After extensive play time I now realize that Halo 2 still remains the best online exp of all time. H3 still good.
The single player game is improved from the previous 2 games for one reason and that is the addition of the four player online coop. This makes it feel different than the previous two games being just split screen 2 player coop. Halo 3 effectively finishes off this series nicely where players were mostly disappointed with Halo 2 and its cliff hanger ending. Bungie has also added a scoring system if you so choose which makes the single player feel more competitive as players will race for kills. This game returns with the 4 levels of difficulty and you recieve achievements as you complete each level and once you finish the game. The game is rather short as it will take most players around 8 to 10 hours to complete. But most players will go through at least twice once with a friend and once alone. The experience is quite different. The AI in my opinion has not changed much which is not really a bad thing because this series has always had the best. There also isn't very many WOW moments and not any real boss fights. There are a lot of big firefights though that mostly include the use of a lot of vehicles. Fighting the scarabs sort of feel like boss fights. Which every moment is good and keeps a nice flow and it ends good just not any thing extraordinary. There also is a little bonus ending for players that are willing to beat the game on legendary. So while the single player has been improved from Halo 2 it is not where the real meat of the Halo franchise lies anyway.
Players that really give this game a chance will play the multiplayer as much as they can. There are many little improvements and also a couple of things I would not have changed. Lets get the negative out of the way first. The energy sword and sniper rifle is not nearly as effective which I can understand to a certain extent. You want to get your weapons balanced and I am fine with it running out of energy. I always said that it should have in Halo 2. What I am not fine with is how slow you change weapons in Halo 3. If you ran with the sword out in Halo 2 you were considered a noob. In this game you have to have it out because you are unable to switch to it fast enough. Also with the sniper rifle the kick is good in theory but poor in execution. I feel that there is no more zoning out with the sniper like in Halo 2 and when I do I feel more lucky. There are no more taking out the whole team with the sword and the sniper. This is one professional aspect that has been taken away and I do not agree with this decision and really the main reason that I consider Halo 2 to be a better online experience. Also the so called noob combo from the last game has also been dumbed down tremendously which is both good and bad. While the energy goes down when you have your plasma pistol charged which is good it also does not lock on nearly good enough which in my opinion is bad. It shoulfd not be as effective as it once was but they have about made it obsolete. So this in my opinion has balanced the game better but it has also took away some of the advantages that separate the men from the boys. So bungie has mad a game that is more accessible to the masses. One new thing I love about the plasma pistol is its ability to stop vehicles. The one last thing I have a slight problem with is the level design. There are a few stages that I could have done without (Construct and Snowbound) and there are not enough. I am sure that will all change in a couple of months. I just hope bungie sends us some well thought out maps. I enjoyed Halo 2 maps more. After those few minor complaints the rest of the multiplayer experience is just terrific. The new power ups are a cool addition and add to the strategy. The power drain drains your shield and stops vehicles in their tracks. The bubble shield protects the player but enemies may enter and fight inside the shield. And my favorite the rejuvenator which builds your shields up at an extremely fast rate. They have also added an experience rank to go along with the number rank in each playlist. This adds incentive to play the social playlist as well as the ranked. If you go to bungie.net you can also see detailed statistics such as your kill/death ratio and the medals you have earned. This makes Halo 3 the most addictive multiplayer experience yet. Bungie also have added a theater option where you can film or take pictures of your best moments and share them with other players. A really fun feature to play around with. Another addtion is the forge where you can change weapons, crates, etc around and play cusom games. A nearly endless feature to play around with. There is something for everyone in this multiplayer experience. The bomb game and the territory game has also been improved.
Overall if you like FPS or playing competitive online gaming then you must play Halo 3. This game will last for years and is easily one of the best gaming experiences a player can have. Will all the options and replayability this game offers makes Halo 3 a great game but because of the slow/sluggishness of the game compared to its predecessor this game doesn't deserve a perfect score.