Halo 3

On Tuesday, the much anticipated third installment of the Halo series was released for XBOX 360. I’m here to offer some initial reactions.

Unfortunately, I haven’t had much of an opportunity to explore the multiplayer features yet. Instead, my roommate and I have been working our way through the campaign.

The story picks up where the second left off, with Master Chief returning to Earth to continue his fight against the Covenant. Playing mostly as second player, I took the role of the Arbiter (a former covenant official converted to the good side), who often is the main target of Alien forces (Grunt yelling “Help, it’s the Arbiter!).

Visually, the game is not much different than Halo 2. The graphics are tweaked for the 360, but the gameplay and feel are virtually identical. This was kind of a letdown for me. I enjoyed the crisp, clean feel of Halo 1 and personally felt that the graphics of Halo 2 (and now Halo 3) were muddled (admittedly, I’m not a true gamer).

The first thing I was impressed by as we went through the campaign was the intelligence of the alien forces. They would develop strategies, attempt to flank, and change positions. On occasions when we had to start a level over, we found that the enemy would be in different formations, making it impossible to simply memorize a level and mow your way through it. There are also some cool added features such as the addition of an item button that allows you to deploy collectible equipment such as a Gravity Lift or Bubble Shield.

The problem is that the human forces that often run alongside the Master Chief are as dumb as the alien forces are smart. I can’t tell you how often I was hit by a grenade thrown by my own men.

It wasn’t until well into the first level that the game was truly put to the test and I stumbled upon a pistol. My fingers trembled as I traded out my plasma rifle and reloaded the weapon. This was the moment that would make or break this game. I pushed B to zoom…Noooo!!! Lo and Behold, I couldn’t shoot the pistol while zoomed in. Damn you, Bungie. You blew it again.

I realize I’m biased. There are many Halo 2 lovers out there who think it’s fun to dual wield a couple of assault rifles, run out in the open and shoot at each other till one player dies. And I can tell you why these people love Halo 2: because they sucked at Halo 1. Because they have no concept of strategy, lack the finesse and fine motor skills necessary to perfect the art of the pistol’s three shot potency, and have found their means of revenge in a fully automatic melee.

Like I said, I haven’t played much multiplayer yet. There is a map editing tool and a match moderation feature known as the Forge (don’t really understand what this means yet). Also, you have the option to record your battles. This could come in handy when I jump down on some unsuspecting fool and slap him in the back of the head. Maybe these features will make multiplayer in Halo 3 really cool.

But I doubt it.

Thanks for reading.

PS I responded to some of yesterday's comments, if you want to check it out. No post tomorrow. I'll be golfing Hazeltine.