Halo 3 Overview
Halo 3 is the final instalment in the critically acclaimed Halo Trilogy of first person shooters. Developed by Bungie Studios and published exclusively by Microsoft for its Xbox and Windows platforms, the trilogy has been one of the most groundbreaking in gaming’s history. Halo: Combat Evolved launched for the Xbox in 2001, and was for a long time the consoles greatest hit, combining an enthralling and unique single player scenario with a thrilling multiplayer experience. Halo 2 expanded on the foundations of its predecessor, brimming with new features and depth. Halo 2 was also the greatest online multiplayer success story in console history, a feature the original lacked. Over the then-newly-formed Xbox Live system, Halo 2 accumulated a record-breaking number of man hours spent playing: the game quickly became an institution for competitive gaming around the world.
And now we have Halo 3. The finale promises to build further on what made the originals so great, and it delivers. The first Halo to be run on the next-generation Xbox360, Halo 3 looks stunning – making full use of the console’s power, Halo 3 has a level of detail far beyond its predecessors, and has been finely crafted to look incredible in standard and high definitions alike.
The single player story picks up right where Halo 2 finished, with Master Chief hurtling towards the Earth on board the Forerunner Dreadnought manned by the High Prophet of Truth and his Covenant servants. The player is immediately thrust into action, crash landing in a forest crawling in the enemy and, in true Halo style, having to shoot his way out. This sets the tone for an action-packed and extremely intense albeit slightly short single player campaign, which does a fantastic job of wrapping up the loose ends and answering the questions left by the previous games. Can Master Chief prevent the Covenant from activating the Halos, and stop the Flood at the same time?
And then comes the multiplayer. Halo 2 redefined the online gaming experience with its superb Matchmaking system, and Halo 3 sets out to refine it further, quickly cementing itself as an Xbox Live stalwart. Incorporating many gametype options across a number of levels(maps), division into ranked and social playlists, a complex and effective rank system, skill tracking, character customisation and a seamless splitscreen mode, Halo’s multiplayer remains one of the best. Furthermore, Bungie continues to provide support for the game, developing downloadable content and mixing up the gametype options to continually deliver a fresh experience. With a massive player base and a dynamic, constantly evolving multiplayer environment Halo 3 will continue to dominate the charts for a long, long time.
But that isn’t all of the new features Halo 3 boasts. Among the other main aspects of the game is the Forge, a simple and highly innovative world-editing tool that allows you customize the layout and features of a map in real-time, that is, whilst playing a game. The Forge is a mode of gameplay in which one or more of the players assumes the role of Editor, taking on the form of a Forerunner Monitor from the campaign. The editor can fly about the map, spawning and deleting geometry and weapons, and can even change such things as respawn locations and objective locations. Whilst not being able to create completely new environments, the Forge is a powerful tool for customizing the existing map options, and in some cases can leave a level completely unrecognisable from the original. Bungie continues to show support for this feature, releasing Forge functionality in downloadable content packs and integrating community map variants into its Matchmaking system.
The theatre mode is the finally main game mode in Halo 3, and it is truly revolutionary. It enables a player to revisit played games through a viewer. The player can then take screenshots, create clips, or save entire films for later viewing. This is combined with file-sharing functionality new to the series, enabling a player to share his exploits with the world. It also provides Machinima artists with a far easier means of creating their works.
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