Halo 3 ^{(Xbox 360)}

Genre: First-Person Shooter Publisher: Bungie Software Developer: Microsoft Game Studios Players: ?

By Keith B (23rd Jan 2008)

Master Chief returns in the final chapter of the Halo trilogy

Master Chief’s return to our TV screens has been anticipated more than most title releases that I can remember. Suitably respected throughout the industry for its combination of elements like sound and graphics, coupled with the well-scripted storyline, Halo 3 is back, with a bang, and as soon as the disc loads, Master Chief is back in the thick of it.

We at Hellbored managed to buy one of the copies from eBay so we’ve been fretting about our accounts being frozen and simultaneously battling hordes in an effort to get this review to you.

The basic premise of the story is your journey across the landscape in search of Cortana, your digital companion through the previous games. She’s been captured and remains in the custody of the enemy, and you’re going in to get her, with the Arbiter by your side once again. Throughout the campaign you usually have either the Arbiter or a squad of grunts with you (or both), but a fair sprinkling of solo missions are thrown into the mix.

In order to avoid ruining the story for the majority of readers, I’ll remain away from actual plot twists, what happens to the other characters and such, so you can read on with safety. Suffice to say that it takes up the plot right from the end of Halo 2’s abrupt cliff-hanger ending and continues with pace. What I will do, however, is give you an idea of the game from what it feels like as a player.

Let’s get the basics of any review out of the way, and then we can discuss Halo 3 as the finale to a series and what it has achieved in getting there.

First of all, the visuals are very impressive. From Chief himself through to the Covenant and Flood hordes (yes, they’re both back), there has been a suitable ramping up of the display and the game oozes quality. The landscapes are well designed and give you a nice blend of scenarios, from snow to lush forests, and each has a well-realised set of qualities. The game also plays on a scale like few other �" combat on a planetary scale �" and the improved visuals help make it an engaging ride.

The music is, once again, superb. Halo and Halo 2 had wonderful sound and this tradition is alive and well in Halo 3. The score has been written to add drama and tension to areas where the player is unfolding the story, and the commencement of tribal drums or distorted guitar while surfing the sand in a vehicle indicates impending conflict perfectly. It’s moves and flows with the game and is some of the most impressive scoring of a game I’ve heard.

The gameplay is similar to Halo 2, which in turn wasn’t wildly different from the original Halo, so you could say that it’s never really developed, but that’s not a bad thing when people have enjoyed the two previous games so much. While Halo 3 doesn’t reinvent the Halo world, it certainly removes some of the poorer elements of the predecessors, such as the continuous running through the same corridor and rooms. On the other hand, it still retains some other elements of its forefathers that I personally dislike, like being incredibly linear in its approach. Should gamers demand more than only one door that can be opened in a room? Probably, but it’s not going to be the be-all or end-all.

The linear nature carries right through the game and this was my biggest problem with it �" no user inspired short cuts, no stunning tactics to develop (in single player), just a 10-hour slog through wave after wave of enemies. However, I digress.

Back to the game itself and the technology used, and while certainly no benchmark-setter like BioShock, it provides a really enjoyable experience. It also has some of the most popular online support for a game, ever, and will certainly be a hit with the online community. The preview of the multiplayer side of Halo 3 a few months back was received positively although with some mixed reviews of design and substance. From playing the final version of the code, I think many of those concerns will be washed away. The game now allows four people to complete the campaign as a group, and over Xbox Live this is a great way to get through the game.

The physics of the game are balanced (no longer do you feel you have to find a shotgun or rocket launcher to be able to do any damage) and the vehicle action is very enjoyable. The essential balance between the weapons, grenades and cover is superb, and throw in new elements like deployable shields and it jazzes up the combat a fair bit. There are new weapons to get your hands on, including the massive Gravity Hammer which the Brutes from Halo 2 wielded, and can normally decimate any opponent with one hit. New vehicles also appear, including both land based and flying options.

So, Halo 3 is a stunner, plays well, looks great, and has a great online community. What’s wrong with it then? Is it the perfect game? No.

People may be happy to ignore some of the faults with Halo 3 because the package on offer is simply superb. But there are problems with it, and I’m troubled a little by the failure of the gaming press to have looked at any of them in detail.

As I mentioned above, the game is linear. Very much so. There’s not so much independent thought required as an ability to see the only exit on offer. While the outdoor segments are surely fun, once you move indoors, despite the refined graphics and general level design, it’s simply a blast-fest to the only possible exit from the room. Yes, most FPS’ on consoles are linear but many allow you at least an apparent choice.

Yes, the graphics are great, but it’s no BioShock (in fairness to Halo 3, BioShock has no multiplayer). But it’s not even close. It looks great, but come on; we expect new games (especially ones that are marketed so extensively) to deliver more than we’ve had before. This also applies to the AI, because it’s hardly groundbreaking. If you fancy shooting from the turret of a Warthog you better not mind running into trees and rocks, because the AI squaddies are terrible drivers.

The above elements meant that I had played it through five of the nine levels before I actually cared what was going on. Perhaps the reviewers who are writing about it now feel differently because they were shepherded into a hotel for a weekend and played the game though in one hit. I completed it over five days and without the immersion in the story that a weekender would provide, the faults mentioned above were all the more apparent to me.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy Halo 3, or to say that I found it unfulfilling, because neither is true. I did enjoy it, I was glad to finish it, and I’m going back for more in Legendary mode this week. I can’t wait for it to go on sale because I really want to play it online to take advantage of the ability so save and share files (best kills, unusual instances online, etc) and The Forge (where you can edit a map in real time, adding a new dimension to the online side of things). It’s going to be huge, and no amount of my quibbling over linearity or the rest will change that. It’s a great end to a great series.