“Finish the fight.” Fans across the world waited three years to do just that. With the recent release of Halo 3, the conclusion of the trilogy, fans will learn the final fates of Master Chief and the Arbiter in their epic battle against the covenant and the flood. The game released at midnight on Sept. 25 and by 12:10 am thousands were online, some (myself included), until early the next morning. A sleep deprived week later, I’ll answer the biggest question yet, does Halo 3 live up to the hype?The campaign mode, which now can be played as a four-player co-op, is very reminiscent of the first Halo. To some this is a bad thing, however, I think that rocks. After all, the first game really revolutionized the first person shooter for consoles. Also interesting about the new game is the fact that you go back to some of the levels from the predecessor games. It’s really impressive to see those basic concept ideas from the original Xbox redone on the next gen console.The multiplayer game however, hasn’t really changed at all. The maps are very similar to those of Halo 2 and all the weapons from the previous games are back, add that to the new weapons and you have the perfect recipe for chaos and destruction. Be warned though, this WILL lead to online addiction.One new feature to the game is the forge mode. It’s basically a map editor allowing you to take an existing map and arrange spawn points, weapon types, weapon layout, and various other object items. With file sharing, another new feature allowing you to exchange content with your friends, anyone and everyone can play your custom levels.Probably the coolest feature of Halo 3 is the theater mode. Up to your last 25 matches are recorded. From there you can watch a whole match from any of the player’s perspective recording clips or taking snapshots. That, added to file sharing, allows you to send your friends their merciless deaths at your hands.From a technical stand point the graphics have definitely evolved. Some people are still disappointed when comparing them to the compelling graphics of Gears of War. On the other hand, when looking at the differences between Halo 2 and Halo 3 you see how much better the visuals are, plus it’s HD (high definition) compatible. The atmosphere of the game is clearer, the backgrounds more distinct, and overall the game runs more smoothly.

So does Halo 3 live up to the hype? You’ll hear people say it’s just Halo 2 with better graphics, which to some extent I agree with. But, would people really be happy with a completely new game? I highly doubt it. For that reason I argue that this game is “downright awesome” and I gladly give up my sleep to play it.