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HALO 3 is now 10 years old

Livingskeletons

If I pulled that off, would you die?
Were it so easy


This game came out at the perfect time for me. Freshman in high school, making brand new friends. Staying up till midnight playing matches, laughing my ass off.
No real problems yet.

Glorious.
 
Nothing will ever top the hype my friends and I had for Halo 3. I bought the Halo 3 special edition system and the Legendary edition of the game as well as an additional standard copy for my church. I still remember waiting in high-school basketball practice waiting every painstaking second for it to be over so I could rush home and see if my copy came in. Halo is the reason I'm an Xbox fan and I'm still a huge fan to this day. Thank you Bungie & MS for making some of my favorite gaming memories of all time.
 

Perineum

Member
This was THE game for me in so many ways.

This game did all of this:

*Never played Halo for more than 5 mins at a buddies house. This was the first one for me to fall in love with the franchise.

*Didn't own a Xbox 360. Yet this game's marketing not only convinced me that I must play Halo 3 because I'd miss out on something extremely big in gaming, but to invest in a console I had no desire to grab.

*It was the first FPS I ever played to learn how to play FPS games. Prior to this I never messed with FPS except Quake way back in the day for a hour or two. Some Goldeneye on N64 with friends, but nothing competitive.

*Made me realize how important soundtracks were to games. I loved a lot of game music up to then, but the marketing for this game as I mentioned did such a tremendous job and the tunes they picked for it are still unforgettable for me. This and Reach are the peak of gaming marketing.

*Solidified to me that Bungie is one of the best developers of all time. Reach was and still is my favorite game they made even though I hated armor lock with a passion. Without Halo 3 though I never would've picked up their games, and may have missed out on Destiny as such, or other FPS products.

----------

Yeah Halo 3 was a game changer for me as someone who only messed with RPGs and MMOs up until it hit.
 
There was a time I literally only played this game for 2 years. From morning to night and after school. I doubt there will ever be another game quite like it for me again. It was my first time playing Xbox Live. I've made so many friends and memories in this game it's unreal.

None of the other games have hit that spark again. Reach was closest, but I think it was gone by then. It still has my absolutely favorite ad ever, the Believe ad. I wish I could've seen it in person when they had it up.

My only regret is not getting to experience the midnight launch.
 

Akai__

Member
My favorite Halo 3 MP .gif: https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/912512678001729536

(not sure how to embed)

Not sure either, but here you go:

uP7HOB1.gif

Speaking of awesome hijacks:


Prowler was MIA in matchmaking, so many people didn't know this. It also only worked with an Elite and from the left side of the vehicle, iirc.
 
Not sure either, but here you go:



Speaking of awesome hijacks:



Prowler was MIA in matchmaking, so many people didn't know this. It also only worked with an Elite and from the left side of the vehicle, iirc.

This was definitely the last halo title where boarding felt meaningful to the game in BTB and most social modes it felt much harder and less useful to pull off in subsequent halo games. Although I still have some memorable boarding moments in Reach BTB for sure.
 

cantona222

Member
This is the only game I went and got at midnight launch. It was in a best buy and the store was open only to sell Halo 3s and xbox 360s. I remember buying the limited steel book edition for $70 and the discs were scratched as hell were I had to send for replacement later on.

Regarding the game itself. It was fun for sure.
 
One of my all time fave’s. Easily my most played multiplayer game of all time, I don’t think anything else will ever come close. I played it almost daily for... years, which sounds insane to say. It came out at that late teen/pre-adult time for me, where you can REALLY commit to a game before jobs and life get in the way. Loved the campaign too, finished it numerous times, solo and co-op. The game was just an amazing package.
 

Tuorom

Neo Member
One of the best FPS games ever. Possibly the GOAT.

Campaign was pretty awesome.

Multiplayer was phenomenal.

I played it for so long, and just last christmas I booted it up and I played with my brothers online, and there was still like ~500 people playing. Amazing. The gameplay is so buttery smooth. Fuck I feel like playing it right now!

A special game. One of those games that stays with someone forever.
 
I still remember going to the midnight release at the closest Gamestop in Plano, Tx. Then got home and played it pretty much all night.

Good times.
 

ChazGW7

Member
Its difficult to find a valid reasoning for not bringing MCC to PC. Halo 3 on PC would sell like hot cakes. Microsoft are legit saying 'no thanks' to a bucket load of $$$.
 

Akai__

Member
This was definitely the last halo title where boarding felt meaningful to the game in BTB and most social modes it felt much harder and less useful to pull off in subsequent halo games. Although I still have some memorable boarding moments in Reach BTB for sure.

BTB suffers from hitscan, terrible vehicle balancing and the ridiculous Banshee with it's flips and Banshee Bomb spam these days. Oh and no dev made BTB maps, of course.

Now it's called Destiny 2

Nah. Not even remotely close.
 

J@hranimo

Banned
Its difficult to find a valid reasoning for not bringing MCC to PC. Halo 3 on PC would sell like hot cakes. Microsoft are legit saying 'no thanks' to a bucket load of $$$.

It's still not 100% fixed on XB1. I don't think anyone wants to touch that game with a 6 foot pole.
 

EvB

Member
Its difficult to find a valid reasoning for not bringing MCC to PC. Halo 3 on PC would sell like hot cakes. Microsoft are legit saying 'no thanks' to a bucket load of $$$.

They would release it on Windows Store and then th Pc owners would throw their toys out of he pram.
Like they always do
 

ChazGW7

Member
It's still not 100% fixed on XB1. I don't think anyone wants to touch that game with a 6 foot pole.

I understand that, but its a terrible excuse. The legacy of Halo should not be left like that. I wish they'd prioritize fixing it.

They would release it on Windows Store and then th Pc owners would throw their toys out of he pram.
Like they always do

Doubt it. Windows Store can be a pain but Gears of War and Forza both release on it and apart from a handful of people generally its not an issue. I for one wouldn't care, aslong as we got the collection. Send it to me in floppy disks if you have to.
 

Kill3r7

Member
I understand that, but its a terrible excuse. The legacy of Halo should not be left like that. I wish they'd prioritize fixing It.

They blew it with MCC and I doubt we see another Halo collection before the next Xbox. That said, all the 360 games are now on BC and you can still enjoy them in their original glory.
 
I bought an Xbox 360 for halo 3 and it was a magical time I’ll never forget.

Halo 3 was a masterful game and very, VERY ahead of its time. So many specifics memories of the campaign, of multiplayer, of the community.

I wish the fight never finished.

o7 chief

(Also that music my god, still gives me chills)
 
I bought an Xbox 360 for halo 3 and it was a magical time I’ll never forget.

Halo 3 was a masterful game and very, VERY ahead of its time. So many specifics memories of the campaign, of multiplayer, of the community.

I wish the fight never finished.

o7 chief

(Also that music my god, still gives me chills)

Of course the music does, so what does 343 do with the new music? Change it completely. No chills allowed.
 

nekkid

It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
Of course the music does, so what does 343 do with the new music? Change it completely. No chills allowed.

Nah, the Halo 4 and to a lesser extent, 5, soundtracks are great in their own right.

And anyway, the greatest Halo music isn’t even from the games or game trailers.
 

low-G

Member
I liked the game a lot, lots of memories, but it’s in the late middle of my lifetime of gaming experiences.

The thing that stands out about it for me, that I went gaga about, was the videos or ‘demos’ as I think of em. Sort of a mega enhanced Quake 1 demo. I loved that you could trivially record every highlight of your experience in the game and view it from every angle. You could see your mistakes from anothers’ perspective in MP.

Really it’d be great if EVERY game had that feature, at least toggleable. It’d be amazing for PUBG. I realize that it’s an amazing feat to accomplish with good netcode.
 

Madness

Member
Nah, the Halo 4 and to a lesser extent, 5, soundtracks are great in their own right.

And anyway, the greatest Halo music isn’t even from the games or game trailers.

Then that music is irrelevant. The majority are not sitting down in their chair with some headphones on listening to a soundtrack. They are getting amped during the warthog run for Halo CE and again Halo 3 hearing the msuic kick in. Hearing the music while playing ODST and Reach. Hell even play Destiny 1, the vanilla campaign sucked but Marty's music was a standout. Halo 4 music was muddled and didn't match the gameplay on screen. Some random chant to replace the monks at the start of Halo 4 MP. Halo 5 with Jinnouchi is much better than H4 when it comes to the actual game,how the music pieces are created and utilized during battle scenes or levels.

I can tell you exactly what was happening if you played parts of music for CE to Reach, I can't say the same for Halo 4.
 

nekkid

It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
Then that music is irrelevant. The majority are not sitting down in their chair with some headphones on listening to a soundtrack. They are getting amped during the warthog run for Halo CE and again Halo 3 hearing the msuic kick in. Hearing the music while playing ODST and Reach. Hell even play Destiny 1, the vanilla campaign sucked but Marty's music was a standout. Halo 4 music was muddled and didn't match the gameplay on screen. Some random chant to replace the monks at the start of Halo 4 MP. Halo 5 with Jinnouchi is much better than H4 when it comes to the actual game,how the music pieces are created and utilized during battle scenes or levels.

I can tell you exactly what was happening if you played parts of music for CE to Reach, I can't say the same for Halo 4.

Well I can, so opinions, I guess.
 

Izayoi

Banned
The memories... It's sad to see what has happened to Halo since 3 and Reach, but I had the greatest fucking time with this game.

Such a blast to play with friends, whether it was co-op (loved breaking the game and escaping the levels, just like you could do in previous games) or online MP (which I was never very good at, but it was still a ton of fun).

I'm not sure if it topples Halo 2 for me in terms of online play on the Xbox, but the entire experience including the build up to launch and how hyped my friends and I were trumps Halo 2 for me (though I went to midnight launches for both).

Halo CE will always have the best campaign and multi-player, but Halo 3 certainly comes close.
 
Halo 2 maps were still the best. If H3 had a better BR (it was fine in LAN) then it might have tied with H2 for me

I'd argue that Guardian and The Pit were better than everything not-named Lockout in Halo 2.

(Yes, I would rank them above Ascension and Ivory Tower.)
 

Recall

Member
I'm a huge fan of Halo Reach, I put several hundred hours into its multiplayer and loved every minute of it though I would have never got there if not for Halo 3 and it's incredible multiplayer too.

I'm not a big fan of Halo 3's campaign but can easily appreciate the scale and scope of it all.
 
Halo 3 was my first halo and it was great. I miss afternoons coming back from school and just playing this game for hours on end. None of the none bungie halos have ever captured the spirit of joy Halo 3 gave me. This game plus OG left 4 Dead made my days as a high schooler.
 

Blueblur1

Member
I signed up for NeoGAF because of Stinkles posts that 1up.com sourced for Halo 3 news stories (and prior to that I heard about GAF when I read the “What’s your contribution to society?” news story lol). I didn’t understand why I couldn’t post yet so I reached out to the guy that seemed like he was one of the main Halo guys on GAF: Ghaleon.

Ghaleon had no idea who I was but still sent a PM to a mod on my behalf. Within a week I was able to post and avoided a long activation wait. Then came all the Halo 3 excitementeading up to launch. To this day I still have a bunch of goofy gifs and jpgs from those Halo 3 threads.

And I have photos and memories from the 2 PAX Primes I went to. It was great fun to play the Halo 3 map pack on display at PAX Prime 2008 and Halo Reach at PAX Prime 2010. Halo 3 is the source of many great memories (despite the fact that I have sour feelings for the game and the support it received).

Many thanks to Bungie and everyone who worked on Halo 3!
 

Portugeezer

Member
This was my first Halo game and it didn't (couldn't) live up to the hype for me, especially being such a big Rainbow Six Vegas fan, I just didn't play Halo in the way in which it would be more fun.

Then ODST came and I loved ODST, so I was excited for Reach, I decided to give Halo 3 MP another shot with the MP disc in ODST and began to adore it. I don't know why, maybe because my tastes had changed a bit, I could appreciate the games mechanics more the second time around, it didn't have to be realistic like R6V for me to enjoy the MP. I played the shit out of it until Reach was released.
 

Detective

Member
Then that music is irrelevant. The majority are not sitting down in their chair with some headphones on listening to a soundtrack. They are getting amped during the warthog run for Halo CE and again Halo 3 hearing the msuic kick in. Hearing the music while playing ODST and Reach. Hell even play Destiny 1, the vanilla campaign sucked but Marty's music was a standout. Halo 4 music was muddled and didn't match the gameplay on screen. Some random chant to replace the monks at the start of Halo 4 MP. Halo 5 with Jinnouchi is much better than H4 when it comes to the actual game,how the music pieces are created and utilized during battle scenes or levels.

I can tell you exactly what was happening if you played parts of music for CE to Reach, I can't say the same for Halo 4.

This.

I mean to compare 1-3 Odst and Reach Music to 4-5 is out there. There is no comparison. What Marty did was nothing short but amazing.
 

Izayoi

Banned
The game that turned me off the Halo series for good.

The Cortana mission was particularly terrible.
That's a shame... I thought that the campaign was wonderful! Reach was also a really solid title, despite what the haters will try to tell you.

Halo 3 had some multilayer problems (looking at you, BR and post-beta-nerf Carbine), but I loved a lot of the maps and have some very fond memories of playing with friends (both online and off).
 

Cranster

Banned
Then that music is irrelevant. The majority are not sitting down in their chair with some headphones on listening to a soundtrack. They are getting amped during the warthog run for Halo CE and again Halo 3 hearing the msuic kick in. Hearing the music while playing ODST and Reach. Hell even play Destiny 1, the vanilla campaign sucked but Marty's music was a standout. Halo 4 music was muddled and didn't match the gameplay on screen. Some random chant to replace the monks at the start of Halo 4 MP. Halo 5 with Jinnouchi is much better than H4 when it comes to the actual game,how the music pieces are created and utilized during battle scenes or levels.

I can tell you exactly what was happening if you played parts of music for CE to Reach, I can't say the same for Halo 4.
I do agree that the Halo 4 soundtrack was mixed poorly. It had alot of decent tracks but they were not put into the game anywhere enar aswell as the original trilogy and ODST.

I'd argue that Halo 5 still suffers somehwat for that same reason though it was improved from Halo 4. Speaking of the Halo music, Twitch ran a poll on the best video game music of all time and Halo rightfully came out on top.
 
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