Everyone has probably played Halo 3 by the time they read this but nonetheless I felt like sharing my thoughts on what is supposed to be the last game we see the Master Chief in.
First I would like to point out that after Halo 1 and Halo 2 I was probably one of the biggest fans of Halo that there is. In my apartment stands a Halo 2 Master Chief carboard standee loaded up with all of the novels in the Halo series. I also have an unopened can of Game Fuel and and unopened 20oz of it as well. I also own every game in the Halo series from Halo 1 to Halo Wars. On top of that have a Halo 2 shirt and a couple of Halo 3 shirts, a Halo 3 sweatshirt, and even a Halo Wars t-shirt that I wear also. So suffice to to say I am one of the biggest Halo nerds on the planet but now on to the review.
This is hard for me to say but to me Halo 3 is a huge letdown. The single player campaign is nowhere near as fun as the one in Combat Evolved or in Halo 2. I hate the fact that instead of fighting the Elites your are left constantly fighting Brutes which are basically just bigger and more annoying versions of their elite counterparts from previous entries in the series. I think it would have been quite a bit more interesting if there was at least some other kind of bigger enemy to fight besides the brutes. I guess I just don't like the brutes as a whole to me they feel like a giant rip-off from planet of the apes but that is just my opinion
Halo 3 plays largely the same as Combat Evolved and as Halo 2 but I am often frusterated when I hit x to reload still to this day only to remember its the right bumper in Halo 3. I would of liked to of seen an option in which the player can customize their button layouts instead of having to choose from standardized set ups. The gameplay in Halo 3 seems to be constantly fluid and I don't recall having any sort of slowdown or framerate issues at any point during the game.
Vehicles are still as much a part of Halo 3 as they were in 1 and 2 however there are some largely underwhelming additions to the series. Bungie decided to toss in a four wheeler dubbed the "Mongoose" and a troop transport version of the Warthog. Both of these new additions are largely useless. Mongooses are slightly more useful depending on who you can find to ride on the back but they seem to have a tendency to flip easily which can often end up with you getting killed. There is also a new human version of the Banshee called the Hornet which is the one singular vehicular edition to this game that I didn't feel was almost totally useless. The Hornet however requires a bit more skill to fly than the Banshee and in a firefight the Banshee's manueverability puts it at a major advantage especially online.
The other key editions to the gameplay in Halo 3 are the weapons. I like the additions of the original assault rifle however I would of liked to of seen it remain as it was from Halo 1 rather than cutting the magazine capacity in half and slowing the rate of fire but making it more accurate and more powerful. Bungie has also added weapons such as the Brute Spikers and the Brute Shotgun the latter of which can be massively effective when duel wielded. Another weapon which players have seen before but haven't been able to use is the Gravity Hammer. This is a weapon which compares to the energy sword. You can pretty much lay waste to any enemy in the game which is unfortunate to allow you to get close enough to them with it. Its one downfall is that you must be right on top of your enemy to use it so trying to close in on them from range leaves you vulnerable to attack.
All with the new additions and improved graphics the single player campaign isn't a bad experience but I just didn't get the same feelings that I did when I originally played through both Combat Evolved and Halo 2.
On to the Multiplayer experience which is probably the focal point of the Halo series. Sadly though to me the multiplayer experience in Halo 3 is lacking. When I play Halo 3 online I just don't seem to ever feel at home playing it. I don't know if it is just me but I used to be a dominant force in Halo 1 against my friends and in Halo 2 online and now I can't seem to do anything but get owned. I can't quite put my thumb on it but something just seems out of place to me about Halo 3's online gameplay over the other games in the series.
Multiplayer is largely the same as Halo 2's except there are different levels and the balancing of weapons is much different. I was a big fan of Halo 2's battle rifle, but in Halo 3 I find myself getting wasted by people with the assault rifle more than often, even after I have pumped 3-4 battle rifle bursts right into their heads. Although I could understand making the Battle Rifle slightly weaker this weapon feels like a bb gun compared to the one in Halo 2. Weapons such as the pistols remain totally useless in Halo 3's online mode and it seems to me as though the rounds devolve into whoever retains control of the sniper rifles and shotguns throughout the levels.
The other huge issue I have with Halo 3's multiplayer is the Warthog. I swear Bungie slowed this vehicle down from 1 and 2. Its nearly impossible to run people over with the Warthog in this game which is kind of a pain when someone shoots the gunner off of your hog and that's all you have left as your defense is to try and run them over. I find myself getting killed or jacked out of the warthog more often than not so most of the time now I avoid using this vehicle unless I have a gunner with me or I am playing as the gunner.
The online multiplayer system for Halo 3 is another issue I have with the game. It might just be an issue I am having but the game seems to pick the same maps over and over. There have been times where I have played and it picks the same map 3-4 times in a row. There needs to be more variety. With all of the map packs this game has now it should be picking levels more at random. I am also not a big fan of being thrown into games with random gametypes such as assault, capture the flag, slayer or so on. I think there needs to be more of a system like in COD4's and COD5's where the player can select which of these types they want to play instead of being forced to play gametypes the game picks at random.
The maps available in Halo 3 are underwhelming to me as well although I like some of the remakes of classic maps such as Snowbound but there are quite a few other maps from the previous entries in the series that should have been remade and included in the first place. I guess though it is more convenient not including them in first place so you can charge a whopping 800 microsoft points to get them 1 at a time with a couple of completely new maps in map packs that come out every once in a great while.
I guess I am just overly unimpressed with Halo 3's multiplayer. Matches on large maps are always won by the teams that control the sniper rifles, the spartan lasers, or the banshees while the matches on smaller maps always seem to be controlled by teams that retain control of the shotguns, sniper rifles, energy swords, or the ghost. To me there doesn't seem to be any particular balance. It's all about getting the specific powerful weapons instead of being about skill. Halo 1 and 2 were more about player skill than about trying to get the best weapons in the level. Although many dog on Halo 1's pistol being overpowered it gave every player a fighting chance against everyone because some guy that plays for 16hours a day couldn't control the flow and tempo of the game simply by getting the sniper rifle before everyone else.
I am very disappointed in Bungie with this entry in the series and this comes from one of the biggest Halo nerds you're going to find. In all honesty although I still own a copy of Halo 3 I never play it anymore. It sits around and collects dust because the multiplayer experiences in other FPS games such as COD4, and CODWaW are much more fun and more well balanced than that in Halo 3.
In conclusion I would have to say that Halo 3 is not a bad game but I can't get rid of the nagging feeling that it could have been much better perhaps with some different additions to the game or a slight change in the story. I can't help but feel that Bungie took everything good about Halo 1 and 2's mulitplayer and molested it into the steaming pile of turd that is Halo 3's multiplayer experience.
Graphics: 8/10 The graphics in Halo 3 are good but they look like Halo 2's with slightly more polish. I would of liked to of seen a greater effort in this department.
Sound: 7/10 The same awesome music typical of previous entries in the series are here but nothing is done all that differently. Sound effects for weapons are not loud enough and weapons feel nowhere near as powerful as they should.
Replayability: 7/10 Replayability is good if you like playing Halo 3's broken mulitplayer experience against mouthy teenagers online that worship this game as if it is god and play it for 16+ hours a day.
Final Score: 7.5/10 Halo 3 is not a bad game it really isn't despite the fact that there are some areas of the game that I am notable biased towards its still a game that Xbox owners and veterans of the series will like. Seriously though how the hell does a monitor kill Sgt. Johnson. The guy survives everything else in the series only to die by one of those massively annying flying orbs shooting him with a laser in the back.
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Last edited by Shibby927; 05-29-2009 at 11:59 AM.
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Not go into detail about the games, just a highlight.
360 only
Halo3 - Boring. One and two were both better just did not have the graphics. Want to try ODST. I hear they are bringing the pistol back.
COD Modern Warfare - Decent but they screwed themselves on the 50 Sniper rifle. I know they tried to make it "realistic" with wind drift, ect.. but the 50, while not being a super accurate round, is far more capable of hitting it's target at 2,000 yards than what the games gives at less than 100. I have seen less slice on my golf swing. And since I love the sniper rifles it was a HUGE let down. And I want it suppressed. Let us just hope the MW2 is better.
Unreal Tournament 3 - Not bad, fun, but the PC version blows it away. Microsoft is being anal and not letting the FREE map and game updates happen. Sony and PC allows this and because of this the game stagnates.
G.I. Joe - Had to try it. It would have been a good game ten years ago.
Mortal Combat Vs. DC - Fun but got old quickly. Street fighter 2 is still better.
COD WWA - Absolutely rocks. Blows all the rest of it's genre out of the water. Online play makes it even better.
the 50 cal in the actual game was realistic... it took an arm off.
The multiplayer guns HAVE to be balanced... if they werent, everyone would just use the most powerful one.
You either know nothing about guns and ballistics or you enjoy inaccuracies in games that try to be accurate. The other weapons are basically correct, yet the one rifle that is capable of the most damage, the longest kill range AND the slowest reload they make so inaccurate it is completely unbelievable.
It is like playing a racing game where the Ferrari could only turn right on a figure 8 course. It has nothing to do with balance, it has to do with accuracy. It in not like it is a 50 cal that shoots 6,000 rounds a minute and is easily toted around by a computer geek who has not seen daylight in 6 months. If they can get a 3 shot burst from an M4 to be accurate and correct, why not a sniper rifle? Otherwise you have a $15,000 tent stake.
You either know nothing about guns and ballistics or you enjoy inaccuracies in games that try to be accurate. The other weapons are basically correct, yet the one rifle that is capable of the most damage, the longest kill range AND the slowest reload they make so inaccurate it is completely unbelievable.
It is like playing a racing game where the Ferrari could only turn right on a figure 8 course. It has nothing to do with balance, it has to do with accuracy. It in not like it is a 50 cal that shoots 6,000 rounds a minute and is easily toted around by a computer geek who has not seen daylight in 6 months. If they can get a 3 shot burst from an M4 to be accurate and correct, why not a sniper rifle? Otherwise you have a $15,000 tent stake.
So your saying that a Barrett .50 cal semi automatic has the slowest reload time.
I will put it this way, since you seem to be SO WORKED UP... IF the barrett has a one shot one kill gun in multiplayer, everyone will use it. PERIOD why would anyone bother using any other gun?
And how can you compare a 7.62 round to a .50bmg? Any soldier should be able to lay an accurate 3 round burst down with that low recoil round...
but I am sure the guys that run with the .50 and get kills must just not get out much and play COD all day...
You either know nothing about guns and ballistics or you enjoy inaccuracies in games that try to be accurate. The other weapons are basically correct, yet the one rifle that is capable of the most damage, the longest kill range AND the slowest reload they make so inaccurate it is completely unbelievable.
It is like playing a racing game where the Ferrari could only turn right on a figure 8 course. It has nothing to do with balance, it has to do with accuracy. It in not like it is a 50 cal that shoots 6,000 rounds a minute and is easily toted around by a computer geek who has not seen daylight in 6 months. If they can get a 3 shot burst from an M4 to be accurate and correct, why not a sniper rifle? Otherwise you have a $15,000 tent stake.
You FAIL to understand that he was saying that they change the way it works for multiplayer, so it wasn't overwhelming. You can not have a weapon that dominates in a good multiplayer shooter. You just CAN'T.
The gun was accurate to real life in the single player mode.
And you are confusing short range and long range ability. And M4, shotgun, Ak74, MP5 are super short and medium range weapons, great for room clearing and totability, the 50 is not, in fact in that type of arena it is one of the worst. If you need to make a shot across the map you don't use a 223 or a 9mm, 308 minimum with the 50 being priority. Making the firearm that is supposed to be used for that specific purpose not be able to do it's job is stupid. You don't want to re-spawn?, move faster and take cover. That is my issue with the game, make the equipment do what it is supposed to, don't hamper my weapon because you aren't good enough. I don't see racing games making the faster cars slower to make it even, maybe you should have chosen the faster car.
In case you are wondering, 1,000 yard shooting is a blast with a 50BMG, very little wind drift, far less than the game.
Besides, who cares about single player mode, the game is custom built for online multiplayer.
Review: Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
