Halo 3

Do you Halo, Halo, Halo, Halo? I did tonight, beating the third and final installment on the heroic difficulty setting with a four-man co-op team consisting of myself, my girlfriend, and two apartment-mates. Now, I could go on and on about how awesome Halo 3's online multiplayer is (simply the best), but the Back-Blogged project is all about beating games, not beating strangers. Because of this, I must judge this game solely on its campaign. I'll be frank: it was good but not great. There was just a little too much of a "beat 'em up" feel to the game and not quite enough thinking involved. When our team struggled to make progress in a level, it was only because we were lost or confused about where to head next, as opposed to there being some kind of challenge we could not solve. The final level's final challenge was really cool, but also nearly identical to the conclusion of the first Halo. In a way, it felt like, wow, I've been here before. And that's never how the final part of the final level of the final game of a best-selling classic series should make you feel. I guess the important thing, however, is whether or not one has fun playing a game. In this case, I can say that I most certainly did. Playing an entire game, co-op, with headsets in different rooms was an experience unlike any other I have ever endured. It was like having a lengthy cell phone conversation, yakking it up with friends, while at the same time enjoying a highly renowned game. There was plenty of both teamwork and boredom-induced friendly fire. I think what strikes me most about the experience was how random and spontaneous an idea it was. It's a rainy and crappy Friday night after our first week of classes, and the four of us opted not to go out, laying low instead. Someone suggested a co-op of Halo 3, and nobody contested. Before we knew it, five hours were gone and we'd beaten all nine levels. Achievements abounded (a couple thousand gamerscore points were earned to the delight of everyone involved) and the good times rolled. And it was all thanks to a rainy Friday night.