Let me just start off by saying that I disliked Halo 2 greatly, it was almost entirely multiplayer focused, and although the story was robust, it was poorly cobbled together in probably one of the most bland and contrived single player campaign's I have ever played.

Enter Halo 3, I havn't played the multiplayer, although I've heard it's quite good. Excellent new weapons, most notably the original assault rifle and magnum (minus the scope that made no sense in the first place). These gave the campaign a nostalgic feel too it. Overall the campaign was fantastic, the story was still robust, but delivered very well.

I'm a sucker for atmosphere, I consider games like the Half-Life series to be the best, and this game, like it's original (Halo 1) masterfully gives you a real sense of being in the game. You really feel like you're fighting the last desperate battle for humanity, and you really feel the desperation as the brave remnants of earth's defense fight their last, and in the middle of the chaos you really feel like your humanity's last best hope for survival. Returning this game is also the feeling of mystery, as you finally unravel the secrets of the Forerunners, who built the Halos. Something that was entirely absent in Halo 2. No more contrived gameplay sequences like, Heres a tank! now drive it across a straight bridge while ghosts spawn in front of you for you to blow them up. Just good, well designed levels, that are challenging and fun to play.

My only gripe with this game is that it could be quite possibly one of the shortest games I've ever played, and that is what prevents this game from getting a 5 star review.
I purchased the Limited Edition of Halo 3, as I always purchase these versions of my favorite games, and it is only $50 here at Amazon (thanks!). Some of these have had some defect with the hub being out of place; this new batch Amazon has is completely fine, to th extent of my knowledge. But on to the review of the game.
The bad will come first: You cannot fly Pelicans or dual-wield swords, and certain weapons have a lower ammo count (this might be a plus as I will tell you later). Also, the campaign is very short and the Easy and Normal modes are a little too easy for many peoples' liking. The story is also not nearly as in-depth as the one from Halo 1, but is a hundredfold better than Halo 2. Looking back on the campaign, I can honestly say that it accomplishes something, and arrives somewhere: a possible closing point, though I doubt it from the after-the-credits ending (sshhhh).
Now for the good: This game is mind-blowingly awesome in multi-player. Maps like High Ground and The Pit are what make this game worth every penny spent. There are dozens of different play modes ranging from Infection to Ninja Juggernaut and the classic Neutral Assault. There are more weapons and vehicles, which is always a good thing, and weapons seem more balanced. The shotgun now comes with a total of 18 slugs, not 36, which was too much in Halo 2, but it now has more of a punch behind it. Then there are firebomb grenades, which explode on impact and catch opponents on fire, killing them. There are also massively powerful "support weapons" such as a turret resembling the one on a Warthog, a similar Covenant variant, and a Flamethrower. The rocket launcher has lost its homing, to be replaced by the Missile Pod; this is a massive support weapon with 8 automatically homing shots, capable of firing in quick succession; only 2 are required to kill a light to medium vehicle, at most. One of my favorite weapons that is a new addition is the Spartan Laser, Splaser for short. It destroys anything in one shot, and rips through it with ease, penetrating and automatically killing anything in its path. The catch is that it takes just shy of 3 seconds to charge, has only 5 shots, and has only a 2x scope.
There are also Achievements in Halo 3, which give you Gamerscore for, say, killing 3 opponents in a Warthog with a Splaser, or doing a Triple Kill with a Sword. These are fun to get, and they give you new armor permutations, which brigs me to another aspect: being able to change the look of the player. You are no longer confined to being in MJOLNIR Mark VI; there are ten types of Spartan heads and 5 types of shoulders and bodies, five of everything for Elites.
Perhaps one of the more intriguing aspects of Halo 3 is Forge. Forge is a new addition which allows you to entirely delete all weapons and vehicles on a map, and place new ones wherever you want. On any level you want. At any time you want, while using the Forge system. You can even put yourself in the level to test its level of fun, and place gametype-specific objects such as Flags or Territories, and test out those modes. With Forge, the possibilities are limitless. You can also create you own custom gametypes, such as a Covenant vs. Human variety I made up, or a special type of Oddball or VIP.
The last new thing I can think of for Halo 3 is equipment. You can now carry objects used with X that perform specific functions, whether they be helpful to you or harmful to your enemies. These include, but are not limited to: the Bubble Shield (makes a stationary bubble round you that cannot be penetrated by weapons or grenades) the Trip Mine (just what it says, also destroys vehicles in one shot) and Invincibility (explains itself, but luckily not found in multi-player for balance reasons).
Oh, and one more thing, as Steve Jobs would say. Let's say you are dual-wielding an SMG in you right hand and a Spiker (new weapon) in your left. You spy a Mauler (new weapon) and want to pick it up. You can now choose which hand to use it in, rather than dropping one, switching it, then dual-wielding. Hardly a breakthrough, but it is appreciated.
The Limited Edition comes in a metal case, and has a hardback book called "Beastarium" which has all the info on all races in Halo 3, including Forerunner and Hunter. It also has a disc of extras. A nice touch.
Good job Bungie, I will be getting both of your Map Packs on December 11th and in Spring, you deserve a pat on the back.
Buy this game, but beware of being addicted and playing for days on end to get that last skull or that one acheivement.
I purchased the Limited Edition of Halo 3, as I always purchase these versions of my favorite games, and it is only $50 here at Amazon (thanks!). Some of these have had some defect with the hub being out of place; this new batch Amazon has is completely fine, to th extent of my knowledge. But on to the review of the game.
The bad will come first: You cannot fly Pelicans or dual-wield swords, and certain weapons have a lower ammo count (this might be a plus as I will tell you later). Also, the campaign is very short and the Easy and Normal modes are a little too easy for many peoples' liking. The story is also not nearly as in-depth as the one from Halo 1, but is a hundredfold better than Halo 2. Looking back on the campaign, I can honestly say that it accomplishes something, and arrives somewhere: a possible closing point, though I doubt it from the after-the-credits ending (sshhhh).
Now for the good: This game is mind-blowingly awesome in multi-player. Maps like High Ground and The Pit are what make this game worth every penny spent. There are dozens of different play modes ranging from Infection to Ninja Juggernaut and the classic Neutral Assault. There are more weapons and vehicles, which is always a good thing, and weapons seem more balanced. The shotgun now comes with a total of 18 slugs, not 36, which was too much in Halo 2, but it now has more of a punch behind it. Then there are firebomb grenades, which explode on impact and catch opponents on fire, killing them. There are also massively powerful "support weapons" such as a turret resembling the one on a Warthog, a similar Covenant variant, and a Flamethrower. The rocket launcher has lost its homing, to be replaced by the Missile Pod; this is a massive support weapon with 8 automatically homing shots, capable of firing in quick succession; only 2 are required to kill a light to medium vehicle, at most. One of my favorite weapons that is a new addition is the Spartan Laser, Splaser for short. It destroys anything in one shot, and rips through it with ease, penetrating and automatically killing anything in its path. The catch is that it takes just shy of 3 seconds to charge, has only 5 shots, and has only a 2x scope.
There are also Achievements in Halo 3, which give you Gamerscore for, say, killing 3 opponents in a Warthog with a Splaser, or doing a Triple Kill with a Sword. These are fun to get, and they give you new armor permutations, which brigs me to another aspect: being able to change the look of the player. You are no longer confined to being in MJOLNIR Mark VI; there are ten types of Spartan heads and 5 types of shoulders and bodies, five of everything for Elites.
Perhaps one of the more intriguing aspects of Halo 3 is Forge. Forge is a new addition which allows you to entirely delete all weapons and vehicles on a map, and place new ones wherever you want. On any level you want. At any time you want, while using the Forge system. You can even put yourself in the level to test its level of fun, and place gametype-specific objects such as Flags or Territories, and test out those modes. With Forge, the possibilities are limitless. You can also create you own custom gametypes, such as a Covenant vs. Human variety I made up, or a special type of Oddball or VIP.
The last new thing I can think of for Halo 3 is equipment. You can now carry objects used with X that perform specific functions, whether they be helpful to you or harmful to your enemies. These include, but are not limited to: the Bubble Shield (makes a stationary bubble round you that cannot be penetrated by weapons or grenades) the Trip Mine (just what it says, also destroys vehicles in one shot) and Invincibility (explains itself, but luckily not found in multi-player for balance reasons).
Oh, and one more thing, as Steve Jobs would say. Let's say you are dual-wielding an SMG in you right hand and a Spiker (new weapon) in your left. You spy a Mauler (new weapon) and want to pick it up. You can now choose which hand to use it in, rather than dropping one, switching it, then dual-wielding. Hardly a breakthrough, but it is appreciated.
The Limited Edition comes in a metal case, and has a hardback book called "Beastarium" which has all the info on all races in Halo 3, including Forerunner and Hunter. It also has a disc of extras. A nice touch.
Good job Bungie, I will be getting both of your Map Packs on December 11th and in Spring, you deserve a pat on the back.
Buy this game, but beware of being addicted and playing for days on end to get that last skull or that one acheivement.
I have to agree with some of the other reviewers, Bungie got lazy when it came to sound effects, ally AI's and graphics of the story scenes. The sound effects are like the other Halos but I was hoping for better especially after playing Bioshock (which freaked me the BLEEP out because of the sound). The ally AI's are IDIOTS! I like that the enemy AI's are better and smarter but why couldn't they give you some control over your ally AI's (i.e. Marvel Ultimate Alliance, a different type of game I know but at least you could tell your allies to defend or follow when you wanted them to). Your allies constantly go into ambushes and create chaos because they just go when they want and you end up losing them most of the time. Then they also cross in front of me when I am shooting multiple bursts instead of behind me so I accidentally fragged one or two. The graphic of the stories scenes are so choppy and the characters unreal its a shame. While the graphics for the rest of the game play is good, you get to these scenes and its like you are watching marionettes act out a scene. These are not XBox 360 calibur graphics! An improvement in this area would have been what the customers deserved! I also take issue with the fact that you don't get a chance to find out what happened to Master Chief after part 2 and before this chapter unless you got the comic book that tells you the story. What kind of none-sense is that? I haven't been able to find the comic so I have no idea what is going on in a general sense. This takes the passion and makes me less drawn into this world not knowing what is happening to one of my favorite characters in gaming. One other thing is I hate that you can only carry 2 grenades of any type, 2 weapons (HELLO haven't you people watched RAMBO?) and one type of special items(i.e. bubble shield). I would have liked to have had at least 5 grenades, carry 3 different types of weapon and 2 special items.

I haven't finished the game yet but I'm hoping it isn't as short as some people are saying and I hope that they give us a good story to send us off a little bit satisfied that we bought this game. If they did this I'll see about changing my review and giving them another star. If not, I'm never going to buy another Bungie game again because I refuse to give money and support to a company who doesn't give love back to the fans who have given them so much(ala cash) in the past.

Overall its ok, almost good, definitely not great or mindblowing. I'd give it 3.5 stars overall if I could!



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