I Finished the Fight

Finally, when I returned home Friday, I was able to play Halo 3 with my husband. We like to play these kinds of games on cooperative so that we can play the whole storyline through together. It’s handy when someone (me!) decides to run with guns blazing into battle just to be killed over and over again by hordes of enemies. He stays in a safe place, popping off a few big guys with a sniper rifle, so that I can respawn and do the whole thing over again. Hey what can I say, that’s my style. :)

The one word to describe the game is beautiful. The graphics are a big improvement over Halo 2. There was a difference in graphics and AI between Halo and Halo 2, but there’s a much bigger difference in both between Halo 2 and Halo 3. Everything in the game is much more detailed and reflects light much more realistically. When you’re in the sunlight and turn towards the sun, your gun will glint as you around catching the light. It’s hard to describe without actually seeing it. When you catch a reflection it will actually kind of blind you a bit just like it would in real life. I caught myself wanting to squint at times. It did seem as though everything was shiner as if the designers were saying, “Hey look at this neat thing we can do!” The effect was gorgeous though. You find yourself simply taking time to admire the scenery and effects between battles. Even the plant life is more detailed than the previous versions. If you run through a fern or bush, and the leaves have very detailed textures. The character’s faces show much more detail and emotion than before. And they’re smarter. And they drive better which is a big improvement over Halo 2. I always liked it when your guys would drive in Halo 2, but they didn’t drive the best and I’ve had my fair share of being run over by them. Just get out of their way and let them go, because they would always take off and kill most of the enemies before you could catch up. Halo 3 fixes that and they wait on you now (yay!) and don’t drive as crazy as they did before.

I’ve noticed that the movements of the characters are much more lifelike in this game as well. There was a scene where the Master Chief was leaning over a table with his hands on the table. I remember noting that his arms and shoulders bent very fluidly and even had that little give in the shoulder when he bent farther over. Again, it’s hard to describe unless you see the game, but it’s one of those moments where you say, “oh how cool.”

If you play the game on cooperative mode, Player 1 will be the Master Chief and Player 2 will be The Arbiter. This change is key to the storyline of the game and really helps you get into the plot. A few weapons have changed and you get a few extra, such as the Gravity Hammer. It’s pretty much a big stick that will destroy any enemy in 10 feet of you. If you run across one, pick it up. It’s great fun to use. You will also see some new vehicles this time around. The Chopper has the same principle as the Ghost, but meaner. The Hornet is a new flying vehicle that you can take to the skies with. The Wraith is harder to steal but still packs the same punch it did before. You do get the Scorpion with a few improvements. It’s faster than what it was in the previous games, and you can have a second player shoot a machine gun along with the first player still firing the main gun.

WARNING: SPOILERS IN THIS PARAGRAPH: I did get a lot of satisfaction in one part of the game when I finally was able to kill 343 Guilty Spark (aka The Monitor and The Oracle). I know he’s just a little metal floaty ball with a blue light that hums all the time, but darn it felt good to blow him up. You even get a big gun to do it with which made it even more fun. Yes, some people that you’ve grown to love do die in the game. I won’t say who, but not everyone gets to finish the fight.

Ok, the spoilers are over now. If you play Halo 3 don’t forget to do something very important. When the credits roll after the last level is over, don’t end the game. Let the credits finish and there is an extra movie at the end. I’m not going to spoil anything, but it will leave you with a better feeling about the ending of the game if you watch the final after-the-credits movie. The storyline does finish out and wrap everything up. However, the designers do leave open a few possibilities, maybe for future games or the plot of the Halo movie that is supposed to come out sometime in 2008 or 2009. That is just my speculation for what it’s worth.

All in all it was great game that any Halo fan will enjoy. It is a bit short but the graphics, AI, and storyline make up for it. If you haven’t played any of the Halo trilogy, start with the first and work your way up. I wouldn’t recommend starting with the last one and then going back to the first.