Product Description

Halo 3 is the third game in the Halo Trilogy and the thrilling conclusion to the events begun in Halo: Combat Evolved. Master Chief returns to finish the fight, bringing the epic conflict between the Covenant, the Flood, and the entire human race to a dramatic, pulse-pounding climax. The Covenant occupation of Earth has uncovered a massive and ancient object beneath the African sands - an object whose secrets have yet to be revealed. Earth's forces are battered and beaten. The Master Chief's AI companion Cortana is still trapped in the clutches of the Gravemind - a horrifying Flood intelligence, and a civil war is raging in the heart of the Covenant. It's all been building to this -- a desperate, final war that leads to a soul-shattering climax of epic proportions. Take control of Master Chief to defeat the Covenant and destroy the Flood to prevent the annihilation of the human race.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Microsoft
• Model: 9UE-00001
• Released on: 2007-09-25
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Dimensions: 1.00" h x 7.50" w x 5.30" l, 3.00 pounds

Features

• Expands on the franchise and adds a wealth of technical and gameplay advancements
• Unparalleled first-person shooter experience and the most compelling story of the trilogy
• Builds upon the social multiplayer experience and innovative, evolving, online gameplay of Halo 2
• Loaded with high-definition visuals, enhanced AI, an advanced lighting engine, new weapons, characters, and challenges

Amazon.com Product Description
Adding to Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, the epic saga continues with Halo 3, the amazingly anticipated sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo franchise. In this third chapter of the Halo trilogy, Master Chief returns to finish the fight, bringing the epic conflict between the Covenant, the Flood, and the entire human race to a dramatic, pulse-pounding climax.

Get ready. The Chief is back.

HDR lighting, self-shadowing, and more make Halo 3 look and feel realistic. View larger.

Mystery abounds with the return of Cortana. View larger.

Earth is conquered. The Covenant is everywhere. Halo 3 promises to be an epic journey. View larger.

Game developer Bungie announced that Halo 3 will be released for Microsoft's Xbox 360 sometime in 2007. The game was revealed to the world at the Microsoft press conference held at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, CA in May 2006. To gamer's delight, the announcement was a complete surprise. The rumors have been abound for the past year, as everyone wondered when the next installment would be ready. Bungie and Microsoft did a stellar job keeping their lips sealed, and fans benefited from their first glimpse of the hallowed third and final installment.

The short presentation was delivered in real-time on the Xbox 360 using the current version of the Halo 3 game engine. That's right, no studio production video, Bungie and Microsoft delivered the real deal: what they showed at the announcement is what gamers will see when they play Halo 3 in 2007. The HDR lighting, self-shadowing, GPU-run particle system and many other effects are rumored to show up in full effect in the final game. Needless to say, the gaming community is salivating.

CJ Cowan, Bungie's director of cinematics discussed one of the most startling moments of the presentation: the return of Cortana. "Given the variety of character and story arcs at the end of Halo 2, we wanted to boil down our announcement to a few key threads. Cortana and the Chief being a galaxy apart is a situation we haven't seen before, and is something that is a powerful component to Halo 3. We are using her transmissions in the demo to give the viewer a few subtle clues to her situation and state of mind, without revealing any specifics we want to save for the game itself."

Graphically, the game closely follows in the tradition of Halo 2, although it has been upgraded to take advantage of the Xbox 360's more prodigious visual abilities. As art direct Marcus Lehto explained, "[The presentation] was intended to be an understated announcement of Halo 3 -- the tone is that of mystery and suspense -- the calm before the storm. I wanted to make sure that we reintroduced the Chief, showed that Earth was thoroughly conquered, with Covenant everywhere, and that there is a glorious, ancient artifact buried under the Earth's crust which will provide Halo 3 with the epic journey which we all want."

Taking full advantage of the power of Xbox 360, Halo 3 expands on everything that has made the franchise great, adding a wealth of technical and gameplay advancements. The game design has evolved with next-generation, high-definition visuals, enhanced A.I., an advanced real-time lighting engine, and, of course, new weapons, characters, and challenges. Halo 3 promises an unparalleled first-person shooter experience and, in the end, the most compelling and engrossing story in the franchise's history. Last, but certainly not least, Halo 3 builds upon the unique social multiplayer experience and innovative, evolving online gameplay of Halo 2. Rest assured, you'll still be able to run with your clan and battle with (or against) your buddies from coast to coast.

Amazon.com
Adding to Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, the epic saga continues with Halo 3, the amazingly anticipated sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo franchise. Master Chief returns to finish the fight, bringing the epic conflict between the Covenant, the Flood, and the entire human race to a dramatic, pulse-pounding climax. The Covenant occupation of Earth has uncovered a massive and ancient object beneath the African sands, an object whose secrets have yet to be revealed. Earth's forces are battered and beaten. The Master Chief's AI companion, Cortana, is still trapped in the clutches of the Gravemind, a horrifying Flood intelligence, and a civil war is raging in the heart of the Covenant. It's all been building to this--a desperate, final war that leads to a soul-shattering climax of epic proportions. Take control of Master Chief to defeat the Covenant and destroy the Flood as a measure to prevent the annihilation of the human race.

Get ready. The Chief is back.

HDR lighting, self-shadowing, and more make Halo 3 look and feel realistic. View larger.

Mystery abounds with the return of Cortana. View larger.

Earth is conquered. The Covenant is everywhere. Halo 3 promises to be an epic journey. View larger.

The game was revealed to the world at the Microsoft press conference held at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood in May 2006. The announcement was a complete surprise. The rumors had run rampant, as everyone wondered when the next installment would be ready. Bungie and Microsoft did a stellar job keeping their lips sealed and fans benefited from their first glimpse of the hallowed third and final installment.

The short presentation was delivered in real time on Xbox 360 using the current version of the Halo 3 game engine. That's right--no studio production video, Bungie and Microsoft delivered the real deal: what they showed at the announcement is what gamers see when they play Halo 3. The HDR lighting, self-shadowing, GPU-run particle system, and many other features appear in full effect in the final game. Needless to say, the gaming community has been salivating.

CJ Cowan, Bungie's director of cinematics, discussed one of the most startling moments of the presentation: the return of Cortana. "Given the variety of character and story arcs at the end of Halo 2, we wanted to boil down our announcement to a few key threads. Cortana and the Chief being a galaxy apart is a situation we haven't seen before, and is something that is a powerful component to Halo 3. We are using her transmissions in the demo to give the viewer a few subtle clues to her situation and state of mind, without revealing any specifics we want to save for the game itself."

Graphically, the game closely follows in the tradition of Halo 2, although it has been upgraded to take advantage of Xbox 360's more prodigious visual abilities. As art direct Marcus Lehto explained, "[The presentation] was intended to be an understated announcement of Halo 3--the tone is that of mystery and suspense--the calm before the storm. I wanted to make sure that we reintroduced the Chief, showed that Earth was thoroughly conquered, with Covenant everywhere, and that there is a glorious, ancient artifact buried under the Earth's crust which will provide Halo 3 with the epic journey we all want."

Taking full advantage of the power of Xbox 360, Halo 3 expands on everything that has made the franchise great, adding a wealth of technical and gameplay advancements. The game design has evolved with next-generation, high-definition visuals; enhanced AI; an advanced real-time lighting engine; and, of course, new weapons, characters, and challenges. Halo 3 promises an unparalleled first-person shooter experience and, in the end, the most compelling and engrossing story in the franchise's history. Last, but certainly not least, Halo 3 builds upon the unique social multiplayer experience and innovative, evolving online gameplay of Halo 2. Rest assured, you'll still be able to run with your clan and battle with (or against) your buddies from coast to coast.

Customer Reviews

Great, but not superb.
Much akin to the previous installments, Halo 3 offers an excellent story, and an enjoyable single player experience. The mulitplayer aspect of the game, whether it takes place in the same room, or on Xbox Live, is where the game often shines brightest. There are many maps from which to choose, and a vast array of variables to create a unique experience every time you pick up the controller.

The game is an overall improvement over Halo 2. The single player mode has been lengthened, and the multiplayer has been deepened.

While not perfect, it is still a must-own for the Xbox 360.

halo3
Once again Bungie has created an amazing game. The campaign mode is much better in this installment then in Halo 2. The multiplayer mode rocks as always. There are some great maps in this version. File sharing and the Halo theater are great additions. If you are a halo fan, this game is a must.

Halo 3- It's not the Best, but what is?
(This is my dads account on here, not mine, still don't have a credit card =P.)

This game has been criticized by some, loved by many, and accepted by the gaming community. Then why are there all these bad reviews?

1. Graphics: 9/10
I am sick and tired of hearing people say that this game's graphics are horrible, or bad compared to other games. So what? Some say that it's just slight improvment over Halo 2. If you say that, please, get your old xbox and a second tv out and look at the ddifference. It is phenomenal. So is the lighting and overall look at the game. Sure, if Bungie had released a month later due to more graphical improvements, but hey, it's not a bad looking game.

2. Sound: 10/10
The Sound of this game is one of it's biggest strong points. Almost everything that happens has a unique and wonderfully realistic sound in it. From the battle cries to the sounds of gunfire, this is amazing. And the soundtrack of the game is also incredibly good, setting the mood just right. I like how Bungie made it so everything you hear is real time, of real conflicts happenning somewhere in the game.

3. Gameplay: 9.5/10
I hate whenever people compare this to the original Halo's gameplay and say it is crap. This game retains the same basic Halo gameplay, just with newer features. Gameplay is solid and versatile. The vehicles I found incredibly amazing to drive and shoot, and the weapons are perfectly balanced out. Everything feels just right for this finale of a series. And instead of just menial gameplay modes such as capture the flag and deathmatch, like COD4(I'm probably gonna get a lot of bull crap from this, but Halo 3 has way more flexibility) Halo 3 expands it's multiplayer by adding many gametypes such as Oddball and Infection. Then, you can tweak the gamemodes to make it even more fun. Forge is also one of the best things in this game also. Create your own map, then share it with the Gaming World as whole. Theater is also cool, as you can see just how awesome that kill you ade was or whatever you want to do.

4. Story: 8/10
This is Halo 3's weak point. Halo 2 added an overwhelming number of characters and plots that confused players. Halo 3 took Halo 2's horrible eding and twisted everything up nicely into a neat finale.

5. Multiplayer: 10/10
This is everything Halo 3 is about. Halo 3's multiplayer is better than anything else I have played. Even when compared to Call of Duty 4, there is almost nothing that compares to it, besides World of Warcraft. I have spent over 1000 hours playing and have not considered it old. If you have Xbox Live, this game is a must have.