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elit3deception's Halo 3 (360)
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| [March 6, 2008 12:25:18 AM]
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GAMEPLAY
Once I began to play the game for a second time around, I noticed it quickly became very difficult. I chose to put it on "Heroic Mode" (similar to hard). Since I am an avid FPS player, I assumed my inability to master the controls to the extent of some of my peers (who seem to have mastered Halo on a completely different level) would be compensated by my general ability to adeptly play a variety of different FPS's. I found that the game, as I progressed, met my ability to play FPS's in general, while also greatly challenging my inability to properly control this game.
This aforementioned notion was expressed mainly through Halo 3's gigantic and greatly varied level designs. The game is played basically by progressing through smaller areas and continually arriving at larger open areas involving epic battle sequences. As I kept playing, there were certain areas in which I died literally over 20 times, but I kept playing with more and more drive almost never getting bored. What helped this aspect of the game, I realized, was the fact that there was an almost limitless way to conquer each epic battle sequence. For each section, I was given the option to explore the areas and find new ways of conquering each one.
One particular of this example (I found), was during the first battle between Master Chief and the giant Scarab (a large ground based enemy machine). The section that I had to fight in was very large, giving me the ability to explore different options. My options ranged greatly from attacking the machine with a Warthog (a drivable military vehicle) to attempting to bring it down on foot. I felt this aspect of the game created a higher level of interactivity than I have seen in its predecessors.
DESIGN
Perhaps the best aspect of this game that I discovered was the amazing multiplier and co-op missions. After playing the game to what I felt to be quite extensively, I offered my roommate a chance to help me with the co op missions. He quickly agreed and we began our play in the co op mode. I was greatly impressed by many aspects of the co op play, particularly though, I appreciated the appropriate change in the amount of enemies, as well as the unique ability to control the vehicles throughout the game.
Though the game was noticeably shorter (we beat it in only about 3 sittings), I found to be surprisingly more enjoyable than the 1 player mode. I was allowed to customize both the difficulty and the the level that we started on. Even further, I was allowed to select the desired checkpoint I wished to start at (marked by alpha,etc.) within each level. This allowed my roommate and I to select levels we knew to be fun and play them at any part. I felt that this aspect of the co op mode created an extremely enjoyable playing experience.
Once we began a level, I found that the amount of enemies had changed to accommodate the fact that there were two players rather than one. I felt this notion allowed for a unique gaming experience that I would have never been exposed to had I not played the co op. Though it also made it noticeably harder (as it seemed some areas had an endless amount of enemies - especially the areas with the notorious "Flood"), it created a very challenging experience that made both my roommate and I desire to push through the difficult sections of the game.
In addition to this, I found that the co op mode did an excellent job in regards to giving the players the ability to control the various vehicles. I recalled that in the first player mode, many missions completions relied heavily on my ability to use the vehicles, and I questioned how the co op mode would handle this aspect of the game. To my surprise, it handled it very well. The vehicle heavy missions, I remembered from the first player mode, created numerous spawns of vehicles all over the maps. This allowed both my roommate and I to choose whether we wanted to team up and control the same vehicle (Me-turret, him-drive, etc.), or if we wanted to take on the enemies with our own single person vehicles.
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| [March 5, 2008 10:22:32 PM]
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SUMMARY
Halo 3 is an immersive First Person Shooter taking place in the futuristic universe of "Halo." The player starts the game with Master Chief (your playable character) being shot down through Earth's atmosphere and crashing into the dirt. My goal through the game (aka the plot) was to prevent the leader of the opposing alien forces (called "Covenant") from reviving an ancient race of intelligent beings that will threaten the existence of the universe.
GAMEPLAY
Having played both Halo and Halo 2, I suspected that the third installation would remain very much the same. However the advanced game play and unique story helped to prove this theory incorrect, much to my enjoyment.
Once I was thrown through the atmosphere into Earth, I was already immersed in the story of the game, as I felt like I actually was Master Chief. Being "thrown" (literally) into the plot of the game and being allowed to move around instantly already made me realize I was in for a pleasurable gaming experience. Whereas I felt the previous Halo's suffered from heavy exposition, Halo 3 allowed me to get right into the action, which is a crucial element of an enjoyable FPS.
As I began to first explore the surrounding area, I was completely amazed and impressed by the environmental aspects as well as the whole level design of the graphics in general. As I traveled through shade into a sunny area, it accurately captured the effect of this occurrence as it exists in real life. This again added to the feeling that I was actually in the game. I felt this aspect of the game was particularly important because many FPSs suffer from a detached atmosphere between the player and the game for one reason or another, and as I played Halo 3 further, I realized this was not such a game.
In addition, I found that the already engaging story also acted as a guide to direct me where to go next. Whereas many games offer excessive, though sometimes interesting, story lines, Halo 3 not only created a unique storyline but also used it as a method to progress game play, which I found to be a particularly helpful and unique element of this game.
Another aspect of the game that helped create an immersive environment was the voice acting (which greatly aided the development of the the story). Many FPSs tend to avoid helpful (and well acted) dialog and focus mainly on the action. Playing Halo 3, I felt its story was not only presented and developed, in no way detracted from the overall game play of the game. It was short and to the point, yet still very interesting. Typically I feel like I want to skip through the boring and uninteresting narratives of most FPSs, and I find myself unable to do so, greatly taking away from the "funness" of the games. However, I always found myself engaged with Halo's story, and if at any parts it were to lag a bit, I happily discovered I was allowed to skip the scene if I so desired.
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elit3deception's Halo 3 (360)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Wednesday 5 March, 2008
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