By Chandler Claxton

“Halo 3” is one of the most anticipated games of the year. In just one month it already sold more copies than any other game out for the Xbox 360. The game has spawned a massive marketing campaign, including a “Halo 3” Mountain Dew beverage and some interesting live action trailers.

While the sales are impressive, the hype does not necessarily match the game. Though it presents one of the most polished and perfected multiplayer experiences in the first person shooter genre, “Halo 3” seemingly did this at the loss of a perfect single-player campaign. The game’s multiplayer is the smoothest running and the easiest to jump into, with enough levels to satiate even the largest appetites for variety. The new additions from “Halo 2” are welcome ones and add an element of almost infinite replay value.

The new modes include forge and a video editor that can be shared with friends who also have the game. Forge allows for the editing of any map, with any modifications. It’s simple to place vehicles, weapons and spawn points, allowing for any type of game imaginable. A game with super speed and shotguns can be done, and the best so far may have been a map only filled with one of the new weapons, the Spartan Laser.

For the diehard “Halo” fan, this third version is only one-upped by the creation of the video editing that allows users to let anyone with a copy of the game see them. These can then be saved and shown to anyone. Based on the multiplayer and its additives, the new features make the game deeper than most. The single player campaign not the best on the console.

The campaign’s narrative, art design and level design are still not nearly up to par with other games that have been released on the console. The narrative starts off exactly where the second one left off, giving some closure to the cliffhanger of “Halo 2.” While this is great for the massive fans of the series and canon, it leaves casual fans and even those who have never played a bit of confused right from the beginning.

The finale leaves much to be desired and the in-game interruptions by one character are not an intriguing delivery of plot, they’re annoying. The AI of the covenant enemies is as good as it has been in previous iterations if not better, but once the flood appears the game looses its flavor. These enemies are not fun to slog through but they are necessary evils in order to reach a conclusion.

The art design is still colorful, distinct and unattractive. When compared to “Bioshock” or other games that have concentrated more on the art, the game is not just displeasing to the eye, it’s also uninspired. The level design is just as hard to maneuver as the first two games and will lead many gamers to become confused by that as well, but with a friend the campaign can still be enjoyable, until the last level when the game becomes a displeasing maze of death. The game is not nearly as much fun without a friend or an Xbox Live account. With one of those, however, the game becomes arguably the deepest and most enjoyable multiplayer experiences on the 360 to date. Even with the single player holding it back a good deal, there is no doubt that “Halo 3” is the game that everyone will be playing on Live for the next year. By default, it is a must-buy for fans of first-person shooter who own an Xbox 360.

(clubskill.com)