NOTE: I will NOT reveal ANY details on the SINGLE PLAYER AT ALL. One must experience the campaign with NO spoilers or bias from others. 
For a few years now everyone has wondered if BUNGIE could deliver in the final chapter to the UBER Popular HALO Franchise. Many felt HALO 2’s abrupt ending was cheap (I loved it) and wanted BUNGIE to make up for this in spades. Well, BUNGIE heard the cries of gamers world-wide and has delivered the BIGGEST BADDEST XBOX 360 GAME TO DATE in HALO 3. I spent all day Sunday the 23rd playing HALO 3 co-op with 3 other friends and finished the game last night (the 24th). HALO 3 co-op is completely and totally insane. We played on “Legendary” and even with 4 heads in the game; the AI was kicking our ASS at several points in the game. The AI has stepped it up a notch this time and the result is rewarding and at times surprising. Jackals use cover like never before to snipe you from various angles. At one point in our co-op game all 4 of us we sniped in quick succession, we were truly shocked, stunned beyond believe and laughing our ass off. Brutes are downright nasty. At times you will approach Covenant “grunt” troops led by one or two Brutes (similar to what Elites did in HALO 1 and 2) and then at other times you will encounter a group of nothing but BRUTES. Generally one Brute always has the Hammer and the others will be sporting various weapons such as Covenant Sniper Rifles, Plasma Rifles and more. Brutes are much tougher to kill and when they charge you become a menace in any environment. My favorite move is to stick a charging Brute with a Plasma Grenade and jump to avoid the explosion. The Covenant and especially Brutes use tactics such as advancing from cover to hunt you down and they also work together more in HALO 3 leaving to you fight multiple advancing foes at the same time. The battles are larger and completely chaotic with Brutes rushing you at every opportunity and weapons fire creating massive explosions that leave you breathless and your heart pounding, begging for more.
The Games Graphics are delightful, but not the best as BUNGIE has always said that the focus is on keeping the HALO feel and most of all optimizing the games gameplay. The Lighting in the game is one standout no matter what environment you are in. The jungles of Africa, the USNC Base and HALO itself all have spectacular lighting. Any light in the game whether the light is cast by the Sun or is artificial from the likes of lights and lamps is “outstanding”. The detail present in the armor of the Chief and the Arbiter is crisp and sharp leaves you with the “wow” factor. Finally Elites such as the Arbiter look good when viewed up close something that has bothered me in past HALO games. Textures are much improved in HALO 3 returning to the glory of HALO 1. The use of Art in place of rendering graphics in the games engine is interesting. This Art is used in just a couple of cutscenes and feels a bit strange but nevertheless the experience is not hampered. The frame-rate is good and steady with every little to no slowdown during the most Chaotic Legendary battles with 4 player co-op. HALO 3 water effects are some of the best effects in the game. The water moves and reacts like real water for the better part but the real treat is the underway effects when you die in the water. The sound of water surrounding your dead Spartan corpse is quite frightening.
The levels in HALO 3 are ridiculously HUGE. When fighting on these monstrous levels every battle feels EPIC in size especially in co-op. In some of these HUGE levels we were spread out kicking Covenant ass and the result was spectacular with us cruising in Warthogs, Brute Choppers and Ghost destroying all in sight. Engaging “Scarabs” is a total joy this time around as you have the means to destroy the Scarabs in Real-Time (no cutscenes explosion like in HALO 2) and you will trigger the explosions. Each and every level changes consistently as you progress thru each level and details are bound. You will see everything from downed Covenant and UNSC ships to old Forerunner Artifacts and Technology.
The games storyline is told with more cohesion this time around. HALO 2 story telling was good but made more sense ONLY if you have read the books. This time around BUNGIE made sure that following the “good fight” is much easier with more immersive story telling and KICK ASS CUTSCENES. One problem with HALO 2 was that the cutscenes either looked good or downright AWFUL. In HALO 3 the cutscenes are gorgeous, fluid and have a high production value to them. All cut scenes are “in-game in-engine” which of course aids HALO 3’s immersion factor 10 fold. The cinematic use Hollywood style angles and cuts only enhances the experience even further. The only problem I have with the cinematics is the volume level of the Center Channel. I find myself increasing the volume on my receiver more than I should so I can hear key dialog. The sound effects on the other hand are outstanding. Grenades exploding, Grunts yelling crazy shit and the screams of Brutes all sound terrific and sometimes scary in Dolby Digital 5.1. I am a sound freak and wow, the sound is HALO 3 screams from my Onkyo 700 watt HDMI Receiver and Paradigm speakers leaving me speechless at time. As usual, HALO must be played with the sound WAY UP (or don’t play at all)!
Stay Tuned for more soon including Multiplayer feedback and an article on the games ending (this will come in a week as I will give time for everyone to beat the game). In the meantime, prepare the Finish the FIGHT and the GAME of your LIFE.
