Halo 3

[rmoxon]

A recap for people who didn't play Halo 2? They didn't even include a link between what happened at the end of the second game and the start of the third.

they didnt need too, we saw master cheif land, we didnt know how much time there was between him landing and them finding him. It might as well have continued stright on.

[hudson]

I have to say that this game turned into the dogs for me this evening. 4 player co-op is ace!

[DANGEROUS]

Finished Halo 3 on Normal last night and I’m now making my way through Heroic (level 2 right now), before I do campaign on Legendary.

The campaign this time round was much more satisfying than Halo 2’s. I remember feeling so cheated at the end of 2 when the story did not get wrapped. After all the hype of 2, if anything it now seems Halo 2 was (campaign-wise) the filler game of the series. What was with the little shop of horrors monster that ate MC at the end of 2 anyway? I understand the events between 2 and 3 were accounted for in some comic or novel, but hey Bungie- I don’t have time to read spazzy Halo novels! As such,- I thought the start point of Halo 3 felt a bit disjointed.

THE GOOD-
Graphics- WOW! I’m surprised EDGE did not say more about them in their review. The whole game looks amazing- the environments, the weapons, the enemies. Yeah there is a bit of fade in, but this in no way detracts from the games beauty. It all looks pretty similar to Halo 2, just that the resolution, textures, and polys have been ramped up slightly.

The learning curve this time round is much better I reckon. After completing Halo on Legendary, I then attempted Halo 2’s campaign on legendary after dusting Heroic and just could not get past level 1. The way level 1 is set out in Halo 3 I don’t think I will have any trouble when I come to playing it on Legendary, as Heroic was piss.

I liked that the story finally gets wrapped up, and the warthog section at the end in tribute to the first game. I’ve not got LIVE until the end of the month so I can’t play multiplayer yet, but I am just having a blast playing through campaign on the various difficulty settings. Levels- 5-6-7 are Amazing. The change of environments are stunning and I love that Bungie included nice meaty sections with all the parts players love- Scorpion havoc, Sniper-ing etc. The killing of Scarabs that appear in a few levels being particularly satisfying.

The weapons feel amazing, and the enemy AI is great and makes for thrilling shoot outs.

THE BAD-
I was hoping the campaign would out do Halo/Xbox in every respect, but it did not. My main area of discontent was the lack of any GTA degree of exploration inside a single level. Specifically speaking,- I wanted to see a new version of The Silent Cartographer.

Basically the Halo games are pretty linear, but in the first game when I explored TSC for the first time- I was blown away. It offered the game an extra dimension, and extra something special that you did not expect. Not only did TSC guide you along a linear path to fight the progressive waves of enemies, but you could also just explore a huge island- circling it in the warthog! Any spot you could see on the screen was accessible if you knew how. To this day TSC is for me, the best level in any game of the series and I was really hoping for something equally impressive in Halo 3. Instead we just a linear path, single route through every level of the game.

The other thing that irked me a little, but not as much, was Bungie’s need to rip off the Alien film series yet again.

->Open Spoiler<-

This time with MC climbing into an Aliens style sleeping chamber at the end of the game.

Bungie already ripped off the Assault Rifle and marines dropship from Aliens in the previous two games. Why more? I think it’s a little lazy and considering how unique and beautiful every purple piece of Convenant technology looks. It’s a shame Bungie could not have thought up more original designs for the Assault Rifle/ Dropships/ etc.

Is it just me, or is there no Banshee action in Halo 3?

Small grumbles aside, it’s all about the combat and in that aspect, the game can’t be faulted. The anus level is a little disorientating, but I got through it once so far.

[BaudAttitude]

The other thing that irked me a little, but not as much, was Bungie’s need to rip off the Alien film series yet again.

->Open Spoiler<-

This time with MC climbing into an Aliens style sleeping chamber at the end of the game.

Bungie already ripped off the Assault Rifle and marines dropship from Aliens in the previous two games. Why more? I think it’s a little lazy and considering how unique and beautiful every purple piece of Convenant technology looks. It’s a shame Bungie could not have thought up more original designs for the Assault Rifle/ Dropships/ etc.

Doesn't he come

->Open Spoiler<-

out of a sleeping chamber at the start of the original game? I thought it was actually kind of a nice bookend to the series to have him go back into one.

Or do you just mean it visually looked an awful lot like the Aliens sleeping chambers?

[DANGEROUS]

Doesn't he

->Open Spoiler<-

come out of a sleeping chamber at the start of the original game? I thought it was actually kind of a nice bookend to the series to have him go back into one.

Or do you just mean it visually looked an awful lot like the Aliens sleeping chambers?

Yeah, the visual thing.

Now that you mention it... I remember that in the first game, although I don't think you get to see the chamber as well.

[Freddo]

you definitly do, besides it's not like

->Open Spoiler<-

cryostasis

is exclusively the purvue of aliens, hundreds if not thousands of sci-fi books rely on it to explain

->Open Spoiler<-

how humans could survive long enough to journey between the stars.

[Jebus]

Regarding skulls...I know that for GOLD (achievement) skulls you must start the level from the beginning...but what about silver/white ones? I want to get the "IWHBYD" skull but it's right at the end of the level...

[Rossco]

Regarding skulls...I know that for GOLD (achievement) skulls you must start the level from the beginning...but what about silver/white ones? I want to get the "IWHBYD" skull but it's right at the end of the level...

I know that I read you need to start from the start for them all but havent tried myself so cant confirm. Theres another skull on the way to that level though, the bit when your on the

->Open Spoiler<-

Hornet/Pelican or whatever its called

. So if you dont have that one, just do the whole level.

I done the IWHBYD one last week, was quite cool when you do it, the result of it all.

[Nembot]

Regarding skulls...I know that for GOLD (achievement) skulls you must start the level from the beginning...but what about silver/white ones? I want to get the "IWHBYD" skull but it's right at the end of the level...

Both gold and silver need to be obtained by playing the mission from the beginning, fella.

The skulls can only be picked up on normal skill level or above also, but I just breezed through the levels I`d missed skulls on in normal mode so it shouldn`t take you too long, although the IWHBYD is at the end of a long level. Once you pick up the skulls you need from a level just save and quit and they`ll be there ready for use, no need to complete the mission.

[MJ]

I went for IWHBYD while terminal hunting.

[Dogg Thang]

I tried Legendary earlier. Holy bejesus, I got my ass handed to me in the opening section. The grunts can take a point blank brute shot and walk away. Well, run away waving their arms.

I don't think I'll be making it through Legendary.

These skulls everyones talking about - do you just search for them? I mean are they just sitting in the levels somewhere in normal play?

[SuperBeatBoy]

These skulls everyones talking about - do you just search for them? I mean are they just sitting in the levels somewhere in normal play?

Yeah they are. But it takes some technique and some good searching to acquire them. Ive collected them all including the silvers. Some of them you have to like make little ramps or grenade jump to get them.

[rmoxon]

I tried Legendary earlier. Holy bejesus, I got my ass handed to me in the opening section. The grunts can take a point blank brute shot and walk away. Well, run away waving their arms.

I don't think I'll be making it through Legendary.

These skulls everyones talking about - do you just search for them? I mean are they just sitting in the levels somewhere in normal play?

Theres a link to a guide in this thread that tells you how to get them (page92? I think), and trust me you will need the guide, most of them require you to do things that you would never think to do without the use of a guide. they are well worth getting though as you pretty much need them if you want to use campaign scoring and/or get the meta game achievemnts.

[FreelancePolice]

Hmmm I think i've just finished the 7th mission on heroic but nothing unlocked. I'm in a organic area now which is the 8th mission? Can someone help me out here

[FreelancePolice]

Sorry meant to say no level 7 acheievement unlocked