This review contains spoilers
[11/19/2023]
Yes, I'm spoiler tagging Halo fucking 3. You need to play these if you haven't.
I already said that Halo 2 and this game are always at odds when it comes to being my favorite entry in the series alongside my favorite FPS ever, but whenever I complete Halo 3 again, it just makes that competition even more tight.
The end to a trilogy that started 6 years prior, this game goes all in on the cinematic angle to really drive the "Finish the Fight" point home. With uneasy allies following the Elites breaking off from the Covenant back in Halo 2, Truth's turn from heel to even heeler heel, the Flood's desperate final push for complete galactic saturation, and the foils of Master Chief and the Arbiter reaching the climax of their respective arcs being put together to become an iconic duo while working alongside Miranda Keyes, Sgt. Johnson, and the Elite Shipmaster, it's also aiming to keep bringing in surprises to the very end with the highest stakes possible. These events are aided by the best soundtrack in the series, all thanks to that piano.
My only real complaint is that Arbiter's arc was definitely planned to have a more elaborate resolution. He does not exist as a character between killing Truth and the end of the game. His one-liners are still badass, though. I don't have an issue with Truth becoming an outright villain, though. I'd assume he'd show his true colors and become even more dogmatic after becoming the sole Prophet of the Covenant. I'm sure there's something about religious movements being hijacked in there somewhere, even if the pre-existing one was equally murderous.
It's not unpopular to say that Halo 3's reputation is probably carried by the combined hype of being the third game in an extremely popular series, Halo 2's cliffhanger ending, and its marketing campaign. But with the approach to the campaign they took, they absolutely knew, and it worked out so damn well. Halo 3 is the spitting image of sending something out with a bang.
Yes, I'm spoiler tagging Halo fucking 3. You need to play these if you haven't.
I already said that Halo 2 and this game are always at odds when it comes to being my favorite entry in the series alongside my favorite FPS ever, but whenever I complete Halo 3 again, it just makes that competition even more tight.
The end to a trilogy that started 6 years prior, this game goes all in on the cinematic angle to really drive the "Finish the Fight" point home. With uneasy allies following the Elites breaking off from the Covenant back in Halo 2, Truth's turn from heel to even heeler heel, the Flood's desperate final push for complete galactic saturation, and the foils of Master Chief and the Arbiter reaching the climax of their respective arcs being put together to become an iconic duo while working alongside Miranda Keyes, Sgt. Johnson, and the Elite Shipmaster, it's also aiming to keep bringing in surprises to the very end with the highest stakes possible. These events are aided by the best soundtrack in the series, all thanks to that piano.
My only real complaint is that Arbiter's arc was definitely planned to have a more elaborate resolution. He does not exist as a character between killing Truth and the end of the game. His one-liners are still badass, though. I don't have an issue with Truth becoming an outright villain, though. I'd assume he'd show his true colors and become even more dogmatic after becoming the sole Prophet of the Covenant. I'm sure there's something about religious movements being hijacked in there somewhere, even if the pre-existing one was equally murderous.
It's not unpopular to say that Halo 3's reputation is probably carried by the combined hype of being the third game in an extremely popular series, Halo 2's cliffhanger ending, and its marketing campaign. But with the approach to the campaign they took, they absolutely knew, and it worked out so damn well. Halo 3 is the spitting image of sending something out with a bang.