SDF Review: Halo 2.5 (360)
First of all, an apology to my readers. I would have had this review up sooner, but I made the mistake of buying the Collector's Edition and my Halo 3 disc was broken in half. I can only assume it was M$'s intention to keep honest, unbias reviewers such as myself from writing a review before people had a chance to waste their money on this disgusting abortion of a product.
When looking at the history of the Halo franchise, it really comes as no surprise that Halo 3 is such a disappointment. The original Halo was rushed to release by M$ in an attempt to follow-up on the success of the Sony's smash-hit Killzone franchise. This rushed, sloppy release has apparently become standard for Bungie and M$. It seems appropriate that a system rushed to the market with design flaws has a flagship game that was also rushed to the market with design flaws.
And oh, what design flaws it has.
The first thing I did upon loading up my new copy of Halo 3 at my friend's house (what, you think I'd own an XBox PleaseFixMe? Who do you think I am) was compare it to the Killzone 2 trailer from E3 2005. "Compare" isn't really a fair word, though, as Killzone 2 is an a different world - no, different UNIVERSE than Halo 3. In fact, for the first 10 minutes or so my friend was playing through the game (again, wouldn't touch the game MYSELF with a 10 foot stick) I thought for sure he'd stuck in a copy of Halo 1. I knew he had to be tricking me - there was no way M$ had released something that looked that bad as their premium system seller. But they had.
Speaking of Killzone 2, let's talk a bit about what it has that Halo 3 doesn't. 18 person campaign co-op. Free online gaming with up to 500 people in a single game. A graphics engine that doesn't look like it was made in 1998. Blu-ray. Cell. Did I mention Blu-ray and Cell?
On the positives side, I couldn't help but think that the fatal flaw didn't lie with the game itself, but rather in the console it was made for. Sure, the story couldn've been written by a retarded 9 year old. Sure, the gameplay might've been innovative if the game were a sequel to the original Doom. Sure, the AI is one step below Pac-Man's ghosts. But the true limitations lie with the long-dead DVD9 format - the single player campaign lasts about 3 hours because Bungie simply couldn't fit any more. And, of course, the already barely-capable multiplayer is crippled because M$ expects us to pay $50 for a service that isn't half of what PSN offers. But there was still so much potential there - potential that could've been unleashed with the power of Cell and Blu-ray.
And I think, some day, it will be. One day, Bungie employees will stop crying about their failure long enough to realize their dream - like all dreams - could be made true by the power of the PS3.
So, like Bioshock, I can't really recommend Halo 3 - yet. Wait a few years, for Halo 3 Sigma to come out on the PS3 (or maybe PS4 - Bungie is pretty deep in M$'s pockets). Trust me, it's coming. And while it still won't be a Killzone 2, it might be worth buying used sometime in 2011.
The good news is, Halo 3 will do nothing to resurrect the corpse that is the 360 in North America. I'd be surprised if it sold upwards of a dozen copies nationwide - after everyone who pre-orders it demands their money back. After all, they supposedly bought a 360 game, not an N64 game. If anything the spectacular implosion caused by Halo 3 will simply clear the ground for the PS3's triumphant march through North America.
SDF Score: 2.5/10
a fan was dissapointed so he wrote this, personally its alot better then the true SDF one
With regard to Call of Duty 4 having an ultra short single player campaign, I guess it may well have been due to the size limitations of DVD on the XBox 360, one of various limitations multi-platform game designers will have to take into consideration-Mike B
Proud supporter of all 3 console companys
Proud owner of 360wii and DS/psp
Game trailers-Halo 3 only dissapointed the people who wanted to be dissapointed.
Bet with Harvey Birdman that Lost Odyssey will sell more then Blue dragon did.
