The Review: Halo 3
Campaign (9/10): Everyone knows that the first game had a cool story, the second game was confusing, but how's the third hold up? Halo 3 continues everything the second game left off on. Unfortunately, most of the story in the third could have fit in the end of Halo 2, but if they did that, than they wouldn't have a chance to fix the game play. The story feels like it hits important points, but sometimes it doesn't flesh out those points. This is still an engaging story, and won't disappoint much, seeing as it finishes the fight in a satisfying way. The campaign is a bit short, but it has so much replay value that I think it's OK, even though I wish it would have lasted more than one night. Another thing is that the difficulties aren't really difficult. Beating it on Legendary isn't such a big deal this time around, though it is hard (especially without a friend). I only wish it was a bit harder. Another annoying thing is that they don't flesh out the Arbiter in this one. Even if it was annoying to not be Master Chief half the game in Halo 2, I still wanted the Arbiter to be more of a character.
Game play (10/10): Halo 3 builds upon the game play of Halo 2, and vastly improves it. You still have the 2-weapon-minimum, but now can detach turrets, use more types of grenades (though, only 2 of each grenade), and use something called equipment (helpful weapons that weaken an enemy or give you an advantage). The fast-paced nature of Halo is still alive and well, and in some cases, much faster.
Multiplayer (10/10): This is where Halo 3 shines. Halo 3's multiplayer is as intense as online multiplayer gets. In Halo 2, we where plagued with people who found out how to sneak into corners, jump into trees, or get out of the map and would just pick you off 5 times before you see them. Fortunately, there is nearly none of that. It is hard to cheat here, and though some will hate it not being able to own like they used to, most will love the improvement.
The Maps on Halo 3 multiplayer are the best collection of maps in the Halo series. There are only a few maps that feel like a chore (Construct), while others are some of the best in Halo (High Ground, Guardian). There are 2 map packs out, Heroic and Legendary. The Heroic map pack contains Foundry, Rat's Nest, and Standoff. Unfortunately, Foundry is only good for forge and some LAN play (Forge will be talked about later), Rat's Nest annoying to try and get around, and Standoff an unnecessary map, seeing as it's a smaller Blood Gulch, and we have the superior Valhalla. The Legendary Map Pack, on the other hand, is much better. Avalanche (Rehashing of Sidewinder from Halo:CE) is an awesome Team Objective map, Ghost Town unique to the Halo universe (though, it sometimes doesn't play right), and Blackout, which is a remake of the Halo 2 Classic 'Lockout', only it seems unneeded with Guardian being so good, but it's nice anyway.
Extras (10/10): You'll be getting the most for your buck here. With saved films, you can watch your match from any angle and share it with your friends. This is a lot more fun than you'd think, and seems pretty unique for a FPS Console game. The other main extra is Forge. Forge is an item editing tool, where you can set things down on a map (such as weapons, vehicles, crates, etc.) where you want to change gameplay, and when it comes to the downloadable maps, you can put in walls and bridges.
The Pros:
-Amazing gameplay and multiplayer.
-Cool features
-Fun campaign
-Finishes the fight
The Cons:
-Short campaign
-Not hard enough
-No Arbiter Story
Overall: 9.9/10 **Reason to by an Xbox 360**