“It has been a few weeks since the release of Halo 3 and if you are any kind of Halo player, you have already blasted your way through a few dozen Covenant ambushes and stuck some unlucky sucker with a plasma grenade in slayer. However, it is understandable that you may not have the $60 to shell out for your own copy and have had to satisfy your cravings with a friend’s.”
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It has been a few weeks since the release of Halo 3 and if you are any kind of Halo player, you have already blasted your way through a few dozen Covenant ambushes and stuck some unlucky sucker with a plasma grenade in slayer.

However, it is understandable that you may not have the $60 to shell out for your own copy and have had to satisfy your cravings with a friend’s.

From those limited excursions you still are wondering if Halo 3 is worth the money to buy for yourself. Let a fellow gamer enlighten you as to what your ultimate decision should be.

Right from the start it should be known that Master Chief is one tough hombre. For example, you begin the game coming back to life after jumping from a UNSC cruiser and denting the planet’s face with your Spartan frame.

From there, you are the Master Chief and, rest assured, it stays that way until the final dramatic cut-scene. The only part the Arbiter plays in this edition is the Thelma to your Louise.

Another important note is that the controls have not really changed much and within minutes you will kill with ease. That being said, the campaign ensues and it does not really stop until the end of the nine-level game.

It ranges from close quarter battles with Brutes and Grunts (Crow’s Nest) to ever-expansive land wars with all kinds of vehicles (The Ark). A nice addition to this campaign is the four-player co-op mode; it can turn the game into something of a competition to slaughter more Covenant than the next guy.

The weapons of the title remain mostly the same with a few interesting new ones thrown into the mix; the Gravity Hammer offers a satisfying kill of anything it comes into contact with and the Plasma Rifle will be your best buddy when you find yourself in a swarm of incoming enemies.

It is also important to note that through all this mayhem, the graphical prowess of the game is simply a thing of beauty. There is nothing revolutionary in the game’s graphics but blowing up a herd of Covenant has never looked and felt so spectacular.

Of course this review will not spoil anything in terms of the story line, but beating the campaign on Legendary difficulty will reward you for the long gauntlet that is the last level of this game.

The selling point of Halo 3 is obviously the multi-player feature; if you have played any Halo in the past it was most likely a thrilling deathmatch.

From the range of weapons, levels, game-play modes and the ability to customize just about everything in the spectrum makes multi-player an enjoyable time.

Try having a King of the Hill match with Rocket Launchers and Energy Swords and let hilarity ensue as the King attempts to jump and dodge countless rocket blasts. The ability to rip turrets off their posts and carry them around is priceless as you mow down opponent after opponent.

Alternatively, if you are in an underground tunnel, pick up the Flamethrower and roast anyone who comes around a corner. Another add-on to the game is the Saved Films feature, it allows you to view previous matches and capture pictures of the most ruthless kills.

The amount of action, options, unlockable content and all-around fun in Halo 3 puts it far beyond any other first-person shooter. It is still Halo to the core and that is what brings us back to that Spartan armor.

Go now, and experience this trilogy in all its alien-bashing glory.

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