A solid game, with a few disappointing flaws.
My first experience was a great one, forge. It's just what the series needed, a map editor. Sadly, it was about the only real new content not seen in Halo 2 or the Multiplayer Beta. Next ,I went to matchmaking, fun, but it felt like déjà vu, which isn't really a bad thing since Halo 2 was awesome, but Halo didn't last as long for me because of it.
To campaign! I played the campaign and the first part of the first level was graphically stunning. I was playing on heroic, and it felt a good difficulty. The campaign, however, was nothing special. None of the characters really feel fleshed-out, and the storyline sucks. Good gameplay though, even with the very linear level design.
Lack of boss battles also sucks, and so does every level with the flood. I will never play the eighth level again, that was the worst level I've seen in a shooter in years. The last part of the last level was amazing and highly original, however. That and the skulls keep the campaign from drifting dangerously close to the word "mediocre".
My only other complaints are; brute spikers are too powerful for a dual-wieldable weapon. Second melee almost always wins in a situation where either will die if melee'd. Plasma grenades sometimes go through people, I have seen videos. Button glitching-why do people have to figure these things out, and then spend hours using them for an unfair advantage? Specific glitches, double-firing a battle rifle, (I have died from being shot three times in the chest, reviewed the video) and the infamous melee with a shotgun and have bullets shoot out of your arm. Lag grenades that don't explode but still damage. Assassinating people from the front, I feel their pain. The flamethrower. Dual wielding in general. Infection, I've hated it since it was called zombies on Halo 2. AI gunners shooting at a grunt running away from us and not the turret killing us that we are parked 10 feet in front of. AI drivers killing me repeatedly.
Now for praise. Energy swords have ammo and can clash with each other. The assault rifle. Spiker grenades. Anything that functions with the X button. Mongooses. Man cannons. Mongooses in man cannons. People that still think the Spartan laser is good. Maulers. The rocket launcher no longer tracking. Custom Powerups. Low gravity mixed with high speed. Removable turrets.
All in all, Halo 21/2 err…3 is a great game with not really anything wrong with it, just opinions I have on certain aspects.