I would let Joe Biden send me to the space army any day just to experience the levels of hype this game generates. If I saw Master Chief and Arbiter doing the shit they do in this game not even Jesus Christ parting the clouds and descending back onto the mortal plane could make me look away. It doesn’t matter how pointless the oil conflict is, if One Final Effort is playing I’m charging into battle. If the level of raw energy in this game was converted to fuel there would be no energy crisis. If you shanked this into the Mohs hardness scale it would score an 11, and then an additional point extra for every person you’re playing with over one. There are no bad levels, no weak characters, no boring enemies, no downtime. JUST. STRAIGHT. GAS.

Name a more hyped release than Halo 3. Then name a game that lived up to the hype like Halo 3.

One of the greatest single player FPS campaigns ever made. All the buildup from Halo 1 and 2 pays off in 3. I’m one of the weirdos who didn’t like Halo 2 very much, but loved Halo 1. Such a tight gameplay loop and it gives you so many new toys to play with in the Halo sandbox. Then, the story payoff at the end is emotional and so satisfying for people who love the series.

Multiplayer in Halo 3 was the place to be in 2007. Some of the best map design around and amazing weapons to play with. The progression was purely cosmetic, yet it kept people playing for years. Compare that to CoD nowadays where they are constantly giving you items to keep you interested, yet people bounce off faster.

Forge and theater were the first of their kinds, and they haven’t been matched in several aspects. The amount of time I spent in both of these as kid, not even playing, was more than I spend in modern shooters now.

Halo 3 wasn’t a game, it was an event. So much love and care went into this, and it shows 17 years later. So many memories were created because of it, and I’d never trade them for anything. There will never be another release this hyped ever again.

Sierra 117: I've heard it said that this does not have the spectacle of Halo 1 and 2s openers, this kind of untrue though, it just does it in a different way.

Crow's Nest: Better than I remembered actually, While it is just a series of room similar to the one the covenant ships the arbiter level had in Halo 2 and the flying enemies. Also while rooms do seem copy pasted, I think it does a good job of making it feel just enough like they aren't.

Tsavo Highway: Fun Vehicle level, I try to make sure I'm walking as little as possible for this. Also yet again memorable locations to fight enemies in like that place with the forcefield.

The Storm: Setpiece. Taking down a scarab is actually well done now.

Floodgate: I used to dislike this level, but honestly I find it a nice relative breather and it's intriguing enough to hold my attention despite how brief it is. Atmosphere is good too.

The Ark: One of the biggest Halo levels imo. The start even has a bit of a 'stealth segment' well that's a lie since when you've hit one that's them all attacking you, but still. It is still thoughtful with the rocks for cover and allat, then it's just a massive sand place with a beautiful art style. Killing enemies through as open spaces as this and STILL makes it engaging goes to show how skilled the developers are.

The Covenant: Very hyped level of Halo 3, while i'm not sure If it's my favorite level and I might prefer The Ark or something else, it does a lot of what it sets out to accomplish. Feels very eventful, lots of enemies in the level,, the story context, while flawed is there, also the two scarab sections has always been stuck in my mind. I love these bigger sandbox levels, Halo 3 did them really well.

Cortana: Controversial take: I love this level. You heard me, while it is true that a lot of it looks the same, I wouldn't have it any other way. To me it was satisfying in a good way to find my way around the area. And while it did get a bit draggy by the end. I think that's very much the point, it's like a 'YOU MUST GET OUT OF THERE ALREADY' and I loved it for that, also something that I think gets un-noticed by a lot of people and 'reviewers' is that the combat here works in a more interesting way, since you are confined to a mixture of linear design with dead straight forward pathways and slightly more open areas. the flood encounters play out more interesting. Like I keep saying, I unlike other people. Find the flood fun to fight, And if anything this level showed me how much this was the case. it's peak strategy.

Halo: Lets get the immediately obvious out of the way, the warthog physics were pretty much fixed in 3. In Halo 1 and 2 (yes, 2) it was far too easy for it to go somewhere completely that you didn't intend, 3s, while not perfect and still is not ideal to bypass areas in some instances, has a far tighter grip on handling in comparison. This makes the final warthog run far more enjoyable than it was in the first game. And the falling platforms are a nice way for it to stand out and not just be a carbon copy. I also love the memorable flood snow scape beforehand, REALLY stands out in my mind. Only problem is the 343 Guilty Spark fight, but if you see any of my reviews I don't care about boss fights in almost any game.

After writing this review and being so passionate, while I wouldn't give this game quite the truly top tier spot anymore, I do think that it's way better than the first two, this is because Halo 3 is a complete package where both compartments are great. I couldn't say the same for the two prior. With pacebreakers and even some occasional backtracking that this game almost completely avoids entirely. I'm glad to see one of my childhood favorites is still great.

Played the game again on legendary difficulty and it was a lot more fun than halo 2. The difficulty felt well balanced and less reliant on RNG and the sandbox is also well balanced as every weapon felt useful in some way I didn't have to just rely on a plasma pistol and a BR the whole time. Ammo was plentiful and the whole adventure was just really fun to go through again. My only issue was the transforming flood guys especially the long range one's they almost got me soft locked a few times.
And yeah the story kicks ass

it's better than halo 2!
lol at the background image for the backloggd page
i cant believe there was actually an ending to this story
like yeah there's a "oh what will happen next?" kind of ending but they wrapped up basically every outstanding plot thread before it so they could literally continue it however they want
the arbiter just being your homie in the game is pretty fun
side note- i looked up mods for the game to see if there were any sort of revamp projects to make it more faithful to the OG release (like how there are for sonic games) and the only thing i found was big booby arbiter mods
like 5 different versions too it was kind of wild
in this game cortana is really goofy looking and is shown in the most unflattering angles throughout the majority of the game (for lore reasons)
im kind of sad there were less "gun down your enemies with a turret" moments but it was very much made up with the whole "just take the turret with you" mechanic
my god people look ghoulish in this game, like genuinely disturbing faces
everyone except miranda for some reason, miranda looked pretty normal
why are the boss fights in all these games so anti-climactic, like idk if it's because there's no health bar or clear attack-defend cycle like in other games but i basically just shot the boss, and then they died
i think this game was a pretty good length, not repetitive like the first and not dragging on too long like the second
its right in the goldilocks zone (thats a space reference)