Halo 3
Finishing the Fight
Posted September 27, 2007
Six years ago, I recall being enamored with the original Halo for weeks on end. The level of detail was nothing I had every seen before on a console. I remember just staring at the grass in the opening level for at least 10 minutes on my first play-through. With the launch of Halo 3, Bungie attempts to bring Master Chief into the high definition age and convert millions of Xbox Halo 2 players to upgrade to the Xbox 360. The story in Halo 3 picks up immediately where the abrupt ending of Halo 2 left off. In the opening cinematic, Master Chief crash lands on Earth and immediately begins the fight against the invading Covenant forces. The resulting narrative is told in an epic fashion and holds together tightly until the final level, which feels rushed. Thankfully, it is a true ending and not the cliffhanger debacle that tapered off the end of Halo 2. 
Gameplay
The single player campaign is spread over 9 levels, some of which are broken apart into lengthier sections. Players still have 4 difficulty options, anything from Easy to Legendary. For an experienced Halo player, Heroic difficulty can be knocked out in about 10 hours. As the difficulties progress, you will notice variations in the weapons that enemies carry and the placement of vehicles / turrets on the map. For instance, the Brutes mostly carry the equivalent of machine guns on Normal, but are armed with grenade launchers on Heroic and Legendary. The number of enemy snipers dramatically increases on Legendary as well. The enemy A.I. is top notch, especially the Brutes. They use cover effectively, dodge incoming fire, deploy defensive measures, and charge when you are reloading ammo. The same cannot be said for friendly A.I. Most human soldiers are killed within the first few minutes of battle on either difficulty above Normal.
Bungie added a few new playable vehicles to the lineup. My favorite is the Hornet, a flying vehicle created by the humans that shoots machine gun rounds and heat seeking rockets. It’s absolutely wonderful for destroying those pesky Banshees. They also included two weaponless vehicles for the humans, a turret-less warthog and a speedy 2-man ATV called the Mongoose. The Brutes also gain a couple vehicles as well, the Chopper and a two-man ride similar to a mini-tank. The Chopper is ridiculously fun to use due to the alternating Brute shots attached to the front of the ride.
Weaponry has been altered slightly and new weapons appeared in the hands of the Brutes, specifically the Spiker and the Gravity Hammer. The Spiker shoots tons of little shards of death at a high rate of fire with little recoil. Additionally, a half circle blade is attached at the bottom of the gun for wonderful melee attacks. It’s more powerful than the Needler if used correctly and can rip a Brute’s armor to shreds in seconds when dual-wielding. The Needler has thankfully become more powerful, but enemies seem to dodge the weapon fire pretty easily. The Gravity Hammer is a massive melee weapon that the strongest Brutes carry. A slam of the hammer will skyrocket surrounding enemies into the air and usually means instant death on Legendary. Additionally, the Brutes that carry the hammer also carry the invincibility power-up. After activated, the player has to outrun / dodge the Brute’s attacks for a half-minute before shooting again. The devastating Spartan Laser is also included in the single player game, but I’ve only seen it on a single level. I think Bungie is teasing us.
Invincibility is just one of the defense power-ups found in the single player campaign. The most commonly found tool is the Bubble Shield. It’s utilized often by Brutes and killing them can turn into a waiting game. A player can walk through the Bubble Shield without harm, but it stops all forms of weapon fire and grenade explosions. Master Chief also has the blue deployable energy shields at his disposal as well as invisibility camouflage. It’s important to note that only one of these items can be carried at a time.
Bungie spread golden and silver human skulls around the levels to include a searching component to the game. These skulls offer achievements, but more importantly gameplay modifiers. Turning on skull powers before starting the campaign will increase the difficulty ten-fold. For instance, these modifiers can turn off the radar, double the health of the Covenant forces, increase the number of grenades thrown, etc. There’s even a skull called Grunt’s Birthday Party that shoots bits of confetti and yells out a cheer every time MC kills a grunt. It certainly brings a bit of levity into the game. Additionally, turning on the skull powers will activate a scoring multiplier for meta-game scoring.
The Meta-game tracks scoring for single or co-op play. These scores will unlock achievements, but they are specifically designed to increase the level of competition within co-op play. Players can increase the scoring multiplier by turning on difficult skull powers, finishing quickly, and playing on higher level of difficulties. Also, players can compete for kills during a single player level and attempt to beat each other’s score. It’s almost a variant on a multiplayer game, but usually in good fun.
Perhaps Gears of War spoiled me, but I’m disappointed to find out that co-op players can only join a game in the opening lobby. Players are not allowed to pop into a campaign that’s currently ongoing. Also, if any player drops out of the game, the entire level has to be reloaded. It’s a clunky system that probably won’t be alleviated with a patch. On the plus side, there is no major death penalty during co-op play. Players will get a deduction in score, but spawn immediately when their fellow players are safely away from combat.
The sheer amount of multi-player options within Halo 3 is utterly astounding, but there are a few nagging faults to the structure. Similar to co-op play, players cannot join during an ongoing round nor can they wait in a lobby for the round to finish. I do appreciate the quick access to the friend’s list in the opening menu for popping into other games. It’s also very entertaining to pop into the game menu of an unsuspecting friend to scare the living daylights out of them.
After you pass through basic training in the multiplayer mode, the matchmaking tool is fairly accurate at finding opponents. As you gain experience during ranked matches, your military rating will rise thus effecting the matchmaking process. Additionally, players can check their Halo 3 stats online at Bungie.net while away from their Xbox 360. There are eleven maps to utilize in the multiplayer, a few of which are transplants from Halo 2. My favorite new map is the spacious desert level called Sandtrap. As a player wanders out toward the edges of the map, landmines shoot out from the ground and explode in midair to drive them back. There are tons of great places to hide or you can choose to terrorize from the sky. Certain maps didn’t make it over from the previous games (Sadly, Zanzibar did). I have a feeling Bungie / Microsoft will be selling fan favorites, like Blood Glutch, on the Xbox Live Marketplace very soon.
The Forge is the custom level designer Bungie included for friends to play their own designs in versus matches. While it’s a bit basic in functionality, the amount of possible combinations for custom levels seems endless. At the start of a custom design, the player has a budget for purchasing items for the map. Players can also sell items already placed on the map to increase their monetary supply. Essentially, any item currently found in multiplayer can be purchased for your custom design. There are restrictions to the number of items or types of objects that can be placed on some maps. Flying vehicles are often unavailable for purchase on smaller maps. The Forge is really where creativity within the Halo community can shine. Personally, I turned Vahalla into my own personal racetrack. I got rid of all the weapons, used the light blue markers on the grass to create a track design, and plopped 2 turret-less vehicles into the map. Also, the Xbox 360 hard drive is required for sharing custom designed games.
It’s also required for saving Theater clips. The Theater is an area for players to view their favorite single or multi-player moments and save them for future viewing. Friends can jump into other player’s theaters to view clips as well. Clips are automatically saved in a temporary queue and you can decide which video to save forever in your hall of fame moments. It’s a very nifty tool, but it doesn’t strike me as something I’ll be using very often, if ever. Reliving old clips can be entertaining, but I’d much rather play new rounds of Halo 3.
For a game that exudes unlimited multiplayer replay value, difficult achievements weren’t a high priority for Bungie. The point values are oddly split among the achievements. For instance, each difficulty above easy awards the player 125 gamerscore points for completing the single player campaign. Finishing Halo 3 on Normal strangely offers the same reward as completing the game on Legendary. Thankfully, Bungie doesn’t force artificial replay value as the level completion achievements do stack. Other single player tasks include searching the levels for golden skulls and racking up high scores on the meta-game. The multiplayer achievements are a bit tougher to earn, but fairly simple for any experienced Halo 2 player. While the achievement set lacks in creativity, it does take a solid chuck of time to complete the entire set. A competent Halo player should be able to rack up a minimum of 600 gamerscore points in the first few days after purchase.
Graphics
Depending on the basis for visual comparison, Halo 3 can impress or disappoint. Looking at Halo 2 and Halo 3 side by side, the improvements are amazingly brilliant. Character detail has skyrocketed for instance. Every inch of Master Chief’s armor is wonderfully crafted, Sarge’s expressions are actually discernable, and the Covenant forces never looked better. Arguably, the lighting effects are the most improved. For instance, the sunlight breaks through the tree line in bright streams or the explosion of several plasma grenades sends crackling blue lightning everywhere. On the other hand, Halo 3 doesn’t offer the graphical detail in recent Xbox 360 releases like Gears of War. In larger levels, some of the environmental textures are downright ugly. Also, Halo 3 occasionally hits frame rate issues when battling massive amounts of enemies on screen, the double scarab level for instance.
Audio
I’ve always been enamored with the quality of recorded sound in the Halo series, but I was truly floored with the directional audio in Halo 3. With a proper 5.1 surround sound system, each level in the single player campaign offers an unmatched auditory experience. The whizzing of bullets off nearby plant-life and the battle cries of angered Brutes are just a couple of the wonderful sound effects that tickle the ears during the campaign. The orchestral score didn’t cover much new ground, but certainly offered the same Halo vibe as the rest of the series. The voice work was top-notch, but the marine quips seemed somewhat recycled and corny this time around.
Overall
Is Halo 3 worth a purchase? Unequivocally, it’s the most varied multiplayer shooter the Xbox 360 has to offer. It’s going to be played online by millions for years to come. While the single player campaign is relatively short compared to the original Halo, the skull gameplay modifiers and online 4-player co-op will extend the life of the campaign dramatically. This title will push those stubborn Xbox 1 owners to finally upgrade their console to the 360. The only question Xbox 360 owners should be concerned with is “Which version of Halo 3 will I purchase?”
Halo 3 may be the most anticipated game ever. It's certainly the most hyped. The abrupt ending of Halo 2 left a sour taste in the mouths of many a gamer, but its multiplayer has endured as the reigning champ since the day of the game's release. Thus, Halo 3 had a hell of a lot to live up to. Not only did it have to provide a fitting end for Master Chief's journey, it also had to offer a new online experience that didn't forsake what made the last go around so great.
Gameplay
The single player campaign is spread over 9 levels, some of which are broken apart into lengthier sections. Players still have 4 difficulty options, anything from Easy to Legendary. For an experienced Halo player, Heroic difficulty can be knocked out in about 10 hours. As the difficulties progress, you will notice variations in the weapons that enemies carry and the placement of vehicles / turrets on the map. For instance, the Brutes mostly carry the equivalent of machine guns on Normal, but are armed with grenade launchers on Heroic and Legendary. The number of enemy snipers dramatically increases on Legendary as well. The enemy A.I. is top notch, especially the Brutes. They use cover effectively, dodge incoming fire, deploy defensive measures, and charge when you are reloading ammo. The same cannot be said for friendly A.I. Most human soldiers are killed within the first few minutes of battle on either difficulty above Normal.
Bungie added a few new playable vehicles to the lineup. My favorite is the Hornet, a flying vehicle created by the humans that shoots machine gun rounds and heat seeking rockets. It’s absolutely wonderful for destroying those pesky Banshees. They also included two weaponless vehicles for the humans, a turret-less warthog and a speedy 2-man ATV called the Mongoose. The Brutes also gain a couple vehicles as well, the Chopper and a two-man ride similar to a mini-tank. The Chopper is ridiculously fun to use due to the alternating Brute shots attached to the front of the ride.
Weaponry has been altered slightly and new weapons appeared in the hands of the Brutes, specifically the Spiker and the Gravity Hammer. The Spiker shoots tons of little shards of death at a high rate of fire with little recoil. Additionally, a half circle blade is attached at the bottom of the gun for wonderful melee attacks. It’s more powerful than the Needler if used correctly and can rip a Brute’s armor to shreds in seconds when dual-wielding. The Needler has thankfully become more powerful, but enemies seem to dodge the weapon fire pretty easily. The Gravity Hammer is a massive melee weapon that the strongest Brutes carry. A slam of the hammer will skyrocket surrounding enemies into the air and usually means instant death on Legendary. Additionally, the Brutes that carry the hammer also carry the invincibility power-up. After activated, the player has to outrun / dodge the Brute’s attacks for a half-minute before shooting again. The devastating Spartan Laser is also included in the single player game, but I’ve only seen it on a single level. I think Bungie is teasing us.
Invincibility is just one of the defense power-ups found in the single player campaign. The most commonly found tool is the Bubble Shield. It’s utilized often by Brutes and killing them can turn into a waiting game. A player can walk through the Bubble Shield without harm, but it stops all forms of weapon fire and grenade explosions. Master Chief also has the blue deployable energy shields at his disposal as well as invisibility camouflage. It’s important to note that only one of these items can be carried at a time.
Bungie spread golden and silver human skulls around the levels to include a searching component to the game. These skulls offer achievements, but more importantly gameplay modifiers. Turning on skull powers before starting the campaign will increase the difficulty ten-fold. For instance, these modifiers can turn off the radar, double the health of the Covenant forces, increase the number of grenades thrown, etc. There’s even a skull called Grunt’s Birthday Party that shoots bits of confetti and yells out a cheer every time MC kills a grunt. It certainly brings a bit of levity into the game. Additionally, turning on the skull powers will activate a scoring multiplier for meta-game scoring.
The Meta-game tracks scoring for single or co-op play. These scores will unlock achievements, but they are specifically designed to increase the level of competition within co-op play. Players can increase the scoring multiplier by turning on difficult skull powers, finishing quickly, and playing on higher level of difficulties. Also, players can compete for kills during a single player level and attempt to beat each other’s score. It’s almost a variant on a multiplayer game, but usually in good fun.
Perhaps Gears of War spoiled me, but I’m disappointed to find out that co-op players can only join a game in the opening lobby. Players are not allowed to pop into a campaign that’s currently ongoing. Also, if any player drops out of the game, the entire level has to be reloaded. It’s a clunky system that probably won’t be alleviated with a patch. On the plus side, there is no major death penalty during co-op play. Players will get a deduction in score, but spawn immediately when their fellow players are safely away from combat.
The sheer amount of multi-player options within Halo 3 is utterly astounding, but there are a few nagging faults to the structure. Similar to co-op play, players cannot join during an ongoing round nor can they wait in a lobby for the round to finish. I do appreciate the quick access to the friend’s list in the opening menu for popping into other games. It’s also very entertaining to pop into the game menu of an unsuspecting friend to scare the living daylights out of them.
After you pass through basic training in the multiplayer mode, the matchmaking tool is fairly accurate at finding opponents. As you gain experience during ranked matches, your military rating will rise thus effecting the matchmaking process. Additionally, players can check their Halo 3 stats online at Bungie.net while away from their Xbox 360. There are eleven maps to utilize in the multiplayer, a few of which are transplants from Halo 2. My favorite new map is the spacious desert level called Sandtrap. As a player wanders out toward the edges of the map, landmines shoot out from the ground and explode in midair to drive them back. There are tons of great places to hide or you can choose to terrorize from the sky. Certain maps didn’t make it over from the previous games (Sadly, Zanzibar did). I have a feeling Bungie / Microsoft will be selling fan favorites, like Blood Glutch, on the Xbox Live Marketplace very soon.
The Forge is the custom level designer Bungie included for friends to play their own designs in versus matches. While it’s a bit basic in functionality, the amount of possible combinations for custom levels seems endless. At the start of a custom design, the player has a budget for purchasing items for the map. Players can also sell items already placed on the map to increase their monetary supply. Essentially, any item currently found in multiplayer can be purchased for your custom design. There are restrictions to the number of items or types of objects that can be placed on some maps. Flying vehicles are often unavailable for purchase on smaller maps. The Forge is really where creativity within the Halo community can shine. Personally, I turned Vahalla into my own personal racetrack. I got rid of all the weapons, used the light blue markers on the grass to create a track design, and plopped 2 turret-less vehicles into the map. Also, the Xbox 360 hard drive is required for sharing custom designed games.
It’s also required for saving Theater clips. The Theater is an area for players to view their favorite single or multi-player moments and save them for future viewing. Friends can jump into other player’s theaters to view clips as well. Clips are automatically saved in a temporary queue and you can decide which video to save forever in your hall of fame moments. It’s a very nifty tool, but it doesn’t strike me as something I’ll be using very often, if ever. Reliving old clips can be entertaining, but I’d much rather play new rounds of Halo 3.
For a game that exudes unlimited multiplayer replay value, difficult achievements weren’t a high priority for Bungie. The point values are oddly split among the achievements. For instance, each difficulty above easy awards the player 125 gamerscore points for completing the single player campaign. Finishing Halo 3 on Normal strangely offers the same reward as completing the game on Legendary. Thankfully, Bungie doesn’t force artificial replay value as the level completion achievements do stack. Other single player tasks include searching the levels for golden skulls and racking up high scores on the meta-game. The multiplayer achievements are a bit tougher to earn, but fairly simple for any experienced Halo 2 player. While the achievement set lacks in creativity, it does take a solid chuck of time to complete the entire set. A competent Halo player should be able to rack up a minimum of 600 gamerscore points in the first few days after purchase.
Graphics
Depending on the basis for visual comparison, Halo 3 can impress or disappoint. Looking at Halo 2 and Halo 3 side by side, the improvements are amazingly brilliant. Character detail has skyrocketed for instance. Every inch of Master Chief’s armor is wonderfully crafted, Sarge’s expressions are actually discernable, and the Covenant forces never looked better. Arguably, the lighting effects are the most improved. For instance, the sunlight breaks through the tree line in bright streams or the explosion of several plasma grenades sends crackling blue lightning everywhere. On the other hand, Halo 3 doesn’t offer the graphical detail in recent Xbox 360 releases like Gears of War. In larger levels, some of the environmental textures are downright ugly. Also, Halo 3 occasionally hits frame rate issues when battling massive amounts of enemies on screen, the double scarab level for instance.
Audio
I’ve always been enamored with the quality of recorded sound in the Halo series, but I was truly floored with the directional audio in Halo 3. With a proper 5.1 surround sound system, each level in the single player campaign offers an unmatched auditory experience. The whizzing of bullets off nearby plant-life and the battle cries of angered Brutes are just a couple of the wonderful sound effects that tickle the ears during the campaign. The orchestral score didn’t cover much new ground, but certainly offered the same Halo vibe as the rest of the series. The voice work was top-notch, but the marine quips seemed somewhat recycled and corny this time around.
Overall
Is Halo 3 worth a purchase? Unequivocally, it’s the most varied multiplayer shooter the Xbox 360 has to offer. It’s going to be played online by millions for years to come. While the single player campaign is relatively short compared to the original Halo, the skull gameplay modifiers and online 4-player co-op will extend the life of the campaign dramatically. This title will push those stubborn Xbox 1 owners to finally upgrade their console to the 360. The only question Xbox 360 owners should be concerned with is “Which version of Halo 3 will I purchase?”
Second Opinion
Halo 3 may be the most anticipated game ever. It's certainly the most hyped. The abrupt ending of Halo 2 left a sour taste in the mouths of many a gamer, but its multiplayer has endured as the reigning champ since the day of the game's release. Thus, Halo 3 had a hell of a lot to live up to. Not only did it have to provide a fitting end for Master Chief's journey, it also had to offer a new online experience that didn't forsake what made the last go around so great.
But hey, this is Bungie we're talking about, and this kind of stuff is their bread and butter. The single player campaign, while the shortest of the three games, is the most satisfying. Every level propels the story forward without repetition or filler. Each goal the game throws at you feels absolutely necessary, and the ending chapters redefine the limits of epic video gaming. A lot of this is achieved through opening up the environments. Instead of cramped hallways and the limited landscapes of Halo, we're treated to the wide open plains of Africa. What we lose in suspense, we gain in scope. This really feels like the conclusion of a massive story, with many of the loose ends tied up.
Once you're done with that, there are tons of multiplayer modes to occupy your time. You can play custom matches with friends or raise your military rating in ranked matches. The best addition to the online aspect of Halo is Forge. Forge began as a level editor for Bungie's previous shooter trilogy Marathon (which has more than a passing connection to Halo). Here you can use it to add, delete, or rearrange spawn points, weapons, vehicles, and more. Not only that, but in some game modes you can use Forge on the fly. Imagine the possibilities! You can create customized maps and upload them to Bungie's website, where other users can download them for their own use. You can also track a wealth of stats there, if you feel so inclined.
Halo 3's graphics alternately impress and disappoint. The detailing on Master Chief and the Covenant are beyond reproach, showing alien faces and etchings in armor in a way that players of the first game would never have dreamed. The lighting effects are absolutely fantastic, adding a whole new level to the experience. But humans seem wooden and stilted, with halting mannerisms and poor facial animations. The sound is much more consistent, aggressively using surrounds to draw you in. And the score is breathtaking.
I did have a few issues with the game. The menus are awkward and counterintuitive. You cannot play custom matches in ranked games (this is an especially poor choice on Bungie's part), nor can you drop in or out of the campaign co-op without forcing all the other players to quit. There's also no autosave, and the only save mode offered forces you to quit, ruining the flow of play. None of these are deal-breakers, but they're a series of minor annoyances that Bungie should have been smart enough to avoid.
Halo 3 does achieve a remarkable feat however: It actually lives up to the hype and expectations heaped upon it. Is it the best game ever made? No, I would argue it's not even the best game of the year. But it is a game that any FPS fan absolutely must play. It represents everything Bungie does best, and multiplies it by ten. It's a riveting experience and the conclusion to a gaming series that has become a part of our cultural language, like Mario and Luigi or Sonic The Hedgehog. And what a way for Master Chief to go out. Highly Recommended.