A fun campaign, addictive online play, and tons of cool new features make this a great game.
I know that a lot of people are going to disagree with me here when I say that I think the Halo series is overrated. I didn't like the original Halo, and I passed on Halo 2. But I one day decided to buy Halo 3 just for the online play. I bought Halo 3, but my Xbox LIVE Gold subscription ran out that same day, and I had no money because I just bought the game. So I decided to play the campaign until I got money for XBL Gold.
To my suprise, Halo 3's campaign was really fun. It's broken up into 9 levels, each broken up into two or three parts. These levels have their unique enviornments, from forests, to deserts, to snowy areas, and even a Flood-infested ship. The levels are all a pretty good length, just the right length so they don't feel short and don't feel long and drag on.
But there lies a flaw connecting to the campaign levels. Each level has an Xbox 360 Achievement awarded upon completion of the level, but you only get the Achievement when you complete the level from beginning to the end. Bungie might've made the achievements like that, but I can still call that a flaw, because there's been times when I had to quit near the end of the level, and then restart the level from the beginning to get the Achievement.
And there is also another flaw relating to the campaign. It's the AI. Your squad is fine, they'll fight like they mean it, and won't get killed in 2 seconds. The enemy AI is also pretty good, they'll hide behind cover, use equipment, etc. But the AI flaw here is with the driving. Your squad probably never even went within 500 feet of a driving school, becuase they are TERRIBLE at driving. I have been driven in front of a rocket launcher, next to a Wraith (tank), behind enemy lines, backwards halfway across the map, straight off a cliff, and in complete circles. So if you want to get on a Warthog turret, be prepared for horrid driving. And then, there's The Arbiter. Yes, The Arbiter. He has an IQ in the negatives, and completley lacks in common sense. He will be shooting at teammates, running in front of an enemy with a gravity hammer, walking off cliffs, and very often staring at walls. Don't expect any help from him, trust me.
Probably one of the reasons a lot of people were so excited about Halo 3 was because Halo 2 ended in an "I can't wait 3 years for the next game!" cliffhanger. Halo 3 picks up right where Halo 2 ended, and it makes the ending of Halo 2 make sense, and that, that's pretty awesome. Halo 3 also is a great ending to the trilogy. The very end is one of those happy and sad endings, but completing it gives you a great sense of satisfaction.
Halo 3's graphics are also really great. Halo 1 and 2's graphics were OK at the time, but with Halo 3, it's two years after the game's release, and the graphics still look great. All the enviornments look great, and are coated with really good textures. There are also some really good-looking lighting and shadowing effects here. Especially your Spartan's armor which reflects light beautifully at all the right times.
Alright, so let's go back to my story. After playing the campaign for a while, I got the money for Xbox LIVE Gold. I was so happy that I finally got the money for XBL Gold, and I was really excited to play some online. So I renewed my Gold subscription, put the Halo 3 disc in my 360, and got ready to play online. But upon going to "Multiplayer", I had mixed reactions.
I was happy about the multiplayer itself. It's really fun and pretty addicting. You start off with a set weapon according to the map or game rules, and strewn about the map are other weapons. All of the weapons from the campaign make an appearance in the online modes, but some weapons will not be present on some maps. The maps are unique and well designed, and there are more maps for up for purchase in the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.
And then there are two things I wasn't too happy about. One thing was involving the online modes. For a lot of the types of matches, you need some or all of the Map Packs. Not all of the map packs are free, so if you were like me and had no money and were extremely happy that you just had one month of XBL Gold, you're gonna have to buy the Map Packs to play some of the main types of matches, including the Double EXP matches, Lone Wolves, and Team Slayer (Yes, Bungie still hasn't heard the word "deathmatch").
The other thing I wasn't happy about was the leveling-up system online. Instead of getting experience for getting a kill or something, you get EXP if you win. That goes for all modes, so to get the measly 1 EXP, your team has to win the match, or you have to be the top player if you're playing a free-for-all. In CTF, you do get an extra EXP if you get a flag, but there's either only one or three flags to capture. So even if you do pretty good in a match, you won't get any EXP if your team loses.
But, there are also a bunch of cool new features. First, there's the Theater Mode. It saves anything you do in Halo 3 as a film in a recent films list. You then from there can edit the films. You can even detatch the camera from your player, which is pretty cool. You can send the films to Bungie's website, and you can browse submitted films from other players, and there's an ability to select a film, and press a button, so next time you sign in on your 360, the film will autimatically start dowloading. You can also do the same with screenshots.
Another cool feature is the Forge mode. It's a map editing tool. You can't actually change the geometry of the maps, but you can move things around, like where the weapons are, spawn points, and vehicles. You can then save these maps and use them in Custom Games, which is another of Halo 3's new features. In custom games, you can make your own game type, and adjust all the settings, like primary and secondary weapons, number of lives, shield regeneration, player speed, gravity, etc. And you can submit these game types and dowload them from Bungie's site, like with films and screenshots.
And I also really liked the fact that, unlike most first-person games, you can actually see your feet and legs, which is awesome.
There you have it, Halo 3. I still think Halo is a little overrated, but Halo 3 is pretty awesome, and a game all 360 owners should have.
Positives
+Fun campaign
+Great ending to a trilogy
+Addictive online play
+Tons of cool new features
+Great graphics
+You can see your feet!!
Negatives
-AI flaws
-You need all DLC to play some online modes
-Weird and hard to rewind films
-Bad leveling-up system online
-some glitched achievements
Score: 8.5/10.