I have just finished suffering through 98% of Halo 3, just so that I can tell you a little about it.

First, it was easy to get my hands on. I went over to Walmart around 7AM and just picked it up. No line, no fuss. They had many copies. The sales guy in Electronics told me the sad story about how all the Special Editions are winding up with scratched disks; the evidently aren’t secured in the tin.

Well, I didn’t care - I had Halo 3 Normal Edition in my hands. Time to get home!

First of all, the graphics. They are nice. They are not the nicest game graphics I have ever seen. They are nice. I think Resistance Fall of Man might have been better. But they were great, don’t get me wrong. It very much feels like a “touched up” Halo 2, which is fine with me. I liked Halo 2.

I just finished up what I think is the second to last mission of the campaign - you are hunting around a crashed ship for that crazy hologram lady that lived in your head in Halo 2. This level sucks balls. Good luck 1) surviving and 2) not getting incredibly lost and wasting a ton of time walking in circles.

With that complaint out of the way, I have really enjoyed the game. The story is great, the gameplay is smooth and nice. The game is a real challenge, but it isn’t ridiculous (except for that level I just mentioned where I was lost forever).

You get some new perks, too. You can carry these little devices around with you for some neat effects; portable shelter, shield sphere, power drain, etc.

On a whole, I totally recommend the game. It’s about 7 hours of play on single player campaign; I haven’t touched the online yet, but I promise to update you after I do.

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