Forget about Halo2, Halo3's here

Damon Barnhart
Eng. 110.03
Prof. Trovato
10/22/07
Product review of Halo 3

Just recently Bungie has released the third installment in the Halo saga. Halo 3 is a must have in anyone’s game collection. I myself have been a fan of the past two games so going out and purchasing Halo 3 was second nature. Both Halo 1 and Halo 2 were very successful first person shooters, so Halo 3 has a lot to live up to. I personally feel it did so with flying colors.
The biggest part of any first person shooter would be the weapons and over the years Halo has mastered them. If Halo’s already unique arsenal was not enough, they’ve brought in and back weapons to meet everyone’s fighting styles. We’ve all been waiting on a new brute weapons and now they’re here. Rightly dubbed, a spiker, it’s an equivalent to the SMG but with a little twist. It has a blade on the end of the fun big enough to take down the biggest of enemies. As well as the spiker, the brutes have another new weapon called the gravity hammer. It’s a giant hammer that slows you down when you hold it but when you slam it anywhere near an enemy, they take some serious damage. The humans were given a weapon called the Spartan laser. It requires to be locked onto an enemy before firing; which does take time, but if your successful with it, nothing will stand in your way. Originally from Halo 1, the assault rifle was brought back with more firepower and accuracy. A rightful advancement from its original form. Last but not least, everyone remembers the turrets in Halo 2. Now in Halo 3 it’s possible to not only shoot them from their stand but you can pull them off and carry them around. Turrets, grenade launchers, and flamethrowers all automatically switch you into third person and slow you down dramatically, but with the added firepower it’s and equal trade.
Halo has always been successful at offering more exciting and destructive vehicles then your average first person shooter. Now with three new vehicles it’s even harder to stay and fight on foot. As well as new weapons, the brutes have brought in a new vehicle. Called, a chopper, it’s the brutes version of the covenants, ghost. With less firing rate as the ghost it makes up for more powerful shoots and staying around the same speed as the ghost. The humans however have two new vehicles: A flying vehicle called, a hornet and an ATV called a mongoose. The hornet is only used in campaign and adds a new feel to the Marines battle against the covenant. The mongoose is a fast, little vehicle basically meant to allow you to get from point A to point B quicker then everyone else. It can hold two people with one driver and one passenger on the back holding on for dear life. Even though you can shoot from the back it’s difficult due to its speed and quick maneuverability.
Like in Halo 2, Halo 3’s campaign is thought to be a little shorter then hoped for and with a slightly confusing story (especially if your playing it at e a.m.), it may take you more then once to completely grasp Halo 3’s storyline. Unlike Halo 2, Halo 3 brings back open battlefields with vast, constant action going on around you, unlike in Halo 2 where you often find yourself fighting in confined or controlled areas. When your playing campaign in Halo 3, stop and look around, there’s fighting going on in the air, both marine and covenant vehicles are sending in reinforcements, all this going on over a vast battleground. In Halo 3 there is no longer the switched storylines of master chief and the arbiter. Player 1 is master chief and player 2 is the arbiter, both are working together with coinciding storylines. With new tougher and smarter enemies, Halo 3’s campaign turns out to be quite a challenge. With 9 levels of action packed goodness, Halo 3’s campaign gives a worthy ending to the Halo legacy.
Just like its predecessor, Halo 3’s multiplayer is top notch. With the same concepts that made Halo 2’s multiplayer successful and more, it stays at the top of online games. With not only number rankings like the game before, it also has military rankings that allow you to play alongside with your friends and still gain experience towards you next level. Halo 3’s multiplayer offers options to fit everyone’s wants and needs. Whether you want to play against 3 of your friends or against fifteen people you don’t know online, it’s all up to you. Halo 3 has added a few new things to its already sterling multiplayer options. You can now edit maps in something called, the forge. You can change spawn points, weapons, vehicles, you name it. You do have a limit like any other game, only allowing a certain number of vehicles and weapons on the map. Along with the forge, Halo 3 constantly records everything you do, from the campaign to multiplayer. It’s a fun way to prove to your friends how much you actually are better then them. Need proof that you killed 4 people simultaneously, now you can, with a touch of a button, zoom in, zoom out, take a picture, save it and share it for everyone to see.
Now it’s time for what everyone has been waiting for, the complaints. From the original Halo, it’s kept the same controls that by now are etched in every Halo players mind. With the new xbox 360 controllers they’ve switched the x button with the right bumper to reload. I know in my case I pushed the x button to reload countless times which can be, well was, very aggravating. At the end of the campaign in Halo 2 master chief lost Cortana, His A.I. unit, and begins Halo 3’s campaign searching for her. On several occasions throughout various levels Cortana speaks to you and completely stops you from moving and continuing on with the game. Like the reloading switch, this is very aggravating, especially when you can’t understand her and it very violently vibrates your controller. Aside from these few things, Halo 3 is a great game and is fun for everyone. For $60.00 this game is worth every penny. I would recommend this game to everyone. Like the other Halo’s, it still has that undeniable “replay-ability,” it keeps going, win or loose it doesn’t matter, it’s Halo.