Halo 3

Not quite the epic ending do an amazing trilogy. I'm not gonna lie and say it was amazing and the best yet just because I was waiting for it for so long and a lot of other people like it.

Let me first start out by saying I am a long-time Halo fan. I really love these games. I believe that Halo, Combat Evolved had the best storyline and Halo 2 had best online/ multi-player. When I heard Halo 3 was coming out, I was so excited. I bought it that weekend it came out and went home and beat it in a day.

A day. For those of you who don't know me, I am an extremely slow gamer. I found out very quickly that this is the shortest halo game. I thought the last should be the longest! It's a pretty quick single player experience.

Alright, actually playing the game. This game is, as I am happy to say, still fun to play. I love the jungle as the first few levels, and that ship that crashed that was infected with flood, I liked it. But, I think there's something missing with memorable levels or battles in levels. Like Halo 2 had some pretty memorable battle sequences. For instance, in the second level where you have a little siege on that building. First the elites/grunts, then the flying bugs and jackals, then BOOM! two hunters bust through the door! I liked that. But Halo 3's levels I though felt a bit rushed for me. My least favorite level is Cortana. Which basically has you running, the entire level not trying to kill the flood, but not let it kill you because they just keep coming. I just felt like something was missing in the single player experience.

The ending just felt a bit rushed too. I won't give anything away, but I think they definitely should have spent more time developing the end.

Lastly, multi-player. Multiplayer is fun and awesome. But there are a few things I don't like. They got rid of the old maps like blood gulch and sidewinder. I loved those old maps! And quite a few other maps from halo 2 aren't on there either! There are a lot of new maps too though, but it just doesn't feel the same for me. But it's not that bad I guess. I absolutely love the fact there's theater and you can go back and watch a lot of your latest online battles.

So here you have it: In a nutshell, Halo 3 I think felt a bit rushed, and not exactly what I had hoped it to be. It's still a good game but it's not the amazing ending I thought it would be. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't buy it.

I'm sure a lot of you die-hard halo fans might badger me for writing this review, but hey, this is how I feel about it. You feel different? Message me, I want to see what you think. Thanks for reading this.

7.5/10

Halo 3 is amazing, a fantastic ending to the greatest trilogy ever made.

The main gripe I have is the often janky looking in-game and cutscene character models, such as Miranda Keyes, Lord Hood, Truth, Johnson, and others.

Halo 2 greatly benefited from updated graphics in its Anniversary edition. Halo 3 needs and deserves one as well. Please give it one!

It was only recently that I played the original Halo; the game had come out in the generation I skipped and when I eventually rejoined gaming with the 360, I had all the shooters I needed with COD4 and anything I saw of Halo was of a multiplayer with big beasts that seemed to take a lot of hits to die – basically it never appealed to me. I loved the first game and due to a broken disk of Halo 2 which kept dying midway into the campaign, jumped right into Halo 3. The graphics were a nice change from the original Halo (even the updated version) and although I missed the final half of Halo 2, the story was not too hard to pick up since essentially the players are all the same.

The gameplay is a lot of fun – more than I expected. The world terrains are large with nice open areas where you have options in terms of the fight and where you can see others battling with you or alongside you. I started the game on Heroic and found the game to be perhaps a bit too challenging to be fun for a casual player such as myself. On Normal setting it is perhaps a bit too easy but it still has a challenge – you cannot hold the trigger while running forward. The flow of enemy and the structure of levels is really good and I continued to be forced to use all sorts of weapons since ammo is not always readily available for any one weapon. The use of music and the large cinematic landscapes produce great moments but also a real sense of excitement; the best example is the final level, which is a drive against the clock like the first game, however this time the clock is not real but a warning triggered by progress – so not a real heart-in-mouth race, but it is exciting and the urgency helped by the scale of the surroundings and the music. The cut- scenes are not overly used but when they are they add to the cinematic feel, being dramatic and looking very good – the only thing I think they did badly was the ending as it is misleading and doesn't make too much sense unless you sit through all the credits (which we all know we should but nobody does); it would have been better to deliver it all properly. Otherwise it is generally a very well put together game though.

The downside of it is that the game is not as long as I would have liked – it is plenty fun while I played but even for someone only grabbing a few hours every few evenings, it was done quite quickly. The reason for this I assume was the multiplayer experience being the bigger part of the sale. For me I don't pay for Gold to play online, so I cannot comment on that – but for the very low price I was able to pick this up for, I felt the solo campaign was more than good enough on its own – shortness aside.

A strong game then – even some 6 years later it stands up very well. Very glad I checked the franchise out at last and I'll probably carry on with the next game at some point.

My goodness.... Well, this game is simply amazing. It has everything; sleek, refined graphics, generally improved game play, a multitude of awesome weapons, an incredible storyline, excellent voice acting,......... Truly, the list just goes on and on. This finale to the triumvirate cements both Halo and Bungie's place among the all time greats in the video game world. Whether you're a tried and true hardcore Halo fan, or a newbie just getting into the craze, you must get this game. It is truly an incredible experience, not only to behold, but to be the most integral part of. Plus, there is online Co-op play, so you can go through the story mode with an online friend, or more than one!

Of particular note are the voice performances of Keith David (the Arbiter) and Robert Davi (the Ship Master Elite, a very cool returning minor character from Halo 2).

The only downside, I suppose, is that Michael Wincott, who voiced the Prophet of Truth in Halo 2, does not return in the role for Halo 3. While his replacement is by no means poor, the new voice simply does not have that metallic, sinister quality that Wincott's does.

That being said, long live the Arbiter and Master Chief!!!! Halo 3 is everything it was built up to be, and more.

For me, personally, this is my favorite Halo. A lot of my friends also think this is the best game in the series. There are so many great Halo games that there are so many different answers you get when asked what your favorite Halo game is... Halo CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, ODST, Reach...

I'm fine with anybody who disagrees with me on which Halo game is the best (unless you think Halo 4 or 5 is the best then I will rip you apart) because all of the original halo games are all amazing, and almost all equal to each other in terms of quality despite being different. But just in my personal opinion, through all of my experiences playing this game, I will say that it is my personal favorite. Great game.