The Halo hype machine has finally given birth, but are we 100% satisfied with the results?
Well after waiting literally three years, Halo 3 is finally available in our very own game stores. Was the wait worth it? Well, short answer is yes. The long answer is much more, well, long. Halo 3 is an excellent game. It's fun to play and definitely worth your time, effort, and money.
Graphically, I have to admit I was disappointed with the game. The graphics are not bad. They are very good in fact. But seeing as how both Halo and Halo 2 were absolute standouts in the field of console graphics, I was disappointed that Halo 3 did not follow suit. To be fair, the game looks excellent when played on an LCD monitor or on my 30" HDTV. However, when blown up on a TV in excess of 60", the graphical flaws start becoming more apparent. Even so, this game will not make graphics whores gouge out their eyes; just don't expect an ocean view at sunset. It's closer to 2:00 in your neighbor's backyard.
GRAPHICS SCORE: 6/10
Sound effects in Halo 3 are well done. The 5.1 surround sound is clear and booming, and it is fantastic to play using headphones as well. All in all, I have no real complaints about the audio quality. That being said, it's not the best in the pack. One does not have to look beyond this Christmas season's new releases to find games with better audio.
SOUND SCORE: 8.5/10
The biggest difference between Halo 2 and the shiny new sequel is the control scheme. The newly-integrated "equipment" is a blast to play with. Equipment consists of active camo, radar jammers, bubble shields (impenetrable even by grenades!), and gravity lifts, among other things. The dual-wielding gun system has been restructured as well. Your triggers control the gun in MC's corresponding hand. However, this time around, the bumpers in front of said triggers reload each gun separately. This may sound like a small addition, but it provides loads of new combat tactics, especially in the multiplayer aspect of the game. Although, for those of us who regularly enjoy FPS' on the Xbox 360, the control scheme will take some getting used to. The X button is so commonly used for reloading, it can be difficult to train yourself to stop pressing it when you run out of bullets.
CONTROLS SCORE: 9.5/10
The story of Halo 3 begins directly where Halo 2 "ended." It starts with a bang, and instantly sets a tone that's a bit more familiar than the last games felt. The writing of the game feels more like a Hollywood motion picture with a 100 million dollar budget. This contrasts sharply with the last 2 games, which felt (at least to me) significantly more charming and low-key. Also, the story feels a bit less linear than the last two Halos did; it was not infrequently that I was questioning myself for a mental reminder on "why am I here again?" Personally, I felt the story was boring and somewhat predictable. The "romance" of Master Chief and Cortana felt trite and uninspired at best, and the level design varied from ridiculously fun (The Ark) to horribly bad (Cortana). Cortana, the second-to-last level in Halo 3, is, in my opinion, one of the absolute worst levels of any game that I have ever played. Check my collection: I've played a lot. The level is very difficult, very repetitive, and very frustrating. This is not a good combination. It may seem to be so bad because it's surrounded by levels that are incredibly good, and because of this fact, the low point of the single-player levels feels even lower than it is. But personally, it took extreme effort for me to bring myself to continue past that point in the game. The story was worth playing through once, but I don't think I'll be going back to replay it over and over.
STORY: 6/10
Here's what we've all been waiting for: multiplayer! Multiplayer is spectacular. The new maps take some getting used to. I think everyone goes through a period of "these maps suck compared to Halo 2's." But you'll get over it quickly, and eventually realize that the Halo 3 maps may just be superior after all. Finding matches isn't a problem; thousands of people are always there just waiting to play with you. The new weapons and the equipment both add new dimensions to an already multi-dimensional game, and the re-imagined weapon favorites (the needler in particular) are really fun to pick up and learn again. The new vehicles (like the Mongoose) are also spectacularly well designed. There were some multiplayer issues in the first couple weeks of launch (particularly with team balancing), and I was surprised that these issues went mostly unnoticed (or at least undiscussed) by the gaming community. But most of those seem to have been ironed out now, so the game is just a joy to play. That being said, I really wish that they had some multiplayer achievements that were a bit more difficult, a là Gears of War's "Seriously…" achievement. In a new day and age of gaming where pursuing achievements is a game in and of itself, Halo 3's multiplayer really falls short. But if achievements don't interest you, then there is plenty to love here.
MULTIPLAYER: 9.5/10
While Halo 3 already has hundreds of potential playhours between its campaign (10+ hours) and its multiplayer (well, you figure that out), the fun doesn't stop there. The Forge allows you to edit and construct your own maps and save them to XBL for download by your peers. Now before you absolutely crap your pants, let me first say that this isn't as cool as it sounds. You cannot construct your own maps from scratch, but rather, you can move things around on maps that already exist. Now before you get upset and go cry yourself to sleep, let me say that this system is quite robust and can be used for hours and hours to craft many different maps for many different game types. Custom games are where large groups of friends playing together will find themselves spending their time. Halo 3 has a screenshot and video recording system as well, but honestly, I have yet to fully explore it.
EXTRAS: 9/10
Now, on to the aspect that I believe makes my reviews unique. Artistic direction. Well, right off the bat, Halo 3 loses points because it's a sequel, and quite frankly, it's hard to make a sequel look interesting and original. Everything in Halo 3 you've seen at least twice before. The graphics are shiny, the blood is multi-cultural, Master Chief is green, etc etc etc. I like the sci-fi look, but I feel that there are more interesting ways to move with it as a style. For me, the "Halo" look is growing old, and I hope that Bungie explores some new artistic options in future endeavors.
ARTISTIC DIRECTION: 4/10
To summarize, Halo 3 is an excellent game, easily worthy of your $60. However, I would not recommend the $130 version to anyone, as that's what I got and I felt sort-of ripped off. The score may seem low considering all the good things I've said about the game, but I honestly just don't feel that the game lived up to the promises it pitched. Halo 2 was the first game I played on Xbox Live, and I played it for nearly six months with almost every free moment I had; I tired of Halo 3 within three or four weeks. Does this mean you will? Not necessarily. But go in with your eyes completely open, and you'll be less apt to be disappointed.