The single player format has the player taking up the role of Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced super soldier, who defends the Humankind, supported by Human marines and the Covenant Elites.
A maximum of 4 players can play on an Xbox 360 through a split screen and if connected through an Xbox live or a LAN, 16 players can be accommodated. True skill ranking system is used in Halo 3 and is based on two different ranks namely skill (numerical true skill rank) and experience (RP, a linear measure of experience). The purpose of the ranking system is to run the game in a fair manner, getting rid of frustrating players and frequently quitting ones, muting the annoying ones, giving them negative grades for doing so. A new feature called “A-Hole button” has been inducted into the Halo 3 to enable the above discussed. Halo 3 supports downloading and updating of the contents.
Forge, a game type, as alleged by Bungie, is a new tool added to Halo 3 enables players to insert objects like weapons, vehicles onto the map at will. For brevity's sake, editing is possible in Halo 3. The Xbox 360's hard drive has the capability to store the data pertaining to the game at any instance as a film, through a unique feature called "Saved Films". At any instance, one hundred files can be saved onto the hard disk. The players can watch the saved ones later, through any player of their choice. Still pictures can also be taken.
One more exclusive feature of Halo 3 is the "File sharing", which is an online sharing and storing service, used to upload Forge settings, saved films, custom game types into the player's profile and also onto the central Bungie server. When they login again, it can be used to download the same instantly without loosing any information. Other players can also view and download when the player is not logged on. Every player gets about 25 MB of space for File share. Additional storage space can be purchased in lieu of Microsoft points. Files can be flagged for automatic download when they login next time.
The plot is set in the same Halo universe during 2553 A.D. The same characters resume their battle, along with newly created elites namely N'tho "Sraom and Usze "Taham. The Halo 2 is followed by a comic miniseries called Halo: Uprising, from where Halo 3 continues. Halo 3 uses "Halo 3 Engine", an in-house graphics engine. The audio of Halo 3 is 5.1 surround sounds. Halo 3 is released in three versions namely, Standard, Limited and Beastiarum marketed as the legendary edition. The release of Halo 3 has certainly reduced Box office returns of some major film productions and movie bosses are complaining.
However the complaints may be, Halo 3 is appreciated and acclaimed even by the critics and it surely has maintained the stature of the Halo series as the favorite among children
