Release Date: 2007
System: XBox 360
ESRB Rating: M (Mature) for Blood and Gore, Mild Language and Violence
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
The final chapter of the Halo saga has hit the XBox 360 in "Halo 3," and while the experience will end far too soon for many fans' tastes, it's a good game while it lasts.
As "Halo 3" begins, the Master Chief has fallen through Earth's atmosphere from the Forerunner ship that he boarded at the end of "Halo 2" and crash-landed. He's rescued by United Nations Space Command (UNSC) soldiers, as well as The Arbiter from "Halo 2." The Covenant, a coalition of alien religious fanatics, has arrived on Earth and taken control, and have begun an excavation project on the African continent in search of an ancient alien artifact. Master Chief and the military try to stop The Covenant, only to have The Flood - a destructive, parasitic alien race from the first two "Halo" games - crash land on Earth as The Covenant activate the uncovered alien artifact, creating a mysterious portal.
After the humans repel The Flood, with help from a cadre of Elites - a Covenant race that fell out of favor with The Covenant's leaders during the events of "Halo 2" - the Elites and humans follow The Covenant through the portal, which turns out to lead to The Ark. The Prophet of Truth, leader of The Covenant, intends to use The Ark to fire all of the Halos in the galaxy, initiating a galaxy-wide genocide of all sentient life that The Covenant refer to as "The Great Journey." Together with The Arbiter, the Master Chief sets out to stop Truth and save the galaxy.
Returning players will have very little trouble getting used to the gameplay in "Halo 3." The same engine used in the previous two games is back in this edition, with only a few superficial changes that players should soon get accustomed to. Controls are somewhat different, due to the different construction of the XBox 360 controller, but again, it will not be a huge obstacle for returning players.
As always with the "Halo" series, the action in this game is heavy and fast. You never have an opportunity to rest for long in this game, as both The Covenant and The Flood relentlessly fight against you and the soldiers traveling with you. Players will rarely find a boring moment in this game, and the game manages to stay fun for the vast majority of its length.
Of course, you get a ton of fun toys to fight the enemy with in "Halo 3." In addition to some old favorites, like the shotgun, plasma rifle and energy sword, some new bang-bang can be found throughout the game. These newcomer weapons include the spiker (a sort of next-generation needler carried by Brute troopers), the gravity hammer (a massive club carried by certain Brutes) and the Spartan Laser (a human weapon that, when charged up, unleashes a massive laser blast about as powerful as a rocket launcher). You can dual-wield weapons in this game, just like in "Halo 2." In addition, the Master Chief can not only man turreted weapons, but can also tear them off of their mounts and carry them around for mobile use (which the game switches to a third-person, over-the-shoulder view for).
You also get your trusty grenades to provide some extra explosive power in a pinch. Unfortunately, your grenades capacity has been reduced from four per grenade type to two. However, there are two more varieties of grenades you can pick up that compensate for this. In addition to the good ol' frag grenade and the glowing, sticky and deadly plasma grenades, there's also Brute stick grenades (that also stick to targets) and incendiary grenades that leave fire burning after they explode.
In addition, there's some new equipment that enemies sometimes drop, including deployable shields, an auto-turret and even an invincibility item, that you can use when you need them. You can only carry one type of equipment at a time, but they can be a lifesaver in a pinch.
What "Halo" game would be complete without vehicles? In "Halo 3," you get to pilot a large assortment of vehicles, from the old but fun powerhouses like the Warthog and the Scorpion tank to new vehicles like the Mongoose (an ATV-like vehicle that's basically a scaled-down Warthog) and the Hornet (a human flying vehicle armed with machine guns and missiles). The enemies also get some new vehicles, mostly to accommodate the Brutes, including the Chopper (a motorcycle with two big front-mounted wheels) and the Prowler (a hovercraft similar to the Specter from "Halo 2"). The Brute-piloted vehicles are pretty cool-looking - they're big, clunky and ugly, just like you'd expect vehicles driven by eight-foot tall alien apes to look.
While the campaign mode is a lot of fun, on par and at times even exceeding the fun factor of the previous two games in the series, it shares one major flaw with "Halo 2" - it's far too short. I just started playing the game two or three nights ago, not even spending all day playing it, and I finished it today, about an hour ago. Maybe the first "Halo" was so long that it spoiled "Halo" fans, but "Halo 2" and "Halo 3" could easily have been combined into one game, considering how short they are.
On the whole, however, fans of the "Halo" series will find "Halo 3" a satisfying end to the saga of the Master Chief and the human/Covenant war. Definitely give this one a try.
Score: 8.5 out of 10 (The campaign mode is woefully short, but it's a hell of a lot of fun while it lasts)
