Microsoft has taken a very Web 2.0 approach to Halo. Not only is the popular game back for a third installment, it now records and can upload every game for instant replays and sharing. Heavily anticipated by the fans of the first two Halo games, this installment certainly did not disappoint. In fact, sales of the game topped $300 million in the first week.
Halo 3 Reviews
The reviews for the new game have been universally positive. Of course, it is a natural extension from the first and second Halo, but the basic first person shooting game hasn’t lost any of its bloody and action packed charm in this latest edition. The game was well hyped, and most feel that it lived up to its hype and then some.
The graphics in the first two were terrific, and the third installment on the XBox 360 gives the graphics another boost. The game is very heavy on the action, and as you move through the game you are submerged in heavily detailed environments and plotlines. Fortunately, these environments and storylines all are linear and make perfect sense. The story began in the first Halo, continued in the second and now finally has reached a conclusion in the third. Spin-offs are heavily anticipated, but nothing can replace the original action game.
Halo 3 is played much like the first two. You have an automatically charging force shield protecting you. You seek out and attack the enemy then take cover and wait for the shield to recharge. After recharging you power back in to continue the fight. This means the environments are especially deep, but they are still exceptionally well done and detailed.
Halo 3 2.0
Halo has always been an online multiplayer game, and that continues in Halo 3. The game has rank and skill matching which make play more exciting and can support up to four player cooperative play over Xbox Live. With the many options of play available, many feel this is the best multiplayer game in the industry.
Halo 3 goes a step further, however. It has an online editor installed in the game called Forge. You are able to take screen shots and share those and other Forge files with other Halo 3 players. A huge macro records every game played and those files are available for instant replay and dissection. You can view the action from any angle and go through the sequences step by step in real time 3D. You can edit the sequences and take shots that are uploaded and retrievable at Bungie.com.
Sharing the action has long been a part of the Halo culture. But now that you can share clips and shots your action with others over the connected systems or the internet, it is safe to say that Halo has gone 2.0. And not only that, the game is still awesome, too.
