Halo 3

Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game, based on the science fictional events and settings in the Halo Universe. It was developed by Bungie Studios and published by Microsoft. Halo 3 was released on September 25th, 2007 exclusively for the Xbox 360.

Halo 3 is the sequel to Halo 2 and concludes the current story arc that the previous two games told. It involves SPARTAN John-117 returning to Earth in order to stop the Prophet of Truth from activating The Ark, thus activating the Halos, which would result in the extermination of all life in the galaxy. Shortly into the game, he also has to contend with the arrival of the Flood on Earth, as well as retrieve Cortana from the wrath of the evil Gravemind.

Even though the game does not progress directly on from the end of Halo 2, Halo 2's cliff-hanger, Halo: Uprising, a mini comic book series released by Marvel, filled in the missing segments between Halo 2 and Halo 3 on Earth.

Halo 3 was released on the long-awaited September 25th in North America and Australia, the 26th in Europe, and the 27th in Japan. It has been rated M for Mature (blood, gore, violence, and mild language) by the ESRB, but M 17+ means that Halo 3 is recommended for 17 years or older, not restricted (this is only a rating for parental guidance) by the OFLC, but in many stores, like GameStop, ID was required because anyone under the age of seventeen is unable to buy a copy of Halo 3. Europe's PEGI rating system gave the game a 16+ rating, which serves as a guideline rather than as a rule. However the UK Release is rated 15 by the BBFC which means it is slightly easier to purchase.

Exactly like its predecessors, Halo 3 was a very prosperous, record-breaking game. Accompanied by its record-breaking 1.7 million preorders in the U.S, it was set for release on the sought-after 25th of September, and few expected it not to break any records. 24 hours after release, Halo 3 had generated a record-breaking $170 million in the U.S., transcending the number that Microsoft was expecting, $155 million, which later was beaten by Grand Theft Auto IV's worldwide $310 million. Microsoft never released a 24-hour sales number, but it is estimated to have sold in the region of 2.4 - 2.5 million copies within 24 hours of availability in the U.S. - approximately 1.8 million units after 8 hours - with that number increasing to 3.3 million units, 12 days after release. Within 24 hours, over 1.1 million gamers had played Halo 3 on Xbox Live. One week after release, over 2.7 million players - nearly one-third of the total Xbox LIVE members at that time - had played it on Xbox Live. As of November 17, 2008, Halo 3 had reportedly sold 8.8 million copies worldwide.

Read about the Storyline

Halo 3 Multiplayer

On release, Halo 3 was shipped out with 11 multiplayer maps that could be played over Xbox Live. Halo 3 has the smallest number of multiplayer maps released on launch, as Halo: Combat Evolved had 13, and Halo 2 had 12. To combat this lack of maps, many players customized the maps using the new feature, Forge. The Maps Epilogue, Sand Tarp, Boundless and Pit Stop are official re-edited maps by Bungie, which include small changes like the removal of shield doors, weapon spawns and vehicle spawns.

Appearance

Service Tags

The Service Tag is how you and your team can be identified quickly on the battlefield, instead of the long names and complex number combinations which are not suitable for battle situations that require quick tactical orders or communication. The service Tag is comprised of a letter followed by two numbers. A few examples of Service Tags are K90, C27 , A12, S86, D17, and D21.

When certain specific Service Tag coding is entered for example: I17 (117) an error message will appear stating "This Service Tag is currently in use by the UNSC" and to choose another. Another error message will happen when "N64" and "P52" (Nintendo 64 and Playstation 2) are entered but this is due to trademark infringement of the companies, and as a result the service tag will not be allowed. Similar error messages are shown if you put in "A55", "N00", "P00", "F00", "J00", "F49", and "T17" as they are offensive references. "O00 has also been blocked as it is reserved as guest service tags. "A23" is also blocked. Anything ending in 00 is blocked.

According to Bungie, as of March 14th the most used Service Tags by players of Halo 3 are, in descending order, O07, M16, I69, P26, S80, N99, F18, H20, I87, and D13.

Armor Permutations

There are two player models which you can choose from, the standard Spartan model or an Elite model. Each model has several armor permutations which can be combined. All Armor permutations do not have any effects on gameplay.

Emblems

An Emblem is a highly customizable image that appears on the right arm of a Spartan and the back an Elite.

Emblems also show your teammates what Spartan you are. This was made by the ONI Research Center of the Spartan Program and has no use at all since the Spartans can check each other through Service Tags, so Emblems are just an addition.

According to Bungie on March 14th 2008, Weekly Update;

Most Popular Emblems: Phoenix, Jolly Roger, Valkyrie, Crossed Sword and Champion

Colors

There are 10 base and primary colors, each with three shades of one another that are used to customize your multiplayer color and emblem. On the armor detail color, there is a small painted VI (most noticeable on Mark VI shoulder), and there is a stripe on the Spartans' leg and arm.

* Steel, Silver, and White
* Red, Mauve, and Salmon
* Orange, Coral, and Peach
* Gold, Yellow, and Pale
* Sage, Green, and Olive
* Teal, Aqua, and Cyan
* Blue, Cobalt, and Sapphire
* Violet, Orchid, and Lavender
* Crimson, Rubine, and Pink
* Brown, Tan, and Khaki
* Black can still be used but, only in Forge or Custom gametypes, as a forced player color under general settings.
* Zombie a slightly more yellowish version of Green to make players look like zombies. Only available in Forge or Custom gametypes as a forced player color under general settings.

According to Bungie on the March 14th 2008, Weekly Update;

Most Popular Primary Colors: Steel, White, Blue, Cobalt, Green, Sage

Least Popular Primary Colors: Lavender, Pale, Salmon, Peach and Mauve

Matchmaking

Matchmaking is where people can play with and against each other through a specially designed search system and multiple playlists. In Matchmaking EXP and Skill can be earned to raise ranks. You have a highest skill which cannot be taken away, but your current skill level can decrease if you play poorly in that variant. Also, on some maps like Guardian and Narrows, various equipment such as the Flare and Radar Jammer have been removed due to balance changes.

Playlists

Playlists are lists of different game variations from free-for-all to team games. They are split into Ranked, Social, Hardcore, Community, DLC, Tournaments and Double EXP Weekends. The Community Playlist returned on July 7, 2008 with the release of the free map Cold Storage.

Ranked

The Ranked playlists are the more serious playlists. Skill can be raised and EXP can be gained.

* Lone Wolves - Various gametypes free for all up to six players.
* Team Slayer - Slayer based gametypes with two teams of three to four players.
* Team Objective - Objective based gametypes with two teams of three to four players. This playlist has been expired.
* Team Doubles - Slayer based gametypes with two teams of two players.
* Squad Battle - Various gametypes with two team of six designed to fill some of the void left by excising Ranked Big Team Battle from the Halo 3 Playlists.

Social

The Social playlists are the more relaxed playlists. EXP can be gained and guests are allowed.

* Rumble Pit - Various gametypes free for all up to eight players. Have now been updated to DLC.
* Big Team Battle - Various gametypes with two teams of five to eight players. This playlist has been expired.
* Social Slayer - Slayer based gametypes with two teams of five players.
* Social Skirmish - Objective based gametypes with two teams of four to five players.
* Multi-Team Various gametypes with four teams of two players. (This includes the "Rocket Race" gametype since the original playlist has as of September 2008, retired.)
* Action Sack - The Halo 2 gametype made a return in June 2009. This unique 4v4 playlist rewards you no exp if you win, but there is plenty of fun to be had. It includes some gametypes you may have played before, such as Team Rockets and Team Fiesta, and will have some brand new gametypes exclusive to this gametype such as Ninja Assault. This is a 1 bomb assault gametype with a twist. The Bomb Carrier will have active camo and moves slightly quicker than others but is a lot weaker and easier to kill. There will be plenty of other playlists when it is released into matchmaking.

The DLC Playlists have now been deleted. Now it is two new social playlists instead:

* Social Team DLC It's like a mix of Social Slayer and Social Skirmish but it's a DLC playlist so you need to buy Legendary Map pack pack to play it. It's two teams of four to five players like in Slayer and Skirmish. Now updated to include Mythic maps.
* Social Big Team Like in Big Team Battle, two teams of five to eight players but it's DLC like Social Team DLC.

Hardcore

The Hardcore playlists are the more realistic and competitive playlists. Skill can be raised and EXP can be gained.

* Head to Head - Slayer, Oddball and King of the Hill gametypes free for all up to two players. This playlist has been retired.
* MLG - Various MLG gametypes on MLG map variants with two teams of three to four players. The MLG map variants were updated to v6 in the April 2009 playlist update.
* Team SWAT - Ranked teams of 3/4 players playlist where players have to kill others with headshots (or enough body shots).
* Team Snipers - Ranked 4v4 playlist. Sniper Rifle spawns (no secondary weapons unless the game is shotty snipers) on maps forged with Beam Rifles.

Tournaments

The Tournaments are temporary playlists involving prizes. Skill can be raised and EXP can be gained.

* Living Dead - Infection up to thirteen players.
* Valentines Day - Various gametypes with two teams of two.

Community

This playlist made a comeback as of July 7, 2008; with the free release of the map Cold Storage, but was taken off by July 11. EXP can be gained and guests are allowed.

* Icy Treats - Various gametypes of free for all on the newly released map Cold Storage.

Double EXP Weekend

The Double EXP Weekend variants are temporary playlists involving new gametypes. The double amount of EXP can be gained and guests are allowed.

* Grifball - Neutral Assault on a custom Foundry map variant with two teams of three to four players.
* Living Dead - Infection up to thirteen players. Now requires the Legendary and the Mythic maps.
* Legendary Brawl - Various gametypes on Standard, Heroic and Legendary maps, free for all up to twelve players.
* Mythic Brawl - Various gametypes on Standard, Heroic, Legendary and Mythic maps, free for all up to twelve players.
* Fiesta - Various gametypes with random weapons on Standard, Heroic and Legendary Maps.
* Team Snipers - Sniper based Team Slayer on Standard, Heroic and Legendary maps.
* Rockets - Rocket based gametypes free for all up to eight players.
* 3 Ball - Oddball with 3 Oddballs and four teams of three players.
* Team Melee - A variety of gametypes featuring Melee weapons Gravity Hammer and/or the Energy Sword.
* Rocket Race - A VIP variant in which a team of 2 players must reach certain objective before the opposing team does, While riding in a mongoose and scoping out the others using Rocket Launchers.
* Team Flag - A skirmish variant, where teams of five compete for the flag in Heroic and Legendary maps.

Veto

The Veto system is new for the Halo franchise. Vetoing a map and game type is a very useful thing these days. In a game, after the map and game type loads for each player, a 10 second countdown starts. If the majority of players in the match decide to veto, by pressing the (X) button, before the countdown ends, a different map and gametype from the playlist will be selected to be played on. (Note that not all playlists have the Veto option).

For Example: If there are a total of eight people in the game (classic four versus four), and five or more people veto, the map and game type will change. If only four or less players veto, however the map and gametype will remain and be played on.

If a map and gametype is vetoed, the option to veto will be lost during the next countdown. Sometimes you will see the map and gametype change, but you still get the veto option. This is just because the host's connection cannot support the map, or if anyone in the party cannot play the map. When this happens, you still have the right to veto the next map and game type. However, you cannot veto on a few gametypes, such as Grifball.

Note: On certain gametypes, like Team SWAT, the gametype will be rarely changed from the only three types, but from no lack of maps, the map will almost certainly change.
Ranks

The ranking system is based on real military ranks. To progress in Rank, players must earn the required amount of EXP. For Officer ranks, players must also reach a certain skill level in a ranked playlist. If a player earns a certain amount of experience, but does not reach the required skill level to reach the next officer rank, they will instead be promoted to a higher grade of their current rank (For example, A Major who earns 200 EXP but does not have a skill level of 35 will be promoted to Major, Grade 2 upon earning 300 EXP).

Each Officer rank has a "final" grade which is represented by a unique name instead of a number. Gunnery Sergeant also has this feature. Many players judge others that have the grade 4 rank or "gold bars" as a sign of lack in skill, though not necessarily always true.

Halo 3 uses the Trueskill system created by Microsoft to determine skill level in ranked playlists.
Enlisted Ratings

* Recruit
* Apprentice (grades 1 and 2)
* Private (grades 1 and 2)
* Corporal (grades 1 and 2)
* Sergeant (grades 1, 2, and 3)
* Gunnery Sergeant (grades 1, 2, 3, and Master Gunnery Sergeant)

Officer Ratings

* Lieutenant (grades 1, 2, 3, and First Lieutenant)
* Captain (grades 1, 2, 3, and Staff Captain)
* Major (grades 1, 2, 3, and Field Major)
* Commander (grades 1, 2, 3, and Strike Commander)
* Colonel (grades 1, 2, 3, and Force Colonel)
* Brigadier (grades 1, 2, 3, and Brigadier General)
* General (grades 1, 2, 3, and Five Star General)

Forge

Forge is an "object editor" that can be used to edit multiplayer maps. It does not allow as much freedom to edit/make maps as a PC map editor, such as the Halo: Custom Edition and Halo 2 Vista editing kits. You can, however, edit objects, spawn points, weapons, teleporters and properties of objects on the map, etc. And, when playing a map on forge, players may take control as a monitor (very similar to 343 Guilty Spark) and will obtain the ability to spawn weapons, vehicles and objects in-game, as well as move/adjust them too. You can also get more forging items if you get any of the new map packs from Bungie.

The Forge may not allow as much "freedom", but makes it easier to adjust levels. Allowing you to make things with "simple" objects much easier.

Theater

The Theater mode allows players to save films from the Campaign, Multiplayer, and Forge, and also get film clips and screen shots. This feature of Halo 3 has been exploited for making Machinima videos and Montages.

Films

Saved Films allow a player to view any game, campaign or multiplayer, from any angle. It uses game data to re-create the games, which makes file sizes very small (5 MB for a 15 minute multiplayer match). In the film, you can either watch your own player play through the entire mission or you can use a different way: bird's eye view. You can go anywhere you want, but they will limit your movement so that you cannot fly as high as possible or go very far from your character. You can also fast forward or rewind the film so that you can relive the parts you missed. On Campaign you can't rewind the film. Only your previous 25 games will be saved under the recent films category on your console. Older films will be deleted. (Note: If you haven't received the February Auto-Update, after your first 25 film slots are filled, about 1 out of the 3-5 films in future will only be saved due to a glitch. The AU fixes this glitch, but not entirely however, as all games played on Local area Network on the 360 still mostly have this problem.)

Clips

When playing a film you record a particular part of the film from any angle you want. Doing this allows you to look back at your greatest moments without having to watch the entire film, however, sometimes the HUD will not show up in a first person view, or the time bar showing the elapsed time appears, which is normally a problem because it normally can't be removed or the HUD can't be brought up for the start of the clip. If you would like to make a clip in FPS mode, but you accidentally get out of it, or switch to another player, you can just click on the right thumbstick to return to FPS mode. You cannot record clips of campaign films, but you can take screenshots. If you are in a party viewing a film, you will not be able to record clips, nor take screenshots.

Screenshots

Screenshots can be taken in any sort of film; all screenshots taken by Xbox Live players are sent to Bungie.net via the Internet. You must be in single-player theater or film to take a screenshot. If your screenshot is favored by many and also Bungie employees they may put it on Bungie Favorites. The favorites link can be found here

Soundtrack

The Halo 3: Original Soundtrack was composed by Martin O'Donnell with the help of Michael Salvatori and was released on November 20, 2007. It is a two-disc set featuring all the music heard in-game, in order of appearance. As the Halo: Original Soundtrack, the music is in more of a medley format. However, similar to the Halo 2: Original Soundtrack Volume 2, tracks are divided into 'suites' corresponding to each level in the game. A number of bonus tracks and a third-party song will be contained on the second disc of the album: 'LvUrFR3NZ' by Princeton.

Marketing Promotions and Release

Viral Marketing

On June 11th, 2007, at 10:26AM PDT, a viral marketing campaign for Halo 3 started, called "Iris".

Trailers

At E3 2006, Bungie released their announcement trailer. It required long hours and hard work from many, many Bungie staffers, and utilizes real-game assets, fiction and locations from parts of the "real" game. It shows John-117 walking through some wreckage of the New Mombasa space elevator with Cortana appearing at several intervals to give her lines. He then stops at the edge of a cliff where the Covenant forces are hovering over a Forerunner structure (the portal to the Ark). The trailer ends with the Forerunner structure opening and firing a beam of light.

The Trailer fueled speculation about what was going to happen in the game, particularly Cortana's last line in the trailer: "This is the way the world ends," which references the first of the Cortana Letters. The line itself refers to T. S. Eliot's The Hollow Men, which ends:

Cortana's emphasis on "this" implies she is rejecting the poem, and that the world will end with a bang - likely referring to the Halo installations being activated.

Starry Night Trailer

Starry Night Trailer was released on December 4, 2006 with its format designed for TV Ads. It shows two children staring at the stars talking about whether there are aliens before switching to a dazed Master Chief recovering from some form of blast. Once he gets back on his feet, he picks up his helmet and then he uses a Bubble Shield to defend himself from an incoming Wraith's plasma mortar and then charges forward, eventually jumping over a cliff into a swarm of Covenant Loyalists. It has been rumored that the two kids are John and Kelly when they where young.

Halo 3 E3 2007 Trailer

The final trailer for Halo 3 was released during E3 2007. Unlike the others, this trailer focused on showing various gameplay and movie clips. While the trailer did little to further knowledge about the Halo 3, it confirmed many speculations about the game, the least of which was that the Arbiter and the Master Chief will fight alongside one another in the game at some point.

Believe

Believe is a Microsoft marketing campaign for Halo 3.

It features the word "Believe" as a tag line, and appears to be honoring the legacy of SPARTAN-117, citing him as a hero of the United Nations Space Command Defense Force whose brave actions inspired other servicemen during the Human-Covenant War. It has also been cited that it has been linked to the popular message board Neogaf. Its been noted that the Believe trailers took place about 50 years after Halo 3's storyline.

Landfall

Halo: Landfall is a trilogy of short films designed to promote Halo 3 as well as test the potential for a live-action Halo Movie.

Versions

Features Standard Collector's (Limited) Legendary
Image of contents
Game disc & manual Yes Yes Yes
Interactive Xbox 360 disc No Yes Yes
Bestiarum No Yes (Book) Yes (DVD)
Legendary DVD No No Yes
Master Chief helmet case No No Yes

Halo 3 was released in three separate versions. The Standard Edition contains the game disc, manual, and a small poster with the game's control-map and artwork.

The Limited Edition, contained in a metal case, contains the game disc, manual, poster, interactive Xbox 360 bonus disc with several featurettes, and a hard cover bound "Bestiarum", which is a collection of information and art covering the species, cultures, and civilizations of Halo 3.

The final version was marketed as the "Legendary Edition", which contains the game disc, manual, poster, interactive bonus disc, Bestiarum (on one of the DVD discs), Legendary DVD containing special content exclusive to the Legendary Edition, and a scale replica of the Master Chief's helmet as a case for the three discs. The slip-cover packaging unfolds into a large heavy-stock poster of Master Chief. Gamestation stores in the UK also offered a limited edition Master Chief figurine only available to the first 1000 pre-orders.

Products and Collectibles

Halo 3 Edition Xbox 360 with SPARTAN gold and dark green hardware.

* Halo 3 Spartan Edition Controller
* Halo 3 Covenant Edition Controller.
* Mountain Dew Game Fuel is a new version of Mountain Dew soda which was released on August 13th, 2007 and was available for 12 weeks.
* Bungie has worked with Jasman Toys and they will be showcasing the new Halo Laser Tag Replica Guns.
* Todd McFarlane's line of Halo 3 Action Figures.
* There is a Halo 3 edition of the Xbox 360. It was released on September 16th, and has other items in the box like a wired Halo 3 headset, however it only has 20 gigabytes of hard drive space.
* The Halo 3 Zune is a Zune in a Halo Trilogy-theme. It features Halo content in many media formats. Included in the Zune, are trailers, music, and artwork, from the critically acclaimed Halo series and a special Red vs Blue episode.
* Halo 3 scale replica weapons. These are just ornaments and are not toys.
* Burger King announced a Halo 3 Promotion from a Microsoft press release on August 9th, 2007 including limited edition FRYPODS and 42 oz drink cups.
* Halo ActionClix including special figures like Jump Pack Brutes, Master Chief with dual Spikers, Brute Stalkers, and a few others.

Halo 3: ODST

ODST is a campaign extension that covers events leading up to Halo 3. The trailer opens up on a security camera in New Mombassa. It shows several scenes of destruction before turning upward and showing several HEV Pods fall towards the city. It first appeared on Bungie.net. It now has circulated through YouTube and other video hosting websites. You take control of an ODST soldier, and survive through the Covenant-controlled New Mombassa. Campaign will be similar to normal Halo games, but since you are no longer a Spartan nor Elite, you will have to choose your battles carefully. Bungie recently stated that the expansion is set to be released in the end of 2009.

Reviews and Reaction

Internet Sites
Reviewer Score
Gamepro 5/5
TeamXbox 9.3/10
IGN 9.5/10
GameInformer 9.75
1up A-
Gametrailers 9.8/10
Famitsu 37/40
X-play 5/5
ComputerVideogames 9.6/10
Country Magazines
Official Xbox Magazine (UK) 9/10
Official Xbox Magazine (IT) 9.8/10
Official Xbox Magazine (US) 10/10
Official Xbox Magazine (Australia) 10/10
Compilation Websites
Metacritic 94%
Game Rankings 93%

Halo 3 has received mainly positive reviews from both the online gaming sites and country specific magazines. Each review has praised it, stating "the winning formula is still apparent" with "multiplayer constantly surprising and engaging", while new features of Forge and Saved Films were singled out as particularly interesting new features.

Halo 3 has won a number of awards from its first release date:

* Spike TV Awards: Best Multiplayer Game, Most Addictive Video Game Fueled by Dew, Game Of The Year 2007
* TIME: Game of the Year. [6]
* Geezer Gamers: Geezer Game of the Year, Multiplayer Game of the Year.
* Gametrailers: 2007's Best Xbox 360 Game of the Year.
* X-Play Presents "G-Phoria": Game of the Year.
* EDGE: The Edge Award For Interactive Innovation