Full Review for Halo 3 by imaloony8.0

Introduction

What to say about Halo 3, let me count the ways...

It definatly wants to be played and has a great first impression after all the commercials they put up for it, but obviously, it's not perfect. And as for the hype, well, there were many people around the internet saying how it "Was overhyped" and it "Didn't live up to it's expectations" so let me just say, that fanboys saying that it will be the most perfect game that ever grazes the earth, and the dead will rise to play it are obviously giving it too much credit.

Graphics

I've seen better graphics, but they still work nicely for a game that supposed to take place in 2552. Everything really meshes, and they don't miss a beat here, and everything looks really beautiful. Obviously, it looks a little cartoony, but that's what makes Halo Halo. Just looking at the weapons and all the levels just makes you wonder what kind of work went into all of the stages.

Sound

Ah, just listen to the rattle of the assault rifle. Everything, from their theme songs right down to the wine of a fifty calibur round racing an inch past your head is very well done. It actually makes you feel like you're right there in that armor. Bullets whistle realistically, grenades boom just like they're supposed to, and the vehicals are very nice. I feel that the alien weapons and vehicals, and the alien noises were done very well, and this is a very strong aspect of the game.

Gameplay

Well, I don't have Xbox live, and have only actually played it once, but I'll give it the benifit of the doubt there. As for campaign, well, it's short. At only nine missions, experienced Halo players will turn this on Heroic and blaze through it in an afternoon fuled by Lays and Pepsi. The campaign is very good indeed, much better than Halo 2's, but they shortened it way too much, and ended up with nine missions when players are expecting more. What is there is kept as different as possible from encounter to encounter, the team at Bungie making sure to change everything up so that everything feels freash, and that's great on their part, and it works, but you won't be coming back to campaign after one run through and one or two times through on co-op.

Lastability

Immediatly losing points because of the campaign, and yet the online is to bring it back to a ten, right? Well, here's where it gets tricky. I'm sure that Halo 3 is a load of fun online, and something to keep playing, but it's not really something that will keep you from pulling out Call of Duty 4, or Gears of War, or whatever else. After a while online, you'll simply plop another game in, because you'll miss it, and Halo 3 won't keep you busy for months on end. But the online does look good, and I applaud that. If I get XBL, it'll be the first game I play on it.

Overall

So Halo 3 isn't perfect. Big deal, it really goes up and beyond what other games do, and it does it extreamly well. It isn't exactly different from all the other shooters on the market, but it's definatly one of the better ones out there. So, as I said in the introduction, don't judge Halo from what the fanboys said about it, play it, and judge it for yourself. Most of the time, you'll probably like it.

Final Score: 86%