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Letter to the editor

Overhyped Packaging scratching game discs

There's lots to enjoy playing Halo 3, but it's not the greatest game ever.

Halo 3 is a lot of things: an exciting science fiction action adventure, a rich online first-person shooter and the end of a popular trilogy. But let's cut through the enormous hype: It's not the best video game ever.

Halo 3 does refine many aspects of the first-person shooter genre on the Xbox 360. And new multiplayer features make it the most robust online experience on any console.

It has been three years since the infuriatingly obscure end of Halo 2 left us all wondering what happened.

Will Master Chief, the game's mysterious, armor-clad superhero, survive? What about all those angry aliens: the Prophet of Truth, the Covenant, the Flood? And what of Cortana, the female artificial intelligence who shares an oddly intimate relationship with Master Chief?

Halo 3 answers all these questions and more in a narrative that sometimes stumbles but at least provides a sense of closure.

Without any prologue, Halo 3 picks up with Master Chief crash-landing on Earth in the year 2552. The gunplay-driven action is relentless from there as you blast droves of aliens back from the front lines of our future home world.

Master Chief's motivation is nothing less than survival of the galaxy.

Earth's population has been decimated by the Covenant, a collection of religious aliens who believe the key to activating a network of "halos" - massive ring worlds floating in space - is buried somewhere under the sands of Northern Africa.

These halos, crafted by a mysterious ancient race known as the Forerunners, are seen by the Covenant as a path to salvation. There's one catch: Turning on the halos would destroy all sentient life in the galaxy.

This doomsday premise drives the action forward through levels that occasionally falter with unclear goals or too much repetitious backtracking.

Like its predecessors, Halo 3 liberally uses cinematic interludes to advance the story. And again, it sometimes cheapens the gaming experience. Instead of watching a movie where Master Chief performs some daring move, shouldn't I be the one controlling him?

If anything, life as Master Chief is predictable: aim, shoot and reload. The weaponry has been upgraded and includes some devastating armaments like hefty turret weapons, which Master Chief can rip from the ground and use to cut down foes.

Another favorite is the Gravity Hammer, a slow weapon that when swung turns enemies into a bloody pile.

Halo 3 is the first version for the Xbox 360, and the colorful graphics shine for the most part. Closeups on many of the character's faces were far from high-definition, however, and the overall visual quality drops markedly once you go to the online modes.

Most of the game's innovations lie in the multiplayer modes. For the first time you can play with three others online in cooperative mode, offering a fresh and fun new way to finish the fight.

Theater mode is another innovation that lets players record their favorite Halo 3 action moments, then share them online with others.

Halo 3 wraps up an interesting, if somewhat scatterbrained, story line with some really compelling online features. The result isn't going to change how we play or perceive video games. But it's an overall package that's definitely worthwhile for any fan of action games.

FAST FACTS

Halo 3

Price: $59.99, $69.99 (legendary version) or $129.99 (includes replica of Master Chief's helmet)

Company: Bungie Studios

Platform: Xbox 360

Rating: M (mature)

Less than 24 hours after die-hard fans finally got Halo 3, blogs reported that special limited-edition packaging is scratching the video game discs. Microsoft Corp., which owns the studio that makes Halo 3, responded quickly on its Xbox Web site with details for a replacement program. Buyersfill out a form and send in their scratched limited-edition discs for a free exchange through December. Richard Mitchell, lead writer of the Xbox 360 Fanboy blog, said one discin his limited-edition set is scratched but it didn't seem to interfere with playback. The Associated Press received Halo 3 review copies in limited-edition tins. Both the game disk and an "essentials" disc had come loose from plastic housing designed to keep them in place. The game disc had been scratched but seemed to work fine.

High hopes

Microsoft says Halo 3 may surpass the $170-million in one-day U.S. sales of the final Harry Potter book to make Halo 3 the year's biggest entertainment event. More than 10,000 stores stayed open until midnight Tuesday to sell Halo 3, 54 percent more than for the second installment, which brought in $125-million on its first day, Microsoft said.

[Last modified September 25, 2007, 23:30:25]