Review: Why Halo 3 Wins with Smooth Gameplay, More Weapons and User-Generated Maps

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In a media-only Halo 3 test-drive, Digital Journal fragged and flanked alien enemies like Rambo gone wild. Find out why Halo 3 is too much fun to put down, and what new features separate this threequel from its predecessors.

Digital Journal — This is what I’ve been waiting for: time alone with Halo 3 in Campaign mode, a single-player tour through a video game that is more than just a title and a brand. It’s a dream come true for many hardcore gamers; it’s sleepless nights battling through complex missions; it’s eye candy during gameplay and cinematic sequences. One session with Halo 3 (launching worldwide Sept. 25) is enough time to see how the gaming experience lives up to the hype.

Without revealing much of the plot, I can honestly say the first few minutes of Halo 3 reel me in with an intriguing storyline. Once again, I control Master Chief, the “Spartan” super-soldier, in a battle against human and alien, as Halo fans know from their previous encounters with Covenant enemies. A group of soldiers join me in the first and second maps (the only ones I played), and their voice commands help me navigate new territory.

When I first start moving Master Chief around the Jungle level, I’m in awe at the lush graphics and impressive sound. Wearing headphones, I can hear every footfall and heavy breath. The jungle foliage is so detailed it’s as if I’m staring at a painting. Even the dappled shadows add to the ambience of an environment designed with aesthetics and function in mind.

During the first fight, I notice how sprayed bullets affect the foliage in the jungle. Leaves sway, dirt spits upward, and bullet grooves sink into a tree’s bark. Seeing those details on a high-def TV that harnesses Xbox 360’s powerful engine elevates Halo 3 to a level unattained by its predecessors.

Fighting enemies isn’t much different than Halo 2 combat. I still have to align the crosshairs of my assault rifle at the enemy’s head to get a solid kill. I still need to strafe against walls to avoid getting massacred. But this time around, the enemy AI has been bumped up a few notches, so even on Normal mode, I’m forced to sneak around corners to catch the wily aliens off-guard. The large-jawed Elite aliens are especially strategic in hiding behind pillars and flanking targets with multiple armies.

My run through the Jungle gives me a bevy of weapons to employ, including the standard assault rifle and Magnum gun, along with a sniper rifle, Needlers, flash grenades and Brute cannons that shoot mini-bombs. Especially exciting is using a Gun Turret as a mobile weapon — imagine blasting enemies with a rapid-fire machine gun that’s more appropriate as an anti-aircraft missile. The weaponry choices are more varied than I remember from past Halo titles, and using the bumper button on the 360 controller allows for easier reloading. Now, the “X” button is assigned for Equipment use, but more on that later.

How about the cinematic sequences? One word: Exquisite. After watching three scenes altogether, I am impressed by the voice acting, story line and even a thrilling moment or two that makes my heart beat quick. It feels like a Hollywood flick, which must’ve been Bungie Studios’ intention. For example, a realistic moment occurs when Master Chief walks through an army base, and the excited soldiers whisper among themselves how impressed they are by the Spartan’s presence. “Hey, no way, a Spartan! We’re gonna be alright!” one soldier exclaims to another. It might be a small audio bit, but it gives the game a more realistic layer to enjoy.

In Halo 3, it’s all about believability. Grenade explosions affect nearby crates like they would in the real world. Sparks fly off metal sheets I hide behind as I trade gunfire with aliens. And the water effects are particularly improved, because I can now see reflections in lakes and the ripples flow when an object disrupts the water’s placidity.

And turning to enemy reactions to my squad’s presence, I almost laugh at some of the lines. “You killed my brother!” screams one Grunt, the easiest Covenant enemy to kill. More intelligent aliens command others to circle around me to attack from all angles, which curiously give away their battle tactics but nevertheless adds to the genuine strategies of on-the-ground combat.

A key addition to Halo 3 is the Equipment spread across each map. No, we’re not talking armour add-ons, but a wide array of energy shields and physics-warping tools. The coolest Equipment is the Gravity Lift, which allows me to levitate myself to remarkable heights, or I can elevate other objects to provide cover during a gunfight. I can stow away any objects I find for later use, so I can bring out my Bubble Shield during a hailstorm of bullets and mow down my enemies from the comfort of a large protective dome. Equipment is a welcome bonus to Halo 3’s gameplay, giving curious players even more incentive to tour through maps in ways the developers never thought possible (like a Gravity Lift allowing levitation on top of cliffs and mountains).

Beyond the regular Campaign mode, Halo 3 is also bursting with features I found enticing and unique. The new Forge tools let me drop any weapons I want in multiplayer maps, so on Xbox Live I could fight my buddies with just Flamethrowers, for example. Vehicles and interactive objects like barriers can also be spawned into any map. Even Halo 3 is taking advantage of the burgeoning trend of user-generated content.

Another feature deserving a mention is Saved Films, which records any fight I want, archives it, and lets me share it with friends over Xbox Live. From a hardcore gamer’s perspective, this feature can highlight critical errors in battling smart aliens, or underscore the importance of armed-and-ready flanking. Strategies can be fine-tuned after looking at “game tape,” much like sports coaches combing through videos of past matches.

Overall, Halo 3 has the kind of repeat value every gamer wants. It’s not just a first-person shooter with cool graphics and wild weapons; its multi-faceted landscapes let players explore the geography in unprecedented ways, allowing them to approach enemies from different angles every time. No one adventure through a level is the same as the other.

As well, with tools like Gravity Lift, there are many areas to discover, many secrets to uncover. As I found out in an interview with one of the game’s designers, Halo 3 has included some secret skulls for hardcore gamers to find in order to unlock other game settings and options. Those kind of bells and whistles make Halo 3 a necessary addition to every Xbox 360 library.

If there’s any game that could propel a company to win the console wars, it’s Halo 3. It has the kind of graphic richness and intense battles you’d expect from the Halo franchise, as well as useful modes for DIY map design. Going high-def is undoubtedly a step up for the Halo brand, but the appeal goes further than just the visuals. Playing the game is fun, as plain as that. And, most importantly for the expert assassin, Halo 3 challenges gaming conventions — you can’t rush into a battle, firing at will, and expect to survive. Bungie Studios and Microsoft have another winner bound to keep buyers bleary eyed and joyfully addicted.