Halo 2 has been surpassed by Halo 3. The playlists are updated very often, with changes made to things the community has had a problem with. Bungie did a great job with this aspect of Halo.
What really entices you is the Halo ranking systems. In actuality you have three ranks, which almost all correspond with each other. Ranks are only gained in Halo matchmaking. The first rank is a Trueskill rank of 1-50. You will have a different trueskill rank in each playlists. So lets say you went up to a rank of 10 in Team Objective. When you switch playlists to something… let's say Team Slayer. Even though you are a 10 in Team Objective, you could be a 20 in Team Slayer. This adds a huge amount of replay value, and has kept bringing me back to the franchise year after year.
Now that you have some idea on the Trueskill ranks, I can explain the Army like ranks. As you win games, you gain EXP points. If you quit games, you lose EXP points. You gain 1 EXP point for a win, 2 for a win in a Double EXP playlist, and you lose One EXP for quitting. EXP points are not given out based on how good you do(unless you are playing a free-for-all match) but rather if your team plays well and wins. With these EXP points you go up in ranks. For example, when you win 30 games and gain EXP you will become a Sergeant Grade2. However, I mentioned earlier about the ranking systems going along with each other. After awhile you may not level up to the next rank without leveling up. You may go up a grade(Sergeant Grade 2, Colonel Grade 3, etc), but even that will eventually stop. You will need to get your Trueskill up in a playlists before you can advance. So let's say you have 1000 EXP points, but you are not yet a rank of 10 in something yet. You will not be able to rank up to a Lieutenant. This may become frustrating, but take my word for it. You will keep coming back to try and get your Trueskill up.
The next ranking system was newly implemented. You now have a rank for each playlist. So now you can be a General in Team Slayer, but only a Captain in Team Doubles. These ranks are gained by winning games in whichever playlist you are playing games. However, your Trueskill ranks do not effect these.
I will now go over custom games. In a custom game, you can play with up to 16 people in any gametype or map, whether it is a custom variant or map or not! This has all of the fun of matchmaking, without the intensity. Really, really fun with a bunch of friends.
The gametypes available in matchmaking and in custom games is a wider selection then in Halo 2. With the newly added VIP and Infection, Halo is turning into a great party game or a game to play with friends. You can now also customize maps, which I will explain in the next paragraph.
Forge is the next big thing in the Halo series. With this map editor, you can completely clear maps of everything but scenery like hills and such and build tyour own bases or place weapons wherever you want them! This is a blast to play with friends, even if you aren't making a map and just messing around. And now you can even take pictures and record some of your games! A big + here.
Just as I said above, you can now take pictures and record games in the Theatre. You can then put some pictures up on your fileshare for others to see! Pretty cool, and some people in the community have really taken advantage of this feature to make some really, really nice pictures. In addition to this, you can now prove you got a kickass killtacular or something of that sort by recording it!
Halo has never been a top notch graphics game. It was never a bad game graphics wise, either. While this is no gears of War Halo 3 is truly pretty. The scenery is really nice, weapons are pretty cool, and the vehicles have pretty awesome explosions. And now, you can choose from even more Spartan and Elite costumes each very detailed. Yay!
The old Halo music is back and everything sounds the same from the last game. Not overly loud like the Call of Duty series, but not quite. Isn't that bad on the ears. Only downside to this may be the annoying little kids yelling into their mic.
Roundup:
In the end, Halo is a great game and no one can deny it. Yes, it might not have the best community but the multiplayer experience is one you will never forget nor go without. A definite must buy game.
+ Multiplayer
+ Graphics
+ Forge
+ Theatre
= Single Player
= Sound
This was originally posted by me at http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/xbox360/review/R130360.html .
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Xxgogeta4xX
162,771
TA Score for this game: 2,492
Posted on 30 July 10 at 20:15 |
This review has 43 positive votes and 15 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Adding to Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, the epic saga continues with Halo 3, the amazingly anticipated sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo franchise. Halo (2001) and Halo 2 (2004) sold 14.5 million copies worldwide.
In this third chapter of the Halo trilogy, Master Chief returns to finish the fight, bringing the epic conflict between the Covenant, the Flood, and the entire human race to a dramatic, pulse-pounding climax. Halo 3 picks up where "Halo 2" left off. The Master Chief is returning to Earth to finish the fight. The Covenant occupation of Earth has uncovered a massive and ancient object beneath the African sands - an object who's secrets have yet to be revealed. Earth's forces are battered and beaten. The Master Chief's AI companion Cortana is still trapped in the clutches of the Gravemind - a horrifying Flood intelligence, and a civil war is raging in the heart of the Covenant.
Is this how the world ends? Can Halo 3 (2007) live up to what you've been waiting for the past three years? Let's check out some of the new features in Halo 3 as well as the hype, initial announcement and massive promotion of this gaming juggernaut.
Game Features:
o Halo 3 expands on the franchise and adds a wealth of technical and game play advancements
o Unparalleled first-person shooter experience and the most compelling and engrossing story of the trilogy
o Halo 3 will builds upon the unique social multiplayer experience and innovative, evolving online game play of Halo 2
o Game developer Bungie announced that Halo 3 will be released for Microsoft's Xbox 360 sometime in 200
o The game is loaded with high-definition visuals, enhanced A.I., an advanced lighting engine, and new weapons, characters, and challenges
The Halo 3 Announcement
Halo 3 was revealed to the world at the Microsoft press conference held at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, CA in May 2006. To gamer's delight, the announcement was a complete surprise. The rumors have been abound for the past year, as everyone wondered when the next installment would be ready. Bungie and Microsoft did a stellar job keeping their lips sealed, and fans benefited from their first glimpse of the hallowed third and final installment.
The short presentation was delivered in real-time on the Xbox 360 using the current version of the Halo 3 game engine. That's right, no studio production video, Bungie and Microsoft delivered the real deal: what they showed at the announcement is what gamers will see when they play Halo 3 in 2007. The HDR lighting, self-shadowing, GPU-run particle system and many other effects are rumored to show up in full effect in the final game. Needless to say, the gaming community is salivating.
Final Thoughts
Halo 3 promises an unparalleled first-person shooter experience and, in the end, the most compelling and engrossing story in the franchise's history. Last, but certainly not least, Halo 3 builds upon the unique social multiplayer experience and innovative, evolving online game play of Halo 2. Rest assured, you'll still be able to run with your clan and battle with (or against) your buddies from coast to coast
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Purge x360a
1,039
Posted on 22 November 09 at 21:46, Edited on 23 November 09 at 18:35
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This review has 34 positive votes and 12 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Halo 3 Review by Dom x360a
Warning, there may be spoilers
The Sun - "Forget game of the year - this is the game of the decade"
FHM - "Amazing"
IGN.com - "Nothing short of epic"
Official Xbox Magazine - "Something truly special"
The News of the World - "The most stunning and exhilarating game you'll ever play"
Campaign
"Brace for Impact." We've been through some good times during the course of Halo: we've caught Johnson embracing an elite, we've kicked the crud out of the Prophet of Regret and we've joined forces with the enemy to battle against unbelievable odds. Luckily you can fight these unbelievable odds - with the help of the AI or - with one to three other friends. You start off crashing in the middle of the jungle and in the immortal words of Master Chief, it's finaily time for you to, "finish the fight." The levels in the third Halo are really vibrant and differ greatly as you progress and the music is so captivating that you feel the fate of the world is in your hands, although I noticed there was no Breaking Benjamin at the end of this game. The difficulty is either amped up or beat down to aim at the majority of gamers for although the normal difficulty is easier than the previous halos, the legendary difficulty will take you off your feet. It's one of those times in your gaming history where friends and gaming should be at an equal standpoint. The guns are varied aswell as balanced and each provide something new to the single and multiplayer experience. Your arsenal begins with a simple magnum and expands up to the dreaded spartan laser, the various weapons in between include energy swords, battle riffles, gravity hammers, assault rifles and of course the needler - oh how I love the needler.
Multiplayer
If you've finished the campaign - or not - then you may have noticed the matchmaking tab beneath. This section leads you to the multiplayer where the cherry on top of this triumphant cake can be picked. There are three different modes you can explore: there is ranked which is a series of playlists that you can gain exp and skill points from, social which is similar to ranked except you cannot gain skill points and custom games which lets you create your own games with your own rules. There are multiplayer achievements but fear not, they do not significantly make the multiplayer bad - they actually add some flare to it.
Bungie like to change/add/remove different playlists to keep the exciting experience going and for those that want to reach high ranks fast, they create double-exp weekends every weekend. The maps are excellent and varied but in my opinion the downloadable content is even better. If you are thinking about purchasing the maps then slow down, Halo: ODST is just under-par with Halo 3 but includes the full Halo 3 multiplayer experience. You also get various medals for getting ten kills within four seconds of each other and playing in a match full of Bungie.net members. The website is like no other I've seen for the gaming experience as it tracks all your medals and statistics on your own bungie profile. These stats venture from how many matches you've played, how many times you've killed the flag carrier, what weapons you've used and so on and so forth. If you are a fan of the multiplayer experience then you should be checking it out right now.
Forge & Theater
This mode is used to create your own maps which include respawn points, the atmosphere and the various other factors that apply. Bungie services the mode even more by giving you a file-share which let's you share the map with your friends and other players. If you head over to the Bungie site then you can even upload it there, or download other players maps for that matter.
The theater let's you revisit those past moments that made you go, 'Oh snap!' and share them with your friends. Once again you can add screenshots and videos to your file share or Bungie.com to share with the world, but if you wanted to send the video to somebody who didn't have an xbox then there is a solution. If you purchase a year's worth of Bungie Pro membership then you get 24 additional slots and can download videos to your PC, more information can be found about this at Bungie.nets forum.
Overall
Master Cheif's adventure this time around is enthralling. It's unlike any other game out there. There is no first person shooter out there that matches Halo in terms of presentation, it truly is magnificent. In our realm of gaming, the first person shooter is proving to the most popular genre out there. In the world of first person shooters, Halo 3 stands atop the heavens.
Rating - 94%
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A Wise Ninja
107,405
TA Score for this game: 2,492
Posted on 10 October 09 at 09:01, Edited on 09 March 11 at 08:08 |
This review has 33 positive votes and 13 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Halo 3 Review by A Wise Ninja
Campaign
In Halo 3, the campaign is divided into 10 levels of carnage. Each level has its own twist or certain feel to it, as well as this the covenant and flood can't make their mind whether they should be on your side or not as well, so one minute you could be smashing the hell out of a brute then a minute later you've just weakened someone who's just switched sides to you. Aside from this the levels offer a lot of variety and you get to explore the weapons and vehicles of halo, the last level in particular sees you invade a tower of flood (alien zombie things), around an icy mountain, to later head through the mountain an emerge on platforms suspended over lava, with just you and your arthog. The campaign is maybe a bit short and does lack pace at some places.
Multiplayer (Matchmaking)
Matchmaking is where Halo 3 really shines, the game has been out for over a year and a half now and there is still constantly in excess of a quarter of a million people online at one given time. There are two types of playlists, Ranked and Social, they are pretty much the same, except you have skills in each of the playlists in Ranked. The Experienced system is quite complicated to begin with, first of all you gain 1xp if you finish in the top half of the game.
e.g
your team wins in a team game.
you come in the top 4 out of 8 in a free for all.
Then you level with that, but once you attain gunnery sergeant, you can then choose to either level up by getting a high skill in a playlist (to advance to the next tier e.g. commander --> colonel) or by exp to get higher in that tier (e.g brigadier --> brigadier grade 2).
Altogether the multiplayer is completely carnage and some of the game modes and so inventive it makes the fun never end, along with this you have custom games which have people using forge (the map editor) to create a whole new game mode, and trust me, they are inventive, this all adds up to one hell of an experience, with only some minor lag, occasionally its unplayable, but thats quite rare.
Forge
In this mode you select one of the maps of Halo 3 and move, delete and manipulate objects around the map, this has been used in the greatest ways, some examples...
Smear the Queer - 2 people are infected with plasma pistols and energy swords and everyone else has choppers and ghosts to splatter them in a square arena.
Beep or Sleep - One person is infected with a sniper and everyone else is driving around a circuit with no walls, if you go off the sides you die, and if you get sniped or if your vehicle gets sniped and sends you spinning of the edge then you become infected.
In Halo there is also a theater mode to watch your past 20 games and take screenshots or save films.
Overall
Halo 3 is an amazing game, with medals to attain in game such as double kill, triple kill, overkill e.t.c. to superb graphics on the vehicles and maps.
Rating 96/100
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GETxACHIEVEDx
84,473
TA Score for this game: 2,492
Posted on 26 February 11 at 04:22 |
This review has 27 positive votes and 12 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
...... Come on Xbox360blue get to the end of the game so that we all can get the achievement Campaign Complete: Legendary . . . . YES thanks Xbox360blue!!...... Oh sorry didn't see you there
Gameplay: 9/10
I liked the Gameplay it all fit perfectly together except in order to know what is going on you have to listen to the character/AI who is talking. Whenever you shot at an opponent you actually knew that you hit him/her because you would see blood fly from him/her but they could of added a hit marker so you were 100% sure you hit them. I can see why they didn't put it in there though. What?... you want to know why? Okay then, the reason they didn't put it in their was so that you wouldn't be able to shoot/throw a grenade randomly and know that you hit someone. On the other hand... the Campaign fit perfectly together; In the first mission you had to have played Halo 2 to understand the beginning. There was this neat map builder called Forge™. Forge™ mode was kinda scratchy and there were a bunch of glitches in it like Ghost Merging. Ghost Merging is a technique that we use/used to put peices into one another to form the maps that you play that were made by the community.
Multiplayer and Servers: 10/10
The servers were GREAT! I mean they didn't drop at all for me. Unlike Modern Warfare 2™ they did all the time. You were able to finish a game interuppted. There may be a lag because of some people's internet connection but who's to blame them. Some states don't have good internet providers. There are people on there that can get rude at times or annoying or anything else that you can think of but if you play it for about a year straight(trust me I know since it was my first game until Christmas of '09) then you will find people who are willing to help you get your achievements. Thats how I got a few of the achievements until I found Trueachievements™.
Storyline: 9/10
I liked the storyline so much that It made me want to play it 5 different times. One (1) on EASY. TWO (2) on NORMAL. THREE (3) on HEROIC. FOUR (4) on LEGENDARY. FIVE (5) on a mission to get the achievements for getting a certain amount of points in the campaign missions. The storyline is amazing. It gives you a chance to use all the different kind of weapons (Covenent and U.S.N.C). The first two missions are like tutorial missions. They teach you how to move, shoot, reload manually, and all of the other stuff you can do in the game.
Forge: 9/10
Everybody talks trash about the forge mode and how it is clunky and all that. Well the technique Ghost Merging lets you phase things into each other. So if you see a map and it has peices of a wall sticking up out of the floor or the wall then you know that Ghost Merging took place in order to create this map. If you don't know how to Ghoste merge then forging may be a little harder to do for you and others. If you hit one object onto another and it gets stuck then you will have to manuever around that object.
Graphics:8/10
The graphics were okay but when you looked at certain people when they were talking and their mouths weren't moving. The only time you could tell if they were talking and you could see their mouths move would be the cutscenes. In the campaign the enemy A.I. looked fantastic. You could see the blue and purple blood come out of the enemy when you shot them(especially the grunts). The random army/marine people that you encounter do look the same and the scenery do look repetative at times but at other times your lucky to have random boxes or big rocks just lying around especially while playing Legendary.
Soundtrack: 9/10
The different songs sounded great at times then it just didn't feel like it belonged in that part of the mission. Like if you are driving on the 3rd mission and it gives you that energy filled song that sounds like.... " bum bum bum bummmmm bum bum bum bummmmm" There are other tracks that I liked at certain parts of the game but thats the only song that sticks in my head when I think of Halo.
So I have covered a lot of stuff about the game and now it is time to put this all together:
Gameplay............................................................................................................................................ 9/10
Multiplayer and Servers.................................................................................................................. 10/10
Storyline...............................................................................................................................................9/10
Forge....................................................................................................................................................9/10
Graphics...............................................................................................................................................8/10
Soundtrack...........................................................................................................................................9/10
Total....................................................................................................................................................54/60
Percentage of game I liked................................................................................................................90%
So thats actually good.... I believe that if the percentage drops below 50% then you need to check videos of the game to see if it is good for what you want it for. May it be:
1.Just to play it,
2.For achievements,
3.Or to play it with a friend.
So go out and buy this game. Until next time gamer guys and gals. Keep on the watch for sales and my next review or my first walkthrough.
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Wull Scott
278,769
TA Score for this game: 1,257
Posted on 20 June 11 at 18:51 |
This review has 18 positive votes and 9 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
I never finished Halo 2. OK, I'm sorry, but I didn't.
I got bored at what was apparently nearly the end of the game, something with an elevator, if I remember... I remember thinking that it had a fantastic glossy sheen to it, but no substance. I was never sure WHY I was doing what I was doing. I was supposed to feel like I was in some sort of epic story, but I felt sort of... well... left behind. It was a shame, because I had loved the first Halo, and even played through on Heroic (I got to the library part on Legendary and the thought of playing through that trawl AGAIN was too much for me).
The only reason I dwell on these games is that Halo 3 is apparently "Finishing the fight", so to that end, the shockingly stale five-year-old gameplay is fitting, with the only real "additions" being the useable equipment such as the bubble shield and moveable cover that you inevitably forget that you have, so never use. Also, much like the idea that somehow struck Master Chief in the interim of the first two games that, hey, he could dual wield weapons - he has now realised that, hey, with my purportedly massive strength, I can tear up mounted turrets and use them. The length of time it has taken him to work these things out calls into question his position of tactical genius...
It also has to be said that while the earlier levels are very much corridor orientated - even in a jungle, apparently... - it is never really clear where you should be going. With some elements of backtracking, which further confuse matters, it slows the pace of the game enough to be intrusive. Not as much as the AWFUL Cortana hauntings/communications, which are supposedly cryptic and mysterious, but are frankly just some digital bint spouting poorly written semi-religious twaddle.
This is all just a minor precursor to the dire level design later, and also another intrusive, but even more annoyed head voice for old Chiefy.
Oh and the final mission's "tribute" (*Cough*Rehash!*Cough*) to the first game's warthog escape is a trial and error nightmare - the driving controls are not effective enough for the precision driving required.
So, then, this long winded spiel essentially boils down the fact that the gameplay is old school (not cool enough for "skool", you'll notice), with lip service made to progress.
As always, for me the sound in this series is weedy and lacks punch. I feel that the UNSC weapons sound a little rattle-y, which is a bit disparate with the excellent vibration feedback. The pistol and the sniper rifle both sound a little too "boom", and not enough "crack". Erm, in an onomatopoeic sense... Everything else is adequate, sound effect-wise. The musical score, however, remains superb.
Graphics, too, are adequate. They have obviously had a lot of work put into them, but nothing that inspires awe or even a flicker of real interest. While games ARE more than their graphics, you only have to look at things like the descent into Rapture in Bioshock, walking out of the sewers in Oblivion, the architecture in Gears of War, or even in the first Halo game, when you looked and saw you were standing on the inside of the Halo. Nothing in this game packs that sort of visual punch.
And so to the story. I made sure that I knew how Halo 2 (and I use this term in the loosest sense imaginable) "ended", so that Halo 3's story would make sense. Wull's handy hint for lazy writers - you DO NOT need to randomly kill off characters to elicit an emotional response. You DO, however, need to ensure that your audience KNOW that a person is supposed to be dead and preferably HOW that person died. It is YOUR responsibility as a writer. Remember that. When a camera pans to a character's name on a monument, you are not supposed to say "What? When did he...? But, I thought...?” In a similar line to the story, the advertising campaign did nothing but muddy the waters. I must admit that I found the advert with the old man visiting the diorama highly evocative and quite emotional. None of that transferred into the game.
Now I know that most people will say that I am missing the point with the single player and that it is supposed to be simplistic and trashy. Fair enough. I still dislike it. Even more people will say that I am missing the point and that it is primarily a multiplayer game. I disagree, but I will address the multiplayer...
I have to admit that having played through the game on co-op twice on Legendary since originally writing this review, the game does have a fair bit of appeal when playing with a friend and works much better than when approached solo.
The competitive multiplayer is nothing short of excellent. Despite some complainers online, I have never felt the need to veto any of the maps or modes, and enjoy them all. The balance of the weapons is superb as well (except, perhaps the Needler...). And, even better, the players I have met are actually very nice! There seems to be a genuine and solid community based around the superb ranking system and wonderful game replay and screen shot elements. And as slight as it might be, the player personalisation is well realised as well.
BUT! It plainly isn't really worth the cost of Gold membership in the way that other online games are. It is excellent, yes, but I own PC. This means that I have Battlefield 2 for the combat (and it FAR excels Halo 3, or anything found on console for that matter) and World of Warcraft for the community elements. Nothing that Halo 3 offers would convince me to renew my Gold subscription, despite how good it is.
I also took the opportunity to have a look at Halo 2 online before it died, and to be honest, it seemed very similar – maybe even better - to my untrained eye...
So, in summary... I must admit that I look at games in an increasingly odd way - For me, the single player experience is key, unless the game is specifically sold as a multiplayer game. From my perspective, multiplayer is either an addition I don't even look at (like the Splinter Cell games), or minor distraction (like Gears of War). To give it its due, however, I believe that Halo 3 is balanced very well, but this may simply be down to the sub-par single player experience.
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SpazCool
63,463
TA Score for this game: 2,492
Posted on 21 July 11 at 13:11 |
This review has 14 positive votes and 7 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
After a couple of years wondering what kind of hurt Master Chief was going to lay on the Covenant brazen enough to remain on Earth, “Halo 3” finally exploded into the market. Yes, I was one of those “weird” guys waiting in a line of 50 or so other “weird” guys at 11:30pm in Wal-Mart, one of them was even playing a harmonica; all of us watching the clock tick a bit closer to midnight while we waited to blast our real experience away with the virtual. I still had to drive 45 minutes back home to finally see how the trilogy was to end. In those first few punch-drunk hours of gameplay, while I still contend I immediately didn’t like it, I was willing to look past all of the shortcomings and just hope that I would get used to it. Despite my initial response, I’m going to start this section by qualifying that “Halo 3” is by far my least favorite of the series, including “Halo Wars”…yeah, I’m that guy. I’ll expound upon that in a bit; but, first the overview.
The Evils of Capitalism:
Out of all of the “Halos” that have come out, “Halo 3” was the war-horse in the advertising battles, that’s including the more recent titles such as “Reach.” I can recall the adverts for “Halo 2” and while they were tailored to just the kind of person I am, a few quick bits of the Prophets speech and some shots of Earth with Master Chief kickin’ it hard—I was in love before it came out—they were not made to attract the larger crowd of potential gamers. “Halo 3” took some of the same elements from “Halo 2’s” adverts (e.g. ass kickin’ and the strong-silent Master Chief) in addition, “Halo 3” also leaned more heavily on the Biblical references, Bungie has been known for, in the making of the adverts thus, resting upon old themes that everyone can relate to. Not because everyone is a Christian but, rather, because Western Society is predominantly Christian and the rest of us have to put up with it.
Watching old men wax nostalgic about the hope they had had that Master Chief was still alive while their ammunition continued to diminish or, the ad with the panning battleground miniatures where the Master Chief’s miniature sticky grenade glows and he looks up at the viewer, these ads weren’t just made for the gamer. These ads were psychologically perfected to spark interest from anyone calling themselves a human. Whether or not the viewer was a “Halo” fan or not, these ads were made to entice. They added subplots that the viewer not only wanted to see enacted in the game but, perhaps have the chance to enact for themselves…that’s what games are for after all. Neill Blomkamp’s short ODST film was a heart-pounding culmination of this process, causing me to fail some homework assignments just thinking about “Halo 3,” as opposed to failing them because of playing “Halo 3.”
It is my intention to paint the media blitz for “Halo 3” in as positive a light as possible because, I think, for advertising it was done with the best of intentions (i.e. to make money). But, the advertising, for this one gamer, may have been a contributing factor in my ultimate disgust with “Halo 3.” More on that in a bit.
Gameplay:
Style-
Graphically “Halo 3” significantly improved upon the action sequences, body mechanics, explosions and the environments that were already great in “Halo 2,” keeping the style a bit cartoony but much more streamlined. Gone are the pixilated static backgrounds that fail under close scrutiny with the sniper rifle’s zoom. I think it has been rather unfair to compare “Halo 3’s” graphics with the likes of the “Modern Warfare” franchise (i.e. arguably the most graphically realistic game to date), simply because they’re going for very different looks; “Halo” for the streamlined, surreal…beautiful and “MW” for the gritty, dusty fog of war. One can’t have both and one can see similar stylistic approaches in film (e.g. cinematography of “The Matrix” compared to that of “Children of Men,” for example).
People-
The characters performed in much the same way as they did in “Halo 2” so, there isn’t much to add concerning them. Chief is enigmatic, Johnson fits the stereotypical supporting role of a black father-like figure that one sees in every cop movie since…well every cop movie, and the Arbiter continues to be bad-ass, for a foreigner. Cortana is an exception having turned into a damaged and weak damsel-in-distress, with breast enhancements of course. She does, arguably, regain some of positive female status nearer the end of the story (i.e. after she’s been rescued). So, much for the positive female role model.
Story…or something trying to be-
The story is another sore point. Where “Halo: CE” had its share of surprises and “Halo 2” left on a cliffhanger I have yet to figure out what the fuck “Halo 3’s” grand gesturing is supposed to mean. Artistically, leaving something to interpretation makes sense, when the medium doesn’t require the viewer to complete objectives. I can sum up all I took away from the story in one sentence: the Ark controls the Halo rings, destroy the Ark to stop the rings from activating. Aside from that, there was an AA gun one needed to destroy and some Flood got in the way. The cutscenes kept me moving forward but, they never delivered any lasting understanding concerning where I was going or why. They just continued on assuming that I thought the whole Halo universe was inherently cool and that any minute detail (read by Bungie as: not epic) was not worth the time to expound upon; all so that the average Joe could understand or just not care. It seems that all Bungie did was rely on a few biblical references to make the story both epic and relatable, plus Bible-Belt friendly. Gone are surprises and originality.
Setting-
The majority of the levels perpetuated the FPS model of funneling the gamer’s movements by creating maps that are, for all intents and purposes, a straight line. “Halo 3” was not the first FPS to do this nor has the gameplay device left the FPS genre. Now, this isn’t really a sore point with me given that with such a convoluted plot having a straight line to run down helps one get through it. While there is always one major route to any of the battles it is nice to have the side routes with available cover that Bungie has thrown in for exploration. But, if you’re looking for an open world FPS experience go buy yourself “Borderlands,” because with a few exceptions—usually involving some orchestral music and a tank—the levels in “Halo 3” aren’t that big.
Aside from the basic design, the places and things Master Chief (i.e. the gamer) must go through to complete the game are varied which to some may be a good thing but, in my opinion, I wish the Chief spent a little more time on Earth which is where I thought the whole Forerunner subplot was leading us anyway after the completion of “Halo 2.”
“I need a weapon”-
The weapons didn’t change enough to warrant too much bitching from the fan boys. One still had the battle rifle (i.e. BR) but, now, there was the old assault rifle and SMGs to choose from. The pistol is an exception given the redesign to make it look and shoot like the “Halo: CE” model but, without the zoom. Essentially, they stripped the pistol of the cool Gatling-gun fast speed it had in “Halo 2” and the awesome, who-needs-a-sniper-rifle, zoom from “CE;” making the gun damn near unlikable even while it retained its effectiveness. Redesigns concerning the ammunition and dual-wielding of certain weapons (e.g. shotguns and needlers) also changed the feel and combat effectiveness of many of the weapons. The sounds on most of the weapons do lack that sharp “crack” that real guns would be making which does take some of the satisfaction out of firing process.
A.I.-
Despite any changes made to the look and feel of the game Bungie has stayed true to its strength, Artificial Intelligence. I almost skipped over this section simply because it is so easy to miss given that the baddies in “Halo 3” act so realistically as to blend into my expectations of reality. Coupled with the Marines bitching and the Grunts bantering the A.I. really does deserve applause. Unlike “Call of Duty’s” A.I. that knows your every move or “Bad Company’s” that doesn’t know much of anything “Halo 3” gives their enemies some mental abilities that make the replay value of the campaign significantly higher than “Halo 3’s” contemporaries, if one ignores the plot. The A.I. is the reason for my continued allegiance to “Halo” franchise throughout all of the changes.
Multiplayer:
I should have you, the reader, know that I didn’t just play one match of the multiplayer. No, I have nearly 2,000 matches completed in “Halo 3’s” multiplayer so, I am speaking from experience. I played the multiplayer, enjoying it because it was the best multiplayer experience one could have on the ‘360 at the time. But, when better games came out I unashamedly moved on.
Ready to Rumble-
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the weapons system in “Halo 3,” is the fact that one can empty a full magazine of ammunition into an enemy (i.e. so long as it’s not their head) and one would still need to run at them and hit them to finally kill them. Adding to that seeming uselessness of the weapons is the fact that the beat down system operates under the assumption that if a punch is thrown all other previous damages no longer matter. For example, if one were to shoot half a clip from the assault rifle into an enemy and hit them and they happen to hit you at the same time both of you will appear to be without a shield; where did that half-clip from the assault rifle go!? Don’t even get me started with the double K.O.s that happen way to frequently.
Dropping Tanks-
The most novel part of the game is the map editor dubbed Forge. Personally, I never got too into the map making side of the game but, I have some friends that loved it and created some really interesting maps that made me jealous of their creative talents. My lack of interest notwithstanding, I do have a couple sore points concerning Forge; one is the majority of the creations are utter crap. Most people just throw some shit on the level and called it good. Secondly, most of the maps felt like they were put together with Legos. I know a more powerful editor would probably need to be run on a computer but, from my experienceI really wish that I could have been able to define the dimensions of the pieces I was placing in there rather than having to just blend a thousand pieces together to get the same look. But, I suppose it isn’t too dissimilar from real art and architecture; one will have to sift through a thousand crappy pictures drawn by kindergarteners before one stumbles on anything that is well done, we’ll give the rest an “A” for effort though.
Lasting Impression-
“Halo 3’s” multiplayer loading screen kept that same blue-tinted feel that got one’s neck-hair raised in its predecessor. Beyond that, as well as the fact that one kills the other players, there are considerable differences. For instance, it introduced the point system into the rankings, allowing one to “rank up” without their skill being the only determining factor; this being a rather disheartened attempt at making the multiplayer more “fun” for the average gamer (i.e. level 10 or 20 on skill alone). The voting system, at first, felt democratic and empowering. But, soon, I grew tired of the bunch of idiots I was stuck with voting for the same damn levels over and over (e.g. snowbound, guardian and the pit anyone?). The actual multiplayer experience quickly became a sore point with the increased ubiquitousness of the microphone. Sure “Halo 2” had the really annoying modders spawning me out of the map while sniping me with infinite ammo, fully-automatic sniper rifles but,” Halo 3” had the gangsta wanna-bees with their rap music playing too loudly and the racism that such music seems to elicit from an anonymous crowd of FPS players. So, where I would wear the headset all of the time on “Halo 2,” I quickly lost it and any sense of community, on “Halo 3.”
Revisited-
This game came out in 2007 and I played the hell out of it for the first year but, back then, I wasn’t too interested in getting the achievements. Looking to 100% the game I rented it a few months back (i.e. 2011) and after completing all of the campaign specific achievements I was surprised to find that people still play this game online…a lot of people. If you take a look at Major Nelsons Weekly Live Activity you’ll find that “Halo 3” is still up there in the top 10; four years after its release with plenty of other, arguably better, shooters having come and gone (i.e. I’m looking at you “Crysis 2”). So, “Halo 3” must have done something right to still be a contender in the top 10. Then again, popularity alone doesn’t prove that something is well made or even enjoyable, just look at the “Twilight” series.
The point, I have one somewhere, is that after having moved from “Halo 3” to superior FPS multiplayer games (e.g. “CoD” and “Bad Co.”) and then revisiting it made the experience laughable in contrast. Every shooter now includes a sprint button, even games designed for from-cover shooting like “Gears” and “Rainbow Six,” modern shooters have also moved from the arena style level design to something more closely approximating reality (i.e. something “Reach” still hasn’t learned) and, lastly, weapon classes have allowed people to play to their strengths rather than having to run like idiots to get the sniper before the other team, or be killed by your team because you already got said sniper. Yes, I’m comparing a game made four years ago to more modern FPSs and, surprise, I like the more modern ones. While one could argue that these modern games are standing on the shoulders of “Halo 3” I still don’t find it enjoyable to go back to that step which is interesting given that I can still play “Doom” today with the same zeal I had years ago. I guess what I’m trying to say is that “Halo 3” may have been fun back in the day but, it just doesn’t have that replay value after so many better games have come out.
Touchy Feely:
It’s been very difficult to write the above without mentioning this next bit, the feel. “Halo 3” is a graphically superior game, with more sub-plots, and the achievements associated with them, to go after than its predecessors. With that said the most distracting feature of the game, for me, is the feeling that the Master Chief has replaced his morning dose of “Wheeties” with a healthy helping of cement. That is, all of those perfectly rendered seamless movements that Bungie, I’m sure, labored over take too damn long to happen. Master Chief is incapable of running, a jog seems almost too much for this super-soldier—possibly another reason why I quickly switched to” Modern Warfare”—and every other move seems just as laborious for humanity’s savior.
As a quick experiment, I have actually popped in “CE,” followed by ‘2, then ‘3 and, finally, “Reach” to see how fast the characters feel to be running and “Halo 3” is the slowest of the lot. Yes, perhaps one needs to be only jogging to truly take in all of the “epicness” that is going on in “Halo 3” but, ultimately this one nuisance alienated me from the whole experience. This same lackluster approach to his sprinting is felt in the reload times of the weapons. I am left to wonder if this constant slow-mo movement was designed to give the viewer time to take in all of those pretty pixels. Ultimately though, I felt like I was trapped in one of John Woo’s birds-flying-in-the-foreground sequences…there just to look cool.
Revisiting the Evils of Capitalism:
The last complaint/detail concerning “Halo 3” reverts back to the advertising. About a year or so after “Halo 3” had come out, after I had already moved on to “Modern Warfare,” I wanted to host a gaming tournament for my university. Really I wanted “Modern Warfare” but, the system link system in it wouldn’t allow for the full, four-man team that I was envisioning so, I thought I would rely on an old friend and play some “Halo 3.” The tourney had a low turnout but, was fun. Anyways, my point…in the lead up to the tourney I made a Facebook page for it and posted all of the old “Halo 3” adverts on there. At that time having already beaten the game and moved on I was able to see the adverts without being blinded by the possibilities they offered, rather I knew the whole package.
This is when I came to the conclusion that the adverts are too good. They’re too epic. The ads paint a picture of a universe and a hero that are amazing to behold and that only “Halo 3” (i.e. for $50) can bring you there. The ads, in short, worked; I was one of those men, along with my brother that stood in Wal-Mart at 11pm waiting for our copy of “Halo 3”—plus that stupid dog tag with “Halo 3…Believe” and “Wal-Mart” stamped in—to go play till we had to go to work or class the next morning. But, we soon found out that the ads were selling something different from the actual game. The experience that is “Halo 3” was not summed up in the adverts; no, the adverts continued on much too far to be of any assistance to the consumer. This situation aided in my ultimate disillusionment with the “Halo” franchise until I popped in “Halo: Reach” a couple of years later. I suppose the adverts were just too good, selling the epic idea of “Halo 3” not the actual product but, at least Bungie made their money.
So, while I definately got my money's worth I have no desire to ever play "Halo 3" again, evident in my still owning the first two "Halos" and "Reach" but, not the number '3.
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Mr Armbars
36,924
TA Score for this game: 1,723
Posted on 28 September 09 at 01:02 |
This review has 3 positive votes and 6 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
I probably can't sum this up better than anyone else but I just wanted to throw my $0.02 in.
Likes
- Sound: Music, sound effects, every sound in this game is fitting and superb. It doesn't get any better as far as original composition goes for a game. 5/5 
- Graphics: 4/5
Multiplayer is awesome, I still play it ALL the time.
- tons of maps, lots of variety, gametypes are varied and many
This was the final "sequel" to the Halo story and I am already tired of them doing prequels, I hate prequels. therefore this Halo is the most important halo in the series. I actually liked the story, whereas many people did not... different strokes for different folks I guess.
- Tons of achievement points to earn and lots of "secrets" (skulls) to find. brings me back to the Wolfenstein 3D days looking for hidden areas etc.
Dislikes
- What happened to Clan support? No way in hell should that have been chopped!
- Some of the achievements for multiplayer have me extremely frustrated as the require me to play Free-for-all which I don't like or want to play!
- Not much else!
This is one of the best games ever, if you own a 360, you NEED this game. It sets a standard for FPS' !!!
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xxW0LFxx TFD
121,895
TA Score for this game: 559
Posted on 12 July 09 at 17:16 |
This review has 29 positive votes and 34 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Halo 3 is a sci-fi based first person shooter following the tale of Master Chief,a name im sure you all recongnize.
But what i found was a fairly generic shooter.
The single player is a great length and holds some fantastic set piece's and good pacing,but overall felt weak as i found level design to be dull and uninspiring.
The vehicle's in single player were by far my fave bit as slamming a warthog around was great fun.
The guns felt weak and weedy,ecspeccialy the gun sounds which reminded me of a pop gun.
The graphics are nothing special,and in some area's look like something from the original xbox,ecspeccialy face mapping.
The game's story is well told and the ending (true ending) was well told,though it does feel a little generic the characters and acting was fairly good and Master Chief remains a gaming icon.
The game has a very arcade nature to it's gameplay so if you are after a tactical or realistic game then steer clear,but if you do enjoy more arcade styel games then this has solid,if a little uninspiring gameplay that offers a good amount of weapon choice and equipment and some great set piece battles but overall the campaign mode felt a little hollow and generic,yet still enjoyable.
Mulitplayer:
hmmm i must admit i find it hard to get into Halo's multiplayer as most of it seems to revolve around jumping up and down and around each other firing.
It feels overly simplistic with rather dull maps,however Forge mode is fantastic and easy to grasp allowing players to "almost" make there own maps.
The replay editior is something all games should have as it allows to relive those fantastic moments.
Other than that it felt too mch like players relied on blind luck to win and no skill,but it does stand as a an enjoyable romp ever now and again.
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This review has 8 positive votes and 17 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
This game started out as addicting and fun for me when I first purchased my xbox. As my halo playing continued, I became pretty good and enjoyed it a lot while online playing MLG. The graphics are phenomenal! The detail and perfection of the online game is what attracts most people. The two downsides
-Campaign
-Community of players
The campaign is boring and not anything that I was looking for personally. The achievements in this game are really easy but I did not even feel like attempting to tackle legendary level on campaign.
The people that play halo 3 are what made me quit entirely. They are either extremely rude, obnoxious, or too bad. Teabagging is a perfect example of how kids think they are cool that just play halo 3 all day. In conclusion, the game itself is amazing, it just turned out to be a loss for me |
L33isB345T
Posted on 21 April 09 at 04:49
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This review has 10 positive votes and 22 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
I'm gong today it as it is from my point of view. Halo 3 is awesome. The campaign is good, the multiplayer is fantastic, forge is incredible, and theatre is a great idea. But the campaign felt like ANOTHER cliff hanger to me. But this time you can do up to 4 player co-op, to make legendary a bit more manageable.
The matchmaking is very well done. As of now, there is the ranked playlist with a 6 player free for all, a 4v4 slayer mode, 2v2 slayer type mode, and a 6v6 mode. You gain skill and exp one ranked matches and get almost all your online achievements on the lone wolves free for all match.
Now social is like ranked but you cannot gain skill. It consists of rumble pit, social slayer, big team slayer/objective, and several more. Then there's hardcore with MLG, team swat ( 1 shot to the head is instant death, so is melée), and team snipers.
Bungie also has very good support for the game. Every weekend there is A double exp playlist with an assortment of fun games thatare usually social based. There are zombie games where one person runs fast and has a sword trying to Infect the other humans. It's fun but you usually need all the map la is for it.
And now forge mode. I'll make it simple. You can basically make your own maps from scratch. You can place weapons, equipment, vehicles- you name it.
Theatre is just whee you can view videos by. Aptitung them after a match. It is fun to make an epic stick, capture it, and save it And show your friends.
Over all this game is great. I highley reccomend it to anyone. It is a great game in all aspects. |
Salsaguy101
56,066
TA Score for this game: 1,957
Posted on 16 June 09 at 09:01 |
This review has 11 positive votes and 24 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
campaign wise there are many threads that just were untouched. what did gravemind want with cortana from the second game, why were the flood on the arc? is there a reason that the pussy monitor killed johnson with such a weak beam and for that matter how did johnson age so quickly? the ending was an absolute cliffhanger. its gonna be interesting to see how bungie keeps it fresh. the levels were not bad up until the flood came into the picture, they dont really seem that dangerous until cortana where they become the second most annoying thing, next to the achievement beat campaign on legendary and this is all that stands in your way. GRRRR!!! best highlights of campaign were attempting to disable the scarabs using only mongooses and gravity. its an ok campaign. not exceptional like the first, and lacking character from the second, but not awful.
now to matchmakeing. Very fun the multiple game types at your disposal. could spend days trying to rank up (though once you get to lieutenant i dont see y. its very entertaining. though i hate the assault rifle. it was so cool in the first game. then the cut the clip almost in 1/2! miss the super pistol :(
Custom games/forge are nearly endless with their posssibilities very fun to make a nice map and have people appreciate it.
theatere, never used it much but when i do its cool to be able to relive me shooting a rocket at a monoose from a map away and hitting it.
overall 4:5
was not a s good as 1, i did notice there was a lack of character in the universe
but overall not bad
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