Halo 3
By Nick Hackett
Monday. Nov 26, 1:39 AM
Perfect online, but only passable off.
Platform: Xbox 360
Rating: M (mature 17+)
Genre: Action/FPS
Publisher: Microsoft (Developer: Bungie)
Before it was even released, Halo 3 had set sales records and earned Microsoft (and Bungie) hundreds of millions of dollars. It’s my opinion that those sales records would be exactly the same without Microsoft’s marketing avalanche of expensive commercials and terrible Mountain Dew flavors. The sheer quality of Halo 2 ensured the success of a sequel. Right?
The original Halo established a great sci-fi FPS universe and included some of the best local area multiplayer gameplay since Goldeneye. Halo’s split screen multiplayer sold Xboxs: no question. Halo 2 built on the formula by moving online, creating a nearly perfect multiplayer FPS game that suffered in but one area: the non-multiplayer campaign. Both games set sales records and featured great gameplay. Halo 3 ends the trilogy with the same strengths but ultimately a few of the same weaknesses.
The online multiplayer side of Halo 3 is essentially flawless. From lone wolf deathmatch battles to 8 vs. 8 big team territory battles, it includes enough variety to satisfy any online slayer’s needs. The inclusion of new maps, weapons, vehicles, and game modes will keep you busy, and the simple ranking system will keep you informed. It’s truly difficult to describe in words how fantastic the multiplayer side of Halo 3 can be, so I’ll just point out the fact that the game’s online lobby once showed over 1,000,000 simultaneous users one night. It is this side of Halo that sets sales records and sells Xbox 360s.
The other side of Halo is the campaign: a story following the exploits of super solider Master Chief and his battles against alien invaders (the Covenant) and an infestation-like enemy (the Flood). The player controls Master Chief as he saves the world (kicks ass) using sniper rifles, laser guns, rockets, grenades, tanks, and the occasional Force Hammer. The game plays smoothly and is full of great details and big explosions. The graphics and sound are both very strong, though some of the voice acting is a little weak. In all, the campaign plays well but suffers on account of the weak story and conclusion. It’s not that it’s terrible, just that it seemed like a letdown.
4-player online co-op is a nice addition, but the best new additions expand Halo in creative ways. And they all work well. One new feature is the Forge, a level-editor that allows players to create new map varieties and share them over Xbox Live. Another feature is the Theater, which automatically records a “film” of your last play session, whether from Xbox Live or the campaign. The movies can be recorded from different angles, cut, rearranged, and shared over Xbox Live. Want to re-edit and share a particularly sweet killing spree or spectacular death? Now you can. If the near perfect multiplayer isn’t enough to demonstrate depth of Halo 3, these features will.
Will I be spending the rest of the year playing Halo 3? The honest answer is no. As awesome as the online multiplayer can be, the number of jerks in Xbox Live really gets annoying after a while. The campaign is certainly enjoyable, but I am not as drawn to it as I was with past Halo games. Both problems could be remedied with a posse of fellow Halophiles, so at least I have options. I pity the soul who buys this game without Xbox Live. But really, is it any worse than falling into the video game sequel trap, with my copy reserved before its release date and my money safely in Microsoft’s pockets? Thankfully, Halo 3 ends the series by being a truly great game underneath the advertisements and sugar drinks.
Nick Hackett
Got something constructive to say? By all means, rant away. Gonna blab about something unrelated and/or talk shit? Don't expect your comment to stick around.
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I'll start off by saying that I agree that the online multiplayer side of things is nothing short of fantastic. But it's hard to imagine them going wrong with it since the same could be said about Halo 2's multiplayer. Though they did add some nice things to take it over the top. Awesome. With that being said, I think the campaign mode was strong also. Now, I can tell you that in my heart I am more of a campaign mode kinda person than multiplayer kinda person in all games that I play. So I usually scrutinize the single player more than I do the multi. So okay, the story was weak in this game (not as weak as the second) and the end was kinda stupid. But I will tell you one thing right now: I have never played any of the Halo campaign modes for the story. Even the first one that had a story you could follow, the gameplay was the highlight. That being said, the gameplay in the Halo 3 is still awesome and they fixed things they did wrong in Halo 2 (lighting) and made the large battlefields (that have always been some of the best parts of Halo games) larger and crazier. Plus the 4 player online option for campaign has led to many fun nights playing with my friends. So I would have have to say that the campaign mode was a success from my standpoint. Just my humble opinion.