Conclusion of a trilogy and the next instalment of one of the greatest multi-player games ever.. How does it shape up?
Graphics/Presentation:
Whilst the graphics of Halo 3 are not the best seen on the console to date they most certainly are not bad, the game offers a bright, colourful and immersive atmosphere opposed to most games grey/brown tones seen on the console over the last year or so. The game runs with a solid framerate and is presented in the finest of fashion and style and despite what some would say this area is not lacking although ironically possibly the only let down of the game.
Gameplay:
I don't know what it is about the halo formula but it just works and is always fun no matter what and cannot be compared to any other shooter. Whether your in the middle of the campaign or battling it out on multi-player its going to be fun as the control scheme is perfect, the variety of weapons and vehicles in the game is nothing less than impressive and the action and customization found in multi-player is rivalled by none, Perfection in its finest form.
Story/Plot:
Halo 3 was the conclusion of the trilogy and in my opinion the most epic and exciting part of the story by far. The story moved at a perfect pace taking you through all different kinds of environments and conditions giving you constant challenges and never letting you put your controller down for a second. The story was exciting, interesting and finally gave us closure to one of the best trilogies of all time. and with the addition of 4 player co-op both offline and online makes this one of the most enjoyable stories to play through to date.
Sound:
The sound in halo is always epic with a theme song which any xbox owner will recognise. Halo 3 featured a great soundtrack which suited the story and environment perfectly. The SFX and voice acting was great leaving us with not to much to complain about.
Multi-Player:
Halo 3 features the best multi-player experience I have ever come across, with so much customization that its bursting from the seams with stuff to do. Besides from the solid gameplay which has been described Bungie has given us full customization control whether its create different gametypes. altering a map to our liking or going back and taking screenshots or video clips of out finest moments, you can do it all. This is something which no other shooter or video game offers to date and is rivalled by none.
The multi-player is kept intense with Bungie releasing new maps, custom gametypes and giving you the ability to party up with up to 15 friends. You all have ranks and levels which keeps things interesting and lets you set goals to work your ways up the ranks. The medals you can receive during gameplay and the achievements you can unlock add to the online fun as some are quite difficult to get and upon receiving them the feeling of satisfaction is hard to be rivalled.
The ranking system whilst exciting needs to be tweaked and sometimes you will swear that you killed the other person first due to some SFX problems but still its a hard game to fault and you will find yourself working your way up to ranks, forming clans with your buddies and checking out all your stats on bungie.net and screaming your head off in excitement when you find that magic moment which you can conveniently record in the theatre. The game just has so much to offer and probably one of the most important and welcome features in the game is the ability to mute anyone your playing with. Ever gotten annoyed at the kids and trolls who just want to talk smack, hey meet mr. mute button! "Ahhh Silence"
Value/Tilt:
I could keep going on about everything that makes Halo 3 one of the best games to ever be released but admittedly it has its issues and is not perfect and the visuals are outshined by other games to be released recently but it is an all-round solid shooter that rivals some of the best of them but the multi-player experience is truly where the value is as it can be rivalled by nothing and will keep you going for months to come, making halo 3 one of the best multi-player games ever to be released. Period.