Did Bungie score another home-run in the Halo series?
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The first 360 Halo game introduced to us the best story in the series, by giving us more depth, reason, and just a better general interest in what is going on in the Halo universe. The beginning of the game immediately hooks you on a great story, which is rare for a shooter. Although Halo 3 boasts a great story, the "second Halo" thing can seem a little cheap at times.
CHARACTERS: 9
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Master Chief, Cortana, Sgt. Johnson, the Oracle. You would think these are deserving of a 10, right? Even though each character is a guaranteed game culture icon, the phrase "each character" amounts to 5. If only Miranda Keys had a little but more personality....
GAMEPLAY: 10
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I you like Call of Duty, please move on to the graphics section. If you have a deep hatred for Call of Duty, please read on. Without the innovative gameplay that the original Halo introduced, which carried on into Halo 3, we would not have the over-rated, one-every-six-months series that is Call of Duty. We would not only not have Call of Duty, we wouldn't have any of the first person shooters that we have today. That is how amazing the Halo gameplay is.
GRAPHICS: 9
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Even though they aren't the greatest graphics in the world, they are still pretty freaking amazing. The detail that went into every single rock, and every single plasma grenade is astounding, and walking through a beautifully designed game is a great joy for gamers.
MULTIPLAYER: 10
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Like I said before, no Halo, no Call of Duty. Halo did not only pretty much invent Call of Duty multiplayer, it is better then it in almost every way. Suck it, Codders.
SETTING: 8
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Although sometimes repetitive, the levels are each memorable, and each have not only a unique design, but a unique atmosphere, which is the main goal for level design. You will find you self killing things in vibrant forests, underground military bases, creepy flood caverns, and most importantly, space.
AUDIO: 10
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Great voice acting brings the characters to life. Amazing sound effects bring to explosions to life (which ultimately brings the Grunts down), and the soundtrack is already a classic of not only gaming, but media as a whole.
TECHNICAL: 10
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No technical problems whatsoever.
RE-PLAYABILITY VALUE: 8
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After beating Halo 3, you will want to beat it again with a friend. After accidentally killing your friend, you will both start intentionally start killing each other. After realizing how fun it is to kill each other, you will go to the multiplayer maps and blow each other up. After blowing each other up, you will want more people to blow up. This chain of discovery will continue for quite a long time.
FUN FACTOR: 9
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How fun is this game? Not as fun as a barrel full of monkeys, because it is more fun. Blowing up aliens, and even being blown up yourself can lead to some extremely entertaining moments, and you will find yourself looking at the replays just to see how much fun you were having. Ya, it's that fun.
SCORE: 9.1 (A+)
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Best Halo game in the series, and best shooter of all time. It may have very, very minor flaws, and it isn't as innovative as the original, but it is already ranked with all time greats, and it is deservedly so.