Ok, we all know the hype, seen the commercials, the 7/11 tie ins, ect, ect, ect.... Well this reveiw will put to bed any misgivings about if or if not this game has been over hyped or if it really is a good as MS wants us to believe.
THE GOOD
O.K, this will probably be the longest section.
First off, the Graphics are BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Think Halo 2 Graphics, driving 120 miles through a hospital zone, on fire being chased by flaming ninjas. It's that good, trust me. The campaign levels larger than anything else in the previous games. In fact they are so large that there are several missions involve a whole platoon of Scorpion tanks, hogs and Mongoose ATV's. Speaking of vehicles, there are several new ones, and three old classics have been upgraded.
First on the new vehicles, there is a Brute Chopper, think of a what would happen if you crossed a West Coast Chopper bike with a ghost and a blender. Yeah, rather brutal. Secondly there is the Brute Prowler with has a foreward mounted plasma turret and two rails on either side for passengers. There is also a new human air vehicle, called the Hornet. It is more like a helicopter, than anything, and is armed with 2 machine guns and two pods of tracking rockets. It also can have two passengers standing on the landing skids.
The remodled vehicles are both Tanks and the Scarab walker. Both tanks now have a gunner position in the hull and have a greater level of detail to them. The Scarab now has it's own AI and is fully destructable, constituting 3 major battles in the game.
New weapons include the Brute Spiker (dual wieldable SMG), Mauler (same but small scale shotgun), the Gravity hammer (perfect for Grunt Punting). Bungie also remodled the Assault Rifle to have a lower magazine, but more accurate, the Needler to have a smaller magazine, but fire faster. Also new to the game is that you can rip off mounted chaingun and missle turrets and use them, albeit with limited ammo.
The voice acting is dead on, including roles by members of the Firefly cast, Battle Star Galactica, and Red vs Blue. Marines has great deal to say ranging from the serious to the hillarious, as have yet to repeat themselves, well, for me at east. Characters such as Sgt. Johnson, the Arbiter, Cortana, and the Prophet of Truth come off stronger that in their roles, giving quite a bit of emotional attachment (or hatred) to their characters.
The Audio, both sound effects and music, are equally strong, giving more of a cinematic feel to it along the lines of Lord of the Rings. Gunfire sounds different depending on how far away it is, plasma grenade have a more impressive explosion sound, and the gravity hammer makes a satisfying <THWUMP> when wielded. Possibley the best part of thre retolling on the game is that bullets when shot off a wall at an oblique angle will actually richochette and still do damage. Pretty sweet, honestly.
THE BAD
If I were to say anything being bad about the game, I'd say that the controls lack the precision for sniping that a keyboard and mouse do. Along with that, when you overcharge the plasma pistol you actually deplete the power core by holding your trigger down.
In retrospec, I will also say that the Campaign seems shorter than both Halo 1 and 2, but that may just be me.
THE UGLY
Multiplayer...
Obnoxious users, obscene names, and overly aggressive players. It has been this way since Halo 2, and will probably stay that way. The same can also be said about Halo 1 PC, however there is no audio support for Halo 1, which may be a blessing.
The flood sequences in the game may also be a bit much for younger players, as the parasites take over body of the living and recently deceased and begin to mutate them within seconds. If you've played Halo before, you know what I'm talking about, however Bungie up'ed the "EWWWW" factor on them. They also added a Brute class of Flood, and a so-called "Pure-form" but I won't spoil what that looks like.
I can't emphasis how good this game is. It's pretty, gameplay is solid, and the story is VERY strong. If you have a 360, get it. If not.... think about getting one.
