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Why Halo 3 is my favourite game of all time

Published: Mon 21 Jul, 2008 | 30 Comments
Tags: Halo 3, Xbox 360, GOTY 2007, best game of all time

Halo 3: you might have heard of it. You might also know that I gave it 9.9 on this site, one of only two games to receive that honour. Some people probably hate me for it too, claiming that I've sold out, don't know what I'm talking about, have no taste in games, and that [insert generic ancient Commodore 64 game no one has ever heard of because it was fucking crap in the first place and that's why no one remembers it here] is far, far better.

Yet I stand by my Halo 3 review more than any other review that I've done on this site. Halo 3 is practically perfect. I have had it since its release -- indeed, I got to play it before its release -- and I've probably finished it about 20 times in the last year. It's easily my favourite game of all time, and it has taken a looooong time for a game to come and knock Streets of Rage 2 off its perch. But why is Halo 3 my favourite game of all time? And why do I consider it perfect? Outside of what I said in my review, let's look at a few things that keep me coming back to it.

Length

Halo 3 isn't a particularly long game. In fact, the missus and I have gotten so good at it now that we can pretty much breeze through it on Heroic in about six hours. However, this length is one of its strengths. Rather than a 150-hour epic that you never want to see again after you finish it, Halo 3 is the perfect length to revisit. You know that you can go back to it and be done with it without having to start planning play sessions in your schedule. Much like Streets of Rage 2 attracted me to its two-hour length, Halo 3 appeals to me because the single-player campaign doesn't require me to dedicate huge amounts of my life to it.

Challenge

Halo 3 is genuinely one of those games you can get better at. You can perfect headshots, you can learn all the routes, you can even try and perfect a speed-run of the game. It presents a rather impressive difficulty hike once set to Legendary, and truly mastering the game will take some time for most people. Indeed, I still find death frequent in Legendary mode, yet I can still feel myself getting better. Given that most games tend to hold your hand while you are playing them these days, it's rather refreshing to find a game that requires a bit of skill.


Co-op

Ironically, I rarely play Halo 3 online. Maybe when I can't sleep and I'm bored -- but I generally don't like to play against people. Halo 3 offers a great co-op mode that allows me to play with people rather than against them. In fact, nearly every time I play it, it's with my fiancee or my sister (who is also a Halo nut). Additionally, Halo 3 really requires us to work together, rather than just going and doing our own thing -- something that really reminds me who tacked on the co-op mode in Streets of Rage 2 is. There are some challenges that I know I would just tear my hair out playing by myself, but with a partner I know I can get them to flank and kill the enemies while I dance around keeping them distracted.

Creativity

For me, there is always something new for me to try. I always find myself trying out different strategies for different situations. Maybe I'll try and take out a Scarab tank completely with a tank. Maybe I'll take out a Hunter completely with melee attacks. Maybe I'll try and finish a level without swapping from the default weapon (it generally never ends well). There is always something new to try, and it always keeps me coming back to the game.


Secrets

There is just so much to find in Halo 3, it's not funny. In all honesty, finding all the skulls is a mission in itself, and I still haven't even gotten the Marathon Man achievement. On top of that, there are always new funny Easter eggs to find, even if it's just a bit of voice acting you've never heard before. Sometimes, even some of the things the grunts can say will surprise you. It's something that definitely helps to keep Halo 3 feeling fresh, and it's one of the things that keeps me coming back to it.

Timelessness

No matter how many times I look up at the Milky Way, no matter how many times tank beats everything, no matter how many times I destroy a Scarab, I never, ever get sick of playing Halo 3. It is just filled with moments and lines that are absolutely priceless. It still brings a smile to my face every time I play it. I still watch every cutscene (when someone will let me) and I still take great joy in reliving every moment over and over again. Halo 3, for me at least, never gets boring.

Halo 3 is easily my favourite game of all time. It somewhat hurts me a little when people say that it's tripe or overrated, because I haven't felt this way about a game since I was 8. Indeed, I stand by my 9.9 score more than anything I've ever said. In fact, if I was to review it today with hindsight, it would be the first 10 on NZGamer. And if you think differently, well... you're entitled to your opinion. You're just wrong.

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