Since Halo:Combat Evolved release in 2001, I've been passionately drawn to the series. I've played Halo:CE(Xbox/Pc), Halo 2, Halo 3(Beta/Release). I've followed the production and development of Halo 2 extensively. I saved screen shots and scoured the Internet for any thing that relates to my heartfelt game. I repeated the same actions as for Halo 3. So I'm pretty sure that I'm more than qualified to write this review and title it in that sense.
Gameplay One of the most noticeable changes is that the weapon's cross-hair isn't that magnetic to enemies as before. So you can no longer jump around and shoot blindly at other characters, which was possible in Halo 2. The magnetism or "auto aim" as it's called in the gaming universe is tone down quite a bit. If you want to use the sniper for example you have to aim a lot more then before. Most people transitioning over to Halo 3 from Halo 2 hate the adjustment. This game's mechanics are similar to the original game, which in my opinion is a better way to play it. Another new element to the game would be active equipment. Such as a mine, a shield drainer, and shield that surrounds you like a bubble. So it breaks up the combat and might give you advantage or disadvantage over the game. For example you're getting sniped by a character; you can drop the bubble shield to protect yourself from the attack. Shielding system is back which is where you get shot a number a times and you die. So you have to take cover when someone gets that sniper shot off on you.
Story Mode Halo 3 campaign story is the continuation of second game's cliffhanger ending where Master Chief returns back to earth in the forerunner ship he stowed on. Most of campaign you're on foot and you do a variety of objectives ranging from riding inside tank to taking down a scarab, which is like a thirty foot bug. Throughout the campaign you're killing enemies to get to something or escape to get to something. Which isn't a bad thing because you're always are in middle of the action, so no puzzles. Couple of new things that have been added to it is you can play with four players on-line (two players offline). I like to scream at my friend to get in the warthog when he isn't listening then I assassinate him. Another feature would be the Meta-scoring system and the hidden skulls. These things can change the campaign mode dramatically which allow replay value (That's what we all want isn't it?). The meta-score gives you points for killing certain enemies in certain ways, like sticking them with a plasma grenade. The skulls are what modify the single play like you can set one for making grunts blow up and spew party confetti for a headshot. Another example is where you have to melee or bash characters to gain shield. Setting skulls will allow a higher Meta score. Honestly the campaign isn't as epic as Halo: CE but it still leaves you breathless towards the end. The cinematic cut scenes are all rendered with the game's engine which isn’t plastered with gloss but have a realistic view.
Mutiplayer One of the only things that made Halo 2 enjoyable setting aside the horrible campaign story, would be the multiplayer. The multiplayer party system was developed by the Bungie team and now is used by a lot of other Xbox titles. So you can jump in and out of parties who are playing custom games or they invite you to play matchmaking. To sum it up I you gain experience by playing but it's determined when you win or lose. The other part of it is the ranking system you gain a levels that for playing and winning. The maximum level you can gain is 50, which is insane to even achieve it. Be warned the multiplayer aspect of the game can be very addicting; you could even compare it to WoW (I know but its true). You can lose track of time because your goal is to hit 25 that night but then you're late for work... There are a lot of things that add to the multiplayer experience. First, you can share and edit actual game play videos with other friends or upload them to the community site so that other players around world can see how much you suck. The community site also has stat tracking for every match you play. Breaking down every game from the bullets you shot to how many times you used a certain weapon. I warn you again how addictive it truly is...
Weapons Many Halo 2 weapons have been brought back and redefined. Like the battle rifle, the plasma pistol, the plasma sword, and the famous sniper just to name a few. There's also a lot of new weapons too, such as the brute hammer (remember the end of Halo 2 where you had to battle that stupid monkey), the Spartan laser which is like it's described and the original Magnum from Halo CE but without the scope.
Vehicles Returning favorites such as the ghost, the tank, and the classic warthog (puma if you truly know). The new ones include an ATV, a huge Brute vehicle that makes West Coast Chopper bike blush, and a human version of a Banshee (flying vehicle). There's still some more but I'll just leave it at that.
Community Driven One of the best features that I just will include in this segment would be the map editor in Halo 3. No, this isn't the greatest map editor because you can't change the actual map. It only allows you to edit the objects, spawn location, weapons, vehicles, and much more. This is the icing on the Halo 3 cake. It's unbelievable how much time is spent just making a map especially in Foundry (A map where you can edit with walls and other things). Since you can share game play video edits, you can also share screenshots, game variants (how the game is played) and the maps that you've created. So you want to download your friend's newly created map? Just open up his Halo 3 profile and open his fileshare. There you can just see all the "creative" things he uploaded. One of things that made me part of the legion of Halo followers would be the community that has been created behind this game. It's the fans who create mediums with this game. To name a couple: Major League Gaming, Red Vs Blue and even the famous Arby and the Chief Machinama which is only a fragment of the community. This is a game that has huge fan base and more then what I've ever seen in other games, maybe not as much as the Blizzcon Cosplayers but it comes at close second.
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