I did it. I have finished the fight. Halo 3, released September 25th, 2007 was completed by yours truly, that same day, in one sitting lasting 7.5 hours. My friend asked me, “How did you like it? Give me a 2 minute review.” Here it is. Halo 3 is Halo. Do not go in expecting play mechanics to work considerably different than those in the previous titles in the franchise. Don’t expect graphics of same caliber of those seen in Bioshock or Gears of War. You will not find them. In fact, the graphics, other than a handful of exceptions, are not anything to rave about. They’re fine. Nothing more, nothing less.

So what can you expect? Expect a solid experience throughout. Does this title deserve and live up to the hype generated? Absolutely not. That kind of hype is reserved for those making genre changing decisions such as Bioshock. Everything here has been done before, and in many cases, better. You will also find a fair amount of backtracking throughout a few of the levels. Nothing to the degree as seen in the original Halo, but that is something that really needs to be completely eliminated. I know I am being harsh, but when every reviewer on the planet is raving, someone needs to be blunt. I guess that someone is me. It’s not easy, but it’s my cross to bear. More gripes? Sure. The new firearms are unimaginative, and the spike grenade is basically a plasma grenade without any real splash damage.

Those things being said, this truly is a very fun game with glaring flaws. Pick it up of course. You’ll love it, but be warned that Bungie has played the safe card with this one. Note that these are only the impressions on the campaign, and I will be including additional thoughts on other aspects of the game; namely multiplayer and the video editor.