Antonio Hernandez
The air erupts with electricity. Shouts echo from every direction, machine gunfire drowning out any hope of understanding them. The bolts of plasma fire cut through the tree line ahead, leaving scorch marks in their wake.Dashing along, I duck as a grenade explodes in a deafening thunder next to me, sending dirt and debris across my line of vision. More flashes of pink and dangerous streaks of laser fire lay waste to the jungle ahead of me.I keep running, making a mad sprint through the line of fire and praying harder with every step. The enemy is within sight. I can see their alien eyes widen with surprise and just as I raise my weapon to pull the trigger–The phone rings and I’m forced to press pause. Does it sound epic? It should. This is “Halo 3” by Bungie Studios, arguably the most anticipated video game in the history of the business. The last in an epic trilogy, the game ties up a storyline that the public has anticipated for three years.So the question is, was it worth the wait? In short, yes it was.If you have no knowledge of the first two games in the series, the third will make no sense at all. “Halo 3” offers no recap of the previous games’ events and instead picks up directly where “Halo 2” left off.The opening cinematic has you crashing back to earth and immediately throws players into the shoes of the elite soldier, Master Chief.The single-player campaign ties up things nicely, but in the interest of not spoiling anything, I’ll stop there. It’s what you would expect from the trilogy. The story moves at a good pace, aided by the exceptionally well-written script. The soundtrack and sound design border on amazing. The score, performed by a full orchestra, is beautiful and sometimes even moving. The voice work for the characters, even the Marines, is so spot on you would think it was originally recorded for a feature-length movie.While the story of Halo is impressive, that’s not what it is famous for. The gameplay is the bread and butter of any videogame and “Halo 3” definitely shows the others how it’s done.Now, the game doesn’t try to do anything dramatically different from its predecessors, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. The controls are exactly like the last two games. Players can wield duel weapons, jump at unbelievable heights and throw grenades with questionable accuracy. The developers didn’t really break out of the Halo formula. Amongst the new weaponry and vehicles, they did add an option never before seen in a Halo game. The developers call it the “Support option.” Instead of using the “X” button on the controller to reload, you press it to wield defensive and offensive tools. I found myself using the Bubble shield the most. It’s a support item that, when thrown, creates a spherical shield around not only your character, but anyone nearby as well. This isn’t to say that the new weapons are not awesome – they are.My favorite of the new weapons, the “Gravity Hammer,” is probably the greatest melee device ever created. Imagine wielding a hammer the size of a small teenager and then swinging it at your enemy, only to watch them fly halfway across the map.It’s one of those “wow” moments that will be retold countless times to friends.The new vehicles are a treat as well. The two-seater “Mongoose,” akin to the modern ATV, is sure to be the favorite in online matches. Although it has no built-in weapons, if you put a man on the back with a rocket launcher, it’s a force to be reckoned with.But believe me, the enemies don’t just sit there and take the punishment. This isn’t a game that you can just breeze through on any difficulty level higher than ‘easy.’ There have been situations when I pushed a group of enemies back, only to have them regroup at higher ground and kill me easily. The Brutes, a type of enemy that can be best described as large grizzly bears, are imposing and armed to the teeth. It takes more than a few rounds to put one down and they come charging with such rage, it makes you want to actually run from the screen. The graphics are appealing; however, it isn’t the best-looking game on Xbox 360. It offers spectacular lighting effects, but once you get up close, character models begin to look a little sketchy. This is a real disappointment.This is next-generation hardware. With a title this big, I would have hoped that they spent a good deal of time on making it really stand out.The theater mode, which allows players to watch previous matches and levels already completed, really shows off the subtle improvements in graphics.Players can detach the camera at any moment during the replay, allowing the scene to be viewed from any desired angle.Again, this is the next generation in games and “Halo 3” didn’t come out with anything that I would consider “next-gen.”It was like playing “Halo” or “Halo 2” on my Xbox 360, which is not a bad thing at all. But I would have liked to have something fresher than “Support Equipment” and a playback feature. The campaign alone is not enough to judge the game. Halo is famous for its multiplayer and again, it delivers. This is what really makes the game worth a $59.99 purchase price. You get the 16-player online matches, provided through the almost perfect Xbox live service, 11 new maps, downloadable content and a new map creator called “Forge.” In my opinion, the best option is the ability to save replays of all your online matches. “Halo 3” also allows you to customize your “virtual avatar,” adding earned paint schemes and accessories to decorate your online soldier with. While this is a minor tweak, it’s nice to be an individual in the huge multiplayer world of Halo. Co-op mode also comes into the mix, allowing play with up to four friends on the campaign locally or over Xbox live.These things alone in any game would make a great online experience, but “Halo 3” combines them all into the best online multiplayer game I have ever played. The game comes in three editions; standard ($59.99), collector’s ($69.99) and legendary ($129.99). I purchased the standard edition.While “Halo 3” is the regurgitation of the old, the developers have perfected the formula to the point where you don’t even bother to complain about the similarities. Perhaps a little more time on the campaign and a little more ingenuity would have given this game an A+. “Halo 3” does answer to all of the hype and still gives us that good old halo fun and that deserves an A all on its own.