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Halo 3
Developer(s)Bungie
Publisher(s)Microsoft Game Studios
SeriesHalo
EngineProprietary "Halo Engine"[3] with Havok Physics[4]
Platform(s)Xbox 360
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single player, co-op, online co-op, multiplayer, online multiplayer, Forge, and Meta-game

Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie exclusively for the Xbox 360. The game is the third title in the Halo series and concludes the story arc that began in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2.[8]

The game was released on September 25, 2007 in Australia, Brazil, India, New Zealand, North America, and Singapore;[1] September 26, 2007 in Europe; and September 27, 2007 in Japan. On the day before its official release, 4.2 million units of Halo 3 were in retail outlets.[9] Halo 3 grossed US$300 million in its first week.[10] More than one million people played Halo 3 on Xbox Live in the first twenty hours.[11] As of January 3 2008, Halo 3 has sold 8.1 million copies,[12] and was the best-selling video game of 2007 in the U.S.[13]

Halo 3's story centers on the interstellar war between 26th century humanity, led by the United Nations Space Command, and a collection of alien races known as the Covenant. The player assumes the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier, as he wages war in defense of humanity, assisted by human Marines as well as allied alien Elites led by the Arbiter. The game features vehicles, weapons, and gameplay not present in previous titles of the series,[14] as well as the addition of saved gameplay films, file sharing, and the Forge map editor; a utility which allows the player to perform modifications to levels. Overall, the game was well-received by critics, with the Forge and multiplayer offerings singled out as strong features; on Game Rankings, Halo 3 ranks as the sixth highest rated Xbox 360 game to date.[15]

Gameplay

File:Halo3 campaign ss.png
Master Chief aims his Assault Rifle at a group of Grunts. An activated equipment, called the bubble shield, is shown.

The gameplay of Halo 3 builds upon the previous iterations of the franchise; it is a first-person shooter which takes place on foot, but also includes segments focused on vehicular combat. The balance of weapons and objects in the game was adjusted to better adhere to what Bungie Studios Multiplayer Designer Lars Bakken describes as the "Golden Triangle of Halo".[16] These are "weapons, grenades, and melee", which are available to a player in most situations. Halo 3 contains the ability to dual-wield, where a player forgoes both grenades and melee attacks in favor of the combined firepower of two weapons simultaneously. Most weapons available in previous installments of the series return with minor cosmetic and power alterations. Unlike previous installments, all weapons a player is carrying are visible; weapons not in use are holstered or slung across the player's back.[17] Halo 3 introduces "support weapons", which are exceptionally large, powerful, and cumbersome two-handed weapons which drastically limit the player's normal combat options and slow them significantly, but offer greatly increased firepower in return.[18] In addition to new weapons, the game contains a new class of usable items called Equipment;[19] these items are found like weapons and have various effects and functions, ranging from defensive screens to shield regeneration and enemy confusion. Only one piece of equipment can be carried at a time.[20] Like the previous games, Halo 3 features a strong vehicular component,[21] with new vehicles added to the series. Most of the vehicles can be controlled by the player, but some are A.I.-controlled. Certain vehicles usable in campaign are not available by default in multiplayer due to balance concerns;[22] conversely, some vehicles are only found in multiplayer.[23]

Besides refinements, Halo 3 also adds some new features. One such feature, known as 'Forge', is a map-editing tool that enables players to insert game objects, such as weapons and crates, into existing multiplayer maps.[22] Almost all weapons, vehicles, and interactive objects can be placed and moved on maps with Forge.[24] Forge allows multiple players to work on maps at the same time, players can turn into a Forerunner Monitor and edit and manipulate objects in-game.[25] Another new feature is 'Saved films', which allows players to save up to 100 films of gameplay to their Xbox 360's hard drive,[26][27] viewing the action from any angle and at different speeds. The Saved Films are only game data (not an actual video) and this allows the file sizes to be smaller than a true recording. Saved films are played back at whatever resolution the Xbox 360 is currently set to, regardless of which resolution was used when the film was recorded. All games are recreated in real-time on the Xbox 360 using the Halo 3 engine.[28] Halo 3 offers a form of file sharing, where items such as saved films, screenshots, custom game modes, and Forge settings can all be uploaded to the 'File Share'. Anyone can browse user created content that has been uploaded to Bungie's website on a personal computer and tag it to automatically download to their console next time they sign into Xbox Live.[20][29]

Campaign

Halo 3's campaign contains nine levels, which complete the storyline of the Halo trilogy. The campaign can be played through alone, with two-players on one Xbox 360, or played cooperatively with other players via Xbox Live or System Link.[30] Instead of having each player be an identical Spartan as in previous Halo games, the first player plays as Master Chief, the second player plays as the Arbiter and the other two players control two other Elites; N'tho 'Sraom and Usze 'Taham, each with their own backstories. No matter which character is played, each player has identical abilities.[30] A.I. behavior was improved over Halo 3's predecessors, occasionally drastically changing gameplay; for example, the behavior of enemy Brutes the player faces has been modified, giving them a "pack mentality" that causes the aliens to perform similar actions at the same time.[19][31] There are various Forerunner computer terminals hidden throughout the campaign which can be accessed and provide background storyline information.[32]

Halo 3's campaign features a scoring method called the "meta-game", which introduces a competitive aspect to cooperative play. Players are awarded points for defeating enemies while completing a level in the campaign. Extra points are awarded for certain actions (such as performing headshots or defeating multiple enemies in rapid succession), and are lost if the player dies or kills a cooperative team-mate. Hidden skulls (based on the Easter egg skulls in Halo 2) can be found on each level; these can be activated to cause changes in gameplay, such as giving the enemies extra health, changing in-game dialogue, or modifying the enemy behavior.[33] These skulls, as well as the difficulty level and the speed at which the level is completed, provide multipliers to the total score.[20] Players are awarded gamerscore points for successfully reaching a certain score in each level,[34] and medals are awarded for specific accomplishments.

Multiplayer

On a single console, up to two players can play campaign and up to four can participate in a versus multiplayer match through use of split screen. Through use of LAN or Xbox Live, up to four players can play together in campaign, up to 8 can customize a map in Forge mode, and up to sixteen can participate in versus multiplayer matches. (Each console must retain their respective split screen limitations.) A public beta test of the game's online multiplayer features, as well as saved films and file share, occurred between May 16, 2007 and June 10, 2007.[35] Statistics from all games that are completed by players while connected to Xbox Live are also uploaded to the respective player's "service record" on Bungie.net.

Like other multiplayer Xbox 360 titles, Halo 3 uses a customized version of TrueSkill ranking system for 'matchmaking', or the automated grouping of players of similar skill. Halo 3's matchmaking system is based on two different measures of player ranking, skill and experience (based on the number of 'rating points' or EXP, respectively). Skill is the numerical TrueSkill rank of the player in a given multiplayer mode. The TrueSkill ranking is affected by both wins and losses; wins against a much higher ranked opponent will rank a player up faster, while losses against players with lower ranks will cause a player to drop in rank faster. The experience system is linear, with a player gaining experience for winning a game and losing experience for quitting or otherwise leaving a game, with no effect for losing a game.[36] To help players have an enjoyable time online, a new feature dubbed the "A-hole button" allows players to mute annoying players in the game quickly and easily from the in-game scoreboard view.[37] Like Halo 2, Halo 3 supports downloadable content and updates.[38]

Synopsis

Setting

Halo 3, like its predecessors, is set in the fictional Halo universe, taking place during the year 2553. According to the backstory, humans developed faster-than-light travel (using a Fujikawa-Shaw engine attached to a regular space shuttle) and colonized hundreds of planets before encountering the alien Covenant in 2525.[39] The Covenant declared humanity an affront to their gods and began destroying human colonies by turning the planet's surface into glass. Despite efforts to keep the Covenant from finding Earth, a Covenant fleet discovered humanity's homeworld during Halo 2.[40] By the beginning of Halo 3, the Covenant have arrived in full force on Earth, with most human resistance crushed.

The titular 'Halo' refers to massive ringworlds several hundred kilometers in diameter that are scattered across the galaxy. These rings were constructed thousands of years ago by an enigmatic race known as the Forerunners as a weapon of last resort against the parasitic alien species known as the Flood. When activated, the seven Halos would destroy all sentient life in the galaxy, thereby depriving the Flood of its food.[41] The ringworlds were activated once in the distant past, and the Forerunners are believed to have perished.[42] In Halo: Combat Evolved, a small human ship fleeing the Covenant stumbled upon one of these ringworlds, Installation 04. The humans manage to destroy the ring, stopping the Flood once again; the Covenant, unaware of the destructive nature of the rings, attempt to fire another ring during Halo 2 in order to fulfill their religious prophecy.[43] One race in the Covenant, the Elites, learn the truth about the rings, and join forces with their onetime enemies, humanity, in order to stop the firing of the ring. Though they are successful, the unexpected shutdown of the installation triggers a failsafe protocol—all the rings are ready to fire from one single location, referred to as the Ark.[44] Still oblivious to the true nature of the rings, the Covenant High Prophet of Truth and the remaining loyalist Covenant proceed to head to Earth, where they believe the Ark is buried.

Characters

File:Masterchief cortana h3.png
From left, Miranda Keyes, Cortana, the Arbiter, Master Chief and Guilty Spark
Main article: Characters of Halo

Halo 3's protagonist is the Master Chief, a surgically enhanced supersoldier who is one of the last surviving members of the SPARTAN Project, and one of humanity's greatest warriors. The Chief fights alongside the Arbiter, a disgraced former Covenant Elite commander who, along with his race, breaks from the Covenant during Halo 2. Two new Elite characters, N’tho ‘Sraom and Usze ‘Taham, appear as the third and fourth players in co-op play.[45] Most of supporting characters that were introduced in previous games return; this includes Sergeant Major Avery Johnson, a veteran human commander, as well as Commander Miranda Keyes, who prevents the firing of Installation 05 in Halo 2.[46] The Forerunner Monitor 343 Guilty Spark, who tries and fails to stop the Master Chief from destroying his ringworld in Halo, also makes an appearance.[46] Filling an alternating antagonistic/helpful role to the player is the large Flood entity known as "Gravemind"; encountered during Halo 2, the leader of the Flood escapes from confinement on Halo by invading the Covenant mobile city of High Charity and capturing Cortana, a human-created A.I., in the process.[46]

Plot

Taking place shortly after the events of the comic mini-series, Halo: Uprising,[47] Halo 3 begins with the Master Chief entering Earth's atmosphere and smashing to the ground, where he is found by Sergeant Major Avery Johnson and the Arbiter. The Chief, Johnson, and company fight their way to a UNSC outpost. Here, Commander Keyes and Lord Hood plan a last-ditch effort to stop the Covenant leader, the High Prophet of Truth, from activating a Forerunner (an extinct, highly advanced race) artifact uncovered outside the ruins of the city of New Mombasa. The Chief is ordered to clear a way into the city of Voi, and destroy all anti-air Covenant defenses so that Hood can lead the last of Earth's ships against the Prophet.[48] Using the opening caused by the ground attack, Hood mounts an offensive against Truth's ship, but the Prophet activates the buried artifact and creates an enormous, stable slipspace portal which he and his followers enter. As the human ships recover from the shock wave, a ship controlled by the Flood, a parasitic race which caused the destruction of the Forerunners, arrives via slipspace and crash-lands nearby.[49] Covenant Elite forces, now allied with humanity, arrive on Earth, and glass Flood-infected areas of Earth, neutralizing the parasitic threat. Following the cryptic message from the human A.I. construct Cortana left aboard the Flood cruiser, the Master Chief, Arbiter, Elites, Johnson, Keyes and a handful of marines follow Truth through the portal. Joining them is the Forerunner construct 343 Guilty Spark, who decides to aid the Master Chief, since his ringworld was destroyed in Halo: Combat Evolved.[50]

Traveling through the portal, the humans and Elites discover an immense artificial structure—the Ark—which is well outside the Milky Way galaxy. Here, the Prophet can activate all the Halos and purge the galaxy of all sentient life. The Halos were created by the Forerunners as a last ditch effort to combat the Flood, by destroying all sentient life in the galaxy. The Chief and company quickly activate the installation's Cartographer to find Truth; in the process, Guilty Spark discovers that the Ark is creating a new ringworld to replace his destroyed installation. Guided by Guilty Spark, the Chief and the Arbiter make their way towards the control room of the Ark. During their journey, the Flood arrive on the former Covenant Holy City High Charity via slipspace, and they begin infesting the installation.[51] Johnson is captured by Truth to activate the Ark because only a human can utilize the Forerunner technology. The Flood controlling intelligence Gravemind forges a truce with the Chief and Arbiter in an effort to stop Truth. Though Keyes is killed by the Prophet, the installation's firing is halted. After Truth is killed by the Arbiter, Gravemind quickly turns on the Chief and Arbiter, but Johnson flies away while the Chief and Arbiter fight their way out. Master Chief decides to activate the new ring (a replica of the destroyed Installation 04) being built at the Ark, sparing the galaxy at large while eliminating the local Flood. Before he can activate Halo, he needs an Activation Index, which Cortana had acquired in Halo.[52] The Chief saves Cortana from High Charity, and overloads its main reactor to destroy the ship and Gravemind with it.

Arriving on the new Halo, Cortana warns that the Gravemind is trying to rebuild itself on the ring. The Chief, the Arbiter, and Johnson make their way to the control room, where they will activate Halo's weapon. Guilty Spark explains that since the ring is not yet completed, a premature activation will destroy it and the Ark.[53] When Johnson ignores his warning, Guilty Spark kills him in order to protect "his" ring.[54] Master Chief destroys Guilty Spark, activates the ring, and barely manages to escape with the Arbiter and Cortana to Forward Unto Dawn, a UNSC ship, as Halo fires.

Back on Earth, the front half of Forward Unto Dawn crashes into the ocean, and workers cut the Arbiter out of the wreckage. A memorial service is held for the fallen heroes of the human and Covenant war; the Master Chief appears to have perished as well. After the memorial service, the Arbiter departs for his home planet, where the Elites are finally free of the Prophets' hegemony.[55] If the player waits through the closing credits, a scene reveals that the Master Chief and Cortana have survived Halo's firing in the rear section of the ship and await rescue, drifting helplessly through space. If the game is completed on the "Legendary" difficulty level, the scene continues and depicts the severed section of the Dawn drifting towards what appears to be an unidentified planet.

Development

File:H3-storyboard-art.png
Storyboard sketches for the Halo 3 announcement trailer

Initial conception for Halo 3 was done before the game's predecessor, Halo 2 was released in 2004.[56] For a period after this, much of the staff were still preoccupied in making extra content for Halo 2, while others continued with the groundwork for the development of Halo 3. Bungie remained almost completely silent as to what their new project was for the next year and half, occasionally leaving comments in their weekly update alluding to a "new project."[57] Due to the cliff-hanger ending of Halo 2, many observers correctly speculated that Bungie's new project was indeed, Halo 3.

The game was officially announced with a real-time cinematic trailer at E3 2006.[8] Similarly to the development of Halo 2, Bungie kept the public informed on game development via "Bungie Weekly Updates". During development, the game was divided into single player and multiplayer builds; this made debugging and testing the much smaller multiplayer files quicker.[58] While details of Halo 3's multiplayer were widely disseminated in the sixteen months leading up to the release,[17] the single-player aspect of the storyline was kept relatively secret throughout much of the development to build up interest. The first campaign screenshots did not appear until a year after the announcement trailer, on July 5, 2007, as a "tease" for the planned pace of marketing.[59]

Graphics

Halo 3 utilizes a proprietary, in-house graphics engine, often referred to as the "Halo 3 Engine".[3] As detailed on the Bungie Studios website, it employs advanced graphics technologies such as High Dynamic Range, global lighting and depth of field effects within cutscenes.[60] Motion blurring was absent from the beta, but was added to the final game.[61] Most of the dynamic objects in the game cast real-time shadows on themselves and the environment around them, including the game's plant life. Halo 3 uses normal, bump, and parallax mapping to give surfaces more detail without dramatically increasing the number of polygons. Players can see distances of up to ten miles (16 km) away, all fully three-dimensional.[62] Real time reflections were written into the engine; however, they are often unused as Bungie considered it a waste of resources.[63]

After the game was released, speculations arose that Halo 3 did not natively render at true HD resolution (at least 720 lines of vertical resolution).[64] In a Bungie Weekly Update, it was confirmed that the game was rendered at 1152×640 resolution instead of the usual 1280×720 (HD) resolution that most Xbox 360 games use.[5] The choice for this design was conscious on Bungie's part, due to the fact that Halo 3 uses two frame buffers instead of the usual one, and that this choice would allow Bungie to preserve as much of the dynamic range as possible for the game's lighting, as well as maintaining a smooth frame rate. The picture could be upscaled all the way up to 1080p by the Xbox 360.[5]

Audio

As with all titles on the Xbox 360, Halo 3 fully supports 5.1 surround sound audio.[65] In the game, there are over 50,000 pieces of audio, with nearly 40,000 of those being NPC dialogue.[20] This is far more than in either of the preceding Halo titles; Halo 2 had over 15,000 pieces of dialogue. The AI controlling this dialogue is designed to ensure the exchanges flow naturally and convincingly.[62] Separate recordings were made for nearby and distant gunfire to make for a more believable sound experience.[66] Distant gunfire sounds, which may first seem like prerecorded ambient sound, may often be the result of an actual firefight happening elsewhere in the game.[67]

Marty O'Donnell again composed the original score for the game.[68] Some pieces of the game's music are produced with a much larger real orchestra than any pieces in the prior two games. For example, the music for the announcement trailer was recorded with a 60-piece orchestra and a 24-piece choir.[8] Halo 3 is the first game in the series to feature custom soundtracks, allowing players to replace in-game music with their own choices.[69] The Halo 3 Original Soundtrack was released on November 20, 2007.[70] Included on the soundtrack is an original composition submitted by fans and judged by Nile Rodgers, Michael Ostin, and Marty O'Donnell.[71]

Cast

Voice actors returning to reprise their roles in Halo 3 include Jen Taylor as Cortana, David Scully as Sergeant Johnson and the Elites, Keith David as the Arbiter, Tim Dadabo as 343 Guilty Spark, Ron Perlman as Lord Hood, Robert Davi as Rtas Vadum, and Steve Downes as the voice of Master Chief. The game also features new voices, with Terence Stamp and Justis Bolding replacing Halo 2 voice actors Michael Wincott and Julie Benz as the Prophet of Truth and Miranda Keyes respectively.[72] Additional voices include celebrity presenter Jonathan Ross,[73] Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Alan Tudyk, Katee Sackhoff, and John DiMaggio.[72] Members of the Halo machinima Red vs. Blue (Burnie Burns, Gus Sorola, Matt Hullum, Jason Saldaña, Geoff Ramsey, and Joel Heyman) had a cameo role.[46]

Marketing and release

A Halo 3 launch event was held at the NASDAQ building in New York City on September 25.
Main article: Marketing for Halo 3

Various marketing techniques have been employed in promoting the release of Halo 3. This has included various trailers of the game; real-time cinematics, recorded gameplay sequences, pre-rendered CGI, and even live action film.[74] Throughout the course of development four "developer documentaries" were released, which explain the processes behind creating parts of the game. A large scale multiplayer Beta test was played on Xbox Live with more than 800 000 members of the public being able to take part and experience the game for themselves.[74] Beginning in June 2007, Iris, an alternate reality game, began on the internet, designed to create hype for the game while involving players in slowly revealing background information for the game.[74] The actual release was met with numerous launch parties across the United States and Europe.[75]

Numerous interviews with Bungie staff were conducted by gaming press establishments, covering a vast range of subjects dealing with the game. Magazines and journals also occasionally ran stories revealing new information. Pepsi-Cola announced a new line of soft drink, a variant of Mountain Dew named Game Fuel, branded with the Halo 3 logo and the Master Chief.[76] Much of the advertising focused on appealing to the general public, rather than just hardcore fans of the game; for example, some 7-Eleven stores advertised Halo 3 and sold specialty cups and copies of the game.[77] On September 12, 2007 the "Believe" Halo 3 ad campaign, focused on the epic nature of the story and heroism told through dioramas and third party accounts of Master Chief's service, began with the video "Museum" and continued on past the game's release.[78]

Leaks

Months before the release of Halo 3, the game's final testing copy before its gold release (codenamed Epsilon and confirmed by Bungie to be 99.9% complete),[79] was leaked to the Internet. Microsoft reacted to this leak by having the Xbox Live accounts of gamers caught playing the Epsilon copy banned until the year 9999.[80] Two weeks before Halo 3 was due to be released, full retail copies of the game complete with photographs of the open game box started to appear on the internet auction site eBay.[81] A week before Halo 3 was due for release, major UK catalog retailer Argos accidentally released some of their final retail copies of Halo 3. Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division were quoted as being "disappointed that it happened" but that "it was just an honest mistake" and that Microsoft had no intention of punishing Argos for the error.[82]

Halo 3's final retail copy was leaked online over a week before its official release. The 6.14 gigabyte file of the game was ripped and downloaded by "thousands" of people within 24 hours of the leak.[83] Videos of the ending of Halo 3, obtained from the leaked copy, were captured and posted on video sharing sites.[83]

Versions

Template:Halo 3 Versions Halo 3 was released in three separate versions. The Standard Edition contains the game disc, manual, and a small poster with the game's control-map and artwork.

The Limited Edition, contained in a metal case, contains the game disc, manual, poster, interactive Xbox 360 bonus disc with several featurettes, and a hard cover bound "Bestiarum", which is a collection of information and art covering the species, cultures, and civilizations of Halo 3.

The final version was marketed as the "Legendary Edition", which contains the game disc, manual, poster, interactive bonus disc, Bestiarum (on one of the DVD discs), Legendary DVD containing special content exclusive to the Legendary Edition, and a scale replica of the Master Chief's helmet as a case for the three discs. The slip-cover packaging unfolds into a large heavy-stock poster of Master Chief.[84] Gamestation stores in the UK also offered a limited edition Master Chief figurine only available to the first 1000 pre-orders.[85]

Upon release, some of the Limited Edition versions of Halo 3 were found to have a defect in the hub that kept the discs in place, which could lead to scratched discs. Microsoft confirmed the problem and offered to replace scratched Halo 3 Limited Edition discs free of charge until the end of January 2008.[86] This was not a problem in either the Legendary Edition or the Standard Edition.[87]

Sales

Bill Gates sold copies of the game at the launch in Bellevue, WA.

According to Microsoft, first-day sales of Halo 3 reached $170 million in the U.S., setting the record for highest gross of an entertainment product within 24 hours of its release. The performance beat the previous record setter, predecessor Halo 2, which earned $125 million within 24 hours after its launch.[88] Halo 3 has beaten other records as well; at least four million copies of Halo 3 were pre-ordered globally, making it the fastest pre-selling game to date.[89] Worldwide more than US$300 million worth were sold in the first week, helping to more than double the sales of the Xbox 360 when compared with the weekly average before the Halo 3 launch.[10] In the U.S., Halo 3 sold 3.3 million copies in its first 12 days on sale,[90] increasing to 3.7 million copies by November 15 2007.[91] On October 4, 2007, Reuters UK estimated that Halo 3 may have sold up to 5.2 million copies worldwide in the first two weeks after launch.[10] By November 30 2007, Halo 3 had sold 5 million copies worldwide, and as of that point, was the best-selling video game of 2007 in the U.S., even though the game is only available on one console.[92] On January 3 2008, Microsoft announced that Halo 3 has sold 8.1 million copies.[12] The game drew over a million Xbox Live members to play online in the first 20 hours, making it the biggest day for Xbox Live gaming in history.[11]

On October 15, 2007, Advertising Age reported that movie studio executives were convinced the release of Halo 3 harmed box office receipts; the week's take was 27% less than the previous year's yield.[93] While some executives decided the disparity in estimated and actual gross for films like The Heartbreak Kid was due more to the film's poor reception, other analysts believed that "the audience on [Halo 3] is the 18-to-34 demographic, similar to what you'd see in cinemas" and that this led to a decrease in receipts.[94] Later research suggested that the Halo 3 players still watched the same amount of television and movies, regardless of the time they spent playing the game.[95]

Downloadable content

Halo 3 supports downloadable content as well as updates via Xbox Live. The week before release, Bungie announced that additional content for download would be inevitable.[96] The first multiplayer map pack was released via Xbox Live on December 11, 2007. The "Heroic Map Pack" consists of three maps, entitled Standoff, Rat's Nest, and Foundry.[97] The map pack originally cost 800 Microsoft Points (US$10) before being made available for free on March 25, 2008.[98]

Bungie released the second multiplayer map pack, called the "Legendary Map Pack", on April 15, 2008, via Xbox Live for 800 Microsoft Points (US$10). The pack consists of three new maps entitled Ghost Town, Avalanche, and Blackout; the latter two maps are remakes of the Halo: Combat Evolved map Sidewinder and the Halo 2 map Lockout respectively. A promotion by Bungie allows purchasers of the "Legendary Map Pack" access to Bungie Pro for four months for free.[99] Additional maps have been mentioned to be in development, two of which are code named Moonbase Alpha[100] and Purple Reign.[101]

The first autoupdate for Halo 3 was released on February 19, 2008, and addressed various bugs such as melee timing and saved-film theater errors.[102] Other updates have added features such as new objects for use in Forge and filters for custom screenshots.[103]

Critical reception and impact

Halo 3 was given favorable reviews from game critics. On the review aggregator Game Rankings, the game has an average score of 93%, based on 82 reviews, making it the sixth best reviewed Xbox 360 game to date.[15] On Metacritic, the game has an average score of 94 out of 100, based on 74 reviews.[104]

Pro-G assured readers in its review that Halo 3 lived up to the hype, saying that the game "is everything we hoped it would be, and much, much, more".[105] Many publications, including Eurogamer and Games Radar stated that the "winning formula" of Halo and Halo 2 was unchanged, but the addition of new features and weapons prevented stagnation.[106][107] Most publications agreed that multiplayer was by far one of the best features; IGN said that the multiplayer map lineup was the strongest of the series,[108] and Gamespy added that the multiplayer offering will make "Halo [veterans] weep big sloppy sobs of joy".[109] The Forge level editor and saved films features were singled out as particularly strong features,[110][21] in addition to superb voice acting and Martin O'Donnell's rich score.[109][111]

Reception of the single-player aspect varied greatly. Pro-G said that while the cliffhanger ending of Halo 2 was disappointing, the campaign of Halo 3 "is anything but";[105] GameSpot and GameSpy, meanwhile, said that the campaign was too short, especially on easier difficulty levels.[21][109] IGN was highly critical of the eighth level, stating "the penultimate chapter is so bad, just thinking about it puts a rotten taste in my mouth." While IGN's initial review was positive, a more "contentious" review by IGN Australia scored the game an 8.9 [112]The New York Times said the game had a "throwaway" plot and Total Video Games judged the single-player aspect ultimately disappointing.[113][114]

Other complaints focused on the artificial intelligence; critics praised the enemy AI but bemoaned that the intelligence of the player's allies was far poorer.[21][19][115][116] Bryan Vore of Game Informer said that human faces and some textures were just "embarrassing".[111] The Game Informer review also criticized the occasional repeated environments and poor final boss battle but ultimately gave the game the Game of the Month award other well received games. IGN and Cinemablend.com both said that they thought a part of the story was lost by not having the Arbiter featuring as prominently as the character was in Halo 2.[117][19]

Awards

Halo 3 was nominated for seven awards from the Spike TV Awards,[118] of which it won "Best Multiplayer Game" and "Most Addictive Video Game Fueled by Dew".[119] It won TIME magazine's "Game of the Year" and IGN chose it as the Best Xbox 360 Online Multiplayer Game and Innovative Design of 2007.[120][121][122] Halo 3 won "Multiplayer Game of the Year" and "Geezer Game of the Year" as awarded by Geezer Gamers as well as runner-up for "Best Shooter".[123] The Visual Effects Society awarded Bungie the "Best Real Time Visuals in a Video Game" for Halo 3.[124] Halo 3 also took the Calvin Award for "Best Videogame" as selected by Box Office Prophets.[125]

References

  1. ^ a b c Smith, Luke (2007-05-15). "Finish the Fight on September 25, 2007". Bungie.net. Retrieved 2007-05-16. On September 25, 2007, players will be able to finish the fight they started in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2. Halo 3 will be released in Europe on September 26, 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Microsoft Game Studios (2007). "Halo 3 Page Xbox Japan". Xbox.com/ja-JP/ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-06-15. 発売日: 2007/09/27 {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  3. ^ a b Sanders, Kathleen (2006-05-09). "E3 2k6: Halo 3 Trailer Impressions". IGN. IGN E3 2006 Coverage. Retrieved 2007-06-25. ...rendered in real-time on the Xbox 360 using the current version of the Halo 3 engine. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Havok comes to you with Halo". 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2007-10-10. To create the immersive game environments, Bungie once again chose Havok Physics. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |workr= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b c Smith, Luke (2007-09-28). "You owe me 60p!". Bungie.net. Retrieved 2007-10-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Halo 3 BBFC Rating Page". bbfc.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-24.
  7. ^ "Halo 3 Game (Multi Platform)". classification.gov.au. The Classification Board and Classification Review Board. 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-18. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  8. ^ a b c Achronos (2006-05-09). "Halo 3 Announced". Bungie.net. Retrieved 2007-08-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Sinclair, Brendan. "Analyst: 4.2M Halo 3s already at retail". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
  10. ^ a b c Hillis, Scott (2007-10-04). "Microsoft says "Halo" 1st-week sales were $300 mln". Reuters. Retrieved 2007-10-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ a b McDougall, Paul (2007-09-27). "Halo 3 Sales Smash Game Industry Records". Information Week. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
  12. ^ a b Sinclair, Brendan (2008-01-03). "MS: 17.7 million 360s sold". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
  13. ^ Brandon Boyer (2008-01-18). "NPD: 2007 U.S. Game Industry Growth Up 43% To $17.9 Billion". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  14. ^ Bungie Studios, ed. (2007). Halo 3 Instruction Manual. Microsoft Game Studios. p. 6.
  15. ^ a b "Halo 3 Reviews". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
  16. ^ Bakken, Lars. "Is Quisnam Protero Damno!" Bungie Studios, 2007. (in English)
  17. ^ a b Smith, Luke (2006-11-06). "Halo 3 Xbox 360 Preview". 1up.com. Retrieved 2007-10-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Goldstein, Hilary (2007-08-10). "Burn, Baby! Burn!". IGN. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ a b c d Goldstein, Hilary (2007-10-01). "IGN: Halo 3 Review". IGN. Retrieved 2007-10-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ a b c d "Finish the Fight". Edge (UK) (179): 66–77. September 2007. ISSN 1350-1593. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  21. ^ a b c d Gerstmann, Jeff (2007-09-23). "Halo 3 for Xbox 360 Review - Xbox 360 Halo 3 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ a b Smith, Luke (2007-08-03). "Bungie Podcast: 8/28/07". Retrieved 2007-09-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "Bungie-podcast082707" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  23. ^ "Halo 3 Strategy Guide - Page 6: Vehicles". gamerhelp.com. 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2008-01-06. The Elephant is not useable during the Halo 3 campaign, but you can use it on the Sandtrap multiplayer map.
  24. ^ O'Connor, Frank (2007-08-03). "Bungie Weekly Update: 08/03/07". Bungie.net. Archived from the original on 2007-08-04. Retrieved 2007-08-05. [...] placed a RIDICULOUS number of exploding fusion cores [...] respawn times set to as close to "instant" as Forge allows [...] {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ Halo 3 Manual (Silverlight), available online from Microsoft.com.
  26. ^ Smith, Luke (2006-09-02). "Bungie Weekly Update". Halo.Bungie.Org. Retrieved 2007-09-02. Players will be able to save up to 100 total films (this is also referenced to in a podcast that it is all items, so 100 films, or 20 "forges" and 80 films, et cetera {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ O'Conner, Frank (2007-05-15). "Saved Films and File Share". Bungie.net. Retrieved 2007-05-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ Atkin, Denny (2007-05-11). "Hands-On: Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta". Xbox.com. Retrieved 2007-05-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ Smith, Luke (2007-08-17). "Bungie Weekly Update: 08/17/07". Bungie.net. Retrieved 2007-08-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ a b Smith, Luke (2007-07-31). "The Tru7h About Co-Op in Halo 3". Bungie.net. Retrieved 2007-08-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ O'Connor, Frank (2006-12-06). "Et Tu Brute?!". Bungie.net. Retrieved 2007-10-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ "Halo 3 - Terminals". Grunts R Us. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
  33. ^ Smith, Luke (2007-10-03). "Get the Most Out of Skulls". Bungie.net. Retrieved 2007-11-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ Bungie (2007-06-19). "Halo 3 Achievements". Xbox360Achievements.org. Retrieved 2007-07-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  35. ^ O'Connor, Frank (2007-04-10). "Inside Bungie: Multiplayer Madness!". Bungie.net. Retrieved 2007-04-17. The Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta will go live on May 16th at 12:00 AM PDT and run through June 6th at 11:59 PM PDT {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ Smith, Luke (2006-11-24). "The Five Best Things About Halo 3". 1up.com. Retrieved 2007-04-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "f" ignored (help)
  37. ^ "Halo 3 gets shutup button". Retrieved 2007-04-28..
  38. ^ Smith, Luke (2007-10-09). "Halo 3: Matchmaking Playlist Update 1". Bungie.net. Retrieved 2007-10-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  39. ^ Bungie. "Ancillary: Halo Story Timeline". Halo.Bungie.Org. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
  40. ^ Bungie Studios, ed. (2007). Halo 3 Instruction Manual. Microsoft Game Studios.
  41. ^ Cortana: You have no idea how this ring works, do you? Why the forerunners built it? Halo doesn't kill flood, it kills their food. Humans, covenant, whatever. We're all equally edible. The only way to stop the flood is to starve them to death. And that's exactly what Halo is designed to do; wipe the galaxy clean of all sentient life. - Bungie Studios (2001). Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox). Microsoft. Level/area: Two Betrayals.
  42. ^ 343 Guilty Spark: After exhausting every other strategic option, my creators activated the rings. They, and all additional sentient life in three radii of the galactic center, died ...as planned. - Bungie Studios (2004). Halo 2 (Xbox). Microsoft. Level/area: The Great Journey.
  43. ^ Mercy: Halo. Its divine wind will rush through the stars, propelling all who are worthy along the path to salvation. - Bungie Studios (2004). Halo 2 (Xbox). Microsoft. Level/area: Sacred Icon.
  44. ^ 343 Guilty Spark: Fail-safe protocol: in the event of unexpected shut-down, the entire system will move to standby status. All installations are now ready for remote activation. / Commander Keyes: Remote activation? From here? / 343 Guilty Spark: Don't be ridiculous. [...] Why... the Ark, of course. Bungie. Halo 2 (Xbox). Microsoft.
  45. ^ Luke Smith (Lukems) (2007-07-31). "The Tru7h About Co-Op in Halo 3" (HTML). Bungie.net. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
  46. ^ a b c d Bungie Studios, ed. (2007). Halo 3 Instruction Manual. Microsoft Game Studios. p. 31.
  47. ^ Bungie Studios (2007-06-14). "Halo: Uprising On Halo3.com". Halo3.com. Retrieved 2007-06-22. ...the miniseries will bridge the gap between Halo 2 and the upcoming release of the highly-anticipated Halo 3 video game... {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  48. ^ Keyes: Truth's ships are clustered above the excavation site. And his infantry has deployed Anti-Aircraft Batteries around the perimeter. But. If we neutralize one of the batteries. Punch a hole in Truth's defenses... / Lord Hood: I'll initiate a low-level strike. Hit 'em right where it hurts. I only have a handful of ships, Master Chief. It's a big risk. But I'm confident.. - Bungie Studios (2007). Halo 3 (Xbox 360). Microsoft. Level/area: Crow's Nest.
  49. ^ Keyes: The Flood. It's spreading all over the city. / Lord Hood: How do we contain it? / Keyes: Find the crashed Flood ship, overload its engine core. We either destroy this city, or risk losing the entire planet. / Hood: Do it. - Bungie Studios (2007). Halo 3 (Xbox 360). Microsoft. Level/area: Floodgate.
  50. ^ 343 Guilty Spark: Protocol dictated my response! She had the Activation Index and you were going to destroy my installation. You did destroy my installation. Now, I only have one function: to help you, Reclaimer. - Bungie Studios (2007). Halo 3 (Xbox 360). Microsoft. Level/area: Floodgate.
  51. ^ (A Slipspace Rupture suddenly appears. High Charity emerges and approaches the Ark) Rtas 'Vadum: High Charity... By the Gods, brace for impact! - Bungie Studios (2007). Halo 3 (Xbox 360). Microsoft. Level/area: The Covenant.
  52. ^ Cortana: The activation index, from the first Halo ring. A little souvenir I hung onto, just in case. - Bungie Studios (2007). Halo 3 (Xbox 360). Microsoft. Level/area: Cortana.
  53. ^ 343 Guilty Spark: Oh, hello! Wonderful news, the Installation is almost complete! / Johnson: Terrific (sarcastically). / 343 Guilty Spark: Yes... Isn't it? I have begun my simulations. No promises, but initial results indicate that this facility should be ready to fire, in just a few more days. / Johnson: "We don't have a few more days! / 343 Guilty Spark: Bu-bu-but! A premature firing will destroy the Ark! / Johnson: Deal with it. - Bungie Studios (2007). Halo 3 (Xbox 360). Microsoft. Level/area: Halo.
  54. ^ 343 Guilty Spark: Will destroy this Installation... (Guilty Spark suddenly turns red and shoots Johnson with his Beam) - Bungie Studios (2007). Halo 3 (Xbox 360). Microsoft. Level/area: Halo.
  55. ^ Rtas 'Vadum: "Things look different. Without the Prophets' lies clouding my vision. I would like to see our own world. To know that it is safe. / Arbiter: Fear not. For we have made it so. - Bungie Studios (2007). Halo 3 (Xbox 360). Microsoft. Level/area: Halo.
  56. ^ O'Donnell, Marty. Halo 2 Developer's Commentary (Halo 3 Legendary Edition). Bungie Studios. Event occurs at 04:00. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |date2= ignored (help)— O'Donnell:"I remember when we were doing the Cortana Letters years ago where we had the entire plan from the beginning of the Cortana Letters to the end of the trilogy."
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  58. ^ O'Connor, Frank (2006-09-01). "Bungie Weekly Update: 09/01/06". Bungie.net. Retrieved 2007-10-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  59. ^ O'Connor, Frank (2007-07-06). "Bungie Weekly Update: 07/06/07". Bungie.net. Retrieved 2007-10-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  60. ^ Klepek, Patrick (2007-03-19). "Bungie Says Halo 3 Graphics are coming Together". 1up.com. Retrieved 2007-10-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  63. ^ O'Connor, Frank (2007-10-05). "Bungie Weekly What's Update 10/05/07". Bungie.net. Retrieved 2007-11-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) - BlatentB: "What happened to the real time reflections on Master Chiefs visor?" Frankie: "Nothing. They’re still in the game engine, but they’re not really much use, and are kind of a waste of CPU, so in many instances, MP for example, we save resources for more important stuff by using cube maps."
  64. ^ Dobson, Jacob (2007-09-28). "Halo 3 not HD: Runs at 640p, Pixel Counters Claim". Joystiq. Retrieved 2007-09-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  68. ^ Bungie Studios, ed. (2007). Halo 3 Instruction Manual. Microsoft Game Studios. p. 29.
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  88. ^ Thorsen, Tor (2007-09-26). "Halo 3's first-day US haul = $170M". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
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  92. ^ Fritz, Ben (2007-11-30). "Videogame sequels hit geek peak". Variety. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
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