Do you need to play Halo 1 and 2 to appreciate Halo 3?

I haven't played Halo, but look forward to Halo 3 commin out. Will people that don't know the story behind Halo get a lot out of Halo 3 or does the series build on itself in a way that you'd have to play the first two games to appreciate Halo 3?

it is definitley worth it to pick up the first two. they are both great games i picked them both up a few days ago for like $40 total to revisit the story before the third one comes out. you dont need the first two to enjoy the gameplay of the third but you will need them to understand the story

It really does depend on what kind of gamer you are, if your just looking to get the generic experience and just play multiplayer which for some odd reason plenty of people do, then no, you don't need to bother with it. But if you really want to experience and appreciate a franchise that for a shooter has a pretty solid and interesting story and universe behind it, then yes, most definately you will want and need to play through the first two games to really grasp what is going on.

I think in the campaign, your really going to have some "What the hell is going on" moments in Halo 3 if you never played either of the first two, because it is a more story driven campaign than many other shooters are. Yeah you can still just go around and shoot crap and blow that same crap up and have fun, but you might walk into a 5 minute cutscene and not have a clue what the hell is really going on when they start answering some of the questions that have been built up through 25 hours or so of gameplay from the first two games.

Well the story in halo 1 doesnt progress a whole lot,so your not really missing out on much in terms of story,however halo 2 reveals a whole lot more,so i would recommend playing the second one.

Or you could just buy the legendary edition of halo 3 which includes all the cutscenes from 1 & 2 in HD.

In addition to the games, also get the novelisations, the universe is very deep and you might be dropped into the deep end if you play Halo 3 for the story :?. Definitely recommend both games just to understand the story:

where all the Spartans left, the alien invasion, Covenant ranks, religion, Brutes' motivations, [spoiler] alliance of humans with Covenant [/spoiler] , Prophets, the purpose of HALO ring, 343 Guilty Spark, the Flood, what might be happening with Cortana, and much more.

Yeah, to understand all that, you NEED to play the previous games. The stories continue from each other, like a proper trilogy. If you just want multiplayer, well then just get it.

Yes.

I dont think its worth going through the horrible level design in Halo 1 to learn about the story etc.loky3000

Wrong. Play Halo 1 and 2. They are the best of the best.

if i see a gamplay knowing that i didnt play halo 1 and 2 i would like halo 3 it look amazing so

Halo is a really boring game and the only thing it has going for it is multiplayer... So don't worry about the first two games because they are easily beaten. The first one is okay and the storyline was decent but the second one pisses me off with the ending because it set itself up for a sequel.GalesOfOctober

Halo is all about the multi-player, the campaign is sorta fun but the game is pretty much made for online play