(If you like something of shorter reviews, like I typically do, then skip right down to the main course. At my table, the review you are served features a delicious, preamble-y appetizer, the main course, and then the after effects. As with dining at a restaurant, the appetizer is able to skipped if you're not feeling particularily peckish.)
The Bruschetta
For a long time, I did not want anything to do with the Halo franchise. As far as I was concerned, Halo was some low brow FPS for the XBox (Who plays a first person shooter on a console, anyway?) and it would never attract me away from my PS2. It was the enemy and was only popular because people were stupid. A first person shooter on a console could never be better and certainly not more fun than Unreal Tournament, anyway. I continued on my merry way, making love to my PS2, and engaged myself with Grand Theft Auto III, Final Fantasy X and other fantastic titles. A single multiplayer, split-screen match against my friend solidified my distaste for the game when I found myself shooting at clouds for seconds before dying. I made some feeble excuses using the words "Keyboard" and "Mouse" a lot and seethed.
Later, my brother got an XBox and got Halo 2. He liked the game a lot and my wife and I spent a few months living at my parents house where I had access to the XBox. I played some of the game, got better at the controls and then finally lost interest during some point where I was the Arbiter fighting through some space station. I promptly threw Fable in and played a lot of that game.
Unfortunately, my resolve was not unending. Shortly after purchasing my 360, one of my work buddies brought over Halo 3. I had not planned on purchasing this game and was reluctant even to play it. He popped it in and after a few hours of frenetic action, I found myself hoooked. We jumped from multiplayer into the campaign and fought our way through dozens of almost cinematic battles. Finally, when he left, the game stayed in my XBox and has not since returned to him. He has my Orange Box hostage and only time will tell when the games return to their respective owners.
Asparagus & Ricotta Cappelletti
The game itself is a much maligned beast and I get it. I can see why people wouldn't like it. When you have some snot-nosed thirteen year old kid on the internet having his first orgasm, proclaiming it to be the best game ever made, it's easy to become jaded. For the first two iterations, I was in those shoes. However, taking a lot of time to play the game and develop my online multiplaying skills, I've developed a very solid appreciation for this game.
I'll start with the negatives. The game is particularily light on story and the graphics are barely pushing the envelope. Playing the campaign, (admittingly, I only played it Co-Op) I found I was not drawn along so much by the story but by the battles and the competent level design and pacing of the game. I'm not entirely familiar with the story from the first two games but as far as I can tell, in Halo 3, it's a typical, "There are these aliens who are on the wrong foot with humans, and these other aliens who are a plague that will destroy the universe" sci-fi plot. The characters are relatively bland (Master Chief), cliched (Sgt. Johnson) and annoying (Cortana) in turns. If you picked out this FPS to get a phenomenal story... Well, maybe try changing genres for that. The graphics, likewise, do not show you anything you haven't seen on the 360. There are neat lighting effects, lots of bloom and competent textures. And that's about it. It is not a Gears of War, or even a Skate, in terms of graphical prowess.
So. That's how the game specifically let me down. Now, my praise for it. First off, the controls were well done. The default controls are simple, intuitive and most people familiar with console FPSes will be able to pick it up and play. There are also several auxillary control schemes and your l33tness depends, in part, on which of those you use. In other words, the controls are fairly flexible. The presentation and menus of the game are both pretty solid. The presentation and art direction is nothing exceptional but the menus are very tastefully down and fit the theme of the game well. The music is really good and fits well, especially throughout the campaign. Speaking of which, the pacing of the campaign was excellent, in my opinion, and the gameplay was varied enough that it was really fun throughout.
All of that makes for a pretty generic game and it makes sense why people who aren't all that interested in multiplayer would wonder what all the fuss is about. Unfortunately, the game is crafted to be pretty much a multiplayer experience. They use a matchmaking service in which, instead of choosing a game to join off of a list, you choose a game type and based on factors like number of games played and your skill rank, you are shuffled into a similar group of players on a random map suited to that gametype. It's not everyone's cup of tea but I thought it was great not having to comb through lists trying to find a game I wanted to play, clicking on it only to be told it was now full. It also made me play maps I didn't initially like and that earn me a grudging appreciation for them. Multiplayer, all said, is a very high-action, arcadesque type of game. The time between when you spawn to when you die is typically under a minute. There are power weapons in the game that combat seems to center around but these weapons can be overcome even with your starting assault rifle. The maps, for the most part, are balanced and really well designed to keep the action going. The multiplayer reminded me a lot of my days of playing Unreal Tournament on the internet. Things like the sticky plasma grenades and the ability to only carry two weapons at once levelled the playing field and made the game slightly more strategic, if you spent the time to improve at it.
Still, there is more to what places the game high on my list besides the multiplayer action alone and that is the tools Bungie has put in place to augment the multiplayer experience. The one that impressed me the most is the theatre. You can go in and watch any of the last 25 games you've played. Not just from your view but anywhere on the map, at any time. You can make small clips of impressive or hilarious feats (like sticking someone from across the map or killing two people with one sniper bullet) and even share them, through a file share. You can take screenshots of the action as well, making use of the awesome lighting effects for some screenshots that are near artistic (For example, take a look at this site: http://haloramics.tiedtheleader.com/index.html). Add to this the Forge option, which lets you go into a level, change spawn points, weapon spawns, rule sets, add and remove objects/map art, add/remove vehicles and teleporters. This allows for some really fun game types and arenas, including the infamous Grifball. Finally, add bungie.net for tracking your stats, looking at heatmaps for the different levels, and searching through files there and being able to click on them on your computer and have them download on your console. Put all those things together and you have a multiplayer FPS that can last you a really long time.
The Omnipresent Garlic Smell
All in all, I think Halo 3 is an exceptional -multiplayer- (emphasis on multiplayer) FPS that brings a few new, innovative features to the table while implementing other tried-and-true mechanics to create a polished, and incredibly fun, run-gun-and-strafe style shooter. It's not going to make you think it's a fantastic new art form. It's not going to redefine a genre. It's not going to entice you with layers of subtle plot manipulation that will leave you feeling breathless upon unraveling it all. If that's what you're looking for, steer clear. Otherwise, I recommend -
Buy it.
It's an engaging multiplayer experience that will provide you with a few hours of fun (and sometimes frustration) everytime you pop it in. Sure, it's not pushing any envelopes but the way I see it is; I like the FPS genre for what it is. Fast-paced action that can get adrenaline pumping during a session but something I can get into for just fifteen minutes here or there. Not every game in my collection has to put me into a coma of introspection trying to decipher all the metaphors and commentary the game dispensed. Nor does it have to have some entirely new and charming gameplay mechanic. All it has to do is be fun.
The Bruschetta
For a long time, I did not want anything to do with the Halo franchise. As far as I was concerned, Halo was some low brow FPS for the XBox (Who plays a first person shooter on a console, anyway?) and it would never attract me away from my PS2. It was the enemy and was only popular because people were stupid. A first person shooter on a console could never be better and certainly not more fun than Unreal Tournament, anyway. I continued on my merry way, making love to my PS2, and engaged myself with Grand Theft Auto III, Final Fantasy X and other fantastic titles. A single multiplayer, split-screen match against my friend solidified my distaste for the game when I found myself shooting at clouds for seconds before dying. I made some feeble excuses using the words "Keyboard" and "Mouse" a lot and seethed.
Later, my brother got an XBox and got Halo 2. He liked the game a lot and my wife and I spent a few months living at my parents house where I had access to the XBox. I played some of the game, got better at the controls and then finally lost interest during some point where I was the Arbiter fighting through some space station. I promptly threw Fable in and played a lot of that game.
Unfortunately, my resolve was not unending. Shortly after purchasing my 360, one of my work buddies brought over Halo 3. I had not planned on purchasing this game and was reluctant even to play it. He popped it in and after a few hours of frenetic action, I found myself hoooked. We jumped from multiplayer into the campaign and fought our way through dozens of almost cinematic battles. Finally, when he left, the game stayed in my XBox and has not since returned to him. He has my Orange Box hostage and only time will tell when the games return to their respective owners.
Asparagus & Ricotta Cappelletti
The game itself is a much maligned beast and I get it. I can see why people wouldn't like it. When you have some snot-nosed thirteen year old kid on the internet having his first orgasm, proclaiming it to be the best game ever made, it's easy to become jaded. For the first two iterations, I was in those shoes. However, taking a lot of time to play the game and develop my online multiplaying skills, I've developed a very solid appreciation for this game.
I'll start with the negatives. The game is particularily light on story and the graphics are barely pushing the envelope. Playing the campaign, (admittingly, I only played it Co-Op) I found I was not drawn along so much by the story but by the battles and the competent level design and pacing of the game. I'm not entirely familiar with the story from the first two games but as far as I can tell, in Halo 3, it's a typical, "There are these aliens who are on the wrong foot with humans, and these other aliens who are a plague that will destroy the universe" sci-fi plot. The characters are relatively bland (Master Chief), cliched (Sgt. Johnson) and annoying (Cortana) in turns. If you picked out this FPS to get a phenomenal story... Well, maybe try changing genres for that. The graphics, likewise, do not show you anything you haven't seen on the 360. There are neat lighting effects, lots of bloom and competent textures. And that's about it. It is not a Gears of War, or even a Skate, in terms of graphical prowess.
So. That's how the game specifically let me down. Now, my praise for it. First off, the controls were well done. The default controls are simple, intuitive and most people familiar with console FPSes will be able to pick it up and play. There are also several auxillary control schemes and your l33tness depends, in part, on which of those you use. In other words, the controls are fairly flexible. The presentation and menus of the game are both pretty solid. The presentation and art direction is nothing exceptional but the menus are very tastefully down and fit the theme of the game well. The music is really good and fits well, especially throughout the campaign. Speaking of which, the pacing of the campaign was excellent, in my opinion, and the gameplay was varied enough that it was really fun throughout.
All of that makes for a pretty generic game and it makes sense why people who aren't all that interested in multiplayer would wonder what all the fuss is about. Unfortunately, the game is crafted to be pretty much a multiplayer experience. They use a matchmaking service in which, instead of choosing a game to join off of a list, you choose a game type and based on factors like number of games played and your skill rank, you are shuffled into a similar group of players on a random map suited to that gametype. It's not everyone's cup of tea but I thought it was great not having to comb through lists trying to find a game I wanted to play, clicking on it only to be told it was now full. It also made me play maps I didn't initially like and that earn me a grudging appreciation for them. Multiplayer, all said, is a very high-action, arcadesque type of game. The time between when you spawn to when you die is typically under a minute. There are power weapons in the game that combat seems to center around but these weapons can be overcome even with your starting assault rifle. The maps, for the most part, are balanced and really well designed to keep the action going. The multiplayer reminded me a lot of my days of playing Unreal Tournament on the internet. Things like the sticky plasma grenades and the ability to only carry two weapons at once levelled the playing field and made the game slightly more strategic, if you spent the time to improve at it.
Still, there is more to what places the game high on my list besides the multiplayer action alone and that is the tools Bungie has put in place to augment the multiplayer experience. The one that impressed me the most is the theatre. You can go in and watch any of the last 25 games you've played. Not just from your view but anywhere on the map, at any time. You can make small clips of impressive or hilarious feats (like sticking someone from across the map or killing two people with one sniper bullet) and even share them, through a file share. You can take screenshots of the action as well, making use of the awesome lighting effects for some screenshots that are near artistic (For example, take a look at this site: http://haloramics.tiedtheleader.com/index.html). Add to this the Forge option, which lets you go into a level, change spawn points, weapon spawns, rule sets, add and remove objects/map art, add/remove vehicles and teleporters. This allows for some really fun game types and arenas, including the infamous Grifball. Finally, add bungie.net for tracking your stats, looking at heatmaps for the different levels, and searching through files there and being able to click on them on your computer and have them download on your console. Put all those things together and you have a multiplayer FPS that can last you a really long time.
The Omnipresent Garlic Smell
All in all, I think Halo 3 is an exceptional -multiplayer- (emphasis on multiplayer) FPS that brings a few new, innovative features to the table while implementing other tried-and-true mechanics to create a polished, and incredibly fun, run-gun-and-strafe style shooter. It's not going to make you think it's a fantastic new art form. It's not going to redefine a genre. It's not going to entice you with layers of subtle plot manipulation that will leave you feeling breathless upon unraveling it all. If that's what you're looking for, steer clear. Otherwise, I recommend -
Buy it.
It's an engaging multiplayer experience that will provide you with a few hours of fun (and sometimes frustration) everytime you pop it in. Sure, it's not pushing any envelopes but the way I see it is; I like the FPS genre for what it is. Fast-paced action that can get adrenaline pumping during a session but something I can get into for just fifteen minutes here or there. Not every game in my collection has to put me into a coma of introspection trying to decipher all the metaphors and commentary the game dispensed. Nor does it have to have some entirely new and charming gameplay mechanic. All it has to do is be fun.
