Full Review for Halo 3 by Forgoten_Scars

Introduction

Halo 3 is yet another stunning game in this ever expanding Halo series. This game, developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360, is a dazzling first person shooter meant to be as close to perfect as possible while wrapping up the events of it's predecessor, Halo 2. This game features the return of the series' famous Master Chief, along with a wide assortment of other famous side characters from the series such as Sargent Johnson, Commander Miranda Keys, Cortana, and many more.

The basic plot of this story is the Master Chief doing his hero thing and save the universe from complete destruction at the hands of an alien cult leader. We all know how Halo 2's cliffhanger ending left us wanting more of the Halo action, well here it is. This game takes place in the remains of New Mombasa and in a new area similar to the ring words that is known as the Ark. As the player fights through all the enemies that stand in his or her way, they get closer to the ending of this game which seems to wrap up the main series with a spectacular ending.

Graphics

The graphics seem to be one of the main things that the developers of the game were concentrating on while making it. Needless to say, they obtained near perfection in the final copy of the game. With the major overhauls done to this game's graphics, the developers at Bungie have managed to make near life like game. There actually isn't that much I can complain about here.

Lets start off with the settings and the way things move. Right off the bat, any player will notice the water in this game. The way it moves as compared to the previous game is amazing in how much it has improved. While Halo 2 had just a stale layer of color that looks like water, this game has water that looks and acts as if it were real. Any interaction the player has with it, the water responds appropriately. Another thing one would notice is the dirt, mud, and sand that covers the game. They actually did a good job making it look believably real in how much detail they put into it. One thing the creators of this series has always been good at is making a good view of the sky. Once again, they hit the nail on the head. Several times I've just stopped during the game and took a look at the area above the character. Quite interesting.

Another good thing they've hit on is the graphics used for moving objects, such as something crumbling to pieces or exploding. At several points throughout the game, the player comes across massive beasts of a machine called Scarabs. When they're finally ready to blow, they put on one heck of a light show. So do most of the vehicles be it human or Covenant when they've finally taken all the bullets they can and blow up. Explosions are one thing they've done well here.

Now what would a Halo game be without the wonderful cut scenes that help tell the story while entertaining the player with how well it looks? Not much more than a fighting game, that's what. I always anxiously wait for the next cut scene to come, despite me having seen each and every one of them hundreds of times. Why one may ask? Because they look great and I find new details that the creators have hidden in them every single time. I honestly have nothing but good to say about these parts of the game because they just look good.

Only a few downsides to the graphics part of the game. Sometimes they're too good for the game to actually handle. I've had bits where spectacular explosions have occurred, and the game starts to freeze up. Another thing they could have left out of the game is the temporary blindness when exiting an area of low light and entering an area of bright light. Sure, it's more realistic but I would rather not be fumbling around like a complete idiot for 5 straight seconds, waiting for the screen to go from pure white to something similar to an enemy.

For the graphics, I'm going to have to say a 9 out of 10. Great job, hope to see even better eye candy in the future from these developers.

Sound

The sound in this game was masterfully done and I actually have little to no comments on anything bad about it. Seems the creators of this series have always been good at it, and they sure didn't change their ways this time around.

Everyone knows what can kill a game when it comes to sound. Bad timing on sound effects/dialogue. Well they certainly didn't have any problems in this game with that. Every time something happened that would cause a sound such as an explosion or something falling, not only was it in sync with the event, but the sounds also changed based on distance of the action happening from the character. Always a good thing, right? The distant clashing sound of thunder int he skies above and deep explosions in the areas around the player's game field always seemed to set the atmosphere and help the game in the way it draws the player in.

The dialogue was always right as it should be, meaning the characters said what they should and they said it at the right time. I did notice one small thing that was interesting. At times, the voices would come down to a whisper, making it nearly impossible to tell what was being said. Personally, I've never seen that before but it was a great addition to the game because it made it seem more like a movie. I always loved hearing things like the Grunt's impish cries for mercy and the witty responses from the Elites/Humans.

The music in the game was also spectacular in how it sounded and how it always came in at the right time. Wide variation in the types of music also helped in how it was so sad at times and so thrilling at others. Martin O'Donnell (Composer for the music) has definitely put his best work forward in the game.

For the sound of this game, I'm going to have to give it a 10 out of 10 for being almost flawless. Amazing job Bungie.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Halo 3 was one of the best I've seen to date. A few small bugs here and there but nothing that would completely ruin the game.

The remake of all the weapons in the game was a major step in the right direction. How they brought back almost all the best from the previous two games for the entertainment of the player. Complaint some had with the second Halo game was the wimpy handgun. Their solution in this one? Bring back the big bad old handgun from the first Halo and give it to the player right off the bat. Only sad that they ruined the shotgun and didn't bring back the one from the original Halo. Some new weapons were quite fun such as the Covenant form of the shotgun called the Mauler and the Spartan Lazer. There never was much of a problem finding ammo for the weapons or just a completely new weapon that was just as good or better than the player's current one. Well, that's the case if the player didn't have those skulls on that limited the ammo. Another ability added to the gameplay that I personally liked was the ability to carry around weapons such as turrets and missile pods after ripping them from the stand they were once on. Limited ammo sure, but oh the fun that can be had with them while they last.

Strange addition that I didn't see coming nor did I use very often were the equipment and power-ups. Apparently, the developers thought it would be fun to add items to the game that the player could carry around and use whenever he or she please. Just a bunch of shields and and shield regenerators that I personally think were a waste of time and also a pain in the butt. New ones were always falling on the ground and making it near impossible to pick up weapons that were near them. By the time I did finally get the weapon, the person that I was playing as in the game already had 5 nice new holes in his head from an enemy's gun.

The story this game told was amazing and fit right in with the action. With the previous game having a cliffhanger ending, this game proceeded to clear up the last game's story and also tie up just about every loose end there was to the main series. Sad that they killed off some of the main characters in this series such as Sargent Johnson and Miranda Keys during the events of this game but I believe the introduction of death to well liked and established characters was a major upside to the story. Gave me the feeling that they really were tying up that part of the Halo series and not leaving it open to much of a sequel.

The game's AI was a little spotty as usual for most games like this but it wasn't too badly made. It helped that it was spotty when killing enemies because there were so many ways to get through their defenses but when talking about the allies, not such a good point. I can't even count how many times I've had some retarded ally run my character over with a vehicle or run out from behind something and right in the path of my character's vehicle.

Bringing back a part from the previous game, the developers have decided to hide skulls in the game that change the way the game is played if cut on. Most skulls were hidden in a corner or off to the side, places the player wouldn't normally look. There was one skull in the game that changed the dialogue but it was so well hidden that you actually had to have internet to find out how to get it. I say "Boo" to that. Anyway, having the skulls cut on often times made the game more enjoyable and I'm definitely glad they put them into the game.

Despite the downsides I've said in the small section, I'm still willing to give this a 9 out of 10 just because of how good the upsides were.

Lastability

The lastability was pretty decent on this game just because of how well it was made. One would expect to play this game multiple times before becoming bored with it and moving onto another. It was also pretty long for a game of this type if played on a harder difficulty. I suggest buying it if you're someone who wants to kill off about a week of their time with a great action type game. Multi-player just adds to the length of the game because one could expect to play the game for a very long time on Xbox live.

7 out of 10 for the lastability of the game. Pretty good, I must say.

Overall

Overall score for the game would be a 9 out of 10 simply because it was pure win. For the time this game was put out, I doubt one would be able to find much better. Actually, this game is the reason I bought an Xbox 360 and I'm sure that was the same story for many others across the world. If the money is available, defiantly go out and buy a copy of this game.

Final Score: 88%