Took me entirely too long to get around to this, but honestly I’m so glad I finally did! Not only is this easily my favorite of the Halo games I’ve played, but it’s just flat out one of the best shooters I’ve played in my admittedly limited experience.

What really makes this game so much better than the first two to me is the mission design. Where the first game was mostly inoffensive and the second was extremely mixed, 3 makes up for its relatively short mission list with consistently high quality, I had a great time in every single one of these. Most of this game feels like the climax of the story set up in Halo 2, and it leads to an incredibly gripping experience with fantastic set pieces. I’d love to revisit any one of these missions which I’d never have said for the first two games.

I’m tempted to say that story takes a backseat compared to 2, but that’s not entirely true, it’s just not as dense with information and new story beats. 2 got most of the development out of the way so 3 could fire on all cylinders with its action moments and really make that final stretch hit as hard as possible, and they succeeded in my opinion. Made me quite happy as I remember being super unsatisfied with 2’s cliffhanger ending.

It also just made the game work so well for me on a moment to moment level because the stakes are constantly so high. Every mission feels important, you’re constantly on the cusp of something big happening, and most importantly it never feels like it drags so it keeps a fantastic momentum that does a great job of locking you in.

Very glad to have finally experienced this legendary monument of the 360 era, it lived up to all the hype for me. Just wish MCC kept the credits because man that cut-off to the menu was awkward, but I’m not counting that against the game itself obviously.

Concluding a trilogy is a hard thing to do.
When the first two games (or any other media for that matter) are really good, fans tend to have very high expectations for the third game.
People like trilogies. People like a beginning, a middle and an end.

In Halo's case, this was never supposed to be the case. Halo 1 was supposed to be a one-and-done, but it got really popular, so Halo 2 became a thing. With Halo 2, development was troubled, and they couldn't finalize the ending, so it ended on a cliffhanger.
If Halo 2 had been finished, who knows what Halo 3 would've been like. Would Bungie have still stuck around or would they have moved on?

Well, the what if's don't really mean much anymore, considering we're now far removed from Halo 3's 2007 release.
So, did Bungie end things right? Did Halo 3 really finish the fight?

Well, you're reading to find out my opinions on this game, soooo.... I mean, the rating probably already gave you an insight into it, or maybe you just jumped until the end to read that last paragraph. I'm not judging, for the record. Can't blame you.
Let's start this review proper:

In terms of story, Halo 3 is much more simple than Halo 2, and maybe even simpler than Halo 1 in some aspects. Like I said earlier, Halo 2 was not supposed to have a cliffhanger, so Halo 3 is just focused on finishing what Halo 2 could not.
Even with it's simpler story, I found myself enjoying the resolutions to the plot threads seen before. It doesn't really disappoint, and offers enough satisfying moments to leave you fulfilled with the journey you embarked on during this trilogy.

The gameplay really makes up for it, as the level design kinda goes back to being more like Halo 1. I didn't like how Halo 1's level design felt empty, so you'd assume I'd feel similarly with Halo 3's.
Truth be told, no, I didn't really care about it much this time around. I think it's because when it did get more open, the game gives you a vehicle. And once again, the vehicles are fun to drive on.
A lot of epic moments in the campaign came from driving around and having your teammate blast at things. Like the big Scarab Tanks that appear a few times during the story.
While there's less missions here than Halo 2, no level feels shorter than another, and having that consistency really helps Halo 3's campaign feeling... well, consistent!
It did end up being shorter than the previous games, but I don't mind that much, because I'd rather have a short, but satisfying game, than a long and drawn-out one.

While you can't play as the Arbiter this time around, he does follow you through most of the missions, and we get something that we barely saw last time. A team-up between Master Chief and the Arbiter!
I just think they looked cool together, and I really liked their conversations!
The game also gives Cortana more attention here. Halo 2 really felt like it pushed her back a bit, to give the new plotlines more attention. This time around, we get to see Chief and Cortana interact more, and it's really good! Just like Halo 1, I really liked their chemistry, and I wonder how it's going to evolve in future games.
I do know the premises for 4, 5 and Infinite though, so I think I have an idea at how things will go, but I have to see their writing.

The graphics have seen a massive boost! We're on the Xbox 360 now, we're in HD territory, and while not everything from the game has hold up well, there are plenty of parts that have.
The variety of environments in Halo 3 really help!
I did play the game on my PC, and I was surprised that it was able to run! Not at a consistent 60FPS, but it was around 50 FPS, I think, so it wasn't too bad.

And the music, it's awesome! It manages to recapture a lot of the epicness seen in the last two titles, and even feels like it pays some homages to them, especially the first game.

Halo 3 is a really great game! I had a lot of fun with it. It may have a simple story, but the campaign is probably the best we've seen so far, and the pure adrenaline this game gave me was awesome!
It definitely feels like a hype game, but it's a really good hype game!

I finished the fight, Chief. I hope I made you proud.