September 29 2007, a month that will be forever etched in the minds of fans forever. Dramatic entrances aside,
Halo 3 and it’s world wide launch event (A quiet one here in Singapore as well. OMG, why not bigger! Damned government.) was a first for many things that became a standard for all AAA hopeful titles to follow. Bungie studios fired the first salvo with multiple versions again, adding a third tier Collector’s Edition aptly named the Legendary Edition, in this case is a individually numbered (only 100000 were produced), scaled, and sculpt Master Chief Helmet case to store up to 4 Xbox 360 games.
As a FPS, Halo does what it’s predecessors achieved before by sweeping world acclaim by metacritic. But fanfare aside, how did it work? Let’s find out.
Graphics
Halo 3’s graphics were a step forward from Halo 2 and stood out against the crowd at the time including Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare. Here are some screen comparisons
Plasma Rifle comparison
Gameplay comparison with Call of Duty 4 and Gears of War
Overall, Graphically, Halo 3 is beautiful, from UNSC areas to Covenant starship interiors right down to weapons and scenery, with a bonus for water effects, scoring a 9.
Sound
The soundtrack done by Halo veteran composer Martin O Donnell, is as usual amazing, fanboyism aside, the soundtrack is indeed beautiful, from every plasma bolt to metal round slug, up to foley. Background music and of course the main theme.
Martin always fails to disappoint. The iconic theme along with a secret soundtrack that is a bonus for Bungie fans alike. Every sound piece fits brilliantly and no complaints here. This scores a 9 because despite the fact that each soundtrack hits the spot, it doesn’t match up to true icons like Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 7 of which, the number of instantly recognisable tracks are in no need of explanation.
Gameplay (Single player)
Halo 3 introduces equipment, one time use items that grant an edge depending on the situation, from the protective bubble shield, the shield draining, vehicle stopping energy drainer to the life saving deployable cover (not present in multiplayer) equipment adds a new addition to Halo’s golden triangle of Weapon-melee-grenade, along with the already implemented dual wielding and vehicle jacking. Possibilities for carnage, near endless.
Bubble Shield
Power Drainer in action.
The campaign, although short is immensely satisfying, each with a high and low. Although some areas are as annoying as hell, for example, on Legendary, the Jackal snipers on the first level are a little TOO accurate, along with the menace that is drones, which is comparable to armed houseflies.
"I see you." (snipe)
Those aside, There are moments that truly will have you playing the level over and over again, for example,
Taking down a Scarab nope. 2. XD
And of course, the final warthog run
Although the main idea was to pay homage to the game that started it all, some areas feel a bit too similar, yet still satisfying in their own way. (above) Despite this, the campaign scores for fluid gameplay and adding satisfaction along with closure to the tale of Master Chief.
Gameplay (multiplayer)
Halo’s lifeblood, the core of any FPS, all the carnage from campaign has just been multiplied. Here we take a look at multiplayer workings and how it sustained for the length of 3 years like it’s predecessor.
Matchmaking
A Bungie initiative that added a more competitive feel to the mix, Halo 3’s revamped matchmaking engine does more than Halo 2’s engine including Filesharing for videos, screenshots and user generated content. The matchmaking engine also tracks statistics from standard kd to favourite weapon and even heatmaps to track where you kill and die the most.
Matchmaking in action
Heatmaps to assess your tactics
Multiplayer ranks are earned by playing 2 specific playlists. A competitive playlist which decides which tier you earn, from Sergeant, to Captain, to Major and later on all the way to general, and all the other playlists which just adds to your overall exp. This allows those who don’t play as competitively to still earn a secondary branch of ranks. For example, a Major at 28 skill plays until he hits 600 exp and ranks up to Major Grade 2 and 600 more to hit Field Major.
My own stats, as pathetic as they are.
Weapons
Halo keeps it’s weapon rule where plasma based weapons score a bonus against shields and ballistics do bonus against unshielded opponents. Halo 3 includes just about every weapon ever shown in the Halo Trilogy, with each weapon almost always having a counterpart. MLG selected certain weapons with specific traits to use in their official set, including the 1 headshot-kill Sniper rifle and the mainstay of any serious Halo 3 player, the Battle Rifle.
(Nerdgasm, please continue to next section to avoid rambling over a favourite weapon)
The Battle Rifle, 3 shots anywhere, 1 shot to the head. This weapon is a all round weapon, effective medium to long range in the hands of a pro. It’s counterpart, the Covenant Carbine, a semi-automatic weapon with an aggressive fire-rate scores a kill with 7 shots. Master these 2 along with a decent proficiency in the other weapons and almost any game is yours unless its against an MLG pro.
Battle Rifle
Carbine
Story
A solid plot that gives closure to the story of Master Chief and a resolution to the Covenant invasion. Short as it is, it still deserves a 8.
All in all, Halo 3 is a must buy for the 360, even years past its prime it is still a great game to play compared alongside to today’s heavyweights.
Graphics :9
Sound:9
Gameplay:9.5
Story:8.5
9/10
