Master of the hype

by ERIK LEIJON

When one strips away all the commercial and cultural layers of Halo 3 (X360/Microsoft, Bungie)—the comparisons to Spider-Man 3, the product tie-ins and even the cynical reports in the mainstream media on midnight line-ups—it all comes down to the game itself. By virtue of being such a transcendent phenomenon, the Halo series has been contentious in gaming circles; as fun as it is, few would consider it the best video game of its time. Halo 3 ends the trilogy with an understandably flashy conclusion designed for its devout fanatics; it also glorifies everything the game’s detractors hate with gleeful schadenfreude. It’s a quasi-triumph not even Hollywood could create.

The major problem with Halo 2, and frankly too many games nowadays, is the story mode ended abruptly simply because the developer Bungie ran out of time. Halo 3’s solo campaign, which can now be played with four players online, at least provides some closure, even if a host of other problems prevent it from becoming an instant classic. In a misguided attempt to extend the standard-length campaign, nearly every level features a lot of backtracking, with a lame plot device such as “returning from whence Master Chief came is the only way to escape the base,” forcing you to revisit areas with new enemies. The initial romps through the beautifully detailed levels are a blast (even if they all resemble upgraded Halo 1 and 2 maps), and the co-op campaign is effectively a separate mode from solo.

Halo veterans already have a strong like or dislike for the Flood, a race of zombie-like aliens. The slow-moving Flood play too much like a survival horror game and ruin the pacing that makes Halo so enjoyable. Also, any time you have an enemy that can resurrect itself, there are bound to be some cheap kills by the AI. Without delving too much into the storyline, there are too many Flood levels and they tend to expose the weaknesses of the AI and the lack of variation in enemy types.

Halo 3’s solo mode still plays second fiddle to the multiplayer mode —which remains a beast. The streamlined lobby menus are an obvious plus, but the forge mode should provide years of fun for those willing to spend the necessary time. Forge could be considered modding (game modifying) lite: up to four players can mess around with the multiplayer maps by choosing where to place weapons and items, adding vehicles and even moving various forms of cover around. It’s barebones compared to a full level-editor, but dedicated players will undoubtedly reveal the millions of subtle changes one can make to each multiplayer map. The online community will embrace this mode and come up with some unique concepts.

Halo is the Star Wars of this generation, and it’s easy to understand why. Halo 3 is loud, raucous, has its own elitist, self-contained community and has a distinct artistic style. Since there might be a few non-gamers reading this out of curiosity, Halo 3 is a gamer’s game, designed to appeal to those who like guns and shooting aliens. Strange then that it’s the medium’s ambassador to the rest of the world.

ADAPT or die

Tonight (Sept. 27), the Advanced Digital Arts Production Techniques (ADAPT) conference will be holding a Halo 3 launch party at Club Opera. Bungie producer Jim McQuillan and cinematics director C.J. Cowan are expected to attend. It’s free and open to the public.

Ubisoft is looking to recruit 150 employees for their Montreal and Quebec City studios, so they’re bringing back the Too Much Imagination campaign. They’ll be at ADAPT checking out portfolios (as they did last year), but for those not in attendance, visit toomuchimagination.ca.