4 COOP - FRIENDS (Personal) and I Yesterday 09/23/2007

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 have delivered the BIGGEST BADDEST XBOX 360 GAME TO DATE in HALO 3. I spent all day yesterday (Sunday the 23rd) playing HALO 3 co-op with 3 other friends. 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 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. 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 in the armor of the Chief and the Arbiter is crisp and sharp leaves you with the “wow” factor. The games levels are HUGE. In some of the 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. 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 Brute Hammer is one insane weapon and will easily replace the sword as the “one-hit” kill weapon of choice.

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 Environments in HALO 3 vary more in detail than HALO 2 (which was an improvement over HALO 1) with multiple changes throughout every level I have played this FAR. Sometimes I find myself admiring the environment instead of fighting the fight which results in my evitable death.

Stay Tuned for more soon including Multiplayer feedback (when the servers go LIVE tonight). In the meantime, prepare for the FIGHT and GAME of your LIFE.

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