Review: Halo 3

Caution, some things that may be spoilers lie ahead.

Back in 2001, the original Halo carried the weight of the entire Xbox console on its shoulders. This game brought a mix of great graphics, an amazing soundtrack, and tight gameplay that kept the Xbox alive and kicking in the console wars against Sony and Nintendo. Three years later, Halo 2 kickstarted the Xbox Live experience, allowing users to play against one another over the Internet. With millions of dedicated fans waiting for it, and with more hype than has been seen for any video game (save perhaps Super Mario Bros 3 and The Wizard), Microsoft and Bungie had a lot of pressure to bring a worthwhile Halo 3. They succeeded.

Graphics 90/100
Halo 3 is about gameplay, and graphics seem to have taken a back seat. That’s not to say, however, that they are bad. There is good texture detail and decent lighting effects throughout the game. The enemy character models are especially interesting, most notably the Flood variations of humans, elites and brutes. These deformed beasts show both the remnants of their past form along with strange eye stalks and grotesque limbs.

However, I think it’s the futuristic style of the game that really hurts the graphics in some peoples’ eyes. When compared with a game full of gritty, drab lighting and graphics like Bioshock, the bright neon colors of Halo may come across as inferior. It’s hard to compare these types of games against one another. But in comparison to the previous Halo games on Xbox 1, Halo 3 is a big jump ahead. One thing that impressed me was the similarities in the actual halo architecture between Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 3.. well done.

Easily the worst facet of the graphics is the way humans look, especially in cut scenes. The human general almost looks infected by flood even though he isn’t. Those cut scenes detract from an otherwise quality experience.

Sound 100/100
Marty O’Donnell brings the same quality score to Halo 3 that we loved in Halo 1 and 2, with some of the most beautiful music you’ll hear in a video game. I cannot give enough praise to the audio folks at Bungie for the fine job done in this area. Moving from emotion to emotion, the score becomes an integral part of the campaign.

Along with the score is great sound effects for every gun, every footstep, every melee attack on every surface, and just about every environment. The weapons make distinct sounds and really give a lot of personality to the combat. The covenant weapons that the Arbiter starts out with always contrast with the human Master Chief weaponry.

The dialog is full of surprises too. With each background character having a litany of dialog choices, you can play through the game a number of times with the background characters screaming different things each time. (You should make a point to find the Red vs Blue guys hidden in the game.)

Gameplay: 100/100
If there is one place where Bungie’s expertise really shines, it is in gameplay. With legions of fans and a die-hard community, they have had tons of feedback in how to make the game play just as you want. Halo 3 is a well oiled machine. Whether its running for cover, jumping, aiming that sniper, tossing grenades, driving vehicles or striking down that Hunter with a melee attack, Halo 3 seems to control just as you’d expect. A lot can be said about controlling a super soldier like Master Chief or the Arbiter, where jumping high and moving fast is the norm. It makes playing as somebody like Gordon Freeman in the Orange Box like being tethered to the ground and running through molasses. This game controls tight.

Replay: 95/100
If you only play through the campaign, you can burn through it on normal in a day. However, there is much more to see and do in the world of Halo 3. Not only do many of the levels feature hidden skulls (located in some very difficult locations), but each level also has an achievement associated with it that is based on a scoring system. Your score is calculated by how you kill the opponents (eg. headshots, grenades, etc) the difficulty you have the game on, how long it takes you to finish the level, and how many difficulty skulls you have enabled. This scoring system allows you to replay levels in order to both get the achievement, and to just get the highest score.

Online play offers limitless possibilities, and you can bet that people will still be playing this game for years to come. The Halo matchmaking system pairs you up against relatively equal opponents, making it the best online fps gaming experience you will find. You will also find that the most difficult achievements can only be gained through online play, and you’ll be playing for a long time before you’ll have everything finished.

My only complaint is that there is no multiplayer against bots. Rare has been doing bots since the N64 on Perfect Dark, and Bungie certainly could have implemented something in this area. However, they refuse, stating that only by playing against humans would you be able to experience what they were going for. Sure, bots might not be able to develop great strategies for capture the flag, but I know that they could work in slayer (aka deathmatch), and would give new players a good starting point to practice against. However, I doubt this will ever happen as long as Microsoft Live is a pay service.

Overall, Halo 3 delivers in just about every way. If you’ve been following the story since the original Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 3 will cap it off nicely, and move the franchise into the future. What lies ahead for Master Chief? Only those on the inside know for sure. But you can guarantee that millions of people will be watching, waiting.