Another review that points out that Halo 3 is a game, and as such, should be fun:
After several hours spent exploring and blasting my way through the "Campaign" levels of Halo 3, I can safely say that in addition to the game's stunning graphics, highly realistic sound effects, haunting score and unprecedented hype...it is also a lot of fun!
Glad to hear it, I was worried. For the full review, check the Rome News Tribune of Georgia.
Fantastic sound and near-unlimited replay value figure highly in PlanetXbox's review of Halo 3, but the story gets a shout-out, too:
Lucky for gamers Bungie gives everyone the chance to finish that fight in Halo 3, this is the epic conclusion everyone has been waiting for and no storyline tidbits will be left unanswered; no cliffhangers here. When the end credits roll for Halo 3 you will know there is nothing left, this is the end of the series.
In short the plot of Halo 3 is up there with both of it’s predecessors and on some levels is one of the best storylines seen outside of a Japanese RPG.
PlanetXbox gives Halo 3 a score of 9.8 points out of 10.
TGDaily says Halo 3 is definitely the Xbox 360's killer app:
It is quite undoubtedly the best single-player campaign of the entire Halo series, and anyone who buys the game needs to run through it at least once before getting too involved with the multiplayer modes.
That brings me to the most important point of the game. Halo 2 essentially defined online multiplayer for any console shooter. That is no longer the case, however. Halo 3 has brought a new definition for online battling to the table, and it rocks.
Delivers what, pizza? No. Single player and multiplayer fun.
G4 gave Halo 3 a perfect 5/5 score. Unlike most sites, they considered multiplayer first and campaign second, but they say either way, the game is pretty:
Ever since the multiplayer Beta, Halo has come under fire for its graphics, and comparisons to Halo 2 and Gears of War have been numerous. With the release of Halo 3, many of those dissenting voices will be silenced. Halo 3 is beautiful. And much of that beauty lies in its depth.
How much game is in Halo 3? G4 calls it Bungie's 'Orange Box'. That ought to answer that.
Dean Takahashi at the San Jose Mercury News thinks Halo 3 deserves the hype it got:
But "Halo 3" and the entire trilogy deliver what few games do. It combines artistic peaks - in graphics, game play, music, sound, witty dialogue and epic story - into a cohesive whole that makes you feel like you're in a struggle to save the world. Just about every scene is fun.
On an odd note, that's one of the few reviews that used the word 'fun'.
The Escapist, of course, can't just say whether it likes a game or not, it has to intellectualize the process:
Story-wise, it's pulp. Pure, uninspired, contrived, hokey sci-fi pulp, which, if you're fresh off the "BioShock blew my mind, games really are art" boat, will make you want to curl up and die. But let's not kid ourselves: Halo is the story of a cyborg with a curvaceous hologram inside his head, a race of Predator look-a-likes (and their subjugated alien minorities) and an interstellar zombie horde. Yes, there could, perhaps, be a finely-crafted, leather-bound story hidden within those shallow waters, but anyone truly expecting that entity to emerge fully formed from the head of Halo is probably high.
Dude! Wait... what?
I just picked up my Limited Edition. Well, let me correct that; I picked a Frankensteinian blend of the Limited Edition case and bonus disc, plus a substitute game disk from a plastic case. Out of three metal cases opened at the counter, only one had a bonus disc that wasn't scratched... and all had at least some scratching on the game disc, one to the point that it was certainly unreadable right out of the shrink-wrapping.
