Halo 3 Preliminary Review

So, Halo 3.

Got a few hours in with it last night. Here are my preliminary impressions.

First of all, it's very Halo. Have you played a Halo game? Congratulations, you've played this one. Not much has changed. If you like the franchise, then you'll be delighted. If you were hoping for some sort of genesis of the genre, you're in for some serious dissapointment.

The only new thing they added this time 'round is the inclusion of deployable equipment, such as turrets and force-fields. In single player, this adds very little to the gameplay. Honestly, I typically forget I even have these things.

As a matter of fact, the single-player campaign is very mediocre. I swear to God they're recycling levels from the previous two games, and if they're not, then it's telling that I think they are. The storyline picks up immediately after the "ending" of Halo 2. Don't remember what happened at the end of a game you played three years ago? No, neither do I. And the game does little (see: nothing) to help jog your memory.

Oh, and Bungie? A protip: if you're going to have voice acting in your game, then do us all a favor and quit with the radio static effect. I can't understand what half of these fucking people are saying! On the plus side, it seems like they got the entire Firefly cast doing voices in this game. Nerd fanservice, yay!

So, single-player is pretty "eh". Nothing here will astound you. In fact, it may even bore you. Only my desperate need for closure, and the fact that you unlock customizable armor pieces, keep me crawling through it. I've yet to play co-op yet, so that may add some sort of...something. Enjoyment, I guess. Compared to Bioshock or Half-Life 2 this title is...well, lacking.

Also, the graphics are pretty much identical to Halo 2.

Multi-player, on the other hand, is a fucking blast! Got some time in last night playing with Casey and his brother, and there were several moments of laugh-out-loud enjoyment. Things like deployable equipment that made you scratch your head in the single-player game suddenly has a use, and is a wonderful addition to the game. The level design of the maps are first-rate, and show a lot of polish and love. There is a lot of fun to be had here. This is the game that Bungie made. In a juxtaposition of traditional video games, the single-player game is the tacked-on bit.

As a side note, if last night's matches are any indication, I seem to be much better at Halo than I remember.

The VOIP program XBox Live has is pretty poor quality, though...or maybe it's just the headset that comes with the system. I'm not sure. And the Matchmaking system could use a little fine tuning, since it has a tendency to fill up games too quickly then forcefully dump people in a pre-arranged group.

As for extra stuff, I've yet to really play with it. The Forge editor seems like fun, though a little tricky to use. Character customization is pretty good. The game includes a quick and easy way to download maps and game modes directly from Bungie. One of the best new features is one that records your games and allows you to save and share them with others. Lots of fun!

So, to summarize:

The Good
* Awesome multi-player
* Lots of neat extras
* Very customizable

The Bad
* Single-player
* I've played this game before