Game Types
The online multiplayer also has many different melee pickup game types to choose from. On the ranked side there is the Lone Wolves, Team Slayer, Team Objective, Team Tactical, and Team Doubles. In these ranked matches, you are pitted up against players of similar skill levels in a variety of situations. From the standard “kill them bastards” to more complex CTF and King of The Hill game types, there is enough variety and competition to appease the most picky of gamers (sorry no guests allowed). In the unranked playlists, there is Rumble Pit, Social Slayer, Social Skirmish, Big Team Battle, Multi Team, and Social Doubles. These guests allowed variants are almost exactly the same as Halo 2 and help to give rise to similar all-night halo fun with everyone in the same room on one Xbox 360.
The ranking system has also changed slightly from the standard numbering system that was in Halo 2. There is also an actual army ranking system in addition to the numbers. This not only increases the addictiveness of the online play (like any Halo fans really needed that), but it also creates a powerful deterrent to would-be quitters. An early quit causes one to lose 2 EXP points towards their next promotion, something that any 1337 player would rather die than have happen. Unfortunately one thing entirely absent is the Clans of Halo 2. Although there has been some talk of making this a 360-wide feature, there are some folks that will find this a definite disappointment. The online multiplayer has definitely reached its most fast paced and furiously addictive levels yet.
Let’s Do This!
Part of what made Halo 2 online play so much fun was the weird user-created variants. Whether it was an additional turret where there was previously none, or an old fashioned game of Zombies (a game where one of the players has a sword and hunts down all other players turning them into “zombies” when killed), these games allowed the user to have their own fun. Halo 3 has not only kept and enhanced these games, but the new “Forge Mode” takes this aspect to near map editing proportions with the ability to add vehicles, weapons, powerups, teleporters, and to edit certain properties (i.e. respawn times).
All this mode is missing is a custom game search engine to unleash the map variants. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the search was initially announced, there is no such feature in the final game. Looks like you will have to stop playing with yourself and make some friends!
Graphics, Sound, and Extras…Oh My!
If there is one thing that stands out as being somewhat of a disappointment in the third installment it is the graphics. Firstly, although there are some definite graphical improvements (i.e. massive battles with many units on screen and good frame rate), the visuals all seemed very Halo 2. There is of course more detail, not to mention some great backdrops, however overall I didn’t quite feel as wowed as I would have liked. Secondly, there is the 2 player split screen view.
I play on a 50 inch wide-screen HDTV, and although I might be somewhat of a minority in the quality of my TV, the inability to even stretch the top and bottom 2 player to fit the whole TV without doing some weird graphical downgrades was just silly. Although it was an improvement from the Halo 2 shopping cart side-to-side 2 player, the two black bars on the side are terrible. Although it apparently is done to preserve some sort of aspect ratio, I would have loved to be able to stretch this out.
The inclusion of the theatre mode gives you the ability to take shots of our favourite moments, and to even save whole videos of previous games. This is just the icing on the cake when it comes to taking pictures of brutes that you grav-hammered into the ceiling. There is also some improvements with character customization.
Gone is the standard Elite or Spartan costumes. In its place is the ability to customize your character with various unlockable outfits. The sound has also made some improvements. I noticed that the surround was more in effect and that all the sounds just seemed to be a little bit more clear. Although there is still the general lack of music throughout the game, I was pleased with some of the nostalgic space-like music that would appear at certain times throughout the game. For those who want a less subtle soundtrack, there is always the Xbox 360 standard music player and your own collection of tunes.
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