Product Description

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 trilogy?an 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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Microsoft
• Released on: 2007-09-25
• Platform: Xbox 360

Amazon.co.uk Preview
The Halo games were always the best reason to by an Xbox and now the final part in the initial trilogy of ground breaking first person shooters is set to raise the bar for all Xbox 360 games. Well known for their secrecy, Bungie have officially revealed little about Halo 3, but what is known is that the new game features an Earth completely overtaken and controlled by the Covenant, as they seek a secret hidden Forerunner weapon.

Although little is known about the single player mode, more has been seen of the multiplayer, with various beta testing schemes going on in both secret and in public. A number of new weapons and vehicles have already been revealed including a new assault rifle, the new Spartan laser anti-vehicle weapon and a new hand held shield device for Master Chief that can create a far more effective protective shield around you. New vehicles include the ATV-like Mongoose, a new variant of the Warthog and the new, more powerful, Brute Ghost.

Of course the most important new feature that every new fan is interested in is the graphics, and they are looking predictably fantastic. With lots of technobabble, new features like high dynamic range lightning and pre-computed radiance transfer means the game will not only play great but looks amazing too.
HARRISON DENT

Manufacturer's Description
The Mission: The Covenant controls Earth. The Flood is unleashed and on the loose. With the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance, Master Chief is the only one who can save the human race. The entire epic story arc has led up to this moment. Master Chief, the last of his kind, is a warrior born for combat and bred for war â€" and is humanity’s only hope.

After stowing away on a Forerunner spacecraft, Master Chief, a genetically altered, cybernetically enhanced Spartan supersoldier, must race back to Earth to stop the Covenant once and for all and save mankind. With his artificial intelligence companion Cortana in the grip of the Flood’s intelligent embodiment, Gravemind, Master Chief and his allies are vastly outnumbered, but the stakes are too high to do anything but face them head-on.

In Halo 3, the third installment of the legendary epic, the war has come to a climax; the Flood continues to grow in numbers and strength, the armies of Earth are scattered and decimated, and the Covenant threatens to activate the Halo, effectively destroying all life in the galaxy. Master Chief’s mission is to stop the Covenant, destroy the impending Flood threat and, ultimately, save mankind.

Customer Reviews

All style, mediocre substance
Now that I have been playing this game for several months I feel I can write an honest review of it. Although I can sum the review up in one word: mediocre.

Halo is a franchise that somehow managed to build up a massive following and ever since Microsoft have been pumping money into the franchise to claim all our cash. Well, I don't mind paying lots of money for a game that is top quality, which this clearly advertises itself as, but there are so many flaws. Nothing major, just niggling discrepancies.

So let me address the single player mode first. The story is very basic and slightly confusing to follow for anyone who has not played the previous games, or read the countless, pointless novels, but you get the gist of it. Go here, kill this thing, get annoyingly interrupted by Cortana jabbering at you... It's like a Hollywood blockbuster. It's outer shell looks pretty but the actual concept is pretty weak. However, it is fun to actually play, and lots of fun to play with friends (but so is every game with Co-op really). The enemies are amusing and it presents a fair challenge, but things like the weapon set don't appeal to me at all. They are all very similar and pack little punch, unless you are lucky enough to get your hands on a rocket launcher. However, the campaign plays out pretty simply, mirroring the other games in structure and boiling down to a tedious and inexplicable race across collapsing platforms to reach a disappointing climax and finale. "Why did I bother?" you'll ask yourself; at least if you care about story at all.

But that isn't the meat of it is it? Most people enjoy the multiplayer, and the multiplayer can be lots of fun. There are a decent number of maps - even more now if you want to fork out more money - but you are stuck with the same boring weapons and in multiplayer they suddenly become very inconsistent. Normally in a FPS game you start to get a feel for how many shots at what distance with each weapon it takes to kill a person, you just instinctively know, but Halo 3 doesn't go for that. I've been killed and killed people sometimes with one shot from a shotgun at full health sometimes four or five, and don't get me started on the swords.... The worst though is the needler. An entire clip is known to kill a person at full health the majority of the time but this tends to very an awful lot, usually when you are low on health. Couple this with the brutally one-sided melee combat and it becomes a very frustrating experience. Still, if you put the effort in there is a lot to enjoy. Lots of 100% customisable game modes, and there will always be someone to play against. Personally I have more fun on the big team games.

The standout feature of the game is the Theater mode though. The game actually records every second of gameplay to the harddrive and you can watch it at your leisure. Not only does this mean that you can replay those classic moments but you can watch any game from any persons POV or from any single space on the map. You can also take snapshots and edit film clips to share with friends. As a film student this greatly appeals to me, but it seems wasted in a game like Halo which has very limited creative potential. I hope to see something similar in a game like 'Timesplitters', which has an incredible cast, as you could then very easily make your own original movies. There is also a mapmaker that works within the world of the game but is a bit awkward to actually do anything with.

All in all, it's a good solid experience, and there are many options to explore here, but there is nothing spectacular. It is a very middle of the road game in terms of gameplay, story, design.. every aspect really. Fanboys will love it, haters will hate it. Those stuck in the middle will find plenty to enjoy if they can get past the niggling inconsistencies.

In short:-

PLUS POINTS:
- Safe fun
- Good with friends and makes it easy to get them together
- Very cheap now
- Fantastic Theater mode

NEGATIVES:
- Nothing special, which is the exact opposite of what it promised.
- Inconsistant physics
- Unoriginal gameplay and story
- Hellishly over-protective game community.

Awesome
Alot of people were disappointed with this game but Its one of my favourite games ever.
I'm one of the few people in the UK who still can't get good broadband, making xbox live useless, and any multiplayer online game for that matter.
So most games are played co-op, splitscreen or system link with a friend's console. This game has everything offline, even with 4 players on one console the multiplayer is incredbly fun. Although no doubt its better on LIVE, but i don't really know. And of course a great co op story, that can be replayed over agian, single or multiplayer.

Boooooring
I find this game boring. Mainly because it doesn't explain itself well enough or engage you with the character.

Only played it for two hours because I find it tedious. The graphics are good, but the lighting is appalling. I hate games that have such deep (unrealistic) shadows, that you can't see where your heading!

Was hoping to get some joy from capture the flag and deathmatch games, but it seems you need xbox live for this.

Disappointment!