4.5/5 ★ – Kalle_Deimos's review of Halo 3.

CAMPAIGN ONLY REVIEW TLDR: Sir, finishing the fight. Gameplay: Now this is Halo. This feels just right. The guns, enemy health, your health. It's all there. No more endless corridors to get lost in. Now replaced with plenty of interesting set-pieces and straightforward level design. The brutes aren't gigantic bullet sponges anymore, and while they are threatening they aren't completely overwhelming. Grunts now do suicide runs. Jackals are proper ranged / shield units. Enemies have found their role and gel properly. Engaging a pod is a ton of fun to see who you're gonna take out first and how the others will react. Vehicles now have durability to match their appearance. The Scorpion segment is my favorite in the series. And we now have probably the best Halo vehicle, The Chopper which can destroy vehicles in style. The Flood fall apart more easily but they still come in large numbers. It all works. And lets not forget, the final Warthog Run. Possibly the best segment in the entire franchise. Story: Halo 3 does not waste your time. There really isn't any grand cutscenes anymore with big action scenes or set pieces. Only what needs to happen within a cutscene happens. Everything else is reserved for gameplay, which is good. Even as a kid, who didnt play the first two games, I understood the idea of what was going on and the emotions I was meant to feel. A complaint I can see is that Chief and Arbiter seem to have much less agency in the story since they barely speak. But now their actions speak instead, so I didn't have an issue with it. I love the variety of locales we get to see and the setting of ARK was just really cool. Overall, it was an amazing send off to the trilogy as it felt like everything paid off completely. Graphics: Good example of visuals that aged well! Yes, if you look closely the textures and models aren't the best but they still look good today. I remember that it looked amazing back in the day. When I think of the covenant, this is how I remember them. When a Brute Chieftain shows up with a gravity hammer, I shit myself. Even after all these years. Sound: Nostalgia is strong for me. Everything sounds as it should. Probably the best sound design for the weapons / enemies for me because I remember it being so iconic. My favorite aspect of the sound design has to be all of the NPC chatter. Brutes and Grunts are always saying some stupid shit to you. Your fellow marines comment on what feels like EVERYTHING that you do so it gets lonely once they inevitably die. Extra: There's some skulls to find around each map and plenty of easter eggs. That's it. Halo 3 doesn't need anything extra though. It's good as it is. Favorite Thing: All Scarab Battles Not My Favorite Thing: I'm pretty pleased with everything tbh.