So, I've been waiting to do this review for a while. Sure, does it even matter if someone reviews Halo 3 now? hell, its over a month since the release, everyone and their mother has reviewed it and by now all the fanboys have played it and issued their thoughts.
All valid points.
One thing that makes this different from all other games is the sheer level of hype that was constructed. Halo, one of the bestselling games of all times...i can see where a sequel can garner some attention, but damn. I haven't seen this much hype since the Star Wars prequels were getting ready to be released. Ironically...this was handled much differently.
Now, to be truthful, i never played the campaign of Halo 1 or 2. All i know about the story is what i perused in a halo wikipedia before getting the game so i had SOME idea about what was going on. I had a feeling that this game was going to be akin to 24, coming in at the end never have played 1 or 2 except at lan parties with friends, i didn't want to be totally lost in the story. Ha. Well, at least i tried.
Also, in all fairness, i bought this game on release day, hoping to totally fall in love with it like all the mainstream review sites said i would. I played it for 20 min the first day, then shelved it until now because of work, TF2 and some personal life things. However, here i am.
Oh yeah, and spoilers. Lots of em.
Gameplay: Not much has changed between the gameplay of Halo 1, Halo 2 to now. The big addition was the inclusion of "equipment", such as auto turrets, cloaking devices and the much advertised bubble shield.
This is a new gameplay mechanic. Yep. A shield. Thats a bubble. Too bad this isnt an IG graphic, just an overhyped trailer CGI interpretation of how it should look in a good game.
The melee weapons that are in the game are interesting. The Gravity Hammer is fun, but seems to be kind of difficult to use effectively in the campaign. I found myself using the Covenant sword in the High Charity map alot more than the weapons in that level, for the sheer reason that ammo was so scarce. It consisted of running up, slamming the trigger and hoping you were lucky to hit. Interesting, but not real tactical. There are moments in the game where Cortana speaks to Master Chief in real ominous phrases and stop you from moving or doing anything. I thought it was an interesting gimmick, however, it got old after the 30th time it happened.
Cut it out. Srsly.
The new vehicles were definitely fun. The hornet missions were probably the most fun i had in the entire game. Add in the intriguing way of destroying the Covenant Scarab Tanks, and there are some real fun moments. Just when you thought killing the scarabs was getting kind of routine, they add in the ability to do it with aircraft. Very nice change. The best part of Halo will always be the vehicles in the game. The classic warthog fishtail, the Banshee strafing runs...lots of fun. In this aspect, Halo 3 delivered again. New vehicles, new ways to use them. I thought a Warthog race was a fitting end to the trilogy as the final level, especially with the final jump into the frigate. Very cool moment.
Let me show you my new hot ride. My new hot ride, let me show you it.
Graphics: Yeah. Graphics. As if THIS wasn't beaten to death in the mainstream gaming media. I play on a 42" plasma with my Xbox set at 1080P. Yes, my big gripe with this game has to be the visuals. Not that they are overwhelmingly terrible, because they aren't. Some areas of the game are stunning. Beaches, large panoramic visuals, etc. Very well done. However, when you get down to consistent detail, this game screws the family pooch. The issue of the game only running at 640p at inconsistent FPS rates is a HUGE issue. This game should be THE benchmark for 360 graphics capabilities. However, looking at blocky shadows, terrible character models(especially faces) and lighting that is damn near impossible to see details in some parts...inexcusable.
Good detail and lighting!
Lame detail, copypasta texture, pipecleaner trees and lame haze effect to keep FPS from dipping below 0!!!(Click to embiggen.)
The trailers, commercials and other films done to hype this game look better than the actual game. I'm not sure what the reason was for them going with the in game engine for cut scenes(*cough*cash*cough*) but it was a bad move. This game should have had amazing CGI cut scenes and equally amazing character detail, especially on the main characters. Also, is there a reason why the company who MADE direct x10 cant take the volumetric explosions/smoke to the console level? Seeing lines in explosions and in smoke is such a buzzkill. On the good side, all the vehicles, ships and weapons looked great. The bubble shield graphics were incredible. And to top it all off, the spartan suit looked as detailed as ever. Good thing he didn't have to show any facial expression behind the mask.
G4 put it really well "Admittedly, 80 pixels isn’t going to make much of a difference after it is upscaled to 720p by the Xbox 360, but it does seem there are more 'jaggies' than when compared to other titles that run naively at 720p."
Its true. Give me 1080p.
Audio: I played the game on a true 5.1 system running through a THX certified receiver over the digital out from the xbox. Should have the true audio representation coming out of the game. The audio mix, i thought, needed alot of work. Some of the background noises such as ship rumble, ambient environment noise, background chatter, etc overplayed critical dialogue with main characters in cut scenes. Surround was real hot, center was really quiet. Balance of music volume on default seemed to be very high over the dialogue and effects as well. Even after adjusting all these values and messing with my sound system settings, the balance was still off. The music, as usual, was one of the strongest points of the game. The ominous chorus singing always evokes the first time playing Halo multiplayer at a friends house in college and still to this day brings up images of a green suited marine in my head. Voice acting was superb. The talent that, of course, hidden, is very good. Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk and Adam Baldwin all do great jobs in their respective roles. Its nice to see some Firefly/Serenity fans putting those guys to work in a sci fi setting again. Katee Stackhoff was also one of the soldier voices, also known as Starbuck from the new Battlestar Galactica, however, i didn't remember hearing her.
Replayability(is that even a word?): I guess the big replayability features that are being stressed are going to be multiplayer and the search for skulls. While i find the idea of searching for skulls to be really boring and dry(about as fun as looking for a needle in a stack of needles), ill probably go back and try to find a few of them to see what they offer. I wont go into detail for what the skulls do, chances are if you are reading this, you know how to operate Google. As for multiplayer, its another shooter multiplayer. Sure, the equipment add a new dimension, but nothing really huge. The addition of "Forge", a somewhat "on the fly" map editor is being pushed as a HUGE feature, but i guess i don't see it as anything really earth shattering. Cool to be able to edit maps on a console, but not really anything that deep or different. It boils down to this. Halo deathmatch fans will continue to enjoy it, while casual players will probably skip it, seeing as how hardcore Halo MP players will just demolish those with no chops.
What? Did we?
Those points being said, it still doesn't bring up one of the biggest issues with the game. Anyone who consumes any sort of media knows that the big tagline for Halo 3 was "Finish The Fight". Understandable. The 3rd episode in a trilogy. Return of the Jedi. Matrix Revolutions. Indiana Jones and the Final Crusade. All movies where there is true finality and closure. Playing through the campaign and watching the final cutscenes(including the one waaay after the credits are over) leaves me with one final question.
What fight was finished? Were the flood really finished? Were the rings really put out of commission? Was the covenant really dealt with? There are no answers to these questions. While, from a business sense, i guess that works, from a story perspective, its pretty lame. There needs to be an end to the chapter other than the illusion that Master Chief is dead, even though he is floating towards a bright light on the other end of the galaxy. Im sure big huge franchises always want the ability to make sequels to make more money instead of truly finishing a story for the sake of a good story. I feel like this one, when the eventual Halo 4 is made....will feel like alien 3/4 in contrast to alien and aliens. Premise is good, but should have been left where it was. Add on top all the movies/commercials with the monument and diorama that was built. What the hell did that have to do with Halo 3? Nothing.
All in all, a mediocre shooter that should have been an epic shooter. A line from one of my favorite new shows, "Chuck".
"If a yawn could yawn, thats what this is."
2/5 indescribable review related tokens.
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