Halo 3 (360) Single Player

Ok first things first, something I always mention to people in work when they ask what Halo 3 is like, I highly recommend you either play the first two games first or at least read the story so far on wikipedia or something because this game really throws you into the deep end of the story, it literally picks up where the last one finished and doesn’t really explain anything about whats gone before. Obviously that doesn’t effect the gameplay but you might be left scratching your head quite a bit as to the story. First impressions on playing this game i have to be honest is that its not the best looking 360 title so far, nor do i feel it trys to be. The graphics work and never really disapoint though at the same time and eventually you start to appreciate just how many things are going on in the game engine of Halo 3 and all the little effects that come together to make you feel like part of a bigger picture and environment, theres allot more than meets the eye to Halo 3! Ask any Halo nerd what makes these games stand head and shoulders above most and your sure to be told “the gameplay” simply put its fantastic, its rich, its diverse and its rarely the same when played through again. Part of this is owed to the fantastic AI of the enemy units, they react with intelligence and cunning, quite often flanking behind you or pulling back in order to find cover and throw a grenade. So many games these days get this wrong! One of the biggest flaws of Halo 2 i feel has been addressed too, the Brute characters AI. In the past they were just bullet sponges but now they are ruthless and quite often ballbustingly hard (well on legendary)

The level design is again such a strong point of this game, all but 1 level (get to that in a min) is awesome and replayable many many times. My personal favorite being “The Ark” which see’s you begin the level sniping your way across the first section of the level, then changing to open and vast vehicle sections and of course this being Halo you can choose how to play the whole level be it on foot, or using the new Brute Chopper bike or any other vehicle you come across. I’ve played this level many times now on all hardness settings and various modes and it never gets old, which takes me onto Multiplayer Co-op. An old feature to Halo games but this time with the added feature of Co-op over Xbox Live, its stable and it only adds to the over all enjoyment, allowing up to 4 players to jump into a level and slug it out against the AI, fantastic!

The only quible that most people have and i do share is that theres one horrendous level in the mix called “cortana” which see’s you going into a flood (alien parasite like creature) controlled spaceship to rescue Cortana, your AI construct friend and companion of sorts. Its hectic, all in tight spaces and its unintelligent and frustrating as hell! nuff said tho, 1 out of 9 aint bad and 9 doesnt sound allot but the levels are all a good hour + gameplay (on a decent hardness setting)

I will be reviewing Multiplayer in a separate review at a later time.

Graphics 8
Still much better than most games out there, but not the best and can suffer slightly on 1080p

Sound 10
Take time to listen to all the different sounds and auto queueing orchestral music, you’ll rarely here the same piece of dialogue from enemy units or from ally marines. a perfect balance of drama and humour.

Gameplay 10
Varied, intelligent and fun to play, always challenging yet never frustrating. (not counting Cortana level ha)

Longevity 10
Varying hardness levels, skulls to find and collect, metascore mode, multi player co-op, xbox live matchmaking, replay options on entire levels, map editing options. My head spins at the life this game has!

Overall 9
Amazing, often beautiful, fun to play and addictive. This game gives so much and will be a must have title for the rest of 360’s life span.