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Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
| Overall Customer Rating: |  | | | | Graphics: | (Not Yet Rated) | | Sound: | (Not Yet Rated) | | GamePlay: | (Not Yet Rated) | | Addiction Level: | (Not Yet Rated) |
298 Customer Reviews
RRP: £49.99
Amazon Price: £17.98
You Save: £32.01 (64%)
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Platform: Xbox 360
Publisher: Microsoft
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Editorial: The epic saga continues with Halo 3, the hugely anticipated sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo franchise. In this third chapter of the Halo trilogy, Master Chief returns to finish the fight, bringing the epic conflict between the Covenant, the Flood, and the entire human race to a dramatic, pulse-pounding climax. Halo 3 represents the third chapter in the Halo trilogyan international award-winning action series that grew into a global entertainment phenomenon, selling more than 14.5 million units worldwide, logging more than 650 million hours of multiplayer action on Xbox Live, and spawning action figures, books, a graphic novel, apparel, an upcoming film adaptation, and more
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"Brilliant multiplayer! " - 28 September 2007
This is game is definately worth buying for any person who enjoys playing online multiplayer as its soooo good. If your buying this game and dont have many xbox live friends or not really interested in the multiplayer side then you might be slightly dissapointed as you could probably complete the game within a day if you played non-stop for about 10 hours as theres so many checkpoints in the game you pretty much start from where you died. Other than that it is a fantastic game to play. You can play co-op through the whole story with up to 3 friends online and thats where the madness begins. The levels are pretty huge with plenty of weapons and vehicles to enjoy and everything looks so good graphically, it makes you want to buy a HD Television just to play it on! Definately a must buy game for the 360!
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""I was planning on shooting my way out. Just to mix things up a bit"" - 28 September 2007
I play video games for one reason only and that's gameplay. And on that score Halo 3 delivers in absolute spades. Bungie have basically taken every feature I could have wanted in a First Person Shooter and polished it beyond belief. Then gone and added a whole lot of new features that I didn't know I wanted but can see the potential of (the replay feature lets you know exactly why you keep dying in multiplayer for example). The campaign is good (a littel short but the potential replay value and difficulty scaling is immense). The co-op campaign is fantastic. The multiplayer is the standard against which all multiplayer games should be judged. Despite my impatience to get my hands on it I'm happy that Bungie (and Microsoft) took the time to get things right.
If you didn't like Halo or Halo 2 then there's probably nothing in this game which will appeal to you. If you did then you were probably out there queuing to get your hands on a copy at midnight anyway.
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"The right time to end the series" - 7 October 2007
Halo 3 is (obviously) the third in the Halo series. Parts 1 and 2 helped shape the X-Box, selling countless games and consoles in the process.
Part 3 is possibly the most hyped game and will once again sell many consoles and games.. hell it already has.
This is the conclusion for the series which has been upgraded for the 360. Looking and playing better than before it's certailny everything you could ask for. The trouble, it doesn't go more than one step further, it doesn't quite push the envelope as much as I'd have hoped.
The online part will keep people playing for a long time. Personally I don't enjoy online all that much. The X-Box live can be slow for a paid service and anyone new to this series will be constantly destroyed by players who are vets to the series.
Still, it looks nice, it plays well, it has flaws, what doesn't? If you have a 360 buy it.
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"Did I miss something?" - 8 October 2007
The game was ok about on par with Halo 1. But it kinda sucks that the game was on par with such a "great but old game". Even many levels looked the same as for the ending!! Try originality.
The fact that I got the box off the post man at lunchtime and completed it the same day also amazed me. The single player game is short about 6/7 hours. It feels same as before with a few new guns and carts. Should have had more for such a widely anticipated and hyped game. If you never played Halo it will be fun but if you played H1 forget it.
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"Good diversion..." - 8 October 2007
I wasn't going to get this game originally because i haven't been a huge Halo fan having played and completed the first two. But i was browsing games in town for something new to get and thought why not?
This game is good and i recommend it for any fps or Halo fans, even for people who aren't usually fps fans(like myself) it can prove a good few hours of entertainment.
I found the story had better pulling power than the previous Halo games, which as a non fps fan i had to be in the mood to play. This one however i found managed to keep me playing for a longer period in one go(something which for me is quite rare with fps games). Good story, good challenge and well implemented overall.
I found a few nagging little things the first time i completed it which caused me a few unwarrented deaths, mainly to it's failure to explain quite what i was supposed to do. For instance fighting a scarab for the first time it was only after a fair few wasted rockets that the npc's pointed out i needed to shoot the legs to allow me to board it. This niggles can be forgiven though as the game allows you to keep playing pretty fluidly.
The major flaw from my point of view was that the single player campaign is very short, i bought it mid morning and had completed it the first time on the hardest difficulty(Legendary i believe it's called) by 11pm that evening and that was with taking a couple of hours break twice to do some other things, eat etc. This was a little disappointing and i would have liked them to put more effort into making the single player campaign longer as some of us don't want to play multiplayer online. I will say that i expect your average gamer will take longer to complete it so it may not be an issue for you.
The niggles and the shortness are the things that keep this game from getting the full five stars, those aside well worth playing.
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"You can't beat the first Halo." - 8 October 2007
Remember when you first played Halo on the original xbox? How exciting and refreshing it was? Well thats all gone now. They've basically pushed the story aside and filled it with xbox live modes and new irrelevant features. The graphics haven't moved on as such. It's reasonable to believe this could have been Halo 2 in HD. It's fun online but the ending was rubbish and made me feel like I had wasted my time playing it. Even I could have made that ending up - quite disappointed. It seems Bungie has got ahead of itself and I think all this generated hype over a pretty average experience has made it a let down because the media made it look something extravagent which it is not. I have enjoyed the Halo series overall but this was an unsatisfying end to a great trilogy. Whether it is 'the' end I don't know. If you are a die hard Halo fan, it is a must have. If you have just joined the series, it won't seem any different from shooters like Far Cry, Prey, Bioshock or Perfect Dark. This had the best storyline going in the FPS genre. The Online modes will keep you happy for a while. Overall 8/10. This is just my opinion and know many people will disagree!
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"This Is How The World Ends..." - 11 October 2007
Halo 3 was always hyped up to be the greatest game ever to be released on the 360, and for that simple reason the game was never going to live up to the expectations.
However, putting aside the hype, Halo 3 is definetely one of the better games on the 360, ranking up there with Bioshock, Dead Rising and Gears of War.
I'll start with the most obvious: the graphics. Halo 3 has been criticised greatly for not using the 360's graphical power to its advantage, however in comparison to most other shooters Halo does have some beautiful art and imagery.
Halo 3 has some amazing locations, and the graphics of the sun as it pours down and glistens across your weapons in the opening levels is stunning. The weapons themselves don't look much different to what we saw in Halo 2, however the way in which the sun's rays shine through the trees and the water as it trickles down the slopes is what you will probably catch on to first of all.
Character models have also been upgraded considerably. The Chief's armour now has the reflecting tint that we always wanted, whilst the Covenant now look more alien than ever before. The Flood has also been focused on and gives off the disgusting look that you would expect from an all-consuming parasite.
Halo 3 maintains the beautiful scenery from it's previous games, but this time around we get to see more of a variation than in the other two. Ranging from the deserts and sun-drenched forrests of Africa to the snow-bound mountains of Halo, you rarely get bored during play, as each level flies you off to the next amazing location.
Halo 3 introduces a number of new entertaining weapons to the mix, such as the awesome Brute Spiker (the Brutes answer to the human SMG), the Gravity Hammer - which clears a path like you wouldn't believe - and the 1-hit kill Spartan Laser that can bring to a halt even the biggest of vehicles, such as the Wraiths and the Scorpions. 3 also brings back the now-famous Assault Rifle from Halo, upgraded so that - whilst slightly slower - it has more power behind it. On the topic of weapons, it would seem Bungie have also listened to the complaints of a lack of human ammo in Halo 2, with the issue being resolved for the final game in the ark.
In addition to the Plasma and Frag Grenades from the previous games, Bungie has also inserted a new Spike Grenade (a combination of the sticky Plasma and the expoding Frag) and a Napalm Grenade. 'Special' equipment can now be obtained during the campaign and multiplayer matches, such as the Bubble Shield (which creates a bullet-repelling shield around you) and the Flash Grenade, which just adds to the intense action during play.
Turrets can now be ripped from their stands, and can be carried around in a third-person view to dish out (a limited amount of) unbelievable damage.
Now on to the story. Whilst Halo is always gaining popularity through it's multiplayer modes, I've always preferred the single player campaign. Unfortunately, whilst the story is second-to-none (matched only by Bioshock), an average gamer can complete the campaign on the normal difficulty within 6-8 hours.
A single campaign on legendary, first time around, would up the timespan by 3-4 hours, however you could well begin to get frustrated at particular areas within the game - the good news, however, is that (as in Halo and Halo 2) you can change the difficulty for each level.
The ending is also something that, for a concluding game in what has been an amazing trilogy, leaves you with either a satisified or nasty taste in your mouth, depending on your expectations of the outcome. Honestly I believed that the game could have had a more enjoyable ending, however this is the only real downside to the story. On the other hand, it easily beats the ending of Halo 2.
On a side note: for those Halo fans that either liked or disliked the Arbiter from Halo 2, you will have mixed reactions upon the news that he won't be the centre of attention whatsoever in Halo 3. He will, however, accompany the Chief during the campaign, either as an AI or as player 2 on co-op.
Now on to the multiplayer. As on Halo 2, you can take your action online with Xbox Live, and either join up with 2-4 other gamers (one as Master Chief, one as the Arbiter, and two as accompanying Elites) in a whirlwind campaign mode or fight it out with up to 16 other gamers in a mixture of various battle modes. If you don't have Xbox Live then you can always go split-screen with up to 3 other friends and have a blast on the same screen.
A nice extension of the multiplayer mode for Halo 3 is the fact that you can now choose to be either a Spartan or an Elite, and unlock extra body equipment/ armour/ helmets etc. to customise your character further for the upcoming wars online.
The biggest change for Halo 3 is the addition of 'The Forge' and 'Theatre' modes, which gives that extra boos
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"You'll finish this fight pretty quickly," - 3 November 2007
There probably hasn't been as much hype generated for any other game in the history of gaming as that for Halo 3. If ever there was a sure thing, this was it, and Bungie and Microsoft have put all their muscle behind this title. In addition, the Halo series has an almost religious following and people will lap up whatever is put out, whether it's good or bad. Which makes it very difficult to be subjective when reviewing it.
In terms of a single person experience, I'm afriad to say there are probably other games out there that are just as good. If not better. It's good - infact there are points in the game that had me screaming with excitement (scorpion tank anyone?) and unable to go to bed. The AI is excellent. Long gone are the days when you can do the old forwards backwards trick, drawing enemies to you to be picked off while you find a nice shady place. There are a number of tactics you can employ to beat the game, and the AI responds accordingly. The controls are intuitive and the graphics are pretty good - although not exactly brilliant. The CGI cutscenes are not always useful in terms of pushing the story along. You miss key pieces of information as they can be drowned out by the music, or characters telling you something important are allowed to walk away from you. My main criticism of this game - infact, it's the same for every single xbox game out there on the market right now - is the length. On normal, an average gamer (ie. me) can finish this in less than 8 hours. On legendary you can perhaps push this up a couple - but that's still not a lot of bang for your 40 quid, even if you consider the replayability of the campaign. I really hope this isn't a precedent set by developers, because it seems like we really are being ripped off.
It really is the xbox live features that makes this game worthwhile and stand out from the dirge of FPS games that fill the shelves at the moment. Co-op challenges, the forge, the theatre - all pushing the boundaries in some way. This is perhaps the true strength of Halo 3 - not the single player campaign. Bear this in mind before spending your money.
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"Best Game Ever? Not Quite" - 14 November 2007
I have been looking forward to Halo 3 and got very caught up in all the hype around the launch. When i finally got it home i was very impressed by the graphics and overall feel of the game.
This quickly evaporated once i'd completely the campaign 7 hours after buying the game. The main problem with the single player game is the set pieces or lack of them. The two previous outings have given xbox gamers brilliant pure adrenalin set pieces such as the jumping on the scarab in Halo 2 or arriving on Halo the first time in Halo.
It just doesn't feel like Bungie could think of anything new to excite us gamers. The new weapons are well balanced and the satisfaction of destroying a wraith with a spartan laser is quite awesome.
However this game won't be remembered for the single player because the multiplayer is in a word AWESOME. The new maps are all well designed and balanced enough for new and experienced players. The ranking system and matchmaking also brings a brilliant balance to every game.
Theatre is brilliant for diagnosing your faults and i have no idea how Bungie managed this full navigation of the whole map whilst 16 players run around killing each other is simply awesome.
Forge is a good idea but cant be used well without a friends list as long as your arm, editing a map on your own is quite boring!
Brilliant multiplayer, not quite brilliant single player but definetely worth the price tag. Go BUY IT
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"Above expectations" - 26 November 2007
A nice way to end the halo trilogy cut scenes aren't over used and its an incredible game. If you complete it on legendary and see the extended ending after the credits then you should feel satisfied. Complete it at least twice to take in the game in more detail. A must have game for anyones gaming collection.
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