CONSUMER
Review: Halo 3
02-10-2007
by Ciara O'Brien
ENN gets to grips with Halo 3, the final instalment in the Halo series, and the long-awaited title for the Xbox 360.
After the somewhat disappointingly abrupt ending to Halo 2, the title has a lot to make up for. The hype has been phenomenal, and already Halo 3 has hit the USD1.7 million sales mark, only hours after its release.
The game was released to fanfare across the world, with celebrities such as Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver to the rest of us) and Pharrell Williams getting involved in the launch. But does Halo 3 live up to its expectations? The answer is a resounding yes.
Of course, we don't want to spoil the surprises in the storyline, but we can tell you that the game picks up where Halo 2 left off, with super soldier Master Chief in pursuit of the Covenant once more.
Humanity is facing the aliens, and it's safe to say the humans aren't holding up too well. Step in Master Chief and his fighters to save the day.
From the very beginning, Halo 3 is a riot of action and adventure, with Master Chief storming his way across Earth to battle the invading Covenant. The story picks up again in Africa, where the aliens have managed to gain a presence. From here, it's a non-stop battle for players, with barely a chance to catch your breath as you hurtle headlong from one battle to another.
Halo 3 has been designed specifically for the Xbox 360, and the extra power behind the console certainly shows in the graphics and gameplay. A lot of effort has gone into the visual elements of this game, with the environments looking better than they ever did on the console's predecessor. Realistic jungles, wastelands and even alien environments have been given the 360 magic, and Bungie's developers, although not perfect, have done a pretty good job for the most part.
The game also has some new vehicles and weapons to keep players happy including a new forcefield that adds to the newly-tweaked gameplay. Eagle-eyed players will also notice the presence of the skulls from Halo 2 -- and if this is the first you've heard of them, clearly you weren't paying attention!
The single player mode, while suffering some limitations, is a good enough reason to play this game, but it is the online player option that will keep people hooked on Halo 3. Linking into Xbox Live provides a whole new area of gameplay for Halo fans, allowing them to battle with players around the world.
The multiplayer game is more customisable than ever before, with players able to define game types and even tweak the maps while playing using Forge. Becoming a "monitor" gives you the ability to influence the game by dropping weapons to a weaker team at an opportune moment -- playing God, if you like.
The weapons and vehicles are also utilised much more effectively in the multiplayer mode, making it an immersive experience for even the uninitiated.
All in all, a good conclusion to the series, although true Halo fans will probably crave more.
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