Yes, Master Chief is back! And he's brought his little friend, the Elite that needs no introduction. If you don't know what the hell we're talking about, get used to it. Halo 3 doesn't give you anything like a backstory or introductions. It just keeps going and expects that you've played the previous two Halo games. I guess cause Halo is so great, that everybody who has ever played a videogame has played Halo. Talk about a sense of self worth.

So what's new in Halo 3? They got a few new weapons like the flame thrower and a few new vehicles. The main interesting weapon is the gravity hammer, which does what he sounds like, and lets you hit your enemies with a hammer that sends them flying. There's also deloyable cover that lets you drop a shield barrier out of nowhere to protect you. There's all types of them for defensive and offensive use. But overall, it's just the same weapons as Halo 2, except they've been tweaked.

The plot has you and your nemesis on a road trip. It's like having Darth Vader and Darth Maul in the back seat while you're driving. Nothing good ever happens. Not to say Master Chief is like Darth Vader. At least Darth Vader had a kid and some sexual action. Anyway, the game has you playing on Earth, then in space. And you got to destroy the Death Star again, or Halo's version of it.

Graphicwise, Halo 3 is kinda a letdown. The levels are very generic, as is the texturing. The details aren't very good. They try to make up for it with the lighting and special effects, but it's just not up to the same standard of Bioshock. The musical score is the same self indulgent orchestra that can be heard in the original Halo. There aren't any new enemies, but the enemies now look better on the 360 than the Xbox. What a surprise. But there are more of them onscreen now.

Almost all our time on Halo 3 was in multiplayer. There's all the required modes and plenty of gamers, although some of the younger gamers are as annoying as hell online. The single player campaign is around 6 to 10 hours long depending on your skills. But it is short and pretty easy. The AI isn't very good, even on legendary. They have no clue on how to use their equipment and just throw random shields at you. There's no complete level editor. What we mean is there is a level editor, which lets you edit the levels, but not make new ones from scratch. And there's a record video feature that is great for making videos and showing them off to your friends if your friends have a 360 and Halo 3. Otherwise, forget about it.

We're not going to give Halo 3 a 90 or higher like other sites. First, it isn't a big difference between Halo 3 and the other Halo games in terms of gameplay, graphics, or story. Yes, you got a buddy, but your buddy doesn't do anything except argue with you in the cutscenes. The AI isn't very good. The only improvement is the multiplayer, which is great and what we spent most of the time playing. But as a complete product, it just isn't as great as the Microsoft PR department believes. Although we still recommend you buy Halo 3 because it is a solid gaming experience.