Halo is a first person shooter series created by Bungie Studios. The series has become widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time. This review talks about the multiplayer only.

At launch in September 2007 there were 10 multiplayer modes to choose from that were split up into two playlists, ranked and social. The modes varied dramatically from team deathmatch to races but mechanically they were all the same. About one year on, Bungie has expanded the amount of playlists and increased the number of modes,giving the muliplayer even more longevity.

There are over 17 maps to choose from at the time of writing this. Each is dramatically different and specifically tailored to suit a specific mode. For instance "Avalanche" and "Sandtrap" are both very large maps and are ideal for vehicles and "Big Team" matches. Maps like "Foundry" and "Guardian" are much smaller and compact, better for the "Lone Wolves" (deathmatch) or "Team Doubles" game modes. Bungie have released several map packs over Xbox Live.

A big part of the multiplayer experience in Halo 3 is ranking up. Every time you win a match you are a given xp. Get a certain amount of xp and you rank up. This is fairly superficial, ranking up does not change your gameplay experience, it merely adds a minor form of progression that becomes fairly addictive after a while. In Halo 3 each multiplayer game mode has a leveling system but this is just a way for the robust matchmaking to match you up with players of a similar skill level. The player can also customize the appearence of his/her avatar,changing the colour of the armour.

Many people may criticise Halo 3s multiplayer for playing it safe and sticking to close to its predecessor and this is justified but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Bungie have done what they can to spice up the formula but have still retained the great action that made its predecessor so popular. 9/10

UPDATE: July 7th Bungie Day, new map Cold Storage made avialable for download. Now over 18 maps to choose from.