I Finished the Fight. It exceeded my every expectation.
Halo 3 is beyound special. It defines everything that is fantastic about a shooter game, and bears it proudly. Not only does the forumla stick to the original Halo theme, but it improves on it's two predecessors beyond measure. I have been left with a feeling of awe and spectacle, from the epic masterpiece this game is. Never in all my gaming days, has a game meant this much to me.
The sound and drama is nothing short of profound. Marty O'Donnell has always been good at directing music in the Halo games. But for this last, finally show-down, he took every essence of his talent and shone forth upon Halo 3. The music is just unbelievable. 11/10 here, if i could.
The visuals are evidently built upon the old framework of Halo 1. Clearly you can sense some old relics of the first game's engine. However, when you re-write the engine twice over, add various DX9 & HDR capabilities and improve the scale of events 10 fold, you really have something of a wonder. It's not Crysis, but it's certainly artisic. The visuals are not photo-realistic, but they're not meant to be. The style is clearly half art, half realistic. 9/10 here.
The multitude of new experiances in Halo 3 define's Bungie's skill to create something new based on something successful and old. 9/10.
The physics are very good, far more realistic than ever before. The new Warthog physics, vast explosions, huge scale and perfect world interaction are profits of this.
The ending will leave you breathless. Bungie also play the fiddle to old-school Halo fans, there will be elements you recognise, but in completely new ways :)
The fight is finished, but the wonder that is Halo, will never be over.