Halo 3
Review
Halo is back, with a vengeance
by Keaton Arksey
reviewed on X360
A short recap
The Halo series is one of gaming’s elite franchises. Not many can claim books, graphic novels, toys and being sponsored by Mountain Dew in their repertoire. Halo can. The game first came out for the original Xbox and quickly became the most popular game on the Console. You were the Master Chief, your ship just crash-landed on a ring world called Halo. Fighting off the Covenant, you discover the secret of the ring. The Flood, a parasitic race intent on devouring all sentient life, was trapped on the ring in an effort to protect other life. Should The Flood manage to escape, the ring itself could be used as a weapon to kill all life it could feed on. Barely escaping, you destroy the ring, and all those on it.
Fast forward to Halo 2. On November 9th, 2004, millions waited in line to be able to continue the adventures of the genetically enhanced super soldier Master Chief. Would he be able to hold off the Covenant? The religions aliens were still hell-bent on the destruction of mankind and only Master Chief stood between them and Earth. Halo 2 improved upon the already excellent multiplayer through Xbox Live and introduced a new character, called The Arbiter, who co-starred besides Master Chief.
While a fantastic game, many players were disappointed with the lack of a proper ending. Master Chief, stowed on a Covenant ship back on its way to Earth, promises to finish the fight. That’s it, fade to black. We have waited for three years but now is the time to finish the fight for good.
Back to the now
Halo 3 begins as the Covenant are searching Africa for something called the Ark. It is thought that this ancient artifact can activate all the Halo’s at once. The Covenant believes that this will send them on their great journey. The Flood has captured the Covenant holy city and has the means to escape the ring through Cortana, your AI helper from the first two games. The war has left humanity on the brink of extinction, and time is running out.
Desperate times take desperate measures and humanity teams up with their former enemies The Elites. Together they fight the Covenant which is composed of some familiar faces. Prophets, sniper Jackals, cannon fodder Grunts, flying insect Drones, and walking tank Hunters all make a return. New to the Covenant’s ranks are the gorilla-like Brutes that pack a real punch and should be treated with respect.
Halo’s storyline is an important part of the series. At first glance it may seem like your average “Sci-Fi, one guy versus all’ story but every characters and every race has its own tale to tell. That being said, it does seem that the game leaves out some fairly important information bridging this game from Halo 2.
9.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
