Difference in Opinion

It doesn’t take a hardcore gamer to know what Halo 3 is. In fact, it doesn’t even take a gamer to know what Halo 3 is. News stations, magazine and all sorts of media have been talking about the record breaking launch ever since midnight on September 24th. Surely you already have the game, or it is on the way to you from some internet site. If not, make haste to your local gaming shop and grab a copy. I assure you, it backs up all the hype.

If you were to palpate the pulse of the videogame industry for the last year, chances are you would know about a constantly growing buzz around the third installment of the Halo storyline. It is no secret that this game was destined for great things, just everyone wanted to know if it could back up all the hype it was creating. Simple answer? Yes it can.

In Halo 2, users were limited to custom games or online multiplayer matches. I shouldn’t say limited, since it was more than most games offer, just it seems like nothing compared to the options in Halo 3. There are five lobbies that you can switch between, each offering a different aspect and enjoyment to the game. Campaign is obviously the single player portion, but has now been expanded to include up to 4 player co-operative play. Then there is your matchmaking lobby which is similar to that of Halo 2, and serves as a round table to hold palaver and gather your troops before going into battle. Also returning is the custom game lobby allowing you to play whatever gametype (and map variant, did I just say that?) that you want with whoever you choose to invite.

The last two lobbies are what sets Halo 3 apart from its previous iteration. Forge, appropriately symbolized with a hammer hitting an anvil, is where players can create their own maps, and own settings they want to play. Feel like having fusion cores rain from the sky on everyone, it can be done. So many options are available with forge. A unique map combined with a custom gametype opens up a whole realm of possibilities making customs have an endless set of different games. The other new lobby is the theater, which allows players to go back and watch games from any matches they have played in any of the other 4 lobbies. You can record or take pictures of a amazing grenade stick you got in one game. What’s more is you can switch to that player’s POV or a free roam camera and see it from all angles.

The Halo 3 campaign was extremely nostalgic for me. There were plenty of scenes that caused me to deja-vu from the original game. This was no mistake by the developers, since it was common knowledge that the single player story from the first game was much better than that of the second. Did the third game beat it? No. But it did get much closer than the second game in establishing a complicated yet enjoyable story that had you traveling through all sorts of settings to “finish the fight.”

The multiplayer has been significantly improved. They made adjustments to all the weapons to place more emphasis on the skill of the player, and less on the performance of the gun they were holding. There are all sorts of new medals players can get in-game that were not offered in Halo 2. What’s more is you can track how many of those medals you have gotten on Bungie.net and brag to your friends.

Another feature that needs noting is your Fileshare. Each person with Xbox Live and Halo 3 has 6 slots (which can be upgraded to 24) to place map variants, game variants, films, clips or screenshots for anyone on the friends list to download on-the-fly. You can also link to your Fileshare page on Bungie.net, and people can que up items to download next time they sign in to Halo 3.

I can’t rave about this game enough. While it does take a certain appreciation of fast paced shooters to enjoy this game, all the features offer something that it seems like everyone can enjoy. Do yourself a favor, go out and get this game if you haven’t and join the other 2 million online waiting to play with you.

Final Score
Gameplay: 10 out of 10
Graphics: 10 out of 10