Brookhaven Courier

Issue date: 10/8/07 Section: Entertainment

The biggest day in entertainment and video game history has come and gone, but the effects of the release of "Halo 3" will be around for a while.

According to Xbox.com estimates in the first 24-hour period of its release Sept. 25, "Halo 3" surpassed "Spider Man 3" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by earning more than $170 million in the U.S.

Since the release of "Halo 2" in 2004, gamers have been waiting for the exciting conclusion to the trilogy. Xbox.com reported that 1.7 million copies of the game were pre-ordered before the stores were allowed to sell it.

"Halo 3" finishes the story of Master Chief (SPARTAN-117), a genetically engineered soldier for the U.S. who fights the alien threat known as the Covenant.

Many of the cliffhangers from "Halo 2" are answered in the third installment of this series. Gamers play as Master Chief in a first-person-shooter game that is as pretty to look at as it is fun to play.

The story mode is challenging. There are about 10 levels gamers have to navigate through with four different difficulty levels. These range from easy to legendary. Easy and normal are for inexperienced gamers, while heroic and legendary prove to be extremely difficult and perfect for getting a few friends together to save the world.

The great thing about "Halo 3" is the ability to play cooperatively with up to three other people over Xbox Live. Xbox Live is a service gamers must buy for the Xbox360 that allows them to play over the Internet with friends and strangers. Live costs about $70 per year.

To me the story of "Halo 3" is the most engrossing part of the series.

Through each of the three games, players try and save the world from two different alien races; the Flood and the Covenant.

The Covenant is a race of creatures that believes the Halo rings will send them on a religious "Great Journey." When in actual reality the firing of the rings will only bring about the destruction of all life in the universe.

The rings were formed by a group of people known as Forerunners. These people built the rings to protect against the Flood, a sentient life form that feeds on intelligent life.

Master Chief is the only human able to stop the terrible plans of these two races.

In the third game, humans and the previous military leaders of the Covenant (the Elites) band together to stop the Prophets of the Covenant from firing the rings.

There are many twists and turns throughout the game, and a few surprises that die-hard "Halo" fans will love. I won't spoil the ending for anyone, but it's a must see.

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