Many would instantly assume this game is dogshit on the basis that it's gacha, I'm calling this game dogshit because it's dogshit, plain and simple.

Look, Genshin and HSR are guilty pleasure games, so while I enjoy them, I also loathe them at the same time. Gacha is a disease that taints anything it touches, but I enjoy those games despite the model.

Hearing Wuthering Waves was a Genshin competitor, but with good combat, my interest was piqued. Genshin's combat, while interesting in its own right, hardly leaves any room for skill expression. Having now played a decent amount, it's clear that Wuthering Waves exists only as a decent combat system, the rest of the game attached is so abysmal, there is no realm in which anyone could even remotely compare it to Genshin. That's not to say it's not a Genshin clone, that much is certain, Wuthering Waves apes Genshin at literally every conceivable design decision. When you actually compare them as games though, it's the coughing baby vs. hydrogen bomb meme incarnate. Every single aspect of Genshin bar combat is superior and it's not even remotely close.

Looks-wise, Genshin is miles ahead of Wuthering Waves, more so from an art direction standpoint. Genshin is downright beautiful, especially in the newer areas of the game. Wuthering Waves' world is lifeless and dull, there has yet to be a single locale that has stood out or garnered even an ounce of recognition for its appearance. While a lot more subjective, character design is also much better in Genshin, I have yet to see a single character in Wuthering Waves that is not incredibly generic manhua slop with very little variety.

With the writing, Genshin is definitely not known for its storytelling prowess, but frankly, anything is better than the total shitshow that is Wuthering Waves. For starters, there's no beginning, you're just dropped into this dull world and suddenly a gang of generic waifus start salivating at your very existence, literally zero reason given whatsoever. You're summoned to the capital to meet the leader of the city, again, no reason whatsoever given, but when you get there, she's inexplicably on a fucking trip and will be gone for 3 days even though she just summoned you not 10 minutes prior?!? But wait! She's got a puzzle for you to solve in her absence which is just fuc-... I wrote more, but deleted because the point was dragging, the story is complete dogshit, we'll just leave it at that.

The open-world, oh boy the open-world, where to start... the problem is too systemic with Wuthering Waves to completely isolate and fully explain, but the process of exploration and navigating the world is just So. Fucking. Boring. The root cause is still likely the look of the game, the world is so dull, the enemies, while unique, aren't visually interesting. The puzzles are ripped straight out of early Genshin (when the game was a lot less interesting) and feel very unpolished. There are thousands of intangible details that just feel off, like a very cheap imitation. The reason I still play Genshin is because I enjoy exploring the beautiful locales that each come with new gimmicks, puzzles and enemies. Nothing is too mechanically difficult, so it's a meandering and meditative experience to explore the map. Since every aspect of the game is so well-crafted, it's effortless to explore every little nook and cranny even if it's not that experientially rich.

Even the combat isn't so clear-cut that it completely leaves Genshin in the dust. Yes, Wuthering Waves is much more frenetic, relying on twitch reactions during combat; it's deeply satisfying to parry and dodge bosses, stringing through characters using the intro/outro skills and animation cancels. The combat system allows for a lot more skill expression and as such, it's definitely the highlight of the game. That said, Genshin isn't necessarily horrid when it comes to combat, the reaction-based nature of combat is certainly less high-octane, but interesting, nonetheless. The problem lies in overworld enemy difficulty, nothing in Genshin is strong enough that a moderately built team can't absolutely eviscerate. I have yet to reach endgame, so I can't say for certain, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Wuthering Waves will run into this same issue. Outside of endgame bosses and game modes, you'll steamroll everything, resulting in the same problem Genshin has arrived at. Boss fights will likely always be superior in Wuthering Waves, hooray, it's got that going for it!

I could go down the line and list every little aspect, the worldbuilding, the character writing, the fucking music... it's all so much better in Genshin. Maybe it's unfair to compare Genshin and Wuthering Waves, Genshin is making billions and is closing in on its 4-year anniversary. That's what I would say, if Wuthering Waves didn't blatantly copy Genshin so egregiously at every single turn. If you're going to directly steal even pointless minute design decisions like arbitrarily discounting monthly pulls, you're opening yourself up for the comparisons, sorry, I don't make the rules.

At the end of the day, Wuthering Waves is a gacha which inherently stacks the deck against it; Genshin is able to overcome that blight with the competency it exudes at every turn, Wuthering Waves not so much. In constantly grasping and awkwardly trying to mimic the success of Genshin, Wuthering Waves has doomed itself to always live in its shadow, forever the "Genshin clone with slightly better combat" - a pathetic existence.

Concluding a trilogy is a hard thing to do.
When the first two games (or any other media for that matter) are really good, fans tend to have very high expectations for the third game.
People like trilogies. People like a beginning, a middle and an end.

In Halo's case, this was never supposed to be the case. Halo 1 was supposed to be a one-and-done, but it got really popular, so Halo 2 became a thing. With Halo 2, development was troubled, and they couldn't finalize the ending, so it ended on a cliffhanger.
If Halo 2 had been finished, who knows what Halo 3 would've been like. Would Bungie have still stuck around or would they have moved on?

Well, the what if's don't really mean much anymore, considering we're now far removed from Halo 3's 2007 release.
So, did Bungie end things right? Did Halo 3 really finish the fight?

Well, you're reading to find out my opinions on this game, soooo.... I mean, the rating probably already gave you an insight into it, or maybe you just jumped until the end to read that last paragraph. I'm not judging, for the record. Can't blame you.
Let's start this review proper:

In terms of story, Halo 3 is much more simple than Halo 2, and maybe even simpler than Halo 1 in some aspects. Like I said earlier, Halo 2 was not supposed to have a cliffhanger, so Halo 3 is just focused on finishing what Halo 2 could not.
Even with it's simpler story, I found myself enjoying the resolutions to the plot threads seen before. It doesn't really disappoint, and offers enough satisfying moments to leave you fulfilled with the journey you embarked on during this trilogy.

The gameplay really makes up for it, as the level design kinda goes back to being more like Halo 1. I didn't like how Halo 1's level design felt empty, so you'd assume I'd feel similarly with Halo 3's.
Truth be told, no, I didn't really care about it much this time around. I think it's because when it did get more open, the game gives you a vehicle. And once again, the vehicles are fun to drive on.
A lot of epic moments in the campaign came from driving around and having your teammate blast at things. Like the big Scarab Tanks that appear a few times during the story.
While there's less missions here than Halo 2, no level feels shorter than another, and having that consistency really helps Halo 3's campaign feeling... well, consistent!
It did end up being shorter than the previous games, but I don't mind that much, because I'd rather have a short, but satisfying game, than a long and drawn-out one.

While you can't play as the Arbiter this time around, he does follow you through most of the missions, and we get something that we barely saw last time. A team-up between Master Chief and the Arbiter!
I just think they looked cool together, and I really liked their conversations!
The game also gives Cortana more attention here. Halo 2 really felt like it pushed her back a bit, to give the new plotlines more attention. This time around, we get to see Chief and Cortana interact more, and it's really good! Just like Halo 1, I really liked their chemistry, and I wonder how it's going to evolve in future games.
I do know the premises for 4, 5 and Infinite though, so I think I have an idea at how things will go, but I have to see their writing.

The graphics have seen a massive boost! We're on the Xbox 360 now, we're in HD territory, and while not everything from the game has hold up well, there are plenty of parts that have.
The variety of environments in Halo 3 really help!
I did play the game on my PC, and I was surprised that it was able to run! Not at a consistent 60FPS, but it was around 50 FPS, I think, so it wasn't too bad.

And the music, it's awesome! It manages to recapture a lot of the epicness seen in the last two titles, and even feels like it pays some homages to them, especially the first game.

Halo 3 is a really great game! I had a lot of fun with it. It may have a simple story, but the campaign is probably the best we've seen so far, and the pure adrenaline this game gave me was awesome!
It definitely feels like a hype game, but it's a really good hype game!

I finished the fight, Chief. I hope I made you proud.