After a couple of years wondering what kind of hurt Master Chief was going to lay on the Covenant brazen enough to remain on Earth, ?Halo 3? finally exploded into the market. Yes, I was one of those ?weird? guys waiting in a line of 50 or so other ?weird? guys at 11:30pm in Wal-Mart, one of them was even playing a harmonica; all of us watching the clock tick a bit closer to midnight while we waited to blast our real experience away with the virtual. I still had to drive 45 minutes back home to finally see how the trilogy was to end. In those first few punch-drunk hours of gameplay, while I still contend I immediately didn?t like it, I was willing to look past all of the shortcomings and just hope that I would get used to it. Despite my initial response, I?m going to start this section by qualifying that ?Halo 3? is by far my least favorite of the series, including ?Halo Wars??yeah, I?m that guy. I?ll expound upon that in a bit; but, first the overview.
The Evils of Capitalism:
Out of all of the ?Halos? that have come out, ?Halo 3? was the war-horse in the advertising battles, that?s including the more recent titles such as ?Reach.? I can recall the adverts for ?Halo 2? and while they were tailored to just the kind of person I am, a few quick bits of the Prophets speech and some shots of Earth with Master Chief kickin? it hard?I was in love before it came out?they were not made to attract the larger crowd of potential gamers. ?Halo 3? took some of the same elements from ?Halo 2?s? adverts (e.g. ass kickin? and the strong-silent Master Chief) while also leaning more heavily on the Biblical references Bungie has been known for in the making of the adverts thus, marketing that everyone can relate to. Not because everyone is a Christian but, rather, because Western Society is predominantly Christian and the rest of us have to put up with it.
Watching old men wax nostalgic about the hope they had had that Master Chief was still alive while their ammunition continued to diminish or, the ad with the panning battleground miniatures where the Master Chief?s miniature sticky grenade glows and he looks up at the viewer, these ads weren?t just made for the gamer. These ads were psychologically perfected to spark interest from anyone calling themselves a human. Whether or not the viewer was a ?Halo? fan or not, these ads were made to entice. They added subplots that the viewer not only wanted to see enacted in the game but, perhaps have the chance to enact for themselves?that?s what games are for after all. Neill Blomkamp?s short ODST film was a heart-pounding culmination of this process, causing me to fail some homework assignments just thinking about ?Halo 3,? as opposed to failing them because of playing ?Halo 3.?
It is my intention to paint the media blitz for ?Halo 3? in as positive a light as possible because, I think, for advertising it was done with the best of intentions (i.e. to make money). But, the advertising, for this one gamer, may have been a contributing factor in my ultimate disgust with ?Halo 3.? More on that in a bit.
Gameplay:
Style-
Graphically ?Halo 3? significantly improved upon the action sequences, body mechanics, explosions and the environments that were already great in ?Halo 2,? keeping the style a bit cartoony but much more streamlined. Gone are the pixilated static backgrounds that fail under close scrutiny with the sniper rifle?s zoom. I think it has been rather unfair to compare ?Halo 3?s? graphics with the likes of the ?Modern Warfare? franchise (i.e. arguably the most graphically realistic game to date), simply because they?re going for very different looks; ?Halo? for the streamlined, surreal?beautiful and ?MW? for the gritty, dusty fog of war. One can?t have both and one can see similar stylistic approaches in film (e.g. cinematography of ?The Matrix? compared to that of ?Children of Men,? for example).
People-
The characters performed in much the same way as they did in ?Halo 2? so, there isn?t much to add concerning them. Chief is enigmatic, Johnson fits the stereotypical supporting role of a black father-like figure that one sees in every cop movie since?well every cop movie, and the Arbiter continues to be bad-ass, for a foreigner. Cortana is an exception having turned into a damaged and weak damsel-in-distress, with breast enhancements of course. She does, arguably, regain some of positive female status nearer the end of the story (i.e. after she?s been rescued). So, much for the positive female role model.
Story?or something trying to be-
The story is another sore point. Where ?Halo: CE? had its share of surprises and ?Halo 2? left on a cliffhanger I have yet to figure out what the fuck ?Halo 3?s? grand gesturing is supposed to mean. Artistically, leaving something to interpretation makes sense, when the medium doesn?t require the viewer to complete objectives. I can sum up all I took away from the story in one sentence: the Ark controls the Halo rings, destroy the Ark to stop the rings from activating. Aside from that, there was an AA gun one needed to destroy and some Flood got in the way. The cutscenes kept me moving forward but, they never delivered any lasting understanding concerning where I was going or why. They just continued on assuming that I thought the whole Halo universe was inherently cool and that any minute detail (read by Bungie as: not epic) was not worth the time to expound upon; all so that the average Joe could understand or just not care. It seems that all Bungie did was rely on a few biblical references to make the story both epic and relatable, plus Bible-Belt friendly. Gone are surprises and originality.
Setting-
The majority of the levels perpetuated the FPS model of funneling the gamer?s movements by creating maps that are, for all intents and purposes, a straight line. ?Halo 3? was not the first FPS to do this nor has the gameplay device left the FPS genre. Now, this isn?t really a sore point with me given that with such a convoluted plot having a straight line to run down helps one get through it. While there is always one major route to any of the battles it is nice to have the side routes with available cover that Bungie has thrown in for exploration. But, if you?re looking for an open world FPS experience go buy yourself ?Borderlands,? because with a few exceptions?usually involving some orchestral music and a tank?the levels in ?Halo 3? aren?t that big.
Aside from the basic design, the places and things Master Chief (i.e. the gamer) must go through to complete the game are varied which to some may be a good thing but, in my opinion, I wish the Chief spent a little more time on Earth which is where I thought the whole Forerunner subplot was leading us anyway after the completion of ?Halo 2.?
?I need a weapon?-
The weapons didn?t change enough to warrant too much bitching from the fan boys. One still had the battle rifle (i.e. BR) but, now, there was the old assault rifle and SMGs to choose from. The pistol is an exception given the redesign to make it look and shoot like the ?Halo: CE? model but, without the zoom. Essentially, they stripped the pistol of the cool Gatling-gun fast speed it had in ?Halo 2? and the awesome, who-needs-a-sniper-rifle, zoom from ?CE;? making the gun damn near unlikable even while it retained its effectiveness. Redesigns concerning the ammunition and dual-wielding of certain weapons (e.g. shotguns and needlers) also changed the feel and combat effectiveness of many of the weapons. The sounds on most of the weapons do lack that sharp ?crack? that real guns would be making which does take some of the satisfaction out of firing process.
A.I.-
Despite any changes made to the look and feel of the game Bungie has stayed true to its strength, Artificial Intelligence. I almost skipped over this section simply because it is so easy to miss given that the baddies in ?Halo 3? act so realistically as to blend into my expectations of reality. Coupled with the Marines bitching and the Grunts bantering the A.I. really does deserve applause. Unlike ?Call of Duty?s? A.I. that knows your every move or ?Bad Company?s? that doesn?t know much of anything ?Halo 3? gives their enemies some mental abilities that make the replay value of the campaign significantly higher than ?Halo 3?s? contemporaries, if one ignores the plot. The A.I. is the reason for my continued allegiance to ?Halo? franchise throughout all of the changes.
Multiplayer:
I should have you, the reader, know that I didn?t just play one match of the multiplayer. No, I have nearly 2,000 matches completed in ?Halo 3?s? multiplayer so, I am speaking from experience. I played the multiplayer, enjoying it because it was the best multiplayer experience one could have on the ?360 at the time. But, when better games came out I unashamedly moved on.
Ready to Rumble-
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the weapons system in ?Halo 3,? is the fact that one can empty a full magazine of ammunition into an enemy (i.e. so long as it?s not their head) and one would still need to run at them and hit them to finally kill them. Adding to that seeming uselessness of the weapons is the fact that the beat down system operates under the assumption that if a punch is thrown all other previous damages no longer matter. For example, if one were to shoot half a clip from the assault rifle into an enemy and hit them and they happen to hit you at the same time both of you will appear to be without a shield; where did that half-clip from the assault rifle go!? Don?t even get me started with the double K.O.s that happen way to frequently.
Dropping Tanks-
The most novel part of the game is the map editor dubbed Forge. Personally, I never got too into the map making side of the game but, I have some friends that loved it and created some really interesting maps that made me jealous of their creative talents. My lack of interest notwithstanding, I do have a couple sore points concerning Forge; one is the majority of the creations are utter crap. Most people just throw some shit on the level and called it good. Secondly, most of the maps felt like they were put together with Legos. I know a more powerful editor would probably need to be run on a computer but, from my experienceI really wish that I could have been able to define the dimensions of the pieces I was placing in there rather than having to just blend a thousand pieces together to get the same look. But, I suppose it isn?t too dissimilar from real art and architecture; one will have to sift through a thousand crappy pictures drawn by kindergarteners before one stumbles on anything that is well done, we?ll give the rest an ?A? for effort though.
Lasting Impression-
?Halo 3?s? multiplayer loading screen kept that same blue-tinted feel that got one?s neck-hair raised in its predecessor. Beyond that, as well as the fact that one kills the other players, there are considerable differences. For instance, it introduced the point system into the rankings, allowing one to ?rank up? without their skill being the only determining factor; this being a rather disheartened attempt at making the multiplayer more ?fun? for the average gamer (i.e. level 10 or 20 on skill alone). The voting system, at first, felt democratic and empowering. But, soon, I grew tired of the bunch of idiots I was stuck with voting for the same damn levels over and over (e.g. snowbound, guardian and the pit anyone?). The actual multiplayer experience quickly became a sore point with the increased ubiquitousness of the microphone. Sure ?Halo 2? had the really annoying modders spawning me out of the map while sniping me with infinite ammo, fully-automatic sniper rifles but,? Halo 3? had the gangsta wanna-bees with their rap music playing too loudly and the racism that such music seems to elicit from an anonymous crowd of FPS players. So, where I would wear the headset all of the time on ?Halo 2,? I quickly lost it and any sense of community, on ?Halo 3.?
Revisited-
This game came out in 2007 and I played the hell out of it for the first year but, back then, I wasn?t too interested in getting the achievements. Looking to 100% the game I rented it a few months back (i.e. 2011) and after completing all of the campaign specific achievements I was surprised to find that people still play this game online?a lot of people. If you take a look at Major Nelsons Weekly Live Activity you?ll find that ?Halo 3? is still up there in the top 10; four years after its release with plenty of other, arguably better, shooters having come and gone (i.e. I?m looking at you ?Crysis 2?). So, ?Halo 3? must have done something right to still be a contender in the top 10. Then again, popularity alone doesn?t prove that something is well made or even enjoyable, just look at the ?Twilight? series.
The point, I have one somewhere, is that after having moved from ?Halo 3? to superior FPS multiplayer games (e.g. ?CoD? and ?Bad Co.?) and then revisiting it made the experience laughable in contrast. Every shooter now includes a sprint button, even games designed for from-cover shooting like ?Gears? and ?Rainbow Six,? modern shooters have also moved from the arena style level design to something more closely approximating reality (i.e. something ?Reach? still hasn?t learned) and, lastly, weapon classes have allowed people to play to their strengths rather than having to run like idiots to get the sniper before the other team, or be killed by your team because you already got said sniper. Yes, I?m comparing a game made four years ago to more modern FPSs and, surprise, I like the more modern ones. While one could argue that these modern games are standing on the shoulders of ?Halo 3? I still don?t find it enjoyable to go back to that step which is interesting given that I can still play ?Doom? today with the same zeal I had years ago. I guess what I?m trying to say is that ?Halo 3? may have been fun back in the day but, it just doesn?t have that replay value after so many better games have come out.
Touchy Feely:
It?s been very difficult to write the above without mentioning this next bit, the feel. ?Halo 3? is a graphically superior game, with more sub-plots, and the achievements associated with them, to go after than its predecessors. With that said the most distracting feature of the game, for me, is the feeling that the Master Chief has replaced his morning dose of ?Wheeties? with a healthy helping of cement. That is, all of those perfectly rendered seamless movements that Bungie, I?m sure, labored over take too damn long to happen. Master Chief is incapable of running, a jog seems almost too much for this super-soldier?possibly another reason why I quickly switched to? Modern Warfare??and every other move seems just as laborious for humanity?s savior.
As a quick experiment, I have actually popped in ?CE,? followed by ?2, then ?3 and, finally, ?Reach? to see how fast the characters feel to be running and ?Halo 3? is the slowest of the lot. Yes, perhaps one needs to be only jogging to truly take in all of the ?epicness? that is going on in ?Halo 3? but, ultimately this one nuisance alienated me from the whole experience. This same lackluster approach to his sprinting is felt in the reload times of the weapons. I am left to wonder if this constant slow-mo movement was designed to give the viewer time to take in all of those pretty pixels. Ultimately though, I felt like I was trapped in one of John Woo?s birds-flying-in-the-foreground sequences?there just to look cool.
Revisiting the Evils of Capitalism:
The last complaint/detail concerning ?Halo 3? reverts back to the advertising. About a year or so after ?Halo 3? had come out, after I had already moved on to ?Modern Warfare,? I wanted to host a gaming tournament for my university. Really I wanted ?Modern Warfare? but, the system link system in it wouldn?t allow for the full, four-man team that I was envisioning so, I thought I would rely on an old friend and play some ?Halo 3.? The tourney had a low turnout but, was fun. Anyways, my point?in the lead up to the tourney I made a Facebook page for it and posted all of the old ?Halo 3? adverts on there. At that time having already beaten the game and moved on I was able to see the adverts without being blinded by the possibilities they offered, rather I knew the whole package.
This is when I came to the conclusion that the adverts are too good. They?re too epic. The ads paint a picture of a universe and a hero that are amazing to behold and that only ?Halo 3? (i.e. for $50) can bring you there. The ads, in short, worked; I was one of those men, along with my brother that stood in Wal-Mart at 11pm waiting for our copy of ?Halo 3??plus that stupid dog tag with ?Halo 3?Believe? and ?Wal-Mart? stamped in?to go play till we had to go to work or class the next morning. But, we soon found out that the ads were selling something different from the actual game. The experience that is ?Halo 3? was not summed up in the adverts; no, the adverts continued on much too far to be of any assistance to the consumer. This situation aided in my ultimate disillusionment with the ?Halo? franchise until I popped in ?Halo: Reach? a couple of years later. I suppose the adverts were just too good, selling the epic idea of ?Halo 3? not the actual product but, at least Bungie made their money.
So, while I definately got my money's worth I have no desire to ever play "Halo 3" again, evident in my still owning the first two "Halos" and "Reach" but, not the number '3.
ESCAPIST EDIT: All of my posts are from a couple of years ago, when I had more time and money to pursue this hobby. These were originally posted on TrueAchievements.com and, as such, they're all from 360 games.
The Evils of Capitalism:
Out of all of the ?Halos? that have come out, ?Halo 3? was the war-horse in the advertising battles, that?s including the more recent titles such as ?Reach.? I can recall the adverts for ?Halo 2? and while they were tailored to just the kind of person I am, a few quick bits of the Prophets speech and some shots of Earth with Master Chief kickin? it hard?I was in love before it came out?they were not made to attract the larger crowd of potential gamers. ?Halo 3? took some of the same elements from ?Halo 2?s? adverts (e.g. ass kickin? and the strong-silent Master Chief) while also leaning more heavily on the Biblical references Bungie has been known for in the making of the adverts thus, marketing that everyone can relate to. Not because everyone is a Christian but, rather, because Western Society is predominantly Christian and the rest of us have to put up with it.
Watching old men wax nostalgic about the hope they had had that Master Chief was still alive while their ammunition continued to diminish or, the ad with the panning battleground miniatures where the Master Chief?s miniature sticky grenade glows and he looks up at the viewer, these ads weren?t just made for the gamer. These ads were psychologically perfected to spark interest from anyone calling themselves a human. Whether or not the viewer was a ?Halo? fan or not, these ads were made to entice. They added subplots that the viewer not only wanted to see enacted in the game but, perhaps have the chance to enact for themselves?that?s what games are for after all. Neill Blomkamp?s short ODST film was a heart-pounding culmination of this process, causing me to fail some homework assignments just thinking about ?Halo 3,? as opposed to failing them because of playing ?Halo 3.?
It is my intention to paint the media blitz for ?Halo 3? in as positive a light as possible because, I think, for advertising it was done with the best of intentions (i.e. to make money). But, the advertising, for this one gamer, may have been a contributing factor in my ultimate disgust with ?Halo 3.? More on that in a bit.
Gameplay:
Style-
Graphically ?Halo 3? significantly improved upon the action sequences, body mechanics, explosions and the environments that were already great in ?Halo 2,? keeping the style a bit cartoony but much more streamlined. Gone are the pixilated static backgrounds that fail under close scrutiny with the sniper rifle?s zoom. I think it has been rather unfair to compare ?Halo 3?s? graphics with the likes of the ?Modern Warfare? franchise (i.e. arguably the most graphically realistic game to date), simply because they?re going for very different looks; ?Halo? for the streamlined, surreal?beautiful and ?MW? for the gritty, dusty fog of war. One can?t have both and one can see similar stylistic approaches in film (e.g. cinematography of ?The Matrix? compared to that of ?Children of Men,? for example).
People-
The characters performed in much the same way as they did in ?Halo 2? so, there isn?t much to add concerning them. Chief is enigmatic, Johnson fits the stereotypical supporting role of a black father-like figure that one sees in every cop movie since?well every cop movie, and the Arbiter continues to be bad-ass, for a foreigner. Cortana is an exception having turned into a damaged and weak damsel-in-distress, with breast enhancements of course. She does, arguably, regain some of positive female status nearer the end of the story (i.e. after she?s been rescued). So, much for the positive female role model.
Story?or something trying to be-
The story is another sore point. Where ?Halo: CE? had its share of surprises and ?Halo 2? left on a cliffhanger I have yet to figure out what the fuck ?Halo 3?s? grand gesturing is supposed to mean. Artistically, leaving something to interpretation makes sense, when the medium doesn?t require the viewer to complete objectives. I can sum up all I took away from the story in one sentence: the Ark controls the Halo rings, destroy the Ark to stop the rings from activating. Aside from that, there was an AA gun one needed to destroy and some Flood got in the way. The cutscenes kept me moving forward but, they never delivered any lasting understanding concerning where I was going or why. They just continued on assuming that I thought the whole Halo universe was inherently cool and that any minute detail (read by Bungie as: not epic) was not worth the time to expound upon; all so that the average Joe could understand or just not care. It seems that all Bungie did was rely on a few biblical references to make the story both epic and relatable, plus Bible-Belt friendly. Gone are surprises and originality.
Setting-
The majority of the levels perpetuated the FPS model of funneling the gamer?s movements by creating maps that are, for all intents and purposes, a straight line. ?Halo 3? was not the first FPS to do this nor has the gameplay device left the FPS genre. Now, this isn?t really a sore point with me given that with such a convoluted plot having a straight line to run down helps one get through it. While there is always one major route to any of the battles it is nice to have the side routes with available cover that Bungie has thrown in for exploration. But, if you?re looking for an open world FPS experience go buy yourself ?Borderlands,? because with a few exceptions?usually involving some orchestral music and a tank?the levels in ?Halo 3? aren?t that big.
Aside from the basic design, the places and things Master Chief (i.e. the gamer) must go through to complete the game are varied which to some may be a good thing but, in my opinion, I wish the Chief spent a little more time on Earth which is where I thought the whole Forerunner subplot was leading us anyway after the completion of ?Halo 2.?
?I need a weapon?-
The weapons didn?t change enough to warrant too much bitching from the fan boys. One still had the battle rifle (i.e. BR) but, now, there was the old assault rifle and SMGs to choose from. The pistol is an exception given the redesign to make it look and shoot like the ?Halo: CE? model but, without the zoom. Essentially, they stripped the pistol of the cool Gatling-gun fast speed it had in ?Halo 2? and the awesome, who-needs-a-sniper-rifle, zoom from ?CE;? making the gun damn near unlikable even while it retained its effectiveness. Redesigns concerning the ammunition and dual-wielding of certain weapons (e.g. shotguns and needlers) also changed the feel and combat effectiveness of many of the weapons. The sounds on most of the weapons do lack that sharp ?crack? that real guns would be making which does take some of the satisfaction out of firing process.
A.I.-
Despite any changes made to the look and feel of the game Bungie has stayed true to its strength, Artificial Intelligence. I almost skipped over this section simply because it is so easy to miss given that the baddies in ?Halo 3? act so realistically as to blend into my expectations of reality. Coupled with the Marines bitching and the Grunts bantering the A.I. really does deserve applause. Unlike ?Call of Duty?s? A.I. that knows your every move or ?Bad Company?s? that doesn?t know much of anything ?Halo 3? gives their enemies some mental abilities that make the replay value of the campaign significantly higher than ?Halo 3?s? contemporaries, if one ignores the plot. The A.I. is the reason for my continued allegiance to ?Halo? franchise throughout all of the changes.
Multiplayer:
I should have you, the reader, know that I didn?t just play one match of the multiplayer. No, I have nearly 2,000 matches completed in ?Halo 3?s? multiplayer so, I am speaking from experience. I played the multiplayer, enjoying it because it was the best multiplayer experience one could have on the ?360 at the time. But, when better games came out I unashamedly moved on.
Ready to Rumble-
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the weapons system in ?Halo 3,? is the fact that one can empty a full magazine of ammunition into an enemy (i.e. so long as it?s not their head) and one would still need to run at them and hit them to finally kill them. Adding to that seeming uselessness of the weapons is the fact that the beat down system operates under the assumption that if a punch is thrown all other previous damages no longer matter. For example, if one were to shoot half a clip from the assault rifle into an enemy and hit them and they happen to hit you at the same time both of you will appear to be without a shield; where did that half-clip from the assault rifle go!? Don?t even get me started with the double K.O.s that happen way to frequently.
Dropping Tanks-
The most novel part of the game is the map editor dubbed Forge. Personally, I never got too into the map making side of the game but, I have some friends that loved it and created some really interesting maps that made me jealous of their creative talents. My lack of interest notwithstanding, I do have a couple sore points concerning Forge; one is the majority of the creations are utter crap. Most people just throw some shit on the level and called it good. Secondly, most of the maps felt like they were put together with Legos. I know a more powerful editor would probably need to be run on a computer but, from my experienceI really wish that I could have been able to define the dimensions of the pieces I was placing in there rather than having to just blend a thousand pieces together to get the same look. But, I suppose it isn?t too dissimilar from real art and architecture; one will have to sift through a thousand crappy pictures drawn by kindergarteners before one stumbles on anything that is well done, we?ll give the rest an ?A? for effort though.
Lasting Impression-
?Halo 3?s? multiplayer loading screen kept that same blue-tinted feel that got one?s neck-hair raised in its predecessor. Beyond that, as well as the fact that one kills the other players, there are considerable differences. For instance, it introduced the point system into the rankings, allowing one to ?rank up? without their skill being the only determining factor; this being a rather disheartened attempt at making the multiplayer more ?fun? for the average gamer (i.e. level 10 or 20 on skill alone). The voting system, at first, felt democratic and empowering. But, soon, I grew tired of the bunch of idiots I was stuck with voting for the same damn levels over and over (e.g. snowbound, guardian and the pit anyone?). The actual multiplayer experience quickly became a sore point with the increased ubiquitousness of the microphone. Sure ?Halo 2? had the really annoying modders spawning me out of the map while sniping me with infinite ammo, fully-automatic sniper rifles but,? Halo 3? had the gangsta wanna-bees with their rap music playing too loudly and the racism that such music seems to elicit from an anonymous crowd of FPS players. So, where I would wear the headset all of the time on ?Halo 2,? I quickly lost it and any sense of community, on ?Halo 3.?
Revisited-
This game came out in 2007 and I played the hell out of it for the first year but, back then, I wasn?t too interested in getting the achievements. Looking to 100% the game I rented it a few months back (i.e. 2011) and after completing all of the campaign specific achievements I was surprised to find that people still play this game online?a lot of people. If you take a look at Major Nelsons Weekly Live Activity you?ll find that ?Halo 3? is still up there in the top 10; four years after its release with plenty of other, arguably better, shooters having come and gone (i.e. I?m looking at you ?Crysis 2?). So, ?Halo 3? must have done something right to still be a contender in the top 10. Then again, popularity alone doesn?t prove that something is well made or even enjoyable, just look at the ?Twilight? series.
The point, I have one somewhere, is that after having moved from ?Halo 3? to superior FPS multiplayer games (e.g. ?CoD? and ?Bad Co.?) and then revisiting it made the experience laughable in contrast. Every shooter now includes a sprint button, even games designed for from-cover shooting like ?Gears? and ?Rainbow Six,? modern shooters have also moved from the arena style level design to something more closely approximating reality (i.e. something ?Reach? still hasn?t learned) and, lastly, weapon classes have allowed people to play to their strengths rather than having to run like idiots to get the sniper before the other team, or be killed by your team because you already got said sniper. Yes, I?m comparing a game made four years ago to more modern FPSs and, surprise, I like the more modern ones. While one could argue that these modern games are standing on the shoulders of ?Halo 3? I still don?t find it enjoyable to go back to that step which is interesting given that I can still play ?Doom? today with the same zeal I had years ago. I guess what I?m trying to say is that ?Halo 3? may have been fun back in the day but, it just doesn?t have that replay value after so many better games have come out.
Touchy Feely:
It?s been very difficult to write the above without mentioning this next bit, the feel. ?Halo 3? is a graphically superior game, with more sub-plots, and the achievements associated with them, to go after than its predecessors. With that said the most distracting feature of the game, for me, is the feeling that the Master Chief has replaced his morning dose of ?Wheeties? with a healthy helping of cement. That is, all of those perfectly rendered seamless movements that Bungie, I?m sure, labored over take too damn long to happen. Master Chief is incapable of running, a jog seems almost too much for this super-soldier?possibly another reason why I quickly switched to? Modern Warfare??and every other move seems just as laborious for humanity?s savior.
As a quick experiment, I have actually popped in ?CE,? followed by ?2, then ?3 and, finally, ?Reach? to see how fast the characters feel to be running and ?Halo 3? is the slowest of the lot. Yes, perhaps one needs to be only jogging to truly take in all of the ?epicness? that is going on in ?Halo 3? but, ultimately this one nuisance alienated me from the whole experience. This same lackluster approach to his sprinting is felt in the reload times of the weapons. I am left to wonder if this constant slow-mo movement was designed to give the viewer time to take in all of those pretty pixels. Ultimately though, I felt like I was trapped in one of John Woo?s birds-flying-in-the-foreground sequences?there just to look cool.
Revisiting the Evils of Capitalism:
The last complaint/detail concerning ?Halo 3? reverts back to the advertising. About a year or so after ?Halo 3? had come out, after I had already moved on to ?Modern Warfare,? I wanted to host a gaming tournament for my university. Really I wanted ?Modern Warfare? but, the system link system in it wouldn?t allow for the full, four-man team that I was envisioning so, I thought I would rely on an old friend and play some ?Halo 3.? The tourney had a low turnout but, was fun. Anyways, my point?in the lead up to the tourney I made a Facebook page for it and posted all of the old ?Halo 3? adverts on there. At that time having already beaten the game and moved on I was able to see the adverts without being blinded by the possibilities they offered, rather I knew the whole package.
This is when I came to the conclusion that the adverts are too good. They?re too epic. The ads paint a picture of a universe and a hero that are amazing to behold and that only ?Halo 3? (i.e. for $50) can bring you there. The ads, in short, worked; I was one of those men, along with my brother that stood in Wal-Mart at 11pm waiting for our copy of ?Halo 3??plus that stupid dog tag with ?Halo 3?Believe? and ?Wal-Mart? stamped in?to go play till we had to go to work or class the next morning. But, we soon found out that the ads were selling something different from the actual game. The experience that is ?Halo 3? was not summed up in the adverts; no, the adverts continued on much too far to be of any assistance to the consumer. This situation aided in my ultimate disillusionment with the ?Halo? franchise until I popped in ?Halo: Reach? a couple of years later. I suppose the adverts were just too good, selling the epic idea of ?Halo 3? not the actual product but, at least Bungie made their money.
So, while I definately got my money's worth I have no desire to ever play "Halo 3" again, evident in my still owning the first two "Halos" and "Reach" but, not the number '3.
ESCAPIST EDIT: All of my posts are from a couple of years ago, when I had more time and money to pursue this hobby. These were originally posted on TrueAchievements.com and, as such, they're all from 360 games.