Finish The Fight Two Ways…
Single Player: Although the majority of Bungie’s focus in the third installment has been on multiplayer integration, the single player campaign is a definite improvement over the sequel. Whether it was the disappointing finish or the Arbiter missions, Halo 2 just didn’t quite have it. It looks as if they’ve made a few major improvements since then.
Firstly, they brought back some favorite levels. One might say they were right out of the previous games. There is the classic assault on control room, a beach battle of sorts, and some moments that felt very 2001. They also brought back some of the better moments of Halo 2 with some improvements. There is the scarab romp, where I swear you need to have a harpoon gun installed on the back of your banshee; Hoth Ice Planet style.
There is some tank action where all your buds hop on the side to come along for the ride (who knew that wasn’t a safe place to hang out!). Finally, there are some uniquely Halo 3 additions. There is a ride in the Human air attack vehicle, the Hornet. This vehicle is more or less an Apache Helicopter with jets instead of rotors. The flood levels have a definite “Aliens” feel to them with the walls being infested with weird slimy objects, not to mention sphincter doors.
Although in general the campaign was entertaining (while avoiding the repeating room syndrome), the end was just a little unsatisfying. Unlike Halo 2, the story comes to a definite conclusion. However, the final battle with the Guilty Spark (An annoying, robotic floating cube that is from previous games) was very anti-climactic. The final drive to freedom was just silly, far from the exciting race against time in Halo 1.
There were two endings I would rather have seen. Firstly, the far more logical ending, would have been to have a final battle with Gravemind the slimy leader of the flood. Secondly, it would have been cool if the combination of the Flood and the Covenant resulted in the annihilation of the human race where as the last surviving member, you activated the rings in a suicidal blaze of glory. As if to preserve possibilities for future games, one gets only circumstantial evidence of Gravemind’s destruction and Master Chief goes back into the same box he emerged from in Halo 1; ready to emerge for Halo 4. For the most part, the campaign story and flow kept the controller glued to my hand from beginning to end despite the fact that the fight still seems unfinished.
Multiplayer: While the Halo 2 campaign was heavily criticized, it was the multiplayer that made the game great. Bungie has continued that tradition with some great additions. Firstly there is the campaign scoring mode that gives you a score based on your kills (i.e. headshots, double kills, etc…) and deaths tallying it all up at the end for major bragging rights and achievements. This can be set to both competitive and cooperative modes.
Secondly, over Xbox Live you can play the campaign cooperatively with up to four players. With both achievements and bragging rights on the line, these enhancements add some extra fun to your normal coop campaign play. You can also play the same old local multiplayer from the pre-Xbox Live days. Local multiplayer even has the option of using temporary IDs similar to those in Halo 1 (think Hollywood, Noodle, Wiltshire, etc…) for extra fun! Although the majority of the multiplayer is designed for Live, it is nice that they kept the option of having the local 4 player deathmatch, something absent in many games these days.
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