Halo 3
First off, no matter how great this game is, it can never live up to the hype. Yes it is a great game. No it is not the end all be all of gaming. It is a blast from beginning to end but doesn’t really warrant multiple play throughs, other than to see the slightly extended ending for finishing on Legendary difficulty.
The game plays great, even if there isn’t really anything new. The first few levels are a bit disappointing. You are funneled along one narrow path without much room to approach combat situations from different angles. Fortunately, the game opens up in later levels. There is a bit of backtracking and some of the levels get you lost because every room looks the same. The first Scarab battle will live on in my mind as one of the greatest gaming moments in history. Without spoiling it too much, it is just one of those epic gaming moments where you have no idea how you will come out of it alive. When you do, you almost have to take a step back and reflect on what just happened. The enemies are a little disappointing. Not only are they the same enemies throughout the entire game, but they are the same enemies you have been fighting since the original Halo. Actually, the toughest enemies in Halo 2, the Elites, are now on you side. This leaves the Brutes as the major enemy type. The enemies you see in the first level are the same as the one in the last level. There are a lot more of them, but they are still the same guys. About halfway through, the Flood comes back, but once they enter the game the same holds true to them. There are new vehicles, but none of them replace the Warthog. The marines now have an aerial answer to the Covenant’s Banshee, but all it did was make me want to fly a Banshee. I completed the campaign 2 weeks ago and still can’t decide if I liked the ending. It is at least worth seeing to conclude the trilogy if you have played the others. On a side note, the flamethrower is a gigantic pile of crap and is totally useless. Sure you might kill a couple guys, but they will run straight at you while burning and light you on fire.
I have no idea why more games that have co-op don’t handle it this way. Playing the campaign with a friend is just as involving as playing alone. It contains all the cut scenes and it always makes sense that both players are in a level. Not like the first game where two Master Chiefs ran around but suddenly became one in the cut scenes. The difficulty is ramped up a little when there are two players, but doesn’t get any harder with 4 players. This makes the game a little too easy with more people. If you absolutely have to see the extended ending but can’t pull it off alone, find three friends and it shouldn’t be too difficult.
Graphically, it’s a mixed bag. Master Chief and the Arbiter look amazing and the environments are believably realistic. The enemies and allies are very bland and haven’t really changed much since the first Halo. It is especially noticeable during cut scenes that contain the Master Chief and other characters in one shot. The Chief is so much more detailed that he looks out of place.
Halo 3 is a great game. It has it’s faults and Bungie definitely took the easy way out with the campaign by only adding things that could also be used in multiplayer. If you can only buy one game, shop around a little. If you want a good game to play with your friends, this is a safe bet because they probably already have it.
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