Reviewed: October 5, 2007
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
Microsoft Games

Developer
Bungie Studios

Released: September 25, 2007
Genre: Action
Players: 1-4

7
8
9
8
8.0

Supported Features:

Of course I realize that whatever I write from this point on will probably be scoffed at and dismissed. You’ll think I’m trying to generate site traffic by purposely writing a negative review for your precious Halo 3, but (not to sound like Darth Vader), "if you search your feelings…you’ll know it to be true". Slap yourself out of that perpetual media haze of commercials and custom controllers, headsets, consoles, and even a Halo-inspired Mountain Dew. Look at this game for what it is…a mediocre FPS that hasn’t changed (at its core) since the original debuted in 2001. And don’t feel bad for getting duped by the all-powerful hype machine. From the looks of most of the reviews and the scores already posted, most of the press got suckered in right along with you.

I’m probably the biggest fan of FPS games you will ever meet, and while Halo was a breakthrough on the original Xbox in 2001 Halo 2 was certainly far from the groundbreaking sequel is should have been, and I took my share of heat for daring to score it below a 9 (a whole .1 lower). Three years and a new generation of hardware later we get what can only be described as an incremental increase in technology and hardly any improvement in game design. We get a few new guns, some new vehicles, and some clever presentation features like complete instant replays of all your single and multiplayer games, but while the rest of the FPS world is moving ahead, Halo 3 seems stuck in time.

Halo 2 ended with somewhat of a cliffhanger; Master Chief was freefalling toward Earth to stop the Prophet of Truth, Cortana (his AI implant) had been captured by the Gravemind; the consciousness controlling the parasitic Flood, and the Covenant had become the unwilling allies of the humans. If you are looking for a resolution to all of the questions posed by Halo 2 then you’ll be glad to know that Halo 3 answers them all, and while there is a hint at a possible fourth game, there are no compelling questions left unanswered that would demand another installment.

In an attempt to cater to new and veteran gamers Bungie has tweaked the difficulty settings. Normal is far too easy for anyone who has played Halo or any other FPS for that matter, and Heroic ranges from hard to too hard in places. Legendary is insanely difficulty and best attempted using the new cooperative campaign modes. The one thing that bothered me is that the game doesn’t adjust AI or numbers of enemies based on how many people are playing together, so the game gets easier the more people you have playing, yet is far too difficult to play alone.

A good example of this off-kilter difficulty is Sierra 117, the first level. Playing alone on Normal this level took me about 28 minutes to finish. On Heroic it took me 2hrs and 12min to finish, and I had to resort to tactics that you would expect in games like Rainbow Six or Call of Duty (on veteran mode). Gone are the days of running through a level unloading your weapons. Now, it’s all about tactics and cover, and taunting the enemy to come to you, which, depending on your play style is either a good or bad thing.

The enemy AI is definitely improved, not only with a hierarchy of units, but don’t be surprised to see reinforcements being called in when you dispatch the initial wave of enemies. The enemies, especially the Brutes, make the most out of various weapons and items like shields and grenades. Your interactions with the enemy are much more dynamic in Halo 3, with enemies responding to what you are doing. This takes away from the scripted feeling of most encounters and makes things quite unpredictable, even when replaying the level or a small section of that level.

In Halo 3 Master Chief is now part of a bigger adventure, or a bigger fight, and to sell that concept you now tag along with a group of AI teammates, a squadron of sorts that you sadly have no command or control over. Just think of them as diversions. Sure, they will hop on your Scorpion or man the turret in your Warthog; heck, they can even drive the vehicles while you man the guns and eventually get to where you are supposed to go, but they aren’t exactly smart when it comes to tactics, so don’t rely on them for serious help.

There are a few new weapons and some modified ones. The classic battle rifle is back and the Needler is also back and a lot more powerful than its predecessor. There is also a new Plasma Turret that you can fire while mounted or rip it from the tripod and carry it with you. Your view shifts to a third-person perspective and your movement is greatly reduced, but you have 200 rounds of ultimate stopping power, and you’ll find far too many of these turrets lying around to ignore for long, so using them is almost always an option and probably a good idea, unless you require speedy movement.

There are some new vehicles including the Hornet, part hovercraft, part helicopter, awesome for doing aerial assaults on the giant Scarabs, and then you have the Chopper, a wicked motorcycle that would make Ghost Rider envious, and the Prowler, a ground-based hovercraft perfect for skimming the surface and unleashing a hailstorm from the 360-degree turret, with optional seating for two soldiers riding shotgun.

For most gamers, Halo 3 will be all about the multiplayer, which, for me, I really cared nothing about. I played the crap out of this game during the multiplayer beta and enjoyed it for what it was, but now that the full game is out with it’s measly offering of 11 maps, I simply don’t care. There are far better multiplayer games out there. The Call of Duty 4 beta (with only 3 maps) far surpasses the full game of Halo 3 and judging from the opinions of people online (even in the Halo 3 forums) once Call of Duty 4 ships, Halo 3 will be a distant memory. It might happen even sooner with EA’s Half-Life 2 Orange Box just around the corner.

I found it amusing that there were 15 reviews for Halo 3 posted before the game even was available in stores, so nobody was talking about all of the terrible server issues, online lag, and matchmaking problems going on. I’ve been playing the game for about a week now, and while the online issues are slowly resolving themselves, this game was far from the grand achievement it was made out to be.

In addition to the multiplayer versus, CTF, and cooperative game modes there is also a new campaign scoring system in place that rewards you with points for various accomplishments during the story mode. These points are tallied and posted to the leaderboards so you can compare your skills with anybody else doing the same. Some of you may remember those hidden skulls in Halo 2. Well they are back in Halo 3 and now part of this scoring system as well as just offering fun ways to make the game harder and more enjoyable. Once you find these skulls (which are specific to level and difficulty level) you can use them to alter the game. One skull removes your HUD and targeting reticule, while another deactivates the Motion Tracker. Another doubles the hit points of all the enemies.

Aspiring level designers will find countless hours of creative design in the Forge. While you are unable to tweak the geometry of the maps, you are free to rearrange objects, weapon drops, spawn points, and even create custom objectives. You can save these alterations and upload them for others to play. Even more dynamic is the ability to edit the map while others are playing. Take on the godlike role of the Monitor and start making changes in real-time. You can even drop a Scorpion on another player.

And finally we come to the replay system. Even Bungie confesses to being surprised at how well this system works. Somehow, the game records every moment of every single and multiplayer event. This means that you can go back and watch your entire game, not only from first-person but also from third-person or even detach the camera and fly through the level surveying the action however you see fit. The replays are recording only data, then rebuilding the gameplay from scratch using the game engine. This means that my 2:12 time on Sierra 117 only takes 6mb on my hard drive. That’s amazing when you can generate a 132min of HD video from only 6mb of data. You can then record your favorite moments from these replays and share them with friends…or victims.

But putting all the pixel counting aside, Halo 3 does offer a few moments of breathtaking vistas, especially at the beginning. But all too soon Bungie quickly reverts to stale map designs, especially when it comes to interior levels. The outdoor levels are the best, especially the trek along a broken highway, but it becomes obvious that all the levels are designed with the arena mentality, where you have rooms or areas of major conflict, interconnected with passages or outdoor paths. Clear the room and move on to the next...yawn.

Using the free camera of the replay system you can zoom in and check out all the wonderful details like dashboard animations on the vehicles or textures and bumpmapping on the characters. Most of this detail slips by during the fast and frantic gameplay. I have to wonder if Bungie would have gone to this much detail if you couldn’t analyze the game as closely as you can using the replay camera. Seems like a lot of extra work that goes unappreciated by the casual gamer.

Sound effects are equally as awesome with unique sounds for all the weapons and vehicles and plenty of explosions, all in a fantastic 3D surround mix that will have you ducking for cover. Plus, all of those familiar sounds from the first two games are perfectly recreated to make you feel right at home.

The voice work is exceptional, even though Master Chief is a soldier of few words. Some of the best banter comes from the little Grunts that scurry around yelling out all sorts of absurdities that are absolutely hilarious. There is also some very creepy intrusions from the deep-voiced Gravemind that turns my screen a sickly green and speaks through my sub-woofer. Cortana also has a few of these creepy invasions into the gameplay.

Regardless of how long it takes you to complete the campaign alone, or with friends, the true staying power is in Halo’s multiplayer. Even though I don’t personally care for the shallow and unoriginal game design, millions of people will certainly prove me wrong over the next several years, so frag away. I will admit that there is some experimental fun to be had in the Forge part of the game. I expect to see all sorts of movies like the classic Halo Jump Experiment getting posted online soon.

The hidden skulls will also offer a significant challenge should you desire to find them all. Bungie is being so secretive about their location they wouldn’t even tell the guy who wrote the official strategy guide. Keep that in mind before you drop $20 on the guide. You might want to wait for the information to leak to the forums.

And then you have the Achievements; 49 of them spread across goals in both single and multiplayer. The points for completing the game on each difficulty are retroactive so if you play on Legendary your first time you’ll get the points for all the other levels inclusively. There are also points for finishing each chapter, and one odd achievement for killing 5 enemies with the Needler - like that was hard or something. There are 10 points for finding each of the 13 skulls and the rest of the points are spread across numerous multiplayer and online ranking objectives.

Ironically, the original Halo was subtitled; Combat Evolved, yet six years later the franchise has only seen very minor improvements in technology and game design, while the rest of the FPS genre is evolving with each new release. I guess it’s hard to make a next-gen game before that generation has arrived, and perhaps that is the curse of a three-year development time.

So by all means, enjoy the game. There is still a lot of fun to be had with Halo 3, mostly for veterans of the series, just don't try to convince me that this is the end all be all of FPS gaming. Gamers like myself who have already seen and played “the future” will likely dismiss this old-school gameplay and move on to the far more visionary titles that are just around the corner. And then Halo 3 will just become another fond memory in the long cycle of gaming.