Halo 3
Review
Halo is back, with a vengeance
by Keaton Arksey
reviewed on X360
Levels, graphics, sound (cntd.)
The in-game sound is amazing. The music is done with a full orchestra and is enough reason to keep you from using that Xbox guide music button. The voice acting may not be as good, but it is still very well done. Marines churn out one-liners during fire fights, Grunts squeal and make off-hand comments when you kill the Brutes. They in turn will get the occasional pop-in when they kill you, commenting on how your head will make a good trophy. The sounds of the weapons and vehicles -both human and alien alike- sound believable and realistic.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer is obviously where you will spend the majority of your time. Matchmaking is fun and simple and it allows you to just play with your friends if you wish. It is fully customizable, and with many game modes such as Capture The Flag, Slayer and King of the Hill, you have ample room to have a good time. The most surprising multiplayer feature however, is the four player coop mode over Xbox Live. Playing through the game with three of your friends is a tremendous amount of fun.
The same quality standards found in the single player campaign have been applied to the multiplayer maps. The game ships with eleven multiplayer maps but also comes with an excellent map editor called Forge. It allows you to edit every aspect of the existing maps and can even be played online. Yes, you read that right. Using the editor, you can edit the map on the fly, adding weapons, vehicles and changing the terrain. To keep these strange matches somewhat under control, this special mode will give players a budget to play with and it pays to be smart about how you spend your money.
Feature packed
As if campaign, multiplayer, and the Forge map editor aren’t enough, Bungie also included a video replay system. Saving data from every multiplayer match and single player mission, the replay system allows you to go back and see what was going on around you, or what was happening on the other side of the map. You can also record and take pictures of the replay, and upload it to your file share page.
From a pure value standpoint, it is amazing that Bungie put this much onto a single game disc. Halo 3 is able to hit it on the nail. Community file sharing, improved matchmaking, a short but excellent campaign and a fantastic multiplayer component, the list goes on and on. From the pure joy of popping a Grunt in the back of the head with a pistol, to the mixed feelings after getting obliterated by a Gravity Hammer in multiplayer, it is going to be incredibly hard to find a Xbox 360 game that delivers this much depth in all areas. Playing Halo 3 will make anyone understand just why we play games.
9.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
