Third time's a charm, but it's just not Halo
Like a whiny child, I wanted the mystery and grandeur of the Halo single player and the hard-hitting madness in multiplayer in Halo2. I guess beggars, can't be choosers.
First off, the story is good. Nothing that rivals the "blank"shock series or Half-Life, but it doesn't fall to the one-dimensional plot of a Hollywood blockbuster. The story is very simple and any gamer worth his of her salt has seen this story all done before. But for some reason, the presentation is truly something to behold. It turns a run-of-the-mill story, into a great story that can stand on its own.
And, yeah, no matter how much Bungie can moan and groan, or praise and faze, the gameplay is nothing to behold. It's Halo dudes, not Portal. There is no magical, mystical, otherworldly gun that will forever alter the gaming world. It's a run of the mill shooter: point, aim, fire, reload, repeat. And the powerups? They're handy, but ever since Doom, their have been powerups from your healing, shielding, attacking, destroying and everything in between.
And yes, what's a Halo game without multiplayer? It's like cheesecake without the cheese! In this aspect of the game, it feels like Bungie put a lot more work into deathmatching and fragging over Xbox-Live, than paying attention to the single-player. Everything new in Halo, as soon as you fire it up, you know, it was made strictly for the multiplayer.
Boy, am I being cynical today! And after seeing the graphics, I can tell why. This game looks beautiful with its lush environments and alien landscapes and even the satisfying red-glow of the Spartan Laser looks great. But then...yeah, the heroes of the story...humanity, looks like they haven't got any sleep for a few eons or plastic surgeons in the 26th century need their licenses revoked!
But at the end of the day, how can you be cynical about Halo? I'm a fan who stuck with this series ever since its birth on the Xbox console (my ex knew it, and she got me the game, God bless her). Sure, it has some missteps and it's not as complete as we would like it, but I'm sure Nintendo didn't give on Mario when he had his own TV show and was making games besides platformers. I cannot be cynical to this game, because I won't punish the game for what it does wrong, but I will reward it for what Halo 3 does right, which is a satisfying campaign, same-old fragging fest, a few map tools, and a little bit of Bungie charm.