Yes. My disappearance the last two days worth of posts is 100% due to Halo 3. Well that isn’t completely true. Sunday & Monday were Halo 2 I went back and replayed most of the game (didn’t get all done I do have to work you know ^_^) just to get a feel for things again. This was probably a mistake because I got used to the Halo 2 controls and things were a little bit changed in Halo 3. So Now. You get to enjoy my review:
ITS AWESOME. If you enjoy FPS’s or Halo at all, go out right now, stop reading this, and buy Halo 3. This isn’t some vain attempt to get you to make me money through the Amazon Associates program (though if you do decide to buy Halo 3 and use this link, I’ll make a little — and I greatly appreciate it). This is the truth. I think the game is great. I received it via UPS this afternoon and as soon as Sir G got home from work this afternoon we started playing co-op over Xbox Live. Yes, there was a little lag here and there, but thats only because the XBL network is being HAMMERED to death right now by all the people playing H3 over XBL. We had a BLAST playing it, and we only went through and beat it on normal. I’d say the single player game will take you maybe 4 hours, if you know what you are doing. We went though later and played it on easy again (becuase it was late) and got about 3/4th the way through in about 1.5 hours — again this is because we knew what we were doing. Plus going from normal to easy… is like going from fighting to just running through every area.
I know 4 hours for a single player game may seem short, but I think its great. Its got some similar levels from Halo 1 & Halo 2, its got new areas. Its got old weapons, new weapons, and retooled all around. The length to me is perfect. I played through once and thought THIS IS AWESOME, and wanted to turn around and play it again on a more difficult setting. I compare this to Perfect Dark Zero which…. was long… John and I played this over and over on each of the difficulty settings. Each time we finished I thought “ok, enough of this” and we didn’t play it again for a while. Halo 3 is perfect. You get to go in and fight the flood, the covenant, and be your general bad ass self. The game has some really great lines too, and some interesting turns in the plot. My favorite was when the master chief was asked if he had a plan to escape, he answers “I thought I’d shoot my way out. You know, try something different for once”. SO GREAT.
The one thing I will say, if you like the idea of running from the wildcat explosion in Halo 1 — there is a send back to this in H3. Its awesome. I loved the warthog drive on the last level in H1. H3’s run is so much better. Words can’t even begin to describe how fun this drive way. I did the drive (I’m always the driver. I LOVE SHEILA), with Sir G gunning. We were laughing so hard and were so totally stoked at the end of that.
As for multi player (aka fighting other people, rather than campaign/co-op), I only played one game. There were some 15,000 people online in the basic training alone. Regardless, I really enjoyed the multiplayer match. I did have the Halo 3 beta, so I knew what to expect. Its a lot of fun, even with in a 4 person basic training match. I think I’m reasonably decent in the multiplayer matches, at least for a “casual” gamer. Even if you aren’t, you are going to get to kill people, and I think you will have fun. The other thing to keep in mind is that Bungie added a lot of features to multiplayer, including being able to “record” the matches and play them back at any time, create “videos” and something they call The Forge. The forge is where you can modify existing maps by changing what items are placed, etc etc. Features like that are going to be what keep people playing XBL matches day after day. I mean, hell, people are still playing Halo 2 matches.
In the end. The story was done very well. The game really lives up to the legacy and the hype, at least in my opinion (of course its my opinion, its my blog). If you are a fan of FPSs or Halo, you will enjoy this game, I assure you of that. I haven’t found a single of my gamer friends that doesn’t like Halo 3. Even if they aren’t as enthusiastic as I am. Every single one will admit the game is fun. Most of them were even interested enough to go and get the game at midnight (I am not a fan of midnight launches, even though I’m usually up late these days — I like UPS). So, if I miss more blog entries this week, I apologize. I’m playing Halo 3. Oh — and if you are interested in playing with/against me on XBL — feel free to post a comment and I’ll share my gamertag via email for those that ask. Until then, I’ll be finishing the fight. Over… and over… and over!
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