Halo 3 (Collector's Edition) (Xbox 360, 2007)

After stowing away on a Forerunner spacecraft, the now iconic figure of the early 21st century pop culture, Master Chief, must make his way back to our neck of the woods - planet Earth. He must stop the army of alien zealots, known as the Covenant, who converge around their spiritual leader, the Prophet of Truth.

Let's play a little game called "Lob A Grenade!"

"We go left." Right. "Left." Right.

This chapter in the Halo history reaches its climax as Cortana, Spartan's ethereal female companion, is held captive by the Flood's intelligent embodiment, Gravemind. The Arbiter, leading the "freed" aliens alongside Master Chief must stop the Prophet from firing the Halo rings. Together, they must also eradicate the Flood infection once and for all.

After finishing the single-player campaign in Halo 3, one cannot help but feel as if we've come to the end of a trilogy. Was this the plan after the first Halo came out? I am not sure about that. Has this been the plan since the conception of Halo 2? One can be absolutely sure of this.

And so, with the cliffhanger ending in Halo 2, Bungie deliberately left a lot of things unsaid. They left the players guessing for three years almost. In Halo 3, you can sense that the team had a strong desire to complete this chapter, to let it come full circle.

In that sense, even though the campaign starts in medias res so to speak, the tag-line "Finish the Fight," truly becomes the main theme of the third installment in the series. In fact, once you've completed the story, "Finish the Fight," changes into "Finished the Fight," on your Halo 3 menu screen. As if to accentuate even further that things will come to a climactic resolution.

Additionally, there are a few notable signs that have happened "behind the scenes" that serve as further proof of this. Many of you have surely heard Halo 3 being referenced as Halo 2.5. When we look at the player models and even the AI, technically, it's clear that Bungie hasn't built a new engine from scratch. Halo 3 quite certainly uses a modified version of the Halo 2(1?) code, and although it carries many technological improvements, one cannot escape the feeling that the programmers have just about squeezed the last drop out of a code that's getting a little long in the tooth.

Don't get me wrong though, we are talking solely about the technical side of things, and even on this front, Bungie has done a lot to make this game feel next-gen. To start with, the levels with dense jungle vegetation show off just how far they've pushed the tech. Fancy soft body physics are at work here, coupled with a clever use of advanced pixel shader effects. On the other hand, the character models look dated, with rigid facial animation that offsets the advancements made in the rendering of the environment, and especially in the lighting.

Speaking of which, the HDR lighting is put to amazing use in Halo 3. Bungie does the most spectacular job of leading the player through dimly lit and narrow indoor areas and then overwhelming us with sprawling, sun-lit landscapes since Valve's Half-Life 2.

Furthermore, the physics calculations and all they entail become an integral part of the gameplay; as you would expect in any next-gen shooter.
Overall Rating- 13/10 (Oh Yeah!)

HALO 3 - A MUST BUY!

Halo 3- Quick Facts

Developer: Bungie
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Genre: Shooter
Players: 1-16 (online)
Available: 25th September
Rating: MA 15+

Halo 3 was overrated. While offering an incredible multiplayer experience, it isn’t the most incredible game ever made. It’s not even the best game on the 360, but the multiplayer portion makes everything worthwhile. Microsoft made a lot of money with this game and series due to great PR and marketing. However, the gameplay is similar to Halo 1 and 2, so for all you fans, there is not much explanation to be done here.

PROS
* Original/Lifelike visual graphic/design feel - no more cut and paste level designs like halo 2 and 1
* Creative and inventive AI system that offers a real challenge throughout the game
* Multiplayer is very competitive and is the main part of the game. You can play online or locally lan. This is very addictive

CONS
* Inconsistent visuals
* Poor storyline and dialogue
* The same as Halo 1 and 2, no improvements, just mainly better graphics!

Suggestion to purchase?

Yes, for multiplayer gameplay, you will not leave the house!

Check out our week of Halo Features and
Read the full review on our blog at: http://blog.graduategames.com

Halo 3 has its flaws, but delivers on so much more than the average game. Let's answer the major questions up front. Does Halo 3 live up to the hype? Yes. Does Halo 3 wrap up the Story of Master Chief? Yes. Is multiplayer better than Halo 2? Yes. Is Halo 3 a totally revolutionary and unique experience? Nope. Halo 3 is still Halo, both in look and style. It's a natural evolution of what was built in Halo 1 and 2. It adds plenty of new wrinkles, but the fan faithful will be instantly more familiar and skilled than newbies. Halo 3 is undoubtedly one of the biggest games ever and rightfully so since it's probably the best game of the year and will continue to be played and enjoyed for years to come.

Gameplay: 10/10
Pros: The same great gameplay we had from the first two Halos continues with great new additions such as independent reload, equipment, 2 new grenades, video recordings, the forge, 4 player co-op, shield doors, and more. Controls are great once you transition from X to RB for reloading and the AI is as smart and dynamic as ever. The trilogy definitely wraps up with a bang (literally) and while the ride itself is superb, the ending leaves a somewhat bitter aftertaste.
Cons: You rarely have enough grenades in both Campaign and Multiplayer. Shotty Snipes should not be in Team Slayer playlist. Campaign ending seems a little forced. Campaign is Gears of War Short.

Graphics: 10/10
Pros: One thing that cannot be emphasized enough about Halo is that the animation is absolutely phenomenal. Nothing beats being able to visually see that an enemy is mere shots away from death, or wielding a sword, plus there's the great addition of also being able to see an opponents holstered weapon on their back/side/etc. This all adds to the depth of Halo multi player and is also an example of the subtleties of Halo 3's graphics. The game has been polished with fine tooth comb. The HDR lighting is the best I've seen in a game, there's subtle motion blur when you whizz up an elevator, and the levels are gargantuan when compared to other great looking multi player games. Halo 3's graphics are a technical achievement. This becomes immediately apparent when you first watch a game film and zoom in/rotate/rewind a colossal explosion or snipe to the head. Breathtaking.
Cons: Screenshots don't do the game justice, but in pure screenshot comparison, Halo 3 lacks that WOW factor.

Sound/Music: 10/10
Pros: Amazing Orchestral Soundtrack that is both familiar and perfectly captures the essence and theme of the game. Great Voice actors are all back and the AI voices during campaign are as funny as ever. "Tank beats Everything!" is one of my favorites. Proximity Voice is back and the sound effects are all spot on. However, Halo 3 again surpasses other games in its attention to detail. If you don't believe me, stand near the water behind the base on Valhalla and listen to the serene moving water for yourself. When I heard it, I was shocked they took the time to put such a thing in. Fantastic!
Cons: Absolutely None

Check out our week of Halo features and
Read the full review on our blog at: http://blog.graduategames.com

Graphics: Breathtaking 9.5/10
The graphics great. The rumors of an upgraded Halo 2, or Halo 2 like graphics is not true. With smooth framerates and stunning effects, you will be taken aback. Take some time to watch the backgrounds and environments and the detail of that went into these levels. This is after you clear everything that moves.

Sound: Amazing – 10/10
The sounds, music, effects, and voices take you immediately into the game. Surround sound is a must so you can hear the shots, shouts, and footsteps of the your opponents in this game. The score for this game heightens you senses, and truly brings you into the game.

Gameplay: Spectacular – 9/10
Smooth animations, large levels, smart enemies and A.I., big battles, and 4-player co-op = awesome. Without giving anything away, this is some great storytelling that gives way to some genuine wow moments.

Replay Value – Amazing 10/10
Multiplayer. That is all I have to say. This game has high replay value. Choose which way you would like to play online, but with the achievements, future downloadable content, 4-player co-op, and with over 1 million copies pre-ordered, and 4 million copies on retailers shelves in the first week, there will always be someone to play with.

Overall – Perfect 9.5/10
I am a fan of First-Person-Shooters (FPS) and all that is associated with them. I enjoy the emersion, and critique them heavily. This game allows you to “finish the fight”, but this game is so much more. The campaign brings closure, but it is the multiplayer aspect that will revolutionize XBOX Live and online gaming as we know it.

Halo 3 is Bungie’s 3-year project and baby, with unlimited resources from Microsoft, that was made to send Microsoft’s XBOX 360 to the next level, and it was worth the wait and money. With over 1 million pre-orders, this epic tale concludes with the highest pre-orders of a game to date. This game in campaign feels, and plays near perfect, and allows veterans and newcomers alike to enjoy and truly experience this game. The story line finishes up the previous two games, and is just long enough to make it feel right, and not dragged out. It took approximately 8.5 hours to beat it on legendary difficulty. It may be a bit shorter, though this was played immediately after a midnight sale of this game. The co-op was well done, and creates a new feel for campaign FPS games. I look forward to the future where this will be the standard in playing games.

The online is well done. Halo 3 has once again set the standard of what an online matchmaking/playing system should be. Putting together fun maps, objectives, and customizable Advatars, this game will appeal to the “newbie”, as well as the everyday online Halo player. With the Halo 2 system being overhauled, and the Bungie stat-tracker updated, this game will quickly become the number one game on XBOX Live.

I could write a five page review on this game, the battles, the enemies, weapons, and AI, but it still would not do it justice. If you have an XBOX 360, you should buy this, and buy it now. If you have thought about getting an XBOX 360, this would be the reason to get one. Does it live up to the hype? I don’t think anything could have lived up to the hype that is game received. This game was praised as the second coming, but what it is one of the best games of 2007, and is beautiful and fun to play.

PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE A NON-SCRATCHED DISK IN THIS EDITION.

Halo 3 is the culimation of the most complete storyline i've seen from any trilogy of games. Granted, Halo 2 didn't end the way most fans would have liked, but this game ties a nice complete bow on the series. I'm not going to spoil the ending, but there is more than one, (based on difficulty) and you'll want to play on "Legendary" to get the "best" ending. By the way, this time, you can finish the story with 4 of your friends on the same Xbox 360, or all play cooperatively on line!

That's just single player. If this game was without a single player, it would still have the rating I gave it. This game is the watermark that all muliplayer FPS (first person shooters) are compared too, graphically, and gameplay balenced.

First off, the game looks beautiful. I won't get too technical to say how many frames per second the game has or mention "refresh rates" but trust me, EVERYTHING looks great, even when you look up close. Halo 3 has several different types of weapons, and over the 3 games, has balanced each one. I'm not an expert by any means, but I feel like I can choose my favorite gun, regardless of which gun, and become successful online. There isn't one gun that "breaks the game" or seems too powerful. Lastly, vehicular combat has been refined with some of the best level design i've ever seen in an game. Every level seems to have just enough space for each vehicle they choose to put in the multiplayer level. The only vehicles they don't have are sea vehicles!

As a special bonus Halo 3 has Forge mode, and given you the ability to record and post any match you participate in. (single or multiplayer) Forge mode allows you to create your own multiplayer boards. For online play! I've seen games attempt this, but this is probably what anyone who owns Little Big Planet should use as a reason to own Halo 3.

In closing this is the most complete game EVER made. If I HAD to look for something they left out, (I don't know if it was intentional) I'd say they could have used/added the class/job structure that was used in Battlefield Bad Company, and Killzone 2. Considering both games were released a year or two after this game kinda says something too.