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From the very beginning, it was clear that Bungie had laid the seeds to something very special with the Halo franchise. The achievements for this series include launching the Xbox, launching Xbox Live in grandeur fashion and then single-handily carrying the slow and weary platform to the Xbox 360. In short, without this game, the Xbox platform would’ve died a long time ago.

With Halo 3, Bungie don’t have to just live up to this revolutionary legacy, but they have to finish the trilogy in epic fashion in a way in which fans will all agree with too. Feature-wise, it’s really pushing the boundaries of the platform, with the ability to record (automatically no less) and save films and screenshots, and distribute them through Xbox Live or Bungie.net, where you can actually queue up all types of files to your 360, so the next time you boot up Halo 3 they will download automatically. Also, it supports four players in co-op over Xbox Live, which is a feat deemed impossible up until a few months before launch, and this runs flawlessly with minimal lag, and the ability to turn on scoring so you can really see who’s the best player. Furthermore, there’s Forge, a map editor where you get to place objects on a map as a monitor, such as fusion coils, vehicle spawns, scenery, etc. It is a very deep system that you can play live with friends where you can all be monitors, or use the forged map for a custom gametype, which you can share with friends. The point is that the main unique selling points for the game are its innovations, which really set itself out from the prequels and other titles on the system, and the fact this stretches Xbox Live beyond everything that’s gone before it.

However, while it shines with its new fangled functions, this is still the same old Halo when it comes to the single player modes. The vibrant colours and the slightly short but fun story return, as well as old favourite characters such as the elites (this time they’re on your side), the grunts, the jackals, and the new and improved Brutes. The level design brings elements from the prequels too, to the point where some levels towards the end of the game could be called direct copies more than homages. However, it is an enjoyable experience full of nice little set pieces and for the most part, has a fair pacing. Furthermore, the AI is a lot more improved, with the new Brutes, grunts, and jackals working together as a real pack to flank you and take you down. Impressively, this is improved as you up the difficulty levels, which is a refreshing change to other titles, which simply up the power of the AI’s weaponry or provide you with more enemies to face. Disappointingly, the campaign is short, and even shorter when you play it over co-op via Xbox Live or whatever other method, and you’re forced to up the difficulty to face a challenge fit for a group of you. All things considered though, it’s a nice fun package that still feels fun every time you go through it, and ends the trilogy’s story in a fair and pleasant way.

When one thinks of Halo, one associates the series with its fantastic multiplayer experience. Halo 3 delivers even more this time, with bigger maps, improved matchmaking featuring new and fun playlists, and the whole emphasis on sharing game types, forged maps, videos and pictures with friends, as well as new options for setting up custom games such as player gravity and speed. The player limit is still stuck the age old archaic 16 players, and there is no game browser to find custom games, which Bungie actually promised before launch. It’s rather surprising this feature was canned, as it was championed as being better than matchmaking, and this is an element fans have been asking for as top of their priority lists since Halo 2. In contrast, the ranking system has undergone a much-needed overhaul, and this time it clearly states how many points you have, and how many you need to rank up. Moreover, ranking up doesn’t just unlock you achievements, it will unlock different armour permutations for you to use. Unfortunately, these are pure aesthetic changes and won’t make you stronger or faster, which is a shame but is obviously done for balance reasons.

Overall, the game is a great success, and achieves all the objectives it was set out to do. The multiplayer innovations truly set this apart from anything else on the market at the moment, and when you look at it in that way, you see that there is so much to offer here, such as forge, custom games, matchmaking, co-op, videos, screenshots, etc. All these features and the same classic gameplay with new weaponry and equipment make this the best in the series. So it definitely lives up to the hype, and ends the series on a tremendous high.