Halo 3 — it’s kind of a big deal. It’s one of those rare games that even non-gamers know about. Over the summer, the hype machine was in full effect for Master Chief’s return. But once the game arrived, did the product justify the buildup? Read on for one gamer’s opinion.

Before the Halo 3 Beta, the last First Person Shooter (FPS) I played was Doom. I was one of the few people who bought Crackdown for itself, and not the Beta invite. A good friend of mine, though, convinced me to go ahead and download the beta once available, and he’d teach me to play. During that Beta month, I did learn quite a bit, and I benefited from having a Halo veteran give me insights and tips to play the game. I greatly enjoyed the Beta, and even won a couple of Rumble Pit (a six-person free-for-all) matches. What’s this mean, you ask? A fair and balanced review, I hope, as I’m not yet a rabid Halo fanboy.

For the final version, we finally get to see the single player campaign, and that’s what I’ll focus on for the moment. Since H3 is my first exposure to the series, I really can’t tell you about the story, other than that it seemed rather basic. Aliens invade the Earth, and Master Chief has to stop them. As you progress through the game, nothing dramatic happens. You get dropped into a warzone, and you make your way from Point A to Point B, taking care of the alien invaders along the way. Perhaps if I had been onboard for the previous games, I would have felt a connection to the characters. Unfortunately, I felt no depth or real characterization. Your cohorts, from the gruff Sergeant Johnson, to the Military Commander, and everybody inbetween, seemed like walking cliches. But then again, did anybody buy Halo 3 for the solo action?

Graphics: The various character models are really good. Throughout the game, you’ll be seeing a lot of troops, as well as your Elite (a race of aliens that was once your enemy, but now they’re all BFF with the humans) teammates. Your enemies are finely crafted as well, though the variety is somewhat lacking. There’s probably less than ten distinct enemy types you’ll face throughout the game. H3 also features a lot of vehicle combat as well, and the various craft you can drive (or fly) are richly detailed. The human vehicles look especially nice, as most are modeled on modern-day transports. The alien vehicles are imaginative, but a tad below the humans’ in the wow factor. While the characters and vehicles shine, your surroundings are quite generic. The various fields, forests, and alien bunkers technically look good, there is nothing that really makes the environment shine. For example, BioShock’s environment was a work of art — you could literally double your gameplay time just by staring at your surroundings. Not so with H3. It does the job, but you won’t stop to admire the scenery.

Controls: Just fine. In terms of FPS’s, Halo’s scheme is nearly flawless. My aforementioned Halo fanboy friend told me that the new control layout in H3 is heads above H2’s, so I’ll take his word for it. For myself, I’ve found no issues with the control scheme — while on foot. Controlling vehicles can be a bit tricky — H3 uses only the two analog sticks to drive, and several of the vehicles seem top heavy and unbalanced.

H3 also introduces two very interesting applications in this game: Saved Films and The Forge. Saved Films lets you play back any multiplayer or campaign stretch you’ve played (up to your last 25 games), and analyze the action from any angle you want. Want to know where that sniper was you could never find? Load up that game, pause the action, and zoom through the map until you’ve found them. The Forge is a multiplayer map editor. With this, you can create any game you want by placing all types of objects, weapons, vehicles, and respawn points around any of the maps.

Sound: The first time I heard the Halo theme, I was hooked. It’s a very nice piece of music, and the makers of this game, Bungie, think so too, as you’ll hear variations of it all the time during your campaign. Whether it’s a touching cinematic, an intense battle, or an important part of the story, you’ll hear that familiar tune. Since I’m new to the series, I haven’t tired of it, but my Halo fanboy friend said that after three games, he’s sick of it.

Voice acting is very good, but not great. Sarge Johnson’s voice, while cliched as the character, is still acted out believably. Your main battlefield ally, an Elite called The Arbiter, is voiced by Keith David. His voice is very recognizable from a variety of works, so it was a bit distracting to hear Spawn, Goliath, Pitch Black’s Imam, and the guy who’s the voice of the U.S. Army recruitment commercials talking to me at various points. Other voices, while performed just fine, aren’t really awe-inspiring, like BioShock’s, for example (a bit unfair, maybe, but BioShock really set a high bar in judging just how excellent a video game can be). Enemy voices are the typical “get him” or “there he is”, however the lowly Grunts often say hilarious things to you when you confront them. As a treat to fans of Firefly, listen for the voices of Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, and Adam Baldwin as marines during the course of the campaign.

My biggest complaint with the sound department is your weaponry. While playing through Gears of War, I marveled at how the sounds of the guns made you feel their weight. As you shot, their loud, booming reports really made you feel like you were in the thick of a battle. H3’s guns sound muted, with the exception of the Spartan Laser. The others really sound like toy guns, especially compared to GoW’s noisemakers.

Multiplayer: Ah, now here’s the real meat and potatoes of Halo 3. Long after you’ve beaten the game, this is the mode you’ll be going back to time after time. There are quite a number of different options when it comes to multiplayer battles. You have your standard team matches, which come in 2 on 2, 4 on 4, and 8 on 8 flavors. You also have your free-for-all matches in Rumble Pit (a social style where rankings don’t come into play) or Lone Wolves (where rankings come into play). Along with the deathmatches (called Slayer in the Haloverse), you have other varieties of games such as King of the Hill, Capture the Flag, Territories, Oddball, VIP, and many more.

Simply put, multiplayer if fun. While playing free-for-all is nice, nothing beats hooking up with your friends during team games. Every game you play will be something new, and working as a team is a big rush. Even if you don’t have any friends, or any online when you’re playing, play a team game anyways — H3’s matchmaking lobby will pair you up with people of similar skill, and you’ll more than likely come away with some new pals.

As with any online game, other players can impact your own personal experience in the game. Halo gamers have been deemed a very rough crowd, but my online experience so far has been mostly positive. You’ll inevitably run into a complete jerk here or there, but that’s like real life. Unlike the outside world, though, you have the option to mute all communications so you don’t have to listen to anybody else while you play. While this is fine for free-for-all games, the lack of communication can hurt in team games.

But wait… multiplayer doesn’t end there! You and up to three friends can take on the story mode together! This option really adds a fun element to ridding the Earth of the evil aliens.

Intangibles: The campaign mode is short, but that’s nothing new for FPS’s. Even if you’re not an experienced player, you can get through this in about 7-8 hours, and possibly faster if you play with friends.

- The Halo fanbase can seem daunting to those just getting into the franchise, but take it from me — there are a lot of new people playing this game. When playing online, you’ll find all sorts of skill ranks, and H3’s matchmaking lobby is very good at finding an appropriate match for you. However, if your friends have high ranks and you’re a very low rank, team games can become unevenly matched.

The Bottom Line: Chances are, you’ve probably got this game. After all, it did make $300 million its first week. If you’re still on the fence, here’s the skinny. The campaign story is so-so by yourself, but tackling it with friends makes it better. The multiplayer is addicting, and the real reason the majority of people bought this. It’s a solid game with a ton of replayability. But if you’re looking for something moving and immersive, get BioShock instead. But then again, there’s nothing wrong with shooting people up with your buddies. Sometimes you want art, and sometimes you want mindless fun. Halo 3 delivers the mindless fun in spades, and will probably be doing so for years to come.

If you liked that, try...

1. Halo 3 Beta: First Impressions
2. Crackdown’s Halo 3 Beta Delayed, or, I Woke Up at 8am for NOTHING
3. Second Thoughts: The FPS Edition
4. Jackson Spills the Beans on Halo Movie
5. Review Round-Up: Gears of War & Tomb Raider Legend

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